Advanced basebuilding (levels)

[Brittanica 26]

I have thaught about this idea for a long time, and made a quick little sketch with paint.

English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry for the bad grammer.

Right now, the only end-game objective is vehicle hording and no tools are provided for an alternative.

I think campbuilding could be a pretty good alternative for most players, and I would like to present this system I've come up with.

Building a base comes with 2 mechanics 'Building Levels & Advancement'.

Each level promotion requires you to be alive for a certain period or have a certain amount of zombie kills or playerkills or humanity.So whatever your playingstyle might be, they all pay off. This is just an example BTW, numbers could be fset different.

Level table

• Level 1 - none
  
• Level 2 - 2 Hrs. 20 Kills 1 Kill 3500 p.
  
• Level 3 - 5 Hrs. 100 Kills 3 Kills 4500 p.
  
• Level 4 - 10 Hrs. 200 Kills 6 Kills 7500 p.
  
• Level 5 - 15 Hrs. 350 Kills 10 Kills 10000 p.
  
• Level 6 - 20 Hrs. 500 Kills 15 Kills 15000 p.
  
• Level 7 - 28 Hrs. 700 Kills 20 Kills 25000 p.
  
• Level 8 - 35 Hrs. 1000 Kills 25 Kills 40000 p.
  

Each time you die, you loose 1 buildinglevel and each building that comes with it.

When building the medical tent, you actually have a chance of 50% to spawn back at your camp.

However, dieing wil make you loose 1 buildinglevel, so if you have just managed to build the medical tent, you will loose it.

Summary of available buildings for your camp.

So what needs to be added?

Keys for locks; Each type of vehicle should have it's own key which spawn at residentials. Should not be hard to find.

Gates and garage's require a own type of key which is rare and can be found everytime you build such a structure.

Buildingtools; Each structure requires a foundation which costs 1 bag of cement, further more we need steel bars.

Machinery; High-end stuff which is extremely rare and can be used to upgrade your structure; Vehicle repair system, medical care system, ammunition construction set & alarmsystem.

Sensors; Linked to your GPS these items can be placed all over the map and will signal your GPS unit once movement is detected in it's proxomity. (50-100m range).

Dogs who only take orders from their boss.

See you in Cherno,

[[email protected] 2416]

Nice!

I think the GPS will probably be removed from standalone, (map reading is part of the survival aspect) so I don't know if the sensors would be applicable. Might be overpowered to have them anywhere too.

It's great to see a well thought out suggestion, most I've read consist of "We need bases!"

I'm also pretty sure Rocket is leaning more towards subterranean base building (if it's possible) but damn, I want that cut out guard dog. He looks mean.

[Lights Out 141]

Wait, so if you die you only lose a level? Its permadeath, you should lose everything! Exactly no carry over between characters.

As far as "building levels", it should be a skill only acheived by, well building structures.

If a passive skill system isn't implemented, then give everyone the ability to build everything. However, the more advanced the structure is, the more material you need. It should require a lot of material to build anything more than a tent if everyone is just given the ability to build everything. Don't make it easy.

Edit: It should be so difficult that you have to build it piece by piece like a real structure. Lay foundation with cement, put up the wood frame, etc. etc. Maybe give us a tarp to cover the structure so it doesnt stick out like a sore thumb before its fully fortified. Whether its above ground or below, we need to be able to hide the construction site.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Lights Out

[birdman 108]

So a level is about 10ft?

Let's see, that is 115 total hours to build an 80ft deep subterranean base (not just an 80ft hole).

Impressive. . .

[[email protected] 2416]

@Lights Out - I don't think carrying a base structure over between deaths is too far fetched. You can already fill a tent with crap and kit your new clone out in no time flat!

[Lights Out 141]

@Lights Out - I don't think carrying a base structure over between deaths is too far fetched. You can already fill a tent with crap and kit your new clone out in no time flat!

Agreed, but that doesn't mean we should exasperate the problem.

[indominator 95]

this is so Unauthentic, but its a nice idea, if it could feel authentic than prolly yes, but since it feels so generic and "gamey" to me i believe this should not be implemented

[rallye 89]

I agree with indominator,

The 'buildings' should be something just as easy to lose as they are to build. Only location, secrecy, and active guarding should protect them. Nor should they be 'lost' when you die, not immediately. Pieces should start despawning if not repaired. So, if say you lost your base in a gun fight with another group they don't get everything but they get some.. The risk and burden of carrying tons of materials should be the only obstacle. The base size only limited by your available space, and fortitude to put your life on the line. None of this arbitrary levels or XP or any of that other nonsense. They are artificial and exactly the kind of thing the Day Z mod appears to be against.

[jukaga 271]

I don't want to see players digging out bunkers, it just makes no sense. Instead, have instanced underground areas that players could occupy and fight over with some resources that make it worth fighting over, ie water pumps, ammo production tools, soylent green tanks; what I'm saying is we should be taking over already existing soviet era bunkers, not magically building underground bases after the apocalypse has hit.

[Brittanica 26]

@Lights Out - I don't think carrying a base structure over between deaths is too far fetched. You can already fill a tent with crap and kit your new clone out in no time flat!

Ma point exactly.

You guys inspired me.

Maybe a better idea would be to combine all those bandit/survivor achievements mentioned before; Zombiekills, playerkills, humanityscore & 'playtime per life'.

You could set different milestones for each where a player can earn overall skillpoints which are shown in the interface.

A certain amount of skillpoints is then required to build a specific type of building in your camp.

We could even have an option where if you have achieved the most of your skillpoints through banditry, the buildings in your camp will look dirty and dark.

Important question is, what happens if you die? The first thing people do when they spawn is head straight for their tents to gear up, thats why I added a high-end structure which makes it possible for you to spawn at your camp.

Building a perfect camp takes lots of work so it would be sad to see all your hard work go to shit because you accidently fell off a roof.

A better idea would be to introduce something called 'Maintenance'.

Your camp stays just the way it is, but needs some kind of maintenance work, like cement bags and steel bars.

After you spawn from death your skillpoints will be 0, in order to do some maintenance you first have to aquire a certain amount of skillpoints.

So if you die, you still have a chance to save your camp before it starts to erode by for example; killing x number of zombies or gaining a certain level of humanity.

I think this model is perfect because it provides the same chances for every playingstyle.

Also, groups dont necessarily have an advantage over solo players to build a safe camp, because of the skillpoint system.

They can't just sum up all their skillpoints, it requires at least one person to have a certain amount of skillpoints to build these structures.

Also, this model will keep everyone bizzy since you constantly need to work on your camp because of maintenance requirements.

I

[rallye 89]

I don't want to see players digging out bunkers, it just makes no sense. Instead, have instanced underground areas that players could occupy and fight over with some resources that make it worth fighting over, ie water pumps, ammo production tools, soylent green tanks; what I'm saying is we should be taking over already existing soviet era bunkers, not magically building underground bases after the apocalypse has hit.

Instanced? This isn't wow bud. If you want something in DayZ you better work for it. No free handouts. No immersion breaking instance nonsense. The underground space should largely already exist for some places,naturally occurring cave systems maybe as well. Repairing it and turning it habitable and defensible should be the goals. You should want someones base simply because it is there and 'could' contain great things. No guarantees.

Edit I changed my mind there should definitely be a few bunkers already but most should be small, maybe one or two large for people to really fight over.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Lobo

[Brittanica 26]

Dude, we could have endless structure upgrade's. I mean, we could even go so far that you'll eventually are able to build your own bysicles from steel bars.

We could give the tractor a purpose by allowing agriculture and farming to take place.

We should be able to build a camp which provides in food, drinks and (with the right basic materials) ammunition.

Security.

Another idea would be to offer some sort of protection on your camp, thats why I added the key/locks and alarmsensors to the list of buildings.

This game is not taking place in the '40's', we should be able to use today's technologies.

Let's say this would happen tomorrow, the first thing we do when we would leave our shelter is secure it properly.

So that's where the keys come in, it's not farfetched at all.

Gate-, garage- and vehiclekeys should be available everywhere with a different spawnchance.

Let's say you find a camp which is secured, then you first need to find a gatekey.

Vehicles spawn with their keys, but they can be found in residential area's also.

We could even have a extremely rare skeleton key, which works on everything.

When a survivor spawns, he first needs to find these important items, instead of just coinsidentally bumping into someone's camp.

Destroying camps.

It should be possible to destroy someone's camp, but not be made to easy.

The advancer the structures on it, the more firepower you need.

Stone structures can only be destroyed by satchel charges, wooden structures by firepower and others by simply driving over them.

Edited October 4, 2012 by gooogle

[Brittanica 26]

I agree with indominator,

None of this arbitrary levels or XP or any of that other nonsense. They are artificial and exactly the kind of thing the Day Z mod appears to be against.

I see what you mean, but let's say we have 2 type of survivors; The 'new survivor' and the 'experienced survivor'.

The New survivor just spawned of the coast with some bandages, while the experienced one has survived for multiple weeks so far.

Dont you think the experienced dude should have managed some sort of skillset by now in regard to the green guy?

This skillset should give him access to more advanced building abilities, that's it! No advances in any other fields such as stamina, fighting skills or vehicle-handling.

There's no such thing as a Lvl.2 Hunter of Lvl.5 Sniper, but the time one has survived so far should count for something.

[Brittanica 26]

Vechile hording can be stopped by introducing 'motor oil'.

If your vehicle runs out of this rare product, it will loose it's 'save' and respawn back at it's original spawnpoint on the map.

Unless it's saved on a vehicle pad/garage in your camp.

You can only build all structures once, so we can limit the amound of vehicles to let's say 3.

All other vehicles which are not in on a vehicle pad or garage require 'motor oil' to be saved..

[Brittanica 26]

Dude, I'm sorry but ideas just keep popping up after every post.

Maybe some of them will make sense, so don't mind my enthousiasm if it irritates you.

I did read something about someone suggesting an idea to write notes in-game.

Lots of people liked it, so how about you can actually build a mailbox at your camp?

Let's say someone wants to trade something, or team up, warn you or perhaps he needs your help with a campraid.

This way he can drop a note in your mailbox to gain your attention.

You could even become friendly neighbours when securing the perimeter is in both people's interest.

[Brittanica 26]

I will start a new thread one of these days, pitching all these ideas in a single detailed format to explain all the mechanics and philosophy behind this model.

[ziogualty 45]

Idea is fine.

Having a good base could be an amazing achievement, but, in simple words, should be a "dayz camp"!

Incredibly though (many people bound in some way to the camp must work togheter) , difficult (raw material to find) and expensive to build (a lot of rare raw materials needed), as well as to mantain (with raw materials on weekly basis) it, and in any case it does not last forever (deteriorates quickly to dust if maintenance and requirements are not fulfilled weekly or if abandoned or not enough survivors can manage it).

P.S. Get rid of the dog (and defence system in general): one "defense" bite to a zombie and it should get infected, attacking survivors (sounds more like a trap than a defense tool).

The only defence of a survivors is himself.

Edited October 5, 2012 by ziogualty

[Brittanica 26]

Incredibly though (many people bound in some way to the camp must work togheter) , difficult (raw material to find) and expensive to build (a lot of rare raw materials needed), as well as to mantain (with raw materials on weekly basis) it, and in any case it does not last forever (deteriorates quickly to dust if maintenance and requirements are not fulfilled weekly or if abandoned or not enough survivors can manage it).

I was thinking of basic materials such as cement and steel which require a great amount of inventory slots to move.

So, 'just like in real life', you'll be better off using a vehicle which is capable of moving large quantities of material.

The amount of deterioration at the camp should be determined by usage, amount of storage, time and damage.

With usage I mean, the more people that interact with a structure, the sooner maintenance is required.

There should not be any advantage in regard to groups and solo-survivors, except for the fact that groups have more 'working hands' available to them.

With damage I mean, the amount of damage a structure can take. Structures can be upgraded, but not downgraded.

Let's say you finally managed to upgrade your workshop to a ammunition side - and it gets destoyed. Then it will not downgrade back, but immediately disappear.

Campsite's do not attract zombies, but when a zombie spawns near it should be able to damage your camp with time. A guard dog can kill it in your absense.

Also, each player should be able to build one 'advanced camp' per time, and set up unlimited tents across the map.

Edited October 5, 2012 by gooogle

[rallye 89]

I see what you mean, but let's say we have 2 type of survivors; The 'new survivor' and the 'experienced survivor'.

The New survivor just spawned of the coast with some bandages, while the experienced one has survived for multiple weeks so far.

Dont you think the experienced dude should have managed some sort of skillset by now in regard to the green guy?

This skillset should give him access to more advanced building abilities, that's it! No advances in any other fields such as stamina, fighting skills or vehicle-handling.

There's no such thing as a Lvl.2 Hunter of Lvl.5 Sniper, but the time one has survived so far should count for something.

The skill set he has, is knowing where to go, when to go, the spots to avoid, the experience he has gained as the player of game, not the in game avatar. That is his edge. XP just has no place here. Let's see things that rely on the learned skill of the player. Does a player for 2 months of DayZ mod not have a huge advantage over a noob? In my experience, we do. Let the player be the grizzled vet, not the avatar.

[Brittanica 26]

I dont think you get my point..

The experienced player can die, spawn back and yet still know where to go, when to go, etc.

Except for his gear, he hasn't lost anything when he's dead, am I right?

So death is not permanent, it has no meaning when you could basicly just run back to your body, loot it and pick up where you left.

Of course navigation, city-information and the ability to track players is something you learn playing this game, and is not bound to your ingame avatar.

I propose a system in which players can gain 'skillpoints' for some actions like killing zeds/players, medical assistance and staying alive.

These points give you the option to build new structures.

So when this charachter dies, he looses all his skillpoints and all the experiences from his past life.

In order to construct a high-end campsite, he needs to earn each and every 'skillpoint' back again.

So this guy actually has something to loose when he dies.

I think the main theory behind this game is that YOU ARE NEVER SAFE.

And the proposed concept ('The longer you survive, the more you have to loose') is a neccesary addition which hasn't been presented in this mod yet.

The game itself can provide the player with all the freedom he wants, but an end-game objective is needed eventually.

What happens when you have everything you want? Right now the only choice you have is to go and snipe people or run circles around black forest looking for meat.

Why not set up new windows during mid- and endgame so surviving actually has a purpose?

This should not mean that other playstyles have to suffer from it, if you dont wanna build a campsite and just enjoy the weather, that should be possible to.

I think a difference in charachteristics is mandatory to keep this game exciting.

Edited October 5, 2012 by gooogle

[liquidcactus 719]

its a good idea man but i think when you die you should lose all levels thus to encourage ppl to work together and so that building you own structure is more difficult therefore rewarding the group of survivors who worked hard for their own building