Dillerin

Because... "People don't know what they want until you show it to them." ~Steve Jobs. I'm still curious about these better solutions you keep mentioning. Seriously, I'm down for hearing some interesting and immersive ideas.

By very nature this is exactly what tripping as you described it would be. Edit: And saying "lol just don't use features of the game such as moving backwards or looking around" is not a reasonable way to excuse it. The word "reasonably" in the above quote also nullifies Fake Difficulty in this situation, IMO. If you choose to overly abuse the features that become outlined as possible tripping hazards, that's your choice. 
 
 And I fully agree that eliminating the use of features is not a reasonalbe way to accept a tripping mechanic. Just because certain situations can raise a possible problematic occurance using these features does not mean I intend to never make use of them. Everything in excess has it's downside. I'm beginning to think that the comments against a tripping mechanic are out of fear rather than justifiable arguments. Nothing mentioned in past comments against tripping has held any real weight for me, especially since there aren't games which have this feature for anyone to really be able to argue against it. Negative specualtion is all that's being touted. It's highly possible that this could be something big and helps create more entertaining intense moments throughout gameplay. I'm sure it will need much rework before it'd come to such, but I am interested in seeing how tripping plays out and what it will become after feedback and features like proned combat get implemented. 
 
 I'm staying positive and will embrace it until I have experienced it first hand and can come to better conclusions, good or bad. I hope your fears end up being for naught, though I don't doubt that they may later be warranted... after we've had an opportunity to see it in play.

Nothing on that Artificial Difficulty page suggested anything that says tripping your character would be fake difficulty. In fact, this sentence sorta defends such a feature... "It is important to note that just because a gameplay feature is annoying and frustrating does not make it fake difficulty." To me, it's not fake difficulty if there is a reason for it to happen and the player is aware of what those reasons for it's occurance are.

What are a few of these "Many better ways" you speak of? ... you know this because... ?

I mentioned walking "large distances" backward and looking around "while" running. A few steps back here and there, and stopping to scan your surroundings shouldn't cause you to trip, I agree. Personally, as is now, I just walk around zombies with no worry. I run a bit, turn around, walk backwards and swing at the closest, then walk around, run a bit, turn around to walk backwards and swing at the closest... repeat until X number of zombies are far too easily terminated. Put something in that messes up my equation, and I'm no longer capable to dropping an infinitly large hoard or must question my actions if I attempt to do so.

So is everyone else. The problem is, what you described there had nothing to do with anyone's judgement and everything to do with the RNG. If we were to learn that walking large distances backwards, being highly paniced and running, spinning your character back and forth to look around while running, running while over loaded, or drunk, or all of the above combined could cause RNG to implement an occasionally trip, then it seems to me it'd be a lack of good judgement to choose to do those things in the moments that you shouldn't risk it.

I recall laughing at the incapabilities of strangers stumbling several times through out my life. When not paying attention to where I'm placing my feet; even walking forward; there were moments (like a section of concrete on the sidewalk that is an inch taller than the other) where I've stumbled... not necessarily tripped and fell but had a temporary imbalance. I've fell when running to catch a football only to have stepped on a sprinkler head and twist my ankle. Watch a few episodes of Americas Funniest Home Videos, sometimes people fall from what appears to be no reason at all. Sometimes the most capable people have misfortunate moments, which you can see by googling 'sports or gymnastics fails'. When imagining a hypothetical situation of how balanced we would be if we were actually really dealing with a sudden zombie looming before us, most would like to assume they'd be that infaluable badass. Most would not be. In real life, people don't intend to trip... they don't control their falling down. It happens unexpectedly and can happen at the most inappropriate times. Personally, I would enjoy something like tripping. Though there should be more combat mechanics added for prone fighting, like kicking and wrestling off unwated zombies. (Would be pretty f'n cool to fall back on the ground, have a zombie fall on top of you... Then successfully wrestle the zombie so you're on top and stab a knife through it's skull. Get back up on your feet and spin around to one stab kill the next closest approaching zombie before preparing to make another escape from the hoard.) or (You open a door and a zombie lunges instantly, you step back and fall on your ass... So you kick and push the zombie back into the room it came, regain your footing to either shut the door and gtfo of there or ready your weapon as it lunges a second time.) I'm all for adding shock value through a series of misfortunate events caused by a players lack of good judgement. So long as you can fight for your life while in a prone position.

Initiation - For your first Apocalypse. Survival - Choose a preset difficulty or create your own difficulty. Story - Experience the Apocalypse through the eyes of Bob and Kate. Multiplayer - Let their be antagonists and allies.

I plan to get shot dead by looters before the zeds get to me. I think the outbreak would be on the news before it would be in everyone's face... this would start a bunch of panic and riots as people try and grab everything they can from stores and markets... the one's with the most guns and least care for others will win. I'm sure a big chunk of people will die by the hands of the living before the zombie plague spreads to their area... I will likely be one of those who are killed by careless gun toting rednecks who would kill a man over toilet paper. Unfortunately.

I prefer isometric games personally. I'm tired of only seeing a weapon bouncing up and down as I run around in a FPS. I like to be able to see my player, and love how they made things fade out of view when you're not facing that direction. They did a great job, and this game stands alone on originality because of this.

I usually prefer to make pancakes when I'm cooking either of the two, just because I hate to have to pull out the waffle iron. But when I'm out and about, I always order a waffle or french toast. Went to Barista Parlor in Nashville the other day, decided to try their Pop's Peach Waffle and oh my god was that the best f'n waffle EVER. Waffles ftw, polls lie.

I don't run, ever... unless the cops are chasing me, but I'm not a bad person, so I don't run, ever. I'm sure there are many women who can out run me due to this. I don't lift weights, I tend to lounge more than get exercise, I have my hobbies that keep me active, but am by no means a tough or fit guy. There are plenty of women who could kick my a$$ I'm sure. My line of work requires in depth and high attention to detail organizational skills. I need to keep a neat workspace and maintain exceptional quality as well as keep up with the fast paced environment around me. There are many women I'm sure would be less a neat freak than me simply because of the years I've spent that require such an ability of me. I am the cook of the house, the gf is good, but she will not get into it as I will... I'm originally from the south, so have many cajun recipes that put me a notch above many others who simply bbq or boil some ramen. Though I do not farm, I am usually testing my fresh produce in various ways before deciding which veggies I'll be using in my meals I prepare. My gf is more than happy to buy frozen and let the microwave or oven do the rest. Lastly, If I were in a Zombie Apocalypse, the only woman I'd want with me is my gf, if I have one at the time of the Apocalypse... that will be plenty enough drama for me. Though I do feel that you'd risk getting other men in your group that might go all Shane on you (Walking Dead) In the end, I would feel a lot less regret if I failed a male partner than a female one. I would rather there be more men in my group because of this. I would likely get myself killed trying to save a women member simply because I feel she would have needed my help more, even if she didn't. I could maybe see them stereotyping some NPC's to make the world seem more 'stuck in it's ways' natural and perhaps may be more emmersive because of this, but I feel there should be no restrcitions based on Sex when creating a character to play.

IF there were a 'Sleep Deprevation' status/energy bar... It could dwindle to 'passing out' after 3 in game days (maybe more or less with trait/flaw choices) to recover 1 days of sleep loss, 5 minutes of looking at a black screen. So, the standard sleep (black screen) needed to refill your energy bar from 0-100% would be 15 minutes. Allow options to set a wind up alarm clock (could alert nearby zombies) so you don't oversleep if you only wish to recover 1/3 or 2/3 of your energy bar. (other wake up methods could be implemented, (I.E. gun fire nearby, a window breaking in the house, or chat from players scurrying through your cupboards.)) all could have a %chance of awaking you. % chance greater in your favor the more full your sleep deprevation status bar is. 1/3 energy or lower could lead to faster hunger, quicker stamina drain when running, loss of max carry capacity, and more suseptable to sickness and infection. %chance of alarm working 'on time' very low. 2/3 energy would have similar effects only not as harsh. above 2/3 energy would keep you in a 'normal' state. NOTE: All numbers, durations, and effects are strictly my opinion mostly used as an example to describe how a Sleep Deprevation energy/status bar could be implemented into MP game play.

I love the energy bar idea! It should be considered as a feature if the engines capability can do it. Edit: Yeah, energy bar/status bar seems like best Idea I've read so far... On another note, I'm 15 days in and power/utilities just went out... I've got very little water saved, but planning to make rain collectors here soon (hope it's not too late). My question is, how does anyone run around in a pitch black home with no light sources and loot? Adjusted brightness settings? I can't loot with no light, let alone find my way to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat >.< I hadn't tried using a lighter, candle or flashlight yet... Was thinking of building a lamp in my safehouse, is this a good idea or should I keep my only flashlight for carrying around?

Yeah, panning camera would take away from what the game currently tries to do with how little you can see unless you're 'checking it out' with your character's eyes. I accept that as a bad idea. What if the scenes happening in your dreams aren't really happening, but sorta like a show to watch? Or maybe a mix of premonition and night terrors, so what you thought you saw could have been a nightmare... Until you open your door and Argh! A bad dream could consist of multiple zeds breaking in and flooding the house, but then you wake up and all is perfectly fine. But you may want to check around the house just to ease the tension. A tension moodle that gets satisfied by combing the area. I don't know, just tossing out some brain farts. Edit: I like the status bar idea actually... With an 'awake' option and it's up to you to find the time in your game to sleep and get that bar raised to a comfortable level. The lower the bar the harder it is to awake when you want to. Passing out should be difficult to acheive, but possible. Edit#2: Can you create multiple players on one save/game? I was thinking they could allow sleep to function when offline, so if one of your characters gets tired you can log another one and play in same game while your tired character gets his/her much needed rest.

I like the idea snapshots of previous day to have something to look at while you sleep... granted I've yet to play MP, so probably shouldn't add an opinion. BUT, what about the ability to pan the camera around the area you are sleeping? A way to watch the wandering zombies that are near by outside. Or when NPC's once re-implemented you can see them going about their business nearby... Could have 'light sleeper' 'heavy sleeper' traits that if you notice trouble within or banging on your house you're in then there is a chance to wake up and handle it; unless you chose to take heavy sleeper as a flaw. in which case, you could be forced to watch a zombie eat you where you sleep or an NPC/PC rummage through your wares and take what they may? An issue with this could be how you normally have no clue what's going on around you unless you're looking in that direction and no walls blocking your view... however, once you awake, you'll only really have a general idea of where things were prior to you waking and it could help add to the list of 'things to address' before continuing on. Plus, you may be paying attention to what's going on in your backyard while you sleep, neglecting what may be going on in the front yard. Or, perhaps with the plethora of reading material around, perhaps you yourself can choose to physically read some of this material... Newspapers can have imerssion helpers that help define the locations on the map and add details you normally don't get to see. Manuals can be silly 'for dummies' style books for you to flip through and get a laugh. Perhaps you can even physically write what you've been writing in a journal or piece of paper so that one day someone else may find these writings and get to read them while they sleep. ? eh!?

I'm using Joystick Mapper app from the Mac app store for $5 It's fairly straight forward, but also there are a few youtubers who've posted how-to's... not the best but good enough to get you going in the right direction. The controls I have set up are very effective and am happy with playability via my xbox 360 controller. I can post a basic mapping concept that matches my layout later if you're interested, but I'm at work now and can't get to it till later tonight

I mean, like physically be holding a game controller in one hand and then holding a computer mouse in the other, but I notice you've mapped the mouse to the right analoge and right bumpers. I had successfully got the game to recognize my controller for a minute, but movement was all turned around, up was still up but left and right were inverted, when I went to try and adjust the inversion in my mac settings, it failed to work, so I restarted the game in hopes that it'd fix it, and I hadn't got it to recognize the controller again since. But, using a button mapping application seems to work just fine, so no worries I guess, but I did like how the game was displaying which buttons I could press to perform actions at the bottom of the screen, I may try and get the game to recognize my controller again sometime soon, for now, I still need to learn how to play the game =P

HAHA, here I was thinking you were playing with a controller in one hand and using the mouse with the other =P NOW it all makes sense... I got an app for mac called joystick mapper and basically did the same layout you've got here, minus a couple of the menu button locations (You've got a couple of keys I've yet to make use of, also a couple; like 'B' that doesn't show what it does in PZ game options =o). So anyway... Yes, I've got my xbox controller working with PZ now!!! So far, I can tell I'm going to like it much better than using keyboard and mouse... I may have to tweak the configuration some more. Thanks everyone, I've been getting great help on these forums you're all awesome! ~Dill

Hmm, Rikashey that sounds a bit odd indeed... I imagine I'll have to mess around with my options until I find a suitable solution. Currently I'm just trying to get the controller recognized by the game. MirzaGhalib mentions having to load your save before 'enabling' the controller, I'm not sure if this means to plug the controller in after you're in game, or if there is something I'm missing. I've got the controller up and running on my Mac, it's functional outside of PZ, but when i'm in game, it does not do anything... I've tried starting my save and while in game pluging in the controller, but still no luck... Okay, so while typing the above text on trying to get my controller to work, I figured I should check options for controller enabling... yay! Only now, I'm not sure how to enable the game controller while in game... I've tried searching for previous posts on this matter, but have either overlooked it or it's not there, how do you access the user options in game to enable controller support?

Great! From googling, looks like I'll have to download some drivers, but that will be a breeze. Anyone feel like posting a button map guide of an xbox 360 controller, or can you link to one already available? I'm heading to the game store after work to get myself set up! *excited*

Awesome insight folks! I appreciate your opinions, sounds like I need to get me a controller that my Mac will read. Was hoping my xbox 360 controller would work, but I would need to get a usb reader to catch the wireless signal and though I may order one later, I can't find one in town. Thinking of just getting a used wired xbox controller but am unsure the compatibility considering xbox is microsoft and I plan on using it with a Mac. Anyway, thanks again, I have high hopes, because my lame a$$ sucks at WASD =\

Interesting... glad I asked, I initially thought that you'd simply map the keyboard to the buttons on the controller... ie. WASD (up down left right, respectively) then make say 'A' button the E key for opening doors and windows, etc. Map ctrl key to a bumper button or something... anyway, now I'm a bit discouraged, anyone else have some insight to share?

I'm looking into making my Mac compatible with my xbox 360 controller, it doesn't seem to be too difficult to get up and running, and fairly inexpensive... But I'm concerned about how Project Zomboid plays with a controller. Does anyone play with a game controller? If so, does it play well with this game? I imagine I'd have to fiddle around with the buttons until I get a good setup, but for the most part, it seems most keys should be mappable and may actually work pretty well. Anyway, I am curious how others experiences have been when trying to play PZ with a game controller? Thanks, ~D