Suggestions that I feel promotes and balances co-op/pvp

[popmelt 0]

Wall of text incoming.

I've been playing DayZ over the last couple of days, and I'm convinced. This mod has a ton of potential, and its nice to see an initiative for a realistic, and open, zombie survival game. We all have different views on what would make this a better, and more fun game, so I'm pretty sure many of you won't agree with my suggestions, but I decided to list a few.

Just so we are clear, I'm new to the ARMA-franchise, I bought the game solely to give the DayZ-mod a go. This means I'm not sure about whats possible to do in the engine and whats not.

First. Sprinting zombies? I've never enjoyed them. It just feels wrong. Remember, zombies are rotting carcasses, it does not make sense for them to be able to run without their legs ripping apart (unless the games zombie-lore differs from the classics). How would I go about making the game "feel dangerous" without running zombies you might ask? Make them hurt, bad. If you get bitten, you'll have to take an antidote or you'd die within a set time, and antidotes would be a rare commodity, so rare that it promotes PvP. Limit the players movement based on amount of weapons and provisions carried. And most important; add a stamina-bar. Running forever makes little to no sense, and if you can't run, you cant outrun a horde of walking dead. I believe these changes would make co-op more interesting due to the fact that players would be needed to delegate responsibilities amongst each other, and most importantly it would promote co-op play (imagine one player as a light-foot scout carrying next to nothing to spot either zombies or player, when his team-mates carry more proviants and heavier weapons). I believe these two changes would balance the Co-Op/PvP experience. Other things zombies should not be able to do; swim and climb ladders (one of my friends said he had experienced the latter, I'm not sure if it really happened).

Second. Close encounters with other players. There should be a quick way to signal that you are friendly, this could be a button for raising your hands up in the air communicating that you are unarmed, or at least not pointing your gun at them. This could also work in a scenario where you are "forced" to do it by players that outnumber you, in either players or gun-power, but for some reason wont kill you, they just want your precious antidote. Who knows, it could also be used as a way to set up an ambush.

Player-built bases/barricades and custom signs? Would be awesome. Signs could even be used as traps. I'm not sure how this would play out since I'm not sure how the ARMA-engine works. Another thing I'm pretty sure everyone wants, is that you are able to enter every house. Theres nothing more frustrating then a house with doors that cant be entered. I guess this is a map-issue. Maybe it gets better in ARMA3? (I've heard the rumors) :)

Third. Larger cities. It's already a large continent to play out on, but the cities feel small in comparison. I love the idea of smaller cities and rural areas, but the map lacks a large city. These cities would contain more provisions, and play out to be a hub were most people would want to go, but they would have to take account for the risks it brings, with more players and a considerable amount of zombies.

These are a few of my thoughts that I've been collecting. I'm pretty sure there are many of you who have similar or same thoughts.

TL;DR : No sprinting, swimming or climbing zombies, but more dangerous bites which requires antidotes to cure. Stamina-bar, not possible to outrun zombies forever. Weight capacity effects movement-speed which promotes co-op, and helps giving a natural role in a group. Better "body language" in close encounters with other players. Custom barricades and sings. Larger cities with more risks.

[Yak 2]

I agree those are great suggestions. Maybe once the stand alone game is out later this year talked about at E3, they will add this much needed features and more!

[Dinnj 4]

First point, Rocket I am sure has already said they are not undead but infected people.

[popmelt 0]

First point' date=' Rocket I am sure has already said they are [b']not undead but infected people.

That may be. That raises the question; "Why does new games feel like they have to create new types of zombies?"

I guess the whole thing started with the remakes of the old classics and the 28 day later films. And after the release of Left 4 Dead, every game made special zombies.

My personal experience with this game is that the zombies are just an obstacle to tackle the real threat; other players.

[Morreski 0]

I really like this idea, because running for 5 kilometer being chased by zombie indefinitely except if the zombie decide to follow another player.

Slow zombie only head shot and they can quick kill you, but don't run around you like a crazy dog to finally come slowly to fight you. A melee system could be good too, because when you are out of ammo the only way you are is to find ammo in a village full of zombie... Its hard and generally we are fucked.

[popmelt 0]

I really like this idea' date=' because running for 5 kilometer being chased by zombie indefinitely except if the zombie decide to follow another people.

Slow zombie only head shot and they can quick kill you, but don't run around you like a crazy dog to finally come slowly to fight you. A melee system could be good too, because when you are out of ammo the only way you are is to find ammo in a village full of zombie... Its hard and generally we are fucked.

[/quote']

I agree. Melee-weapons are needed, but ranged is to be the preferred choice since going near zombies are potentially lethal. Melee-weapons would work best on small groups of zombies you would want to take down silently. Ranged weapons would be needed to take down larger groups, since you could easily get swarmed when fighting melee.

Lets say you were dealt a melee-weapon to begin with instead of the Makarov. You would want to progress slowly and pick your fights wisely when scavanging, instead of going straight to the more dangerous zones, like cities.

[thygrrr 1]

But in 28 Days Later, the zombies ARE infected...?!

Runner zombies are much cooler. Except I wouldn't want them to be zig-zagging, and laggy, and clipping through glitchy buildings.

[popmelt 0]

But in 28 Days Later' date=' the zombies ARE infected...?![/quote']

Yes, which was my point. The new-school zombies/infected started around those movies I think. Along with the remakes of the old zombie-classics.

[Morreski 0]

But in 28 Days Later' date=' the zombies ARE infected...?!

Runner zombies are much cooler. Except I wouldn't want them to be zig-zagging, and laggy, and clipping through glitchy buildings.

[/quote']

The best part is when I see the bullet impact on the head of the zombie and they don't kill them :)

Every time I die Its because I am out of ammo and can't find it without get gang-banged by a horde of zombie. I cant outrun them because they are focused on me, also if they are at 300 meter than me.

[duddbudda 33]

1)a These are not zombies, they are infected. Think of them as Apex Predators, not rotting corpses

1)b why reinvent them? because Romero's Zombies aren't even one tenth as scary as 28 Days' Infected and because zombies don't exist so people can make up whatever stories they like

1)c infectious bites? maybe, but there's a reason the player isn't infected...

1)d stamina bar? ARMA is a milsim, soldiers can run for hours carrying their own bodyweight on their backs. I can comfortably run for an hour (without a pack, maybe should try it) and I don't want my asthmatic avatar collapsing after 500 meters.

1)e Encumberance? coming in ARMA III

2)a salute with #

2)b body language? ARMA lets you sit and salute on top of being able to wiggle side to side, shake and nod your head, point your gun between your legs whilst looking straight ahead... if they copy it they're probably friendly

2)c map issue, fixed in many ARMA II OA maps, fixed in ARMA III

3) have you been to Berez? It's bigger and better than Cherno and Electro, has less bandits, less makaroving nubs and can be confidently overwatched from many angles

3)a base building? only possible for teams that can deploy 24 hour surrveilance? I like it

want to give them NPCs to guard their shit? get out

---

Every time I die Its because I am out of ammo and can't find it without get gang-banged by a horde of zombie

every time you die it's because you have no idea what you're doing

[A Man Named GOB 1]

AI is dumb and the zombies are not much of a threat once you get used to them. I also dont know that much can or will ever be done about the map or cities in it. Also, I cant imagine trying to run from cherno to NW airfield while constantly having to stop to catch my breath. While this game is supposed to be realistic, there are some aspects that are best left the way they are. From what I understand, in ARMA3, there will be running speed effects for carrying heavy loads; though I dont think it affects how long you can run for. As for the signaling, there are some decent ways to signal while close to someone, long distances havent been figured out yet.

[Morreski 0]

every time you die it's because you have no idea what you're doing

What will you do when you run out of ammo and you have chased by zombie ?

[duddbudda 33]

every time you die it's because you have no idea what you're doing

What will you do when you run out of ammo and you have chased by zombie ?

that doesn't happen

if it did I would run into the barns with four doors looking for weapons, if I found a barn without any weapons I'd ru nto the next barn

[droznig 20]

every time you die it's because you have no idea what you're doing

What will you do when you run out of ammo and you have chased by zombie ?

I have never run out of ammo for both guns, I'm not dumb enough to use all my ammo, or get into a situation where I may need more ammo than I have.

If you find you are running out of ammo all the time, above quote applies.

[popmelt 0]

1)a These are not zombies' date=' they are infected. Think of them as Apex Predators, not rotting corpses

1)b why reinvent them? because Romero's Zombies aren't even one tenth as scary as 28 Days' Infected and because zombies don't exist so people can make up whatever stories they like

1)c infectious bites? maybe, but there's a reason the player isn't infected...

1)d stamina bar? ARMA is a milsim, soldiers can run for hours carrying their own bodyweight on their backs. I can comfortably run for an hour (without a pack, maybe should try it) and I don't want my asthmatic avatar collapsing after 500 meters.

1)e Encumberance? coming in ARMA III

2)a salute with #

2)b body language? ARMA lets you sit and salute on top of being able to wiggle side to side, shake and nod your head, point your gun between your legs whilst looking straight ahead... if they copy it they're probably friendly

2)c map issue, fixed in many ARMA II OA maps, fixed in ARMA III

3) have you been to Berez? It's bigger and better than Cherno and Electro, has less bandits, less makaroving nubs and can be confidently overwatched from many angles

3)a base building? only possible for teams that can deploy 24 hour surrveilance? I like it

want to give them NPCs to guard their shit? get out

[hr']

Your points are valid, but I'm not sure DayZ is supposed to be a "milisim survival". Correct me if I'm wrong. Personally I feel the game would be even more scarier if you could not just sprint all over.

I'm okay with running infected, but the sprinting as it is now, for both zombies and players, is a bit over the top. I'm aware it's Alpha and the AI is botched, but personally I would like them to be a tad slower, but do more harm.

In regards to the Stamina-bar, it would have you think twice before engaging any threat. This is were I feel this mods strength is. If you can outrun anything there is no need for evaluating anything. You would just go Jenkins everywhere.

I have not been to Berez yet, and I have yet to figure out all of the controls regarding the "body language", but thanks for the heads-up.

NPCs to guard their shit would not play into the risk of erecting a camp in the first place, so I'm all on your side there :)

[Lapid 0]

1)a These are not zombies' date=' they are infected. Think of them as Apex Predators, not rotting corpses

1)b why reinvent them? because Romero's Zombies aren't even one tenth as scary as 28 Days' Infected and because zombies don't exist so people can make up whatever stories they like

1)c infectious bites? maybe, but there's a reason the player isn't infected...

[/quote']

I poked my head into this game a few days ago and the running zombie idea really turned be off. While I can understand that these are not exactly zombies and the creators are at liberty to do whatever they envision, they still share the same name of "zombie" in the game. The whole fear behind zombies is the idea of slow, inevitable doom and not fast-paced jumps. Sure, with the advent of running zombies, small groups of zeds become a larger threat but that wasn't their intention.

The movie industry created these running zombies because it took too long understand the slow psychological terror of zombies while running zombies posed a clear and immediate threat. I can see where people are coming from. A running zombie makes every encounter exciting compared to some limping bag of flesh. This is a great game nonetheless and I'll probably buy ARMA just for it. I'm just waiting for the day that someone creates an honest zombie game that captures the idea of a looming terror rather than an immediate one.

[Riis 22]

The game developers never Called them zombies, players did that. The devs called them infected and Zs.

Furthermore, movies gave you the idea that a zombie is a slow moving undead corpse in shambles, voodoo however gave you real zombies that are no undead ;) look it up :D