Jump to content

More (Useless?) Stuff


Jatta Pake

Recommended Posts

I found the Cube yesterday for the first time and I was really excited.  I know there isn't a use for it now but it got me thinking...

 

1. Part of the fun and challenge of Project Zomboid is sifting through loot.  Sometimes you have to make interesting decisions on what to take and what to leave behind.  I suspect the Cube, Playing Cards, and Yoyo will eventually have Boredom reducing properties but I enjoy finding them anyways even if they don't have a purpose.  

 

2. It adds humanity to the game and reminds the player that regular people used to live there.

 

My list of "More (Useless?) Stuff" that would I think would be cool to see in game:

 

* Chess

* Board game

* Cologne/Perfume

* Soap

* Compact Mirror

* Boots

* Magnifying Glass

* Whistle

* Fishing rod

* Ant Farm

* Toy Robot

* Camera

* Skateboard

* Tuxedo

* Evening Gown

* Vacuum Cleaner

* Feather Duster

* Oil Paints and Canvas

* Kite

* Shampoo

* Paper Money

* Brown Paper Bag

* Lip Balm

* Credit Cards

* Pliers

* Cordless Drill

* Light Bulbs

* Soccer Ball

* Basket Ball

* Blender

* Toaster

* File Folder

* Thumb Tacks

* Car Keys

* Framed Photo

* Cardboard Box

* Oil Can

* Pair of Skis

* Boxing Gloves

* Porcelain Knick Knacks

* Potted Plant

* Garden Gnome

* Can of Tennis Balls

* Tennis Racquet

* Pair of Slippers

* Iron

* Ironing Board

* Cowboy Hat

* Lifejacket

* Paddle

* Rat Poison

* Bug Spray

* Stapler

* Kazoo

* Harmonica

* Birthday Candles

* Flowers in Vase

* Globe

* Pair of Glasses

* Bicycle Pump

* Laundry Basket

* Dog Leash

* Cat Litter Box

* Stamp Collection

* Rare Coin

* Antique Lamp

* Baseball Cards

* Crocheted Pillow "Grandma Loves Me"

* Flute

* Bean Bag

* Chopsticks

* Mouthwash

* Chewing Gum

* Cigar

* Bowling Ball

* Roller Skate

* Hockey Stick

* Jump Rope

* Kaleidoscope

* Clown Nose

* Rubber Chicken

* Umbrella

* Piece of Pipe

* Ship-in-a-Bottle

* Length of Chain

* Video Collection

* TV Remote Control

* Baseball Glove

* Salt and Pepper Shakers

* Belt Buckle

* Fly Swatter

* Box of Crayons

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the end of the world without some creature comforts to remind us of our decadent past?

 

I think the whole "collectible" game within a game has potential.  Not only do you strive to build the most bad ass fortress safe house, but you collect a lot of cool stuff too.

 

"The road to West Point was long and dangerous, but it was the only way to get that Rare Coin hidden in the back of Spiffos."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of these could actually be turned into useless items, but I don't know how I feel about clutter for the sake of clutter.

 

I will try to persuade you.  Arguments for More (Useless?) Stuff:

 

1. The vast majority of the items in PZ have a use so there is no choices required when looting.  Grab everything and run.  More "clutter" requires making choices when looting.

 

2.  Clutter already exists in game.  How many forks, spoons, vests, and skirts can a world have?  And let's not forget Lipstick, Combs and Wallets.  Those items are clutter for clutter's sake.

 

3.  More clutter (if moderated and limited) provides more variety.  It keeps the game interesting.  You get more, "Hey, never seen that before!" moments.

 

4.  It increases the learning curve.  Yes, it would make the game harder as players must determine if something is important or not as they find things.  Right now, players can remember "Ignore spoons".  Easy.  But what about a "Dog Leash"?  Is that useful?

 

5.  Communicates a subtle message about our humanity.  I found a "Globe"?  Do I need that to survive a zombie apocalypse?  Probably not.  But is there inherent value in the things that aren't survival related?  Maybe a globe reminds the character of a lost world.

 

6.  Makes looting take longer.  This creates tension. Rather than cleaning a house out in five minutes, players will stop and ponder the potential importance of a "TV Remote Control".  This gives zombies more time to get to the player's succulent and deliberating brains.

 

7.  Creates more work to the Wiki guy.  :)

 

8.  More items create more of an RPG feel for the game.  When a character loots a store, it would be fun to see piles of useless money scattered about to remind my character of a lost world.  "All this free money and no one cares anymore."

 

When I first started playing, I was initially panicked when I was confronted with looting the contents of my starting house.  "Oh my God!  I need it all!"  But I couldn't carry it all.  Part of the zombie apocalypse is the reduction of humanity to its basic survival skills.  We are surrounded by stuff, literally drowning in a sea of clutter in our modern lives, but the zombie apocalypse shows the pointlessness of it all.  You can't have it all and survive long in PZ.  You have to make choices.

 

How'd I do?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Some of these could actually be turned into useless items, but I don't know how I feel about clutter for the sake of clutter.

 

I will try to persuade you.  Arguments for More (Useless?) Stuff:

 

1. The vast majority of the items in PZ have a use so there is no choices required when looting.  Grab everything and run.  More "clutter" requires making choices when looting.

 

2.  Clutter already exists in game.  How many forks, spoons, vests, and skirts can a world have?  And let's not forget Lipstick, Combs and Wallets.  Those items are clutter for clutter's sake.

 

3.  More clutter (if moderated and limited) provides more variety.  It keeps the game interesting.  You get more, "Hey, never seen that before!" moments.

 

4.  It increases the learning curve.  Yes, it would make the game harder as players must determine if something is important or not as they find things.  Right now, players can remember "Ignore spoons".  Easy.  But what about a "Dog Leash"?  Is that useful?

 

5.  Communicates a subtle message about our humanity.  I found a "Globe"?  Do I need that to survive a zombie apocalypse?  Probably not.  But is there inherent value in the things that aren't survival related?  Maybe a globe reminds the character of a lost world.

 

6.  Makes looting take longer.  This creates tension. Rather than cleaning a house out in five minutes, players will stop and ponder the potential importance of a "TV Remote Control".  This gives zombies more time to get to the player's succulent and deliberating brains.

 

7.  Creates more work to the Wiki guy.   :)

 

8.  More items create more of an RPG feel for the game.  When a character loots a store, it would be fun to see piles of useless money scattered about to remind my character of a lost world.  "All this free money and no one cares anymore."

 

When I first started playing, I was initially panicked when I was confronted with looting the contents of my starting house.  "Oh my God!  I need it all!"  But I couldn't carry it all.  Part of the zombie apocalypse is the reduction of humanity to its basic survival skills.  We are surrounded by stuff, literally drowning in a sea of clutter in our modern lives, but the zombie apocalypse shows the pointlessness of it all.  You can't have it all and survive long in PZ.  You have to make choices.

 

How'd I do?

 

 

Plus it would be more realistic, I'm all for as many mostly useless items as possible.

 

 

You must remember that while most items wouldn't be massively useful, there would be some ways to use them. Dog lead would be needed if you find a dog and make friends. Birthday candles would just be a crappy candle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well, i see a fishing pole, a life jacket and a paddle. so may as well throw a raft, fishing tube or canoe in there. of course that means we would be needing basic fishing gear like hooks, line, weights and bait or lures of some sort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well, i see a fishing pole, a life jacket and a paddle. so may as well throw a raft, fishing tube or canoe in there. of course that means we would be needing basic fishing gear like hooks, line, weights and bait or lures of some sort.

 

Fishing system is planned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Some of these could actually be turned into useless items, but I don't know how I feel about clutter for the sake of clutter.

 

I will try to persuade you.  Arguments for More (Useless?) Stuff:

 

1. The vast majority of the items in PZ have a use so there is no choices required when looting.  Grab everything and run.  More "clutter" requires making choices when looting.

 

2.  Clutter already exists in game.  How many forks, spoons, vests, and skirts can a world have?  And let's not forget Lipstick, Combs and Wallets.  Those items are clutter for clutter's sake.

 

3.  More clutter (if moderated and limited) provides more variety.  It keeps the game interesting.  You get more, "Hey, never seen that before!" moments.

 

4.  It increases the learning curve.  Yes, it would make the game harder as players must determine if something is important or not as they find things.  Right now, players can remember "Ignore spoons".  Easy.  But what about a "Dog Leash"?  Is that useful?

 

5.  Communicates a subtle message about our humanity.  I found a "Globe"?  Do I need that to survive a zombie apocalypse?  Probably not.  But is there inherent value in the things that aren't survival related?  Maybe a globe reminds the character of a lost world.

 

6.  Makes looting take longer.  This creates tension. Rather than cleaning a house out in five minutes, players will stop and ponder the potential importance of a "TV Remote Control".  This gives zombies more time to get to the player's succulent and deliberating brains.

 

7.  Creates more work to the Wiki guy.   :)

 

8.  More items create more of an RPG feel for the game.  When a character loots a store, it would be fun to see piles of useless money scattered about to remind my character of a lost world.  "All this free money and no one cares anymore."

 

When I first started playing, I was initially panicked when I was confronted with looting the contents of my starting house.  "Oh my God!  I need it all!"  But I couldn't carry it all.  Part of the zombie apocalypse is the reduction of humanity to its basic survival skills.  We are surrounded by stuff, literally drowning in a sea of clutter in our modern lives, but the zombie apocalypse shows the pointlessness of it all.  You can't have it all and survive long in PZ.  You have to make choices.

 

How'd I do?

 

 

1. I disagree. If you have all these items that do something, what it actually becomes is: "I have x amount of space. Item Y makes item Z. Yet, item m, makes item n. So which is more important to me?"

 

2. Okay

 

3. Okay.

 

4. I don't think increasing the number of items creates more of a learning curve, more mechanics and use of zombies does that. It basically turns into learning what items are useless and what's not.

 

5. Alright.

 

6. I already argue that's currently the case, see 1.

 

7. I always appreciate more work. :P

 

8. Kind of just talking about reason number 5 again.

 

I'm still partly on the fence about this mainly because you would need to make distribution at least somewhat fair to prevent people finding drawers of useless things that are only there to build the world up. Besides I think alot of players will ignore the subtlety of a Globe and money and will just find them an annoyance. At least in a game like Fallout 3 (not a great comparison I know) the items still have another use if the player spends the time to find that out. Whether it's selling them for money, fixing up weapons and items or crafting. Having items in the game that most players will probably ignore and serve no use is just a waste of space in my opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about seasonal items? Stuff like Christmas lights, Halloween decoration ect.They would mostly serve as collectibles but some components could be used for crafting. 

Especially christmas lights, you could wrap those around a house far from your safehouse by day and turn them on, so at night, that house becomes a sort of "Bait House" for the zombies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

What about seasonal items? Stuff like Christmas lights, Halloween decoration ect.They would mostly serve as collectibles but some components could be used for crafting. 

Especially christmas lights, you could wrap those around a house far from your safehouse by day and turn them on, so at night, that house becomes a sort of "Bait House" for the zombies.

 

Have all those motion activated Halloween props mock Zeds: hand coming out of the ground, ghost coming up out of a barrel, plastic corpse sitting up in the lawn, etc.

 

Could be creepy funny, like something from the movie Zombieland :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

What about seasonal items? Stuff like Christmas lights, Halloween decoration ect.They would mostly serve as collectibles but some components could be used for crafting. 

Especially christmas lights, you could wrap those around a house far from your safehouse by day and turn them on, so at night, that house becomes a sort of "Bait House" for the zombies.

 

dont forget this will be temporary, electricity wont run forever 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

What about seasonal items? Stuff like Christmas lights, Halloween decoration ect.They would mostly serve as collectibles but some components could be used for crafting. 

Especially christmas lights, you could wrap those around a house far from your safehouse by day and turn them on, so at night, that house becomes a sort of "Bait House" for the zombies.

 

dont forget this will be temporary, electricity wont run forever 

 

 

Generators.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, please.

More stuff there is, more immersion. The world is full of useless junk, yet most post apocalyptic games are lacking it. Drawers with one comb, kitchen cabinets with two plates, shelves with only cobwebs on them.

Stuff doesn't just disappear when people die.

 

Agree completely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pheraps we can fin a use for useless things.

 

For example, after build our outpost(house or fortress) the devs can add for each object a grafic in game not only as objects on terrain.

 

I don't know if iam clear enough explain it i try i different way(sorry for my bad english)

 

Those useless items can be used as decoration, for example can be add the option "drop globe on the table" and a globe appear on table as decoration and generate around the player who live there less sadness and boredom.

 

I think with the NPC introduction in game will be implemented some sort of trading, so each object will gain some sort of value and can be traded.

 

A flower pot can be put on a shelf and can be watered to maintain flowers in life.

 

Someone talk about fallout, i play it for long time, 1 2, brotherhood of steel, 3 + expansion... and always the junk items got a value in the trade, even the worst with 1(of value).

 

So the suggestion for me is a good idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that a lot of the useless items should have some use, even if they suck at it.  For example, a dog leash could be used like a sheet rope (with a 90% chance of breaking).  You could roll a globe (and other balls) and have a chance to distract nearby zombies for a second.  You could smack zombies with a fly swatter (but probably shouldn't), ect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...