Deadend

Hell, slap up a paypal account to donate to and I'll chip in 10 or 15

You know DeadEnd.. whenever I tried to look for a great server that includes rp, pvp, pve traders, outposts, events, stories, whitelists in Europe. I never found it. It simply doesn't exists I think. Which is a real pitty for me. But your server, despite the 140 ping I balance on at all time, despite the spikelagging zombies and despite the slow, slow, slow map render parts. You've really slapped up a server idea here that I've never heard of before. All the features you've spoken about to put into the server to make it a balanced rpg and pvp, it's really attached me to it. And I'm gonna be honest, I've looked for so many servers with these ideas that you've brought up.. but I've never found it. It would be a shame to see this whole thing fall down into oblivion, like most servers do after awhile. Because I sure as hell wanna stay. It's just the stability and perhaps some improved ping that's in need of a fix to make me stay on your server and possibly start my long thought PZ Gameplay.
 
So here's my deal.. I'll stand up and donate for this server, around 2-5$ each month. I sure as hell would do it. Just to have this fascinating server running on for a long, long time.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
 
This week was more or less a stress test to see how my server box could with hosting a PZ server. In conclusion, its just not up to part/spec to host a PZ server. connections drop often from the server not being able to handle more than 6 players or just random internet connection drops. Then just apparently standing idle until I pull the crank to put it back up. Even with just 4-5 players the server starts to experience lag, zombies "teleporting" and the random freezes (with high ping) when someone logs in.
 
I definitely foresaw this as a possibility but it just seems my own rig (old PC turned server box with regular home broadband) just won't do. Any further upgrades just aren't within my budget or feasible. It would pretty much require buying a new computer to host this server.
The only other alternative is to rent a VPS or game server. I'd be aiming for something between $10-$20 to start off, at least for the first month. That would probably hold 10-15 stable slots at most; with much better connectivity and stability. Then I could just use my server box to host a TeamSpeak server or website for the server instead. And then I would probably also look into adding at least one or two more to the administration of the server to provide better "service". Even though I do this purely out of enjoyment to see my ideal server finally out there and seeing others interested in it.
 
Paying full rent of the server and top of that administering it is just too much. I would be willing to take care of all of the technicalities of hosting the server off of a rental. But I would very much appreciated if those that have garnered interest in the server thus far or believe in the idea would support the server by donating at least a dollar or two to see how much we could raise for at least a month's rent. I'll be making a poll to just get an idea of how many people would be willing to donate or whats the general idea so if you're interested in the server please cast your vote. 
If I see some support, besides taking care of all of the technicalities of hosting the server I will also be willing to chip in some money to pay for the server. 
 
Otherwise, I'll just sadly have to consider this project a sinking ship and have to back out, shutting the server within the next two weeks or so. A game server is nothing without a player base around it to support it. So if you want to see this server through. Lend a hand!

Hey guys. I'm guessing it must have been during a server restart. The server restarts about twice a day to 'refresh' and provide a smoother experience. I've noticed the lag spikes (ping jumping to 200s) when a new player joins. Not sure why this is, seems the server takes more resources than it should to adjust the new player. But it always resumes to normal shortly after, within a minute. So just waiting a bit, striding away from danger should do the trick.
The server box is running on the best equipment I could provide for it (Cat 6 wires, 1GB connection speeds router, modem and switch) and the PZ Server is the only thing running on the server box. However, it is running off a D:20mbps , U:5mbps regular home broadband connection so smooth connections won't always be possible the more crowded the server gets. And also, the game itself can be a cause of lag since it could be drawing more resources than it needs or inefficiently communicating with the server.
 
Also, keep in mind that lag goes both ways. it depends on the server and client. If your too far from the server and/or your internet connection is choppy, sporadic, or crowded, it could all be a cause of lag. And that all could also be true for the server but so far no one else has had lag issues. But hopefully you aren't experiencing this lag constantly. Whats your average ping Dodge?
 
Also, glad you're enjoying yourself in the server. If you guys ever have any issues, don't hesitate to post

The longsword discussion (don't worry, I'm not going to get started on that one) reminded me of something interesting - Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". It might be strange that discussion of visiting bloody murder upon the undead made a mental connection to a classic of literature, but...
 
Gaffa Tape Warrior said this: "A sword is convienient; you can wear it on your belt and have both hands free for climbing and carrying and working." in the longsword thread.
 
The fragment of the story I'm referring to has Raskolnikov use his old shirt (AFAIR) to make a loop and hang an axe in it.
 
So, why not have clothes / sheets / sheet rope be craftable into a "makeshift scabbard" of sorts ? Equip it, hang a weapon and have it ready to be drawn in an instant. I would see this linked with a hotkey to make you drop whatever else you had in your hands onto the ground and equip the "holstered" weapon.
 
What do you think about it ?

Pretty good idea. after all, nothing says 'survivor' more than ad hoc clothing, and tonnes of gear strapped to one's body in unlikely places.
 
Fishing vest, fanny pack, backpack and bedsheet-cum-bandolier. So stylish. Very survival. Wow.

The 12 hour period was more or so that the server would get a break since most players won't play for hours of night time. But, yes things in general take too long. Like last time I was trying to read a carpentry book, it took maybe 20 to 30 minutes to read 2/3 of it. I'll see if if changing a game setting like that takes effect considering the server is full on steam already. The next lowest option is 5 hours. So 2.5 hr day/night, I'll change it to that.
 
EDIT: okay, I changed the game day to be 5 hours long. Let me know if this is working properly. Also lowered the zombie population to low. Don't know if this will have any effect since I assume all zombies are spawned initially. But zombie respawns is in with a multiplier so hopefully that works as its supposed to since there is no actual way of testing that. Hopefully the streets don't become barren of zombies but this should increase performance a bit for the server.
There is also the resupply events which spawns hordes in so we should be good.

When I think of '''''special infected'''' or ''''superhuman zombies'''' I think of the zeds/vamps from I Am Legend, Resident Evil, and Left 4 Dead. What I'm suggesting is far off from that. None of the variants I'm suggesting would be tougher, stronger, and smarter than a healthy, uninfected human (survivor).
 
So I guess we just have different views of what a 'special infected' or 'superhuman zombie' is. I guess you're the type that sees the buffed up guys at the gym as being 'special' and 'superhuman'. I guess the obese guy at McDonalds is also as 'special' and 'superhuman'.
 
 
p.s: it would be nice to see this at least even if its purely cosmetic. Even if its in the distant future.

Similar topic was already discussed with some different idears:
http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/9827-zombies-having-traits/
 
 
What I am missing in the variations/traits discussions, is the age of a zombie. I'd like to see some more rotten and brittle zombies and some more eh... "vital" stronger ones. The difference should be more in their phisical resistance, not in speed or strength. They just break faster if your clubbing them.

Hey guys. I'm guessing it must have been during a server restart. The server restarts about twice a day to 'refresh' and provide a smoother experience. I've noticed the lag spikes (ping jumping to 200s) when a new player joins. Not sure why this is, seems the server takes more resources than it should to adjust the new player. But it always resumes to normal shortly after, within a minute. So just waiting a bit, striding away from danger should do the trick.
The server box is running on the best equipment I could provide for it (Cat 6 wires, 1GB connection speeds router, modem and switch) and the PZ Server is the only thing running on the server box. However, it is running off a D:20mbps , U:5mbps regular home broadband connection so smooth connections won't always be possible the more crowded the server gets. And also, the game itself can be a cause of lag since it could be drawing more resources than it needs or inefficiently communicating with the server.
 
Also, keep in mind that lag goes both ways. it depends on the server and client. If your too far from the server and/or your internet connection is choppy, sporadic, or crowded, it could all be a cause of lag. And that all could also be true for the server but so far no one else has had lag issues. But hopefully you aren't experiencing this lag constantly. Whats your average ping Dodge?
 
Also, glad you're enjoying yourself in the server. If you guys ever have any issues, don't hesitate to post

What are your thoughts on kickstarter? Did you ever consider it a source of funding for Project Zomboid? Any plans to put Project Zomboid on kickstarter to get that extra funding to push the release of the game?

Will bladed weapons, or weapons in general, ever get stuck inside a zombie I just downed?

When in multiplayer and in melee combat with another player can the other player or yourself be knocked down and then pummelled until they die or will it remain a swing fest? 

This is a question I'd love. Ranching and hunting are two of the features I'm most looking forward to, besides the NPCs of course.

How are the animals coming along? Do you still think you can make them moddable?

The old NPC system had a three teir "emotion" scale which would allow the player to choose how he acted. Will this system be returning with the new NPCs? How will it work?

What are some of the player made suggestions that you have considered to be implemented/ likely to be implemented

What are the favorite ideas of each developer, be they confirmed ideas or individual pipe dreams? So many varied ideas the devs have got to have their favorites. Also a little bump for preserving food

Will a complex mental health system be added into the game? If so, how indepth will it be?

As the devs are only planning to extend the number of combat animations, guess it's not a completely wrong time to ask of two things: Do you want zombies to die harder, (rarely while standing, more different types of finishing after disabling), or do you want to keep them relatively easy to kill while standing? If you agree to complicating and randomizing the carnage a bit - could you please share some ideas? If you'd actually like to leave them relatively easy to kill as they are right now - could you please say why and possibly what else can be done to make daily stuff more fun?
 
My ideas are simple - to turn killing each zombie if not into a set of minigames with partial impalings etc, then maybe just to a set of different animations, dealing progressively more damage as the zombie gets more and more disabled, possibly with a few random twists allowing a lone zombie to rarely break your combo and make you react. Why? Because imho killing one zombie should be fun, but it should come to a lag when you can't finish it when another one's near, making killing zombies exponentally more difficult based on their number, like it is now for bare handed or weak melee weapon combat. It would also add more value to melee skills since those would havefer a limited chance to crit the buggers without going throgh the whole disabling sequence. Beginning of this mechanic is already in game - tackle them and kick them, just want to know if you people would support complicating this process a bit or just have moar of dem zombies?

The vestiges of memory tells them to do so. Because deep down they know that it is an entry way, they just cant remember how to use it.
 
Same goes for migration, they remember walking with other people but they can't make sense of it so they just... Do it.
 
Even in Romero lore, zombies often went to places of work or places they spent lots of time because the zombie has some basic sense or instinct telling them to do so.
 
If you throw away all mental faculty from the lore, they would be comatose and unresponsive to everything. A zombie does indeed still have a thought process, and you can argue until you are blue about what is realistic when it comes to a walking dead person. In the end it is all impossible. So might as well give them behaviour that won't result in them just laying on the carpet and lawn like catatonic people.

Have you guys discussed about the possible modding tools regarding npcs/ai etc? If so, could you shed some light on that?

We've got so many different ways to acquire food now, with more to come. But we currently lack any method of preserving them, so we risk losing out on excess food supplies if we farm, fish, or hunt to much. What plans do you have for food preservation, to prevent such quandaries? And what plans do you have to make use of food that has rotted? A compost heap would be awesome. As would a worm garden, now that I think of it. Feed the food to worms in a bin and use them for fish bait as they breed.

Are there currently any feasible plans to release the expanded modding tools (particularly a model/skin editor) to the community in the near future or have the recent issues placed too much of a workload upon the team with the primary game's coding for such action to be realistic at this time?

Will the mod community be able to mod NPCs?
Will NPCs be procedurally/randomly generated, or will they be true "characters" with their own pre-set background story and behavior?  Or a combination of both?
What is the new office address of Indie Stone, so I can mail you guys a care package?