Bob's crazy ideas

[bobchaos]

*WARNING* Wall of text coming!

 

Since I first joined the forum I've thrown about quite a few ideas randomly in other people's threads. I thought I'd collect them all in one place. Some of these I stole or were inspired by other people, and TBH I'm too lazy to look you all up for credits, sorry :/ Feel free to claim credit for the whole thing just keep the talks going

 

I'll be listing ideas in no particular order and with absolutely no respect to how hard/long it is to code o.O It's just brainstorming really.

 

I wanted to make 1 thread per idea and then 1 large thread linking to all the others but I figured this might be less of a forum highjack: If you really like an idea and think it deserves it's own discussion, just start a thread for it and link to it in this thread.

 

Anyhow, on with my crazy schemes!:

 

1) Zombies VS structure overhaul, part 1: Currently, if zombies come into contact with something they can break, they try to break it. I thought it would look and feel better if they only tried to break things down when they had reason to believe it would yield meat. This way, if you stay real quiet, curtains drawn, all windows and doors shut, they won't try to break in randomly. Instead they'd just bump against your walls, and go on about their shambling. This one was implemented in 33.8 as a sandbox option, hurray!

 

2) Zombies VS structure overhaul, part 2: Right now, A zombie can only hit something if he can touch it. What makes zombies real scary in large numbers is that all of them push like morons without caring about injuries to themselves or fellow zeds. That can bring down a house! To simulate that, I'd have it so zombies can "transmit" damage through other zeds in order to hit structures.

 

2.5) To balance out number 2, structures would have to share HP along given segments, meaning a group of 4-5 log walls would act as a single entity, having more HP but falling as one when the zeds break through. Perhaps having large wall segments could also grant them damage reduction, so that a single zombie can't tear down an entire fort. This should help with both the "look and feel" ("The whole fence is going to give in!") and with performance.

 

3) Zombies VS structure overhaul, part 3: Assuming part 1 and 2.5 are implemented, that would open a door to making every object breakable. I'm not sure how that would work in terms of performance but it would be really cool to watch a horde break down all of downtown WP because you started a geny in one of the shops

 

4) Hand pumps: Currently, if you want to fill up gas cans you get it while there's power or you just don't. It's commonly suggested to be able to hook up a geny to reactivate the pumps but I thought it would be better to have hand pumps. Use them for gas at the station, eventually gas from broken down cars, water from wells and pipes in houses (I always thought it was a bit weird that I could get it without pressure in the pipes :/ ), maybe even zombie blood from corpses so you can poison the neighbor's food supply >: D

 

5) Catastrophic failures: Allow all players to perform all actions for any skill, but if you fail at the requirements (skill level, recipe book), add a chance for failures ranging from "I couldn't do it" to "Did I not use to have 2 legs?". Minor failures could result in loss of tool durability or material waste, while major failures could set your house on fire or cause bodily harm. No insta-death tho (unless you were already in bad shape), that wouldn't be very fair.

 

6) More attributes: Hearing and sight come to mind. Have those be attributes like strength and fitness that you gain XP for when using (Hearing zombies creeping out of sight, looking at distant object) and lose some when you abuse (Firing guns/listening to loud radio, watching TV/living at night). Granted some like sight are less clear cut, but you get the idea.

 

7) Fire-building skill: Maybe it should be part of some other skill (perhaps merge it with foraging an call it wilderness?), but not everyone should be able to start a fire from random twigs and branches they found in the woods. Fire-building is a complicated skillset that requires a broad range of knowledge. An unskilled player might be able to make a smoky fire that calls zombies to it like a house alarm, while a high lvl one could make more specialized fires like amber fires, smokeless fires, maybe even smelting fires.

 

8) High lvl cooking allows for alcohol distillation: Booze is the life-blood of humanity. It's the reason we started settling land (according to my favorite theory anyhow ) and it's the first thing any self-respecting post-apocalyptic society would do. Not only does it keep the folks happy (if somewhat rowdy) but it has tons of practical uses, from cooking to medicine going trough cleaning and potentially power generation. Maybe you'd need mechanical skill too for more advanced setups?

 

9) More generator powered stuff: Right now, only real reason to run a geny is the fridge, and farms produce more food than you can eat anyhow. I'd like to see freezers for one thing. Someone once suggested CCTVs that allow you to lift the fog of war wherever you place them. String up a few genies to reactivate the logging company's saw and conveyor for some quick planks. Allow mechanics/electricians to craft generator powered traps like motion sensor activated rotary blades or electrified fences. Have powered tools like a drill, battery charger or video games.

 

10) Massive "wandering" hordes: Every now and then, have a massive horde spawn on one edge of the map and travel to another, where they'd despawn. Massive as in 500+ zombies >: D Perhaps they could be given a little nudge towards recently visited cells too

 

11) More keybindings: I want to be able to put an item of my choice in my primary hand with a single button. "1" should pull out my trusty hammer, not the the axe I'm not skilled to use. I'd also like to be able to bind such actions as "drop bags" or even "drop items until below weight limit"

 

12) Player camo: I know zombie camo is a big no-no, and I'm 100% behind that, but I thought it might be fun to allow you to wear ragged cloths and behave like a zombie in MP to fool other players. If they don't look closely enough they'll come at you ready to wack you with a crowbar like any other Z, but then you pull a shotty and tell them to get on the ground before you call the horde on his base by shooting him in the face >: D

 

13) Positive happiness moodle: If your character manages to stay real happy, you get a positive moodle that grants protection from panic. Any panic "damage" goes to the happy moodle until you lose it.

 

14) Sandbox option for indestructible walls: Sometimes, I want to make a huge base in the middle of town, but always decide against it because it would commit me to defending it every day. Having a sandbox option to make player made structures indestructible would satisfy my need to build improbable structures without removing all threats like creative mod likely would.

 

15) Computers: I miss my old MAC LC2 and it's fancy 56k modem I wish I could get them in PZ! Computers would provide news feed like the radio and TV do, and/or a boredom reduction. Any bonuses it gives would slowly degrade as the internet shuts down and you're eventually left with playing solitaire as the only entertainment option. Maybe you could even give it an inventory feature that can list everything in containers from your house.

 

If you stuck through the whole thing, thanks for reading! Thoughts anyone?

[fluffe9911]

For the computer part the game is set in the 90s so computers where few and far between and I don't even think they really did to much ether lol

[bobchaos]

For the computer part the game is set in the 90s so computers where few and far between and I don't even think they really did to much ether lol

Don't mock my MAC LC2! Computers were neither rare nor were they useless, I'm guessing you were either too young to remember or not born yet during those days o.O I was born in 85, and when I was a little kid my parents and most kids I knew had a computer at home with 56K modems for the internet. Most people used them for emails, gaming, word processing, media and data storage, book keeping... Everything we use them for today except Facebook and Youtube (but we did have NewGrounds.com!). Computer today may have 1000 time the computing power of my LC2, but 99% of it is wasted on fancy graphics and poorly designed, pointless features

[MyTJ]

@ Fluffe9911, I' past 35 years old, meaning I've actualy seen the 90's.  I remember an apple IIe from my early childhood (5-6 ish).  After that I've seen 386 pentiums, and a lot more since then.

 

Granted, it may be uncommon.  But it's not rare.

[MyTJ]

For Bob : I have reviewed your post with attention and I have a few comments, but I don't know how to paste it... for some reason it does not work for me.

 

Since I have about 1 and a third page of comment... can anyone show me?

[bobchaos]

For Bob : I have reviewed your post with attention and I have a few comments, but I don't know how to paste it... for some reason it does not work for me.

 

Since I have about 1 and a third page of comment... can anyone show me?

Have you tried pasting in basic editor mode? (The little lightswitch kind of button in the top left corner of the posting dialog)

[MyTJ]

Thanks for the tip bobchaos   It worked (and I even was able to switch back without losing the text).

 

So here are my comments following your numbers.  I've added some details on #3 since yesterday, where I simply agreed.

 

1) What if it's simply in their way (i.e. migration)?

2) I agree, but not all of the damage should be suffered by transmitting zombies. When the net force is low, there should be no damage. When the force increase, some of the zombies between the last one (furthest from the structure) and the first one (the one that is beeing flatened out on the structure) should get some damage. The chance would increase with the number of zombies pushing on it. Remember though, zombies are pretty much immune to bruising, so only bone breakeage would be the factor (see my post on zombie horde should pile up).

2.5) I agree partly (except the share HP), but that would depend on the point of impact. If the point of impact is a single section, then maybe (still a chance) 1-2 other are affected on each side (chance for each, degressing as it goes further). If the point of impact is greater than one tile, then the chance would increase to the point where more than 1-2 additionnal tile should be affected. I totaly agree that the point of impact should always give in, once it gives in.

3) I agree. To some extent, it has a link with my comment in number 1 (structures are in their way while they look-up for the geny).

4) I agree with pumps (hand or otherwise) except for zombie blood. I would add a simple syphon.

5) I disagree partly. While feat could be attempted by an untrained person (and the consequence lessenend by precautions), it would break the balance of the game. Consider healing (I know, you said I used to have a leg... and it's pretty impossible to heal). Any misfortune could be counterbalanced by healing, thus the cost of faillure would be time and the correlative ressources (food, water, etc).

6) I disagree partly. The named stat do not increase significantly with training. Concentration, wich make it easier to see/hear do increase with training. I am currently working on a skill overhaul. Some of your concern may find an answer there.

7) I agree mostly, as long as it's a makeshift fire. Using proper burning material (let's say newspaper) and fire source (match or lighter) should not be a problem. Failure could still be possible, but given a few try, you should be able to start a fire with proper tool and no prior training.

8) I agree (except for the high level)... but I beleive it has been the subject of a couple other post.

9) A few interesting ideas right there... you should develop (as far as I'm concerned).

10) Great idea, a respawn that's not within the respawn system and allows for huge travelling hordes. I would even fix some people concern with respawn (assuming they disable basic respawn).

11) Interesting idea, but it should not remove the time needed to actually transfer and/or equip the item, just remove the need to manualy do it.

12) That's devious... although I like, I won't comment further.

13) Not quite that simple. Even the most happy dude will shit his pants if 100 zombies come near.

14) I'm all about more sandbox options, allowing more player to enjoy the game as they see fit.

15) I like that! I would developp further (maybe a few mini-games?). As for the inventory feature, it would require time to keep up to date (i.e. data entry), so it may not be so usefull after all (you can always pause SP to do it for real with no cost but your own time).

[Jericoshost]

I have to agree with most of these!

Though the 'every building being destructible' is a no due to system requirements.

[bobchaos]

I have to agree with most of these!

Though the 'every building being destructible' is a no due to system requirements.

Could be a performance issue, or it could just be so that zombies don't level every loaded cell whenever you go to sleep o.O Anyone knows?

[Jericoshost]

 

I have to agree with most of these!

Though the 'every building being destructible' is a no due to system requirements.

Could be a performance issue, or it could just be so that zombies don't level every loaded cell whenever you go to sleep o.O Anyone knows?

 

Exactly, the devs said that when it was suggested that every house be destructable a month or so back.