Onkeen

I suppose it would be nice to carry my hobby over to the video game world.

I was watching the WIP video of the TV broadcasts giving XP and a thought came to mind: would be cool if our characters could just sit on chairs or sofas. Small stamina gains over time from sitting on them, instead of 'Sleeping' on them with a black screen, would also be nice, too.

You know you play too much PZ when you make a thread about knowing you play too much pz.

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

Ermahgerd its survival jesus!

I made a small update to add some more balancing. Crowbars should be more effective in both breaking doors and killing zombies. While they may be one handed weapons, they are heavy, causing exhaustion faster, and made of metal so they really should have been more effective in damaging things than Wooden Baseball bats + they are rarer than other blunt weapons.

If anyone using the mod has some suggestions when it comes to balancing things, please let me know. So far I've been using the mod myself but I find myself pretty good at surviving without OP weapons so any feedback is very welcome.

Wow such "free points" bashing 
I disagrea a bit with what have been said so here is my point.
 
Let me remind you that all of those "free points" skills always add a counter balance :
 
1 - "Slow" traits : 
More time spent reading skills books = character faster bored = unhapiness Waiting =/= Playing ... So slow reader is a real "IRL bored" skill in MP Same thing, less time spent reading = less newspapers consumed / less time spent waiting instead of playing Have you fell of a construction with that skill ? Let me tell you that even in SP it's painfully long to recover from it x) Bleeding wound takes more time and a lot more disinfectant to get cured, so possible "death by infection trait" in late game Same thing for fast healing, less disinfectant used is a huge deal, considering that it's an item you can't create I don't think it's pointless It takes FOOD to recover from inguries, the longer you have them, the more you drain your stock  
 
2 - "Needs" traits : 
About the thirst, not everybody is playing in westpoint, in murglauh 8+ month run, High Thirst is a death trait Even in West point it's a painfull trait, you spend twice more time going to fill your cooking pots, cuttings logs, starting a fire... Urgh... Oh god Hearthy Appetite is so NOT a free points skills, once again guys, when you get to late game, even after your first winter, these kinds of skills are the one that kills you... And foraging is not always the solution : waiiiiting... in MP / not everybody plays a foraging character + now that it has been nerfed it takes a day to find 20 berries to a character with foraging at level 6, considering you need to eat at least 10 of these berries per day... It's not that OP, but I agree with you, berries should'nt show up before the level 2 of foraging.  
 
3 - "Stomach" traits : 
 
Not a 100% sure of what I say but here is what I have understand about food poisoning
About Iron gut, not everybody "turn the food respawn on" I mean, it's kinda like cheating for me, we have to consider that the game is more about surviving and that most of the players plays without respawn, this trait definetly allows you to survive longer (but it's not a very usefull trait in early game). About food poisoning, I heard that every rotten / poisonous (bleach / berries) have a poison value (the poison value of the white berries is 2) having a better resistance to food poisoning might save you if you drink a bowl of poisoned soup or may allow you to survive after eating rotten/uncooked food on the other hand weak stomach FORCE you to eat perfectly healthy food and its fine in early game when you have full fridges and canned food everywhere but could starve you later...  
 
4 - Definetly agree : 
 
Voilà ! I just wanted to show that not everybody think that a lot of skills are free points when they are more late game skills, sure taking them won't impact at all your first month surviving, but when you get you survive serveral month, these free points sometimes became the reason you die : exausted because of the lack of water, unable to knockback a zomby because you are hungry, dead because you had to eat a little bit of rotten food to survive or because your wound got infected and you had no disinfectant left. 

.... have you been spying on me?!

Posting with the template to evaluate the traits better
 
Deaf - Personally haven't played with it (and probably never will). For those brave enough I think the +12 is fair.

Obese - Another one I won't touch. +10 is probably fair.

Weak - Another one I won't touch. +10 is probably fair.

Illiterate - Skills are already bad enough to grind, so at +8 its probably fair. Personally won't ever use.

Feeble - Personally won't ever use this. +6 is probably fair.

High Thirst - Free points. Could easily be lowered to +2 to force us to take real draw backs.

Overweight - Again, death sentence trait, won't ever use. +6 is probably fair.

Restless Sleeper - Used to take this as free points, but you end up spending too much of the day resting. +6 is probably fair.

Slow Healer - Tried it out thinking it was free points, ends up being pretty awful, especially if you get an infection. +6 is probably fair, but its far worse in multiplayer than single player.

Slow Learner - Skill grinding is already awful enough, especially for professions without skill books (*cough first aid and foraging cough*). Honestly, I would put this on par with illiterate and boost to +8, although even then I would never take it.

Thin-skinned - Death sentence trait (and honestly not described well, it leads to more scratches and bites, which you could argue it leads to higher infection indirectly, but I don't think it raises infection like prone to illness does. Would never take this, and at +6 its probably too low.

Asthmatic - Would never take this, but at +5 its probably ok, could easily bump to +6.

Agoraphobic - Great for adrenaline junkie builds. +4 is perfectly fine.

Claustrophobic - Great for adrenaline junkie builds. +4 is perfectly fine.

Conspicious - Free points. Could easily be lowered to +2 to make you take real drawbacks.

Disorganized - Free points. Could easily be lowered to +2 to make you take real drawbacks.

Hearty Appetite - Free points. Could easily be lowered to +2 to make you take real drawbacks.

Pacifist - Personally haven't tried this, so I can't properly evaluate it. Probably will never take it since melee is so important.

Prone to Illness - Until the developers clarify this, we can't properly evaluate it. Has it been updated to affect the new medical system's "infection"? What exact % increase does this boost infection from scratches? Does it even affect colds? With all this in mind, +4 is probably too low.

Sleepy Head - Free points, but I think +4 is fair. Definitely don't take this AND restless sleeper, as you'll literally spend all day sleeping. +4 is fair for trading time in game.

Unlucky - Until the developers clarify this, we can't properly evaluate it, as we don't know everything it affects, as well as the rates.

Hemophobic - Free points. Could honestly use a nerf to +2. Also, its abusive in the fact that you can take it with both the phobias for 100% free points in an adrenaline junkie build.

Weak Stomach - Free points. Could honestly use a nerf to +2.

All Thumbs - Free points for those who are patient.........but its really too frustrating and bogs down gameplay.

Clumsy - Free points.

Cowardly - Free points. Abusive in junkie builds since you can take it with both phobias for 100% free points.

Hard of Hearing - I used to consider this free points.....but it has at least led to 1 death because of the reduced perception radius and a zombie sneaking up from behind.

Hypochondriac - Not worth the risk for only +2 points, since this is the ONLY trait that can kill you by itself. Consider raising to +4 or +6, but even then I would never take it.

Short Sighted - Free points.

Slow Reader - Free points in single player.


Cat's Eyes - Vision at night isn't a problem in the game currently. Useless IMO until it is.

Dextrous - QoL trait. Personally don't like it or All Thumbs even existing.
 
Stout - Great trait.

Strong - Great trait.

Fast Reader - Another QoL trait, and 100% useless in single player. Personally don't like it or slow reader existing.

Iron Gut - Useless. Needs to be buffed to -2.

Angler - Fine as is, fits the format of single skill being -4, two skills being - 6, and three being -8.

Baseball Player - Needs clarification from the developer. If it does indeed grant faster bat swings, then it might be over-budgeted at -4, unless you intend to later give the other skill traits some other perk as well besides flat skill points.

Brave - Never felt a need to use this, as I still feel that even with the buff to panic its not dangerous enough to need this trait. Could see this dropping to -2.

First Aider - Fine as is.

Gardener - Fine as is.

Graceful - Personally I don't have problems sneaking even with clumsy, and would never spend points on this skill anyways. Could probably drop to -2.

Inconspicious - Same thing as Graceful, could use being dropped to -2 until zombie AI is improved, as its more useful for me to be spotted to thin out herds one by one.

Gymnast - Seems like overlap with graceful, and personally I don't even mind the fact that it breaks the skill rule and is valued at -5. Personally I think it could be dropped to even -2 or -3, as I would still not even take it at those values, especially with the current zombie grouping AI.

Brawler - Fine as is.

Eagle Eyed - Personally I don't see a use for this, as my vision is fine even with short sighted. Could use a buff to -4 or even lower.

Fast Healer - Perhaps a bit too high, especially for single player. While I found slow healer to be unplayable, I haven't felt the need for fast healer.

Fit - Great trait.

Former Scout - Fine as is.

Hiker - Fine as is.

Keen Hearing - Can never seem to fit this into builds, but I can see its use. Could maybe use a small buff to make it a more attractive choice.

Adrenaline Junkie - Right now for adrenaline junkie abuse builds, you get a FREE +5 points since the other panic traits are not made exclusive when you select both phobias.

Handy - Fine as is, but we really need a carpentry option that isn't -8. Also, wheres the cooking option that isn't tied to a profession?

Hunter - Fine as is.

Athletic - Great trait.
 
Thick Skin - Great trait.
 
Resilient - Until the developers clarify this, we can't properly evaluate it. Has it been updated to affect the new medical system's "infection"? What exact % increase does this lower infection from scratches and bites? Does it even affect colds? With all this in mind, -4 is probably too low.
 
Runner - Fine as is.
 
Self Defense Class - Fine as is.
 
Fast Learner - Could be argued that -6 is too low, but personally, this is a huge QoL trait, and wouldn't mind if it and slow learner didn't exist and Fast Learner was made base-line.
 
Organized - To me, its a simple QoL trait, as long as your not grabbing EVERYTHING, I've had no issue with disorganized and getting essential loot. Storage in your base is basically infinite as you can dump stuff on the floor. Could see this being buffed to -4.
 
Wakeful - Fine as it is.
 
Outdoorsmen - Best trait in the game, and is seriously under-budgeted at -2. Could see this going to -4 or even -6.
 
Low Thirst - With how easy water is to get, this should be -2.
 
Light Eater - Keep in mind, this is being evaluated with the CURRENT food system in mind, and at -6 this is way too high. Could easily see this being -2 or -4, but I think a better solution is to fix the food system so that this is actually useful.
 
Lucky - Until the developers clarify this, we can't properly evaluate it, as we don't know everything it affects, as well as the rates.
 
Desensitized - Seems to cost about -8 for the veteran. Appropriate.
 
Axe Man - Doesn't seem to be budgeted at all into the lumberjack. Perhaps it should be.
 
Night Owl - This one DOES seem to be budgeted into the Security Guard, and it doesn't even work. If it did, it overlaps with wakeful. Should be reworked or removed.
 
I think that covers every trait.

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

I think this is would be a good feature for diaries you write of your survivors to be exported somewhere, possibly just in game and you could make a .txt out of it and it would make it much easier to share with people. Is there really any point right now of having them in SP only for your own amusement to read them?
 
After you're dead, they're gone forever and part of the greatness of this game is hearing people's struggles and inevitable death, sure you could just make it up in memory and post it here, but it's not really got the same charm as having it in its original form and being able to read back on it at any time you want to.
Pardon me if something is already in the game of this sort, it's hard to keep track of some things sometimes.

This mod works like a charm. Just saying.

You should check the Wooden Dowels mod here: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/1091-handmade-wooden-dowels-realistic-nails-alternative/
Maybe you can help out there?

This thread again. I'll say here what I've said in a lot of others. Blacksmithing is a highly skilled and highly complicated process and I'm not sure it would even be possible to learn under current conditions. So many metals out there are made of alloys of varying mixes and finding something that can actually be used to forge and is common enough for you to learn HOW to forge with it would be next to impossible.
 
About the only thing you could find that would be common and easy enough to learn how to forge is copper, and it's not exactly a weapons grade metal. I could see people using it to forge basic tools to use in professions and other crafting, but not much else.
 
I would, however, love to see a generalized metal crafting profession. While the fired forge and anvil scenario is highly unlikely to occur, a basic system for crafting simple metal goods would be alright. Using tools and objects like files, pliers, metal cutters or rough stones you could take small amounts of metal and shape it into various useful items. Stuff like arrowheads and spearheads for combat or hooks for fishing. Maybe small shivs to replace broken knives when it comes to crafting recipes that require something for cutting, carving, or butchering. It'd be difficult and time consuming, but I see it as overall more realistic than players becoming old timey smiths with forge and anvil.

A rather simple mod that Nerfs all melee weapons, disabling the ability to hit more than 1 zombie at a time. It also disables the ability to push away 3 zombies at a time.

Created for the sole purpose of making the game harder and making running away a default reaction to seeing a horde bigger than 3 zombies. With this mod, having an Axe won't make you a zombie killing machine and you shouldn't even dare to try taking on more than 3 zombies as they WILL get you and kill you.

Download: http://pz-mods.net/gameplay/WeaponNerf/

Required Version: Project Zomboid Early Access Build 31.13

EDIT: All of my smaller mods can be found in this thread, leave feedback there.

Disclaimer: This is a critique by a singleplayer mode player who considers himself advanced, I love PZ, I love this community and I have great respect for the developers, this is not hate.

Seriously. The player is so OP I was thinking about posting this on the Bug Tracker. [Edit: I did, some of it]

There is a lot of talk about how the game should kill us before we reach the "end-game" (Or there was in mondoids) but the game doesn't even try. Seriously. I know it's EA but to be honest when it comes to updates, we keep getting more and more stuff that will help us survive, not kill us.

Farming, Carpentry, Foraging, Trapping etc. All of those things were added, Combat Overhaul, which, if my recent experience with ancient builds is right, made combat a ton more easy for the player.

"This is how you died"

Of boredom? After killing hundreds of zombies with no effort and setting up my fortress, with a huge cabbage farm? With electricity generators coming? A ton of, likely, OP weapons like Molotovs and Pipe Bombs?

Now that we have all those awesome stuff that makes us live longer why not Nerf the player and buff the zombies? I'm not asking for "Survival" mode being filled with runners. But we must admit to ourselves that zombies are ridiculously pathetic for a Zombie Survival Game.

A lot of issues with difficulty could be fixed with relative ease.

My ideas:

1: No single weapon should be allowed to hit more than 1 zombie at a time unless it's an Axe and it really does go clean through one zed, killing it and hitting the next one. Baseball Bats are lightsabers atm.

2: How can I push more than one zombie? Midichlorians? "This isn't the brains you are looking for"

3: Fast shamblers need to be able to catch up to a walking player. Runners can't be outranned but both Shamblers and Fast Shamblers can be outwalked.

4: Exhausted moodle should come much faster when running, we can all run ridiculous distances before it pops up. Cardio is really not that easy to get, most people can't run for hours.

5: Make nights darker, seriously limiting the player's FOV, I always feel like I have Splinter Cell goggles on. Older builds had everything the character does not see fade to complete black, bring it back, nights were scary!

6: Decrease the HP of Doors and Windows, I swear some doors are indestructible to zombies and they should break windows much, much faster, barricading makes us invincible. That and zombies tend to give up before they do any real damage because a gunshot sound played.

Not so easy to implement ideas.

1: Zombie migration\respawn buff, they don't do either which makes me think that the metagame system is broken. I tested the respawn lately, I feel it's broken. Also, I walked into a house that had 5+ zeds in it, I ran because panic, when I came back they all dissappeared, no broken windows and doors, broke my immersion.

PZ is an awesome game, it has megatons of potential, I am not a guy that believes magical NPCs will fix this stuff, they will add a ton depth to the game, sure. But those problems will persist and I will forever argue they need to be taken care of first. Not last, after 100th update that allows us all to live longer thanks to more awesome crafting, farming and foraging.

Traits Overhaul did help but it did not even come close to helping enough. Lately we don't need to break our weapons thanks to being able to stomp zombies when they fall with our boot. A baseball bat lasts me 5x longer than it used to.

Focus on killing me before you give me generators and bombs, make it rewarding to survive long enough to get those tools that will make it easy for me. Zombies really don't need to know where I am to do this, they just need to be a threat.

PS: I promise this is my last "Zombies are Easy" rant.

 

Ok You know how everyone wants zombies to attack your base right? Well all that base building would attract a lot of zombies after a while. My idea is that boarding up windows increases a invisible bar that turns green, 1-2 zombies will take a look, maybe even knock there heads around, if the bar turns yellow, maybe a 10 zombie hoard comes by, by this time you should have built a wall right? Then if you make more stuff, you get into the red, a zone of zombies comes and attacks. Waiting in game days will decrease the bar. And maybe ingame you can get a skill that shows the bar? That means that players that have a good base up can build a bunch of chairs and stuff and trigger attacks

Fishing is still possible during the winter. Foraging(food loot table) is disabled though. Although I still vote for River zombies to discourage fishing Imagine them walking out of the water or floating by lol.

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

....you habitually stop running so as not to be winded while playing games where you can sprint forever...

You know you play Project Zomboid too much when you eat cigarettes

It's not possible to attract them, at least, not in my experience. Zombies do not migrate over larger areas so if you clear out an area around your base you will never see a zombie, you can shoot from the rooftop all you want.

People want to have some excitement and danger mid to end game and currently there is little more than maybe one or two stray zombies. Also, helicopter sounds don't change much even if they play over your base as zombies that are "around" but are not visible might as well not exist.

There is little to no difference between setting up a base in a remote location or middle of west point. You can achieve the same level of safety in both the second one just requires you to clear out the area around your base. Goodbye zombies.

I personally gave up on base building altogether and started a nomadic life in PZ exactly because setting up a base removes all challenge but to find food and water, unless you're a gardener and have a water barrel, if you do then you're all set to die of boredom.