List of improvements for the Stand Alone game

[SimplySublime 2]

I've been playing the game since the Steam summer sale (about a month or so ago) and I've noticed a lot of things that could be added or altered in order for the game to be more fun and immersive. I'm getting a degree in Computer Science with a concentration in game development so I also know that some of the things I'm going to list are probably not easy things to code/implement into the current mod. With that in mind, I'm only suggesting these things for the Stand alone game, where hopefully the developers have more freedom when it comes to coding the game the way they want it. The list is in order of importance as far as what NEEDS to be improved on, and what SHOULD be improved on.

• Zombies should not be able to glitch through walls or open doors. At most, they should be able to break down doors by banging on them, kind of like in Minecraft.
  
• Zombies should act like...Zombies. This means that they should run a little bit slower than they currently do, and also when they run at you, they should make a B-line towards you, not zig-zag. I've never heard of a zombie that was smart enough to dodge back and forth to avoid your bullets. They also shouldn't hop around like frogs, or crawl on the ground. Only reason they should be crawling is if you blow their leg off, which I think is a fantastic idea. The new Resident Evil 6 game coming out has dismemberment when shooting certain body parts on a zombie.
  
• The inventory system and scroll menu in general needs a big overhaul. Being able to quickly and smoothly move items in and out of your inventory or backpack is vital to this games success. Just look at Final Fantasy XIV for example, their menu system and inventory user interfaces were horribly designed and caused many headaches. They eventually fixed it after a few months, however they had already lost tens of millions of dollars from the number of people who quit playing the game after realizing how frustrating it was to play. It could be as simple as having a small list of items appear in a menu on one side, and have a picture of a backpack and a picture of your inventory on the other side. All you would have to do is drag and drop the items you want into the place you want them.
  
• Zombies should actually be able to infect you with the virus. When infected, you would start to cough and get sick (similar to the current infection), lose blood periodically, and have your skin lose color. If you don't find an antidote (located in hospitals) before your blood runs out, your player would drop his guns on the ground and start to walk around amongst the other zombies. The player of course would be spawn back with a new character on the beach or wherever. I think it would be neat if your zombie body would keep the backpack on so that its possible to come across old player's bodies and loot them for whatever they had on them before they turned.
  
• There need to be dynamic and random objectives in each server that give players something to do other than player hunting and loot farming. I've played the Guild Wars 2 beta and they have already implemented something like this where they have world events where everyone in the general area can get together to take down a giant beast or accomplish some task that provides a substantial reward. These events/objectives will help to bring players together and create a community within the server, instead of a bunch of lone wolfs hunting each other.
  
• Flashlights should not be considered a secondary weapon. They should be accessible whenever, just have the player put whatever gun he's hold onto his back, or into a holster/pocket, and have him hold the flashlight. The flashlight should also be held in the direction of the players view. This is especially important when running, currently the player flails the flashlight around in the air while running, providing no light what so ever, making it useless. I'm not saying the flashlight shouldn't bounce around when running, however the player should still have one arm extended out in front of him/her, holding it semi-steadily.
  
• There should be benefits for staying alive longer. This can include things like increased athleticism/stamina, which means a player could go longer without food or water, and also run for longer periods of time. With the implementation of stamina, of course this means you would not be able to run from edge to edge of the map in one breath, you would have to take breathers along the way (maybe make sitting or laying down regen. your stamina faster). You could probably turn these into a sudo-level system similar to MMO's and have stats for stamina, athleticism, hunger, thirst, etc.
  
• Seeing as this is Russia, and that I'm a big fan of Metro 2033, I think a metro or underground network would be quite fun and interesting. It doesn't have to be a complete copy cat version of Metro's, however it can be a shelter away from zombies, and also a place for commerce and socializing. Make it so players can't have weapons out while in the metro so no shenanigans take place. Maybe set up a trading post where players can put up their items for trade. For example, you list your rifle for trade and ask for 10 pieces of meat in return. This way people can use items they found but don't need in order to get things they actually need. I like the bartering system much more than the currency system that you see in a lot of other games.
  

There are a bunch of little things I could list as well but these are the more important ones that I wanted to share for now. Feel free to comment or add your own opinions concerning the list :D

[symptom 185]

I think you put too much thought into this.

LoL

[Maks (DayZ) 14]

The only things I can agree with you on is the zombie AI pathing fix, zombie realism and smoother inventory management. Other than that you are pulling too many examples and ideas from MMOs and RPGs, that will not go over too well in this community that is trying to avoid all that and just have a deep and difficult zombie survival simulation. Good post otherwise!

PS. trading posts sound too much like something you'd find in an MMO based game which DayZ is not, the only trading that would happen is if two people meet up have something each person needs and exchange that way before shooting eachothers brains out later. This is a survival game and I do not think anyone here would like automated trading system (which wouldn't make sense) in a survival simulation game.

[TheBowski 2]

I like a lot of your ideas, especially about infection and stamina. Some of the stuff is common sense, like fixing pathfinding and the horribly broken inventory system. Not sure about the metro, I think there shouldn't be safe areas. I think the area that needs to be expanded upon the most is survival and base building. DayZ is largely a survival game, and the features should reflect that. Fishing, makeshift shelters, traps, and fresh water should all come into play. The environment should be just as deadly as the zombies, if not more so. Wood fortifications would help the whole survival atmosphere, especially if you could board up a house.

[kexy 7]

I like a lot of those Ideas and I would like too see better vehicles more variety and no helicopters depending on map size.

More things to set up a base or buildings that players can fortify just enough to make it hard for one player to raid a groups camp

[jeremy123 5]

i like it good ideas here are my editor ideas,

i was thinking that we should be able to create our own custom map with everything spawnable including,

-doors with turn cranks

-bared windows

-seatable chairs

-turrets

-searchlights

-road maker

-vehicles

-fences

-walls

-destroyed cars

-weapons crates

-customizable weapons

-more melee weapons

-placeable trees

-openable gates

-zombie spawns

-animal spawns

-player spawns

-spawnable vehicle parts for repair or build with spawnable disabled vehicles

-NO MORE ZOMBIES OPENING DOORS AND PHASING THROUGH STUFF!!!!!

-these vehicles added

HMMWV [uS], HMMWV Utility [uS], HMMWV (Ambulance) [uS], HMMWV Terminal [uS],

HMMWV SOV [uS], HMMWV GPK (M2) [uS], HMMWV CROWS (M2) [uS],

Military Offroad (M2) [Takistan Army], MTVR (Ammo) [uS], MTVR (Repair) [uS],

Supply Truck [uS] , MTVR (Fuel) [uS], Stryker ICV (M2) [uS], Military Offroad (M2) [Takistan Militia]

Offroad (DShKM) [Takistan Local], Pickup (PK) [Takistan Locals],

UH-60M [uS], UH-60M MEV [uS], MH-6J [uS], An-2 [Takistan Army], Merlin HC3 [bAF],

AH-6X [uS], M270 MLRS [uS], M113 Ambulance [Takistan Army],

Stryker MEV [uS], AH-64D [uS], Ka-60 (M32) [PMC], UAZ (DShKM) [Takistan Army]

this is alot but its an editor mode so you must have alot of options and tools