Improvised items - Medieval(ish) cuirass

[YourStepDad 6]

I, as many of us have, have wondered about "what if" scenarios for a zombie apocalypse. Having a museum with a lot of well preserved armors close to where I live, a funny thing sprung to mind.

What if in the event of a zombie apocalypse I had looted one of those body armors?

Think about it. Say I looted a full suit of plate with a closed helmet. It would slow me down a bit, impair my vision and my breathing, but more importantly, exhaust me as I travel, not to mention moving would make a lot of noise. But you'd be like a tank. What could gnawing, bite attempts and kicking do to a full armored man? Even if a group of infencted ganged up on you, pushed you down and bashed you continuously, it would take hours for you to die from blunt trauma.

In short - unpractical

But, why wouldn't I loot a medieval/renaissance/pike & shotte cuirass?

They are a common sight in museums and reenactment shops, and would offer you excellent protection from melee attacks where it matters the most. They would not really slow you down, and I doubt they would make any noise when worn.(at least the variant shown) So why does not the movie/game industry use this concept? Improvisations is always original.

I think I've worked out the idea for it's implementation pretty well, and that it would work well in contrast to the modern military body armor that has been suggested so much. Of course, as Day Z currently does not have a real apparel system or museums for that matter, it's something that might work when it is standalone.

How I imagined it working in game:

It would be an extremely rare find, available only in a museum with a days/week long respawn time(though I feel this could be exploited with the current cross-server feature) and at some cultural landmarks. I am hoping such places will be better guarded with zombies when Day Z becomes standalone.

It would give you 50% reduction against zombie attacks, and 30% against say...a hatchet,(the percentage would vary depending on the weapon and the locational damage, sadly i doubt we'll ever see the latter, even when Arma becomes standalone.)

It would give little to no protection from bullets, in contrast to the mentioned modern military body armors that work the other way around.

I'd really like to know what everyone thinks :)

Edited July 13, 2012 by YourStepDad

[Riis 22]

Think about it. Say I looted a full suit of plate with a closed helmet. It would slow me down a bit, impair my vision and my breathing, but more importantly, exhaust me as I travel, not to mention moving would make a lot of noise. But you'd be like a tank. What could gnawing, bite attempts and kicking do to a full armored man? Even if a group of infencted ganged up on you, pushed you down and bashed you to death, it would take hours for you to die from blunt trauma.

You'd be tripped over in about 2 seconds, then beaten to a pulp because you can't get back up..

[petward 6]

Only if I can wear this.

In all seriousness it feels out of place to me in a realistic zombie apocalypse game. However it would feel right at home in Dead Rising :). The armor itself would most likely be loud and heavy making you a huge fucking target for a certain infected sentient being.

[YourStepDad 6]

I know, I thought zombies ganging up on you implied that, though I should have pointed it out.

As I said, that would be impractical. I have realized that mentioning full body armor is actually rather pointless, as the whole idea revolves around a cuirass. Still, it is food for thought I guess.

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

How is that little piece of armour supposed to help against a zombie? Not sure if you've ever seen a zombie movie, but the first thing that gets attacked/bitten are all the limbs and not the torso.

[YourStepDad 6]

How is that little piece of armour supposed to help against a zombie? Not sure if you've ever seen a zombie movie, but the first thing that gets attacked/bitten are all the limbs and not the torso.

Good point. Still, similar thing would apply if you had taken only leg armor. More noise, same effect.

I guess I had pictured what we have in Day Z at the moment - zombies clawing you :D

[YourStepDad 6]

Only if I can wear this.

In all seriousness it feels out of place to me in a realistic zombie apocalypse game. However it would feel right at home in Dead Rising :). The armor itself would most likely be loud and heavy making you a huge fucking target for a certain infected sentient being.

This was in fact about the cuirass, and hell, even full suits of plate were quite light. ranging from 20 - 60 kilos at most. Doubt the weight of a cuirass would be notable, and it would not make any sound either, provided all you have below are clothes.

I don't think it is an unrealistic scenario at all. Let's say Day Z rules apply to real life, I woke up alone, realizing there are zombies outside. First thing I'd do after taking a pipe or something would be to sneak to the museum and put some armor on. Loads of it there, in good condition too.

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

This was in fact about the cuirass, and hell, even full suits of plate were quite light. ranging from 20 - 60 kilos at most. Doubt the weight of a cuirass would be notable, and it would not make any sound either, provided all you have below are clothes.

lol, 20-60 kilos at most? You think that's not a lot to carry? You should try wearing that over a long period of time. Add to that another 30kg of supplies in a backpack and you'll be dead on the floor crying how you can't go on after 30min of walking. Unless of course you're some kind of super athlete or super solider.

[YourStepDad 6]

I know, I have listed that as one of the reasons why it's unpractical.

As I said, the full plate thingie was food for thought, the actual idea is a cuirass. But you are definitely right about zombies biting limbs the most.

[enforcer1975 1111]

Yes because in the 21st century this type of armor is so common you should be able to find it in every house.. What would be more realistic is something like football gear to get some melee protection but we are not in Chernamerica.

[YourStepDad 6]

I have kind of emphasized how uncommon it should be. I was even specific.

But yeah, I have thought of football armor as well.

Edited July 13, 2012 by YourStepDad

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

Yes because in the 21st century this type of armor is so common you should be able to find it in every house.. What would be more realistic is something like football gear to get some melee protection but we are not in Chernamerica.

+1

Something like that would be far better.

[Ramtex 1]

Body armor?

Seriously?

*facepalm*

People stopped making armor because of guns, and what use is protection against infected in your protection slows you down! May as well go prone when a zed sees you. Get it over with faster. They can already outrun you...

[kovalhuk 19]

I want to find battle-axes in castles.

[Ramtex 1]

I want to find battle-axes in castles.

By the time you reach either Rog, Zub or Devil's, one would hope you already have a gun.

[YourStepDad 6]

I want to find battle-axes in castles.

Please have the decency to at least read everything that I have addressed and try to be less biased next time.

At least 3 post on this thread questioned something that I have already covered. Yours is one of them.

A cuirass does not slow you down. It could encuber you and become a burden eventually. But hey, at the moment, both the zeds and the player can run infinitely, so yeah.

[kovalhuk 19]

Please have the decency to at least read everything that I have addressed and try to be less biased next time.

At least 3 post on this thread questioned something that I have already covered. Yours is one of them.

A cuirass does not slow you down. It could encuber you and become a burden eventually. But hey, at the moment, both the zeds and the player can run infinitely, so yeah.

Chill out matey, I was serious about the ax.

Regarding the cuirass, I found a cool idea. But despite the armor does not reduce your speed it is very uncomfortable ...

[YourStepDad 6]

Damn, I was actually wanting to quote Ramtex's post about, specifically this

"People stopped making armor because of guns, and what use is protection against infected in your protection slows you down! May as well go prone when a zed sees you. Get it over with faster. They can already outrun you..."

My bad

As for the cuirass being uncomfortable, nah, I don't think so. It would however make crawling a hell of a problem.

Edited July 13, 2012 by YourStepDad

[badsn 2]

well I'd rather wear a chain mall than a cuirass

or a dog trainer's bitesuit

or a fencing suit

Edited July 13, 2012 by badsn

[enforcer1975 1111]

I'd rather not get into the situation of getting bitten at all... i want rollerskates.

[alkaline (DayZ) 1]

a compression suit, lacrosse pads, or football pads (american football) would probably work better being lighter and more flexible but still making use of plastic plates to prevent biting

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=compression+suit&hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4ASUT_enUS481US447&biw=1843&bih=858&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=J3yWvI8c2n3loM:&imgrefurl=http://dalefranks.com/cycles/index.php/2010/08/&docid=jSTZZ3CABbMgcM&imgurl=http://dalefranks.com/cycles/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/661-Vapor-Pressure-Suit-405x450.jpg&w=405&h=450&ei=Ns4AUM3eOcLu2gXKnpHICw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=164&vpy=506&dur=4215&hovh=237&hovw=213&tx=131&ty=159&sig=105538657619178529471&page=1&tbnh=117&tbnw=105&start=0&ndsp=48&ved=1t:429,r:36,s:0,i:194

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=lacrosse+pads&hl=en&sa=X&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4ASUT_enUS481US447&biw=1843&bih=858&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=XwRk7Pt-FXXU4M:&imgrefurl=http://www.leaguelineup.com/miscinfo.asp%3Fcmenuid%3D39%26menuid%3D39%26sid%3D705645905%26url%3Dwmylc&docid=B_w7wu9yS-OZrM&imgurl=http://www.leaguelineup.com/wmylc/images/boyslaxequipment.jpg&w=504&h=457&ei=Ts8AUMyVCqfI2wWCsumjCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=593&vpy=262&dur=6044&hovh=214&hovw=236&tx=118&ty=112&sig=105538657619178529471&page=1&tbnh=103&tbnw=109&start=0&ndsp=45&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:146

1st is compression 2nd is lacrosse

[OW22 21]

Improvised weapons and armor are your focus, correct? If DayZed players have to deal with sleep eventually, grabbing a pillow and using it as a silencer would be a fun adventure. As for any form of armor.... Nothing comes to mind, but maybe clothes that provide more warmth would be a bit more fun. Of course, we might have to wait until the game has a better clothing system, and that's if that would be a feature in the game. Grabbing a board or so from a pile of debris would be good too, considering it's completely useless and just an obstacle. Just have a board spawn next to one?

Edited July 14, 2012 by OW22

[YourStepDad 6]

Wouldn't call it my focus, but they are definitely something I love. In any game. They just should be fleshed out the most in post apocalyptic settings.

What you said about taking planks from debris - an excellent, excellent idea. Should be a weapon that takes a lot of hits to kill a zombie, even more than a crowbar, but breaks after after 2 - 3 zombie encounters.

[OW22 21]

On that, should stun them atleast.

[badsn 2]

grabbing a pillow and using it as a silencer would be a fun adventure.

http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/31362-shooting-filled-jerry-cans/#entry302896