A possible fix for the vehicle problem?

[Xeva 12]

We've all had our fair share of problems with vehicles, and this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the fixes required. This is simply a possible solution to the hoarding problem everybody hates so much. In my mind, this could definitely be implemented in the standalone and would be very beneficial to everybody overall.

My idea is to have not necessarily more vehicles, but to have more vehicle spawn locations. In fact, I'm thinking of maybe 5x the number of spawn locations as in the current version of DayZ. However, with these locations comes another factor. Either each location could have a 1/5 chance to spawn a vehicle, resulting in some variety across servers; or the server, when being created, could randomly select 1/5 of those locations to spawn vehicles. This would make hoarders explore the map more rather than just heading for all the known vehicle spawn locations to stockpile them and hide them like buried treasure.

All other factors aside just to keep this as a simple idea, I would also like to mention other ideas come up by many people across the forums.

1. Make fuel and jerry cans rare. The fight over vehicles is boring and monotonous. While some people find joy in finding one of the many camps on the north and west sides of the map, I find myself wanting to just go back to Cherno and find somebody with an AS50 I can steal. This problem can be solved by making literally every single gas station a war zone. Mind you, there will be vehicles at the edge of the map for people who like that kind of thing (just not huge stockpiles), but for people who actually like to find and use their vehicles, every time they want to fuel up they may be taking a huge risk. Basically just resulting in more excitement all around.

2. Make vehicles parts rare. Currently finding vehicles parts can be done very easily by simply entering an industrial location. I would like to see vehicle parts become much less common in industrial areas, but I would also like to see scavenging parts from the wreckage of other vehicles. You know, like the 95% of all the cars you see on the road. The success rate of this would be low. However, sometimes after inspecting a destroyed car maybe one could come up with a spare tire.

3. Make vehicles have less storage. While this conflicts with my earlier idea about vehicles still being on the edge of the map, the concept is simple. HIDE tents, USE vehicles. Currently vehicles are just mobile storage. I would like to see that similarity between the tent and the vehicle smashed to bits. It's the cause of many problems.

4. This is an idea of my own, and I'd like to see your thoughts on it. Make military vehicles more durable but require more fuel to use. This would be a feature that would revolutionize the game in my opinion. Having this be implemented would result in certain players having a more military oriented game, in which they are heavily armored but have to consume a TON of resources to stay that way. Other players might choose the other route, in which they pick a civilian vehicle and survive using as few resources as possible.

Let me know what you guys think, and I may add your suggestions. Heck, maybe if this gets popular enough I'll put it in the suggestions category. ;)

Edited August 19, 2012 by Xeva

[Tek (DayZ) 95]

It's a vehicle problem because people are "hoarding" vehicles?

I had a tractor, that I used for storage and ran around in when I needed to to save buddies, or for whatever. Right now I have a bicycle and a pickup truck. Am I a hoarder because I have them and use them for storage and driving around in?

Get real.

I found them, I can do with them as I please. This goes for anyone who got a vehicle. It is not a problem because you're incapable of finding a vehicle. They are not hard to find if you use your brain to think things through. I'm not trying to be harsh, but it's a simple fact. Vehicles can be found if one wants to find them.

Stop trying to change the way the game is supposed to be played because some people have a problem playing a game that makes you use your head.

[Angel Knight 427]

It's a vehicle problem because people are "hoarding" vehicles?

I had a tractor, that I used for storage and ran around in when I needed to to save buddies, or for whatever. Right now I have a bicycle and a pickup truck. Am I a hoarder because I have them and use them for storage and driving around in?

Get real.

I found them, I can do with them as I please. This goes for anyone who got a vehicle. It is not a problem because you're incapable of finding a vehicle. They are not hard to find if you use your brain to think things through. I'm not trying to be harsh, but it's a simple fact. Vehicles can be found if one wants to find them.

Stop trying to change the way the game is supposed to be played because some people have a problem playing a game that makes you use your head.

Then explain to me why half the servers have 10 vehicles camped on the side/top of the map, doing nothing but collect dust? OP is 100% correct.

[ken@thekab.com 37]

We make it a point to use vehicles to hunt for vehicles, and then destroy them, drive them into towns or give them away.

[Xeva 12]

It's a vehicle problem because people are "hoarding" vehicles?

I had a tractor, that I used for storage and ran around in when I needed to to save buddies, or for whatever. Right now I have a bicycle and a pickup truck. Am I a hoarder because I have them and use them for storage and driving around in?

Get real.

I found them, I can do with them as I please. This goes for anyone who got a vehicle. It is not a problem because you're incapable of finding a vehicle. They are not hard to find if you use your brain to think things through. I'm not trying to be harsh, but it's a simple fact. Vehicles can be found if one wants to find them.

Stop trying to change the way the game is supposed to be played because some people have a problem playing a game that makes you use your head.

[Aitloian 11]

If all those vehicles are up north why don't you just go find them and take them? It really is that easy. Anyone who complains about vehicle hoarding doesn't know how to play simple as that. I'm sorry if my group sees another vehicle were going to take it wouldn't you?

[motocross 49]

Then explain to me why half the servers have 10 vehicles camped on the side/top of the map, doing nothing but collect dust? OP is 100% correct.

Butt hurt cuz you can't find one? :'( poor guy. Found a bus and 2 offroads, repaired them (Taking 3 hours in total) And are now used as inner walls of our base, with wire on the outside, stopping you from getting in. They are also storage, rescue and raiding vehicles.

[Xeva 12]

If all those vehicles are up north why don't you just go find them and take them? It really is that easy. Anyone who complains about vehicle hoarding doesn't know how to play simple as that. I'm sorry if my group sees another vehicle were going to take it wouldn't you?

It's posts like these that irritate me. Not once in my first post did I ever say I had trouble finding vehicles. I know where they all are. I'm talking about a widespread problem that, in my mind, needs to be fixed. I'm talking about something the devs of the game probably want to see changed. This is exactly why people like you shouldn't be able to speak out. Instead of focusing on a problem and coming up with a real solution, you just accept it for what it is and say the game couldn't be any better.

[Erik (DayZ) 61]

I personaly never use any vehicles besidse bicycles simply because they're pure evil. Don't trust these monsters!

[random51 172]

Then explain to me why half the servers have 10 vehicles camped on the side/top of the map, doing nothing but collect dust? OP is 100% correct.

First, stop pulling numbers from your ass.

Second, if you know the vehicles are on the side/top of the map then what is stopping you from going and getting one?

The only problem I see is that people want a vehicle to always be waiting for them where a map they downloaded outside of the game says one will be. They're too lazy to actually do the work necessary to find one.

Cry me a river.

EDIT: If this post irritates you, perhaps you should stop and be honest with yourself about why it irritates you. You might learn something.

What you're calling the "Vehicle Problem" is actually a feature. Vehicles are rare, persistent, and first come, first serve: working as intended.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that feature, nothing inherently wrong with that design. You're just upset that other players aren't playing the way you want them to.

Edited August 8, 2012 by random51

[Flambo (DayZ) 50]

1. Make fuel and jerry cans rare, [...] making literally every single gas station a war zone.

I beansed all over this suggestion. When the world goes to hell, gas is NOT going to be infinite and ubiquitous.

[Xeva 12]

First, stop pulling numbers from your ass.

Second, if you know the vehicles are on the side/top of the map then what is stopping you from going and getting one?

The only problem I see is that people want a vehicle to always be waiting for them where a map they downloaded outside of the game says one will be. They're too lazy to actually do the work necessary to find one.

Cry me a river.

EDIT: If this post irritates you, perhaps you should stop and be honest with yourself about why it irritates you. You might learn something.

What you're calling the "Vehicle Problem" is actually a feature. Vehicles are rare, persistent, and first come, first serve: working as intended.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that feature, nothing inherently wrong with that design. You're just upset that other players aren't playing the way you want them to.

And I agree. Vehicles are first come, first serve; and that's the way it should be. However, there are way too many people that take advantage of the fact that all the vehicles in Chernarus have fixed spawn points. They exploit this by stockpiling them to keep players from finding them in the world, forcing them to resort to running along the very edges of the map to find a vehicle. The idea I mentioned in the OP about having vehicles have a greatly increased number of spawn points encourages exploration and prevents stockpiling for a longer period of time, allowing vehicles to be spread more evenly throughout the community of that server.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Xeva

[random51 172]

I beansed all over this suggestion. When the world goes to hell, gas is NOT going to be infinite and ubiquitous.

Ethanol, methanol, and bio-diesel. You can use "reality" to explain an end to gasoline, you can't use it to explain an end to fuel for internal combustion engines. You'd have vehicles running on vegetable fuels, you'd also see the return of wood/coal-fired steam power.

On top of that it won't matter how much gasoline is left because modern gasoline doesn't store very long. You'd be able to find gasoline for years to come, most of it would be useless, though.

Lastly, any argument based upon realism is doomed to failure. Realism isn't the main course, it is a spice, and like any spice how much is needed is entirely subjective. :)

Oh, and one other thing. I'd be perfectly happy if the vehicle spawns worked similarly to the downed helicopters. Lots of random spawn points all over the map that could spawn any vehicle, while still keeping the total vehicle count relatively low. Any gameplay that can't be subverted with 10 minutes of research on a wiki is a good idea.

Edited August 8, 2012 by random51

[Xeva 12]

Oh, and one other thing. I'd be perfectly happy if the vehicle spawns worked similarly to the downed helicopters. Lots of random spawn points all over the map that could spawn any vehicle, while still keeping the total vehicle count relatively low. Any gameplay that can't be subverted with 10 minutes of research on a wiki is a good idea.

Thanks mate, that's really the idea I was going for. Glad some people are beginning to understand. :)

Edited August 8, 2012 by Xeva

[BlksnshN 127]

I find the vehicle system to be horribly designed. They are non existent for pretty much anyone but clans and admins.

In two weeks, I've found a bus and pretty much just use it for storage as it's a pain in the ass to drive around with all the roads being blocked in and around towns. I found an ATV but it was flipped on it's side and apparently my character is not strong enough to push it back over. I found one truck and one chopper in their spawn locations but the server disappeared.

Now, I've only seen three vehicles being driven and two of them were on my first day. The third was a chopper flying over head.

I'm not asking for grand theft auto type vehicle numbers. But the numbers now are ridiculously low.

[Xeva 12]

I find the vehicle system to be horribly designed. They are non existent for pretty much anyone but clans and admins.

In two weeks, I've found a bus and pretty much just use it for storage as it's a pain in the ass to drive around with all the roads being blocked in and around towns. I found an ATV but it was flipped on it's side and apparently my character is not strong enough to push it back over. I found one truck and one chopper in their spawn locations but the server disappeared.

Now, I've only seen three vehicles being driven and two of them were on my first day. The third was a chopper flying over head.

I'm not asking for grand theft auto type vehicle numbers. But the numbers now are ridiculously low.

The vehicle system is badly designed, but I don't think adding more vehicles will necessarily solve the problem. Simply making it harder for clans/admins to locate those vehicles by spreading them out similar to helicopter crash sites will allow for a more even distribution of vehicles, as I've said in earlier posts.

[Frisqy 4]

Lol its funney how people bash good ideas like this on these forums. They definetly are a part of the group of people that are causing the problem. If they change this their experienced of this game "how it should be" gets ruined. I will vote for the OP's idea just cause it will mess up all those players game experiences and they actually can go to sleep at 5 am in the morning when a server resets and start searching for their vehicles. These people should stop posting untill they have something worthwhile to say.

So yes i support this and not because i never found a vehicle (stole them, found them, lost them). Something is messed up with this system. The way it is now you can stash more gear in a vehicle then a tent while a vehicle is for transport and a tent is for stashing. Messed up so ye change that. Random vehicle spawns will definetly give a wow effect if you do find one. Now you just search the preset locations and voila got 1 again. Car parts are definetly a joke. I find them more then cans of beans. If one of my vehicles get broken i have them fixed in no time. Our team just splits up go to a few locations and an hour later we are on our way. More variety of stats to vehicles would be great. Now bigger is better due to more storage.

[BroskiMcBroham 7]

I'd like to see the vehicle count increased. On a Private Hive server I play on, there's 35 at any given time.

[BlksnshN 127]

The vehicle system is badly designed, but I don't think adding more vehicles will necessarily solve the problem. Simply making it harder for clans/admins to locate those vehicles by spreading them out similar to helicopter crash sites will allow for a more even distribution of vehicles, as I've said in earlier posts.

I agree, just adding more vehicles won't do much. I think it needs a complete overhaul. Maybe making the storage pretty much non existent would help. Perhaps just enough room for a primary and a few mags.

[random51 172]

Thanks mate, that's really the idea I was going for. Glad some people are beginning to understand. :)

The issue is that you said there was a problem instead of simply proposing a new way.

I agree there are better ways to do it, I don't agree there is a problem in or caused by the current way. :)

[Xeva 12]

The issue is that you said there was a problem instead of simply proposing a new way.

I agree there are better ways to do it, I don't agree there is a problem in or caused by the current way. :)

99% of the OP is about a new vehicle system. I don't really see where you were trying to go with that. You're free to have your opinion on whether or not the current vehicle system has problems, I'm just proposing an idea that might make the system flow smoother, and overall make the game a better play (not that it isn't already :P ).

[Mr Radar 5]

The current vehicle system is ok for those who like the survival aspect of the game. Building a camp, collecting supplies, collecting weapons and vehicles, etc. I personally have no desire to strictly play for survival. Surviving in this game involves holding down W and running anywhere that isn't the southern coast. Chances of you getting killed are VERY low. Why? Because very few people head north because the chances of finding a vehicle are way too slim. You can check every spawn on the map and not find a vehicle.

I generally want to find a decent weapon and pvp. So from my point of view it would be great if I could find a vehicle every now and then. A vehicle spawn in half the towns on a 6 hour spawn or so sounds good to me. This doesn't mean parts/fuel have to be easy to come by. People would most likely have to head top industrial areas to find a good supply. I would also make vehicles that have not been used for 24 hours despawn if they are away from a spawn point. If they were some what common then traveling by vehicle would be dangerous. People would likely set up ambushes on well traveled roads. Tank traps would have a use. The airfield and surrounding chopper crashes would turn into death zones. Berezino and Stary would become way more active.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Mr Radar

[Xeva 12]

I'm really digging this topic out of the grave aren't I. O.o

Still curious to see what everybody's opinions are. I realize with all the bugs and hackers floating around that the vehicle system is the least of everybody's worries, but IMO this still deserves at least some attention.

For anybody who has the audacity to claim that I'm butthurt over the vehicle system, I'm not. I'm just unwilling to waste my time browsing the forest on the western edge of the map for a pickup truck filled with duped AS50's and L85's.

Let the revival commence.

[AryanBoogeyman 185]

Definitely something to your OP.

Randomizing spawns seems like a step in the right direction as well as enhanced fuel and parts scarcity.

The current 7 day despawn period has to go as well. 24 to 48 hrs seems like a good compromise to me.

Storage shouldn't be changed too radically IMO as you should be able to get a shit ton of gear on a Ural.

Change it up Rocket - while you still can.

[Inception. 9443]

Everything but less storage, I reckon.

The motorbike can't fit shit. So keep the storage.

Or how about make the storage less on the bus, but if one wishes to have more storage, they can fold down the seats?