Roguelike aspects for DayZ

[lllewqer 4]

Please read this to the end, then comment. Please do not say "Play WarZ/WoW/BF3/CoD/Mario/Tetris". These are not helpful. "No!" is not an argument, please explain why you like these ideas/why you do not like them. Write your own suggestion. First think, then type. Thank you.

Hello, guys. I have been playing Roguelike games (and I love them) for a long time and I recently wanted to start once again. So I downloaded NetHack (which is a great game, I would definitely recommend it). I instantly had an idea. Maybe there should be some roguelike aspects in DayZ. Actually, there are already lots of similarities, like perma-death, and random events. For those who haven't played NetHack, you should play it now in order to get a better sense of the idea.

Everybody keeps saying that there is no end-game, besides PVP, and I agree. Lots of people want to slow down banditry, and make the player co-operate with other players. So far, I agree. Some people have been saying that there should be a punishment, some humanity-meter, now that I do not agree. I do not think that people should be punished just because they enjoy killing (not in real-life, obviously). The idea is:

Players should get a score when they die. This score will be determined by player's actions, and what have they done throughout of their playing time. Examples:

- How many zombies did the player kill?

- How many murders did the player commit? (This should be a minus point, so that people won't be even more encouraged to kill others)

- How many bandits did the player kill?

- What gear did the player own? (Counting everything, not just the items he had when he died)

- How many blood transfusions did the player give?

- How many cans of food did he eat?

- How long has he driven a vehicle?

- Animals gutted.

- and the list goes on like that...

I am sure you got the idea. You may be thinking that why would anyone want a high score. I have a solution for that, too. Every month, the game will start a new episode. (I have been thinking whether the servers should all be wiped, or not, help me out) When each episode ends, every player's highest score during that episode will be written in the leaderboards. I still haven't answered your question. Now, about that. Globally, the first 100 or 1000, will be awarded with dog-tags, skins, or something that the players may want, but doesn't give them an upper hand in no way. Each server will individually award the highest scoring player, by putting his statue, in a crowded, highly populated area, with his name on a golden plate or something like that.

You may have started to think "OK, people will not care about any of this shit, they will just kill each other". Well, I have another idea for that. Lets say, a player murders too many people. His name will be put on some billboards, or on a bulletin board somewhere, warning people of this killer. A name won't be enough for him to be hunted, but eventually someone will be able to kill him, and the hunter will be awarded with his dog-tag, diary, or something that belongs to him. He'll be able to show the dog-tags he achieved or the achievements he accomplished on his profile.

I know, this makes the game a little un-realistic (the whole profile thing, hunted/hunter thing), but there would also be an endgame, where people do not just recklessly murder each other. (Side note: I think if we ever face a zombie situation like DayZ, there would not be people just sniping other real living people, just because it is fun. Do not expect me to believe there would be such people. There would be people who are not willing to help them, or hate them, or beat them, maybe even kill them, but it would not be the same way DayZ bandits do it). Now that I think of it, each time an episode ends, the servers should be wiped, and therefore ensuring that each players, once in a while has the same opportunities.

Another roguelike aspect I would love to see in DayZ, is that once you die, the game tells you what have you done, and this time, not just numbers. Examples:

- Where did the player travel? (maybe a map showing the player his tracks)

- Which foods did the player eat? (Bean Beans, Soda, Cola, Water, how many times)

- Did he prefer wilderness or cities?

- Did he own any place, where did he frequently visit?

- How did the player die?

- etc.

In my opinion, DayZ would offer a better adventure, if some of these ideas were implemented. Of course, all of these ideas are meant for the standalone version, I am certain it would be a pain in the ass to implement these to the mod. That would be all.

Edited August 11, 2012 by onguntoglu

[Priceless 154]

No I dont want any scores or skill ups when you played in the sandbox as a kid did you get "dings" or "skill-ups"? No well I wouldnt expect them in a Sandbox Zombie Apocolypse Simulation game.

[lllewqer 4]

No I dont want any scores or skill ups when you played in the sandbox as a kid did you get "dings" or "skill-ups"? No well I wouldnt expect them in a Sandbox Zombie Apocolypse Simulation game.

Never mentioned a skill system, and the score would not affect gameplay. It is not like you can run faster or aim better if you have a higher score.

[pfheonix 3]

Beans. You have mine.

[lllewqer 4]

Beans. You have mine.

I have been thinking for a while, but couldn't find anything more. Any ideas?

[Cysquatch 5]

Some good suggestions in there. However, I am a strong believer that in a sand box game like this the devs should provide the TOOLS for players to create these kinds of game play experiences instead of hard coding them into the game themselves.

For instance, regarding your suggestion to have billboards in cities warning of murderers, this is something that could be done by the players all on their own if they had the tools to do it. Perhaps something as simple as a paint can item could be implemented that would allow for players to create these kinds of messages themselves. Players could then climb up to one of these billboards and create any kind of sign that could be helpful to other players (like you have mentioned) or detrimental (like advertising a "safe" location to meet with others and setting up a trap there).

You see, the magic of these kinds of games is that the players craft the story themselves rather then just experiencing something the game creates for them. That is something that Rocket and his cohorts should not lose sight of and I am confident that they will not after watching/reading many of his interviews.

But I digress, some good suggestions here OP. I just think that rather then implementing these mechanics themselves the devs should implement the POSSIBILITY of them by giving the players the tools to create them on their own.

Edited August 13, 2012 by Cysquatch

[Honest Bill 37]

While i agree that giving players the tools is a better route to go down.. I hope you realise that, if they were to implement some kind of paint can or anything like that, there would be a remarkable amount of penises, and racist slurs scrawled everywhere. I'm not saying that would particularly bother me if it was not too intrusive, i'm just pointing out that it would happen But you would also get a lot of genuinely funny stuff too..

As for the points system, well you just encourage people to boost their numbers by whatever boring means they can devise to do so.. Pretty soon, all the genuine players know they have absolutely no chance of ever getting anywhere on the leaderboards without resorting to ridiculous playstyles.. Therefore i don't believe playstyles would be positively influenced by such a thing

If they wish to reduce 'KOS' they will need to do a few things together which in combination will make it less desirable to do so.

Reducing ammo availability would go some way to helping, as a sniper might not want to waste his last two bullets to kill a player who is a mile away and isn't even aware of his presence.. Maybe he would prefer to save them for when he really needs them, for example, when he is forced to come out of hiding to try to scavenge some more bullets.

Adding more possibilities for gameplay will also help, as is suggested in the OP. Players will spend less time killing people if they are given alternative ways to instigate conflict, drama, and action.

[Cysquatch 5]

While i agree that giving players the tools is a better route to go down.. I hope you realise that, if they were to implement some kind of paint can or anything like that, there would be a remarkable amount of penises, and racist slurs scrawled everywhere. I'm not saying that would particularly bother me if it was not too intrusive, i'm just pointing out that it would happen But you would also get a lot of genuinely funny stuff too.

Of course but that's what mods and admins are for. :)