Drugs

[Athens222]

It would be cool if drugs were added in Project Zomboid along with addiction and withdrawal. Cigarettes and alcohol are already present in the game, however adding drugs would bring a whole new challenge and flavor to the game. Many other games, specially survival ones have embraced drugs (For example, Rimworld). By adding drugs, you add the challenge of having to obtain it whether through looting, farming or more, to fulfill your character's needs as well as it possibly adding boosts to your character. For example, heroin/morphine would allow you to become more pain resistant. Pot would improve your character's mood and remove boredom, etc. Other drugs would also bring in new flavors depending on your character run. Starting as an addict would be a huge negative trait (-6 to -8) 

[Masmassu]

It will be hard to implent al the negatiiv effcts on them and maybe unplayble in som wayes when yore caracter just runs out naked and become food!

[Athens222]

19 hours ago, Masmassu said:

It will be hard to implent al the negatiiv effcts on them and maybe unplayble in som wayes when yore caracter just runs out naked and become food!

Not really, drugs don't really cause a psych break, you still know what you're doing. Let's take a few drugs as an example. Heroin would make you far more tolerant to pain. Let's say you're in huge pain after a car crash, an option would be taking heroin/morphine to not be in any pain. Meth would make able to make more effort, it essentially makes you willing to run and less prone to exhaustion and tiring. Pot/weed would give you a high modifier, remove unhappiness and boredom. However, these drugs have alot of negatives too. Getting addicted, withdrawal, anxiety/pain attack, etc..

[Masmassu]

No its several side effects on drugges and it have to be an big chanse that you OD and probebly die sins you have no ide how strong the substans is and so on...

[TrailerParkThor]

Devs have said drugs won't come. There's some lines they don't want to cross: Children getting killed/eaten, r*pe, and illegal drugs to name a few. However, other legal prescription drugs may be on the table. They wouldn't be brand/scientific name, but would be similar to the currently implemented Sleeping Tablets, Beta Blockers, Anti-Depressants, and Painkillers. I always imagine Sleeping Tablets as Ambien, Painkillers as Oxycontin, and Anti-Depressants as Prozac; but they don't put those names in the game so as not to promote their usage. I think there is room for a few more, though, that would have useful effects for survival in Knox Country:

 

- Caffeine - We already have coffee, but sodas should also give the player a smaller Tired loss. There's also room for energy drinks that give a way higher Tired loss, but perhaps slightly increase Boredom at the same time.

- Antacids - Like Tums or Pepto-Bismol. Would help combat Nausea. Would be better if a Food/Cooking Overhaul comes in the future with more ways to get food poisoning/upset stomach.

- Anti-Inflammation Pills - Like Ibuprofen or Tylenol. Essentially weaker Painkillers, but with no risk of addiction/overdose. Would also be useful if and when Hangovers are added back. With a deeper injury/illness system somewhere on the horizon, maybe could be useful for headaches if added.

- Anti-Anxiety Tablets - Benzodiazepines llike Xanax or Ativan. Would combat Stress, but also increase the level of Drunk in high doses (would probably need to be renamed to Under the Influence or something). There would be no Hangover or calories from ingesting, however it would also come with a minor debuff to movement speed.

- Stimulants - Amphetamines, so basically just Adderall lol. Would immensely lower levels of Tired and Hunger, but slightly increase Stress and Panic. Could also have a minor buff to movement, attack, and action speed.

- Surgical Painkillers - Couldn't think of a better name, but this would be Morphine. Would completely remove all Pain even in relatively small doses, but would also severely impair movement, attack, and action speed to the point of almost being impossible to do anything but sit or sleep. Would require a syringe to use.

- General Anesthesia - Drugs like Ketamine. Would increase Tired to 100 in a few in-game minutes and immediately put the PC to sleep for a certain amount of time depending on previous levels of Tired. During this sleep, there is a 0% chance of PC waking up for anything, so it must be used in a safe and secure location. Would be good in a potential future Health/Injury Overhaul if surgery becomes a thing, and NPCs/other players can use it to keep you from experiencing Pain while it is being performed on you. Would require a syringe to use.

- Local Anesthesia - Drugs like Lidocaine. Would have almost no effect on the player other than preventing Pain in a certain area while doing minor medical procedures like sewing up a wound. Could also be useful in oral surgeries like pulling teeth if devs or modders ever add oral hygiene and it's consequences to the game. Would require a syringe to use.

 

On top of all these things, I think every drug in the game should have a potential for overdose. Currently, only Sleeping Tablets do, but it is possible to OD on any drug; even though some may not be lethal. Anti-Depressants, Caffeine, Antacids, and Anti-Inflammation Pills should only raise the level of Sick and make them nauseous for a day or two when taking too much. However, Painkillers, Sleeping Tablets, Anti-Anxiety Tablets, Stimulants, Surgical Painkillers, and General Anesthesia should have a varying limit to how much you can take before the PC kicks the bucket. Some will be very high, and some relatively low. However, mixing them should usually lower the threshold altogether. Local Anesthesia is a difficult one to figure out, but I think it makes sense that an 'overdose' should just make the part of the body it was used on incapacitated for a few days. Essentially, you could accidentally paralyze a body part if not careful. I think when it comes to the IV drugs, the amount you use would have an RNG variable that decreases based on your current First Aid skill level. So a Level 1 would basically have a chance to use so little it has no effect, or so much you instantly OD, and everything in between. However, a Level 10 will always use the correct amount for the situation.

 

Addiction is also a mechanic I'd like to see fleshed out a lot more in future builds. Currently, you can be addicted to nicotine and that's about it. There used to be an Alcoholic trait as well, but it was removed presumably until NPCs are added and the Hangover/Anger moodles are reimplemented. I think we could easily break down the rest of the potential drug addictions into 2 traits: Tweaker and Junkie. Tweakers are addicted to uppers like Caffeine and Stimulants. They need to take them every day or else they get extremely irritable, raising their Boredom, Panic, and Anger (when reimplemented) to extreme levels. They will also sleep for 24-36 hours straight if they don't take them for a couple days. Junkies are addicted to downers like Sleeping Tablets, Anti-Anxiety Tablets, and both types of Painkillers. They also need to take them every day or else they will start to get withdrawals. The PC will wake up the next day with max levels of Sick and Unhappy. These will decrease by 1 for each hour that passes in-game. Meaning you can ride out the withdrawals, but it will take ~4 days to feel normal again. During this time, Tired increases at a 25% rate, meaning sleep is almost impossible. Taking downers again will trigger the same effect the next time you stop taking them. However, I think this is the perfect time to expand the system by which players can gain and lose traits. Currently. the only traits the PC can gain and lose are the Fitness traits, Strength traits, Weight traits, Claustrophobia/Agoraphobia, and the Desensitized trait. I think almost every single trait should be able to be earned and lost, with the exception of a few that wouldn't really make much sense to do so with. Smokers who don't smoke a cig for 3 days should have their Stress level lowered. After 3 weeks, they shouldn't be stressed at all. However, if they smoke another cigarette, it will reset. It will take 3 months to break the habit completely and lose the trait. This would be the same with all addict traits. Gaining the traits should work in reverse. Doing a drug category 3 days in a row should cause the negative effects when not taking it for a day, however the PC wont gain the trait yet so it should be manageable if you don't keep it up. 3 weeks of use without 2 or more days without using should give the trait. However, it can be lost with 3 days of no drugs. After 3 months of use without a break of 4 or more days, it becomes a serious addiction and you have to do the previous steps to lose it.

 

Bonus idea: Marijuana. Although still highly illegal in 1993, cannabis has since been legalized in many areas around the world. 5 different nations and 19 of the states in the US have completely legalized it. As well as 38 other nations and 20 states have a mix of decriminalization/medicinal legalization. That's a pretty good chunk of the world, and these countries are home to a vast majority of the playerbase for PZ. Although, when this project began in 2011, the legal status of this substance was very much in a different place; things have changed drastically over the last decade. By the time 1.0 finally releases, I would not be surprised if most of the 1st world nations of the world have legalized weed. So, that being said, I think it's OK if the devs bring pot into Knox Country. It doesn't need to be romanticized or super in-depth, but I think a basic system where you can find cannabis buds and roll them into joints with sheets or paper, newspaper, or emptied cigarettes would be a good way to greatly reduce Stress levels, while at the same time increasing Hunger and Tired. Perhaps you could even have a chance to get a seed from rolling and be able to grow your own. Imagine the fun of starting a pot farm and becoming the weed kingpin of Knox on MP servers LOL! If the devs don't want to, that's totally understandable, however I don't think there would be any serious repercussions or backlash from adding it.