GodHatesHaloWaypoint

This would be pretty cool for immersion, maybe if you witness their death the debuff could be even worse, and burying them could somewhat offset the debuff/s. Average civilians would probably be pretty upset they even saw a zombie let alone had to fight and kill one, especially depending on the type of person they are. Some people breakdown at the sight of blood let alone seeing anything worse. It would definitely increase stress though.

I was only talking about how different body types could be implemented going off the idea OP pitched. Imo it'd be better to connect it with the weight system rather than going with raw sliders, because you're right about it crossing the threshold into other territories. Couldn't really help going there given the nature of what was being suggested. In general I'd also prefer that the resources something like this would consume be invested into further developing gameplay mechanics as that's where this game really shines.

Big respect for OP here. Other forums I've been on whenever this topic is brought up consideration for the game's setting is thrown out the window with a hardened no compromise stance taken. So long as these changes are just an option I don't think they would bother anyone. Some of these things might already be mods too if you want them now, while I haven't looked, I bet somebody has already enabled beards on both male and female characters via mods already. I don't know how difficult the body type/ boob stuff would be to pull off, but the beard and hairiness would probably be on the easier side of things. Like hairiness would just be a texture change enabled by a checkbox which male characters already have if I'm not mistaken. The main challenge I see with the boob size/ body type thing is that all clothes in the game would probably need to be remodeled to fit every body type and variation which would be a lot of work. If they do go forward with a boob size slider I think it'd be hilarious if the scale straight up goes from "Flat" to "Anime" instead of just a numbered scale. That aside I'd imagine this would probably be somewhat low on the totem pole in regards to importance considering the game is perma-death, but I wouldn't be opposed to see more options though as I am also the type of person who enjoys character customization. EDIT: Actually, seeing as there's a weight system in the game the Dev's could tie different body types to that. Like if the player is obese they will actually look obese, and as they lose weight the characters size will progressively decrease.

Theoretically, if an entirely separate AI model is specifically trained on dialogue and concepts that the Dev's approve of it could potentially provide some real life into NPCs. A separate AI model would be necessary to avoid things like the AI dropping current day concepts like "hashtags", or using modern speech patterns although it'd probably be too risky to invest time and resources into considering the end product is up in the air as to the quality. All that aside at the end of the day the robot tone of voice would be a huge negative. It'd probably have to be in text form or implemented alongside other forms of AI like the ones capable of voice cloning. Ultimately, it would probably be a huge technological hurdle with a questionable pay off at this point in time. I was impressed by the AI being able to remember him shooting it in face though, but there's other ways to achieve that kind of thing. It's interesting to see how far all this AI stuff as come, but I think AI technology needs more time to bake before we see it fully embraced into gaming in this manner. Either way I've got full confidence that the writers have this one in the bag.

Man, those basements are gonna be a blast. I'm definitely gonna bust the stairs to one and start collecting zombies in there lmao. It's really cool to see some of the talk on forums making it in too, super cool stuff.

Not every fenced perimeter has a gate irl. I would be on board with being able to build them via metal working though.

Zombies kinda react in their own way since they're far more durable than a living being. You can go much farther, far quicker, with them since they can't die from anything but brain damage. In the OG State of Decay you could do a low sweep with a sledge hammer to bust off a zombies legs and while they're still belly up you could pump an incendiary shell to blow out it's ribcage and it'll still live long enough to flail around before burning to death. You can't get that from Joe Schmo. I think the real problem would be that with their being so many zombies it's gets old hence a smaller reduced stress bonus would make more sense.

This would be really cool, especially for long term games. If you want a bow/ crossbow now, there's a mod called "Gunfighter" that adds them and they're fully animated too.

That's actually a really good point, it is weird. I think they'd be rendered useless once the power goes out unless there's a backup generator somewhere, or if it can operate off of a battery.

I'm not really feeling this one either. It's a bit too much up the alley of "modern gaming" where the player character will blurt out the solution to a very dumbed down puzzle the second they see it without giving us a chance to solve it for ourselves.

You raise a really good point regarding the respawned character being fresh into the apocalypse when it wouldn't make sense for them to be. I'm not too big on retaining any XP from a deceased character, but another way to solve this issue would be for available occupations to change after X amount of time has passed in the world. So instead of roles like "Burger Flipper", you might have new occupations to replace the old that come with low but suitable skill sets for the current state of the world. Just a rough example of a new world occupation could be "Prepper" which comes with innate Organized trait, +2 Reloading, +2 Sprinting, +1 Aiming. Maybe have them spawn with worn clothes, a knife, or rarely a crappy pistol with 1 bullet. Definitely not perfect, just my 2 cents.

I like your thinking, especially on the AI director actively nudging based on noise levels. Maybe a way for them to form naturally but not over doing it would be for zombies to have a rare chance of the game tagging them with a beacon that makes other nearby zombies have a stronger preference to follow them. It might need to be supplemented with a few gradual reinforcement spawns as you mentioned to ensure that they actually become a sizeable threat instead of the typical run of the mill horde. These hordes being able to repopulate an area is also a huge plus in general for immersion as it gives reason to why there are so many zombies instead of there just being an unlimited amount due to the game sprinkling respawns. As for the 2000 it was mostly just an arbitrary number. I just really like the idea there possibly being such a large threat that I absolutely have to retreat, or employ some form of strategy to circumvent my home base from being taken over. While it's not impossible for a horde to run you out of your base it kind of feels like you have to try to end up in that situation in the first place. I definitely agree that the game shouldn't slam the player with insurmountable odds, but I think that there should be situations where fighting isn't viable maybe not outright impossible but a real gamble.

One thing I've noticed since I started playing is that once you setup base it's pretty much completely safe after clearing the surrounding area and doubly so for isolated or rural bases. I think to spice things up that the Sadistic AI Director should enforce the old school Walking Dead's "no where is safe" rule. There should always be the potential for your home to be entirely overrun to really hammer home that the player is the underdog of this world, and that regardless of how many zombies you kill you will eventually die. How it could work: After several months if not a year there will be a small chance of a migrating super horde to come plowing through your region even if you're living in an isolated area. For those prepared and with the proper knowledge you can use noise makers or other means to steer the horde in another direction, split them up, or power down and lay low with hopes that they don't hear you as the undead tsunami passes through. To account for the top down view restricting how far out you can see, I think that the super horde should have a very distinct but constant sound as it draws near to alert player of what is coming instead of suddenly placing players into an unwinnable situation of 1 vs 2000 with no chance to act. Maybe it could sound like a low rumble, or the collective groans of hundreds upon hundreds of zombies merge into one "chorus". Technical Limitations: I've no idea how many zombies the game can handle having on screen at once, but I figured I'd pitch this anyway in case it was some how possible, or even just to shelve the idea until new technology comes along where it would become possible. Thoughts?

I think sprinters can do this if I'm not mistaken. Pretty sure I've seen vids on YT where it happened. I do know that when a zombie flops over the fence they have a chance to crawl lunge at you which can knock you down.

While I have not used the electrician skill personally, a friend I've been playing with actually dropped the skill entirely due to it's lack of application. It definitely needs a little love. Here's a couple thoughts I've had to build upon this. Flimsy Electric Fence: A high voltage electric fence under the electrician requirement. The way I think they'd suit the game well is that it's main function is to prevent small numbers of zombies from entering the perimeter it protects, but will quickly be trampled over against larger groups. Additionally, it would not kill zombies instantly but instead kill them within a 2 - 3 second window with a chance of them catching fire. During the time the zombie is being electrocuted it should make a decent amount of noise that could lure in other zombies in the area. This prevents the fence from being OP, so it will actually fulfil it's role as a device intended only to protect areas that have already been cleared. Civilian Drone: Basically a remote control drone that you attach a camera to. You can fly it within a short range of the operator to scout ahead in order to minimize risk to self, or to keep tabs on horde movements. Alternately, it could be modified as a means to drop explosives from the air with a higher electrician skill. The player's camera would probably need to switch from the character and onto the drone to work, so it should be deployed from a safe location as you won't be able to see yourself. Also if the drone flies out of signal range it will cease flying and fall to the ground damaging it.