Subtle signs of a bandit

[gilatar 0]

I had a chat with a friend of mine a couple of days ago. He got angry when he found out that there used to be bandit skins, and he became frustrated with not being able to identify bandits at first sight. So, I told him that the creator of this mod didn't like that feature at all. As we continued to talk he (and myself) started thinking of ways that a player could identify bandits. You know, subtle signs, not anything that would make you run (or shoot) at first sight.

The suggestion: Whenever a survivor shoots a player, his heartbeat will rise to the point where a player who looks at the survivor or is very near him can hear it. If that player decided to loot the person he just shot, there will be small bloodstains on his hands/body.

Why is this a good idea? First of all, if done correctly, it would be a subtle sign. Secondly, survivors would have the chance (but not advantage of) to identify bandits when close to them. This would also work well to identify snipers who shoots survivors for fun, and not for loot. In regard to "innocent" people shooting in self-defence, I think it only would add an interesting aspect to the game. It adds tension and fear knowing that the person you've been walking along with for the past 30 minutes may have killed a man in cold blood.

(I'd like to add that I personally don't have anything against the removal of bandit skins, but I think this may be a nice addition to the mod)

Edited July 15, 2012 by Gilatar

[joe.gaming890@hotmail.co.uk 1]

Good idea!

[Chevyrulzs2010 6]

Only one problem. What if they are shot in self defense? I for one am not a bandit in any way. Infact I go out of the way to help others, however I do serve myself first. So if I approach you and you act threatening to me or my group I will shoot. If I kill someone in self defense, I should not be seen as a bandit. Also if I shot someone in self defense, again because I was threatened why would I leave their weapons which I need laying there for them to come back and retrieve. Thus I will loot them. By your suggestion this makes me a bandit although it was in self defense. Now I do not disagree that after killing someone a players heartbeat should be elevated. This is good for all kills of other players as it simulates the physical and emotional stress on the body after a traumatic situation. However if someone this should slowly decrease over a period of 30 minutes or so.

The question I return to you is how do you identify a bandit (one who kills soley for profit) from a survivor who kills in self defense?

[gilatar 0]

Only one problem. What if they are shot in self defense? I for one am not a bandit in any way. Infact I go out of the way to help others, however I do serve myself first. So if I approach you and you act threatening to me or my group I will shoot. If I kill someone in self defense, I should not be seen as a bandit. Also if I shot someone in self defense, again because I was threatened why would I leave their weapons which I need laying there for them to come back and retrieve. Thus I will loot them. By your suggestion this makes me a bandit although it was in self defense. Now I do not disagree that after killing someone a players heartbeat should be elevated. This is good for all kills of other players as it simulates the physical and emotional stress on the body after a traumatic situation. However if someone this should slowly decrease over a period of 30 minutes or so.

The question I return to you is how do you identify a bandit (one who kills soley for profit) from a survivor who kills in self defense?

I agree with your idea of the increased heartbeat disappearing after 30 minutes, that's a good idea.

Now, to answer your question: You don't. That's a part of the suggestion. I should probably make it clearer, but the only thing you get to know when you see a player with bloodstains is that he has recently looted/killed a player. There is no real way of finding out if he's a bandit or not.

I think this would add a bit of tension and fear to players, knowing that this person has recently looted another player, but they have no idea if it was for profit or just in self-defence.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Gilatar

[L0G!N (DayZ) 149]

The more i think about this the more I think Rocket should implement a couple of features, that become active or 'disappear' depending on difficulty settings...

Recruit: - anyone that kills any player is directly marked as a killer, and this white dot that appears for zombies in this recruitmode is changed to a red dot for this player with a considderable range and time, kill more than X times, and you get stuck with this red dot. Any other players have a green dot when close. The blood idea here can also be implemented...

Regular: - Anyone that kills other players more than X times becomes a red dot, for a considderable range and time, unaccurate location and perhaps even flashing in and out. The blood could also be used here.

Veteran: - Anyone that kills another player gets blood on their shirt.

Expert: - you are an expert so are bandits, good luck & Have fun !

This way both bandit and player can choose themselves in which setting they like to play. The Recruit mode is largely for new players just finding stuff out, they should be guarded. Regulars should know what to expect, but if there is a true bandit that keep killing people i think it's fair to 'point that out'. This bandit shouldn't be pointed at directly, so the red light may well only flash every now and then in some random location on your screen, it's there to warn you a tad, but you are a regular, so deal with it at your own disgression. Think you are ready for veteran play, well you may see that a player killed another player and looted them, but it may well have been in selfdefense, you are likely not alone, so risk assesment is part of your play... Expert, well so are the others, you get no clue at all, gl & hf !

Edited July 12, 2012 by L0GIN

[Chevyrulzs2010 6]

I like the idea of the lights that arma 2 uses in single player, however in my idea (look out for a long post with a few different things in it) these would be used in a friend system, where the player could tag others as Friend, Neutral, or Foe, using the Green, White, and Red dots respectively. These would appear when a player is with in 100 meters to allow for quick recognition of players that they have had contact with in the past. To tag them, they must be with in 25m(or the distance of direct comm). The logic behind this being that in real life you would recognize someone you know from a fair distance away, and in arma on veteran servers you can not see a player name thus it is hard to tell if its friend, foe, or unknown. The logic of 25m(or direct comm distance) to tag them basically forces a contact between the two players. These dots would only appear for the player who tagged them.

I also see the con of this idea that shows any player you have marked that is with in 100m with out you actually seeing them ingame (IE a sniper you walk by)

[WhiteTigerShiro 25]

I love how all the PvP whiners think that you have to gut and butcher a person to pull a can of baked beans from his backpack.

[tomany 7]

Blood on hands? +1, but make it more visible, you have to crouch to access the bodies anyway, so why not get it on the pants as well? BUT this would have to be for both Zeds and Players, if you loot a zed, you would still get blood on you.

[zipper 69]

I had a chat with a friend of mine a couple of days ago. He got angry when he found out that there used to be bandit skins, and he became frustrated with not being able to identify bandits at first sight. So, I told him that the creator of this mod didn't like that feature at all. As we continued to talk he (and myself) started thinking of ways that a player could identify bandits. You know, subtle signs, not anything that would make you run (or shoot) at first sight.

The suggestion: Whenever a survivor shoots a player, his heartbeat will rise to the point where a player who looks at the survivor or is very near him can hear it. If that player decided to loot the person he just shot, there will be small bloodstains on his hands/body.

Why is this a good idea? First of all, if done correctly, it would be a subtle sign. Secondly, survivors would have the chance (but not advantage of) to identify bandits when close to them. This would also work well to identify snipers who shoots survivors for fun, and not for loot.

(I'd like to add that I personally don't have anything against the removal of bandit skins, but I think this may be a nice addition to the mod)

It doesn't identify bandits. If a bandit shoots at me and misses and I kill him, it will now look like I am a bandit. Now I am more likely to get shot on sight even if I was just defending myself.

This by the way, happens all the time.

[Baelethal 102]

1. heartbeats are already in the game.

2. Knowing your enemy from a distance doesn't help the flavor of the game. It's great not knowing who to trust. It forces you to think, weigh odds, assess risk/reward.

3. If you watch a town long enough before entering, you know who the "bandits" are, and you know who the survivors are--awareness is key. Patience is key. I don't think bloodstains will help anyone identify anything, because at this point, we all have blood on our hands in one way or another.

[Chevyrulzs2010 6]

I love how all the PvP whiners think that you have to gut and butcher a person to pull a can of baked beans from his backpack.

I love how ever time some one doesn't like an idea they fall back on the "oh this is just PvP whining" There is nothing in this topic that says anything about stopping PvP at all. All it is asking for is a way to substitute a persons intuition in real life for something more visual in game, beings that there is very very little body language to read in game.

In response to the taking away from the game by identifying bandits from far away statement. I agree it does take away from the game, that's why in my first reply I said this shouldnt be used to identify bandits as people who kill for self defense also would be victim. How ever it does add an interesting aspect to the game. You see someone covered in blood walking at you, what do you do? Did they kill someone to defend themselves? Are they a bandit? Do you shoot on site? Do you wait to see how they act around you? Do you run away? It adds an additional element to the game to make you think about your next move. If anything it adds more to the game in my opinion.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Chevyrulzs2010

[gilatar 0]

I love how ever time some one doesn't like an idea they fall back on the "oh this is just PvP whining" There is nothing in this topic that says anything about stopping PvP at all. All it is asking for is a way to substitute a persons intuition in real life for something more visual in game, beings that there is very very little body language to read in game.

In response to the taking away from the game by identifying bandits from far away statement. I agree it does take away from the game, that's why in my first reply I said this shouldnt be used to identify bandits as people who kill for self defense also would be victim. How ever it does add an interesting aspect to the game. You see someone covered in blood walking at you, what do you do? Did they kill someone to defend themselves? Are they a bandit? Do you shoot on site? Do you wait to see how they act around you? Do you run away? It adds an additional element to the game to make you think about your next move. If anything it adds more to the game in my opinion.

You nailed it. I'd love to have this implementede into the game.

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Rocket has already talked about adding blood to the hands of people that have just murdered and looted. He also suggested adding other features that slowly build up on a player that murders a lot, facial scars ect.

With regards to the blood on hands debate, I like it. It won't really help you decide friend from foe but it's a nice touch.

[gilatar 0]

Rocket has already talked about adding blood to the hands of people that have just murdered and looted. He also suggested adding other features that slowly build up on a player that murders a lot, facial scars ect.

With regards to the blood on hands debate, I like it. It won't really help you decide friend from foe but it's a nice touch.

I like the scars-idea even better. Sounds like an awesome idea.