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GodWaffle's Project Zomboid Suggestions


GodWaffle

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Alright, warning, slightly long post here with a few of my suggestions for the game.  I will continue to add to this topic when I feel an idea is worth adding, and I'll remove any ideas that you guys dislike.  Would really love to hear a dev's thoughts on these to see where they stand.

Please take a look and share your thoughts and ideas!

#1 - The Hunger

Zombies are primarily known for their hunger for human flesh, however in the game currently they'll take chunks out of you UNTIL you drop dead, at which point they'll leave the body and wander away.  As of now this doesn't matter much, but when NPC's and Multiplayer are added, you'd expect the zombies to actually eat bodies, if they find a corpse they'll start to munch on it (unless there's already one or two zombies eating it) until they see a living human.

For one thing it would increase the diversity of zombie behaviour, it would be easier to sneak past zombies who are in the middle of eating, and also can be used as a distraction (shooting your pal and letting the zombies eat him).  Also it would give yet another incentive to remove dead bodies from near your base, as walkers would come for a meal.  In order for this to work, there would need to be a new eating animation (bent over, gnawing on the corpse), and also perhaps a new corpse sprite (the point in which it's a bloody mess of half-eaten gunk).  If left for a while the zombies will devour corpses entirely.

#2 - The Bowman

Bows and arrows, suggested a lot, but I feel like I need to add this here.  In the gun store in West Point, I feel that there should be bows and arrows to be found.

The bow would be equipped, and when holding CTRL or RMB, the character raises the bow, and aims in the direction of the mouse.  Holding the left mouse button will draw back the string, releasing it will fire an arrow.  Releasing RMB or CTRL before firing will cancel the shot.  

Bows would be a silent weapon, headshots would be essential to kill a walker, and your aiming skill would determine the probability of hitting the head (a lot like a gun does, however probably less chance on lower skill levels).  Arrows can be recovered from a corpse or from the ground.

Bows can also be crafted, albeit a more inaccurate and flimsy bow, same goes for arrows (trajectory would be off)

Crossbows would work similarly to guns, in the way they are used, they'd have more range than a bow and also more accuracy, however the expense being the time taken to reload and being able to fire one shot at a time before reloading.  Bolts can be picked up from corpses.  Crossbows would not be craftable, only found in the gun shop and rarely in houses.  Also they would not be entirely silent, about as loud as a melee weapon.

#3 - Some more customization options

Because why not? I think that at some point we should have a range of new hairstyles, faces and beards to diversify when multiplayer comes along.  Also, a new range of clothing would be cool too (basic t-shirts, puffy jackets, cargo pants, hats, waterproof jackets with hoods, etc), the waterproof jackets would help out during the rain and puffy jackets would slightly decrease the possibility of bites and scratches breaking the skin (a bit like construction worker)

I understand that graphics-wise this would be pretty tough to implement with all the animations, etc, but currently we do have a very limited customization range and I think things like waterproof jackets are definitely needed so that we can be out during the rain without getting wet (assuming you have your hood up which ALSO limits peripheral vision, so it's balanced)

At worst, this could be a mod, however I do feel the game lacks in clothing, and diversity of characters.

#4 - Some better weaponry

Okay, so currently the majority of weapons generally do not survive a lot of combat, they break pretty easily since they're not designed with combat in mind (kitchen knives, baseball bats, etc).  I was thinking maybe we could get some more combat ready weapons, I'm no weapons expert but a combat-knife of sorts would be similar to a kitchen knife but a lot more durable.

Also machetes or even swords would be suited better for combat.  As for blunt weapons, again I'm no expert on this but I'm certain there are plenty combat-ready blunt weapons.  

Honestly I don't care much for guns since they make a lot of noise, but an assault rifle and hunting rifle would be pretty good to have when dealing with hordes (on the downside, scarce ammunition for the assault rifle), hunting rifles will come in handy for hunting animals (also bows and crossbows for this)

All of these 'better' weapons would be a lot harder to find than the common counterparts, any military or police buildings would contain some of the combat-ready weapons, and perhaps a store containing medieval weapons like swords, maces, etc; also, armour.

 

#5 RIP

 

#6 - Corpse Disposal

Corpse disposal is planned, however I'm not entirely sure of which way we will be able to remove corpses.  Personally, I'd like the ability to drag the corpses to an open area (or put them in a pickup truck and drive them there), put them in a pile and set it alight.  However if it was a member of my group, I'd like to be able to bury the corpse and even give their grave a tombstone (craftable).  I think that having a shovel, and the context menu option 'dig grave' could appear, allowing you to dig the grave, place the corpse in it and 'fill grave' would fill it back up.

 

#7 - Better Trait System

When choosing traits for a character, there could be an "Advanced Options" button in the corner that changes the trait menu into advanced mode.  Advanced mode would mean that rather than choosing individual traits like:

Strong
Short Tempered
Light Eater
Brooding

It would allow us to assign points to each trait (kind of like how Fallout does it) so that we could go:

Strong <2>
Short Tempered <1>
Light Eater <4>
Brooding <3>

The number between the arrows would be the point number (1 to 4), which would increase and decrease by using the arrows.  The 4th 'level' would be the maximum for the trait and would be stronger than the default is (let's say that the default for Strength would be 3, choosing 4 would make that strength trait a little bit stronger at the cost of an extra point, while choosing 2 or 1 would give a little bit of strength but not as much as default, but in return letting you use the leftover points to spend on other things such as Athletic 2 or 1)

#8 - Social Traits

With the arrival of NPC's coming 'fairly' soon, there isn't much in the way of traits that really contribute to your social abilities and interaction with other human beings (okay, short tempered could perhaps be related), so how about a few traits for better/worse social interaction with NPC's?

Deceptive (-4) - People are less likely to be suspicious of you

Obvious Suspect (+4) - People are more likely to be suspicious of you (even for things you may not have done)

Cool Tempered (-3) - You don't get angry often

Intimidating (-6) - People are less likely to cross you

Timid (+4) - You are more likely to be threatened/attacked by other people

Socially Awkward (+6) - People are less likely to listen to you (pretty much impossible to lead a group with this trait)

Socially Confident (-6) - People will listen to you and look to you for guidance (Easier to become a leader)

Comforting Presence (-3) - Your presence will help comfort most people (Kajin's Suggestion)

These are just a few, I can imagine there is a very large amount of social-related traits that are possible.  Some of these (Intimidating and Timid) could just expand on existing traits (Strong and Weak, respectively).  Also the point addition/subtraction is not accurate, balance would need to be struck.

-SUGGESTIONS END HERE-

All done, let me know what you guys think of these idea, and to the developers, please consider these, I've tried to think of them in ways that will really fit with the game and enhance it.

Thanks for reading.

-GodWaffle
 

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Thanks GodWaffle!

 

Your first suggestion is a real winner- love the idea of that.

 

#2 is planned.

 

#3 is planned.

 

#4 is planned.

 

#5... not crazy about that one. It would be hard to manage in-game without being pretty clunky. 

 

#6 moving and burning corpses is planned.

 

Cheers!

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I agree with the others all great except for No. 5. Would be kind of cool to be just that much of a dick "Hey Billy look over there" then blowing his kneecaps off and running away  :evil:

 

I guess you guys might want to stay away from me in multiplayer.  :-|

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Thanks for the positive feedback guys! I'll remove #5 from the list.
Also, how about this:

When choosing traits for a character, there could be an "Advanced Options" button in the corner that changes the trait menu into advanced mode.  Advanced mode would mean that rather than choosing individual traits like:

Strong
Short Tempered
Light Eater
Brooding

It would allow us to assign points to each trait (kind of like how Fallout does it) so that we could go:

Strong <2>
Short Tempered <1>
Light Eater <4>
Brooding <3>

The number between the arrows would be the point number (1 to 4), which would increase and decrease by using the arrows.  The 4th 'level' would be the maximum for the trait and would be stronger than the default is (let's say that the default for Strength would be 3, choosing 4 would make that strength trait a little bit stronger at the cost of an extra point, while choosing 2 or 1 would give a little bit of strength but not as much as default, but in return letting you use the leftover points to spend on other things such as Athletic 2 or 1)

Tried to explain this best I can.. I did suggest this in a different way on another threat but thought I'd add it to the rest of my suggestions.

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Sounds neat, I rather like this. Would also contribute to the character gaining/losing traits in the game more smoothly.

 

Is that planned?

If so, that's great, can imagine things like cowardice should subside after a while during a situation like this - a year into a zombie apocalypse surely you wouldn't be panicked at all times.

I can understand this contributing to it though, in that your 'Strength' trait could go up one level or down one level to give a more natural change.  

Another idea whilst on the topic of traits:

Social Traits

With the arrival of NPC's coming 'fairly' soon, there isn't much in the way of traits that really contribute to your social abilities and interaction with other human beings (okay, short tempered could perhaps be related), so how about a few traits for better/worse social interaction with NPC's?

Deceptive (-4) - People are less likely to be suspicious of you

Obvious Suspect (+4) - People are more likely to be suspicious of you (even for things you may not have done)

Cool Tempered (-3) - You don't get angry often

Intimidating (-6) - People are less likely to cross you

Timid (+4) - You are more likely to be threatened/attacked by other people

Socially Awkward (+6) - People are less likely to listen to you (pretty much impossible to lead a group with this trait)

Socially Confident (-6) - People will listen to you and look to you for guidance (Easier to become a leader)

These are just a few, I can imagine there is a very large amount of social-related traits that are possible.  Some of these (Intimidating and Timid) could just expand on existing traits (Strong and Weak, respectively).  Also the point addition/subtraction is not accurate, balance would need to be struck.

Just a thought :)

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I would like to see the addition of social based traits once NPCs are added and those are all pretty good ones. Maybe add a Comforting Presence trait that helps keep other survivors in a good mood when you're around?

 

That could possibly tie in with the Socially Confident (Or maybe call it Charismatic) trait, since you instill hope in your survivors when you're around, making you a good leader.  However none of these would apply to all NPC's, you'd always get some of the 'bad' guys.

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As much as I love the idea, I can't help but nerd out on the first suggestion.

 

According to Max Brooks' "Zombie Survival Guide", zombies don't feed off already dead bodies (those that are dead for longer than 18-24 hours), and completely ignore them. So, essentially, amount of dead bodies around your house ultimately won't pose a threat, unless all of these bodies were killed recently and there was a gunshot nearby that attracted a shit ton of zombies to your area.

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A leader isn't necessarily a comforter. Kinda figure the Comforting Presence trait would be better for a "team mom" sort of person. A therapeutic support kinda character.

 

True.. and in certain cases the leader may ONLY be the leader due to intimidation, nobody wanting to step up against him/her.  The Deceiving trait could also help to 'sway' other people to do things or turn against somebody.

As much as I love the idea, I can't help but nerd out on the first suggestion.

 

According to Max Brooks' "Zombie Survival Guide", zombies don't feed off already dead bodies (those that are dead for longer than 18-24 hours), and completely ignore them. So, essentially, amount of dead bodies around your house ultimately won't pose a threat, unless all of these bodies were killed recently and there was a gunshot nearby that attracted a shit ton of zombies to your area.

 

How about a sandbox option to determine what they eat?

This should be in the form of tickboxes, not a dropdown list:

Animals

Living Humans

Dead Bodies (Older than 24 hours)

Dead Bodies (Under 24 hours)

Something like this.  Personally the PZ zombies seem like the type who would eat anything, however Sandbox mode is the holy grail with this game, allowing any 'type' of zombie to exist.

And as for being no threat, there still would be the threat of disease from all the decaying corpses :P

 

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A comforting support character could prove to be an essential component in any successful survivor group, acting as a diplomatic bridge between characters with incompatible traits. Say the leader and an ambitious group member have been at each other's throats all week, prompting the comforting support survivor to jump in and ease the tension between the two before it erupts into a full blown leadership struggle.

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Also, for socialistic traits.

 

The trait "Introvert" would prove to be a tricky negative trait. The more you talk to NPC, the more your "anger" moodle raises, no matter the context of the dialog. 

 

Could be an interesting one.. would this affect all NPC's you talk to though? Or certain personalities?

Also, updated the original post with the new ideas.

A comforting support character could prove to be an essential component in any successful survivor group, acting as a diplomatic bridge between characters with incompatible traits. Say the leader and an ambitious group member have been at each other's throats all week, prompting the comforting support survivor to jump in and ease the tension between the two before it erupts into a full blown leadership struggle.

 

That could be interesting too.  I think all of these social traits would also depend on the personality of the NPC's being affected, a Comforting Presence person would havefer comfort to certain people, however there would be the 'bad' guys and the stony NPC's who would remain unphased if they wanted leadership.

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Also, for socialistic traits.

 

The trait "Introvert" would prove to be a tricky negative trait. The more you talk to NPC, the more your "anger" moodle raises, no matter the context of the dialog. 

 

Could be an interesting one.. would this affect all NPC's you talk to though? Or certain personalities?

Also, updated the original post with the new ideas.

 

 

Yeah, all NPCs. Extra angry with overly-social traits (extroverts). (Also mutually exclusive) Less angry with other introverts.

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Also, for socialistic traits.

 

The trait "Introvert" would prove to be a tricky negative trait. The more you talk to NPC, the more your "anger" moodle raises, no matter the context of the dialog. 

 

Could be an interesting one.. would this affect all NPC's you talk to though? Or certain personalities?

Also, updated the original post with the new ideas.

 

 

Yeah, all NPCs. Extra angry with overly-social traits (extroverts). (Also mutually exclusive) Less angry with other introverts.

 

 

And I guess that extrovert would be the opposite for this? Perhaps these traits would replace the Socially Awkward or Socially Confident traits and 'combine' their abilities.  

Or (getting a little far with the social traits here, but worth a shot), have a secondary window specifically to choose social traits, reason being there are so many different traits that once can have that affects them socially, and we wouldn't really want to clog up the main trait window with these, perhaps after 'that' section is done, it would go onto social traits, and then you'd enter the game.

I think this really depends on how far NPC's will be designed to interact with one another/the player, will we get the choices when talking to NPC's, etc.  And also it depends on how far the developers would want to take this, since NPC's are complicated enough as is.

Would be really cool though.

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Introverted characters, I think, should have a small disadvantage to all interactions as opposed to putting up an angry moodle. Maybe get a "feeling awkward" moodle if they're surrounded by people that gets worse the more there are.

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Introverted characters, I think, should have a small disadvantage to all interactions as opposed to putting up an angry moodle. Maybe get a "feeling awkward" moodle if they're surrounded by people that gets worse the more there are.

 

I agree.. as someone who suffers from social anxiety I know what sort of effects this can actually cause, anger not being one of them but your senses do weaken a bit and you feel 'weak', so essentially this could happen for the 'feeling awkward' moodle:

Weaker (How much depending on the moodle level)

Vision reduced (Moodle level dependent)

Hearing reduced (Moodle level dependent)

And your attempts at talking to people would not work very well.  Fits the current moodles pretty well.

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Introverted characters, I think, should have a small disadvantage to all interactions as opposed to putting up an angry moodle. Maybe get a "feeling awkward" moodle if they're surrounded by people that gets worse the more there are.

 

I agree.. as someone who suffers from social anxiety I know what sort of effects this can actually cause, anger not being one of them but your senses do weaken a bit and you feel 'weak', so essentially this could happen for the 'feeling awkward' moodle:

Weaker (How much depending on the moodle level)

Vision reduced (Moodle level dependent)

Hearing reduced (Moodle level dependent)

And your attempts at talking to people would not work very well.  Fits the current moodles pretty well.

 

 

Tried to achieve something like this, just didn't feel like having to suggest new moodles and tried to tie it to already existing ones :P

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Introverted characters, I think, should have a small disadvantage to all interactions as opposed to putting up an angry moodle. Maybe get a "feeling awkward" moodle if they're surrounded by people that gets worse the more there are.

 

I agree.. as someone who suffers from social anxiety I know what sort of effects this can actually cause, anger not being one of them but your senses do weaken a bit and you feel 'weak', so essentially this could happen for the 'feeling awkward' moodle:

Weaker (How much depending on the moodle level)

Vision reduced (Moodle level dependent)

Hearing reduced (Moodle level dependent)

And your attempts at talking to people would not work very well.  Fits the current moodles pretty well.

 

 

Tried to achieve something like this, just didn't feel like having to suggest new moodles and tried to tie it to already existing ones :P

 

 

Yeah I was thinking that, the problem is that none of the existing moodles would really go with it, but the effects they have do, kinda annoying haha.  Overall I think social traits will come along at some point or another (at least one or two) since the NPC's will be such an integral part of the game.

One other little suggestion:

Ladders

As far as I know ladders don't really work in the game, in fact I've only seen ladders on some of the billboard things (I actually went to climb it and died, was gonna climb up to escape the horde).  Now, I may just be stupid and have never actually seen a ladder but do they exist? And if not I think that there should be quite a lot of ladders going up buildings to fire escapes and what-not, or moveable ladders to help with construction, etc.

Just a minor thing that I think will and should be implemented at some point in the future.

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  • 8 years later...

I think that a decaying zombie respawn rate per chunk woul be good. As you kill more zombies in one area the respawn rate decreases, doesn’t ever have to get to 0 but it can get frustrating to feel lik you cleared out a bunch of zombies on a certain route and 2 days later you got 3x the zombies and their dog on the same route

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