Intentionally ruining clothing, and blood as camouflage

[Fella1990 1]

Two parts to this one:

 

1. Using any melee weapon, any wearable can be damaged to a Ruined state.

     This can serve a few purposes - i.e. sabotage of your old back pack so others can't benefit from finding it (might cause some issues with people ruining everything they come across)

     And will play in to the second part of this suggestion:

 

2. Use any player, Z, or animal corpse, or entrails on clothing items and self to give the appearance of being infected. Blood/guts disguise.

     This can be a disguise so other players pay less attention to you.

     Possibly reduces detection by other infected considerably, allowing free-er travel in high Z pop areas (when they exist) for basic supplies (AMC's Walking Dead-esque).

 

The freedom of activity will help with immersion and I know I'd use this feature (bit of a player stalker) - would anyone else?

 

 

[Rags! 1966]

1. Using any melee weapon, any wearable can be damaged to a Ruined state.

 

...

 

(might cause some issues with people ruining everything they come across)

 

Yea, that'd be correct. 

[Whyherro123 2283]

^ Yeah, I can't really see anything good coming from that idea.....

"yeah, FUCK EVERYONE that wants to play this game!!!!!"

 

Rather like cannibalism. Still irritated that was added.

[scrubbie_mcnoob 136]

 

Rather like cannibalism. Still irritated that was added.

 

Hey, when you're starving, meat is meat. I'm not proud of the fact I've eaten human steaks, but when the need to survive outweighs the social implications, a juicy medium rare steak cooked over on open fire is divine.

[MrAerospace 87]

It's already in, (cannibalism that is) but it totally negates the risk vs reward that came with shooting a guy for his loot only to find you've ruined it anyway.

Edited October 29, 2015 by MrAerospace

[Whyherro123 2283]

Hey, when you're starving, meat is meat. I'm not proud of the fact I've eaten human steaks, but when the need to survive outweighs the social implications, a juicy medium rare steak cooked over on open fire is divine.

You see, the "reality" of the situation is: there would be plenty of food for you to find in South Zagoria. Cannibalism would be 100% unnecessary.

 

During the time of year Day Z takes place in, the forests and fields are bursting with food, both plant and animal. Rabbits are stupidly-easy to trap, or to just kill with a thrown stick. There would be acorns, various berries, hell, I've seen enough cattail plants to feed an army!

 

But, you know, basically none of the above are implemented. Cattails and oak trees are in-game, but the survival uses of them are not  yet available. 

 

Yet, we are getting a helicopter and RPG :rolleyes:  Disappointing.

[BeefBacon 1185]

You see, the "reality" of the situation is: there would be plenty of food for you to find in South Zagoria. Cannibalism would be 100% unnecessary.

 

During the time of year Day Z takes place in, the forests and fields are bursting with food, both plant and animal. Rabbits are stupidly-easy to trap, or to just kill with a thrown stick. There would be acorns, various berries, hell, I've seen enough cattail plants to feed an army!

 

But, you know, basically none of the above are implemented. Cattails and oak trees are in-game, but the survival uses of them are not  yet available. 

 

Yet, we are getting a helicopter and RPG :rolleyes:  Disappointing.

 

That may be true, but wouldn't it kind of negate the survival element if food was so plentiful? "Oh no, I'm starving, time to pick one of the 100 sources of food I'm surrounded by." Even apple trees and berry bushes make starvation a non-issue. Everyone was bitching and whining in .55 because nothing was spawning, and there I was fully energised and hydrated with a pack full of berries.

 

If berries and such were limited (but respawned after an hour or two, maybe) then I could see your point. As it stands, however, food is unlimited and it is everywhere. Hopefully the devs will address that.

 

I'm pretty much in favour of RPGs and helicopters. I actually hope they add a few kinds of helicopters - preferably big ones. I never played the mod, but I get he impression that helicopters were kind of a big deal.

[Whyherro123 2283]

That may be true, but wouldn't it kind of negate the survival element if food was so plentiful? "Oh no, I'm starving, time to pick one of the 100 sources of food I'm surrounded by." Even apple trees and berry bushes make starvation a non-issue. Everyone was bitching and whining in .55 because nothing was spawning, and there I was fully energised and hydrated with a pack full of berries.

 

If berries and such were limited (but respawned after an hour or two, maybe) then I could see your point. As it stands, however, food is unlimited and it is everywhere. Hopefully the devs will address that.

 

I'm pretty much in favour of RPGs and helicopters. I actually hope they add a few kinds of helicopters - preferably big ones. I never played the mod, but I get he impression that helicopters were kind of a big deal.

 

Not really, because realistically, the "natural" supply of food (plants, animals, etc) wouldn't respawn. Once you gather/hunt it, it wouldn't come back, not for another year or so. So, as a freshspawn, you could gather some acorns  and pick some cattail , but once you die and come back to the area, the food won't be there again.

 

Just to touch on the point I made above: most "natural" sources of food aren't just ready to eat straight off the bat. Berries, fruit, yeah (but see below), but the "really good" (that is, the stuff that will keep you alive and give you actual energy, not just fructose and water), like cattail rhizomes, acorns, tree cambium (basically, anything with starch), requires processing. Acorns in particular take time and effort to make them edible (drying, powdering, multiple soakings), and cattail and other rhizomes require roasting on a fire. Tree cambium, goldenrod, and other "alternative flours" require pounding to separate the actual grain from the chaff. 

 

And, if the devs wanted to be even slightly "realistic", stuffing yourself full of berries and fruit would make you shit yourself, possibly horrendously. Berries, when eaten in any "reasonably large" amount (like the amount in-game that will fill you up), or any watery fruit (like apples), serve as potent diuretic, due to the amount of water they contain. I had a kid in my WS class eat about 3 handfuls of ripe blueberries at once, and have to spend an -ahem- "decent amount of time" in the latrine later on that day. I believe it was described as "ass-piss", to be crude. Diarrhea in a survival situation will kill you. I avoid berries as a matter of course, unless I am adding them to another food (pemmican), or drying them for storage (which, of course, removes all the water).

 

Finally, I have wanted actual "nutrition" to be in the game for some time, as I feel that it would greatly expand the "survival" aspects of the game. Eat nothing but canned food? Enjoy nutritional deficiencies! Eat nothing but berries and apples? Enjoy nutritional deficiencies (on top of diarrhea)! Eat nothing but red meat? Enjoy nutritional deficiencies! This would "guide" the player into eating a more varied diet (assuming they actually care about depressed immune systems and various weaknesses, of course), and therefore, prompt them to move around the map. It would also prompt them to plant things other than pumpkins and zucchini in gardens.

 

To me, a "survival" game involves actual choices. Possibly difficult ones, made with a little bit of fear, but the ability to make a choice is significant. Being able to see edible plants (a lot of them, with regards to cattail) waving in the breeze, and NOT being able to eat them because "easy sources of food are not present in a survival game" is, quite frankly, bullshit. 

" Do I take the time and effort to pick and process these cattails, and stay safe in doing so, or do I walk to the nearest town to see if I can find some canned food, which is dangerous but fast"?

 

Finally, "realism" and "authenticity" is EVERYTHING to me. I want the game to be as realistic as possible, to the point where I believe that the majority of mechanics in this game should be changed, as they are "too arcadey" for a game that trumpets itself as an "anti-game". I am not against RPG's per se, I just don't see an actual use for them. I am against helicopters, however, for the "realism" reason. Can you fly a helicopter? Do you know how to fix one? If you don't, will you have the time and resources to learn in a world where: 1) those resources (fuel, parts, etc) are in limited supply, and 2) you have to work so hard already to survive? (Hint: gardening and gathering and hunting takes a LOT of work and time, the in-game mechanics are less-than-bare-bones). Finally, what does a helicopter do for you that a regular truck, or even a motorbike, can't do, while using fewer resources and "effort"?  Sure, helicopters can fly over rough terrain and land anywhere, but an off-road motorbike can travel over the same terrain, almost as fast, be hidden much easier, and be ridden by anyone that can ride a damn bike. While being quieter and more versatile.

LOGISTICS

[Konfucious K 183]

I'm not sure how plentiful food would be in such South Zegoria or anywhere for that matter. Infected would have killed the wildlife and humans would have finished the rest off relatively quickly - weeks to a month. Then it would be a year for any numbers to begin replenishing. Also, how many edible plants and bushes can your average person (without access to the internet) actually identify?

 

I will relent all this needs a bit of balancing, but I would like to imagine by the time this game goes 1.0 cannibalism will become a very viable option for survival unless you are organised and have prepared some small farm or stored food somewhere. I think food is quite plentiful because base building is not implemented fully yet.

[BeefBacon 1185]

 

Finally, I have wanted actual "nutrition" to be in the game for some time, as I feel that it would greatly expand the "survival" aspects of the game. Eat nothing but canned food? Enjoy nutritional deficiencies! Eat nothing but berries and apples? Enjoy nutritional deficiencies (on top of diarrhea)! Eat nothing but red meat? Enjoy nutritional deficiencies! This would "guide" the player into eating a more varied diet (assuming they actually care about depressed immune systems and various weaknesses, of course), and therefore, prompt them to move around the map. It would also prompt them to plant things other than pumpkins and zucchini in gardens.

 

 

This. I think I made a post about nutrition a while back. I think if people want to live off canned food then they should be able to, but there should be drawbacks associated with it. Living off the land (hunting, fishing, farming, foraging) should be more difficult and time consuming, but yield greater rewards.

 

I don't know about foraging, but if foraging could be expanded in the way you described (food is available but it needs to be processed/prepared in order to be edible) I'd totally be in favour of that. I'd argue in favour of respawning food, however, even if it only respawned every few hours. On top of that, though, I'd say that foraging should be made easier in the sense that you shouldn't have to spend five minutes staring at a shrub in order to find a lonely berry. Instead you should be able to find a few berries relatively quickly, but then that bush is depleted for a while.

 

Also, as a side note, It'd be neat if there were poison berries. Now I know there are poison berries, but everyone knows which berries are poisonous. Instead there should be several colours of berries (and mushrooms, whatever) and on each server whether a berry (or shroom) is poisonous or not is randomly selected. We can then find survival guides in the world that tell us what is and is not safe to eat. We can't meta-game it as easily because each server is different, and perhaps changes upon reset (though I don't know what should happen to the food you already have in your inventory).

 

 

Finally, "realism" and "authenticity" is EVERYTHING to me. I want the game to be as realistic as possible, to the point where I believe that the majority of mechanics in this game should be changed, as they are "too arcadey" for a game that trumpets itself as an "anti-game". I am not against RPG's per se, I just don't see an actual use for them. I am against helicopters, however, for the "realism" reason. Can you fly a helicopter? Do you know how to fix one? If you don't, will you have the time and resources to learn in a world where: 1) those resources (fuel, parts, etc) are in limited supply, and 2) you have to work so hard already to survive? (Hint: gardening and gathering and hunting takes a LOT of work and time, the in-game mechanics are less-than-bare-bones). Finally, what does a helicopter do for you that a regular truck, or even a motorbike, can't do, while using fewer resources and "effort"?  Sure, helicopters can fly over rough terrain and land anywhere, but an off-road motorbike can travel over the same terrain, almost as fast, be hidden much easier, and be ridden by anyone that can ride a damn bike. While being quieter and more versatile.

LOGISTICS

 

I have flown a helicopter. I could probably find a user manual to refresh my memory as it was quite some time ago, but I at least understand the basics. I couldn't fix one, though. But then I couldn't fix a car. I've never fired a gun. I've never made a fire without a match. I've never skinned a deer. I've never filled a blood bag. I've never applied a saline bag.

 

If you don't have the time or resources to repair or fly a  helicopter... don't repair or fly a helicopter. However, if you have a large camp, a lot of people, a tanker full of fuel and you know there are a bunch of helicopter parts on an airfield, why shouldn't you be able to repair a helicopter? Are you telling me that everyone who washed up on shore is some sort of Navy SEAL / Bear Grylls hybrid, but it's too far fetched for us to fix up a helicopter?

 

In regards to the RPG, I expect it'll be of use against vehicles. Humvees or beefed up buses, for example. I expect you'll have a bit of trouble killing a humvee with a .22 rifle. I don't expect it'll see very much use outside of squad play since I imagine it'll be quite large, ammo will be rare, it'll be heavy, etc etc. Still, it's nice that it's going in.

[Whyherro123 2283]

 

 

I have flown a helicopter. I could probably find a user manual to refresh my memory as it was quite some time ago, but I at least understand the basics. I couldn't fix one, though. But then I couldn't fix a car. I've never fired a gun. I've never made a fire without a match. I've never skinned a deer. I've never filled a blood bag. I've never applied a saline bag.

 

If you don't have the time or resources to repair or fly a  helicopter... don't repair or fly a helicopter. However, if you have a large camp, a lot of people, a tanker full of fuel and you know there are a bunch of helicopter parts on an airfield, why shouldn't you be able to repair a helicopter? Are you telling me that everyone who washed up on shore is some sort of Navy SEAL / Bear Grylls hybrid, but it's too far fetched for us to fix up a helicopter?

 

In regards to the RPG, I expect it'll be of use against vehicles. Humvees or beefed up buses, for example. I expect you'll have a bit of trouble killing a humvee with a .22 rifle. I don't expect it'll see very much use outside of squad play since I imagine it'll be quite large, ammo will be rare, it'll be heavy, etc etc. Still, it's nice that it's going in.

 

1) You know how to fly a helicopter. Nice. What about the (random number) other people in your base that don't? Where are you going to get a tanker of fuel? What if those helicopter parts aren't for the make and model you have? Don't you have 1,000,000+ other, probably-more-useful things you can be doing, instead of fiddling around with a helicopter? "Survival", even when you have a village with other people, a steady source of food, etc, is very time intensive. Gardens have to be weeded, walls have to be patrolled, tools have to be maintained. If you are the single person in a settlement where their only task is "fix that helicopter".... that helicopter better be gold-plated and have an automatic shitter, not just "I might be able to fly it..... maybe". "Division of labor" and all that. If your current labor isn't useful, or "useful enough", then you effectively aren't contributing. The world needs ditch-diggers.

 

2) SO, you've got some "helicopter parts" at a nearby airfield. They just magically happen to be the right ones. Now, you yourself said that you don't know how to repair a helicopter, and let us assume that no-one else in your base does either. However, you finagle the parts into place, fill it up (what kind of fuel do helicopters take, anyway?), and take off. However, one part is 1mm out of place/ 1 N too stressed, etc, and breaks. That is rough to find that out going 200mph, 60 feet in the air. With a truck, if something goes wrong, you can generally stop safely. Not so in a helicopter. Oh, and parts for trucks and cars are definitely going to be more common. If a piston-ring in your engine breaks, yank a new one from another truck.  Need a new axle? Same. Etc etc etc

 

Plus, the rate of people that know how to repair/maintain a truck/car is definitely higher than someone that knows how to do the same for a helicopter. Hell, I don't know anything about cars, but I can generally diagnose what might be wrong with my truck. Even if I can't, I have literally 6 or 7 mechanics in a 3 mile radius around me that all specialize in various bits of vehicle maintenance. That is probably 100 specialists, not just someone that knows their way around an engine. 

 

3) I have no problems with there being ground-based vehicles (although I would be livid if there was something like an APC added), due to the fact that there is a reasonable chance that some survivor was a mechanic before the world went to shit. The chances are not so high that there was a helicopter mechanic/pilot (if you know how to fly, why are you still in Chernarus?!) among survivors, in a random sample. 

 

4) I don't want the in-game characters to be "Navy SEALS". I want them to freak out, to not know how to reload a weapon perfectly (fumble magazines, jam firearms), to have firearms jam when fired on full-auto, to have to clean the firearms, etc. Right now, every one is a "soldier", and I don't like that.

 

5) In all seriousness, "Survival skills" are not that hard to learn, and the basics are known and half-remembered by just about everyone. The main function of "survival training", other than practice, is to implant training in the head so, when you actually need it, you react on instinct and muscle memory, instead of having to "think about it", realizing the gravity of the situation, and freaking out.

 

Also, there are probably infinite+ more guides for survival skills, like plant ID guides, animal guides, etc than there are for helicopter maintenance manuals. Besides, yet again, the skills are not that difficult. I taught myself how to field-dress and process animal carcasses after reading about it in the SAS Survival Guide. With 5 paragraphs of 12pt font, a single diagram, and some trial and error, I was able to dress a deer and turn it onto various cuts of meat.

 

I dunno, I guess I just am tired of arguing this same point, over and over and over again. I just find it infinitely more "realistic", "authentic" even, that someone can figure out which plants are safe to eat, how to start a fire with no matches, how to cut meat off an animal, etc, especially if their life was on the line, than I would someone magically being able to repair, maintain and fly a complicated, physics-heavy piece of machinery.

 

As for the RPG...... what do you think someone will be able to do to a vehicle that a regular 7.62-54mm round won't be able to handle, much less a .50BMG (if they don't include the most common HMG caliber in the world, even only as a static emplacement, I will be confused)? Multiple layers of sheet steel? Both rounds will punch through.  Sandbags around the drivers seat? Put some rounds into the engine block. Just drop a tree across the road ahead of a truck, or drag some Jersey Barriers across. Make some spike-strips with nails and blocks of wood. You don't need an RPG to "kill" a vehicle in the game, even a "heavily-armored" one.

[MrAerospace 87]

This post has been hijacked. While the conversation is riveting, let's at least address the topic of original post.

1) Sabotaging your own gear to cause it to despawn faster might be a reasonable tactic. Booby trapping your stuff would be even better. Anything that might serve to disincentivize PvP even in the slightest little bit is welcome in my books.

 

2) Mimicking zombies. A rather interesting idea that nonetheless has come up countless times before. Would be nice to have a way for players to copy zombie animations, and be able to do so in a convincing enough way to fool players and other zombies. A good incentive for achievers would be a soft skill system that actually allows better mimicry. (where the skill level is measured by time in proximity of zombies without being detected. It's gotta have a reasonable fail rate too, btw...gotta make it a risky endeavour.

[Whyherro123 2283]

 

 

2) Mimicking zombies. A rather interesting idea that nonetheless has come up countless times before. Would be nice to have a way for players to copy zombie animations, and be able to do so in a convincing enough way to fool players and other zombies. A good incentive for achievers would be a soft skill system that actually allows better mimicry. (where the skill level is measured by time in proximity of zombies without being detected. It's gotta have a reasonable fail rate too, btw...gotta make it a risky endeavour.

I don't really understand how this works, really. The "zombies" aren't actually "zombies", but people with a degenerative disease. All humans, even those with deveopmental disorders, are basically intrinsically able to tell when something "humanlike" is not "human".

 

And, even besides this, humans smell. We totally do. Covering yourself with blood and guts and dirt won't stop flakes of skin from falling off and getting caught in wind. Humans, believe me or not, can smell that. And pheromones and shit. 

Edited October 30, 2015 by Whyherro123

[agouti 105]

Just to touch on the point I made above: most "natural" sources of food aren't just ready to eat straight off the bat. Berries, fruit, yeah (but see below), but the "really good" (that is, the stuff that will keep you alive and give you actual energy, not just fructose and water), like cattail rhizomes, acorns, tree cambium (basically, anything with starch), requires processing. Acorns in particular take time and effort to make them edible (drying, powdering, multiple soakings), and cattail and other rhizomes require roasting on a fire. Tree cambium, goldenrod, and other "alternative flours" require pounding to separate the actual grain from the chaff. 

 

And, if the devs wanted to be even slightly "realistic", stuffing yourself full of berries and fruit would make you shit yourself, possibly horrendously. Berries, when eaten in any "reasonably large" amount (like the amount in-game that will fill you up), or any watery fruit (like apples), serve as potent diuretic, due to the amount of water they contain. I had a kid in my WS class eat about 3 handfuls of ripe blueberries at once, and have to spend an -ahem- "decent amount of time" in the latrine later on that day. I believe it was described as "ass-piss", to be crude. Diarrhea in a survival situation will kill you. I avoid berries as a matter of course, unless I am adding them to another food (pemmican), or drying them for storage (which, of course, removes all the water).

 

Finally, "realism" and "authenticity" is EVERYTHING to me. I want the game to be as realistic as possible, to the point where I believe that the majority of mechanics in this game should be changed, as they are "too arcadey" for a game that trumpets itself as an "anti-game". I am not against RPG's per se, I just don't see an actual use for them. I am against helicopters, however, for the "realism" reason. Can you fly a helicopter? Do you know how to fix one? If you don't, will you have the time and resources to learn in a world where: 1) those resources (fuel, parts, etc) are in limited supply, and 2) you have to work so hard already to survive? (Hint: gardening and gathering and hunting takes a LOT of work and time, the in-game mechanics are less-than-bare-bones). Finally, what does a helicopter do for you that a regular truck, or even a motorbike, can't do, while using fewer resources and "effort"?  Sure, helicopters can fly over rough terrain and land anywhere, but an off-road motorbike can travel over the same terrain, almost as fast, be hidden much easier, and be ridden by anyone that can ride a damn bike. While being quieter and more versatile.

LOGISTICS

 

I have several questions and thoughts for you, and I like your post.

#1 What would happen if I ate an acorn without cooking it in real life? I think they're bitter iirc.

#2 I love fruit, and while I hate nearly all vegetable material, this has led to some interesting consequences as you describe. I was surprised this didn't happen in game, I was waiting for the text message.

#3 In my mind, we need not just rpgs, but anti-material rifles. For most purposes, this will be more useful. You're taking out the engine blocks of cars, not fighting armored vehicles. Though if armored vehicles make an appearance, I'll be glad to have that rpg.

#4 There are people out there that know how to fix helicopters or could figure it out in a very very reasonable amount of time (weeks or months). I got this buddy who plays who I'd bet hard money he could figure it out (he has a helicopter obsession). This is the same buddy of such patience, who'd wait by the lone gas station with his anti-material rifle maybe a half mile off in the woods, would blow out a passing engine block, and then the drivers who get out. Loot up, dispose the evidence for the next unsuspecting vehicle, repeat. He'd spent hours waiting for trucks to pass if necessary. He'd do this for days, just amassing loot, really showed his patience. Never saw him die once doing this, he always had everything set up in his favor. The reason I'm saying this, is there are individuals who have the patience to learn, patience to fully plan out contingencies, and the coolness of head to execute.

 

Alternatively, I'll have to find the video of him and I doing the other obvious way for getting a helicopter. You simply steal it from someone else who has a sustainable fortified base when they're not there. :)

[Mullraugh 1151]

I've been wanting this ability for ages. Damaged, Badly Damaged and Ruined clothing is WAY better than pristine because;

 

1. There's literally no downside to it at the moment, as far as I'm concerned.

 

2. It makes you look more like a survivor rather than some prissy snooty rich snob who's too afraid to get his clothes dirty without changing them 

 

3. It breaks up solid colours such as tan cargo pants, a grey tactical shirt, etc into blotches of dirty looking colour, which is actually far better for camo.

 

4. Pristine clothing is too mainstream, yo.

[MrAerospace 87]

I don't really understand how this works, really. The "zombies" aren't actually "zombies", but people with a degenerative disease. All humans, even those with deveopmental disorders, are basically intrinsically able to tell when something "humanlike" is not "human".

 

And, even besides this, humans smell. We totally do. Covering yourself with blood and guts and dirt won't stop flakes of skin from falling off and getting caught in wind. Humans, believe me or not, can smell that. And pheromones and shit. 

Oops, failed to bring that up. No, I agree that it shouldn't work in the sense of smearing blood and guts on yourself and then all of a sudden you're invisible to zombies. In any case, that should attract both zombies and wild animals faster. Certainly would be interesting the other way around...get too close with blood on you and all of a sudden the zombies are searching for you, even though you're being as stealthy as possible.

(Plus, blood and guts...diseases are a thing in game). What I meant was just imitating movement and behavioural patterns, something that wouldn't really work up close, but from long and mid distances, you could pass yourself off as one of them. The longer you actually work on it, the better the character model actually copies the minute details. 

[star-lord252 83]

I like the idea of sabotaging stuff but yes as rags said everyone would just ruin everything so I don't know how you would do it. The disguise thing idk its kinda to much like dying light stuff I'd rather just out a bunch of bodies on my self and just camp waiting for the sniper on blue horse to come and loot the body's to get what he really deserves for blowing of the head of my innocent friend. I came to this thread looking at an argumemt about cannibalism and RPGs and some other stuff. I don't see the problems with either items said and other stuff. Cannibalism I don't understand why there's problems its a last moment aprouch if you don't have time to pick on a tree for dam 30min(depends if you lucky sometimes its like 5 min sometimes its like 30 min picking) i was forced for cannibilsm in .55,.54,.56-57 mostly since apples were to difficult to get and we could just make a fire eat the hostile Bambi's we killed. In .55 I ate my freind who died of starvation before me because of some tough times in pusta.

[Fella1990 1]

Interesting conversation. Did go off track for a bit there but it seems like others agree it might allow too much sabotage. I wasn't sure about how the disguising would be viewed by others.

The best perhaps would be as suggested a way to mimic the meandering walk, and given some of the latest status reports this doesn't seem too farfetched.