NWAF study - Redesigning Skalitsy island travelling

[Pokerguy12 218]

This post is mainly about my assessment of what makes the NWAF a unique place and how we use what we learn here to recreate similar experiences in other places.

 

 

 

For a Zombie infested wasteland that is the sandbox for Dayz, we all know and love, Skalitsy island has always held a unique place in my heart.

 

Think about the pilgrimage we all make to the North West airfield, the holy grail of high end military loot and at the same time the grave for many a careless player. It holds a certain character as a difficult to access treasure trove of wonderful military weapons and loot. The place is an open airfield surrounded by a thin fence and wide open fields on all sides with no cover. One has to cross all that open space in order to reach the airfield, further in the distance are thick foilage and woods giving ample spots for snipers to hide and prey on helpless survivors endeavouring to make their journey safely while in the few small indoor spaces ambushes were often prepared. We could find anything from the best Rifles to vehicles, Night vision googles and the best bagpacks no wonder the NWAF is such a popular place. 

 

To the experienced and advanced player, we would remember every small rock and bush that offered the tiniest bit of concealment to increase our chances of coming out of a loot raid alive. Some of us even go to the trouble of waiting till nightfall to make our journey there. We practice and memorize routes to take and specific angles to cover and watch for every step we make on the small trip from the boundary of the safe treeline to where the loot spawns. Manoeuvring your way in the airfield is quite different than in elektro because all the time our destination is focused on the loot spawns of the airfield, and players are more focused on making it there safely than engaging in a fight. 

 

The NWAF is a frequently visited place and death match arena. Because of this we have mixed reactions of anxiety, fear, anticipation and most prominently greed for all the wonderful loot and vehicles that can be found there(refering to the mod). Many of us cannot doubt that most of our best and most exciting moments are achieved at or around the NWAF, take a look on youtube and you will see at least a good half of them take place at airfields. Without the airfields both West and East, alot of fun will be missing and Dayz will be significantly more boring.

 

 

 

 

I believe the next place the map designers have to look at to create this dangerous journey filled with suspense and paranioa like the journey to the NWAF is Skalitsy island. It has unique characteristics as an unaccessible geographical location that quite frankly has plenty of neglected potential for kickass game and map design.

 

First of all it is an island, AND you have to cross the sea to get there. Right now it is a very small distance offshore and rather easy to swim to. The thing is, you have to swim there. I think the journey of swimming there can be made a very special and rewarding one if we design it correctly. There has to be a way we can design the journey by sea to the island into a journey just as exciting and adventurous as the journey to the NWAF. I'm not saying we turn it into a high value loot spawn area because that would just make an easy location for anyone with the proper vehicle to farm loot with no risk or danger of PvP battles.

 

Skalisy island is just an example of a place with the potential to be turned into a place that offers the same fun that running back and forth from NWAF does. I want ideas to make places into legendary attractions with focus on making the journey to reach them exciting and adrenaline filled.

 

 

WHAT CAN WE DO? WHAT CAN WE CHANGE IN THE MAP?

 

Tavania was an interesting place, oil rigs located offshore only accessible by boat or air with the highest possible loot value spawn. At the same time it couldnt be used as a base to hide away your helicopter because it is visible for miles around

 

Edited June 29, 2014 by Pokerguy10

[AfterShave 140]

That would be freaking awesome.

[frosti 2165]

Great traps to kill noobs

 

No escape like in NWAF and no trees to hide

Edited June 29, 2014 by Frosti

[Tatanko 5591]

I wish I could journey to Skalisty more often, but I'm always afraid of losing or ruining my gear in the process. It's really quite a nice place to spend time even without the motivation of loot. It's insanely quiet and I've never once encountered another player there other than my own friends.

[Irish. 4886]

Ok, Ill bite. But here is the only way I would like the idea.. 

 

Skalitsky is THE high end loot location above all others. Everything can be found there, and more often than other spawn locations. But there is just 1 little catch..

 

Its severely overrun with Zeds. Like so many that you most certainly will die if you go there unless you have like 10-20 armed friends with you. Then at that point the loot, while being great is not plentiful enough for all and you have the problem of it takes so many to get so little. If you made it really, really difficult to clear.. like next to impossible. It would create that legendary story status that Dayz is so well known for.. ;)

 

Example:

1 Heli crash, 1 Military Tent spawning same tent loot, 1 barracks, and 2 medic tents. 

 

This way even if you loot it all, its still not that much. But the chance of finding the more rare loot would be there because you know, there is a heli crash next to a barracks next to some mil tents.. 

Edited June 29, 2014 by lrish

[Pokerguy12 218]

Good idea Irish, this it the type of discussion i was aiming at, as a forumer on Dayz forums ive always been more congenial with threads that provoke insightful discussion and were usually long winded meaning you had to do alot of reading and creative thinking that solve problems to serve a higher purpose than say, what kind of firearms you think should be introduced in the next upcoming version.

[frosti 2165]

Wait!

 

I didyn't the thread I just commented on pic.

 

Redesignig Skalisty? HELL NO

 

First removing Pobeba Dam, then removing Northern forests(wilderness) to build cities and now redesign Skalisty? NO NO FUCK  NO.

 

Skalisty island is according to lore a reservat of nature btw (and Pobeba Dam was one of main source of electricity... )

[AlphaDogMeat . 493]

I think all the vehicles everyone's crying over should spawn there.

[frosti 2165]

I think all the vehicles everyone's crying over should spawn there.

 

No.

 

Devs need to stop shitting military/loot buildings all over map like private server owners in DayZ mod did.

 

They destroyed North by adding cities in a valley where were forests so now you want them to destroy SOuth by adding phat loots to Skalisty? NO

 

PS.

 

And Pobeda Dam, Never Forget

Edited June 29, 2014 by Frosti

[Pokerguy12 218]

Wait!

 

I didyn't the thread I just commented on pic.

 

Redesignig Skalisty? HELL NO

 

First removing Pobeba Dam, then removing Northern forests(wilderness) to build cities and now redesign Skalisty? NO NO FUCK  NO.

 

Skalisty island is according to lore a reservat of nature btw (and Pobeba Dam was one of main source of electricity... )

The Dam, another location with potential. I designed an arma 3 mission entirely around the Xirolimi dam and dried river near the West side of Altis. It was a place where you had to defend and use the wall for cover against an oncoming assault and the narrow ravine where water would flow was the place the enemy was ambushed. Fire comes from both sides of the cliff, APERS bounding mines along the floor.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2014 by Pokerguy10

[Chaingunfighter 917]

Instead of redesigning Skalisty, why don't they just add a new island much further off shore? There's plenty of open oceanspace for them to do that, and I love Skalisty as it is, please don't change it. It's one of the few forested areas left in the game!

[Pokerguy12 218]

Edited June 29, 2014 by Pokerguy10

[automatic9 22]

Instead of redesigning Skalisty, why don't they just add a new island much further off shore? There's plenty of open oceanspace for them to do that, and I love Skalisty as it is, please don't change it. It's one of the few forested areas left in the game!

I heard they were adding in Utes eventually. That would be AMAZING!!

[Chaingunfighter 917]

I heard they were adding in Utes eventually. That would be AMAZING!!

Nah, they decided against it because it was too close and ended up looking ugly. But they did say they planned on adding in other big islands out at sea as a way of putting high value loot far away.

[Pokerguy12 218]

Im a single lady im a single lady

[ZomboWTF 527]

Wait!

 

I didyn't the thread I just commented on pic.

 

Redesignig Skalisty? HELL NO

 

First removing Pobeba Dam, then removing Northern forests(wilderness) to build cities and now redesign Skalisty? NO NO FUCK  NO.

 

Skalisty island is according to lore a reservat of nature btw (and Pobeba Dam was one of main source of electricity... )

 

i miss pobeda dam...

 

it was my favorite place to make a camp around, a great place to meet up with a clan or to set up ambushes if people were heading towards it

[hombrecz 832]

Nah, they decided against it because it was too close and ended up looking ugly. But they did say they planned on adding in other big islands out at sea as a way of putting high value loot far away.

 

New island would be cool. What would be the best location though? Somewhere south-west and far away from coast?

Hope devs add rowboats or some fishing boats etc.

 

They destroyed North by adding cities in a valley where were forests so now you want them to destroy SOuth by adding phat loots to Skalisty? NO

 

I would not say Devs destroyed north at all.

 

Having said that, it is true that we might already have enough town and villages there as it is. Still I wish they could expand the map further north and make it bigger. Maybe make it so it's heavily forested, with some valleys, with small villages or bases now and then, but not close to each other.

 

Regarding military installations, I just don't want to see any new added anywhere near spawning areas.

I also think, that we already have kinda too many barracks as it is, but maybe they will introduce some unique NATO base, only one on the whole map, that will be the place to go for the best gear, same as barracks were in the mod.

[frosti 2165]

 

I would not say Devs destroyed north at all.

 

They deforested half of the wilderness from the mod and added roads everywhere

 

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/185396-save-the-trees-man-marginalized-wilderness/