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How To Write A Good Suggestion

Rathlord

By Rathlord
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Rathlord

Rathlord

Posted
Posted
Heya guys,
 
Rathlord here. I'm going to give a few quick tips on how to write a good suggestion for Project Zomboid- some of the pitfalls and traps you can fall into, some of the resources to check before writing, and what makes a good suggestion.
 
Before You Post!
 
You know that moment when you're sitting on the can and all of a sudden, the most brilliant idea in the world comes to you? Something that would change PZ forever, bring it skyrocketing to fame and stardom? Good~ now hold that thought.
 
There's a few things you should do before you post. First and foremost (especially if you don't frequent the Project Zomboid forums) you should read through the other sticky in the suggestions forum, which has a list of commonly suggested and confirmed/denied suggestions:
 
 
Here's the archived old 3 part version written by several community members as well (unfortunately these links no longer work- I'll update if I can ever get them functioning again):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
If you've read over these threads and your idea hasn't been suggested before, been said "No" to, or been listed as planned there's one other thing to do; search! We don't ask that you spend hours paging through search results. Just put your main topic (say, "Cars") into the search pane. If you don't see anything, feel free to move on.
 
Now it's time to take a critical look at your idea!
 
The last thing you should do before you post is take a good, objective look at what you're proposing. The basic questions you should answer before posting:
 

 

  • Is it somewhat realistic?
  • Does it fit with the spirit of PZ?
  • Would it make the game too easy?
  • Would it require rewriting the entire game (like changing the camera view, for instance)
  • Would it add enough to the gameplay that it would be worth taking the time to add?
  • Would it be found in Muldraugh, Kentucky common enough to be added?
  • For zombies: Does it fit at least somewhat into Romero/Brooks zombie lore (the basis for 'proper' zombies)?
 
Posting your idea!
 
Time to post your idea, finally! (Finally? Oh come on it didn't take that long.) First, your title.
 
Titles should be short and they should give the basic idea of your suggestion. Three examples to show the extremes people go through with titles:
 
1: idea
2: Automobiles
3: Devs, add in cars now please and also buses and trains and tanks and bicycles and blimps and zeppelins and submarines and autogyros.
Please don't ever make your title just your name followed by the word suggestions (Rathlord's Suggestions!).
 
Now on to writing the body of your post. Please follow the same basic principles of posting constructively in every forum. Use complete sentences, grammar, and punctuation. You may think it's a waste of time; it's not. It helps people understand you and makes people more liable to agree with you.
 
Responding to Criticism!
 
After posting an idea your job is only half done. It's now your job to listen to what the community and/or devs have to say about your idea. It's hard for anyone to listen to their idea being critiqued, but you should do your best to remain calm and positive.
 
If someone says your idea has been posted before: If they haven't linked a thread, ask them where. If they link you a thread and it's similar enough to your idea, you should consider deleting your thread and posting in the other one instead (even if it's old).
 
If people add things you enjoy to your thread: It's common courtesy to add things that other people suggest to your original post (for example, when discussing cars if someone mentions trains, and you like that idea, add it to your post using the "Edit" feature and mention that it was suggested by them, not you). This is a good way to make other people feel involved in your idea and help it be shaped by the community.
 
If people criticize your idea: Please listen to constructive criticism. I know it can be very hard sometimes, but many times people are just doing and saying what they think is right for the game. They may even be right sometimes. It's perfectly fine to have a back and forth banter discussing the idea, but if it becomes heated or you're both posting the same thing back and forth in circles it's a good idea to either stop responding to them or just leaving the thread all together. Sometimes that great idea just turns out to be a rotten egg- it's happened to the best of us.
 
If people start flaming you or your idea: Please do not respond in kind. It doesn't help anyone to flame back. If you feel they've stepped over a line or are bringing down an otherwise good idea, then report them to a moderator and move on (don't post "Reported" or anything like that- that's just another way of flaming). We all run into these people and the best thing you can do is remain calm and courteous. Most of the time, if you're friendly and firm, they'll get bored and leave.
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  • 4 months later...
ExcentriCreation

ExcentriCreation

Posted
Posted

 

Just want to say that this treads doesn't work.

 

Common Ideas and Suggestions List: http://theindiestone...php?f=24&t=3134
 
 
Ultimate Dev Quotes (planned features): http://theindiestone...php?f=24&t=1865

 

 

 

Update the OP, the links to the old forum should once again be functional.

 

These links still aren't working, seems like all the links (that I've tried) to the old forums don't work.... The majority of the info has been re-written here anyways. Maybe just copy over some of the quotes n stuff?

Speaking of which, I found a crucial one today after I got bored of drawing & went rummaging for info to insure PZs continued creative awesomeness :D

 

"Also, there is one golden rule of proper zombie films IMO. Satirized by Shaun of the Dead perfectly. It should never be really explained why the dead are rising. You can think it's a virus, and there's sure to be scientists working under that assumption. It can be spread from zombie to person like some infection, but we don't want to black and white state it's a virus and not, say, some supernatural apocalypse.

Even though it is very likely a virus in actuality." - Lemmy101 2011 ;)

 

found here:

 

Edit:

 

Though that one works fine :huh:

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Fj45

Fj45

Posted
Posted

 

 

Just want to say that this treads doesn't work.

 

Common Ideas and Suggestions List: http://theindiestone...php?f=24&t=3134
 
 
Ultimate Dev Quotes (planned features): http://theindiestone...php?f=24&t=1865

 

 

 

Update the OP, the links to the old forum should once again be functional.

 

These links still aren't working, seems like all the links (that I've tried) to the old forums don't work.... The majority of the info has been re-written here anyways. Maybe just copy over some of the quotes n stuff?

Speaking of which, I found a crucial one today after I got bored of drawing & went rummaging for info to insure PZs continued creative awesomeness :D

 

"Also, there is one golden rule of proper zombie films IMO. Satirized by Shaun of the Dead perfectly. It should never be really explained why the dead are rising. You can think it's a virus, and there's sure to be scientists working under that assumption. It can be spread from zombie to person like some infection, but we don't want to black and white state it's a virus and not, say, some supernatural apocalypse.

Even though it is very likely a virus in actuality." - Lemmy101 2011 ;)

 

found here:

 

Edit:

 

Though that one works fine :huh:

 

 

I WAS RIGHT! HAHA!

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ExcentriCreation

ExcentriCreation

Posted
Posted

I don't really think this is the topic for it but if we're going to re-animate a dead horse then:

 

In Fj's defense he changed his tune later on & I shouldn't have allowed myself to get goaded off point.

Given that it is to remain UNDEFINED, the moment we begin to discuss it we're beginning the process of defining what it is that is re-animating the dead.

Also, given:

"It can be spread from zombie to person like some infection"

and the different nature of different viruses, the only "safe" topic is direct fluid transfer.

I'd also like to point out that, being a Romero fan, I don't like this because it allows blood-spatter infections but unfortunately my opinion on the matter is mute.

 

Anyways

 

The entire reason I posted this here was because the links still don't appear to be working & we need access to this kind of information in order to avoid mute arguments like the one that occurred the other day :)

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  • 2 months later...
tomtentp

tomtentp

Posted
Posted

 

 

Just wanted to inform that these links are dead  (fedora)

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