Bullet_Magnate

Spot on. The fact that you can rip sheets for bandages but not towels is actually pretty silly. Towels are way more absorbent than sheets, so I'd think they'd actually make better bandages once torn into strips.

I think the "encumbered" moodle (stick figure with a huge back on its back) is a little hard to visually interpret, especially since it's a bit pixelated. I remember not understanding it at first, and I've seen the same reaction when I've introduced new folks to the game. (I heard a lot of things like, "What is that, a mushroom?") I think something a little more simple and icon-like might be better -- maybe a simple anvil shape in a circle, to represent weight?

Can't really see any reason why sheets are the only thing you can cover windows with, when certain other items -- like bath towels and garbage bags -- ought to work just as well.

Seems right now like zombies on the floor above / below are too easy to hear. The noises zombies make in passive / stand-around mode is pretty quiet, and I don't think you'd be able to hear them through a floor or ceiling IRL.

Super mega this. ^^^ IMHO the skill should be named Medicine, and people with little or no skill in it should at most be able to use adhesive bandages to cover scratches. Higher skill level should be required to even attempt things like stitching wounds or removing bullets. I'd also like to see things like forceps and retractors added for removing bullets.

It certainly can be dangerous, but I think people learn pretty quickly to control their speed and avoid plowing through massive hordes. I always keep those things in mind while driving, and I honestly can't remember the last time I had a character die or suffer serious harm from a crash. There's not a specific vehicle I had in mind, but there are definitely some vehicles that would / should be more susceptible, especially ones with small wheels / engines (like little compact cars) or that are built low to the road or tend to spin their wheels easily (like sports cars). Cars that are higher up and/or have engines built more for torque than speed (like pickups and SUVs) should have an easier time. I think this idea occurred to me when I was pretty consistently driving a small compact car through a muddy field (or what looked like one anyway), and found myself thinking that I'd never do that in reality for fear of getting the car stuck. Having cars be more susceptible to environmental limitations like that might also be a way to nerf cars a little without having to make them unrealistically fragile (e.g., having the engine deteriorate rapidly from running down squishy zeds). Edit: This could also add some fun tension to the game, especially if there were way(s) to free / "unstick" the car. Imagine frantically trying to get the car unstuck as the zeds get closer. Would be a fun change from the old "engine won't start" trope.

Confirmed -- good to know, thanks!

I may be mistaken, but I *think* that tools in the game do not currently suffer condition loss from ordinary use, though they *do* suffer wear if used as weapons. That is, the same hammer that steadily disintegrates from being bonked on zombie heads can be used to build crates and walls in perpetuity without ever breaking. This is clearly the case for tools that *can't* be used as weapons -- for example, saws. They simply have no condition meter at all, and as such cannot ever wear out or break. Much as I enjoy this game, this is something that's always puzzled me. It's pretty self-evident that, IRL, bashing some bone and tissue would cause a lot less wear and tear on a hammer or other tool than, say, driving dozens of nails. Also, wear and breakage of modern tools that are no longer being manufactured would be one of the big long-term challenges of a PZ-type scenario. As such, I think all tools (even non-weapons) should suffer at least some wear from ordinary use, and eventually break.

Right now it seems like there's not much penalty for driving off-road except (I think) increased tire wear. IRL, driving off-road with vehicles not suited for it can easily result in them getting stuck, sometimes badly. This would definitely be relevant in PZ, as ending up in a disabled vehicle surrounded by zeds is exceedingly dangerous. (As an aside, I'd also like to see the possibility of vehicles sliding / skidding / spinning when road conditions are poor (pooled water / mud / snow), but I think that may be a bigger step since it involves tinkering significantly with vehicle physics (?).)

Right, but so far as I can tell the Spacebar / Shove function only works at arm's length, even if you have a long weapon equipped. So, using a long weapon currently gives no real benefit for pushing / knocking over zeds because you still have to let them get close. I'd like to use long weapons to reach out and push a zombie over while it's still outside clawing / biting distance. I don't see any reason why that should be impossible.

This is a small QOL thing that's currently kind of annoying. If you're working on a car (starting the mechanics dialogue by opening the hood), if you have to step away for some reason the hood doesn't close. If you return to work on the car more, however, instead of just going back into the mechanics dialogue, your character will close the hood -- meaning you then have to open it again to continue. Just seems a little odd that if the hood is already open, you can't just go back into the mechanics window instantly -- rather than having to close the hood and open it again.

It'd be nice if both hand torches (flashlights, for us Yanks) and ammo mags could be placed in belt slots like weapons. Should provide a reduction in access time. For mags, maybe this could be enabled with a findable "mag pouch" item.

Certain long weapons not well-suited for outright clubbing (like brooms, hoes, and rakes) might be better used to push zombies down from outside arm's reach (by thrusting instead of swinging). The user could then close in and more safely finish the downed zed by stomping, or with another weapon. Maybe this could be added as an alternate attack with such items -- maybe by hitting the spacebar while within pole-pushing distance, but outside stomping / shoving distance.

Bumpity Bump

Tire repair products have been a round for a while, and would have been available in Kentucky in the early 90s (the venerable Fix-a-Flat, for example, was invented in the 1970s). It'd be nice if there was something similar in the game that could be used to fix a tire that was in low or "broken" condition. I'm not aware of anything like that currently.

The apocalypse has finally freed you to openly indulge your one secret vice ... an abiding love for the criminally unappreciated culinary experience that is canned dog food. The trait is mechanically very simple -- when a character with this trait eats dog food, he gets a positive mood modifier rather than negative. Cost would be one point, tops.

Much as I love orange soda, it'd be nice (and very realistic) to see a few other varieties of soft drink floating around Knox County -- especially if some of them had a little kick to them. Maybe Spiffo Cola, and/or bright yellow-green bottles of something called "Mountain Day?"

IRL, at least some of the items would end up being rotten or otherwise unserviceable anyway. Clothing (for example) that was in close contact with a corpse throughout the process of it rotting into sludge is probably not going to be salvageable.

The "knitting needles" item should be replaced with two individual "knitting needle" items, and each should be equippable as a one-handed stabbing weapon.

Yes, everything deteriorates after a long time, but poor conditions and care will cause things to deteriorate more quickly. No, fabric will not dissolve on contact with filth and blood as though being soaked in acid -- BUT unwashed clothing, if heavily soiled with organic matter (like blood), will deteriorate far more rapidly than normal if not cleaned. Blood and filth ground into the fibers of fabric, assuming it is not removed, will begin to rot. The intimate proximity of this rotting filth to the fabric will soon cause the clothing fibers themselves to begin to moulder and decay (particularly in the case of organic, natural fabrics like cotton). Over the course of weeks / months, this will cause the affected areas to begin to weaken and essentially start to disintegrate (particularly in areas where the clothing covers occluded areas of the body like the armpits and groin -- as the increased warmth and moisture will encourage growth of mold and bacteria that cause decay). If the article of clothing is worn outdoors frequently in damp conditions (like the fogs and rains common in Knox County), or the user frequently engages in exertion that causes sweat (like running from / bashing zeds), and the garment is never cleaned or dried, the process will be much faster. Eventually this will cause holes to appear in the fabric, which will expand over time, until the garment ceases to become wearable and basically falls apart / off of the wearer unless reinforced / repaired (assuming it's even possible to fix it at that point). This could easily happen to, say a heavily-soiled t-shirt that is worn without washing for a prolonged time -- a scenario that's entirely possible in PZ. How much of an issue it is for a given item of clothing would depend on what its material and usage (cotton t-shirts and underwear would be very susceptible; a rayon jacket or rubberized raincoat much less so, maybe not at all). Obviously the process takes considerable time, but the devs have artificially accelerated other processes in the game for various design reasons, so the time for clothing to deteriorate could also potentially be tweaked if the devs saw value in it. I agree with the earlier comment that requiring regular cleaning of clothes would probably not be super fun for a lot of players, so I'm thinking this has more potential as a sandbox option than anything else.

I generally don't use sheets of paper for writing, I use them to start fires. If I need something to write on, I'll usually use a notebook. It just irritates me that if I want to carry a bunch of paper sheets to use as tinder, they add up to a silly amount of enc in a hurry.

The improvised armor being discussed is a good idea, but I don't think it would protect against blunt force trauma from a pack of zeds beating / kicking someone (especially if they were downed on a hard surface they could be stomped against). If the zeds retain sufficient instinct, they might also try to tear off / apart any armor that's getting in their way.

Definitely a factor. Agree that posture / skill is also a factor, but definitely a 100 lb person who can barely lift a rifle is going to have major trouble achieving any accuracy (unless they're resting / bracing it on something).

It seems to me like the effects of depression in the game are currently fairly inconsequential. I'd like to see the possibility that, if a character suffers from severe depression for too long, the game basically fades to black, says the character couldn't go on, and that's that. Game over. Would make the need for mood management much more important. Maybe this could be sandbox option. Not sure it should be vanilla. I think it's realistic, but admittedly it's also pretty dark, and might be disturbing to some.

IRL, clothing that is bloody and/or very dirty for a prolonged time will rot and fall apart. For obvious reasons, regularly wearing soiled clothing would (for most people) lead to reduced mood. There could maybe be traits aggravating / reducing these affects. This would give good in-game reasons (beyond aesthetics and RP) for keeping clothing clean. Apologies if these functions already exist in-game; if they do, I am not aware.