training It's about Power!

[GG Cannon]

This is a complementary post to my previous DDD post, but its content are absolutely stand alone and could be implemented a lot more easily, with very little to no coding needed.

Suggested recipe magazine: "Martial Training: DIY practice tools to train at home"

 

Targets

 

Dummy

2 Logs + 4 Nails + 2 Pillows + Scissors + Saw + Hammer
2 Logs + 4 Nails + 1 Sheet + 10 Ripped Sheets + Scissors + Saw + Hammer
2 Logs + 4 Nails + 15 Ripped Sheets + Thread + Needle + Scissors + Saw + Hammer

Skill: Carpentry 1, Tailor 1

 

Counts as a valid target to attacks but only gives 80% of the normal XP per attack back. Causes 70% less condition damage to weapons when being struck.
Has a durability of its own and will break into scrap wood and ripped sheets after it reaches 0.
Weak to slashing damage. Will break faster if attacked with weapons that cut.
Resistant to blunt damage. Will last a lot longer if only attacked with blunt weapons.
Hitting it should also give a small strength XP.

Shooting Target

2 Logs + 4 Nails + 20 Ripped Sheets + 2 Thread + Needle + Saw + Hammer

Skill: Carpentry 1, Tailor 3

Counts as a valid target to ranged attacks but only gives 80% of the normal XP per attack back.
Has a durability of its own and will break into scrap wood and ripped sheets after it reaches 0.
Resistant to all ranged damage. Will last a lot longer if only attacked with ranged weapons.
 

Practice Weapons

These would be fake wooden weapons in order to practice against dummies.

All of them would have low durability, but can be crafted out of wood and would have blunt damage even though they'd give XP to their respective weapon type.

 

Wooden Axe

(2 Planks or 1 Log) + 4 Nails + Saw + Hammer + Sandpaper (new item)

 

Wooden Pole
(2 Versions: Short and Long)

Short: 1 Plank + Saw + Sandpaper
 Long: 1 Log + Saw + Sandpaper

 

Wooden Sword

1 Log + Saw or Knife + Sandpaper

 

Wooden Dagger

1 Plank + Saw or Knife + Sandpaper

Wooden Spear

1 Log + 1 Plank + 4 Nails + Saw or Knife + Sandpaper + Hammer
 

Sandpaper [Crafting] - Item needed to craft and shape wooden objects with rounded edges.
Weight- 0.1 - Common

20 Sheet of Paper + Sand Bag + 5 Glue = 20 Sandpaper

 

 

• Is it somewhat realistic?
  Yes, practice weapons and targets have been used across history to develop one's fighting skills.
   

• Does it fit with the spirit of PZ?
  Yes. Training your skills for survival using every means possible is perfectly aligned with the spirit of PZ
   

• Would it make the game too easy?
  No. It would provide one extra reasonable safe source of weapons XP and a little strength XP but it would require dedication and grinding which could all still be lost in case of character death.
   

• Would it require rewriting the entire game (like changing the camera view, for instance)
  No. Not at all. The weapons can be added in the next patch and the dummy and target could possibly be programmed in seconds by making them register in the game as a zombie that can't move or attack with a different model and giving it a few parameters to for the weaknesses, resistances and reduced condition damage.
   

• Would it add enough to the gameplay that it would be worth taking the time to add?
  Yes. Being able to train your character at the safety of your base to increase weapon skills, specially with "long blade" weapons, which only 2 exist and both are rare, would be invaluable. It is realistic, historically accurate, advised for survival in such an extreme scenario and reasonable.
   

• Would it be found in Muldraugh, Kentucky common enough to be added?
  Since everything is craftable with common tools already present in the game, yes.

Edited October 22, 2022 by GG Cannon

[GG Cannon]

A few things I forgot, both for DDD and this post:

 

Extended Unarmed Combat

 

If your hands are empty, attacking while holding "aim/battle stance (RMB) shouldn't do a push, but a "punch" as long as there is a distance between you and the closest target or no target at all.

TAPPING an attack with LMB should punch with the SECONDARY hand.
HOLDING the LMB should give a strong and slower punch with your PRIMARY hand.
DOUBLE TAPPING within a time window should give a one-two combo, first secondary, then primary.
First TAP and then HOLDING within a time window should give a jab-hook combo, with first the secondary and then primary hand.

Using middle mouse button (MMB) while aiming/battle stance (RMB), would use a kick instead with your "primary leg" (same leg as your primary hand).
The kick would have sightly higher damage as the punch, cause damage towards the legs and have a slightly higher chance to knock down, but kicking while tired would also have a chance to trip you.
Using Middle mouse button (MMB) with a weapon equipped in your primary hand but no weapon on your secondary hand should also do the kick.

Punching and kicking should also have a small chance to cause damage to your hands and feet depending on your strength and if you are wearing protection based on your scratch protection, with the kicking having only 25% of the base chance to hurt yourself that the punch does, but if you are already hurt on your legs, an added chance to trip as well due to losing balance by the pain.

Punching wouldn't use any weapon skills and be solely based on your strength stat for its flat damage with the secondary hand giving 80% damage while the kick would be 120% since the legs are stronger than the arms.

Damage for the primary hand would be:  (3 * Strength) / 40
At strength 1, your punch with a primary hand 0.075 damage (lower than the minimum of a butter knife)
At the average strength 5, your punch cause 0.375 damage (lower than the minimum of a common hammer, close to the maximum of a butter knife)
At max strength 10, your punch would cause 0.75 damage (Average damage of a hammer exactly between min and max, close to the minimum of a baseball bat)

Damage Values

Strength	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Primary	0,075	0,15	0,225	0,3	0,375	0,45	0,525	0,6	0,675	0,75
Secondary	0,06	0,12	0,18	0,24	0,3	0,36	0,42	0,48	0,54	0,6
Kick	0,09	0,18	0,27	0,36	0,45	0,54	0,63	0,72	0,81	0,9

As it doesn't use weapon skill, though, the punches and kicks should provide slightly more strength XP than using weapons for combat.
 

 

This wouldn't be adviseable against zombies, since there is a possibility of you punching their mouth and getting bitten by accident by your own punch, but it could be useful against NPCs, but even against zombies, the kick could be useful in some situations.

It could also be useful in multiplayer, either for non-lethal combat or for training, where two players could fight with only unarmed combat to train their strength even if they belong to the same base.
 

 

Punching Bag

20 Leather Strips + 2 Sand Bag + Rope + Thread + Needle
Skills: Tailor 2

Counts as a valid target to attacks but only gives 80% of the normal XP per attack back.
Has a durability of its own and will break into leather strips after it reaches 0.
Weak to slashing and ranged damage. Will break extremely fast if attacked with weapons that cut or ranged weapons.
Resistant to blunt damage. Will last a lot longer if only attacked with blunt weapons.
Extra resistant against unarmed damage. Will last extremely longer if only attacked with unarmed attacks.


Armor

Some hand protections could provide some increase to punching power.
For example, a future blacksmithing upgrade could introduce "Gauntlets" that provide 100% biting and scratch resistance to your hands, similar to what the helmets are to your head.

Obviously, punching with metal gauntlets on your hands would cause a lot more damage than punching with bare hands.
With some of these, you could even punch a zombie straight in the mouth without a risk of being "bitten by your own punch" at all.

On the "other hand", pun intended, some hand protections wouldn't increase your damage, but would reduce the chance of you hurting your own hands by punching, for example hand wrappings, boxing gloves or leather gloves.

 

Lastly, there is also the possibility of "weapons" that increase your punching damage and reduce your chance of taking damage from your own punches without giving any protection at all, for example the Brass Knuckles.

 

Similarly, there are also some possible new leg protection that could increase your kicking damage and serve as great protection.

Most specifically, the metal Greaves and the more modern version that you could find in the world with smaller protection and damage increase, the soccer Shin Guard.

   

All of these mechanics and items still perfectly fit within the description of both DDD and this original post and fit within the same answers to the important questions, which would make them incredible additions to the game that perfectly fit the spirit of project zomboid.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by GG Cannon

[Avantex65]

Very long, didn't read but indie stone should read this and those images should be in game

Edited October 30, 2022 by Avantex65