access to tv ans dvds

[darthdraken]

How about dvds for the bored problem i see tvs in the game and if electricity is still going or you have a generator. Then why not a tv?

I would think it would be a good way to attract zombies to a house so you can get to another house.

[American Steel]

Even if nothing is broadcasting, being able to turn on a radio or a TV for a diverson (white noise) would be a nice option.  I think this has been suggested before, but I am to lazy to search.

 

Having any sort of old entertainment would be nice, but it is very short lived.  As soon as the power fails, most of those luxeries become paper weights.  That said, having something you could put a battery in and still play tunes (like a CD walkman or a cassette player) would be cool.  Stumbling across a cassette recorder with some other survivors journal would be creepy/cool too!

[Connall]

Even if nothing is broadcasting, being able to turn on a radio or a TV for a diverson (white noise) would be a nice option.  I think this has been suggested before, but I am to lazy to search.

 

Having any sort of old entertainment would be nice, but it is very short lived.  As soon as the power fails, most of those luxeries become paper weights.  That said, having something you could put a battery in and still play tunes (like a CD walkman or a cassette player) would be cool.  Stumbling across a cassette recorder with some other survivors journal would be creepy/cool too!

 

Yeah TV has been talked about a fair bit, think it was even partially talked about in the distractions thread but not turning up links, since I can't use the forums search function. Using them as distractions and curbing boredom a little bit, which personally no matter how short lived I think it would be an amazing idea! I kind of hope one day we see speech coming from the TV's as like little soap operas that have been written (I heard Will has a thing for Coronation Street? ) for the game. Heh. One can hope I guess.

 

As for your original suggestion, yeah I'm almost certain it's been talked about, but hey a bit of new discussion never hurt anyone. Don't know if anyone suggested DVD's though. Haven't seen much about that, perhaps they would be able to help with boredom and depression in the game. At least until the power goes out, but then we have generators so we never have to miss a TV show, even in the apocalypse.

[Jatta Pake]

TVs and DVDs could increase Depression though if they remind the Survivor of everything they lost.

 

Anyone who watched the first season of the Discovery Channel's reality TV show "The Colony" may remember the brainiacs using highway dept. solar panels and car battery arrays to generate power for their scavenged power tools.  Maybe they hooked up a radio too?  In any event, if generators are introduced into the game, there isn't a reason TVs couldn't as well.

[Connall]

TVs and DVDs could increase Depression though if they remind the Survivor of everything they lost.

 

That is very true, maybe it could really depend on the sort of character you have whether it gives you a boost, or a negative effect?

[Jatta Pake]

 

TVs and DVDs could increase Depression though if they remind the Survivor of everything they lost.

 

That is very true, maybe it could really depend on the sort of character you have whether it gives you a boost, or a negative effect?

 

 

Yes you could have traits like "Optimist" and "Pessimist".  The Optimist trait gains sadness/boredom reduction with certain types/class of entertainment (magazines, DVDs) while the Pessimist trait just makes you more depressed.

[StormSurge707]

If they add working TVs. then I can watch TV while playing PZ on my TV.

 

c:

[ApolloDiaspora]

Can't see why you couldn't recharge/power a dvd player from an appropriately Mad Max-esque power source in-game, but the amount of time and effort needed to balance voltage and current to avoid slagging the sensitive electronics would be another thing entirely. That said, the petrol powered generators you could find about the place (campers, etc) should be able to power them effortlessly. Well, relatively effortlessly, given the fact you're needing to risk life and limb to keep it running.

 

Anyway, personally, I think stereos and portable CD players (think a small boombox) fit the survivor-esque nature of PZ in the long term. You can listen to music while you shore up the wall keeping the zeds away, plant a crop, or do one of the million things a survivor needs to thrive at the end of the world. Kicking back and watching TV, tuning out the world around you... Not so much. Especially since that distraction could be fatal.

[American Steel]

Kicking back and watching TV, tuning out the world around you... Not so much. Especially since that distraction could be fatal.

 

Yeah, that banging on the walls is not your neighbors telling you to turn it down.  Hold on... it could be your neighbors?!? 

[ac30fspad35]

Even if nothing is broadcasting, being able to turn on a radio or a TV for a diverson (white noise) would be a nice option.  I think this has been suggested before, but I am to lazy to search.

 

Having any sort of old entertainment would be nice, but it is very short lived.  As soon as the power fails, most of those luxeries become paper weights.  That said, having something you could put a battery in and still play tunes (like a CD walkman or a cassette player) would be cool.  Stumbling across a cassette recorder with some other survivors journal would be creepy/cool too!

you have to remember though the developers has discussed about alternate power sources like generators or solar panels 

 

and they even talked about playing music on an ipod.

 

so some of these ideas are feasible.

[American Steel]

 

Even if nothing is broadcasting, being able to turn on a radio or a TV for a diverson (white noise) would be a nice option.  I think this has been suggested before, but I am to lazy to search.

 

Having any sort of old entertainment would be nice, but it is very short lived.  As soon as the power fails, most of those luxeries become paper weights.  That said, having something you could put a battery in and still play tunes (like a CD walkman or a cassette player) would be cool.  Stumbling across a cassette recorder with some other survivors journal would be creepy/cool too!

you have to remember though the developers has discussed about alternate power sources like generators or solar panels 

 

and they even talked about playing music on an ipod.

 

so some of these ideas are feasible.

 

 

I only look at the game from where it is now and what is in the current Mondoids.  I treat everything else as possible vaporware.  If it rolls around in the game, great.  If not, then I am not disappointed.  We are in Alpha after all.

 

If they are going to bring solar panels into play then we need an electrician skill set.  If they are going to bring generators, then we need a mechanic skill set.  Which also may be coming in too.  If we don't have the basics covered, it going to be hard to think about the advanced stuff.  Something as simple as a station bicycle hooked up to about 12 car batteries would give the potential for a lot of short run power, or playing a some sort of loaded MP3 player, well... forever

[FreeJayFly]

My fiancé and I actually speculate a lot on what has been discussed in this thread. We've talked about possibly seeing generators be something of a possibility, and solar panels would be something that'd be awesome to see -- though I would imagine that ladders would be useful in that scenario as well (climbing onto the rooftops and all to install solar panels -- if you weren't going to put them up in an open yard). I agree with mechanic and electrician skill sets coming into play with these things -- I mean, what if you'd like to have air conditioning at some point as well and there's an implemented AC/heater? That'd be pretty nice for not freezing/overheating over night, I think.

 

Though, more on topic to the DVDs and watching TV, while I would much love to see this becoming a reality in the game, there was another thought that came to mind that seemed plausible for not becoming bored. With batteries being an item, I could very much also see handhelds (GameBoy, GamePak, etc.) being something of  mood lifter. Like books, it'd probably be preferable to use at your safe house, though I figure it'd also be less of a horde caller as opposed to a television running. And speaking of the television, maybe even consoles that can be hooked up.

 

Mostly bringing that up to perchance counter the negative effect brought by some DVDs -- though, on the other hand, the suggestion about traits of Optimism and Pessimism would be a pretty nice feature. Or maybe some DVDs have different effects. Like a nature documentary may make the character bored, or sad depending on the subject matter. A drama could make a character depressed, maybe? A comedy could lift spirits and make them a little happier. I mean, the possibilities for incorporating different genres are pretty broad.