The Future of PZ

[Rathlord]

Heya guys,

 

I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, and finally decided to write it down.

 

What is this?

 

This is a step by step outline of where I personally would like to see Project Zomboid go in the future. It is largely based on things that have been generally agreed upon by the dev team as things that they’d like to do, along with my personal thoughts and feelings about certain systems and parts of the gameplay.

 

Please keep in mind I am not an employee of The Indie Stone and everything I’m posting here is solely my thoughts and opinions. That being said, anything I mention or detail here is more than welcome to be used by TIS going forward if they like something they see.

 

Why write this?

 

I’m writing this as basically a mega-compendium of my own suggestions for Project Zomboid and where I’d like to see it go in the future, as well as my own interpretations of concepts that are already planned. When I do things like this for games (I’ve done a few) it’s mainly as an exercise for myself- I’m interested in going into game development in the future and I find things like this good practice for planning systems etc.

 

You can be part of it, too!

 

This may be my personal take on where I think PZ should go, but I more than welcome input from anyone in the community. If you have something to add (or disagree with something I’ve mentioned) then feel free to post it below, and if I (or the overwhelming majority of the community) likes the idea, I’ll add it to the original post.

 

Who is actually going to read this?

 

Almost certainly no one, because it’s going to be long as hell. If you do manage to stick around for the ride, then I applaud you.

[Rathlord]

Update: Adding in color coded tags for how long I think each phase should take!

[short]: These should around 1 week to implement

[Medium]: These should take between 1 and 2 weeks

[Long]: These will take longer than 2 weeks

 

Without further ado this is (in the chronological order I think they should be added) my list of steps to go into the future of Project Zomboid!

 

 

 

Bugfixes, Performance Boosting, and General Cleanup DONE

 

Before the game hits Steam for sale, they'll be getting things cleaned up and polished so it hits Steam with a "bang" that leaves a good impression for the future. After we hit Steam, letting the developers really focus again on gameplay and new features without the stress of worrying about how Steam will go.

 

Steam Release DONE

At this point the game is released to Steam, injecting some extra cash flow for the developers and letting them refocus on getting the game pushed into Beta and finally released.

 

[Long] Iso Revolution Postponed/No longer needed

 

As detailed here:

http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/1844-iso-revolution/?hl=revolution

 

Iso Revolution also makes possible one of my old categories, the Map Upgrades one. Most of this will now be much more easy once everything is 3D-ified:

 

Map Upgrades (New)

 

Along with the natural upgrades to map size and detail that will be happening all along, we also need an engine/map update. This would be to allow for some more z-level (height) variation and with less bugs. I'm not sure if basements/sewers are possible with the current map system as it's quite weird about height. This is something that the developers have expressed interest in doing, and I think this would be the best point in development to do it. Added things would include:

 

Sewers- Sewers run under the main parts of the Muldraugh streets (and any other cities that are added). They mostly just lead around the town with perhaps one or two leading out into the country. These would likely have the occasional zed in them, only having a lot of a manhole cover has been left open somewhere. Manhole covers taken ~30 seconds (real time) to open depending on character strength, so it's not a quick getaway type thing.

 

Basements: Basements, while not exactly common, would probably be found in a few of the older houses in Muldraugh. These either have no exits, or have one exit that is a staircase to the outside of the house. Typically unfinished rooms with concrete floors and similar items to garages, although many southerners keep refrigerators and freezers in basements.

 

Attics: Much more common than basement, attacks have drop-down stairs that can be raised from the inside. They typically have no lights, very few useful items, and no exits.

 

Along with these upgrades I'd also toss the moveable furniture upgrade in with this, along with being able to chop/break furniture for wood. These also require certain engine changes and it would be a good time to do them all.

 

[Long] Finish NPC’s

 

One of the bigger steps in PZ history. Luckily, the wizards at TIS have already got this well in motion and there’s not really much I have to add about it without actually seeing it all for myself. So for this one, we’ll just say “it’s gonna be good,” and move on.

 

Sound Suggestions

 

I suggested in a few places (old forums and here) that sound should have a visual representation sometimes. When a sound comes from off screen, it would cause a very small rippling effect at the very edge of the screen. It would be either very wide or very narrow depending on how good your character's perception is and how far away/clear the sound is. If it's very far away, you'd just see on whole side of the screen with a ripple. If it's very close and you're good at hearing, you might be able to pinpoint which of your windows zombies were banging on.

 

Why is this needed? The reasoning is twofold. Firstly, it helps the deaf and the hearing impaired play PZ better. Secondly, people can pinpoint sounds in real life but that's almost impossible in games with an overhead viewpoint like this, especially for those of us that don't have great speakers.

 

 

[Medium] Clean up/bugfix Splitscreen Multiplayer

 

The splitscreen mode got added in a bit of a hurry in a hectic time and they understandably haven’t had much time to tinker with it since then. I’d also lump fixing controller support under this same heading. Currently controllers only really work with Windows, and then somewhat spottily. There’s still bugs aplenty when it comes to splitscreen as well.

 

This is next on my list because they'll be distributing via Steam, and I think this should really be cleaned up so PZ can fully support Big Picture Mode and present a good face for the future of multiplayer that we’re building up to. As alluded to a moment ago, this also helps build up the foundation for the eventuality of online multiplayer, which saves work later.

 

[short] Item Damage Overhaul (New)

This is another one I've dredged up from the old forums, but still (I think) a very important one moving forwards:

 

The item damage system in game right now I understand: it's a traditional system and it quickly and accurately reflects the programming behind the system. But I'm not sure it's the right system for a game like this.

For a game that focuses on realism with a special focus on the player character not knowing things he doesn't have access too, a damage system like this seems a little off-balance. Knowing that if you swing a bat 4 more times it will break, or if you leave the light on for 2 more hours it will go out seems off kilter.

My suggestion would be to have an internal, hidden system. Each item gets a set amount of uses or duration which is then supplemented with a random number. The only clues the player would get are a very small "moodle' type icon in the corner. It's either "green" for working fine, "yellow" when it gets past the set use period, and "red" when it breaks.

A small tooltip could be added for the yellow icon that says "The batteries are getting dim" or "The bat is getting bent/splintered." After that it can break at any time. This would add an extra bit of tension and danger to the game. If it's your only weapon, do you go try to find a new one when it goes yellow? Or do you hold off and hope it lasts? What do you do when you have a full storehouse of yellow weapons? It adds a much more realistic danger of weapons breaking in combat, rather than the predictable nuisance of just swapping when it gets very low in damage.

To summarize: Adds realism, atmosphere, and tension. Removes nuisance micromanagement.

Quick sidenote: The current 'bar' system does make sense for a few items. Pills, gasoline, matches, and other objects which you can easily quantify with your eyes should keep this style.

Also, EreWeGo posted the excellent idea in that thread that the background color of the Primary Equip Slot could change tint slightly to show the item's durability. This is an even more subtle, better way to show it without being immersion breaking.

 

Along with this, we also need a system for checking our windows and doors. You'd be able to see damaged/cracked windows and doors and we used to be able to mouseover to see that, but not anymore. Game should convert percentage health left into tooltips for us  to see:

100% : This door/window/barricade/anything is in pristine shape.

75-99% : This whatever is in good shape.

50-74% : This whatever is somewhat battered.

25-49% : This whatever is splintered and cracking.

1-24% : This whatever could break at any time.

 

And finally, when they do this they should clear up all the bugs that happen when an item you're using breaks.

 

[Medium] Medical Overhaul (Updated!)

 

A full overhaul of the medical and health system is probably a ways overdue, and I know they’ve mentioned wanting to do one before. The first part of this is from my thread on the damage system overhaul I think the player needs:

 

 

Basically, my recommendation is that each body part that is damaged has a specific effect on how your character behaves, just like it would in real life:

 

Head: Possible reduction in vision, hearing, increase in nausea, greater chance for mental trauma (which will hopefully be added soon, too)

Upper Arms: Decreased carrying capacity and strength

Hands/Lower Arms: Slower weapon swing speed, possibly making it so you can't carry a two handed weapon as well

Chest: Faster damage taken than other areas, increased exhaustion

Legs: Decreased carrying capacity and run speed

Feet: Decreased run speed and increased noise caused by walking/running

Groin: Greatly increased pain.

 

In addition, adds new status effects that can appear on each limb. Scratched, Bitten, Bruised, Broken, Cut, Scar. Each of these represent different things and give more information to the player- a scratch, bite, or cut needs a bandage or stitches. A break needs a splint. Bruised can usually just be left to heal. Scars show places where you've had serious injury before, and possibly make you more intimidating. When a wound is healed or if it is healthy it will not say anything. NEW!

 

Wounds would heal over time, getting better with rest, eating, and proper medical care and either not getting better or getting worse if you used the affected body part too much or if it goes untreated.

 

Next we’d need sprites for bandaged body parts, and hopefully a limping animation.

 

I’d also like to see a big overhaul of medical items in the game, along with a few added:

 

Splints: These would be made from a board and several sheets. They would be used for broken limbs 

to help them heal faster and keep them from getting worse. Would somewhat limit the use of the limb they are on, and would need to be removed after the limb heals. NEW!

 

Rudimentary bandages: These would be made from ripping up sheets or clothing like is currently in the game. It greatly slows but does not stop bleeding. Bandages must be changed when dirtied or they can cause a (non-zombie) infection. Time between bandage changes depends on if the wound is bleeding and how much.

 

Bandages: These can only be found pre-made in the world. Found in doctor’s offices, first aid kits, etc. Fully stops bleeding.

 

Painkillers: This would now come in two varieties, shots (which are very strong) and pills (which are much less strong). Shots kill the pain quicker and better, but are much easier to overdose on and much harder to find. Pills take much more time to act but are safer. They’re also addictive if used for too long, causing the player to have a new moodle “withdrawal” that negatively impacts several parts of the gameplay.

 

Antibiotics: Antibiotics can be used to fight all matter of disease within the game, from a common cold to zombie infection. Usually cures simple diseases within a day. These can never cure the zombie infection, but with enough antibiotics you could delay turning forever. Of course, this would be impossible without hacking since the amount of antibiotics in the world would be limited. 

 

Alcohol: This is already in the game, but rubbing alcohol could be added as well. Pouring it on a wound sanitizing and sterilizing it. This helps reduce the chance of a normal infection from wounds. It can also be used to clean used bandages. When poured on a scratch from a zombie within the first couple of minutes, it greatly reduces the chance of being infected. When poured on a bite, it gives a slight (~2%) chance of not being infected.

 

Stitches: Finding a kit with stitches allows a one-time use of stitching a wound. This helps keeps wounds from getting infected, instantly stops bleeding, and helps them heal faster.

 

Antidepressants: Helps increase sanity and decrease depression. Can also make sanity worse if you become addicted. See mental health suggestion for more.

 

Finally, to specify a few diseases that should be added and/or clarified in the game:

 

Common Cold: Causes sneezing and runny nose. Makes the character more tired and more hungry. Carrying a tissue negates the sniffling/sneezing so that your character does not make extra noise. Tissues are used up over time. Lasts 2-3 days. Staying well rested and fed as well as taking antibiotics will make it go away faster.

 

Flu: The stomach flu. This could last up to 6 days if left untreated. It makes the character run a fever, causes thirst and hunger. Unfortunately it can also make you vomit, which can slow what you’re doing and cause the player to lose the food in them (bringing you to the first level of hunger below peckish and causing significant noise). Can be cleared up with antibiotics or rest and hydration.

 

Infected Wound: An infected wound happens when you don’t change the bandages on a wound, it goes unbandaged, or it doesn’t get cleaned before bandaging. Basic cleaning can be done with water, with alcohol being a foolproof way of cleaning. This causes pain and fever. Does not go away until the wound is properly cared for and causes a lack of function in the area of the wound.

 

Zombification: While zombification can be fought nearly indefinitely with enough food and antibiotics, it’s a circumstance that’s unlikely to happen and will be very painful. Can cause any number of bad moodles completely at random, from mental to physical. The effects of zombification are randomly generated at character generation and effects each individual character differently. One may be very thirsty, fevered, and having visions, while your next character could have nausea, hunger, and depression. This makes it that much less certain when you’re infected which is an important part of maintaining reasonable suspension of disbelief when playing a character that might be infected.

 

 

NEW!

Also, along with the medical overhaul, a new skill First Aid! This idea comes thanks to community member Banjo! Increase First Aid by using medical items on yourself or others. Gaining more skill causes medical items you use to be more effective and to be applied/take effect faster. The doctor profession would start out with a point or two in this skill.

 

[Medium] Sneaking Overhaul

 

This is another one the devs have mentioned they’re interested in, and I think a good one for the future of the game. I’m hoping they’ll follow up on something Lemmy mentioned, which was splitting up combat and sneaking into their own things with their own keys.

 

Combat Stance: Similar to the current sneaking stance. This allows you to ready your weapon and swing at nearby opponents. Moving in combat stance would now be full speed (but you would still strafe to face the cursor at all times). It would make the same amount of noise as normal.

 

Sneaking Stance: Sneaking stance allows you to move and perform actions at a much more cautious pace. All actions while in this stance happen slower but cause much less noise. You’ll get a new option when right clicking a window in sneaking stance- peeking. Peeking lets you look out the window without opening it, vastly reducing the chances of being seen. However, while peeking through a window your vision behind you is almost completely impaired. When moving in sneaking stance, you move much slower and more cautiously. Trying to open doors and windows is silent in the stance. While in sneaking stance opening a window may take much longer, but will not set off an alarm when the window is opened. Drawing a weapon (aka going into combat stance) while sneaking will keep you in sneaking stance until the first attack is taken. If taken from behind an enemy it performs an aimed attack with a higher accuracy and better chance at killing the zombie/person right out. Firing a weapon from sneaking stance has vastly increased accuracy. When the rifle is added, it will give you a crosshair to let you take precise shots. Moving through trees in sneaking stance is silent.

 

[short] Sleeping Overhaul

 

We’ve seen some improvements to sleep over the last few updates, and RoboMat’s excellent mod can ease some of our troubles, but it should still get a proper overhaul. Here’s my suggestion (this one is actually dates back to the old forums):

 

 

 

 

Also I'd to mention that some kind of circadian rhythm would be great for this game to help stabilize sleeping patterns. As is your character never seems to get sleepy at logical times and it's hard to keep a normal cycle.

My suggestion:

Characters start out with a natural inclination to go to sleep at 20:00 (give or take). They get sleepy quickly at this point in time.

Characters start out with a natural inclination to wake up at 8:00 (give or take). If they went to bed a little later than usual they might still wake up closer to this time even if it means a shorter nights' rest. If they went to bed earlier than usual they might sleep longer.

Over time if a character consistently sleeps or wakes at a different time, the formula changes to be closer to what that character is doing [for the technically minded, I would think that with each waking/sleeping period your natural wake/sleep time moves by 1/4 of the difference between the previous time and the present time].

This would make it much easier to keep a normal rhythm throughout the game, while letting players who want to do weird things (go long periods of time without sleep, or sleep and wake at strange hours) be able to pull it off but still suffer in the short term, just like a real person.

Also adds a new set of traits (compliments to Soumiboi for these ideas):

Light Sleeper: Allows you to wake up quicker when in danger (on hearing dangerous noises or proximity to unfriendly survivors or zombies). Needs slightly less sleep to be well-rested.

Heavy Sleeper: Sleeps through much more noise and needs slightly more sleep each night to be well-rested.

 

 

[Medium] Mental Health

 

Here’s another one of my previous suggestions. This one is fairly complete so I’ll leave it at this:

 

Sanity

 

Introduces a sanity moodle to the game. There is no positive version of the sanity moodle, just a negative:

 

Imbalanced: You are shaken by the current events and have been physically affected by them.

• You get a slight negative modifier to your interactions with NPC's
• You may occasionally hear small sounds that don't exist

Unstable: You have been severely affected by the apocalypse, and it shows.

• You have a negative modifier to interactions with NPC's
• You often hear sounds that don't exist
• You have trouble sleeping

Insane: Your mental health is fully compromised.

• You have a large negative modifier to interactions with NPC's
• You often hear sounds that don't exist
• You have trouble sleeping
• You occasionally see things that aren't there, including NPC's, loot, and zombies. These images are exactly like their real counterparts, but can have no effect on the player and disappear after a time.
• You talk to yourself sometimes, causing a small amount of sound
• You have a chance to be much more or much less susceptible to the panic moodle
• For short periods of time you won't see moodles that are affecting you

With the introduction of insanity comes two new traits in the beginning of the game:

 

Strong Willed: Much more likely to stay sane, and stops at "Unstable," not able to become completely insane.

Unstable: Much more susceptible to insanity

 

And finally, things that effect your sanity:

 

Antidepressants: Help stave off insanity, but become addicting

Alcohol: Can temporarily stave off insanity, but long term increases it if addicted

Corpses: Nearby corpses negatively influence sanity (implemented after cleaning up corpses)

Home: Staying in the same house more than once increases sanity

Cigarettes: Temporarily helps increase sanity

Losing a Companion: Losing a companion severely effects sanity

Becoming Injured: Being injured or sick decreases sanity

 

Nota Bene, the insanity effects are quite strong and should take a large amount of time to build up, particularly to the final stage. It should only become a problem if you neglect it or if you take the unstable trait.

 

[short] Leaving a Mark on the Game

 

This is a pretty wide-reaching suggestion. 

 

After maps are introduced, I’d like the ability to write on the maps.

 

Ability to journal and write notes, and leave these items in the game world for other players to find. Possibly also notes from NPC’s listing important nearby items, perhaps a nearby item stache or safehouse (which may or may not still be there).

 

Ability to make the game world with paint with simple symbols like arrows, x’s, and checks.

 

Ability to clean blood and bodies off of the game world.

 

Ability to write an in-game bio that other players could read.

 

[Medium] Hunting and Animals In Progress

 

An important side note along with this is that bows and crossbows should be included before the hunting is added, because there should be a silent option for hunting. Moving on.

 

Dogs. Dogs wander around, mostly wild. All will have different temperaments, and will react to the player based on the player’s characteristics. Dogs are “tamed” into companions by giving them food. After being fed enough they will stick around with the person who fed them, becoming more attached over time. Dogs bark when they sense zombies are near, which is good and bad. They can fight zombies, and zombies will ignore them as long as there is a human target nearby. If there’s not a human target, the zombies will attack the dogs. Any infection in a dog causes instant death.

 

Game animals. Game animals in Kentucky should include deer, rabbits, squirrels, and turkeys. All should live in different sort of locations (except rabbits living pretty much everywhere). These animals could plausibly feed on tall grass, causing it to be cropped down into regular grass.

 

Predators. Coyotes and wild dogs are the only particularly common predatory animals in the area. They can hunt rabbits and squirrels, as well as livestock.

 

Livestock. Cows and chickens. Cows can largely fend for themselves. Chickens will need to be cared for each day, which will include bringing them water. They will reward you with eggs if they’re cared for, and die if they aren’t. Either one can be slaughtered for meat.

 

[short] Character Differentiation

 

This is one of the big changes I see being needed before the game goes into the multiplayer phase.

 

Why is this important?

 

Player characters need to be different in important, meaningful ways for multiplayer’s true potential to show. This means that we need to vastly increase the gap in how effective being bad at something and being good at something is. When, someday, you’re looking to form a group of friends for an online multiplayer session you should always want a group of individuals that compliment each other.

 

With our current systems everyone could easily play characters with the same profession and traits and be just fine. This should not be the case as we near the addition of multiplayer.

 

I’m not going to go in exact detail with every trait, but I will pose some general suggestions and add a few examples:

 

Positive traits and professions need to have much greater power than they do currently (including negatives). The difference between a strong and weak character should be so substantial that you’d want your weak character to stay out of the fighting (or use a ranged weapon) while your strong characters fought in melee and carried the heavy loads.

 

Each player should bring something unique to the group. An example group:

*A fast, sneaky player that takes a profession that boosts sneaking or running and takes traits that increase his speed, perception and sneaking. He takes negatives to strength and group interaction. He scouts ahead for the team and goes on solo runs, counting on his speed and agility to get him out of tricky situations.

*A very strong character. He’s a fireman and takes resilient and strong. He does most of the hands-on fighting, carries most of the party’s most important supplies, and leads the group when entering houses.

*A slow, weak character. He takes skills in doctoring and crafting, as well as social skills. He is the spearhead of the team when encountering other survivors and for all things technical. He gets protected above the rest, because he’s the one who gets the group out of the trickiest situations.

 

Obviously these kind of differentiations would currently not really mean much, but I’m hoping in the future your character choices are important.

 

[Long] Online Multiplayer DONE

 

Yup, here it is. The last item before PZ goes from alpha to beta. This involves a tremendous amount of work, which is why it’s so low on the list. It involves breaking the game into essentially two parts- a client, and a server. The client handles input from all the players, which is accepted by the server, which then feeds information back to the clients. In the simplest of terms all we have right now is a client- everything is handled by the game in one spot. This will be a huge change and take a lot of time. Luckily, since we’ve been building up a good foundation for strong multiplayer the whole time, it will be mostly the technical client/server details that need work. The framework for a fun, enjoyable multiplayer should already be in by this point.

 

Beta

At this point in time, the game is feature complete- it has everything that it’s going to have as far as game mechanics go, and the only thing left is increasing quantities of things already in, and bug squashing.

 

 

[Long] Item Overhaul (Updated! Four Times!!)

 

One of the big things that turned me onto this game was the potential of the crafting system. Largely what this system is lacking is enough items and variation to really be fleshed out. I do think that at some point in the game development the devs should take a week or two and do nothing but add new items and crafts into the game. What we have right now is really neat and fun, but the crafting system is a bit under utilized for anything other than carpentry; it has fantastic potential, though.

 

I’m going to forego doing a full list of items and crafts- these suggestions can be found all over the forums.

 

I also wanted to add this about 'armor' and things from clothing, that should probably actually be added in before Beta but doesn't really fit in any of the other sections:

 

Personally, I'd like to see pieces that are equipped to each part of the body. Body armor being a very rare one comes to mind for the chest along with football chestguards.. Many different kinds of helmets and hats for the head, boots for the feet, gloves for the hands, shinguards for the lower legs, football pants for the upper legs, maybe even a cup for the groin. Seems like a good suggestion to me. I'd say bites could still bruise through them but would have a very low chance of biting through if that's the area they chose. Each attack would lower the protection a bit.

 

You could even have regular clothes provide a modicum of protection (a very small chance for "bruised" to pop up instead of "bitten").

 

 

Movable furniture, trashcans, and the like should be added again for this overhaul.

 

Many/all of the things from "The Ultimate Thread of Traps and Distractions" in both this forum and the last should be added for this overhaul.

 

Cooking Overhaul, another of my older ones, would be included:

Cooking containers (pots, pans, etc.) now control cooking. Right clicking on one brings up "Start Meal" submenu, which then allows for the selection of a first ingredient. Then you get an item that's "Meal" and has chicken (for example) in a pan. From there, you right click on it and continue to add ingredients or seasonings. Each recipe could contain, say, 4 ingredients and 2 seasonings. For pot cooking, you could add water to make it into a soup.

 

Cooking items would now have flags "isSeasoning" and "isIngredient" and can have either or both flagged. Further, I'd suggest "isMeat" and "isOther" so that you can only have 1 meat per dish. Meat would not be necessary, however. Items would take their cooktime and nutritional value primarily from the first added ingredient. Further ingredients add slightly to cooking time and slightly to nutrition value. Further seasoning adds to "happiness."

 

When you're ready to cook the meal, simply place it in the oven and as it cooks it goes from "Meal" to "Cooked Meal," prefereably with a tooltip that shows exactly what's in it.

 

Wouldn't be too terribly complicated to add and would completely end the need for recipes for cooking. Further, people could mod combinations that 'go well' and 'go badly' together (if TIS didn't have time for it) to further change happiness and nutritional value.

 

And another of my old suggestions, having to do with the crafting system:

Rathlord, on 04 Sept 2013 - 12:34 AM, said:

 

Tools- All of the same tools as now. Hammer to build, saw to cut logs into planks, sledgehammer to destroy. In addition, every hard object should be able to be used as a hammer, but lower craftsmanship significantly. Tools should lose durability on use but very, very slowly. As the durability goes down, their quality goes down, reducing craftsmanship.

 

Craftsmanship- The measure of how high quality of work you do when crafting. Craftsmanship impacts the durability of barricades, the quality of sleep you get on crafted beds or chairs, or really any of the stats something you craft has. Craftsmanship is increased by the quality of tools you use, the quality of materials you use, and the amount of experience you have in the field.

 

Materials- Carpentry could easily be opened up to use some more materials. Ripped sheets/clothing could be used to lash boards together instead of using nails (at the cost of craftsmanship). Adding metal objects to barricades could add to the craftsmanship. Boards now have quality. Wood that is obtained by breaking doors and furniture would have the lowest quality. Boards could be found at the Lumber Mill that are the highest possible quality. Crafted boards would fall in between, varying in quality based on your carpentry level.

 

Time Spent- The time spent crafting stuff should be greatly increased, but with this comes the ability to have work in progress pieces that you work on over time. For example, barricading a window would still be pretty quick, but you might want to build a wall over a period of a few days if you're alone.

 

To me the entire risk/reward of the system is far off base. The difficulty of finding tools is far too high, but then once you've found them it's far too easy to craft things. The system is obviously still in need of work, and I think the whole crafting system probably needs another look at some point in the future. I'd really highly recommend a crafting UI like the one in Terraria. Check it out, if you haven't, it's simplistic and very functional. It only shows the things you have materials for, keeping it from being overly cluttered and giving you an instant visual cue as to what you can build at the time.

 

 

[short] Miscellany (NEW!)

 

These are things that don't really fit anywhere else but should probably be added at some point. They're mainly going to be small, quality of life changes.

 

The first is changing gamma and contrast. Since different computers handle brightness differently this would allow people to play at a comfortable light level, regardless of what monitor/computer they're using.

 

[Medium] Bug Squashing

 

The last phase of beta should be after a full feature lock (a point in time where nothing is being added to the game to introduce more bugs). It should include tracking down and solving every bug that the community can find, prettying things up a bit, and general getting it ready for a full commercial release.

 

And that’s it! If I think of more later, I’ll add them. This is the general game plan I’d really like to see TIS take with Project Zomboid. I’m interested in hearing what you guys think of the order I recommend them in, and the suggestions themselves.

 

Cheers,

 

Rathlord

[GSC]

That's an extensive list.

 

I'd like to see most of the things you proposed, but frankly I'll be happy if the main ones get implemented (in the near future). As with minecraft, the possibilities for expansion are nearly endless. There has been a lot of growth in the game so far and I hope the devs will have the drive and energy to keep at it for a long time.

 

Steam will undoubtedly be a major milestone and - more likely than not - a massive cash injection for the team, so that version ought to be solid, if incomplete. I've bought this game quite a while ago (like most of us here, I think), but I'd like to see the devs get more money. Since there is no "golden Spiffo" ownership level to upgrade to, that means new players.

[LeoIvanov]

I am a very picky guy so in some time I'll definitely find a way to see something wrong with either of your ideas, but for now it looks rather flawless. Good job on doing this.

 

Have a clyde.

[Rathlord]

Thanks guys. Let me know if you do think of something to dislike... I do love a good critique.

[Suomiboi]

I like the idea behind your sleeping overhaul. I think that you should be more inclined to sleep at night rather than day. In regards of the penalties I think if you keep a certain sleep rhythm and sleep at night it should give no penalties and minimal if you sleep during the day, but are able to maintain the rhythm.

 

The thing where it would hurt is when you change your sleeping rhythm a lot, say by three or more hours a day (of course increasing the penalties with the amount changed). The Security guard would get less penalties for changing sleep rhythm and none for the day time sleeping, if maintained. The point in here is that you just don't get used to changing sleeping rhythm. I know this as I used to drive a truck in ten to twelve hour shifts that would start at 2 am and the next week at 7am (the best results I got, in terms of being somewhat awake, was going to sleep straight after work and waking up in the middle of the night... I was pretty much a walking corpse, when it came to social interaction, during that period of time.).

 

As I'm also an extremely heavy sleeper I would like to see the following traits :

 

Heavy Sleeper:

• You get the drowsy moodle slightly earlier than normal so you can go to sleep earlier if you want to, but this lingers longer so that you won't get tired any earlier (if this system isn't changed closer to Robomats you'd just sleep longer starting earlier, but even in that case you shouldn't be able to just nap if you are fully awake anyways).
• You sleep slightly longer (0,5-2 hours ranging per night/tiredness when you went sleeping) and you'll also need a little more sleep per day to be well rested (~1 hour. this would take affect if you get waken in the middle of your sleep for some reason).
• You are harder to wake up in the middle of the night, which would somewhat revert the Night Owl trait (not wholly but partly).
• If sleeping well will affect on your happiness etc. you'll wake up better rested.
• Harder to change sleeping rhythm

 

Light Sleeper:

• You get the drowsy moodle later than normal and the tiredness follows sooner (meaning you'll have a harder time falling asleep).
• You sleep slightly less than normal (0,5h-1,5h) and need less sleep per night to be well rested (again ~1 hour).
• You wake up easier in the night and also have less negative effects by this than usual (less effect than the night owl trait).
• Easier to change sleeping rhythm.

These could be neutral or -1 traits as they both have benefits and negative effects. And you couldn't pick both (duh...).

 

Didn't finish your monster of a thread yet, but gonna try and read through .

[kinyoshi]

I don't disagree with any of this.

Any chance the server and maybe inventory system based off of Ultima Onlines system? not the new stuff, the older stuff, was isometric with the same kind of view angle, and server was made for dialup internet, the uo server emulator could just be reworked for PZ, it is open source.

[GSC]

Thanks guys. Let me know if you do think of something to dislike... I do love a good critique.

You asked for it.

 

I don't think the combat / sneaking stance split is necessary or particularly useful. I find the current blend quite convenient. Having a separate movement mode for weapons would complicate the controls with only slight benefits. I wouldn't want to hold (or toggle) a button to move at normal speed and noise, just to have my bat raised or pistol ready. If it's in my hand, I should be ready to use it.

 

In the current system I can sneak up behind individual zombies to deliver a mighty blow to the head, which is rather simple highly satisfying. I can also approach a window and peek in without being detected (unless the zombie is near the window, looking my way). And if the curtains are drawn or you have a solid door, you just have to risk it. I think this is fine too.

 

I might use an additional level of sneaking (e.g. crouch) that makes me slower and less detectable, but that shouldn't affect my weapon readiness.

 

I don't really know how the upgraded sneaking / nimble / lightfooted abilities affect the game, but maybe those could be tweaked to offer more variety.

[EnigmaGrey]

Seeing you like this, Rathlord, it hurts me deeply.

Romain and I have decided that it's time to put you down.

Come on, ol' fella.

[GSC]

I think that you should be more inclined to sleep at night rather than day.

I think this varies greatly from person to person. My sleep schedule is often pushed around the clock because I have a flexible work schedule and like to get lots of sleep - regardless of the time of day. Right now I'm pretty much on vampire mode (going to bed when the sun rises) and it feels fine. I just need enough uninterrupted sleep to be in a good mood and productive.

 

I like the light / heavy sleeper option, I'm also be a heavy sleeper (with the exception of being flexible about my schedule).

[Rathlord]

Suomiboi, I like your proposed sleeping changes. Adding basic version to the original post now. I kept them strictly positive and negative to follow the current trend of very specific positive/negative traits.

[Rathlord]

You asked for it.

 

I don't think the combat / sneaking stance split is necessary or particularly useful. I find the current blend quite convenient. Having a separate movement mode for weapons would complicate the controls with only slight benefits. I wouldn't want to hold (or toggle) a button to move at normal speed and noise, just to have my bat raised or pistol ready. If it's in my hand, I should be ready to use it.

 

To enter combat mode would be just as simple as it normally is- just click LMB. Sneaking would be bound back to control (or 'z'?), so in actually it wouldn't be complicating the controls any more than we already are.

 

In the current system I can sneak up behind individual zombies to deliver a mighty blow to the head, which is rather simple highly satisfying. I can also approach a window and peek in without being detected (unless the zombie is near the window, looking my way). And if the curtains are drawn or you have a solid door, you just have to risk it. I think this is fine too.

 

Peeking has already been planned by the devs which is part of why I included it. The whole idea behind a separate sneaking stance is that it lets you be more cautious with everything you do, which is something we've been lacking for a while in the game. I know in a zombocalypse I would do a lot of things very, very carefully which is something we can't do right now. The general idea would be that anything you do whilst sneaking would be slower and more cautious.

 

I might use an additional level of sneaking (e.g. crouch) that makes me slower and less detectable, but that shouldn't affect my weapon readiness.

 

Weapon readiness in sneaking stance is as simple as clicking LMB just like it is now. It's only after the first swing that you get dropped out of sneaking stance. This follows a fairly logical assumption- that when you attack someone, you've made noise and need your body in a fighting stance, not a crouched sneaking stance. You can always go back to sneaking if you killed whatever and haven't been seen.

 

I don't really know how the upgraded sneaking / nimble / lightfooted abilities affect the game, but maybe those could be tweaked to offer more variety.

 

 

Thoughts? It really isn't as big of a change as you're thinking. The main benefits being:

 

*You can now move with your weapon drawn at full speed (which I assure you I can do in real life XD)

*You can 'sneak' while doing all kinds of tasks to make them quieter, but slower

*You can't sneak while actively fighting

[Rathlord]

Added new section: Map Upgrades.

[Rathlord]

Added new section: Item Damage Overhaul.

[EnigmaGrey]

I've been ordered by the Gods that Be that bumping your own thread is prohibited.

Moderator Warning

Mu wah ha ha ha ha

[Rathlord]

I've been notified by the deities in charge of the Gods that Be that adding new information isn't bumping.

 

Victory is Mine!

 

Edit: And it would be rather nonsensical to bump it multiple times while it was already the top item on the forum.

[EnigmaGrey]

Ah, but you could just edit your last post.

Besides, when was the last time anyone used a forum with common sense?

[Rathlord]

Today. This is the day.

[GSC]

To enter combat mode would be just as simple as it normally is- just click LMB. Sneaking would be bound back to control (or 'z'?), so in actually it wouldn't be complicating the controls any more than we already are.

 

But then why not have that as standard when a weapon is equipped? Also, if I had to click LMB to go into this stance, half the time I would find myself firing a shot into the air because I would forget that I had clicked it before.

The whole idea behind a separate sneaking stance is that it lets you be more cautious with everything you do, which is something we've been lacking for a while in the game.

 

Has it? I think speed = noise <=> caution at the moment, i.e. sneaking is more cautious (and less likely to get you noticed) than walking, which is more cautious than running. If I run, zombies come at me from the entire screen. If I walk, I can pass a zombie a few meters away without being noticed. If I sneak, I can go up to him and steal his wallet. An additional sneaking stance would add to or replace one of these levels, which seems unnecessary.

 

*You can now move with your weapon drawn at full speed (which I assure you I can do in real life XD)

Yes, but moving slower while actively aiming a gun or brandishing a baseball bat (ready to strike) is realistic. Shooting while running (or even walking at a normal pace) would severely reduce accuracy. I interpret the slower speed sneaking with a gun as bracing for a shot and sort of shuffling from there.

 

*You can 'sneak' while doing all kinds of tasks to make them quieter, but slower

I think that's how sneaking works now (with the logical exception of noises that are not affected by your speed, e.g. breaking a window).

 

*You can't sneak while actively fighting

Well, as soon as you've fired a shot or smashed a noggin, your sneaky cover is blown, and from that point the button is simply used for strafing (look this way, move that way), which is still useful.

[Rathlord]

 

But then why not have that as standard when a weapon is equipped? Also, if I had to click LMB to go into this stance, half the time I would find myself firing a shot into the air because I would forget that I had clicked it before.

 

Because then you fire shots every time you click something, the same reason it's not now. It would literally work exactly like now, so unless you fire shots into the air all the time already there'd be no change here.

Has it? I think speed = noise <=> caution at the moment, i.e. sneaking is more cautious (and less likely to get you noticed) than walking, which is more cautious than running. If I run, zombies come at me from the entire screen. If I walk, I can pass a zombie a few meters away without being noticed. If I sneak, I can go up to him and steal his wallet. An additional sneaking stance would add to or replace one of these levels, which seems unnecessary.

 

As far as I know, sneaking affects nothing except the noise of movement. There are other things to making noise than walking. I agree that speed <=> noise, but right now that's only true of walking, sneaking, and running which just isn't enough. It would 'replace' the current sneaking stance which is something that Lemmy already said he's going to do, so arguing that it's not necessary is pretty moot at this point =P

 

Yes, but moving slower while actively aiming a gun or brandishing a baseball bat (ready to strike) is realistic. Shooting while running (or even walking at a normal pace) would severely reduce accuracy. I interpret the slower speed sneaking with a gun as bracing for a shot and sort of shuffling from there.

 

This would now be accomplished by sneaking with the weapon drawn, with the exact same functionality as it has now except you would press one extra button beforehand (out of combat or anything else, so it's not like it would slow your reactions down or anything).

 

I think that's how sneaking works now (with the logical exception of noises that are not affected by your speed, e.g. breaking a window).

 

Unless I'm missing something sneaking only affects noise from moving the character around on the screen. I think to go with this they'd need to add other noises (which is something they'll obviously be doing in the future anyways) such as sounds from opening and closing cabinets and moving things to and from your pack.

 

Well, as soon as you've fired a shot or smashed a noggin, your sneaky cover is blown, and from that point the button is simply used for strafing (look this way, move that way), which is still useful.

 

Which would now be accomplished in exactly the same way with combat stance, which has the exact same function and methods as currently.

 

[Rathlord]

Updated "Item Overhaul" section.

 

Now I just need Lemmy to read this so I can hear his thoughts. I'd be tickled if he spent the full afternoon it takes to read all of this and reply XD

[Rathlord]

Updated the medical overhaul to add splints and new status effects for each limb.

[VamyreLord]

I like the idea of having sewers and attics. They are pretty much incorporated into "zombie lore" that almost every zombie movie and game got them.

 

Like seeking refuge in your safehouse attic when all things go wrong. Using the sewers to quickly navigate the area instead of roaming the street.

[vonVile]

I don't like the ItemDamage Overhaul suggestion at all. Moodles and color coding kills the realism and suspense of the game. That's why they removed displaying the health of windows and doors.

 

I also disapprove of the random health of weapons. Just how random are you talking about? If I find a bat only to discover it only has 5 hits left in it would suck.

[Suomiboi]

I disagree. I think the current system with the star is less immersive than what is being suggested here. If I understood correctly the yellow, red icon would basically replace the star we already have in game and the tooltip could be shown when mouse over... this actually adds nothing new that would be immersion killing. 

 

If I find a bat only to discover it only has 5 hits left in it would suck.

This is what it's supposed to be like... It is supposed to suck. Would you think everything in a zombie apocalypse world would be unused and pristine? No. Most likely someone has used an item for a while and then put it down somewhere. And if you bash a baseball bat to someones head you're not gonna know exactly when it'll break. Now of course they wouldn't be totally random (if you disapprove the random health of items, then you disapprove the current system btw) but dependant on the item.

 

Now I agree with you somewhat with the doors etc. I'd rather have the effect seen on the barricade/window/door as a visual thing rather than a text... but then this would be probably a bit tricky with the sprites and coding wise.