Standalone Suggestions

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

Since the mod seems to pretty much beyond repair imho. I've decided to rejig my suggestions list into a standalone suggestions list and remove discussion about the mod and bugs.

There's so much duplication in here it's hard to credit original authors on the ones I didn't come up with myself but I try.

Firstly communication. Dayz is all about interaction between players. It's important that communication is quick, clear and easy as death occurs so fast.

1: Whisper, Talk, Shout. Different ranges and audibility to both players and zombies. Also a whistle or some-such.

2: Improved hand signals for silent communication.

3: Walky talkies and radios for long range communication. http://dayzmod.com/f...walkie-talkies/

3.5: (controversial) Find a way of either stopping 3rd party voice or making it transmit an audible (non specific "talking") noise in game. To encourage use of direct chat over 3rd party chat. And at least give those people that still use it the penalty of giving away their position in game. I discuss this at the end of the OP here: http://dayzmod.com/f...f-text-warning/

4: Player Journals: http://dayzmod.com/f...ge__hl__journal . A great idea that will add a valuable humanising element.

5: Notes. Placeable notes. Being able to interact with players in this way is important I think. Limits will be needed of course.

6: Better hunting. Animals that are harder to hunt, they spook and run etc. Also I'd like to see Z's kill nearby animals, providing that feeling of a ravaged eco system and creating another unpredictable element to their behaviour. Combined with the zombie modifications below would create unpredictable zombie encounters. ie Wandering through the woods, a deer runs past followed by some zeds, then they spot you...

Gear and loot etc:

7: A more involved crafting system. Makeshift weapons etc. Possibly more interesting cooking.

8:Far less high end military gear. I believe the CZ550 should be the top of the food chain for all but a very very lucky few. There should be less ammo and weapons in general , giving more of a scrabbling for survival feel. And tied in with the crafting system so you can always make SOMETHING to defend yourself with. Some discussion on this subject here: http://dayzmod.com/f...tality-of-dayz/ I also wonder if Thermal and NVG should go. The nightime / light mechanic is very rewarding.

9: Less predictable loot locations. Maybe a searching system so that you have to search more carefully to find goodies.

10: repairable generators etc. i don't agree with everything in this thread but there is some good discussion: http://dayzmod.com/f...enerators-v-33/ . I also know generators are in the game with an eye to being used so expect some of this stuff anyway.

11: Padlocks: Allows players to lock any door , blocking zombies. but players can break padlock with any weapon. Alolows players to hold up in a building against zombies for a while but not block players permanently.

12: Camo netting. To help hide vehicles. It's been suggested many times.

13: non lethal weapons. For instance tranq darts. To balance , bolt action, slow firing. !st hit slows player and blurs vision. 2nd shot slows more until they pass out. Epi pen neutralises effects. Again adds more gameplay options.

14: Shots damaging equipment. Discussion here: http://dayzmod.com/f...age-by-gunfire/ . Also weapon maintenance.

Environment:

15: This ground mist is amazing, would be greatif this cropped up occasionally, http://dayzmod.com/f...136-heavy-mist/ . More atmosphere and horror in general.

Zombies:

16: Zombies more curious about long range noises. For instance an explosion in the distance would make many of them shamble that way. Not agroed as such just curious.

17: Zombies not giving up so easily. It's currently to easy to lose zombies, and it is immersion breaking that they suddenly stop and give up straight away. A "searching" period after they lose a player would be nice.

18: Zombies spawning much further from the player, giving the feel that they are always there, and making them more dangerous , especially when combined with No: 16. Discussion here : http://dayzmod.com/f...ns-and-zombies/ (Ignore references to patch optimisations).

18: GORE. Lots more blood and gore all around. Be nice to see dismemberment etc.

General:

19: Standardise Things: I'm assuming the standalone will provide a standard "this is Dayz" experience. http://dayzmod.com/f...dardise-things/ . Up the FOV a bit, and remove peripheral dots.

20: Server hopping: It's really nice to be able to change servers at will. And the flow of new people coming through a server keeps it alive in many ways. But I wonder if ghosting can ever really be fixed ? Do the pros outweigh the cons ? I'm not sure on this one but wonder if there should be a delay before you can go back to a previous server. Or possibly even being locked to one server ?

21: Linked maps to create a bigger playing area. http://dayzmod.com/f...linked-servers/ Achievable with current technology and doesnt have choke points.

22: Characters linked to timezones. So people can never TOTALLY avoid night-time play. http://dayzmod.com/f...synced-to-time/ Either this or possibly speeding up the day night cycle a little bit. Something to encourage nightime play as it is much more immersive.

23: Player customisation. More costumes and more mix and match, this allows groups to make a "uniform" for visual identification. This should include camo gear options etc, but Ghillie suits need to go, they currently overwrite bandit / hero skins etc and are too ... standard.

These suggestions are or course just my opinion. But I feel strongly that Dayz is at it's best when immersion is at a maximum. I also know that there are elements of Dayz that really enhance the game but people avoid them because they put you at a disadvantage. Everything possible should be done to maximise the massive gameplay possibilities that Dayz has to offer, but that so many people never experience because they are given other options.

The perma death mechanic is incredibly harsh but its what makes Dayz so compelling, there are other mechanics just as exciting in Dayz but they get overlooked.

Im not discussing some issues such as Alt-f4, duping etc as I believe standalone will resolve them anyway.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Strategos

[Snipes007 6]

The ability to have a note pad would be nice data storage to the profile of the character created.

[resin_ 97]

These are pretty good ideas. To be honest, mostly anything is great as long as there is nothing that could potentially turn this mod into an RPG of any caliber.

[tsmhicks 52]

I agree with everything but server hoping. I don't mind going from server to server, but its people who go server to server kill 1 player go to next server that bugs many. I think Rocket has discussed this somewhere but a penalty should be put in place for server hoping to quickly. Since this will be something on the standalone loading into a server shouldnt be the issue (not connecting correctly, etc etc). But for those getting a kill then leaving needs to be addressed. Not sure what type of penalty maybe being passed out, lose ammo, lose gear, lose a weapon, spawn at coastal or first time spawn area, something that will make it say "Don't do it again"

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

Well you say that Resin , but it IS an RPG. In fact I would like to see more RPG elements.

However I do NOT mean stats and skills etc. (Which I assume is what you mean?).

There needs to be more RPG elements in terms of getting people to interact and feel more attachment to their character though.

That is why I feel that better communication, journals and notes etc are such good ideas. As well as anything that gives the player more gameplay options, such as non lethal weapons.

[Nadja92 13]

I do like the idea of a journal, especially if you're just sat their waiting for zombies to pass. Also want Ghillie suit for women to work. And goodness me I would freak out if there was full-on mist.

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

Yeah I left off bugs etc as this is for standalone and you have to assume costumes will work for both sexes eh :)

[Bratalise 26]

I love these ideas, i really agree with people having to get attached to their character as it gives more incentive to survive. However I would like just to throw in one more suggestion: The abort button should have a 20 seconds timer before your character leaves that way people who get in gun fights don't just leave in the middle of it. Also your character should be able to shoot while running so he gives up accuracy for movement but that way gunfights don't end up in a Mexican stand off with someone here and some one over there.

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

Im assuming that standalone will have a solution to Alt-F4.

Wouldn't mind being able to run and spray, or run and throw grenades either for that matter.

[Nadja92 13]

Im assuming that standalone will have a solution to Alt-F4.

Sadly I like the idea of ALT+F4ing should a hacker come kill me, but if the standalone addresses this issue, then they can fix the forced disconnect issue.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Nadja92

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

But again, standalone should have no hacking (or alot less). This is more about feature suggestions rather than issues with the mod as it stands.

[colekern 1364]

Gore should have the ability to be disabled.

[Strategos (DayZ) 190]

Not sure I agree. It IS a zombie game after all, you can't turn the gore off in a zombie movie! I'd say or in a "real zombie apocalypse" but not sure that washes lol