Jatta Pake

If the flurry of new skills added in the recent builds prove anything, it's that more skill options are just plain awesome. Some of the suggestions below are ones already made, but I'll repeat them anyway so RJ has a single post to review for all the new skills.  
 
Foraging (Upgrade) - At the higher levels, Foraging should spawn medicinal plants and roots that are native to Kentucky. This would justify a Foraging Skill Book. These medicinal plants could be Cooked for use in First Aid.
Spiked Blazing Star - painkiller. Perhaps made like tea. Goldenseal - antibiotic if eaten or antiseptic if made like a tea. American Ginseng - exhaustion/fatigue cure. Perhaps made like a tea. Witch Hazel - anti inflammation, anti bleeding and burns. Rub directly on skin. Scavenging - Requires a tool. Functions like a reverse carpentry skill. Non-player made items like furniture, tables, cabinets, can be "Scavenged" to produce things like nails and planks.
 
Animal Husbandry - Needs animals to be added to the game but would allow for the breeding and caring for farm animals. Part of the fun of this skill would be the animal noises continually attracting zombies.
Chickens - Need to build Chicken Coop. Spawns eggs. Must be fed Worms and Maggots. Rabbits - Need to build Rabbit Hutch. Spawns more Rabbits. Must be fed Weeds. Goats - Need a fenced in area to keep them from wandering off. Can be milked for Goat Milk. Just needs a large enough area of grass. Bees - Need to build a Top-Bar Hive. Spawns Honey. Pigs - Need to build a Sty. Spawns more Pigs. Must be fed food but can use Rotten food. Masonry - This would be the skill used to construct things with cement and brick/mortar. In addition to sturdier fortifications, the higher Masonry skill would allow construction of the following:
Brick Oven - Required for baking and higher skilled Cooking. A grill can only do so much. Also allows baking of earthenware bowls etc with low level of Pottery.  Kiln - Required for making items at higher Pottery Skill like make Bricks, Charcoal and Cement. Also used to Dry foods. Forge - Required for Blacksmithing. Requires Charcoal to operate. Smelting nails. Pottery - Seems like a useless survival skill, right? First, the Pottery skill would allow the Player to find dig up Clay.  After constructing or finding a Brick Oven to bake foods that last longer, Pottery skill would use that oven for other items:
Bowls, Plates, Knives Jars and Pots for Food Preservation With a Kiln you could add a range of other items:
Water Filtration Components Charcoal (for Forge and Water Filtration) Bricks Cement Casts for cast iron mechanical components Mechanics - At lower levels, allows the construction of lifting tools. At higher levels, can repair cars and gas generators. Allows makeshift:
Wheelbarrow Pulley Can Opener Hand Operated Water Pump (requires cast iron mechanical components) Blacksmithing - Requires a forge to make nails. Can be used to melt stuff to make cast iron mechanical components.
 
Get to work, RJ!

Plot twist: NPCs are already being tested on multiplayer servers.
 
Just kidding! But that's how I would do it. Throw in some bots on a big MP server and see what happens. 
 
As far as I can tell, Indie Stone is working on NPCs acting as procedurally generated narratives. These work better when the AI isn't "playing" the game but behaving like a simulated being existing inside the game. Kinda like how we are all simulated beings in Elon Musk's universe.
 
Roguelike Radio had a great episode recently on "Simulations" with Tarn Adams, co-creator of Dwarf Fortress. Tarn calls DF a procedurally generated narrative game. The simulation runs, players act and react to it, and the story unfolds (and hilarity ensues).
 
Optimized bot players work well in first person shooters, but a game like PZ needs characters.
 
I think the key for success is making the character behavior understandable to the player. An NPC ally that charges head on into a horde for no apparent reason will get groans from players who bitch about stupid AI. But a character that charges head on into a horde because he's buying the player time to make an escape will be dramatic and possibly poignant. An NPC that charges head on into a horde to buy the player time to escape when the player already figured out a safe escape route will be hilarious and tragic.
 
Aim for dramatic and poignant but enjoy hilarious and tragic.

Plot twist: NPCs are already being tested on multiplayer servers.
 
Just kidding! But that's how I would do it. Throw in some bots on a big MP server and see what happens. 
 
As far as I can tell, Indie Stone is working on NPCs acting as procedurally generated narratives. These work better when the AI isn't "playing" the game but behaving like a simulated being existing inside the game. Kinda like how we are all simulated beings in Elon Musk's universe.
 
Roguelike Radio had a great episode recently on "Simulations" with Tarn Adams, co-creator of Dwarf Fortress. Tarn calls DF a procedurally generated narrative game. The simulation runs, players act and react to it, and the story unfolds (and hilarity ensues).
 
Optimized bot players work well in first person shooters, but a game like PZ needs characters.
 
I think the key for success is making the character behavior understandable to the player. An NPC ally that charges head on into a horde for no apparent reason will get groans from players who bitch about stupid AI. But a character that charges head on into a horde because he's buying the player time to make an escape will be dramatic and possibly poignant. An NPC that charges head on into a horde to buy the player time to escape when the player already figured out a safe escape route will be hilarious and tragic.
 
Aim for dramatic and poignant but enjoy hilarious and tragic.

I debated on where to put this topic but I remember reading somewhere that the developer's ultimate goal with PZ was to have emergent storytelling be at the game's design core. If so, the purpose of this topic is simply to discuss and possibly (and humbly) suggest what I think this would look like in PZ. If this is no longer a goal, I'd like to see it manifest as a Mod.
 
What is emergent storytelling? This article provides a fantastic overview and argument for what defines emergent storytelling in video games: Popmatters
 
The author argues that emergent storytelling in videogames has one or both of two key components:
Characters that change during play in meaningful ways that represent a true character arc, Gameplay forces players to give context and meaning to a scenario that results in a dramatic arc. Without these components, the narrative is not emergent. For example, a pre-defined series of events within a game may include story and character arcs, but they are not emergent. They are narratives designed by the game maker. Emergent storytelling happens through the interaction between the player and the system.
 
I think PZ has the opportunity to push the envelope with emergent storytelling and I suspect that is the intent with NPCs. But I think more can be done with player characters. What would extreme isolation and constant war-like trauma do to a character? For characters that are put together in multiplayer, what would be the effects over time on characters having two conflicting personality types being forced together?
 
I could see a new navigation pane, similar to the one that shows the health of the body, except one for the mind. While moodles might be outward expressions of character behaviors, the character's mind would be internal. Let's say two players are playing survivors, one plays Joe and one Sara. Shortly after meeting for the first time, Joe registers annoyance towards Sara within his mind. Sara may be able to see that Joe is mildly annoyed, but she would not know from what. After a certain threshold, highly annoyed characters might suffer skill penalties.
 
If the two players are both friends in real life and plan to play together, Joe's player might chose to spend points (e.g. resources) on reducing Joe's internal annoyance towards Sara. Joe gets over his issues. Alternatively, Joe's player may need to spend mental points on fighting off his growing addiction to smoking cigarettes. He allows Joe's annoyance towards Sara to grow to the point that he now suffers a skill penalty fighting zombies. What happens next? Perhaps Joe accepts the penalty and risks his life and stays with Sara. Or maybe he finally snaps. During the next harrowing zombie encounter, Joe's player withholds critical assistance from Sara and allows her to be torn apart by a horde. "It was either her or me".
 
To me, this is emergent storytelling. Letting Sara die isn't a meaningless event. Joe had a reason for doing what he did. He needed to rid himself of his concentration breaking annoyance or he risked himself dying to the horde.
 
On the flipside, players could assign mental points to make their characters like each other more. Let's say Amy and Josh receive a skill bonus when they are together. They make a great team. But one day, Josh drops his guard and gets bit. The infection manifests quickly and Josh dies. Amy now suffers a deep depression which tank her skills. Does she persevere and eventually recover? Does her sorrow prevent her from successfully fighting off the next zombie? Does she drink the bleach?
 
These are stories. They are more than just a series of events with importance only to the player. The narrative isn't dictated by the game maker. Instead, the narrative emerges from the interaction between the player and the system. What does it say about the human condition that Joe, when faced with risking his survival, let Sara die?
 
To me, this is why PZ has permadeath and no final winning state. This is how you died. The game is about the journey, not the destination.

I debated on where to put this topic but I remember reading somewhere that the developer's ultimate goal with PZ was to have emergent storytelling be at the game's design core. If so, the purpose of this topic is simply to discuss and possibly (and humbly) suggest what I think this would look like in PZ. If this is no longer a goal, I'd like to see it manifest as a Mod.
 
What is emergent storytelling? This article provides a fantastic overview and argument for what defines emergent storytelling in video games: Popmatters
 
The author argues that emergent storytelling in videogames has one or both of two key components:
Characters that change during play in meaningful ways that represent a true character arc, Gameplay forces players to give context and meaning to a scenario that results in a dramatic arc. Without these components, the narrative is not emergent. For example, a pre-defined series of events within a game may include story and character arcs, but they are not emergent. They are narratives designed by the game maker. Emergent storytelling happens through the interaction between the player and the system.
 
I think PZ has the opportunity to push the envelope with emergent storytelling and I suspect that is the intent with NPCs. But I think more can be done with player characters. What would extreme isolation and constant war-like trauma do to a character? For characters that are put together in multiplayer, what would be the effects over time on characters having two conflicting personality types being forced together?
 
I could see a new navigation pane, similar to the one that shows the health of the body, except one for the mind. While moodles might be outward expressions of character behaviors, the character's mind would be internal. Let's say two players are playing survivors, one plays Joe and one Sara. Shortly after meeting for the first time, Joe registers annoyance towards Sara within his mind. Sara may be able to see that Joe is mildly annoyed, but she would not know from what. After a certain threshold, highly annoyed characters might suffer skill penalties.
 
If the two players are both friends in real life and plan to play together, Joe's player might chose to spend points (e.g. resources) on reducing Joe's internal annoyance towards Sara. Joe gets over his issues. Alternatively, Joe's player may need to spend mental points on fighting off his growing addiction to smoking cigarettes. He allows Joe's annoyance towards Sara to grow to the point that he now suffers a skill penalty fighting zombies. What happens next? Perhaps Joe accepts the penalty and risks his life and stays with Sara. Or maybe he finally snaps. During the next harrowing zombie encounter, Joe's player withholds critical assistance from Sara and allows her to be torn apart by a horde. "It was either her or me".
 
To me, this is emergent storytelling. Letting Sara die isn't a meaningless event. Joe had a reason for doing what he did. He needed to rid himself of his concentration breaking annoyance or he risked himself dying to the horde.
 
On the flipside, players could assign mental points to make their characters like each other more. Let's say Amy and Josh receive a skill bonus when they are together. They make a great team. But one day, Josh drops his guard and gets bit. The infection manifests quickly and Josh dies. Amy now suffers a deep depression which tank her skills. Does she persevere and eventually recover? Does her sorrow prevent her from successfully fighting off the next zombie? Does she drink the bleach?
 
These are stories. They are more than just a series of events with importance only to the player. The narrative isn't dictated by the game maker. Instead, the narrative emerges from the interaction between the player and the system. What does it say about the human condition that Joe, when faced with risking his survival, let Sara die?
 
To me, this is why PZ has permadeath and no final winning state. This is how you died. The game is about the journey, not the destination.

Memories... 
 
http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/4519-more-useless-stuff/?p=60345
 
To address EnigmaGrey's concerns, you could have an Advanced Stuff sandbox setting. I like the added challenges with looting that sifting through stuff creates as LewisDTC notes. Although I'd prefer items to have a range of usefulness - less useful to more useful. Nothing adds to the stress of looking through a cabinet of stuff like the sun setting and zombies approaching. "Oh shit, I got too greedy! I can barely move!"
 
On the other hand, I agree this would be a significant annoyance to large portion of players. I'm weird. I think mods will suffice though. As Hydro would probably attest, we need some crazy sprite making savant to join the community and literally make a sprite for everything that could possibly be found in Kentucky.

I've been waiting to dive back into PZ with Build 33. It is (or was at one time) expected to have the feature that allowed furniture and other map objects to be moved in game.
 
It is such a little thing* but the ability to personalize a character's environment is irresistibly immersive in a game like this. Of all the new, upcoming features, moving furniture tops my list.
 
 
 
 
*Little in terms of comparative game impact. I have no idea how little this is in terms of game development.

I've been waiting to dive back into PZ with Build 33. It is (or was at one time) expected to have the feature that allowed furniture and other map objects to be moved in game.
 
It is such a little thing* but the ability to personalize a character's environment is irresistibly immersive in a game like this. Of all the new, upcoming features, moving furniture tops my list.
 
 
 
 
*Little in terms of comparative game impact. I have no idea how little this is in terms of game development.

I've been waiting to dive back into PZ with Build 33. It is (or was at one time) expected to have the feature that allowed furniture and other map objects to be moved in game.
 
It is such a little thing* but the ability to personalize a character's environment is irresistibly immersive in a game like this. Of all the new, upcoming features, moving furniture tops my list.
 
 
 
 
*Little in terms of comparative game impact. I have no idea how little this is in terms of game development.

*Warning this mod would be huge xD*
\\ So, first off I'm new to the forums, Hello everyone! Modders and fellow PZ Family! I'm familiar with how the forums work, and in advanced I'd like to apologize if I upset anyone lol >.<
         - P.s  I'm not a modder but would love to learn how! //  
      
        That all being said, let's get down to the idea!
 
 
     I've played PZ for the better part of a year or so, definitely not as long as most everyone here, but that isn't necessarily needed to know that it can become quite lonely in the PZ world. I mean, we all know when we start off in the world there's that sense of quick, find a location, gather food/water, weapons, quick get carpentry going, and then leading into electrical and farming, etc; etc! But it gets lonely doing your own little thing and to be frank, quite aggravating, not that I'm complaining (yes I die A LOT xD). I came up with the idea after seeing the title screen, and looking at the man (I know when the lightning flashes, but let's assume that it's the player [male or female] holding someone they hold dear, or even just a friend). 
 
*For the sake of this discussion I'd like to just call the npc in question Aurora (f).*
 
The Idea is: Starting off in the world, with someone to look after, or even finding someone weeks or months into the game. So far I'd like to say the NPC is stationary, as I'm not too sure how a mechanic would go about moving the npc, this is where idea's from people who want to discuss this come in. Maybe the player can choose a location pre-world gen? So the player doesn't have to just stay on one house in case of a large horde? Maybe the player can set off sound traps in area's around the outer perimeter of their current base to draw hordes away to protect the NPC?

Be they:
Injured
  Sick
  Depressed (given up on living after the apocalypse)
  Afraid / feeble (not suggesting a child in the game, but think of the possibility of taking care of a child? The Last of Us anybody?)
  Bed ridden (just throwing out ideas)     Any of the case above, (all subject to change in discussion of course this is a family discussion! ) 
 
Possible questions as to why?
 
Q: What does the NPC do?
    A: To be honest I had some ideas about this for example:
Give small quests (possible obtaining of XP for certain skills?) [For Ex: Aurora:" [Player Name], *cough* *cough*.... I feel.. very faint, my head is.. burning.. please water? Do we have any medicine?" 
[Player Name]: Hold on Aurora.. I'll go check our supplies, you just lie here in bed. I'll be back.
-The player goes to check their supplies (designated location? Medicine cabinet? Not too sure yet sorry..) only to find out there isn't any.
[Player character inner thoughts]: "I remember seeing a clinic in town, next to the store.. maybe I should check there for medicine..."
And if the player finishes this quest they could get XP for Agility, or something.

  Possibly give the player small gifts as thanks (ammo, meds tender love xD), or helpful hints, maybe keep a log of supplies held in the base, Tend to the farm, cook food? I'd even go as far to say chat with the player (for those dialogue lovers) to keep the Player company, and to provide companionship. (but the npc shouldn't attack? It kinda ruins the point of the Player taking care of them, sort of getting them through the apocalypse if that makes sense?)
  Feel emotion, Gratitude, sadness, fear of impending death, warn the player if they hear the slightest sound, maybe? Q: Can the NPC die?
   A: Yes. It's the point of this mod idea for the player to have to take care of the NPC, and provide companionship.

Q: How can the NPC die?
  A: A number of ways:
Neglect (possible suicide? unsure currently)
  If they do not receive care when sick or injured (moderate care, like a nurse to a patient.)
  Lack of Food
  Zombie Attack (obviously, maybe they turn into a zombie?)
  More to be discussed? Q: Can the player interact with the NPC?
   A: Yes! It'd be amazing for the player to be able to "chat" with the NPC and discuss how their current situation is, maybe tell stories, or random chats, some revealing supplies in surrounding houses or locations (example of this at end of this answer), and each conversation has multiple options that the player can choose, that will either affect positively,negatively, or not even at all, the NPC. 
EX: Aurora: "I've looked outside the window today, and have noticed the house across the way.. Seems like they were well off.." [not sure how the mechanic would work, but discuss it!]
 
Q: How can the player interact with the NPC?
    A: Idk! I'm just pitching an idea xD I have no idea how to do this, maybe pushing an unused key near the npc will trigger a dialogue box to appear?
Q: Can the NPC get sick, and heal from it? If so, what does the NPC do after feeling better?
   A: I'd like to say yes to the first part, because that can give the player quests, and as for the length of sickness (or even injury) that'd have to be discussed, maybe a possible function that will allow the player to select the time span of such things pre-world gen? As for the second half, I'd say just wander the house or set area the NPC is in, EX: if inside a house, unable to exit, (if the house is a two story, can wander upstairs), NPC can automatically close curtains for self safety, If a zombie enters the house, the NPC will attempt to sneak into a room and close the door, if seen the NPC will run into a room and hide, panicking for help from the player [unless the NPC is sick and bed ridden, in which case I'd assume the NPC would hide under the covers or something and avoid zombie detection. I'd also like to say there to be a function added where the player can request the NPC to only stay upstairs or in a single room? That'd be cool lol!

Q: How often would NPC'S give quests and have new dialogue available?
   A: This is an answer only the modder would be able to answer, although I'd like to see there be an option for quest availability pre-world gen?
 
Q: Can the NPC use Combat mechanics?
   A: I'd love to say no, but if the modder wants it, who am I to stop them? After-all, this would add a level of realism to the game.
 
Q: Can the NPC change location?
  A: Again, I'd LOVE to say yes, but idk how that would work, THIS particular question is HUGE. As the NPC could draw unwanted attention to the player, and cause the whole mod to be a waste of gameplay, as the player could just die, die, die. Maybe if the NPC were to just be invisible from zombies? (which would ruin the option of them being killed by the Zombies). This would have to be discussed for sure! >.< sorry again!
Q: This is a pretty hard mod idea, are you nuts?
  A: I like to look at life as a challenge, I know it's a daunting task, as there are NO Npc's currently in game, and maybe for good reason, I'm just so in love with this game, I can't help but pitch Idea's, I'd love to see so much more be done with this game, I want to help! Even if my idea's are impossible (which most are I guarantee, but don't know any better because I'm not a modder >.<). If they are please let me know, if they are just hard but possible if the modder has any free time, please let me know, because I know everyone has a life, but this is just an idea after all!

All of this being said Hello every one again, I am NEW, but I just wanted to make this idea know, what do you all think?

That's all I have for now I'm tired >.< Have a job interview tomorrow, wish me luck!
 
 Your new friend & Sister,
            ~ DemonXelo

Project Gutenboid Mod
 
My second mod will show some love to the bibliophiles.
 
Preview (Or How It Will Work In Theory)

I know the idea of "special" zombies is verboten, but I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more variation among the glorious hordes we face. And I like touching third rails of forum topics so here goes.
 
I offer for your consideration several additional zombie variants. These zombies are not "special" in that they conform to standard lore, but like the Crawler have some specific differences that add to the challenge. No tool using or exploding zombies, just regular old walking dead with some clever twists...
 Climber - A zombie like the Crawler but missing its entire lower torso. The lower mass allows the zombie to climb things like sheet ropes and rough surfaces like player built walls. Slow like a turtle but determined as fuck.Game-play issue addressed: Safety players feel from hiding up on a second story. "Jim, did you remember to pull up the sheet rope and barricade the window when you came in? You didn't? Ahhh! Kill me now!" Howler - A regular zombie that hasn't lost its full vocal functions yet and howls more loudly when prey is spotted, attracting additional zombies to an area. An upgrade from the current aggro sound that rarely pulls the entire horde along when a player is spotted. The loudest recorded human voice is around 117-119 decibels. A zombie who doesn't give two shits about blowing out its vocal cords should be able to match this volume at least once.Game-play issue addressed: Counters player tactic of approaching a horde just enough to peel off a couple of zombies at a time to dispatch (Rope-a-dope). These could be rare. But the psychological torture inflicted upon the player encountering a lone zombie would be delicious. "Not only do some houses have alarms, but now some zombies do to? Ahhh! Kill me now!" Floater - A regular zombie that spawns out of lakes and rivers.Game-play issue addressed: The safety players feel around bodies of water. Adds suspense to fishing. Island safety? I don't think so. Imagine a graphic that plays of the water rippling and a zombie slowly emerging from the water when a player gets close. "What do you mean it's not safe to fish at night anymore? They can come crawling up out of the water? Ahhh! Kill me now!" Hider - A regular zombie that lays down like a corpse in tall grass or under beds, but stands up when a player is detected close by.Game-play issue addressed: Lack of urine in player's shorts after gameplay and looting becomes routine. "They can hide under beds now! Ahhh! My pants!" Dragon - A dragon.Game-play issue addressed: Lack of dragons. "Ahhh! Huh?!?!" Thoughts? Disagree? 

On one hand, I like the "clean" world when you first start. You get a sense that people evacuated quickly and the apocalypse has only really just begun. On the other hand, I would like to see more of the destruction of the landscape as time goes on. I agree with Viceroy that the erosion mechanism is a good place for this. Before nature really takes over, I think you will see the collapse of human made structures from fires and the elements.
Another option is to have zombies interact with the environment more. Walking could track mud and gore. Bones could fall off zombies. Zombies could mindlessly damage building walls. Knock shit over.
I wouldn't want to see the collapse in everything in lockstep though. The horror is magnified by the stark contrast between pristine and despoiled. It can be more frightening after months of survival to come across a pristine house without a trace of dirt. The mind reels. Why? Was someone here keeping the place tidy? Is this what humanity has lost? We used to live this way! Noooooo!!!!!!

1: Give Recipes IDs
 
Why? Because replacing a vanilla recipe is impossible without replacing the entire recipes.txt file. Let's say I change the functionality of a Base item like the Count value of Nails, it will break the recipe of Open Box of Nails by giving too much or too little and the only way to make it work right would be to replace the entire recipes file.

Not to mention being able to make make some recipes NeedToLearn in a mod or removing that restriction would be nice.

Or there are many cases where I would like to add some OnCreate lua functionality to base recipes and I can't because I won't make mods that replace base game's files.

Recipes Displayed Name could be defined by DisplayName = Make Stuff, like it is for items.

2: Add a Type = xxxx, for items.
 
What? Type = ExampleType, where ExampleType would be used in recipes and .lua it would help streamline some recipes and add many variants of the same item, with the same functionality without the need to make a ton of recipes. Like an alternative for nails that doesn't require modding or remaking the entire Build menu lua code.
 
3: New Category: Drinks
 
What? Why? A combo between Food and Drainable, items like that would have a straight up UseDelta instead of using Hunger value as UseDelta, would make using liquids more straightforward in recipes as well as being able to remove the Hunger buff from them which doesn't make sense anyway and keep the other stuff. Drinking All\1/2\1/4 would just use 1 0.5 or 0.25 of it, regardless of UseDelta value while recipes would use them up like regular UseDelta.

4: ReplaceOnRot or ReplaceOnAge = X
 
Why? Because it would be nice to have a way to turn some items into different items after they rot or if some item passes (Items Age reaches a certain level) I believe HydromancerX once suggested something like this with the idea of turning a living Rabbit into a Dead Rabbit

Or just make something through crafting that you then have to leave be so you can get the final product like, idk, various alcoholic beverages.

5: ReplaceOnBreak and DestroyOnBreak
 
Why? Because some weapons can't be repaired and just remain broken forever while they could be simply removed or replaced by some base material after they break (Eg. get a stone after your stone hammer breaks)
 
6: RottenHunger, RottenThirst, RottenUnhappines, RottenPoisonPower etc.
 
Having a way to control the item's base stats after it rots would be cool, or making them poisonous over time, yeah.
 
7: EffectiveOver and EffectiveAfter
 
Why? Because it would enable creation of edible stuff (or simple medicine) where the Hunger, Happiness, Boredom effects are applied over a certain amount of time (Preferably In-Game Hours) and\or after a certain time has passed.
 
8: RottenNamePrefix
 
Why? Because imagine Molten Icecream done in a simple way without tooling around with temperature.

9: AlcoholPower stat that affects how quickly the given drink get's the character drunk.
 
Because all it does is effect how effective it is as a disinfectant. Or it could be used make an item that reduces drunknes (Realism be damned)
 
Edit: 10: Renameable = True\False
 
Why? Why not? Add it to any item to give players an option to name their favorite plushie or weapon, for fun and roleplaying. It's one option I really wish I had sometimes.

----------
 
I believe having those would make things a lot easier for modders as well as open the possibility for them to create some really fun mods without having to know .lua much.

And I think it would add some neat functionality to the game itself.

New version, 32.8!
 
THE EXCITING CRAFTING UI! Press "B" (default) or click the left icon to show it. It allows you to see every recipes you know (some may need to be learnt from books, not all books are coded already, it'll be there soon) It also check for items in surrounding containers and automatically grab them. The above now also works for right clicking to craft! (I may have broke controller support on it for now, it'll be fixed don't worry) Evolved recipes also works for this! Check in your cooking tab! Also this update include few fixes/EP zombie population management fixes/balancing etc...

New version comes with mutators for Limited Hydrocraft Support adds trash for some of Hydrocraft's edibles as well as provides a optional mutator that adds only those of Littering's edibles that are not added in some way\shape\form by Hydrocraft. I will be expanding the support in the future.
 
Please report any bugs as I changed quite a few things in the scripts in this version as well as changed the names of all item Icons so some might appear missing. I didn't have time to thoroughly test everything.

Also please report any conflicts between the two mods if you use both so I can try and fix them.
 
Version 1.6
- Cleaned up the Scripts
- Minor Edits and Bugfixes
- Added Mutators for Limited Hydrocraft Mod Support (Will Expand in the Future)

Edit: Added a new weapon, Broken Bottle , you can get it by breaking empty glass bottles, it's fragile but you can now start a barfight with zombies. Be careful though as it may cut your hand! (Trust me, I know)

Version 1.6a
- You can now break glass bottles to get broken bottles and start barfights with zombies. Be careful not to cut yourself.

The drunk guy drives up to a stop sign and runs it, because he doesn't see it.
The guy high on crack comes up to a stop sign and guns it, because he knows he can beat the cross traffic.
The guy high on weed comes up to a stop sign and stops, waiting for the sign to turn green.

What is the difference between drug abuse and recreational drug use? Is addiction a disease or a lack of self control/utter selfishness? Is altering your mood with chemicals immoral? Is breaking the law (even bad laws) immoral?
I think the original question prompts more questions. My views tend to be paradoxical on this issue. It's not that I am seeing both sides of the issue, I believe logic breaking contradictions in this regard. I've either done too many drugs or not enough.

I think it would be cool if some horde events took place. These could be triggered randomly after a few months in game. How it would work:
At the far edge of a unoccupied cell adjacent to the player or a random player in MP, hundreds of zombies are spawned. These zombies are given an initial move target of the tile the selected player is standing on. The zombies pathfind to this point unless something distracts them. Other meta events in the area would be suspended for a short time to avoid re-routing the horde.
What this does:
1. Provides a built in challenge. If a selected player happens to be in a safe house, the defenses will be tested!
2. Models lore like The Walking Dead that have large hordes traveling out of their own volition.
3. Adds tactics in MP. Scouts and guards have something to worry about.
4. Because the horde is spawning away from players, they have time to react. It will also feel more "natural" like the horde came from somewhere rather than just appeared.

I think it would be cool if some horde events took place. These could be triggered randomly after a few months in game. How it would work:
At the far edge of a unoccupied cell adjacent to the player or a random player in MP, hundreds of zombies are spawned. These zombies are given an initial move target of the tile the selected player is standing on. The zombies pathfind to this point unless something distracts them. Other meta events in the area would be suspended for a short time to avoid re-routing the horde.
What this does:
1. Provides a built in challenge. If a selected player happens to be in a safe house, the defenses will be tested!
2. Models lore like The Walking Dead that have large hordes traveling out of their own volition.
3. Adds tactics in MP. Scouts and guards have something to worry about.
4. Because the horde is spawning away from players, they have time to react. It will also feel more "natural" like the horde came from somewhere rather than just appeared.

Greetings everyone!
 
In this thread, I will upload the icons that you can freely use for any purpose.
All icons are made by me.
Icons are divided into categories. You can download one of the categories or completely all icons archive.
You can also make a request to the icon that you need. All requests will I do as much as 
possible, but I can not guarantee that your request will be made.
Attention. All icons that I made on request, I will upload here for free use for any purpose 
other users.
Firearms (update 01.04.15):
Melee weapons (update 03.04.15):
Containers:
Clothing:
Food (update 28.03.15):
Misc (update 26.03.15):
Download (update 03.04.15): All icons
Permissions:
P.S. I am sorry for errors in the text. I badly know English, wrote the text by means of the google translator.

I love the fact that zombies kept wandering in on the chaos!
Now I want to know what happened after you fled into the woods!

Here's another zinger for you, BayCon the Bacon.
 
Background:
 
So in this story I was playing on a server that my friend recommended. I was extremely late to the server's development, there was no 'starter pack' for new survivors to be able to survive (everything in the custom spawns were looted) and the services had already been shut off. Basically, had my friend not told me that this was a server with well established communities that he thought I would have fun with, I probably would not have joined that server.
 
But I did, and to my surprise it was amazing how lively things were. There was a decent player population and some settlements.
 
Deciding that I am now stuck with fending for scraps, I decide to search the areas in Muldraugh that people usually miss on scavenging lists. Locations being the furniture store, bar and small general store near a trailer park. So I search the general store first and manage to snag some non-perishable snacks and an empty pop bottle as well as a schoolbag to hold some stuff in. Maybe this won't be so hopeless. I search the furniture store. Somebody did get to looting it, but there was still a hammer in the back. I go to the bar. I was hoping I could find some basic medical supplies in the washroom, and if I'm lucky, some peanuts and drinks. 
 
Surprisingly there was an open window, so I climbed in it not knowing what to expect. And lo and behold, there are two players in the second floor of the bar.
 
Unsure what to think, one of them tells me that they are from a large camp, and they had pretty much every necessity one could want. They invited me to join them.
 
It may be relevant to note that I was playing as a Fireman with First Aid, so I had some decent traits to offer the group.
 
...
 
So fast-forward x amount of IRL days and x amount of weeks ingame, and I'm a prominent figure in this group. By then I had met everybody, and we had a good setup going. I was one of two people in the group with a high medical skill, so people relied on me.
 
One thing I didn't like was that the leader gave people specific jobs, and he had a daily quota that we all had to fill as well. He was a pretty strict kind of person, but he was also forgiving and somewhat patient, so it wasn't THAT bad. However it was still a rough system that I could see some people not getting used to.
 
I was required to stay at the base and ONLY leave if somebody requested medical assistance from out of the walls. When there wasn't wounds to heal, my secondary task was to patrol, water plants and make sure any items that got dropped got organized properly.
 
This was annoying to me as I was a fireman profession, and they weren't taking advantage of my athletic character build. Apparently they didn't need anymore runners, so I was stuck hanging onto my First Aid training as my one job there.
 
Obviously this leader kept me out of the ability to make changes, and he kind of wrote me off most of the time, giving me tedious tasks that didn't take long to do or didn't give me a job at all, leaving me to either exit the server for the day or sit there and twiddle my thumbs.
 
The event:
 
The main reason why I stayed with this group wasn't because of the safety, but rather because of the drama.
 
Players would develop personal issues with each other all the time. Whether it was because one player was trying to show off, or because another player ate somebody's stir-fry, there always seemed to be somebody not talking to another somebody. 
 
Usually these arguments ended up involving the majority of the group, having everybody stand in the middle of the compound managing a large discussion about these things, and it gave me a chance to shine and be respected as a capable human being.
 
So, the big argument that essentially divided the group was over the fact that the 'leader' did not trust people outside of his close friendgroup to make changes or do anything outside of small tasks. Somebody, who was in a similar situation to where I was, had had enough of being told to 'take the day off' and 'stay inside'. The leader and his groupies responded with how it was the safest survival-wise to only put the battle tested people out there, to which I spoke up and responded that maybe more people could be "battle tested" if he didn't let only five people leave the compound anyways.
 
This developed into a huge fight. People were talking over each other, some people were ignored. It became a huge yelling match that went on for at least an hour. Two prominent sides in the argument were there. One side was saying that if the leader expected to keep his group population as high as it was the leader would have to start giving everybody a bit more freedom, while the other side was saying that people would get themselves killed if everybody just left when they pleased. 
 
Nonetheless, the Leader began yelling for everyone to shut up and go to their positions, and the next person to challenge the "pure survival" rules was getting the boot. And, of course, he veto'd over everything everyone said and didn't make any changes.
 
The next day, the person who started the argument in the first place was found dead in his room. Hit with a melee weapon.
 
Everybody in the group was at arms that day. People accused the leader of doing it, some people said it was a random attack. The leader, obviously defending himself, said that whoever did it must have snuck into the camp. People were saying that if they weren't even allowed to speak their mind they might as well find a place run by a nicer person. The 'leader' reassured everyone that things would change down the line when the compound developed into a safe society.
 
As this conversation was happening, two zombies had climbed over the fences at the main entrance and had managed to get inside through an open door. They killed an AFK player, caught him off guard in his own house. They also then managed to bite somebody else.
 
After eliminating the zombies, the leader took a shotgun and killed the guy who got bit. No goodbye or social interaction, just went and shot him.
 
This pissed a lot of people off, and a decent amount of people wanted to leave. There was no organization in the group from that point forward. Some players left. I stayed, but planned on leaving down the line when I could get ready to go.
 
...
 
The next day I was doing inventory when I heard gunfire. I ran outside to the sight of a group of people standing in the main gate shooting into the compound. We were being infiltrated.
 
I ran and asked the first friendly I ran into what was going on, and he just told me that some of the players who left had got another group to assassinate the leader. Before he could get into details he ran off towards the courtyard, gun in hand.
 
I would have approved of the idea of assassinating the leader (or, well, getting him out of that position by any means), except these people were just shooting everybody who stayed behind.
 
I was in a precarious situation. I made a bee-line to the medical building and grabbed a big hiking bag, a fully-stocked first aid kit, a handgun I had stashed with one box of bullets and a baseball bat. I grabbed the chips and two bottles of pop from my stashed rations, loaded up on whatever else I could fit in the bag and began to head towards one of the gates.
 
As I stepped into the main courtyard, I was shocked. There were at least a dozen bodies just in the courtyard area, and some more people running around shooting. Some unarmed people were sprinting in all directions, and there were a fair amount of zombies that had wandered in on the chaos. The gate doors were broken completely.
 
I then noticed that I couldn't tell who was going to shoot me and who wasn't. It seemed like the attackers had won, but there were still random survivors that I recognized that were running around in a panic.
 
I think I saw a body that looked like the leader's, but I don't know.
 
Needless to say, I booked it out of the 'secondary' exit, running through the woods.
 
TL;DR
 
-Leader of big walled-off community that has been standing for a while refuses to trust anyone.
-Suspicious death that makes everybody on edge about leaving
-Zed kill AFK player and bite somebody.
-Leader puts down player within next five seconds without giving him time to prepare for a respawn/anything of the sort. Essentially boots him from the community by killing him (No s***)
-Players leave, then come back with more people/weapons and go on shooting spree

My preference: Hit the Severely Depressed moodle and you acquire a "Prone to Illness" trait. Permanently.
 
I like the thrust behind this idea to make the Depression moodle a thing to dread. But no insta-death from Depression moodle.

I was out scavenging with one of my group members through the businesses along the Muldraugh highway. There were some nasty hordes about, some reaching high really high numbers. There were a collective large, uniform bunch spread out across the parking lot of this one strip mall we were at, and I yelled at my friend that as long as we didn't freak out and made as little noise as possible we could navigate along the outskirts of the zed just fine.
 
Two minutes of sneaking and about five zombies from the horde aggro to us, shambling slowly. My friend swings his bat, it has little effect. So he panics and begins sprinting towards the break in the zombies, leaving me there.
 
As he sprints towards the end of the parking lot the zombies that aggro towards him begin filling in the break in the bunch, leaving me in the middle of a cloud of zombies surrounded heavily.
 
I turn around. A uniform group of zed are behind me, not aggro'd but still forming an unbreakable wall. To the left of me is some shops, but with the doors locked and no doors on the other side to escape out of. In front of and to the right of me is a huge group of zed, a quarter of them already shambling towards me with more zombies joining them. 
 
I equip my pistol, which had a laser and red dot attachments. I aim towards where I assume the least dense amount of zed is and begin firing. I watch as the zed stumble back, getting a headshot on a chunk of them. My character reaches moderate panic. I know that if I go through one of the shops to the left of me it will just be a last stand situation, and running through a break would be just as risky.
 
I was going to die. The horde of zed filled up the entire parking lot.
 
All of a sudden, three players run out of the burger joint near me, which was also part of the strip mall. 
 
Immediately, one of them yelling "HOLY S***" and runs back inside. The second one joins him, and closes the door, leaving the third player outside. I assume they locked the door, because the third player yelled "OPEN THE DOOR" a bunch of times.
 
So that player turns around, sees me, and equips a shotgun. The a-hole begins firing indiscriminately, sending some shots in my direction, reloading, and then turning around and firing through the windows at his buddies who ditched him.
 
I then hear return fire, and there is some insults thrown across at each other. I'm still fighting zed while this is happening.
 
So half of the horde diverges towards the gunfight, leaving me just enough of a break for my Firefighter to sprint through reaching the other side of the parking lot. I find my friend on the other side of the fence, hiding.
 
We can still hear gunfire, and eventually the sound of the shotgun stopped followed by the obvious zed sound of tearing and biting. The sounds of glass breaking and more gunshots belt out of my speakers. This goes on for 2 more minutes.
 
So, while watching from a safe distance, we watch as the group inevitably dies.
 
We hear the 'biting' sounds yet again.
 
All of a sudden, a player comes slowly sprinting out of the one door, running along the walls, with tons of blood leaking out of his body. He sprints to a house down the street, we follow. We decide we are going to try to be as helpful as possible to him to avoid a fight.
 
So, the new house he was at attracted a bunch of the other zed, so we cleared out the ones banging on the windows and doors.
 
So we walk in on this guy searching the washroom, obviously finding meds. My character was medical-skill heavy, and I had a stocked first-aid kit, so I offered to check his wounds.
 
He turns around, says "Oh there you are, Cameron. And thank you"
 
Obviously, I'm not Cameron.
 
I check his wounds, and surprisingly, no bites. There was a scratch a some lodged bullets, followed by a deep wound.
 
So I patch him up, gaining a fair bit of med skill.
 
After I'm done, I turn around and realize that my friend has collapsed on the ground dead. Apparently he had been bitten several times while running through the horde, didn't change his bandages and died accordingly.
 
So the guy that I patched up equips a gun, turns to me, and says "This is what you get for ditching kitti out there" and starts shooting at me. He misses, probably due to his injuries. So I run out the front door, and he goes and stands at the window.
 
I start typing "I'm not cameron" as this guy starts opening up the window.
 
Thankfully the message came in time, because he lowered his gun.
 
We start talking, and eventually he starts asking me what gear I have on me. I tell him "Nothing special". He raises his gun and starts firing again.
 
All of a sudden, my friend reanimated and finishes this guy off, "surprise" ambushing him in the house as he was shooting at me.
 
Lone survivor, 10/10