Immersion involving items...

[CalmUnity]

Now, I understand these are tiny issues, but they have bugged me for a long time. 

 

I live in the US and there are a few issues with the vocabulary and items that detract from the "I'm an American living in the Southern Midwest" vibe.

 

First, Americans call a "spade" a "shovel."  I understand they are two words for the same thing, but it is true.

EDIT: It was illustrated in this thread that a spade and shovel are two different things, but the in-game art is in fact a shovel.

 

Second, few Americans have any idea what remoulade is.  It would be more realistic as tartar sauce. While a form of remoulade, it is significantly more common in the US.

 

Third, almost every American household has ketchup and the rarity of this item is disproportionate, especially when compared to remoulade.

 

Fourth, I've admittedly never left the country, but here in the US pickles are almost exclusively sold in jars. And, as such, it is my opinion that they should leave an empty jar behind.

 

I appreciate everything the devs are doing, I really like the direction this game has been going, and I understand there is a lot on their plates.  Thanks for taking the time to read my short rant, I'll update with anything else I happen to find.

 

EDIT: Also, there should also be sounds from cooking popcorn.  Potentially, cooking in general creates smells that attract zombies.

 

EDIT (again): Also, in the US a 'vest' is called either a 'tank top' or and 'A-shirt' (less common).

Edited July 23, 2015 by CalmUnity

[Fuji]

And here I was thinking I was drinking some kind of lemonade all this time... I guess my characters just really like mayonnaise.

But there actually is a difference between a spade and a shovel. Spades have square heads and are used more for gardening than actually lifting dirt.

Also, while most pickles are sold in jars, you can usually find bagged pickles at convenience stores.

[Moose65]

For me, remoulade has always bothered me. Never even heard of it until project zomboid, and tartar sauce is definitely more common in the US than it, even though their apparently similar.

 

Seeing yogurt spelt "yoghurt" also was a bit strange.

[RoboMat]

First, Americans call a "spade" a "shovel."  I understand they are two words for the same thing, but it is true.

A spade is different from a shovel though (at least here in germany). Spades usually have flat tips on their blades, whereas shovels have a more pointy blade.

[Makari]

yeah dont really have a problem with any of the things you listed

 

for me the most annoying and unrealistic thing is the rarity of certain extremely common items

 

in general I'd say 90% of all homes should have cooking pot, frying pan, atleast 1 kitchen knife and atleast 2-3 days of food in them

 

I'd go even farther and say 1/2 of all homes have a screwdriver or 2 and a hammer of some kind (they should probably add some form of "small  hammer" with extremely limited durability)

 

and if a person is spending money to have a shed, chances are it will have a good variety of tools in it, again, nothing quite so annoying as searching your 5th shed in search of nails a hammer or a saw only to find thread, needles and duck tape for the 5th time

 

one of the single most annoying things to me in this game is when you first start and go days without finding a single weighted object to use as a weapon...   i should never be able to search every house on a city block and not come away with several frying pans and kitchen knives at the very least.   too often when trying to start a new game I die on day 2 because I have yet to find anything besides forks and my bare hands

 

in my opinion a new class of these common household items needs to be created, "cheap screwdriver, small hammer, steak knife, etc..."   with far less durability than the current versions, and then these need to populate houses much more commonly...   so every house on the city block has pots and pans and knives, etc...  but only one of those houses has a good quality cleaver or butchers knife, and only one other has has a shed with a real craftsmans hammer  and nails and a saw, etc...  

[Fuji]

You shouldn't even need a weighted weapon, realistically. I'd gather a well placed fist would break rotting skulls pretty well, or at least knock them down. Though punching bone all day isn't great for the dexterity.

[Spracky]

Ok, this is going to sound really bad.... Keep in mind I have over 100 hours in the game.

How do I punch?

I mean I know how to shove, but can you punch?

[Trojan_Turps]

You shouldn't even need a weighted weapon, realistically. I'd gather a well placed fist would break rotting skulls pretty well, or at least knock them down. Though punching bone all day isn't great for the dexterity.

Putting your hand really close to the zombies mouth....

Cutting fist on zombie skull and getting infected.

[Footmuffin]

Offtopic

 

~-snip-~

But most of those things would have gotten used up within the first week or two of the outbreak!

[CalmUnity]

 

First, Americans call a "spade" a "shovel."  I understand they are two words for the same thing, but it is true.

A spade is different from a shovel though (at least here in germany). Spades usually have flat tips on their blades, whereas shovels have a more pointy blade.

It's good to know there is a difference between a shovel and a spade.  However, if your are using the item to strip away topsoil, presumably breaking it up in the process, wouldn't a shovel be more appropriate?

 

 

Also, while most pickles are sold in jars, you can usually find bagged pickles at convenience stores.

I would still like to argue for jarred pickles as jars are extremely rare, moreso than vinegar, making preservation of fresh food a near impossibility. 

 

Also, I would like to add mayonaisse to the list of things that should provide jars due to the fact that squeeze-bottle mayonaisse is a relatively recent trend.

 

 

For me, remoulade has always bothered me. Never even heard of it until project zomboid, and tartar sauce is definitely more common in the US than it, even though their apparently similar.

 

Seeing yogurt spelt "yoghurt" also was a bit strange.

Same, I had never heard of it before this game.  Also, yoghurt is a strange spelling to me.

[Blasted_Taco]

And here I was thinking I was drinking some kind of lemonade all this time... 

 

So i wasn't the only one thinking that it was some kind of lemonade?

 

God damn now that i think about that, its disgusting, i was thinking my character was freshing up with some sweet ass lemonade after a day of logging trees, now i can imagine him with tartar sauce all over his face while crying and choking back tears.

[Spracky]

And here I was thinking I was drinking some kind of lemonade all this time...

 

So i wasn't the only one thinking that it was some kind of lemonade?

 

God damn now that i think about that, its disgusting, i was thinking my character was freshing up with some sweet ass lemonade after a day of logging trees, now i can imagine him with tartar sauce all over his face while crying and choking back tears.

Thanks for that beautiful image

I always thought it was some kind of gross tasting cough medicine or something. The word "remoulade" sort of sounds like remedy, I don't know...

[lucy the axe]

I thought remoulade was pasta sauce.

 

Edit: oh it IS pasta sauce of sorts.

 

Edit: it is not pasta sauce. Just sauce in general. I am confused.

[stio89]

I'm not really fussed about remoulade/tartar sauce or shovel/spade being changed. But I really hope they keep the classic 'hot cuppa' (british slang for a cup of tea) and stuff like that, It was really nice the first time I noticed it, It's like the devs put a little peice of their personality in the game, most of the devs are british.

[Frying Pan]

Meh... I dont really need item immersion. Names are good.

[Moose65]

I'm not really fussed about remoulade/tartar sauce or shovel/spade being changed. But I really hope they keep the classic 'hot cuppa' (british slang for a cup of tea) and stuff like that, It was really nice the first time I noticed it, It's like the devs put a little peice of their personality in the game, most of the devs are british.

Yeah, I understand that most of these are named the way they are since the developers are all from Europe. It simply seems out of place though to use these terms in a game that takes place in Kentucky.

 

Immersion wise, it would help a lot to change some of the names of items. But if they want to keep in the European terms then that is fine as well, it'll just continue to seem odd to people in the US.

[CalmUnity]

I'm not really fussed about remoulade/tartar sauce or shovel/spade being changed. But I really hope they keep the classic 'hot cuppa' (british slang for a cup of tea) and stuff like that, It was really nice the first time I noticed it, It's like the devs put a little peice of their personality in the game, most of the devs are british.

I always thought that was just a dialectal spelling of "hot cup of..." as an overarching term preventing the need for specificity. (ex. Hot Cup of Coffee, Hot Cup of Tea, etc.)

 

Either way, that does sound US Midwest.  "I'll take a large cuppa coffee, please." (I worked at a coffee shop until last week.)

 

EDIT: Decided to actually make another thread concerning that.

[stio89]

 

I'm not really fussed about remoulade/tartar sauce or shovel/spade being changed. But I really hope they keep the classic 'hot cuppa' (british slang for a cup of tea) and stuff like that, It was really nice the first time I noticed it, It's like the devs put a little peice of their personality in the game, most of the devs are british.

Yeah, I understand that most of these are named the way they are since the developers are all from Europe. It simply seems out of place though to use these terms in a game that takes place in Kentucky.

 

Immersion wise, it would help a lot to change some of the names of items. But if they want to keep in the European terms then that is fine as well, it'll just continue to seem odd to people in the US.

 

 

And zombies roaming the streets doesn't seem out of place in kentucky? lol

 

I think the item names are fine and there is much more important stuff for the devs to work on.

 

In the words of the great EnigmaGrey, You could always mod it in.

[Moose65]

 

And zombies roaming the streets doesn't seem out of place in kentucky? lol

 

I think the item names are fine and there is much more important stuff for the devs to work on.

 

In the words of the great EnigmaGrey, You could always mod it in.

 

 

That's a change that would literally take minutes, and your definitely warping it. The developer's have taken great efforts for realism when possible, even as far in their zombie lore.

 

It seems fine to you because your from the UK.

 

Seems out of place from someone living in the US.

 

Game takes place in KY, USA, but uses European terms for a few of the items.

 

Anyways, this has turned into more of an argument than it should have.

[stio89]

Most items in the game use plain english a few use britsh spellings/slang probably because the devs are british themselves. I don't get why that annoys you so much, Do you feel every game has to use strict american english (most do anyway) Project Zomboid is the only game I have ever played that has a few british spellings in it instead of everything american, What is the problem. Try to remember this game is targeted to a global audience not just americans, The devs don't speak american english they speak british english and are based in the U.K. Do you want them (an indie studio) to hire someone to go through the entire game to make sure everything is completely american english will you pay that persons wage for doing this job?

 

If it annoys you that much go in and mod the names, It would only take you a few minutes sure.

[CalmUnity]

Most items in the game use plain english a few use britsh spellings/slang probably because the devs are british themselves. I don't get why that annoys you so much, Do you feel every game has to use strict american english (most do anyway) Project Zomboid is the only game I have ever played that has a few british spellings in it instead of everything american, What is the problem. Try to remember this game is targeted to a global audience not just americans, The devs don't speak american english they speak british english and are based in the U.K. Do you want them (an indie studio) to hire someone to go through the entire game to make sure everything is completely american english will you pay that persons wage for doing this job? Has there ever been a time in game 

 

If it annoys you that much go in and mod the names, It would only take you a few minutes sure.

 

I would do it for them for free. I just need to know how.

[stio89]

I would do it for them for free. I just need to know how.

 

 

How about instead if everything ingame is changed to British English.

[CalmUnity]

 

How about instead if everything ingame is changed to British English.

 

 

But, that brings us back to the initial issue of immersion breaking vocabulary.  IF you want to roleplay an American living in KY, the vocabulary you use should be American vernacular.

 

IF this game were set in Great Britain, I would feel more immersed if the vocabulary used was UK vernacular.

 

Your argument is invalid because almost all developers at least attempt vocabular immersion when staging games in other locales.

[stio89]

Who said I wanted to roleplay as an american living in kentucky, maybe i'm just a brit on holiday when shit hit the fan. Face it you want the game to suit you and other americans more, In my head thats how you are coming across with this thread.

 

If the game was set in japan or saudi arabia what language would be used in your opinion? American english?

[CalmUnity]

We're not talking about translation here. If the game were set in Saudi Arabia or Japan and was aimed at a global market, as you so keenly pointed out, I would certainly expect a translation to English.  But, I would also expect the game to make use of vocabular immersion by using local idioms and vernacular.

 

Besides, if you were a Brit vacationing in Kentucky, you would not find remoulade no matter how British you were.  You would also find a surplus of ketchup.  And, pickles would be in jars. 

 

I would also like to point out that I backed you up on the "hot cuppa" issue. 

 

And, you have responded with aggressive posts that have detracted from the initial point of this thread forcing me to explain a point ad nauseum for your personal benefit, because you can't wrap your mind around actually using the language of a locale in a game that is set in said locale.

 

All that aside there are things in the game that could not be found in the suburbs of Louisville, KY in the mid-90's.  And, that is immersion breaking.