daorkboypl

Coolski. I'll post back when I am and PM you at the same time.

I'd recommend letting other people try to connect just to test it.
 
I am not home at the moment but if you're up for it, we can try if I can connect to your server once I am home, in case there's noone else to test

 

Yes, I'm not suggesting the camera change at all. 

Congratulations Indie Stone forum member. You have been promoted to official tester of Project Zomboid. 
 
As such, you will now have access, if you should so desire, to much more frequent, but likely or potentially much more broken versions of the game, if indeed this is of interest to you.
 
So say hello to the 'iwillbackupmysave' branch of PZ. This will be updated with builds as soon as we feel we can safely make them public, to aid us in finding remaining issues before it is rolled out to eveyone.
 
Anyone who wants to share details on how to get on this branch, please respect our wishes and forward people to this post and insist it is read in full before any downloading commences.
 
Before participating, please read the following bullet-points and scream I AGREE at the top of your voice at the screen:
 
I accept by playing the game on this branch, at some point I am almost certainly going to hit crippling bugs, and potentially lose progress or worlds. I will therefore back up any saves I deem important (located in C:/Users/<Username>/Zomboid on windows systems, HD:/Users/<Username>/Zomboid on Mac, and /home/<Username>/Zomboid/ on linux. I will not get angry or complain of any bugs, or balance, or changes, or remark that 'this build is more buggy than the last one!' or similar - That is the entire reason it's on this branch. If I have problems with the final build as released to the main branch, then of course a bad review is perfectly valid if the game has not lived up to my expectations. However, I accept that negative reviews with justification based on the stability, or otherwise non-final status of IWBUMS builds will be justifiably flagged. If I encounter problems, I will either wait until the final build, or discuss my thoughts and concerns civilly on the forums so the final build has the opportunity to address my concerns. I will title my streams and/or videos accordingly, stating that the shown build is a work in progress and part of the IWBUMS beta branch. I know what the console log is, and on the event of a crash I know to post the text therein on this forum, and not just say 'it crashed!' Right. We good?
 
Right click Project Zomboid in your Steam library and select "Properties". Navigate to the Steam Beta tab and select the "iwillbackupmysave" beta branch from the dropdown.

No password is required.

GIF Instruction for Steam:

For Build 41, it does not matter if you subscribe to the "build41" beta or "iwillbackupmysave". The two are identical.

GIF Instructions for GOG Galaxy:


The Linux users of GOG will be able to access beta branches through the offline installers in the Downloads section for PZ in your library.

 
 
The IWBUMS branch allows us to have much wider and faster feedback on general updates, while allowing us to concentrate on wider more in-depth, focused and crucially less time-pressured/demanding testing with the testing team. Hurrah!
      Extra reading
Still here? Awesome! So, if you run into a bug, the best thing to do is to either report it on our bug forum. If you've a spare 10 minutes, give this a read. It explains how to report problems in a way that can let us help you easily. (Seriously, please read it. Please. Pretty please. With Pink sugar icing on top.)
 
If you can, always post your console.txt file. On Windows, you can find this in C:\Users\Username\Zomboid (Where Username is your windows username). On Mac and Linux it'll be in your /home/username/Zomboid/ folder.

Hi everyone, long time lurker, recent addition to the forums here.
 
I (like most of you, I assume) really love Project Zomboid, but one of the things that really caught my interest was the fantastic artwork, both in and out of the game. I don't get to draw much, or at least not as much as I'd like to/should, and I tend to get so caught up in the mistakes I make that I rarely finish anything.
 
The other day I noticed that VikiDikiRUS had requested help from anyone that could make a Spiffo avatar for him. I thought what he described sounded pretty adorable (as is, well, anything Spiffo-related) and fired up ArtRage and plugged in the Wacom my wife got me for Christmas in a good-natured ploy to get me drawing again that didn't really work. I got to sketching it and before long I actually liked it enough to timidly put it out into the dark and scary interwebs:
 

 
Along with some positive feedback the process left me feeling confident enough/inspired enough to try my hand at making one more (and it might be the last for awhile, my hand and eyes are absolutely killing me):
 

 
I just wanted to share them with everyone and take the chance to thank Mash for the fantastic artwork she makes and the inspiration it gave me to get drawing again. I also wanted to see if anyone else had any Spiffo fanart they might like to make/share.
 
The world really can't get enough Spiffo, in my opinion.
 
 
 
 
 

Yet again, nothing new. But I like these

ApCom [sP/MP]
Apocalypse Communications
 

 
code: TurboTuTone, artwork: Nasko
 

Features:
HAM Radio and 12 Walkie talkies with different properties. Wear a walkie talkie in secondary slot to use it normally, place it down to lure zombies or spy on people. Small HUD element that displays your walkie talkie's status. 12 Frequencies to tune in on. A taperecorder and 5 different styled cassettes. Record speech on cassettes. Broadcast cassettes repeatedly via a HAM Radio. Power usage, devices need a battery to operate and drain power hourly. Interference due to bad weather, or when a device is bordering its maximum range. Players chatcolors are copied by all of the mods devices to dinstinguish "voices". Depending on type, the devices will attract zombies in certain radius.  
Look at the information section at the bottom of this post for more detailed info and usage,
it also showcases some of the awesome artwork Nasko made!
Make sure to send him some love when he posts in this thread
 
 
 
Thanks to:
Twiggy for testing, suggestions, support, streaming, awesomeness
Viceroy, for a bunch of cool suggestions made during one of our apparantly more serious convo's
LogiHack, a fellow country man who helped out testing!
EnigmaGrey, testing and correcting my grammar error's
dko112, gameplay convenience suggestions
 
A special thanks to:
Both EasyP and RJ, various functionallity of the mod would not have been possible without help from your side, thanks guys! its awesome and very much appreciated
 
[incase i forgot to mention someone, gimme a poke!]
 
Thanks twiggy and subscribers for testing the mod with a bunch of people!
A save of the stream can be found here:
Project Zomboid | Subscriber Stream w/ ApCom (Radios) | Indie Hype*~!
Twiggy @ twitch.tv
Twiggy's twitter
 
Download
 
Requires build 27 and a fresh world for the items to spawn in containers.
On a server to get best out of it set 'GlobalChat' to false serveroptions.ini.
Also works in single player but chat is limited to the lines produced by pressing 'q'.
 
Eventhough it has been tested, it's version 1.0 so there may be unforseen consequences.
 
Apcom version 1.0
 
Up to date version can be downloaded here. (last update 13 june 2015)
Credit goes to Dr_Cox1911, who has tracked and fixed the incompatibility issues with new PZ versions!

Also, a shoutout to ThatUser and Siriusx72 who posted a different approach for a fix in the thread, much appreciated!
 
 
previous versions:

 
 
Public servers running ApCom mod:
 
Information

 
HAM Radios



This device can only be used when placed in the world, it can broadcast all over the map and thus is ideal for base to base communications. The ham radio has the ability to play cassettes as repeated broadcasts on a frequency, so they could be used to gather people or advertise a merchant outpost as well. (see tape recorder section for more info)
 

 
A ham radio can be picked up and it will return the radio + optionally the battery or cassette inside the device.
Whacking a ham radio with a weapon is not advised as it will destroy the radio and all in it.
 
When receiving transmissions this device shows a animation.
 
This device will attract zombies in a wide range, so secure your base perimeters, zombies will locate the sound coming from the machine but the cold steel confuses them so they wont destroy it
 
 
 
Walker Talkers



Worn in secondary item slot, the device can then be toggled on and frequencies be set. When the device is worn it will display a small UI element that displays the item icon and device info. When the battery power is low the item will start blinking a led to indicate this.
When wearing a walker talker it will display up to 5 lines above your normal local chat area, as shown by "Another line".
 

 
Walker talkers can also be placed down and picked up again to serve tactical purposes. When doing so, unlike the ham radio, this device will keep its battery, however make sure to turn it on each time you place it down.

Lower tier walker talkers when placed in world are great for luring zombies due to their zombie attraction rate and low value. The higher tier devices when placed in world are great for spying, since their sound values make them hard to detect, especially the tactical army version which doesn’t display any text placed down, detects voice in 25 tile radius. The tradeoff is that these devices are very rare thus their discovery could be considered a big loss.

Note that when a device is unequipped or picked up it is turned off.
 
 
 
Walker Talker GUI

 
When equiping a fresh found walker talker as secondary, a GUI like this will show up in left side of screen.

 
Insert a battery and it will display battery status:

 
When equiped as secondary, you can rightclick the inventory icon and turn the device on.
When doing so, the sprite will show a green led, and more advanced models will light on their display, the frequency text will also be brighter when turned on:

 
When the device recieves text it will also indicate it in the hud:

 
The hud will display different stages of battery life as such:


Finally when the battery is about to die, the item icon will start blinking a red led:

 
 
 
About chat behaviour

 
The mod follows a pair of rules to prevent spam and local duplication of text, they are:
 
Firstly, when you are near multiple placed down devices and/or worn device, then for each frequency the system will pick the highest range device's values for broadcasting to prevent x times the same line popping up on the other end. Secondly, to prevent local duplication, the placed down devices will not display text coming from a source within a 5 tile radius. The devices that are worn do the same but for a 12 tile radius. Note: be aware that eventhough devices do not display the text cause of this rule, they will still attract zombies!
 
 
 
Interference

 
Interference will occur during bad weather, when its thundering the interference will be really bad. When interference is applied it will replace words or even multiple words at once with scrambled text.
Interference will also occur at the last 10% of a device's range, the interference will become worse as you reach the limits of its range untill nothing is received anymore.
 

 
 
 
Power consumption


Done per hour for all devices that are turned on. Note that when you place a device in world and turn it on it will keep draining power even when that part of the world unloads.
 
 
 
Cassette's

 

 
These cool oldskool cassette tapes can be found all over the place, when rightclicking a cassette in your inventory it will display its ID and for convience the lines that are recorded on it. This menu has no functionallity, but the ID will come in handy.

 
 

Tape Recorder

 


Tape recorder needs a battery for power and a cassette to record. When having multiple tapes of the same type use the ID (see Cassette section) to indentify the correct one.
 

 
When both are inserted wear the item as secondary, this will give another option in right click menu "record a line", click it and wait for the timed action bar to finish.
 

 
The next line your character says will be recorded on the cassette.
Cassettes can record a maximum of 5 lines.
Also note that the players chatcolor is recorded on a tape as well, this is done per recorded line.
 


After recording eject the cassette from the tape recorder. You can now add the cassette to a HAM Radio.
 

 
When the radio has a cassette and is turned on you can start broadcasting the cassette on the frequency set for the device.
Currently every 2 in game hours one line of the cassette is played.
 

 
 
 
Device tiers and properties:

 
The item properties below can be read as follows:
- broadcast range is for outgoing signal only, to be clear a budget walker talker can only emit 500m but still receive chat from for example a ham radio which has global range. - voice detect range, the amount of tiles a player has to be near the device for it to pick up speech. - can hear range, the amount of tiles a player has to be near device to see "hear" its text. - loot chance, obvious. - zombie attraction, the displayed value for played devices, walker talkers have reduced attraction when worn as secondary item. Also note this value doesn’t always coincide with can hear range. - battery consumption, rate at which a device will consume power on hourly basis.  
HAM Radio:

broadcastrange: GLOBAL
voice detect range: 5
can hear range: 16
weight: 15
loot chance: very rare
zombie attraction: extremely high
battery consumption: extremely low

Tier1: Walker Talker Budget

 
standard
broadcastrange: 500m
voice detect range: 6
can hear range: 12
weight: 0.5
loot chance: high
zombie attraction: high
battery consumption: very high

colored
broadcastrange: 1000m
voice detect range: 8
can hear range: 10
weight: 0.5
loot chance: high
zombie attraction: high
battery consumption: very high

army
broadcastrange: 1500m
voice detect range: 10
can hear range: 9
weight: 1.0
loot chance: normal
zombie attraction: high
battery consumption: very high
 
Tier 2: Walker Talker Standard

 
standard
broadcastrange: 2000m
voice detect range: 12
can hear range: 8
weight: 1.5
loot chance: medium
zombie attraction: medium
battery consumption: medium

silver
broadcastrange: 2500m
voice detect range: 14
can hear range: 5
weight: 2.0
loot chance: medium
zombie attraction: medium
battery consumption: medium
 
Tier 3: Walker Talker Black Edition

 
standard
broadcastrange: 3000m
voice detect range: 16
can hear range: 3
weight: 2.25
loot chance: low
zombie attraction: low
battery consumption: low

army
broadcastrange: 3500m
voice detect range: 18
can hear range: 2
weight: 2.5
loot chance: low
zombie attraction: low
battery consumption: low
 
Tier 4: Walker Talker Tactical

 
standard
broadcastrange: 4500m
voice detect range: 20
can hear range: 1
weight: 2.75
loot chance: rare
zombie attraction: very low
battery consumption: very low

army
broadcastrange: GLOBAL
voice detect range: 25
can hear range: 0
weight: 3.0
loot chance: very rare
zombie attraction: ZERO
battery consumption: very low

Mod Created by Tommysticks This mod replaces some skin textures with custom ones. It only works with 3-D models enabled. Place the mod folder in the following directory: users > username > Zomboid > mods  o When you start a new game, choose a male character and the furtherest right "Body Type" and "Hair Type" for Spiderman.o Choose the furthest left body type and furthest right hair type for Captain America.o Choose the 2nd body type from the left for Scorpion.o Choose the furthest left female body type for Spiffo.o You will only be able to see the custom skins in-game if your character is not wearing clothes. Enjoy! DOWNLOAD NOW I will accept requests for custom skins.
Keep in mind, it will only look good if the skin is a "body suit" like Spidey's.
 

...But with different concerns !

I was thinking MP being imbalanced -ie. easy to survive but yet servers being emptied of all the loot in a couple of days- is due to the fact sleeping is totally out of the picture.

Our body needs 3 (4) things to survive : food, water and sleep (and Oxygen). The MP game having only two of those needs, for now, obviously removes a big part of the survival aspect and, since you don't need to sleep, you get more time to look after the two other needs (food & water).
Second point, since people never sleep they're able to roam around the map constantly. They don't need to plan dangerous long journeys and they never have to take a stop-off. Imo the absence of sleep also plays a part in the crazy rate at which servers get emptied since the time spent "not-sleeping" is some time spent looting the map, the "looting radius" around people's safehouse is almost infinite since they don't need to stop to take a nap and can come & go in one big run.

It would also make safehouse a more tangible thing since you'd need a safeplace to sleep somewhat safely.
 
On a more practical gameplay aspect, we know time warp is not an option in MP. We can assume what most people fear about real-time sleeping is the fact they'll have to sit and wait, doing nothing in front of their screen.
My wise dude side would tell you to use those moments to appreciate Life, breath deeply and think about the world, but yeah I know it's not what people want to do when they play PZ
So, a way to keep players busy should be found.

Lesser thought :

 
Also I'd like to use that thread to ask the devs for any information about their positions/ideas about sleep in multiplayer (?), and how much of a priority it is for them (?). Because I'm waiting for it pretty hard :3

Hey guys, so here it is, Bedford Falls Version 2!

 
Whats New?
Well, lots of buildings bugs have been fixed, a lot of duplicated buildings have been swapped out for previously unused ones, a large military area and water treatment facility has been added to the north of Bedford Falls, the town itself has been placed in its final (until the vanilla map expands this far) place and just needs a bit more love to join it up with the vanilla map properly. Bedford Falls is now also its own spawn location alongside West Point and Muldraugh (it no longer replaces Muldraugh as a spawn) and also has a variety of random spawn locations.
Zombie numbers have also been significantly increased across Bedford Falls.
 
There may still be some buildings with bugged walls etc.
 
Unzip the file into your "Project Zomboid" install folder, overwriting all files etc as you go.
Load the game up and select your starting location. You can now choose between Muldraugh, West Point and Bedford Falls. Bedford Falls also includes random spawn points now too.
 
Report any/all bugs in this thread. Use the pic above to note down the Cell the bug appears in, and provide a picture of the problem area if possible. I will be going through all the lots/world and fixing all these bugs for the Final release of Bedford Falls.
 
 
Original Contributors:
 
Current Contributors:
 
Download:
OLD VERSION - NO FORAGING OR ZOMBIE RESPAWN!
BedfordFallsV2.zip NEW VERSION - STEAM WORKSHOPhttp://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/16546-bedford-falls-v3-steam-workshop/ ENJOY! <3

Have read that trapping is coming along, what about zombie traps and such? Pits / moats around our base. Or twine lined with soup cans as an alarm / warning system. IED's? Fertilizer / fuel or gun powder / nails / cutlery.

Hey all.. just moving my let's play thread over to the new forum =)
 
EDIT: Episode list was getting too long in this original post so keeping the playlists here and just posting new episodes to the thread as normal.
 
Playlists:
 
Season 01 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUikM8oVkb0w3IbjjzHLvCOR
Season 02 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUgNLCZ4JJ7NS6yVUrZYlGau
Season 03 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUjc9djG3DDm4o-HdzCgHiOw
Community Save - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUhZ0ffSSIg_-OP6INszreWU
Season 04 - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUgVlSCKnZzk2M1hfPkvkGPA
Season 05 (current SP save) - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUie_YazpHj5K7vIYByCT-2A
 
Multiplayer - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpSWj8EIMVUiJjcMdxIPYdpUgUVmvJQMa

No gameplay value but i sure would like to be able to sit with my character.
 
Roleplay effect would be massive.

So my idea came from when if you get killed by a bunch of zombies you can see more blood coming out of your corpse and you can hear "munching" sounds, but the zombies are just standing there doing absolutely nothing. so I think that the zombies should have animations of them crouching down and eating and i think that when they are eating somebody's corpse in multiplayer (or an npc in singleplayer) they should have a lower awareness level making you more able to sneak past them.
 
Please post any suggestions in the comments 
 
Update: I also found some OLD sprites in the game's files of gibs which usually appeared in alpha when you were being nommed on by some zambies, so I think they should also HD-ify them and use those for when you get mauled and if they do eventually add amputations and gore 

The Base.Map Item
Looking through the list of items that can be spawned in the current IWBUMS build, I noticed a new item, Base.Map:

 
Does this have any use yet? As far as I can tell you can equip it, but it does not actually do anything yet. I'm curious, what are the plans for this item?
 
 
Current Maps for Project Zomboid
I dislike using online resources such as pzmap or the Wiki because to me that feels like cheating. My character shouldn't magically know where everything is in the world. Unfortunately given how big the map is now, and will continue to expand with future additions, it has become almost impossible to navigate without some sort of map.
 
I think adding an in-game map that a player can 'uncover' by exploring, similar to what Minecraft does, would not only remove the need for an external map 'cheat', but would also provide the player with a useful mechanic for figuring out where they haven't been, and a neat metagame to try and uncover all of the map.
 
 
Proposal for an In-game Map
Ideally, if I equip the Map item, a new UI window should open that shows all the parts of the map that I have explored so far, in a simplified, scaled-down rendering with basic pan/zoom functionality. It doesn't have to be pixel-perfect like pzmap, but clear enough that I can recognize the layout of buildings and such.
 
For an example of what I mean, here's a quick mockup of what the map could look like as the player uncovers it: (click for full size)

 
And what it could look like fully revealed: (click for full size)

 
 
The map should be generated dynamically based on what is currently in the player's view range, so that:
Changes to the world, such as a house burning down, or new farms/constructions would only appear when the player can actually see them It would work regardless of what map a server decides to run, even if it's a custom map. The map offers the player a way to figure out where to go: "oh I never went down this street"  
Other potential mapping mechanics:
You can share a map with another player (if they have paper and writing material). To account for the transfer time of the map image data that the client would need to receive from the server, this process could use the same progress-bar UI as when reading a book. After all, copying a map takes a good bit of time anyways. You can only add to the map if there is enough light, so you would need to either map the area during daylight, while streetlights are still on, or with a light-source. The map window would just read "It's too dark to see where you are" A simple marker placement mechanic that allows you to mark points of interests. Right clicking on the map brings up the option to place a marker. A marker stores a short title, and an optional short description. (Aquaria had a similar mechanic) Instead of requiring a Map item, just bind the mapping mechanic to 'M' and just let the player always use it. Similar to Aquaria it could just cover the whole screen while you are looking at it, and M just quickly toggles it on and off. Finding the Map item now just adds a faded out underlay below the map that you've uncovered, so you know where everything is, but can still see where you haven't been. Some server-side settings could include: Enable Mapping Enable Map trading Enable Mapping requiring light Enable Player's position on map Enable Nearby Player positions visible on map (perhaps in conjunction with a radio or other item that enables a 'party'?)  
 
I would also like to strongly advise the PZ devs against just implementing an in-game version of pzmap. You have the potential for a really fun mechanic here, that will force players to explore, and also help them figure out where they have not explored yet. Just giving players a static image of the current map would be dull, and not nearly as useful.

And this suggestion came up a long time ago. How about one type of clothing would protect more against zombie bites or scratches. It's pretty obvious that a leather bomber jacket is gonna protect a scratch, maybe even a bite, but a polo shirt isn't. And what if you clothes get so much drenched with zombie blood, it would make your character sad or even drepressed (I can't believe if anyone would like to wear blood coated jeans or t-shirts).

I need to learn russian.

Planter Boxes
Instead of dumping dirt on a roof and then sowing it with seeds, we should have to build planter boxes. Planter boxes are already common features of a lot of homes, apartments, flats and units, so it's not an unusual item.

 
Compost Heap
My cooking skills never get high enough to use rotten food as ingredients, and when the food becomes rotten I can't destroy it, which means it either ends up cluttering up my storage space, or left all over the ground. Having a compost heap would allow us to dispose of rotten food and create fertiliser (or mulch) for crops. (I believe this may have been a feature in Kyun's irrigation mod.
 
 
Pot-in-Pot Storage System
Cykodelik mentioned it here already: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/7909-craft-food-storage-and-ovens/?p=104122
 
Added a post to his thread explaining the pot-in-pot storage system here: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/7909-craft-food-storage-and-ovens/#entry104122
 
Basically the pot-in-pot storage system was used by egyptians, romans, greeks, and other ancient civilisations, and is still in use in 3rd world countries where refrigeration isn't available. There's a small pot inside a larger pot, and the space between the 2 pots is filled with either sand or water, which helps insulate the smaller pot in the centre. All the fruit and vegetables are then stored in the smaller pot.

Great game, has a lot of potential, and I can see it going far, but my suggestions aren't a simple "add a new recipe/trait/profession" as I don't see those things as improving the lifespan of the game (those "recipes" are things which I believe are best for the mod community). I've spent the better part of 6 hours typing out this shit, so... uh....
 
So far in my survival game, I've killed the majority of the zombies on the map using a shotgun and MMORPG kiting tactics. I'm able to wipe out 300+ zombies in a matter of minutes by kiting them into a large open area and mowing them down with a shotgun and surplus shells, but once the zombies are gone, it basically becomes another (albeit graphically worse version of) The Sims, which really sucks. I want to feel like I'm in danger - all the time. I want to feel like any day could be my last. I don't want to spend the rest of the game playing 'Old McDonald had a Farm'. I want the game to have replay value. I want the game to feel like it didn't scam me out of $$$ for 10 hours of gameplay (sorry, but in regards to replay value, this is largely true.)
 
What I'm suggesting might already be considered by the devs, or it might not, but I feel my suggestions will help improve the long term gaming value of Project Zomboid (especially multiplayer), and help retain a lot of players. I have no doubt the recent PZ steam sale was quite successful, but I doubt a significant number of people that purchased the game would be playing beyond the 15 hour mark. This game has potential to not simply be a good game, but an amazing game, especially multiplayer-wise, but currently, in my (unprofessional) opinion, it lacks the balanced long-term value to make it a raging success, either in single player, or multiplayer.
 
Zombie respawning, difficulty, and 'special' zombies
As I've already stated, once you've killed all the zombies in an area, the game is too easy (and seriously boring). I believe the zombies should respawn in random locations around the map every 5 to 10 days, with between 30-200 zombies spawning at a time. This would help alleviate the sudden emptiness that is experienced once all the zombies are wiped out. Additionally, the zombies could be made to be more difficult as time passes (this has already been mentioned in other threads, but I'm a big supporter and feel it should be mentioned again). The longer you stay alive, the harder the zombies become. The difficulty could increase every 4 to 8 weeks, or whatever is considered suitable. The difficulty of each newly spawned zombie could be based on a % multiplier, eg. 5 weeks = +5% chance of increased difficulty, 10 weeks = 10% chance of increased difficulty, 15 weeks = 15% chance of increased difficulty, 20 weeks = 20% chance of increased difficulty, 25 weeks = 25% chance of increased difficulty, etc. This would prevent players from becoming complacent and would require a change in tactics (no more shotgun kiting), and introduce a new element of survival. If you spent those early couple of weeks preparing well, then you should be ready for the zombie onslaught!
 
Another possibility is to include 'Hunter' zombies. Special zombies that exclusively hunt the player. These might only randomly spawn 10-50 at a time, but it would add a new aspect to the game. Knowing that every minute of the game, you are being hunted by smarter than usual zombies. These could follow the same spawn patterns as the regular zombies, where they spawn every 5 to 10 days, between 10-50 at a time. They might all spawn at the opposite side of the map, and then, one day, 4-5 weeks later, you've got up to 250 zombies smashing up your fort, trying to devour your brains. I don't know what idea or vision the developers have with regards to the zombies, but I believe this would be a big hit amongst all players. It would really emphasize survival, developing escape routes and strategic building, as well as utilising multiple safe houses. In multiplayer it could be taken a step further, by having X amount of hunter zombies spawn for every player that has played a certain amount of time on the server. The new players would need to play for a certain amount of time before a new number of hunter zombies will spawn. Hypothetically, with 100 players on a server, that means 100-500 hunter zombies will spawn every 5-10 days. They might all go for one player, or for a mix of players. It would truly require people to work together, create a worthy (sustainable) stronghold, and survive the waves of zombies.
 
This could also lead to a Multiplayer starting area, where it's a stronghold protected by NPC's, and the players occasionally have to help protect the stronghold. After a while, the players are told to leave, and have to fend for themselves (or join a group/clan/guild/whatever), but are able to return (if they're not visibly sick or infected) to trade goods. But I don't know. That's a different topic again.
 
RPG Style Stat Points
Some people are either going to love this idea, or hate it, but personally, I'd love to see RPG style stat points introduced to the game. It would add a personalised element, unique to each player, and would give the player extra incentive for keeping their character alive (I've "killed" 7 players so far just from collecting resources from around the map to build a nice stronghold with a main character). It would improve replay value, as there would be different ways to build a character, and, in multiplayer, it would give more meaning to the term 'veteran survivor', with a greater emphasis on a balanced group/guild/clan/whatever (especially with the suggested profession changes.)
 
Some stat points, which I think might be suitable are:
Strength (STR) - Affects carrying capacity and melee damage. Stamina (STA) - Affects ability to run faster when exhausted (will require change to current exhausted mechanics), and reduces sleep duration (heal/recover/recuperate faster in sleep). Dexterity (DEX) - Affects ranged weapon skills and sneaking/climbing. Agility (AGI) - The ability to avoid damage from combat/falling (eg. dodge/roll/parry etc) (works with PC and NPC alike, eg. PvE and PvP). Intelligence (INT)- Affects Carpentry and other trade related skills. Wisdom (WIS) - Affects food related skills (farming/cooking/fishing etc). Luck (LCK)- Affects everything. Note: STR's benefits and DEX's benefits would be fairly balanced in this way. Increased capacity is great, but combat wise, you have to get up close and personal, likewise with DEX, sneaking doesn't exactly work with using loud firearms. The major benefit they provide is negated by the combat requirement.
 
My idea of how each skill would affect each attribute would be like this:
Blunt/Blade - Strength Aiming/Reloading - Dexterity Carpentry/Other Trades - Intelligence Farming/Cooking/Food - Wisdom Sneaking/Light footed/Nimble - Dexterity Sprinting - Stamina I could see two possible ways for this to work:
The stats will automatically increase at each level up depending on what skills are used. At each level up you can gain a maximum of 2 points based on what skills got you the level up, PLUS a possible +1 to LCK (random chance). So if, for example, you gained a level by using mostly melee skills and carpentry, you would gain 1 point to STR and 1 point to INT. Additionally, there's a small (1%-5%) chance of gaining a point to LCK. If, however, you got a level up by simply using melee skills, then you would get 2 points to str. The other possibility, is using skill points for stats rather than for skills. At the moment, my survival character has 19 skill points banked and waiting to be used. Until a skill has received enough exp, the skill points can't be used, so they're useless. If we had the ability to put them into stat points (within reason of course), it would make the game a little more strategic in how you plan and play your character. Do you put all your skill points into skills, or do you put them into stats? Or do you choose an equal mix? Regardless of which system is used, limitations would have to be introduced to prevent it from becoming game breaking. For example limiting a maximum increase of 10 points to each stat.
 
Additionally, for the sake of balance, an increase in one stat point could result in the decrease in another. For example, if you were to primarily use melee weapons (STR), then your STR stats would increase at level up, but at the same time, your DEX skill would decrease, and vice-versa, using DEX skills would decrease STR (after all, a strong oaf is not going to be a nimble ninja!) This is all assuming there's a limit, of course (the last thing anyone would want is a STR stat of 1 - you wouldn't even be able to wear clothes!) For personalisation, and unique character building, all of this would add another dimension to the game - nobody can be perfect in everything - which realistically reflects real life standards. If you try to be perfect in everything, then you're going to be mediocre, at best.
 
EDIT: Each stat would provide a bonus to the player in the form of practical or skill based benefit. I thought long and hard about this earlier, but I'm too tired to type it all out now. So maybe tomorrow instead.
 
Professions
At the moment, I believe the only profession worth using is the Construction Worker. The ability to withstand cuts and scratches is better than everything else offered by the other professions, and the Thick Skinned perk in combination with resilient trait will make a player virtually immune to disease, injury and zombification. The other professions don't have anything even remotely comparable to this. Also, each profession should have a negative trait to coincide with their positive traits - even a professional will have their own drawbacks and internal demons!
 
At the moment, I believe the biggest problems with the professions is their ability to become a master in any skill, and I don't believe that is right.
 
I've created a list of the professions, along with abilities/traits/skills, which I believe most closely reflect real word professionals, as well as trying to balance them with negative traits. Even if the class has Positive Traits or Negative Traits, they don't get a bonus nor penalty to trait selections, and as a result, will not have points to spend nor balance.
 
Professional Skills       = Blue    http://pzwiki.net/wiki/Occupation
Positive Traits             = Green (Underlined)    (Currently implemented) http://pzwiki.net/wiki/Traits
Negative (General)      = Orange (Requires implementing)
Negative Traits            = Red (Underlined)    (Currently Implemented) http://pzwiki.net/wiki/Traits
Conditional                  = Turqoise (Underlined) (Requires implementing)
 
 
Unemployed
Has a bonus 8 points to spend on traits Receives a -50% penalty to experience gain. Can become a master in all skills. A bum in the ultimate sense of the word. Has no formal talent or skill, and yet, skillwise, the unemployed is without equal. While they are slow to grasp new skills and abilities, the unemployed can easily become the most skilled of all professions. Although, it will take a lot longer to get there.
 
Fire Officer
Axe Man  Hot Temperature Resistance. (Isn't affected by hot temperatures due to training and experience. Can effectively wear winter clothing in summer and only experience mild discomfort,) Naturally  Brave  (They run into fire, what more can i say?) Has Keen Hearing (Naturally more aware of their surroundings, important in a fire as visiblitiy is low, so they must rely on hearing.) Becomes  t ired 25%  faster and therefore requires sleep more often (Reflection of their on-call style work, and their need to get sleep whenever they can) Is Short Sighted. Cannot select Eagle Eyed or Coward or Hard of Hearing traits. Is only 1 of 2 profession that can become master in Bladed Weapons.(5/5) Can only achieve max. intermediate level in Blunt, Aiming, Reloading, Construction and Farming.(2/5) While the Fire Officer is great with an axe, they have tremendous amounts of courage, and are aware of their surroundings. They simply don't have the time to commit to building and farming projects. Likewise, they are required by their profession to be skilled with the axe, that they never bother training with firearms, and their training has made them highly resistant to hot temperatures. The demands of work are physically very taxing, and as a result, the Fire Officer requires more sleep than the average individual.
 
Police Officer
Marksman Eagle Eyed. (After all, a police officer is trained to be observant). Resilient (They deal with all kinds of scum and junkies on a daily basis). Highly prone to depression Has a Hearty Appetite. Is a Hypohondriac. (With all the exposure they have to scum, it's no wonder they're so paranoid.) Cannot select Light Eater or Short Sighted or Prone to Illness traits. Can only achieve max. intermediate level in Blunt, Blade, Cooking, and Sneaking.(2/5) Is only 1 of 2 professions that can become Master in Aiming and Reloading.(5/5) The Police Officer is a fantastic marksman. Trained to observe and apprehend targets, they are perfectly suited to dealing with human disputes, albeit they are highly prone to depression due to the events they experience on the job. This depression translates into an unhealthy eating disorder, whereby the Police Officer enjoys everything in excess, from Donuts to Sunflower Seeds. Food is an escape for the average Police Officer. Due to their training, and demanding work hours, the Police Officer is not skilled in the art of silent approach, nor the culinary arts, nor in melee weapony skills. They are, however, only one of two professions capable of achieveing Mastery in Aiming and Reloading. Due to training and experience, the Police Officer is perfectly suited to a front line combat role.
 
Park Ranger
Outdoorsman (Can wear summer clothing in winter and only experience mild discomfort. Not affected by rain.) Expert Foresters (all saplings planted and maintaned by Foresters grow 50% faster. Can forage for food and water in trees/forests. This skill also improves Hunting/Trapping skills within the local area for everybody.) Naturally Strong (to reflect the fact they have to carry lots of supplies while hiking through the woods) Naturally Claustrophobic. Cannot select Agoraphobic or Brave or  Weak  or Feeble traits. Can only achieve max. intermediate level in ALL combat skills, farming, and Construction. (2/5) (A Park Ranger knows how to live off the land, not how to fight, farm and build.) The Park Ranger is the custodian of the wild. Trained to handle the harsh environments and live of the lands, they are the ultimate survivalist. They understand the lay of the land, as well as the fundamental requirements for flora and fauna to coexist in harmony. While they are trained to survive in the wild, they lack the skills to succeed in combat. Additionally, what can be achieved in the wild is vastly different to modern day suburban living. As a result, the Park Ranger severely lacks the skills and abilities in combat, farming, and construction, as their knowledge only reaches as far as the edge of the forest. While the Park Ranger is perfectly suited for survival, he struggles with living inside buildings and small rooms.
 
Construction Worker
Thick Skinned Building time/repairs reduced by 40% Start off as advanced carpenter (3/5 Carpentry). Construction Worker is addicted to alcohol and Tobacco Is a Light Drinker. (I've never known a person working in a trade that wasn't some sort of substance abuser and didn't come to work drunk or with a hang over). Is Short Tempered Construction Worker is more Prone to Illness, due to beng a drunkard. Cannot select Hardened Drinker or Resilient or Patient traits Is only 1 of 2 professions that can become master in Blunt Weapons. Can only achieve max. beginner level in Blade, Aiming, Reloading, and Lightfooted. (1/5) A violent drunkard and a fool! Despite this, the Construction Worker is second to none when it comes to hammer in hand, with all construction work being done in only a fraction of the time it would take an ordinary citizen to complete. Due to the rigorous demands of the building industry, the Construction Worker has developed a physically Thick Skin. While the Construction Worker is a drunken idiot, he's not without his merits. In his intrawork conflicts, he has developed mastery with blunt weapons that other professions can only dream of. Being a drunkard, he's a heavy footed
 
Security Guard
Night Owl Naturally Lucky. Is a Light Eater Is Overweight. (Seriously, have you ever seen an in-shape security guard? I haven't. Ever!) Is stupidly Clumsy. Cannot select Athletic or Graceful or Unlucky or Hearty Appetite traits Can only achieve Expert in ALL weapon skills. (4/5) Can only achieve max. advanced level in Carpentry, Cooking, Farming, and Fishing. (3/5) A lazy overweight security guard whom spends most of his time sleeping on the job. Who needs to go on patrol, when it's so quiet around here? I think I'll just sleep a little longer... The Security Guard is the lucky individual that gets to sleep on the job. When they get called out, there's nothing there.No delinquents. No break-ins. No problems. The Security Guard gets to go back to their comfy chair and rest. They spend so much time sleeping on the job, that they require less sleep on their time off. In fact, for them, the job is almost a chance to catch up on last sleep. And they're lucky, too, considering how clumsy they are. Perhaps the only reason they've never come across a crime is because the criminal heard the Security Guard's clumsy feet long before the Security Guard appeaerd. For the security, this peace and quiet works well! It allows him to catch up on reading Books, Magazines and DIY manuals, giving him a rounded (no pun intended) education.
 
 
 
All the profession have been balanced in a way that makes them both strong and weak in certain areas. Additionally, they have greater multiplayer value, as working in a balanced group allows for the best chance of survival.
 
For example In a group of 4 people that play multiplayer together, a groupe consisting of Park Ranger, Construction Worker, Security Guard and either Police, Fire, or Unemployed for the last spot, would provide an extremely well balanced group. Park Ranger can provide the timber and environment for improved trapping, the (drunk) Construction Worker can handle all the building/repairs, Security Guard can provide crowd control (killing zombies) and snagging rarer loots from their corpses, and the remaining player can fill the gap any of the remaining 3 characters create.
 
Park Ranger (continued)
The park ranger is an expert forester, which means the park ranger has the added ability to maintain saplings planted by them (park ranger cannot maintain saplings planted by other professions). This maintenance work would be very simple stuff that isn't actually detailed in the game, but simply revolves around current occupational requirements such as: removing debris, cutting down rotten/diseased plants, removing pests, etc. Basically, a Park Ranger allows a plantation of trees to grow faster and more succesfully than what would happen for the other professions. In addition, this maintenance work provides a better environment for wildlife, and improves the hunting/trapping success rate within the area. They also have the ability to forage for food/water amongst trees. The forage ability would have a random success rate, and a time based refresh rate, eg. a park ranger can't fail multiple times in one spot until finally getting lucky, they have to keep trying new spots. When they succeed, they don't actually get food food in their inventory, but rather, their hunger/thirst level decreases.
 
The Forage success % would need to be deteremined by the devs in order to be balanced.
 
Ability to replant saplings after chopping down trees (Forestry)
It gets to a point in this game where you have to run to the other side of the map for more logs. This is, for lack of a better word, a pain in the arse. What would be great is the ability to replant trees we've chopped down in a way that is similair to Minecraft. After chopping down a tree, there's a chance a sapling will drop, which we can replant. Conservation is something that has been around for a long time, with many ancient civilizations realising the importance of sustainability. This would allow for more sustainable gameplay with respect to building/cooking/maintenance/repair. (There would also be an ability for which the Park Ranger receives a massive bonus towards this feature - explained above).
 
Skills affect quality of work
I believe the skill system needs a bit of a change. If you become a master in carpentry, the quality of what you produce should be dramatically better than when an amateur can produce. For example, a master carpenter should be able to build the same thing as an amateur, but use fewer materials in the process. Or, for instance, the skill progression coul change the requirements for certain things. eg. Beginner = -10% materials, Intermediate = -10% build time, Advanced = -20% materials, Expert = -20% build time, Master = -30% materials. So becoming a master would mean you end up with -20% build time and -30% materials to make an item. Or something along those lines. At the moment, the current skill system doesn't have any significant effect on the products other than how they look. I want to see an improvement in the overall quality of the item, and not just the visual quality. This goes for all the skills. Mastercrafted crates could have a 50% weight reduction bonus. Campfire its could have a +50% burn time. Rain catcher barrels could have increased capacity. I'm only talking about carpentry related items, but it really applies to everything.
 
Book/Magazines/Newspaper turn into Trash when read
One way to combat depression/boredom in this game is to read a book/magazine/newspaper, but when you've finished reading, the material disappears. Why? Why would it suddenly disappear? Just because you've read it doesn't mean it should disappear, right? I feel these reading materials should turn into trash, which can then be used as an ignition source to start camp fires/ovens. I've been camping many, many times in my life, and we commonly used old magzines and newspapers as firestarters (long after any of us had read them).
 
Sledgehammers should destroy ALL wooden walls
This was one of the most exciting features I had read about this game! Think about it: you're being chased by zombies, you've been chased into a room with no doors or windows. There's no way out. You have to fight your way out. At least that is until you find a sledgehammer in the room, and you use it to bust down the wall and make your grand escape! Sadly, this isn't the case. I was immensely disappointed by this. This game made me excited at the prospect of being able to knock out a wall or two of a house, to escape, or possibly even add an extension to it. But I can't even destroy fences or crates, which sucks in a really big way. In reality, if we can't use a sledgehammer to do what is claimed, then the information regarding demolition should be changed to "You can only destroy doors, windows, and what you have built yourself (except floors for some strange reason)".
 
Cut through chain link fences and barbwire fences
This is similair to the sledge hammers in that I think we should be able to cut through chain link fences and barbwire fences using a pair of sidecutters/pliers. Additionally, the barbwire fence could be cut and collected and reused in our own constructions.
 
Ovens (wood/coal/charcoal/oil/gas/electric) and chimneys
A camp fire is good and all, but it would be great to be able to build our own oven based on available materials and supplies. We could use mud and grass, bricks and mortar, or even salvaged iron and steel to make a simple wood fired oven, which could be used for an increased variety of recipes (pizza) as well as heating a house. Additionally, a chimney would need to be built to accomodate the oven. Anyone who builds a  fire indoors without proper ventilation is a fool asking for death! So a chimney makes sense. It would also provide better, longer lasting heat for the house, including top floors. All at the expense of a light source, of course.
 
Alcohol Still
The still could be used to create alcohol from farmed fruit/vegetables. Different types of fruit/veg could be used to make different types of alcohol, and the different types could be used for different things. For example some types of alcohol could be used for First Aid (disinfection), some could be used for boredom, others could be used in Ovens and Lamps (next suggestion), some could be used in cooking, and others could be used for combat/malicious reasons.
 
Oil Lamps
Put simply, these are lamps that burn oil. The oil can be found throughout the map, or created via an Alcohol Still using the proper ingredients. The lamps could be suspended on a pole (for static area lighting), or they could carried in hand. This would be a sustainable alternative to the current Flashlight/battery and Campfire setup. A simple Oil Lamp could be made from Soda Can, Oil, and some tissue/rag/sheet/bandage/whatever.
 
Video to see some samples:

 
Starting fires
We should be able to set things on fire with matches/lighter and a suitable fuel source. If I'm being chased by a horde of zombies and the only thing I have is a bottle of spirits and lighter, I should be able to lead them into a forest or a house, and then set it on fire. I want to burn a house down wihout having to shove a dead rat in the oven! My inner pyromaniac burns with disappointment!
 
Fire should destroy grass/trees
Self explanatory.
 
Being tired should make you pass out or even die!
Self explanatory. My character hasn't slept in over 4 weeks. It's game breaking. Needs to be fixed.
 
Beds
We should be able to build beds. This would coincide with a proper sleeping system (similair to Robomat's sleeping overhaul). Comfort level of where you sleep affects your the healing/recovery/recuperation process.
 
Cutting grass
Been mentioned already by others, but cutting grass is essential in my opinion. We could use it as kindling, compost, bedding, animal feed, food (yum!), or whatever. And being grass, it could grow back quite quickly
 
Irrigation and/or drip system
Based on the Drip Irrigation mod by Kyun (http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/4763-drip-irrigation-farming-rain-collector-barrel/), in my opinion, this is another essential feature. We should be able to automate the farming process ( to a certain degree) based on a combination of farming, carpentry, intelligence and wisdom.
 
Carry weight and Bags
I don't know what the carry weight is based on, kilograms or pounds, but if it's pounds, then these characters are stupidly weak and deserve to be eaten by zombies. Even if it's kilograms, it's still ridiculous. As an ex-electrician, I used to wear a toolbelt with 10kg of tools hanging from it, as well as carrying a portable toolbox full of tools weighing over 20kg, as well additional materials (up to a further 20kgs). At the time I was not a big guy, nor was I ridiculously strong (I only weighed 67kg at the time), but for an average person, they should be able to comfortably carry half their body weight in their bags/belts/pockets. The bag system really needs to reflect this. The Australian and British SAS regularly carry a 60kg+ pack in addition to 8-12kg webbing, 4-8 litres of water, and a rifle. Some operations require them to carry over 80kg in weight! While these guys are trained to do this sort of thing, it's not unreasonable to suggest an everyday person, with a properly fitted pack, cannot comfortably carry half their weight. This is something I feel needs to be looked at in the game.
 
 
 
I have many, many other ideas, but's now midnight, and I'm tired...

I remember reading somewhere that deva's are against fainting when exhausted. What I'd like to propose is screen fade-out.
Think it was in the 18 wheels of steel. When character was tired the screen was fading out for something like a second every 5s(?). If you were trying to cope with it, at later stage it was getting worse, up to a stage where fadout was getting longer than an actual display.
I think it's a good compromise between enforcing some better RP while still being better than just collapsing from exhaustion.

I was wondering. In the press release by Indie Stone they say that it's possible to deplete a stock of fish from a lake or river. 

I guess my question is. Can fishing be used to replace farming or will my protagonist starve?
 
I'd like it that one day I could have an NPC farm and/or I and other NPC's could fish. Collectively that would meet most dietary needs. For the time being. The aforementioned question stands.

I agree with you, even if i know you.

My suggestion/idea came up when I read the thread bout the new cooking related stuff. And then I thought of fish. Dried and smoked fish exactly. And that is the thing PZ needs! A way of preserving food for a really long time. Dried beef (beef jerky) can last up to one and a half years! Kinda OP, but who cares. No more perishable foods going to waste in the first days of survival!

Maybe add a recipe with sturdy sticks or planks with a campfire and rope/tape to put it all together... That would add more use to rope/tape and it would be a great addition to the game.

I agree, dried food is essential if you want to survive. Hopefully it will be in a soon future update.