The Buddy System [Friend spawning mechanism]

[FrIEND (DayZ) 9]

I like the idea you could Spawn near your Friends, when you start over.

[ezdaroth 1]

Make players spawn to closest spawn point from their friend.

This means buddies can spawn on the beach and start playing together, but if one of them dies there's no way to instantly spawn back to the other player. In this case the surviving player needs to either head for the beach to find his friend, or kill himself and spawn there as well.

It doesn't open too much room for abuse, but makes at least starting with your friends much less frustrating and makes finding friends even a little bit easier after death, since they won't spawn on the opposite side of the map.

[landstriker 9]

Being "spoiled" in games such as the "Battlefield" series, I tend to think that it would have been nice with some sort of spawn system. However, I am completely against people being able to spawn on each other.

Instead I think that it could have been nice with certain areas that people can spawn to (within a larger radius). Lets say you have 4-5 zones each spread around the island. Within these zones, you could choose a spawn location. To prevent people being "spawn raped", each player would have a 2 minute "spawn protection".

Anyways, I'm just tossing out some ideas here :)

[harryzhe 28]

they have to be spread only along the southern coast imo. Right now theres a nice organic progression of higher tier players and loot towards the north. There needs to be a reason to travel there. If you spawn somewhere awesome why would anyone take any risks traveling?

The spawn areas are both dangerous for the amount of people, and dont have great loot or facilities. Theyre easy on the newbies cause they have infinite water source and a fair lot of makarov ammo to find on less fortunate guys.

If "noobs" can spawn all over the map the areas become pretty much homogenous. The change as you travel north is an excellent element imo. Everyone there is gunna have significantly better kit, but will be significantly more on-edge because not trusting anyone has gotten them this far.

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

I dissaprove of this idea.

[kaibz 8]

I approve of this idea.

But with some huge limitations to it.

[zackb101 0]

I'm liking the ideas people are having. More specifically I like Lloyds idea of limited spawn points around the map. I think that with enough insight from all the players posting here we could create an awesome system to play with friends without disturbing gameplay.

Lloyds system would also prevent "babying" players because if one player did die, the other player(s) would still have to travel back to find them. The only "advantage" they would be getting is spawning with eachother at said spawnpoint.

[ytman18@gmail.com 9]

I think that DayZ should have a buddy system in place. Firstly' date=' before I start, I know that DayZ is supposed to be fairly persistent and that if a buddy system were created it would have to be balanced and carefully thought through. The reason I have the idea for a buddy system is because it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to find your friends when you join in the server, almost to an unreasonable extent. Some people don't have the time to spend running across the map to simply find each other and start playing.

The buddy system should allow a group of friends (possibly linked via Steam friends), to spawn on each other, or at the very least spawn in the same city/village. This should be the only feature of the buddy system, there's no reason to add more features and adding any more could cause unfair disadvantages.

The buddy system would need to have rigorous limitations to prevent and deter any abuse. Some examples may be;

-A time limit, only allow buddy spawning per X amount of seconds.

-Weapon limitations, every time you spawn on a buddy you could either have your weapons removed, temporarily disabled, or another limitation.

-Health limitations, for a limited amount of time your health could be lowered to prevent teleporting in a gun fight.

-Proximity and fighting limitations, disabling spawning on a buddy while they are within close proximity of another player (or bandits), or while they are in a direct gunfight.

-Any other limitations that would suit the buddy system.

I think that if implemented correctly, the buddy system could be a very valuable addition to DayZ.

[/quote']

God no. The purpose of this game is survival over a prolonged time and when you start incorporating BF like squad spawning mechanics to make death less and less of an inconvenience... well then you are missing the point of this mod.

I've played always with the long term in mind. Days in advance. Can't meet with person X in three hours? and I have log off? Then I tell him where I logged off and he can make it there or try to make it to another place near by so we can meet the next day.

This game is a day by day progression of survival... removing hours of travel since it inconviences you is against the spirit of this game.

[zackb101 0]

I think that DayZ should have a buddy system in place. Firstly' date=' before I start, I know that DayZ is supposed to be fairly persistent and that if a buddy system were created it would have to be balanced and carefully thought through. The reason I have the idea for a buddy system is because it can be extremely difficult and time consuming to find your friends when you join in the server, almost to an unreasonable extent. Some people don't have the time to spend running across the map to simply find each other and start playing.

The buddy system should allow a group of friends (possibly linked via Steam friends), to spawn on each other, or at the very least spawn in the same city/village. This should be the only feature of the buddy system, there's no reason to add more features and adding any more could cause unfair disadvantages.

The buddy system would need to have rigorous limitations to prevent and deter any abuse. Some examples may be;

-A time limit, only allow buddy spawning per X amount of seconds.

-Weapon limitations, every time you spawn on a buddy you could either have your weapons removed, temporarily disabled, or another limitation.

-Health limitations, for a limited amount of time your health could be lowered to prevent teleporting in a gun fight.

-Proximity and fighting limitations, disabling spawning on a buddy while they are within close proximity of another player (or bandits), or while they are in a direct gunfight.

-Any other limitations that would suit the buddy system.

I think that if implemented correctly, the buddy system could be a very valuable addition to DayZ.

[/quote']

God no. The purpose of this game is survival over a prolonged time and when you start incorporating BF like squad spawning mechanics to make death less and less of an inconvenience... well then you are missing the point of this mod.

I've played always with the long term in mind. Days in advance. Can't meet with person X in three hours? and I have log off? Then I tell him where I logged off and he can make it there or try to make it to another place near by so we can meet the next day.

This game is a day by day progression of survival... removing hours of travel since it inconviences you is against the spirit of this game.

It doesn't have to be a Battlefield type spawning system. If you'd read the post I made before yours, you can see that the elements and mechanics of the system have changed with community feedback. It's good you're finding things to dislike, and everyone is taking that feedback into account. The buddy system is evolving with the communities needs, which is the way it should be.

[James (DayZ) 1]

Since I’ve located my main partner in the game' date=' I've not died once. It sounds like you just need to be more careful if you've actually died WITH A FRIEND this many times. There's no reason you should be being forced to repeat this process anywhere near as many times as you suggest if you're actually careful and observant.

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I exclusively play the game with friends. It helps ensure survival. In your case it appears to have the opposite effect. You're just repeating and repeating that you apparently die all the time in the game. I just can't understand why, if you even take the slightest amount of care.

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For who? Apparently for the people dying every half an hour. What about rewarding the players who are careful and excellent at surviving?

[/quote']

I feel as though you misunderstand me. To tell you the truth, I think there has been quite a bit of miscommunication between the two of us for the last few posts, and we seemed to have strayed off topic more than once.

Believe it or not, I am the opposite of a careless player. There will be hours on end where I will not be involved in any sort of conflict because I am so careful. To say that I want this system because I die often is completely false, and a fact you seemed to pull out of thin air. I understand if you think that is what I meant through the wording of my posts, but I will tell you that is far from it, for me personally.

So my question is "why does it need to appeal to a wider audience than the audience to which it is already appealing."

My reply to this question is' date=' why not? Is there any harm in appealing to a wider audience so long as the game remains fun?

There is no implementing it properly. If some player both finds it difficult and tedious to locate someone within a few KM of themselves on a map, and finds it difficult to stay alive once they do find that person, they must be very new to the game or very careless.

This statement here is an opinion. By the way you word it, it seems as though you are stating it as undeniable fact (I am trying not to assume though :)) I will state a few opinions of my own on this matter, and of course you are free to counter me on any you believe to be false.

First of all, I am not saying it is extremely hard for one person to find another. But you cannot deny the fact that it can be time-consuming. This can be a problem for players who don’t have too much time to play each day, but perhaps those are not the kind of people who should be playing the game? I can’t say anything for sure, but it is something to think about.

Second, what you seem to think, as I’ve read throughout your posts, is that the system suggested by the thread creator is one in which you can spawn on a friend at any time (noted in posts talking of spawning “up north”). I don’t believe this is what zack was referring to, nor I. What we are talking of here is a severely limited spawning system, one in which spawning in the ridiculous (I say ridiculous because I agree with you; it would be completely wrong to the way the game is meant to be played if you could) ways you have mentioned is restricted/impossible.

Third (truthfully relating to my second point quite a bit), is that you must have seen the “compromises” or changes people have suggested to make this system work. Are you saying you disagree with every single one of these suggestions; that with none of them this system could be implemented properly? I would like to know what you think regarding that.

I will never' date=' ever take this kind of debate as something personal. Neither of us know anything about each other beyond our first names, It's un-nerving that this even has to be said on this forum.

[/quote']

Please know that the only reason I posted that was not to insinuate that you were the type of person that would take this personal, as I don’t know you just as much as you don’t know me. I’ve just been involved in debates before where the other has taken what I have said to heart, and has “flamed” me for it, degenerating the conversation on his end into something less… civil, for lack of a better term. I’m glad to know that you are not someone like this; rather one I can hold a conversation with without emotions getting involved. :D

Nevertheless, I think this debate is coming to a close. We have each spoken our minds and it’s up to the people to decide, possibly with our opinions included, on what would be the best course of action for Day-Z.

[nicowaves 24]

I think it should work like this:

On your initial spawn you tag one or two of your friends in the player list to spawn together with you. After that, you have to walk everywhere. If one of your friends dies, he spawns again and can again "teleport" to you. But everytime you want to spawn by your friend you have to die first.

I personally don't like it to walk half an hour to find even one of my friends at all. Some of the other players sad, this would go along with the mods mechanics, but I find it just damn boring and unnecessary.

[James (DayZ) 1]

I think it should work like this:

On your initial spawn you tag one or two of your friends in the player list to spawn together with you. After that' date=' you have to walk everywhere. If one of your friends dies, he spawns again and can again "teleport" to you. But everytime you want to spawn by your friend you have to die first.

[/quote']

While I think this could be a pretty good idea, I disagree with being able to teleport back to friends after death. I think it may make the game much too simple in this area. I think you should only be allowed to teleport to a friend that has just spawned in, not long after you have spawned in. This would keep the difficulty of the game itself in terms of navigation while allowing a good start with your friends. Glad you support the general idea :)

[thegarcia 12]

I say a absolute no-go. This takes away from the survival aspect.

[275RR 1]

There is thousands of games across all genres that try to make things easier for the player. For the FPS genre, they have mini maps, infinite ammo, automatic health regen, friend spawn, "everything-you-need-to-know" HUDs, etc, etc. IMO this reduces these games to nothing more than point and click with pretty GFX. Really, most of the entertainment industry is moving this way. This is one of the few that is different.

One of the main points of this is game is that you don't get any of this help. I love it. You have to work for it. I don't think there is much to say. You're not accepting one of the most basic design principles in the game. Having to tediously run to your friend after every painfully death IS the game.

+1000 Against this idea.

Btw, I usually play with friends.

[Chapmaniac 0]

We really need this. Me and four friends recently bought the game, and being as ignorant we are, we assumed having TS and a "strong" friendship would be a pro. As it turns out, however, we have to spend half our playtime finding eachother on the map. We are currently 5 people, and after a few days of surprising deaths that resulted in another walkaton, we split up, and chose to play for ourselves. The game suddenly became a lot more boring, and we wish we had some incentive to actually group up. This system would solve that.

[hazdude222 0]

I think the whole "start on the beach" thing should be scrapped and multiple spawnpoints could be placed around the map. As long as there were enough of these spawnpoints it would make it pretty hard to camp them. Then, you could tag a friend and spawn at the closest spawnpoint to them.

[FrIEND (DayZ) 9]

Buddy Spawning system or Tracking system would be sweet

spawn system would need some limitations tough.. so it wont get exploited

[James (DayZ) 1]

We really need this. Me and four friends recently bought the game' date=' and being as ignorant we are, we assumed having TS and a "strong" friendship would be a pro. As it turns out, however, we have to spend half our playtime finding eachother on the map. We are currently 5 people, and after a few days of surprising deaths that resulted in another walkaton, we split up, and chose to play for ourselves. The game suddenly became a lot more boring, and we wish we had some incentive to actually group up. This system would solve that.

[/quote']

Completely agree with you :D

[Bluethunder 1]

I don't like the idea of this so called "buddy system" at all. This mod needs to be ultra realistic in all ways.

If a zombie apocalypse would happen right now, in the REAL WORLD, then it probably won't happen that I call a friend of mine and he would be teleported through the phone do you think??

These kind of "Buddy system" ideas will ruin the game if they were to be implemented.

Don't get me wrong, I like playing with my friends, but it just gives me a thrill that I first need to look for them.

[Chapmaniac 0]

The idea suggested by the OP is completely unrealistic, I know. As I mentioned, I really want to play with friends, and what I agree with the most is the fact that the spawn system is incredibly flawed. It is often faster to kill yourself in order to respawn somewhere else than it is running to a friend. A better solution would be to add a group function, and the ability to spawn X meters away from each other. Not only would this make the spawns better, as you could also spawn inland, but it would add more incentive to group up. Depending on the range between the spawns (the X), it is also not too exploitable, and is easily managed by adjusting the X.

[harryzhe 28]

aside from navigation being a thing you need to learn though, new players being able to spawn anywhere would change the entire dynamic of the game. Imagine if makarov'n'beans guys could spawn as far inland as they like? The progression from south to north would no longer be a thing.

If this HAS to happen it should either be available to spawn only on fresh new survivors with their permission, or a way to pick which town on the coast you wanna spawn at.

Either way, I've located people in this game several times now. It's never taken more than an hour. If that's too long for you then idk if dayZ is the game for you.

[Martel 0]

I like the idea of having the right limitations to spawning next to others.

[Jugg 33]

Having to spend time finding your friends is what makes your life valuable. THIS IS NOT COD ETC ETC ETC. Finding your friends is part of the EXPERIENCE. Part of the ADVENTURE. Part of your STORY. You are in the wrong game if you don't understand why these things are important to maintain.

I've had to find my friend at least 3 times now. Each time involved finding town signs/land marks, describing the location of the moon to determine which coasts we were on, avoiding towns known to be hot spots, going to far inland and running past each other, freaking out because someone lit flares so we knew there was potential hostiles between us. Each time was an experience that summarised this game not just an inconvenience that prevent us 'playing together' .. we already were playing together.

[Disgraced 1123]

I've had to find my friend at least 3 times now. Each time involved finding town signs/land marks' date=' describing the location of the moon to determine which coasts we were on, avoiding towns known to be hot spots, going to far inland and running past each other, freaking out because someone lit flares so we knew there was potential hostiles between us. Each time was an experience that summarised this game not just an inconvenience that prevent us 'playing together' .. we already were playing together.

[/quote']

this. We're on Skype, working it out. I bled out today, and she got what gear she could. We oriented and started trekking toward each other. I repeatedly warned her that following the power lines was ok, but watch out for the power station because it's such a hotspot.

At one point, she was having to navigate through some pretty infested areas and we were whispering on skype. It was fun and tense, and we just kept talking and a runninng commentary between us.

I realized the same thing. In moving to get together, we WERE playing together....

[O'Malley 3]

Fresh, completely new players spawning together in the south I'm fine with. So, if your friends character is less than twenty minutes old, you can spawn (as a fresh character) besides him (or vice versa). This only works once per character. Now friends can start playing together, but it won't be exploitable.

More acceptable would be for the game to spawn friends near each other, within a few kilometers of one another. Not right beside each other.

Co-ordinating to reach one another via chat or other means already gets rid of much of the challenge, and turns it into more a grind if you happen to spawn on opposite sides of the map.

This feature isn't very high on my 'want' list, and I would shed no tears if it were never implemented. But if it had these limitations I think it could be alright.