Bird flocks

[WGMindless 15]

Backstory:

I was driving down the countryside, and like a lot of people, I was instantly reminded of DayZ when I saw all the familiar buildings and forests. As I drove past a big silo I got a little nervous, probably due to a lot of bad experiences with Snipers on the roof of the silo in Cherno. However, I looked up at the silo and saw a flock of birds perched on the roof and thought "No, there couldn't have been a sniper up there, the birds would have been scared away."

The suggestion:

What if there were random flocks of birds perching on rooftops and trees throughout the game that get scared away when someone comes near? So for instance, if you saw a group of birds sitting on a rooftop you would know there probably isn't a sniper up there, because he would have scared the birds away. Or even better, if you suddenly hear the telltale sound of a bird and then look up to see a small flock of birds flying away from the trees, it'd be like an alarm-system that someone is coming.

Maybe the birds only react to people running, so they won't get startled if you sneak past them or if a simple zombie walks by. Should they only alert you of other players? Should they warn you of incoming zombies? Do they attract zombies to your location if you startle them? I don't know, I'm not a game-designer, I just thought it was a cool concept.

Edited August 24, 2012 by WGMindless

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Nice idea. Have some beans.

[M4L 42]

Better, Zombie Birds, like in Resident evil... nr ehhh 3,4 or 5, the movie

[jjc334 0]

So snipers run around on roof tops?

[SumoS 168]

Better yet:

[Scerun 227]

A nice idea

[WGMindless 15]

So snipers run around on roof tops?

Obviously not every rooftop in the game, this isn't Assassin's Creed.

There are some rooftops of high buildings that are popular Sniper spots, such as the Apartment buildings and the Silos. The birds would also perch on other stuff, like trees, power lines, and fences and flee if someone comes too close or fires a weapon.

(I also love the idea of a flock of birds getting startled and flying up into the air when you shoot and kill another player, very cinematic and it feels DayZ-ish.)

Edited August 24, 2012 by WGMindless

[GexAlmighty 54]

i totally agree. i'm suprised i didn't think of this myself. this solves a lot of issues and adds so much depth. i'd give you 10 beans.

Please god let rocket hear this and put it in

[Jim Bean 157]

But if they simply climb the ladder and lie down then the concept of "they only get scared when you run" would be rendered pointless.

I like the idea though, just needs to have more thought put into it.

[terrvik 2409]

I also thought about this and it would be an awesome addition! Maybe they should only leave trees when a gun is fired though and only on rare occasions when you run by? It would make it riskier to fire a gun since it would not only give away your presence but also your location if someone nearby is aware. Beans.

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

I like the idea of birds added, and players/zombies setting them off to fly when coming to close. Would make the world feel more alive.

[alternater7@hotmail.com 4]

+1

[tatne (DayZ) 3]

That would be great.

+1

[smashbrother 23]

I like it!

+1

[WGMindless 15]

But if they simply climb the ladder and lie down then the concept of "they only get scared when you run" would be rendered pointless.

I like the idea though, just needs to have more thought put into it.

That's why I said "maybe". Like I said, I'm obviously not a game-designer. I was just throwing out different suggestions for how the mechanic could work, depending on what Rocket would want to focus on. (Would he want the birds to alert you of other players or of zombies? Would the birds alert the zombies of you?)

Edited August 25, 2012 by WGMindless

[TractorFiend 58]

Crows eating the dead. Yes.

[WGMindless 15]

Crows eating the dead. Yes.

Wow, I absolutely love the sound of that, that's an awesome idea. It may not do that much for the gameplay, but it would look so cool.

EDIT:

I guess it would work as a way to tell whether or not a corpse has been looted yet. If birds are eating a player's corpse, you know nobody has touched it yet.

Edited August 26, 2012 by WGMindless