Thoughts on bandits, RP, the Sandbox, and non-murder crime.

[Brew78 27]

Well, I guess my thread got taken in the forum rollback so I'm not sure if anyone saw it, loved it, or even told me I'm a flaming idiot.

Either way, don't want to post the whole thing again.

The jist of it was that in an open sandbox world like this, there's a whole lot of potential RP, especially if forming squads and not just murdering everyone you see will be encouraged in future updates as stated by Rocket.

So my thoughts revolved around three main things.

1) Ability to holster pistols. Two strangers meeting will potentially be substantially less hostile if they're not pointing guns at each other. It will also be a way to show submission if a robber got the drop on someone and has a gun pointed at them at close range. If the local/direct VOIP ever starts working properly (instead of that hideously annoying echo/stutter loop) then you could actually say "drop it!" to someone you snuck up on.

2) Ability to show submission. This could be a hotkey to drop or throw the currently selected weapon. It could be a "raise hands" emote that holsters weapon and is a toggle that needs to be unset before re-arming.

3) Improved ability to drop cargo. There's no question the inventory system is.... unique in this game. The ability to dump cargo with a "drop all" gear menu button might make it less likely that the guy pointing a gun at you will just pull the trigger and loot you anyway.

Or maybe a hotkey or mousewheel option for use while running might be enough to get someone (or a group) off your back if you're being pursued and don't want to fight or deal with the crouch-and-fiddle-with-gear-menu inventory system. Perhaps a "dump random item" mousewheel option that would drop a single item while you're running. Or more options to categorize, like "dump a can" or "dump a magazine".

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So, this train of thought is to try to encourage more non-murder crime. I mean, sure, the demographic that kills on sight for the sake of killing on sight will continue to do so. Those that kill on sight for the sake of looting will probably still do so. But maybe they won't. Those that enjoy a little RP in their sandbox might get a bit of enjoyment over actually robbing someone, especially in an organized gang.

And those who are going for the only score there is in this game (number of days alive), or really don't want to spend the next half hour trying to run back to where their tent is or to join friends they were trying to find in the first place, they'll probably enjoy the opportunity to not take a bullet to the head and at the very least keep their location. A chance to retreat, even disarmed, may still be better than starting over.

I'm not claiming this will "fix" anything, it just provides more tools to the players to use or not use.

[Sabata (DayZ) 1]

Most suggestions go around the player kill issue and I see a flaw in most, if not all of them. Being trigger happy and a dick in a first person shooter is so common and widely spread. Some players may want to cooperate and socialize and your suggestions will help for sure. As soon they are killed a few times by bandits, they will stop trying and the KoS loop will run forever.

Isn't like I want to steal the thread but my solution is simple: allow players to set its status as friendly (involves some sort of friendly skin), then they can't hurt other friendlies. If they want to revert it back, a cool down time prevents they can damage anyone immediately.

Sounds terrible but nothing else will end the KoS loop.

[Brew78 27]

Most suggestions go around the player kill issue and I see a flaw in most' date=' if not all of them. Being trigger happy and a dick in a first person shooter is so common and widely spread. Some players may want to cooperate and socialize and your suggestions will help for sure. As soon they are killed a few times by bandits, they will stop trying and the KoS loop will run forever.

[/quote']

I'm not saying I disagree in any way. But like I said in closing, I don't think this will "fix" anything - just might make interactions more interesting if people had more tools they could utilize.

Like.. being able to quickly dump your loot (maybe not weapons) might make cat-and-mouse games more interesting.

I dunno, just think it'd be cool to have more options to use when interacting with others, since this is an open sandbox without specific plot.

[-III 1]

A common-ish suggestion that I happen to like is forms of non lethal take downs. Rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, etc. Then people can still be shoot on sight but you don't have to kill them.

[Virfortis 111]

Non-Lethal take-downs are like the "laser tag" mode in America's Army 2.

You don't know it exists unless someone tells you, and even then, nobody plays/does it. This is a video game, and even RPers want blood. I'm not saying more options is a BAD idea, but they would never be used and are, for the most part, a waste of development time.

[Blasty 0]

It would never work. You holster your pistol you just set yourself up for not being able to defend yourself. Put your hands above your head and stand still you make yourself a bigger target.