Timed Distractions (Ala SoD)

[oooooooooott]

     After playing Project Zomboid for quite a while, I realized that I was very much peeved by having to be the one to run around screaming to get ZedHeads away from my humble abode.

 

     I decided that a system of timed distractions (Much like the ones found in the fantastic State of Decay) would be entirely welcome. I would be able to, perhaps, place a distraction in that house down the street, and run off to loot the supermarket while the Zeds were paying attention to all the noise.

 

(If anyone is still wondering, by Timed Distraction I mean some sort of noisemaker with a fuse. Maybe a teddy bear with an alarm clock attached? >.<)

 

     Some obvious cons to this genius idea are the evident possibilities regarding usage in a multiplayer setting. The distractions may be used for grinding, or (Gasp!) as a form of griefing  other players. I hope to brainstorm answers to these dilemmas with the assistance of my fellow Survivors.

 

     (If I reeeally felt some people wanted something like this, I would be willing to go ahead and try and mod it in. While it wouldn't be outside my abilities as a coder, I have not yet been able to successfully modify Project Zomboid. If anyone has any Up-To-Date tutorials on the Lua API for Zomboid, please link them )

[lampdude45]

this could be a very useful technique, but i think it may be a tad overpowered. If it had any sort of similar range as a house alarm would (best in-game comparison i can think of) it would draw everything away and give a player free reign over a wide area. the counter to that thought is to give the 'timed distraction' a much smaller range or similar. This could then limit its usefulness. I dont hate the idea, but im not sure i would find it very useful in a balanced state, and i would not like it at all if were too powerful.

[oooooooooott]

this could be a very useful technique, but i think it may be a tad overpowered. If it had any sort of similar range as a house alarm would (best in-game comparison i can think of) it would draw everything away and give a player free reign over a wide area. the counter to that thought is to give the 'timed distraction' a much smaller range or similar. This could then limit its usefulness. I dont hate the idea, but im not sure i would find it very useful in a balanced state, and i would not like it at all if were too powerful.

     I agree that timed distractions would be a tad overpowered if used on an extremely large scale, but even a small range could be very useful in a game like Project Zomboid. Many a time, I have found it difficult to get near a building because of the sheer coverage of spread-out walkers around it. In a situation like that, at the moment the only solution is to scream at them and try and draw them away. I feel that temporary free reign is definitely what I am looking for (I.E, you run into the warehouse BUT YOU HAVE TO MOVE FAST BECAUSE THEY'LL BE BACK)... or maybe, more like in Dying Light (that big zombie game thing that was awesome for a bit but then wasn't (Not to say I didn't love it >.< I'm a sucker for zombie games)), where there were firecrackers that just made zombies look the other way (literally and figuratively).

 

(Look at State of Decay for an example of a game doing this well)

 

P.S. Sorry for my Edit OCD

Edited March 19, 2015 by oooooooooott