Gustav

As I read your suggestions, I noticed a lot inconsistency.
 
1. Why would rat go for corpse when they have farms and other food souces laying around?
2. Why need rat poison when we can catch rat as food? and catching them is no easy task. I only caught 1 out of 10 attempts using rat trap and my precious cheese!
3. Like you said, a refrigerator will solved the rat problem.
 
On the other hand, I would very much prefer to have the ability to breed/ farm rat as our food source for the winter instead trying to get ride of them : D
 
Good suggestion through hehe

So playing around and surviving for a little bit (2 months to be exact) got me to think a little bit about the area I was surviving in, that being West Point and after looting pretty much the whole city dry and seeing everything there is, I just thought of something that could be added, would fit in with the lore and make a survivor's life a bit easier, though it was a bit too obvious so I thought it must have been suggested before, but after skim-reading around a little bit I havent really tripped over it, but if its around I apologize for repeating it
 
Hunting crossbows
Yep, not very original I imagine, but hey I dont know why such weapon isnt really available already, the idea would be pretty simple, mid-range, silent firearm that would allow you to take care of those pesky deaders that are so inconviently in your way to loot and oddly close to a horde that you could just sneak past, if it werent for that one annoying strangler. 
As far as lore goes, West Point has a gun store specialized in hunting gear and in my personal experience these tend to have not just guns, but also hunting bows and crossbows if you are into that, so the loot spot would probably be only it or the shooting range a bit to the east or one of the few hunting cabins in the woods around if you wanted to make them really hard to get.
Ammo-wise it would be pretty simple to craft together a stick and a sharpened rock (it would give use to those things aside some very basic tasks that you can use actual tools for anyway). 
And for the sake of balance it would be either a single shot weapon or you would have to rack each bolt after shooting with a relatively small capacity, lets say 4-6 bolts max. So efficient enough to take one or two guys out and be on your way, but nothing to be killing thousands with and it being silent it might just be your best friend once you find it.
You could even be able to make a hunting bow after all, that would take just a few flexible branches and a bit of twine that could work the same way, but be just the poor man's choice instead.
 

Hi there! Just registered, as you can probably imagine by looking at the post counter over there. First of all I'd like to share with you how much I LOVE this game. Saw a playthrough of it, must have been a couple of years ago... I thought "yeah, pretty cool..." and totally forgot about it in a day or two. What a fool. Now I just can't stay away from it. But... enough with this, as a first post I'd like to start with... suggestions! I apologize if some of these have already been proposed or... suggested, but I'd really like to share my whole pile of hastily scribbled ideas with you.
 
*Concerning farming, dirt, compost, rainbarrels and other demons*
 
I'm enjoying farming a lot in PZ right now. But I really think the system could use some improvements.
First of all, while I loved having the possibility to create a "hanging garden" of sorts using a spade and an empty sandbag... is it really necessary to have a spade AND a sandbag for that? I mean, I'm no expert, but I've done my share of gardening and I could do that with just a bucket and a trovel. Sure, that should be much more slower, but doable. Another thing I'd like is being able to see slight changes in the "stale time" of my garden's produce. Potatoes, for example. 7 days is quite... unrealistic. It should be more around two weeks, even three. That's considering potatoes can last months if kept in a dry place. To balance the longer time of decay, I'd suggest making them "dangerous if uncooked". Solanine is quite nasty, after all . A farming-related issue I had is with preserves. There's an alarming scarcity of jars and lids... I still have to find my first one, actually. And the fact that the lids are not re-usable... that sounds a little too harsh. I mean, you could make them "tainted" or "unsafe" after the first use, and add a "recipe" with a pot of water. You sterilize and sanitize the lids and the jars by putting them into a pot of boiling water... that sounds reasonable, no? Then there's compost. This is something I'd really love to see in the game. As of now, you can fertilize your crops with NPK fertilizer (if I'm correct) and that's it. What about good old compost? Compost barrels and piles... even heaps are quite abundant in pratically every farm and garden. One could use rotten vegetables, or otherwise spoiled food, and of course cut grass to fill it. The compost would take at least a couple of weeks (would take much more in RL, but hey, one can't wait 3 months ingame to get his precious fertilizer!) to become usable. You would need a craftable barrel, like the rainwater one, or there could be different versions of it... one would just need a spade to create a compost heap, or even use an existing garbage bin. Every one of these should have its advantages, like the barrel holding more compost and creating a higher quality one, while the heap would be more susceptible to rain and vermins, with a lower quality output.                                                                                          I understand water is a delicate topic, and that messing with that too much could create an unbalanced setting. Still, having to level up carpentry just to "create" a wooden box with garbage bags in it... isn't it too punishing? I was thinking about - just not to make this too easy- one could use the garbage bins that dots Muldraugh and West point. Like... take off the top, let water flow in, go back with bottles and/or watering cans after rain and... fresh water (fresh tainted water, that's it). Or you could just make buckets and pots refill when left under the rain. But I don't know how difficult that would be, engine-wise.  
*Sledgehammer/Axe hunting!*
 
One thing that really made me uncomfortable is having to travel all the way from northern West point to the large warehouse in Muldraugh just to find a sledgehammer. Sure, that -was- quite an experience, and I almost died on the way home. But this... tool hunting takes too much time out of the other survival needs, like getting food and defending yourself from the ravenous undead. I know this is another sensible topic, considering tools play such a large and fundamental role in this game. And I like having to look for them. But the hardware store having nothing but hammers and books? Hmm! My suggestion would be to adjust the loot table of the specialized building, making sure that any warehouse, hardware store, mechanic... have at least one sledgehammer and regular hammer. To balance things, these buildings could start with -lots- of zombies in them.
 
*Shutters, cardboard curtains and climbing through smashed windows*
A lot of buildings in Knox County have shutters. But we can't close them. I think we should be able to . Yes, I know, this suggestion is quite short compared to the others. Curtains are definitely important in the early phases of the game, before you can just build a remote fortress or two-story stairless safehouse. The other day I was watching 28 days later for the 28th time (just kidding, must be more than that!) and I noticed cardboard used on windows. It would be nice having empty boxes that you can "craft" into cardboard panes which can then be attached to a window (with adhesive tape, maybe!). Cardboard is also great at muffling noise! Now... smashed windows. I can understand how a survivor chased by a dozen of hungry zombies could jump too hastily and get him/herself cut in the process. But a slow, deliberate climbing should be more safe. Maybe a survivor could use a towel to prevent injuries, or a hammer to fully remove the glass from the frame.                                        *Zombies population and migrations*
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Right now the zombies are quite... static. Sure, there are gunshots and helicopters that will make them move a little bit... but a "safe" zone usually remains safe month after month. I know that will probably change with NPC survivors, but right now we could use some tweaks with their behaviour. For example, fire, gunshot, opening and closing doors and windows should be more... noisy, attracting far more attention from our formerly living neighbours. Oh, and their sense of smell should be much more sensitive regarding blood. Just a thought!
 
Badly formatted wall of text. Thanks for reading, and please, leave your comments!

So, a mod that turns you into Jesus?

Lately on both singleplayer/multiplayer when looting the hardware store I noticed that it seems they have more boxes of screws verses the boxes of nails and I am thinking (if this isn't already going to be implemented in the future) is to have it where you can use nails or screws for your various carpentry needs and in order to screw stuff you will need a screwdriver (which already is in game).
 
I think if you would make stuff using screws it should maybe last longer or be harder to take down verses say nails and for other people to break the barricades down they would need a screwdriver themselves. I think if this is added it will help you use those boxes of screws and it will make it a bit more realistic where you could use screws yourself if you had them instead of nails to screw boards and make stuff.

The river is currently just totally unpassable in the game world. At some point, it may become swimmable/boatable/bridgeable, but for now it's a barrier.

Corpses have a tendency to float due to buildup of decomposition gases. Depending on the exact mechanics of the zombies coming back to life, they may or may not have a natural buoyancy which could conceivably allow them to float on top of the water tiles.
 
They definitely wouldn't be able to swim, though, and would just sort of float around aimlessly. This, of course, is completely dependent on whether or not the mechanism of zombification allows for decomposition gases in the first place.

Please Note: This is not too be confused with bringing back the wheelie bins from previous versions, this suggestion is about having it so we can possibly make a wheelburrow ourselves with the carpentry skill.
 
It is that time of the year now (at least where I live) where you start to put your snow stuff away and start bringing out the lawn mowers, etc. I was kind of thinking what we do not have yet is like a wheelburrow that can be useful for moving wooden logs around and I think that wheelburrows don't seem to be that complicated so I think we should be able to craft our own.
 
I think to make it so it is not too overpowered and easy to get they should make it so that it requires a high carpentry level to make, here is how the recipe should be like below:
 
1x Small Wheel
16x Planks
32x Nails or Screws
1x Hammer/Screwdriver
 
Here is a real-life image of how it would look if you would have made it yourself.

Cool locations, welcome ideas. You modding a use for money? Or fuel for the fire! A climbable radio tower would be cool. Also a fire department should guarantee at least a chance at a fire axe..

I'm guessing the it's against the rules to share links like that, which is unfortunate. I've actually watched ManBearPigGaming for tutorials when I first started to play, but he has so many Let's Play Videos, I have no idea where to look exactly. Are you suggesting I ask him via Youtube about this?
 
If ManBearBigGaming could do this, how come it's not really widely shared around here? An FAQ or some form of instructions on the forums would definitely be great for gamers like myself .

Yes, for multiplayer. Coop PVP means split-screen players can finally murder each other.  

Hmm i think i didn't make it clear. By paraglider i mean paraglider with a engine. Something like this:

 
It doesn't require any hills, mountains etc. It can be used on flat terrain.
It doesn't  need much training/ knowledge but i  think that it's not so necessary to PZ.

no guns dude, just transport..

I see this as a late game capability and don't expect to see it implemented without vehicles. But I see it as a natural extension springing from the introduction of vehicles into the game, and a logical use for the mechanic skill, which I imagine will be needed to fix bicycles and cars once they are in the game.
Because you're going to want a very small percentage of the bikes that you find to work, they'll need repaired first. The same should be true for cars. I imagine the developers will require components like a chain, chain oil, and tires for bicycles to function, and perhaps gas, spark plugs, battery, hoses, and keys to make cars operable. Don't ask me how you might increase your mechanical skill... Some combination of skill books and practical activities probably..  But the way I envision this working is mechanical skill of 2: ability to fix bike, mech skill 4: fix car for electricity generation (lights/radio?), mech skill 6: car drivable, and mech skill 8: fix the helicopter!
There should only be one helicopter. It should be at the army base. It should require a engine for the rotor that is only obtainable in West Point at a garage (is there a garage in West Point?). This engine should be I dunno ~100 pounds and not be transportable in anything but a car trunk.  It should take three full gas cans for one flight, maybe this gas would have to be further refined at a third location, requiring a fuel enrichment manual ('cause WhoTF knows). (I'm going for collectible objective approximating end-game rather than realism here, so go easy) The helicopter should carry 1-3 passengers, beside the pilot. It should control using WASD. Maybe once it goes up it would go to the very top level in the world and only raise and lower straight up-and-down. Could land this on any flat space, roof, etc..
I'm sure this would be difficult to include in the game, but it be nice to have a long-term goal, with many required obtainable components. I just want to be able to fly across the map once, cause it's huge, just for the heck of it!
No chance, right?

Not that many people actually enjoy fishing. I assume that most of the activity consists mostly of waiting around, and I don't see how that's entertaining.
Although I think the fisherman profession should keep the character entertained while fishing.

Yay I link this thread around as a direct guide to foraging, you should make more.

Maybe I am wrong about the refreshing thing. But from my experience, foraging spots do not respawn but I'll probably test this out over one long save file.
 
I've actually managed to find food during the winter, just much less quantities of it compared to summer or fall.

That's the thing.
If it can only refresh so many times, there is a finite amount.

Just a thought.  What about the ability to Forage inside buildings?  Say for instance someone was inside a previously looted warehouse and he foraged.  It would be nice to find some nails or shotgun shells that may have been missed... I wouldn't expect this to work if the building had been fortified tho.

I think its kind of funky that we dont have a creativity sub section yet, so to amend that I'm making this general creativity thread.
 
Rules are simple, post your creative stuff! Music, drawings, short stories, yadda yadda yadda.
 
Also, keep it civilized when giving/taking criticism.
 
I'll start things off I guess with some drawings I did. 
 

 

Of course who says it has to be just cows and chickens? could be rats, guinea pigs from the pet store, frogs, bees...anything really. Theres always SOMEONE with the knowledge to do these things and who says that it can't be your character? This would be really good for mutliplayer or when NPCs are added because not only is it (to the best of my knowledge) not a one man job but it would mean that everyone won't just pick the police officer and construction worker jobs.

Ever tried building a fort out of broken up door planks? I joke I joke. You could pick the "Farmer" trait and this give you a  bonus. Plus cows wandering around rural fields aren't exactly far away from where they probably spent all of their lives. But we have to remember that sometimes you just have to let logic go in a video game. the average joe probably couldnt do most of the things that happen in PZ. 
 
 
EDIT: Could be a requirement that they must be breeded out in the country side. there are plenty of areas near the city that have big enough spaces for cows and chickens, also this isn't the same town as in the real world, there are no noises from traffic because all of that is now gone thanks to the zombies. Besides the solid ground there really isn't much of a difference.

So does anyone know if animal farming is gonna be added to the game? If not I suggest that prehaps they add a few stray cows and chickesn wandering around that you can take back to your base and breed. pretty straight forwards, i was also thinking that worm breeding could be good. Theres been a post about worm breeding in the past so I won't go into it but it would really add to the game and make it so farming isn't just about growing crops.

If an encountered dog abandoned in the crisis could be tamed afterwards, I would definitely try, just to have some kind of companionship. Post zombie apocalypse feels so isolated and scary, it would be really nice to have a dog Mad Max style.

Depending on the circumstances, I'd probably keep the dog instead of eat it. The dog can help me hunt and I can feed it the leftover scraps from my meal when I'm done eating. The biggest problem is barking, but that's easy enough to fix. Just gotta teach the dog to be quiet unless it's alerting me to possible danger.