Sterl500

We all have that one trait we can't seem to play without. Sometimes we sacrifice a whole lot in order to play it, other times it's pre-built into the character class. Personally I have three. 1) Outdoorsman - A lot of times, just waiting out the rain to prevent getting ill is just not very fun. That being the case, how about spending a mere two points for all the singing and dancing and running in the rain a body can handle? You could even pay for it with a tendency for illness and never get a cold! (Seriously, why is the rain cold mechanic still a thing?) 2) Lucky - I can't play without this perk. It's just amazing to get more rare loot off of zeds and find two or more axes in that warehouse. Plus it helps you not fudge a repair up. Score! 3) Axe man - Couples just fine with lucky and I get it by just picking my favorite class, the lumberjack or the fire marshal. Swing, swing, chop that tree! Swing, swing, until they bleed! Honourable mentions - 1) Dexterous - For a few points, everything gets in and out of your sack fifty percent faster. Need a bat from your duffel but your dead neighbors keep chasing you? No worries, with dexterous you can shave precious seconds off the search and equip time. 2) Inconspicuous - While this one is kinda expensive, it's well worth the extra negative trait. I guess they mistake you for a dead comrade? Perhaps that bruise you've got from walking into that bar is making you look more dead than you will be in the next few days? Whatever the case, the dead just don't seem to notice you as often, and that's a rare gift indeed.

In order to solve the problem of the zed threat not being really threatening, think we should look closely at what really attracts the undead. Sight, sound and to a lesser degree, smell. To be honest, only sight and sound are technically relevant. Smell can be relevant later, but for now, I think we'll theorize how a quiet and secluded base could be assaulted with some certainty, or at least expected certainty. I think currently there is no real answer to be had. Feral hordes like in 7Days to Die are far too orchestrated for them to feel more organic instead of just another a bullet point on the to-do list. If we use the current tools in the game, the meta is reliable unless you've done a bit of clearing and without tweaking the zed settings, they won't hear through walls too well and won't spot you through open windows as often. This makes a quiet base almost invisible. The best idea for creating organic hordes was the clumping mechanic, but I've seen these as obvious and not subtle. I mean as soon as I spot a few zeds, they automatically clump together like magnets. They also seem way too interested in the activity as well since I've shouted and ran near circles behind them with very few results to separate them in transit. Until NPCs come around (which I have my own reservations about them sniffing around my home and potentially stealing shit), zeds will continue to act dumb and slow. But what if there's one in the pack that is "smarter" than the rest? I don't mean that this one particular zed will be capable of any higher thought than the rest, or it will be special in any way. I just think this "boss zed" will have slightly better pathfinding abilities (such as avoiding obstacles and easier pathing around trees) and will stick to "streets". These boss zeds will also have better memory of streets and open routes. I'd say locking the bosses into a routine during a set time would be a great idea. The rest of the pack will follow him/her around loosely and stick to the same clear routes as well as continuing a bit after it stops. The regular zeds won't be bound by this routine though as they'll be free to find a distraction and break off from time to time. This would create a much more interesting urban environment as regular hordes would roam the streets getting bigger and smaller, and sometimes splitting as more boss zeds split the pack or more and more zeds leave because they saw something shiny. You won't be able to tell which zed is the boss by color, or sometimes even behavior. This makes them a little more organic as the sum of all parts is greater than the most intelligent of the bunch. With zombies, I think this is the truth. And to address forest homes, I think the traditional walkers would be best. Have a couple break off from the pack every now and then and walk into the forest. Eventually they'll end up deep into the forest and at the more remote locations. That keeps the player on their toes, wondering if these walkers spell out an impending horde. Next, I want to address smell. Why not have zeds detect blood? Not just living blood, but also zed blood. It can be dried, fresh, or reconstituted by rain. Just a little bit won't attract much (if any) attention, but kill a whole bunch in an area and leave the corpses? That'll put much more emphasis on cleanup operations. Even after the blood dries, it could be more fragrant after a rainstorm so it's important to clean up outside too if your base used to house tons of zeds.

The problem with technical manuals is that they expect a certain understanding of the hardware and software from the reader. What you're thinking about are the "for Dummies" line of manuals and they're a lot less specific than what would be required to operate a photovoltaic system. Maybe a "scientist" or "engineer" class/occupation? Someone who would be good in a party, but not necessarily on their own? That way they're a valuable commodity to long-term suvivors, perhaps increasing crop resilience, or better building HP...

Empty notebooks are a valuable commodity IMO. Why not rip pages from the books which become sheets of paper. You could use nails, tape and other forms of fasteners to mount then notes, or simply place them on tables, floors and other places like you would a trap.

How about gasoline/diesel generators? Windmills and Solar panels between the 1970s and the late 90s were uncommon, especially in an extremely conservative state like Kentucky. You might find them on buildings like the logging area and possibly electrical relays and powerstations, but they'd be far too bulky to simply carry back to your base and install them. Small generators could be used to power a small home, and with a prevelance of gas, it would be a simple task to keep things running. The gasoline generators are also user friendly. Bigger generators that run off of diesel would be found in warehouses and logging companies. They'd require more knowhow to keep running, but you might be able to use power tools as well as the general appliances. Diesel is noisy, so maybe not such a good idea? Whatever the case, I think generating your own electricity would be a good idea. Heck, if you were really industrious and knowledgable, you might even clear a way to the water purification plant and put the water supply back in good standing.

So as far as I can remember, Panic has remained unchanged. For those of you who are new or haven't played for a while, Panic is the "shocked" moodle which can narrow your cone of vision and reduce weapon accuracy. As far as game mechanics goes, it's decent though relatively unrealistic. I propose a future rework of the panic mechanic where stress levels take a front seat to driving many combat and other related mechanics. Higher levels of stress lead to both beneficial and adverse effects. Stress is caused by things like combat, tense situations with survivors, and general illness or lack of basic needs like sleep and nourishment. Things like drugs and food reduce stress as well as getting out into the sun. Hyper/Hypothermia can negatively impact stress. Low levels of stress promote a relaxed state of mind. This means you read faster and gain increased benefits from these activities (increased reading speed, slight xp multiplier). While relaxed you sleep better, eat consistent portions and are generally a less moody survivor which makes it easier to deal with other people. Health is consistent and you perform complex tasks with ease. Medium levels of stress can cause blurred vision, increased heart rate and breathing, and an increase in strength (making it easier to carry a heavy load if mildly overburdened and fight off one or two zombies). You are likely engaged in sustained combat with a zed. The longer you spend in combat, or running from things, the quicker your stress increases. If you try to sleep while in this zone of stress, you will suffer from mild insomnia which decreases your sleep and interrupts your circadian rhythm. Medium levels of stress can trigger the adrenaline moodle near the high zone which grants you bonuses to combat while exhausting you more quickly. Bleeding is lessened, and broken bones impede you less until it wears off. Better give yourself some first aid. Minor tremors prevent fluid lock picking and increases the chance of failing to open a window. Go out for a smoke, it'll calm you down. High levels of stress decrease cone of vision and shoots more adrenaline into your body. You're fleeing for your life by now, increasing your endurance and speed of climbing over fences and ascending/descending rope. Don't look back. Minor injuries to medium injuries (like scratches and bites) will not be noticed until you calm down some. You will not stay in high stress normally unless you are still in combat or have taken the brooding trait. You are quick to anger in this level. Massive tremors prevent timely lockpicking. By the time you have that door open, you're either being eaten, or back into the medium levels of stress. Spend your time running. Time to pop open that wine bud. Fatal levels of stress can cause heart palpitations and overweight players will likely suffer a heart attack. Your body is shutting down and needs rest, you are blacking out. You are distinctly aware of injuries, stamina recovers slowly, you're basically one of them. Very real chance of death unless you find a safe place to rest. Can't bring the stress down with alcohol or smokes. Both will make your situation worse. This is what I came up with. I think the panic mechanic is outdated and needs an overhaul or total rework. I think even encountering one zed and getting panicked is silly.

I'm not sure I have too many low points. The first was the character I spent almost a month surviving on, died after falling off the third floor she built. I learned my lesson of using the "Walk to" function in the context menu while on top of these things after the fact. I'd actually survived a bite with both the hypochondriac and prone to illness traits, so I was surprised when I died as I was convinced she was invulnerable to anything up to a nuke. The next was at the north warehouse in Muldraugh. I'd decided to deck out the building for a safehouse, so I sheet roped the window over the grating and destroyed the staircase. Apparently that also destroys the second floor. When decided to test the rope, I went over the eaves expecting the cool metal under my feet but got nothing more than air and a swift death. My final thoughts were, "F*** this game." Then I proceeded to use my rage to fuel a second character which took all the ammo from her safehouse and killed things with the burning intensity of a thousand suns.