More Complex Medical System

[Dr Wasteland MD 597]

Hey guys, Dr. Wasteland, M.D. here.

As someone who's trying to play the game as strictly a doctor/medic (you can read up more on how I try to do that here: http://dayzmod.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4581), I would get more fun out of a more complex medical system that maybe required other tools. Think portable defibrillators, oxygen tanks, sterilizers, splints, that kind of thing. Actually, what it brings to mind is my brief (and very fun) experience with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and the medical system in that.

Also, an idea for two changes to clothes and skins. Perhaps there could be a field medic outfit and a change to the regular survivor skin after you receive medical attention. I'm thinking when medics have to cut someone's clothes off in order to get to the wounds, something like that. Just some thoughts, wanted to see if you could be interested.

EDIT: I guess to summarize, what I'm saying is that it's too easy to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries. Instead of a 1 + 1 = 2 kind of system where if I am losing blood rapidly then I am bleeding and I need to bandage, it should become more varied with some and/or situations thrown in. Something like, my leg is broken so I need to splint it. I have been shot so I need to extract the bullet, and I may have internal bleeding so someone needs to do some field surgery on me to patch that up. And finally I have to keep all my wounds clean or it may become infected. Make it so that, given a patient's symptoms, different people can come to different conclusions, making experience in the field more useful than just straight knowledge. That would be a cool freaking system.

[dunkhan 8]

This is a high cost suggestion in terms of implementation I think. It would be totally awesome though and probably well worth the effort. Also respect for playing as a doctor ingame.

[daedrick 90]

The way I see it, is that we already have most of the medical tools usable in the field. The thing is, I believe we should be a little bit more reliant from other players to get medical threatment.

What Im trying to say is I believe eventually player will get some starting professions/skills that will motivate people to group together and work together while lone wolves are still effective.

There are people out there that want to play the role of the ''healer'' and a doctor profession would certainly make that possible. But thats another suggestion all together.

[BaitedHook 24]

agreed, make it so morphine is addictive.

make it so players shake and stuff when suffer withdraw

[Dr Wasteland MD 597]

Thinking about it a little more I think it boils down to, I want a system that is simple and yet complex enough to allow two doctors to reach a different diagnosis based on the same symptoms of a patient. Basically a three stage process to dealing with injury, diagnosis/treatment/prevention.

Also, sterilization has nothing to do with the current medical system, and that makes no sense.

[EpicPencil 21]

So basically like america's army? Here watch this video

It's the training for the medic system in americas army 3. watch the whole thing or just skip around, but make sure you watch at 9;30 to the end, it would be cool if they implemented that stuff. It would be very cool to see something like this implemented into Day Z, and it also adds a little bit of challenge, especially while under fire.

Edited July 30, 2012 by EpicPencil

[necroslord 73]

I totally support this. I really love the medic role too. I stated in a similar post that I approve crazy medical stuff. However I don't really expect it to be implemented but if it gets done I'm gonna be really, really happy for it.

[evolution (DayZ) 51]

-1 neg not supporting this.

I can see how this might appeal to you as a medic in game but its just too much work for others (at least for me).

[L0G!N (DayZ) 149]

While not so elaborate as AA3 , you are free to check the 'full medical' compilation thread (link in my sig or use search) and read it, and leave any comments :)

[twix (DayZ) 24]

And please feel free to stop by one my threads on my siggy. Link to blood monitors, vials ..... below

[hkurban 31]

I guess to summarize, what I'm saying is that it's too easy to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries. Instead of a 1 + 1 = 2 kind of system where if I am losing blood rapidly then I am bleeding and I need to bandage, it should become more varied with some and/or situations thrown in. Something like, my leg is broken so I need to splint it. I have been shot so I need to extract the bullet, and I may have internal bleeding so someone needs to do some field surgery on me to patch that up. And finally I have to keep all my wounds clean or it may become infected. Make it so that, given a patient's symptoms, different people can come to different conclusions, making experience in the field more useful than just straight knowledge. That would be a cool freaking system.

I agree with this post, and was about to post something similar when I saw this. Rocket has stated he doesn't want to add "classes" but wants real world skills to translate to the game. The medical system should reflect this rather than just having magical healing items, as in real life, everyone knows how to use a bandaid but not everyone knows how to apply a tournaqette, or the proper dosage of morphine, etc.

There should, in my opinion, be a greater variety of medical tools, and when using different medical items, allow a variety of improper "uses" for the items, etc. so that you have to know how to use the item (Tournaqette to the neck, anyone?). Heck, I'd even like it if you had different blood type blood bags, with a random character blood type for each char, so you have to make sure you have the right blood bags for yourself, and medics would need to carry around different types of blood bags (unless they happened upon a lucky stockpile of O+.

Of course, this wouldn't force the players to take a lifesaving 101 course at the local college. Average players can still perform basic self care, even basic buddy care, but self-healing would require a lot of tedium, so finding someone with medical knowledge (or learning it yourself) would help get you on your feet faster. Medical expertise in the game wouldn't even have to be that extreme. It could be fairly simple to learn/basic first aid practices. The difference between knowing first aid in the game and not knowing it wouldn't be "can I learn it?" but "would I take the time to learn it?"

I'm glad someone brought up America's Army as an example. That game had a great, yet simple first aid system. Bandaging was an almost automatic process, but if you came across an incapacitated player, the game gave you a diagnosis and you had to choose which first aid action to perform in response to that diagnosis.

The first aid in the training was a simple classroom style training, with more of a focus on real world than the game mechanics. There was a news story a while back, even, where someone used first aid training they received from the America's Army game to save a life at the scene of a car accident, when they had no other formal training whatsoever. And I don't remember the game's first aid training taking more than an hour.

Edited July 31, 2012 by HKurban

[Ktana 0]

Im down with you.

I was playing AA, and there was a good system, it could be very cool.

A harder game = a better game.

[dutch_miller 159]

I would agree, except that so many people don't play with groups. They will inevitably be injured at some point and with this system there is too much to carry on one person to account for all situations. It would be very difficult for those people to self-heal. It would be too complex a system for a solo player, especially at this stage of the game where crawling through a bush can give you a broken leg. A good alternative (you probably thought about this anyway) would be too make short-term and long-term effects. For example, if you get shot, you can bandage yourself, painkillers, etc., the current solution, to solve the short term effects, but long term effects like infection and weakness would be solved by more intensive care (removing the bullet, sterilization, antibiotics). Antibiotics spawn would need to be increased as well if this were the case.

That said, I would like medics such as yourself to play a bigger and more noticeable role, because I think you are under appreciated and with how paranoid people are of dying, consequently I'm assuming you probably get shot at more often than not. Having a medic uniform would be a good addition because I think the amount of deaths from players you get will (hopefully) decrease. An update like this, although possibly a little less intricate and using mostly existing supplies (although the addition of sterilizers and splints wouldn't clutter it up to much) would substantially increase the effectiveness of medics and add to the realism and authenticity of the game.

Another thread about having a duffel bag option for medics in the primary weapon slot would work great in tandem, if both were to exist.

Still, +1 beans for this idea, you do great work.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Dutch Miller