Pen and paper

[DreamDragon 24]

So the idea is basically very easy to read from the title: that it would be added immersion to the game if you could find papers and pens, even books, to write on. There should also be ways of putting up notes on virtually anything or just dropping it on the ground. Being able to leave notes behind for other players to read if they choose to. Pens should take up a tool slot - not a slot in the main inventory.

Papers should of course degrade over time, making it exceedingly difficult to read the text because of missing letters or entire pieces missing of the paper or book. I can't really say what kind of timer there should be before the first stages of degradation should appear but there should be perhaps five different stages.

Stage 1. Letters starting to fade or the quality of the paper is starting to decline and one can see small holes at random places or just some grime.

Stage 2. A few letters are missing or a small piece of the paper, or book, is missing or perhaps there's is so much grime that covers some part of the message.

Stage 3. More then just letters are missing but instead entire sentences are missing, either because of the grime or because large pieces are missing of the paper.

Stage 4. Now only a third or so of the original letters are still interpretable either from missing parts of the paper or grime.

Stage 5. Now only a bare minimum of letters can be read. About now the paper will quickly dissolve and disappear after appropriate time.

What the timer between all of these stages should be isn't really something I can give a good suggestion on. But the total time a posted or dropped letter should exist in the gaming world could be for a couple of hours at least to give players the possibility to find them. Letters only should degrade when they're being posted or dropped and as quickly they're picket up they stop to degrade.

Edited July 17, 2012 by DreamDragon

[thederekkk 1]

Kind of like the idea +1

[Doctor_sloth 119]

I can see it now: A piece of paper pinned to a tree. I walk over to it to check it out. It says something along the lines of, "Glad you took the time to read this note, now if you'll just stay still for a few more seconds....." and BLAM! My head leaves my shoulders. I like it ;)

[Deviant (DayZ) 43]

Shorten your poll answers to relevant. Yes or no is simple enough. TBH Poll isn't really required.

And I don't see this being really helpful, to be honest. How will this add to the game? Your suggestion is also poorly written. You spent most of your body on how the notes will degrade.

It would be cool to have journals and such, so you can read what people might have wrote, but 9 times out of 10 it will either say nothing, or "FUCK YOU FOR KILLING ME"

[TheTigger 34]

I would love to have notes or stuff to write on and set traps up for people B)

[thedog88 180]

it would be a cool aspect to the game. nothing game changing honestly but it could be a cool tool. some people would really get into it and actually write up stories. if they are really going to make it possible for players to interact with their ingame characters on the forums then it would be nice to be able to "send to forum" any notes written and compile an actual story on the forums written through the game ;) but i could see a lot of abuse of this. maybe not make it a thread on the forum but a added feat to forum profiles. clicking a person then going to notes and it shows most recent ones? by player choice of course.

[ZombieGrin 3]

I see racist and inappropriate stuff being written more than serious things. Kind of like kids drawing giant Map Marker penises and Swastikas on the map...

[DreamDragon 24]

Shorten your poll answers to relevant. Yes or no is simple enough. TBH Poll isn't really required.

And I don't see this being really helpful, to be honest. How will this add to the game? Your suggestion is also poorly written. You spent most of your body on how the notes will degrade.

It would be cool to have journals and such, so you can read what people might have wrote, but 9 times out of 10 it will either say nothing, or "FUCK YOU FOR KILLING ME"

sure some childish players will write inappropriate language but still peoples shout inappropriate things over the mic, so the difference is, what that more might encounter bad language? Yes, my suggestion is somewhat poorly written due to the lack of time actually constructing it but also there isn't much to say then "I believe that one should be able to write and pin notes in the game", so please add your own suggestion to this suggestion if you find that something is missing.

So I'm going to work now, working the afternoon shift. But I'll return and update this suggestion and add a thorough analysis with test samples, control groups and a PhD thesis about this oh so complex subject. ;)

[crimsom 2]

excellent idea notes only stay untill person has left the server.

[n4ndoz 20]

FUUUUUUUU

Had the same idea and nothing came up on the search. May have searched for the wrong terms.

This idea is wonderful, I would really like to see it on the game.

DreamDragon, please, consider merging the two posts into one. I've got some nice ideas for this system that will fit nicely to this thread.

(http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/35501-journalsnotes-writing-pages-and-leaving-through-the-map/#entry338444)

p.s.: did not copied you idea, just did not found it before posting. sorry =)

[elLoCo 154]

Hey there,

notes pinned on walls, trees etc. would be a great idea immersing the experience!

Imagine something like this: "beware traps/bandits in the area"

It doesn't matter whether there is written bullshit or real helpful hints on it, it should just take time to write messages if you are really trying to do so it's your own risk.

Degration of the note would be nice, too.

You should also be able to destroy the notes if you like to.

Kudos for the developers first time in a real long time a game gave me such an adrenaline and endorphine rush!

[DreamDragon 24]

FUUUUUUUU

Had the same idea and nothing came up on the search. May have searched for the wrong terms.

This idea is wonderful, I would really like to see it on the game.

DreamDragon, please, consider merging the two posts into one. I've got some nice ideas for this system that will fit nicely to this thread.

(http://dayzmod.com/f...ap/#entry338444)

p.s.: did not copied you idea, just did not found it before posting. sorry =)

Sure mate. I rather post under your tread and see what I can contribute with. Actually I have a system thought out but since I had so little time when I wrote this I missed like four or five systems added to the suggestion - it really was so bad that I got somewhat nervous that I would trash my suggestion entirely.

[baz (DayZ) 19]

I had a similar idea a few weeks ago.... it'd be fun to leave behind a note in your pocket for whoever killed you (or anyone that loots your body). Maybe with your stats on it (so they know if you were a murderer, or survivalist, how long you were alive, etc... plus a personalized message. But having sticky notes to post places would be cool too.

[DreamDragon 24]

I had a similar idea a few weeks ago.... it'd be fun to leave behind a note in your pocket for whoever killed you (or anyone that loots your body). Maybe with your stats on it (so they know if you were a murderer, or survivalist, how long you were alive, etc... plus a personalized message. But having sticky notes to post places would be cool too.

I don't know if leaving behind a paper with hard stats are a good idea more then one should be able to write it down how many they've killed etc. Perhaps this was what you meant?

[adamtheheretic 106]

I see racist and inappropriate stuff being written more than serious things. Kind of like kids drawing giant Map Marker penises and Swastikas on the map...

Same, but I don't think (Edit: In-Game) censorship is right. I think that there should be a way to report a piece of paper and this would instantly be able to be read by the devs. The person who left the piece of paper would be known through means of logging so the development team could judge and ban/warn people. I don't think just swearing should get you banned nor should insulting someone unless it is racist or sexual slurring. The lines are blurred in my opinion... but I think deciding what is and isn't acceptable should be made on a case-by-case basis and that's why I suggested the report/dev team idea because it would stop people from leaving silly notes altogether.

Edited July 17, 2012 by FishIsTwonk

[dennisho1234 2]

2 out of 11 people are bandits in this post ;)

[Worrun (DayZ) 108]

Great idea but don't have it degrade.

It's as if you just found out that paper degrades and you want to experience it?

If you leave a book on a shelf for 1 entire year undisturbed it will still be 99% readable.

If you leave a piece of paper on a table for the same circumstance it would turn out the same, gather a little dust but still be completely readable.

[DreamDragon 24]

I took this from http://dayzmod.com/f...hrough-the-map/

I will try to construct my suggestion like this: 1). 2). 3)... from the top down so you know what I'm replying to.

1). Yes, right click and choose write but also one should be able to edit and remove/destroy the paper also. Perhaps having the option to even burn the note should be available as a mean to really be sure that the note is destroyed.

2). A limit is good how many characters one is able to scribble down, 200 seems to be a legit limit; of course this is based on nothing but pure opinion. Also there should be a language filter added so when you read or write it changes the unwanted words to something else or scribbles them over. The filter should be optional and players should be able to add words and sentences that they themselves do not wish to read. The server itself should have a optional language filter that's really basic, it's only the optional individual filter that's constructed by the player itself that's somewhat advanced.

4). Perhaps to make a real hassle out of it one should need to have nails and hammer or duck tape perhaps. Do not how annoying this would really be but if we wish to strive for authenticity this should be added, or well perhaps added - I can't really make up my mind about it.

5). Absolutely a good idea but there should also be the option to alter the message by scribbling over words or, if you have an eraser, just replace them entirely.

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Okey, so this was the part where I replied to your suggestion. Now I wish to add a little extra suggestion of my own here in this vain hope that I might add something of value.

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Okey, so the basic mechanics is in place - how can we flesh it out a little?

Pens.

If there's one thing one usually knows about pens are that there's many qualities of pens, how they operate and looks like. Under this section I wish to give a brief example of what I had in mind.

Qualities of pens: In the game there should be a array of qualities attached to the pens and it should show up through things like thickness and visibility of the letters written on the papers, also how strong the letters are against deterioration. Also how long the pens last and how many reuses it can withstand, if the pen are a fountain-pen with poor quality it might only be able to withstand two or three refills perhaps.

Types of pens: Pens varies in real life and therefore pens should too in DayZ. So in short one should be able to find these pens, I will write them down, and experience their different pros and cons. This mean that one should be able to these kind of pens with variations within each group:

Lead pencil/Soft pencil

Ink pen

Felt pen

Propelling pen

Marker pen

Ballpoint pen

Fountain pen

Quill

Nib

Aniline pen

Chalk

Brush

Light pen

etc.

Papers.

Of course papers and their qualities, different uses and textures are important and should perhaps also be represented in DayZ. But perhaps this, as with the pens, overdoing this beyond what's reasonable. Anyhow I will continue and give you a example how one could flesh out the papers too in this system.

Qualities of papers: in real life one will find different kind of papers with different uses, like the common A4-paper often used for printing in offices or why not the F-series that's used often for artistic reasons, its ratio is the golden section. But in DayZ it should be a little different and instead focus more on the actually ability to withstand deterioration and how good pens can mark the paper. So, basically, a type 1 quality paper should be of the lowest quality and not being able to persist for long when posted - neither should it be able to 'hold' letters that well and therefore one would see many letters being smudgy/blurry. Further it shouldn't be able to withstand many uses before it really is unusable and, what's in it, unreadable.

Types of papers: just like the suggestion about types of pens. I shouldn't need to describe it more then this but seeing that it's bad manners not doing so and very unprofessional I will anyway. So the different papers one should be able to find in the game should be all of the different formats like:

A-series

B-series

C-series

D-series

E-series

F-series

G-series

To further flesh out the system one might want to be able to store papers and pens in a more practical manner then having to carry every item individually. I then would suggest items that acts like containers for these kind of tools, containers like file folders, pencil cases and arcula for holding ink. Also one should be able to create books by papers found, how the quality of the books should be decided might be through what kind of quality of the papers being used is the most common one. Meaning: if one use ten quality five paper but five quality three papers then the book should be of quality four. I don't know but this is just an suggestion and random rantings how it might be nothing more.

Well. This will do for now.

Take care.

[vukster@gmail.com 75]

paper would take years to degrade on it's own BUT, what if you made it degade based on actions? if you are hit by Z they can tear it, other players can shoot you and you can bleed on it making it harder to read. If you roll on the ground or go prone it crumples it or addes stains, if it rains for a long time and you're out in the woods the ink smears and the paper can tear.

[DreamDragon 24]

That's a wonderful idea, the thing is I just don't know how this would effect the performance of the servers and such. But other then that I really love it.

[mgoolong 0]

very nice idea to give players the possibility to create content on a very easy way. it would be nice if you can write next to notes like a daybook what can be found with deaths. for bandits it could be a trophey. for survivors a way to leave messages to the world. for example how they could survive. it is also a way to communicate or to create real player quest like "i need beans, please bring to nw airfield at 09:00". nice idea.

of course it disappear after stages.

[mrducky (DayZ) 33]

Like the pen and paper idea.

Currently, there is no way to properly communicate with random people. The radios suggested would help immediate communication, but anything else (since players cannot be playing this 24h a day) would still be lacking. This kind of thing would help with that.

It would be nice if you could write a note next to your tent saying "If you find this, take what you need, and please leave something in return if you can". And then perhaps the people who find the tent would not feel the need to level it down with a grenade (since it's current the only way to "communicate" and troll the tent owner). Instead, they would perhaps just grab some stuff from the tent and then leave a note "thanks for beans and the AKM, left some empty tin cans in return. lol." ... Now that would be some progress in level of interaction and trolling in the game. :D

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

I can already see myself sitting on a hill overlooking a town, writing something epic into my journal... and BOOM! I get shot in the back because I didn't pay attention to my surroundings. ;)

Edited July 18, 2012 by James Ashwood

[DreamDragon 24]

I can already see myself sitting on a hill overlooking a town, writing something epic into my journal... and BOOM! I get shot in the back because I didn't pay attention to my surroundings. ;)

Well... what should I say? Tough to be concentrating on the paper? :)

But yes, I see myself being killed several times because of me writing something random down on a tarnished piece of paper. On the other hand I guess one would learn sooner or later to not write random musings down when near a populated area or out in the open. XD

[DreamDragon 24]

*cough* UP!! *runs away in shame* :blush: