A new element of difficulty.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Hi All,

First suggestion post so please hear me out :).

The back story as i understand it is that a unknown virus has wiped out the major population in Dayz and that the infected(Not Zombies) now roam the land and so on. As it has been stated these are not zombies or undead really and they are just fully infected (Rage like virus akin to 24 hours later) i would like to suggest the following.

1. A viral bar, this would complement the food water blood and heat elements that keep us on our toes.

2. As the virus would spread through large town quicker (Chernogorsk, Elecktrozavodsk) there should be zones where the virus is prevalent like the radiation zones in Fallout 3.

- You would need to show this is a toxic environment somehow (maybe piles of dead body's?) and when you enter that area you should notice that the viral bar increases slowly.

- There should be heavily affected zones (Hospitals) that you will contract the virus at a faster pace. On this point i think this would help counter the city rape factor as these areas are forever under heavy conflict PVP wise and and people who hunt for the craic. these area should be made to be dangerous environmentally and not just because a sniper is waiting to say hello in an not so friendly manner.

This would work well as the better loot (Blood, Morphine, Painkillers, etc) you need to survive is located in these areas so you get a risk VS reward factor in exploring it.

- You need to be able to counter the effects to the virus. In my opinion the effect should not dissipate over time without aid.

I would like to suggest the introduction of antibiotics (copy the painkillers item and rename etc) to complement the rest of the medical supplies. these should be semi rare to find even in hospitals because this is post infection and the supply of antibiotics would be lower by default. these should reduce the effects suffered by the virus, but is should not cure it!.

To cure the infection (If the option were to be included) i would suggest an rare item an experimental cure that would be located in the military aid post or other militarized locations, Maybe it can the programmed to spawn at one of several military installation on the map on server. This should be set that it can only be administered by another player (like blood bags).

3. You need to be able to block the virus!. I would suggest a two fold approach to this,

- Gas masks. These would allow entry to the lightly infected areas without risk. But should be effective when entering heavily affected ares such as hospitals or military aid posts.

-RAD or biohazzard style suits to fully block the effects of entering a heavily infected area. This would also add great risk as you would be much more noticeable in a bio/rad suit. This would complement the Ghillie suit.

4. The infected NPC's roaming the streets of villages towns and barracks. Normally they attack you and can inflict normal damage and risk of cuts(Bleeding). I would suggest that ANY attack from a roamer adds to the viral bar total. This would vastly increase the danger from infected and level the playing field making them a full threat to be feared. At this time they pose a minimal threat and that is mainly due to player carelessness (On my part anyway :D ).

5. Infected players. Well this one is a hard one but id like to suggest the following. Players with high infection should show signs of sickness (Coughing etc) and the screen should be wavy and maybe high temperature with risk of passing out (Egg timer) when highly infected. This element is like opening a can of worms... its gonna get messy. this will effect group players and bandits alike. when a human combatant is infected and at the coughing stage (lets say 80% infected for arguments sake) they should spread this infection to other players at a slow rate.

This adds a danger element to playing with friends as even the closest of friends or clans can turn on one another if a player is sick as he is now a deadly risk. Do you wish to save him and find him much need antibiotics or even cure him if you can. Once the player is 90% infected it should gradually progress with no further influence toward 100% infection. And the thing is the player can keep this to himself as he may be afraid they will indeed kill him to save the group if they find out (That's were the coughing and passing out come in to play).

- 100% infection - At this point for all intents and purposes the player character is dead (off with him to lobby to start again) but his body should change to an NPC infected (Roamer, Hopper, crawler randomized if possible) which will now due to proximity to other players attack the remaining players and spreading infection starting the cycle all over again. This would require some programming magic with which i do not have experience but i think should be possible.

6. This all has the effect of pushing players further from shore instead of these two main town locations and the airfield and make the smaller villages just as much of an danger. This in turn makes all loot valuable even that can of coke in an apartment because the danger in trying to get it is that much much higher.

I do not believe this would break the mechanics of the game, I believe this just adds another layer of depth and risk to playing Dayz. This would alter the way PVP is approached and would increase exploration and this could in fact pull players together as the environment would be against them and they would need to band together more safety in numbers which would also lead to infection paranoia. This would also make bandits far more dangerous to the group players but at the same time it is very risky to be a lone bandit as you can get infected and would not be able to cure yourself without the aid of another.

That's it for now. It really is just food for though so please feel free to rip it up and throw your opinions in! id love to hear them.

I love the game its going great places i tip my hat to all the Dev team for all their work and effort.

Best Regards

Joe

[iStP 8]

Very well written.. I do like the idea but not to the extent you would. Something similar would be nice but I wouldnt like it to be such a huge factor to the game.

[optionism 28]

First of all, there is already antibiotics in the game, that cure sickness if caught, and you can get sick, to an extent of dying. Basically, you are just implying that there should be more activity with the sickness meter. The thermometer icon on the bottom right shows your sickness meter. I do not believe that there should be Zones, cause then those zones would not be approached maybe even completely. Plus, what is bad about being near the shore? I love to snipe players at cherno.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Optionism

[NoAverageJoe 15]

First of all, there is already antibiotics in the game, that cure sickness if caught, and you can get sick, to an extent of dying. Basically, you are just implying that there should be more activity with the sickness meter. The thermometer icon on the bottom right shows your sickness meter. I do not believe that there should be Zones, cause then those zones would not be approached maybe even completely. Plus, what is bad about being near the shore? I love to snipe players at cherno.

I get you yeah again its just a thought. Plus you and half of any server enjoy sniping at cherno! :). Yeah i would like it to be similar to the temp bar at that reflects hypothermia. My idea would reflect infection which would be my justification for for the new indicator bar. I can see your point and my intent would not to be to push people away from shore or the towns only to encourage them to explore other options and only the most experienced players and well kitted out would venture into electro cherno.

Also just to note that i would not intend that everything part of the town would be infected just the hot areas like the hospital as most sick people or carriers would have been taken there.

Thanks for your reply mate.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Very well written.. I do like the idea but not to the extent you would. Something similar would be nice but I wouldnt like it to be such a huge factor to the game.

Yeah i would not like to drastically affect gameplay or ruin it as it is a fantastic game as is and any idea i come out with would need much refining to make it playable.

[martink8190@gmail.com 149]

Sounds good but it could be uber hard to new players without any weapon.Overall good suggestion, would need some twaeks from dev's but I'm sure they could pull it off :)

Edited August 8, 2012 by Colonel-Wicked

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Sounds good but it could be uber hard to new players without any weapon.Overall good suggestion, would need some twaeks from dev's but I'm sure they could pull it out :)

Very true, i hadn't factored in new players but then again not much is changed from that stand point (Don't let the infected hit you). You could start with one bandage one painkiller and one Antibiotic one hope and one prayer :lol: .

Edited August 8, 2012 by NoAverageJoe

[absoluteblkade3 (DayZ) 2]

Those are some interesting ideas. It seems very plausible that it might be added in the future. At least some of the ideas. I think avoiding infection would add too the paranoia of the game and make player interaction that much more intense. I hope the DayZ creators read this and think about adding it at some point. :)

[indominator 95]

No, the backstory is the campaing of arma 2, in the chernarus map, and then the virus oubreak, after that battle in the region started between some pmcs to try and reconquer the land, and chernarus is the place no army comes into, they are just waiting for the plague and zombies to die off, so thats it, nothing big, just you hoping all the zombies die of starvation and the random stranger is friendly.

Nothing,

Now seriously, its a mod, theres no backstory, this is no real game, when in the standalone or implemented skins we can indulge into ideas like this that do not sugest anything, also use search bar

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Those are some interesting ideas. It seems very plausible that it might be added in the future. At least some of the ideas. I think avoiding infection would add too the paranoia of the game and make player interaction that much more intense. I hope the DayZ creators read this and think about adding it at some point. :)

Thank you mate. Just a few thoughts as ive had while playing. It would take alot of refinement to complement the current vibe of the game and not take away from the existing tension. And thank you for the Beans :) ill need these on my travels heh. If the Dev's thought even one idea was worth thinking over that would be awesome and id be chuffed.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

No, the backstory is the campaing of arma 2, in the chernarus map, and then the virus oubreak, after that battle in the region started between some pmcs to try and reconquer the land, and chernarus is the place no army comes into, they are just waiting for the plague and zombies to die off, so thats it, nothing big, just you hoping all the zombies die of starvation and the random stranger is friendly.

But they are not zombies i thought the dev team said they are infected people which indicts a virus of sorts and yes i would agree with the waiting for starvation point (Ala 24 hours later) which all served to feed my imagination and prompt me to write up the ideas above.

Nothing,

Nothing what?.

Now seriously, its a mod, theres no backstory, this is no real game,

No offense mate if i misinterpret this post. Are you saying that as there is no big backdrop to the mod that we cannot speculate as to how this occurred and try to piece it events together ourselves. I believe if we all throw our 2 cents in on how it could have happened or what we believe occurred, then we create that rich story that we live with each character.

this is no real game,

This is a real game and it is a experiment by the dev team. Which has been noticed and has paid off with the stand alone game to come in due time. This is not real life this is just fantasy (Caught in a landslide.... sry). They gave us a test or a template/framework of an idea which we filled and gave it a life of its own.

when in the standalone or implemented skins we can indulge into ideas like this that do not suggest anything, also use search bar

This is confusing and if you have time id like to hear your response to clarify.

- This is a mod and therefore is open to further modification? this is its purpose and as its alpha it is in a prime position to test out new ideas and flesh out the game/mod/altered reality engine(Call it what you will ;) )

- Already we have see the introduction of new skins to the game and i sure we will see more so the original post is dev food for thought.

- As for not suggesting anything no offense again but that comment holds no ground as all the above does not currently exist so i am suggesting a great deal.

- Your last comment on using the search bar i will choose to overlook as this is my idea i thought up myself on the spot and did not need to base it or rob any one else's idea. Sure other people may have similar but this is not a copy as we are all fully entitled to supply idea's and thoughts at any time. It should be encourage and not put down.

This is just my response to your opinion so feel free to throw more out! :thumbsup: :beans: .

Best Regards

Joe

Edited August 8, 2012 by NoAverageJoe

[Mister Motivational 24]

Adding this virus to the game is something I am not apposed to, however a meter on the hud I am. If there must be a hud it should consist only of things which your character is capable of knowing; how hungry am I, how thirsty am I, how warm or cold am I, how many bullets are in my gun, etc. The blood meter could be removed while adding screen blurring and shaking effects to demonstrate blood loss. Which brings me back to my point, no meter for dangerous zones but perhaps more zombies as an indicator?

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Adding this virus to the game is something I am not apposed to, however a meter on the hud I am. If there must be a hud it should consist only of things which your character is capable of knowing; how hungry am I, how thirsty am I, how warm or cold am I, how many bullets are in my gun, etc. The blood meter could be removed while adding screen blurring and shaking effects to demonstrate blood loss. Which brings me back to my point, no meter for dangerous zones but perhaps more zombies as an indicator?

That makes perfect sense in fairness. How would i know i am sick until the screen is wavy and the coughing and spluttering kicks in. I get where you are coming from.

The question then is... How do we differentiate the viral effects from hypothermia?. Should this act like a fever? should the temperature indicator show a high temp as a hint?.

Also a valid point on hot zones of infection as we would not want floating green mist indicting a hot zone. My suggestion was for dead body piles where the infected dead where tossed. Maybe a combination of this and more infected NPC's?

Very good point mate, have some beans!.

Edited August 8, 2012 by NoAverageJoe

[Smiric 11]

That makes perfect sense in fairness. How would i know i am sick until the screen is wavy and the coughing and spluttering kicks in. I get where you are coming from.

The question then is... How do we differentiate the viral effects from hypothermia?. Should this act like a fever? should the temperature indicator show a high temp as a hint?.

First off man, I think the idea is great.. probably will need tweaking from dev's but pretty much everything gets tweaked anyway.

Secondly, they could make this infection/virus have any number of symptoms since it is a new and unknown disease. You could get red dots over your screen, yellow, purple etc ... you could go blind in one eye... you could hallucinate... they could do whatever they want really ... which makes this idea even more awesome =)

[a_ruttle 199]

Great suggestion although there already are antibiotics they're just extremely rare.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

First off man, I think the idea is great.. probably will need tweaking from dev's but pretty much everything gets tweaked anyway.

Secondly, they could make this infection/virus have any number of symptoms since it is a new and unknown disease. You could get red dots over your screen, yellow, purple etc ... you could go blind in one eye... you could hallucinate... they could do whatever they want really ... which makes this idea even more awesome =)

I like where you are going with that mate. As well as visual effect while playing they may be able to make use of the bandit skin so over time at certain intervals the character skin will change to the bandit skin (Bloodied skin). Then once at 100% player character dies and infected bandit skinned NPC takes its place to roam the area or attack the group and so on.

I love the idea of hallucinating as it gets worse, ghostly images of infected or bandits or just hearing things that are not there.

I like it mate beans for you!

Best Regards

Joe

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Great suggestion although there already are antibiotics they're just extremely rare.

To be completely honest mate i was not aware they existed as i never found them until Optionism said it up above. So less work there for the dev team :). And rarity is good as they would have been used up in the initial outbreak of the virus leaving less for us poor survivors.

Beans for you!

Best Regards

Joe

[martink8190@gmail.com 149]

Adding this virus to the game is something I am not apposed to, however a meter on the hud I am. If there must be a hud it should consist only of things which your character is capable of knowing; how hungry am I, how thirsty am I, how warm or cold am I, how many bullets are in my gun, etc. The blood meter could be removed while adding screen blurring and shaking effects to demonstrate blood loss. Which brings me back to my point, no meter for dangerous zones but perhaps more zombies as an indicator?

Souns good to me but I would remove any ''bullets left in yo mag'' as well. Something like in ACE have, magazine feels either heavy, light or inbetween. I agree on the coughing and shaking instead of bar.

[Lillo 22]

With the developer's tweaks I think that these ideas could work.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Souns good to me but I would remove any ''bullets left in yo mag'' as well. Something like in ACE have, magazine feels either heavy, light or inbetween. I agree on the coughing and shaking instead of bar.

I would agree with this as in real life you do not have a counter on the side of your mag but i doubt this is something they would remove.

Beans for you sir!

[NoAverageJoe 15]

With the developer's tweaks I think that these ideas could work.

Thanks mate! I hope one day that they see this thread and give it a read through :).

Have some beans :thumbsup: :beans:

[Lillo 22]

Tnx

[Mister Motivational 24]

Secondly, they could make this infection/virus have any number of symptoms since it is a new and unknown disease. You could get red dots over your screen, yellow, purple etc ... you could go blind in one eye... you could hallucinate... they could do whatever they want really ... which makes this idea even more awesome =)

Seems like some good ideas, perhaps they start off very mild and do not persist until late into the infection. An early indicator could be rise in temperature, but I'm conflicted on the temperature gauge. On the one hand I know when I'm hot or cold, but sometimes when I'm ill I may not notice that symptom straight off.

Perhaps the gauge could be removed, but when cold you shiver and sniffle softly. When hot you wheeze and perhaps your vision changes slightly (almost noticeably) orangish.

These would be early indicators which wouldn't inhibit your character much and allow you to know there was a problem to be dealt with. Let the illness persist and you're in for a world of weirdness, in regard to the virus.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Seems like some good ideas, perhaps they start off very mild and do not persist until late into the infection. An early indicator could be rise in temperature, but I'm conflicted on the temperature gauge. On the one hand I know when I'm hot or cold, but sometimes when I'm ill I may not notice that symptom straight off.

Perhaps the gauge could be removed, but when cold you shiver and sniffle softly. When hot you wheeze and perhaps your vision changes slightly (almost noticeably) orangish.

These would be early indicators which wouldn't inhibit your character much and allow you to know there was a problem to be dealt with. Let the illness persist and you're in for a world of weirdness, in regard to the virus.

I like this train of though lets keep it up :).

How else can we make this work?.

[NoAverageJoe 15]

Hi All,

I was thinking further on the infection of players. When a high level of infection is reached and the player is wheezing coughing etc. Should there be movement changes like a slightly slower pace (OR a slightly faster pace as the zombies are fast) should walking have a bit of limp to it?.

When highly infected are in a town how would the infection change your interaction with the fully infected NPC's should it change at all?. I was thinking that they are far less likely to detect you due to your infection level as you are pretty much one of their own. This would help to balance the difficulty as well as you would now have a increased chance of getting into areas with antibiotics. If you run up to one it would still try to take you face off :) but it will ignore your in you are a few feet away.

The level at which they attack or ignore would be dependent on how far your infection has progressed.

But at the same time when entering an area where the virus is present you will still contract it at a slow rate.

Just more food for thought.

Best Regards

Joe

Edited August 13, 2012 by NoAverageJoe