Helicopter NPC Trader (post-Beta)

[mr_sev 0]

There are a couple of concepts that need to be in place for this idea to work:

1. Radios

2. NPCs

3. Being able trigger NPCs to travel to a certain location

4. A currency or ‘player balance’

The idea is this: Traders would be a fantastic way to trade the items you don’t need and obtain the ones you want. Unfortunately if they were in static locations they would be camped to death... so don’t make them in static locations. Traders travel via Blackhawk to any suitable location on the map.

Players who obtain radios are able to either request traders travel to their location, or alternatively – traders may ‘announce’ that they will be at certain locations in-game at a certain time (potentially much easier to script).

The traders travel to and from the specified coordinates via helicopter. Players who are at the right place at the right time are able to approach and trade items. Their ‘balance’ is maintained by the trader (serverside) and is reset on death.

Another alternative is the ability to request via radio “supply drops”, prevalent on having an existing balance with the trader.

Balance requirements:

If it’s a call-on-demand implementation, need to prevent individuals or groups ‘hogging/spamming’ the helicopter:

o Traders can only be called by radio

o Radios are incredibly rare

o Traders can only be called once per hour

o They can only be called once per 48h by a given radio (this is to prevent a group of players sharing their radio around to get past 48h restrictions)

- Traders should have a restricted supply of high-end items. This is not a one-stop shop for NVGs, etc. The idea is that if you manage to survive long-enough, you can build up a balance. You might even be able to request a ‘priority delivery’ (at an inflated price to guarantee an item).

- Traders should be somewhat unkillable (or really heavily defended by NPCs). This is to restrict the ability for a group of people to kill and loot high-end items easily.

Without knowing the ARMA2 scripting engine, I don’t know how much of this is possible, or even feasible in the DayZ environment. Something like this could be implemented by roleplaying gamers I suppose...

[Shrapnel (DayZ) 13]

The idea will be shot down instantly.

Just saying this now, THIS IS NOT AN MMO!

This is hardcore survival that makes people cry because they have to rely on themselves in order to get anywhere.

Adding any form of currency would imply that there is civilization, and therefore contradict the fact that its an Apocalypse.

If you want something in the game, find it yourself, don't go trying to change the game so you can go running to a NPC Vendor and buy it with beans and tin cans.

Seriously, the fuck is wrong with people suggesting these useless ideas..?

[Bandit Hunter 29]

Helicopter will be shot down. Wreck will be looted. NPC traders helmet will become a status symbol for bandit tribe.

[SixPackAbs 13]

no, disagree with any npc traders or stores and to be honest the only currencies there would in an apocalypse would be food, drugs, ammunition and supplies.

if someone wants to fix a chopper, get a stockpile of loot, and try to be a roaming trader however it would be pretty awesome. said person would be target #1 for pretty much everybody though.

[Razor (DayZ) 0]

If i had a chopper i would GTFO instead of risking my ass by trading with some scrubs.

Also what Shrapnel said.

[fosty99 160]

Players can be the traders, why the hell do we need NPCs?

[Razor (DayZ) 0]

Because players don't have incentive to trade.

Firstly, there is no trade system - people just dig in each other's backpacks.

Secondly, there are not enough people to set up a trade post.

[mr_sev 0]

In my head I kind of imagined a scenario where Blackwater/Xe-type groups would hoard supplies and trade with the remaining survivors (I had images of "Jericho" in my head).

The addition of a 'trader balance' that is only stored on the traders would (1) prevent people killing others for on-body money (and ruining economy by farming survivors), and (2) provide yet another penalty in the event of death (your trader balance would have to be built up again).