Blood Monitors, Air Monitors, Vials & Epidemics

[twix (DayZ) 24]

I believe the debug monitor has to be removed entirely which shows the blood volume along with the green indicators on spawn. These are gradually obtained and can be toggled when acquired. Below are certain in game mechanics which I had taken from some of my other threads and combined into a single one. Feel free to comment and make suggestions.

Tool: Blood Monitors (Hospital Spawn)

• Measures Blood Volume
  
• Body Temperature
  
• Heart Rate
  
• Glucose Monitoring - For those interested in a fatigue system
  
• Pressure Variations - Blood Loss / Elevation
  

Blood Diagnosis Machine

The blood monitor can be attached to the blood diagnosis machine (found in hospitals) to give u the right prognosis and the suitable vial to obtain from the blood banks.

Blood Banks

Blood banks can be thought of as blood donation areas but are primarily used to generate antidotes/vials. The vials are used to temporarily cure your infection and prolong your chance of survival.

Tool: Air Monitor (Industrial Spawn)

The air monitor detects surrounding air and gives u a ppm (concentration) reading. The higher the ppm reading the greater the chance of catching an infection. Infection becomes quite common in areas that are frequented by players with a higher chance of catching an infection when around zombies and a much higher chance when attacked by one. Rotting corpses are also a good way of catching an infection. Canned goods are probably the best way for survivors to completely avoid a food borne infection while farm animals exposed to the elements provide only temporary relief. It's only a matter of time before you fall sick but you can definitely reduce the risk of catching a infection by taking the necessary precautions.

Vials

Vials can be thought of as temporary antidotes to prolong your survival. Vials will be consumed initially on a day to day basis for the first 7 days. Following that vials are consumed every 3 days.

Epidemics

No one stands a chance against the air borne virus that plagues the land. The only inevitable thing to do to prolong your survival is to consume these vials hoping for a new day. Initially when survivors spawn they gather the necessary resources and as a result they catch a strain of the infection. The strain of the infection is linked to how long the character has been alive and can be affected by other player deaths brought about in the form of epidemics. The severity of the air born strain can be monitored via the air monitor. Players careless enough to venture into such territory face an even more perilous journey.

Example: Day 7 Character dies in Berezino. Epidemic on a scale of 7 begins. This number is linked to radius of the epidemic from the dead player and any subsequent zombie/s caught in it passes on the epidemic with the same radius value. Zombies being alive and moving affect the air around them even further.

So how do you know if there's an epidemic?

Well for a start there's always the air monitor (provided you are carrying one) telling you the ppm levels. There is always a background ppm level which begins to rise as you progress to an epidemic area. But if you were a day 8 character you wouldn't be affected by this epidemic. Why not? You are immune to a day 7 strain. However if little Jimmy decides to shoot and loot he carries on the arduous task of surviving a day 7 strain on a day 1 body. But not all hope is lost for he must fight for his survival too.

So how does one know if there a day 7 epidemic in an area?

Let me explain, there are specific ppm ranges for every day X character. For example

Background ppm -> 20 ppm - 35 ppm

Zombie Type 1-> 70 ppm - 50ppm

Zombie Type 2-> 100 ppm - 70ppm and so on

Day 1 Character on death -> 370ppm - 340ppm (Day 1 Strain)

Day 2 Character on death -> 400 ppm - 370 ppm and so on.. (Day 2 Strain)

False positives such as if a car has driven by a certain area can trigger a rise in ppm.

So the ppm reading can be used to determine the epidemic level in a certain area but however zombies around an area can trigger an exponentially high ppm value. The trick here would be to subtract the ppm values for each zombie to determine the true epidemic level within the region.

What if there are multiple bodies with a given radius?

The epidemic level on the highest scale only holds true.

Can multiple epidemics occur?

Yes provided bodies are not within each others radius and are not buried.

Do epidemics only occur on player death?

Yes.

Would there be an epidemic if i see another player?

Only if you choose to.

So if I don't kill a player and their zombies spawn and I'm a day 1 character would i catch an infection?

The infection is inevitable, vials are the temporary cure.

Wait, So how does a day 1 character survive?

Your body already has the day 1 antigen initially. The first step is to obtain the suitable antidote by obtaining a blood monitor and hooking up to the blood diagnosis machine which donates your blood to the blood bank to generate the suitable antidote (vial). The vial guarantees a survival rate of 1 day from the time of consumption.

So coming back to the question how does one survive a day 7 strain on a day 1 body?

The antigen is the key factor to determining your survival. Initially you start off with the day 1 antigen in your body, however when the day 1 antigen is being bombarded by a day 7 strain it can't keep up with it as it hasn't had time to mutate gradually. So the solution is to find a vial on the dead person's body or head to the blood bank to find suitable day 7 donor to harvest an antigen from or harvest blood from the dead body in hopes of obtaining an antigen. The blood obtained from the dead body only lasts for 30 minutes for the antigen to be effective. The antigen obtained can then be used with the blood monitor to give u a prognosis from the blood diagnosis machine to obtain the suitable antidote. You then become a day 7 strain on a day 1 body.

So I'm a day 7 character and i spawn zombies around me and one of them manages to cut me, what happens to me?

You bleed. But that one zombie then carries the day 7 strain and if it successfully attacks say a day 1 character he gets plagued by the day 7 strain.

Wait so how do i know i have been plagued by the day 7 strain from a zombie who attacked me before i killed it?

There's no way to know from a dead zombie. However if prior to taking the shot you noticed anything out of the ordinary on the air monitor you should have recorded it and the type of zombie.

So what are other alternate ways to harvest antigen from?

Well for a start you can always rely on your buddy.

But what if you were that lone wolf what would you do?

Well you never know what level the other character is unless he's your buddy and if it were some random, chances are they may reply to you as I'm a day 1 character, since a day 7 character has a much rarer version of antigen flowing through their veins.

So how would I harvest from a possible rarer version of antigen from a random?

The trick is to keep him/her alive. You would need to knock them out first and obtain a blood sample and do whatever you please once you have it.

So what if there are dead players around hot loot spots?

Your primary concern is your survival not those loot spots. However if those loot spots hold something that is deemed truly necessary for your survival then please read on.

Example: Day 1 character wants to raid NW Airfield. Spots dead player around the barracks with a day 7 strain. Day 1 character now get infected with day 7 strain however if his buddy is outside the epidemic area he can choose to transfuse him provided the day 1 character makes it out alive within a specific time frame.

Huh, time frame?

Yes. Let me explain, the nature of the strain affects the time you have got to successfully transfuse yourself to prevent you from contracting a day 7 strain. Outside of this time frame you will then rely on vials to protect you provided you can find the dead player's corpse and make it to the blood bank on time or find a suitable donor.

So what time frame do I have?

Day 1 strain - Everyone starts with a day 1 strain

Day 2 strain - 20 min

Day 3 strain - 19 min

Day 4 strain - 18 min and so on....

So what if I don't make it out of the given time frame?

Well you contract the particular strain provided you're not immune to it.

Then what?

Then you will either have to harvest blood samples from the player corpse to successfully obtain an antigen within 30 minutes or find a suitable day 7 donor. Also blood samples obtained from dead players have a greater chance of returning a false reading when harvesting the antigen.

Huh?

Let me explain, a day 7 strain has a higher chance of reading a negative antigen reading over say a day 2 strain.

Umm, So what do I do to successfully harvest the antigen from the corpse of a day 7 character?

You will need to harvest more blood samples from the corpse to provide you a positive outcome.

So how do I increase my chance of survival say if got a blood sample from a dead person?

Then you would need one of these [Item: Cool Rack] to buy you more time.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Yes, since the amount of the sample necessary for a successful antigen harvest is crucial, transport of these samples should follow strict principles.

Say what?

Say if you get mobbed by zombies or you get fatigued or you run and prone immediately or you travel on an off road path in a vehicle chances are some of your sample may leak out.

Okay sounds easy, what if I am not able to harvest the antigen successfully on time and i run out of samples if i discover the body has been buried on my 2nd trip?

You will have 4 hours to survive after you have contracted a strain from a dead player's corpse. If you run out of samples you will need to find a suitable donor. Also i forgot to mention another thing..

What's that?

The nature of the strain also affects the time frame of your survival.

How's that work?

Let me explain,

Total Survival time - 4 hours (240 minutes)

Day 1 strain - No effect

Day 2 strain - 3hrs 58 min (238 minutes reduced by 2 minutes and so on)

Hey what about me?

Who are you?

The guy who died at the barracks, how can I find that scumbag?

Well if it was someone who was immune to the strain chances are you might not be able to find him. But if it was little Jimmy...

What bout's little Jimmy where can I find that little f**ker?

Well you have the choice to hunt him down provided he has your blood sample or he has successfully harvested the antigen and consumed the vial. Chances are if you know roughly where your body was you can go hunting on a blood trail provided you are equipped well enough.

What if the f**ker didn't need my blood after all only to be transfused?

I guess you have run out of options my friend but you can always know if someone's harvested blood from your corpse but that doesn't necessarily mean that person was your killer.

How do I check who's got my blood?

Initially when you hook up the blood monitor to the blood diagnosis machine it will show you a list of false positives linked to your blood type regardless of whether you carry a day 1 strain or not.

So these false positives are potential targets?

Yes it is best to treat them as potential targets. Also one more thing...

What's that?

The air monitor can pick up a trail if you are nearby a potential target. You will need to configure the air monitor.

How do I do that?

Harvest some of your blood sample and place it in the slot inside of the air monitor to accurately measure your blood ppm.

Are there any drawbacks to using this?

Well you will need to periodically scan the environment and that would require you to give more fresh samples of blood which affects the radius of the environment scanned. The fresher the sample the larger the area scanned around you.

What if the other guy still had some of my sample?

The sample needs to be fresh for the air monitor to pickup within a certain radius. Chances are the other person's air monitor might pick it up if you are extremely close to him.

Edited July 29, 2012 by twix

[twix (DayZ) 24]

Updated with more mechanics to OP.

[Yatagan 62]

I think the blood/health thing is one area where game design and gameplay outdoes realism.

Giving the player a fairly clear indication of their health is like game design 101, and VERY rarely should you break this rule.

[twix (DayZ) 24]

I think the blood/health thing is one area where game design and gameplay outdoes realism.

Giving the player a fairly clear indication of their health is like game design 101, and VERY rarely should you break this rule.

Gordon Freeman obtaining his HEV Mach4 suit is what i am aiming for

[CarloNord 29]

No. it's too much. Not different strains and all that, maybe if you caught an infection from a corpse and needed an epi-pen and you're good, i'd be fine, but this is too much.

[twix (DayZ) 24]

No. it's too much. Not different strains and all that, maybe if you caught an infection from a corpse and needed an epi-pen and you're good, i'd be fine, but this is too much.

Well you could think of this as an EXPERT Mode Setting for DayZ. You don't have this mechanic on the other difficulty settings.

[CarloNord 29]

Well you could think of this as an EXPERT Mode Setting for DayZ. You don't have this mechanic on the other difficulty settings.

That's not what I meant, it just seems like too much, even for an expert mode, I can't speak for others, but it just seems like too much, and seems to put too much emphasis on staying near hospitals and such, as for staying near other players, alright, but don't condemn lone wolves.

[twix (DayZ) 24]

Alright so i have added some more in game mechanics to possibly make it more survivable in such harsh conditions for lone wolves. As for the emphasis on staying near hospitals, why not. Currently there seems to be a lot of emphasis on military loot, rather than surviving as people just make a run for it to the north and camp it up there once they have gathered the necessary supplies. Something about that doesn't seem right to me.

[twix (DayZ) 24]

Updated with more in-game mechanics for a much challenging play through.

[necroslord 73]

I really like playing the medic so all this sounds excting to me but being fair it is way too much to accomplish something. I really don't think all of this can be in the scope of a game mod.

P.S: For me, the more medicine roleplay the better so I totally approve on crazy medical stuff.

Edited July 29, 2012 by necroslord

[twix (DayZ) 24]

I really like playing the medic so all this sounds excting to me but being fair it is way too much to accomplish something. I really don't think all of this can be in the scope of a game mod.

P.S: For me, the more medicine roleplay the better so I totally approve on crazy medical stuff.

I see it as a different take on the whole survival aspect of the game. Regarding it being more challenging rather than frustrating, I tend to keep that in mind whenever I try to adapt new game mechanics into the OP so that i can hopefully find the right balance between the two. Of course one could follow the K.I.S.S principle but currently as it stands, there are no challenges as such in a survival point of view.

Edited July 29, 2012 by twix

[twix (DayZ) 24]

Added alternate investigation mechanics to the OP.

[superwinner (DayZ) 2]

No, just no. This is just another "hurr most realizms" thread. That is just too much.

[twix (DayZ) 24]

No, just no. This is just another "hurr most realizms" thread. That is just too much.

Strong words. Perhaps you could have rephrased your comments as "I'm not looking for a challenge cause I'm weak and faint hearted". Little Jimmy's are always welcome to these threads.

[wish (DayZ) 9]

I like the idea behind it. The problem with this idea is that it shifts the focus of DAYZ drasticly towards medical survival, which most of the players probably won't like ( I like it). Maybe it's an good idea to make a mod for standalone DAYZ out of it.

[sonicrainbrony 136]

Dafuq did I just read?