Cell phones and home phones

[CyberspyXD]

The reason I think they should be implemented so you can lets say check on a NPCs progress on a scavenging run or see how they are doing at home all this at the cost of the battery. When the electricity goes out you cant charge your phones anymore and have to rely on getting more battery's from searching homes and stores. This would also let you command your friends from afar requesting support or distractions when you need it or have your friends ask you for help.

 

Forests would have no reception as would the more rural parts of the map. This all could also work for walkie-talkies except it would only be 2 way or one way. You could also get entertainment from it by using preinstalled apps or looking at pictures (You have to imagine your character doing this silly).

 

Home phones would only work until the electricity goes out then they are useless and you should dump them.

 

So what are your thoughts? 

[CyberspyXD]

I forgot to put radios in the title .

[Realmkeeper]

Home phones would only work until the electricity goes out then they are useless and you should dump them.

 

So what are your thoughts? 

Last I checked, home phones (landlines) still work perfectly well when the power is out. Cordless home phones do not work without power (obviously), but a wired home phone still works as long as the lines are unbroken between your house and the exchange.

Phone lines do not require power to operate... In my opinion, that would make them way overpowered if they could be used as you've suggested.

[kinyoshi]

Home phones would only work until the electricity goes out then they are useless and you should dump them.

So what are your thoughts?

Last I checked, home phones (landlines) still work perfectly well when the power is out. Cordless home phones do not work without power (obviously), but a wired home phone still works as long as the lines are unbroken between your house and the exchange.

Phone lines do not require power to operate... In my opinion, that would make them way overpowered if they could be used as you've suggested.

I agree, unless there are timers like water and power, for example disable the wired phone lines a year in and the wireless networks a few later..

Edit: maybe even make it so you can turn them back on? Like the scene in Jurassic Park when they built the emergency power turn back on switch in the stupidest place.. make it a mission.

[Guest]

...

Radios will be added as they were added before.

Don't think you've played the k&b tutorial in the pre 0.1.5d days

[harakka]

 

Home phones would only work until the electricity goes out then they are useless and you should dump them.

 

So what are your thoughts? 

Last I checked, home phones (landlines) still work perfectly well when the power is out. Cordless home phones do not work without power (obviously), but a wired home phone still works as long as the lines are unbroken between your house and the exchange.

Phone lines do not require power to operate... In my opinion, that would make them way overpowered if they could be used as you've suggested.

 

Landlines will stop working eventually. They need electricity too, although not massive amounts of it, which the telco feeds straight into the network. They have battery banks and generators in case of blackouts, but those won't last forever.

[RoboMat]

All I need to be happy are walkie talkies (transceivers) ... they have the bonus to not attract zombie hordes because of a stupid ringtone

[VamyreLord]

In Catalysm:DDA they got cell phones, but they are unusable. So the only thing you can do is dissemble them for their components to craft other electronic devices such as radios.

[Banjo]

I assumed radios here meant "walkie talkies". If we're talking (future) communication with NPCs, that makes the most sense to me.

 

Mobile phones would be nice as "junk" items to find, but I can't see them having any use at all as playable items (unless you're a zombie and want to call for a yummy paramedic). That goes double for landline phones.

 

If you wanted something for an "outside world" contact, then a CB radio would be the best thing. You could even use it to "scan" for other survivors and maybe even have them appear on the map somewhere as NPCs once located. Using a CB radio, having a chat with a survivor and having them tell you their location ("I'm at some burger bar with a funny raccoon on the sign!") so you could go and find them to team up would be pretty cool, IMO.

[Rathlord]

Radios are planned and Walkie Talkies are a good suggestion (albeit one that's been brought up before).

 

Cell phones would probably quickly be worthless largely before power went out- over the first few days panic would be tremendous and the lines would get locked up. The military might even shutdown outgoing contact. As correctly pointed out by Harakka, while individual landlines don't need power, the system needs power and without people to man the system it would still likely be down before the power. Given that the outbreak is obviously at least a few days old, I don't see the value of adding these to the game to have them be taken down again in the next week or less.

[k12314]

Radios are planned and Walkie Talkies are a good suggestion (albeit one that's been brought up before).

 

Cell phones would probably quickly be worthless largely before power went out- over the first few days panic would be tremendous and the lines would get locked up. The military might even shutdown outgoing contact. As correctly pointed out by Harakka, while individual landlines don't need power, the system needs power and without people to man the system it would still likely be down before the power. Given that the outbreak is obviously at least a few days old, I don't see the value of adding these to the game to have them be taken down again in the next week or less.

 

To me it seems like the outbreak it about a week or two in. So yeah, it would make sense that phones and cellphones are pretty much worthless at that point.

 

It would be cool to find them on a zombie's body or laying around the house though. They can be one of those things that make you think "These used to be people, and life used to be normal."

[Rathlord]

Agreed there, k12314.

[doomblood66]

I think phones and home phones should be unable to work regardless of batteries after the electricity goes out, correct me if I'm wrong but here in Sydney we got these phone polls, long white futuristic looking things so if they went down the signal on your phone would go down UNLESS you had a satellite phone and if muldraugh was the only infected area then you should be good, but then that could allow you to call for help... Anyway that's my 50 cents

[Rathlord]

I think that, if for no other reasons, calling for help will be out of the question simply for gameplay value.

Bear in mind, too, that Muldraugh is a quarantine zone and would likely be blacked out by the military in this kind of scenario. Even if the infection spread, it would likely last long enough for the phone lines to go down.

[earlack]

...At first I thought why not have smartphones not working as phones, but you know, having those apps, coudl be like a boredom reduction item ?

 

...Then I remembered the battery dies quickly on those things, so if the infection is oe or two weeks in, it's likely they'll be all flat.

[doomblood66]

...At first I thought why not have smartphones not working as phones, but you know, having those apps, coudl be like a boredom reduction item ?

 

...Then I remembered the battery dies quickly on those things, so if the infection is oe or two weeks in, it's likely they'll be all flat.

In the suggestion list which I think was created by RoboMat confirms iPods will be in so no real need for phones

[Rathlord]

Created by me =D

 

As entertainment devices they probably aren't necessary, but could still be in for flavor.