Thriving v Surviving

[xximrtwoixx 104]

I think thriving should be distinguished from surviving some how IG.

Example of what I mean,

You can eat cold beans out of a can with your dirty fingers

or

You can eat cooked beans around a campfire with a fork

Your camp could consist of you sleeping on the ground under a tree in freezing conditions

Or

Your camp could be a tent with a sleeping bag

Or

Your Camp could be an actual structure with a bed

You can live in one pair of unwashed clothes in your own filth for days on end

Or

You can have a couple pairs of clothes and wash/shave/change so you resemble an actual person

These are just examples but I hope it expresses what I mean. There is a difference between scratching by in an infested world with little hope of relief, (why I think you would find a lot of suicides in this type of scenario) and actually thriving with some semblance of satisfaction with your continued existence. I think being in "better" condition also offers positive effects you would not get tired as fast if your well rested, your less likely to get sick if your clean, one could say your even less likely to give in to pain/hardship if your in a better mental state.

I think this could be implemented IG in various ways some more obtrusive than others. And I realize that some people value different things, or may say they would not be effected by X the same way others would be by Y. To combat this you could either remove things that do not have a simple measurable effect like well rested equals less tired, or clean equals less chance of being sick, or you could allow players to actually add values to what they want to have effects on their toon. Yes this would be meta'd as shit probably but it would be there so people couldn't really bitch about it.

Example Complex-

Player picks at creation what will make their character happy these actions give rewards to "Mental health/thriving" meter.

Example Simple-

Certain things give you better results than others, ie more blood/hunger, give buffs to exhaustion time or encumbrance weight.

Thoughts?

Edited August 24, 2012 by xXI Mr Two IXx

[Bulletproof Sandwich 57]

hatchet

hunting knife

water bottle

box of matches

congrats you have now survived and beaten DayZ

[xximrtwoixx 104]

Revised OP