Bows and Arrows

[CatGuitarist]

New Suggestion! Lets start. 

What about adding a bow in the game? I made one myself with a PVC pipe and string. I have one wooden arrow though. 

Weight would be a problem, as i had to tie the arrow to the bow's handle..

Maybe an arrow holster...?

[Sieben]

Heya guys, I'm going to throw together a quick list of things that are commonly suggested and whether they've been mentioned by devs as tentative or no's. I'm going to be basing this off of a few threads in the old forum and the top of my head. If I miss any please mention it in the thread and I'll add it to the list.

 

Key

[n] - This is a confirmed 'No' from the development team. Please don't waste your time or ours reposting unless there's something relevant and new about it

[y] - This is confirmed 'Yes' from the development team. This is something the definitely want to see in the game, but this does not constitute a guarantee. Please don't post about it unless you have something new or relevant to add.

[m] - This is a 'maybe' from the dev team. It's something they've mentioned that they were interested in but we still don't know if it's a confirmed feature. Please don't post about it unless you have something new or relevant to add.

Everything else - everything not marked would be something overwhelmingly decided by the community or that's self-evident. If you feel it needs discussion bring it up here or in a thread if there's not already one out there.

 

The Big No's!

These are a list of things that are either vehemently opposed by the majority of the community, confirmed "no's" by the dev team, or impossible within the game as it is. I'm going to try to make this completely unbiased, but if you disagree with anything posted feel free to mention it. The most important ones are highlighted in red. If you take nothing else from this thread, please pay attention to these.

 

 

         Aerosol Can + Lighter = Flamethrower

[n]    Beginning the game before the infection

[n]    Children or babies

[n]    An ending or any game over other than death

[n]    First Person or any other viewpoint changes

[n]    Immunity/Cure

[n]    Military Aid

        Mini Maps

[n]    Morality or Karma meter

          Nudity

          Nukes

[n]    Overpowered weapons/specific firearms

          Overpowered Vehicles/Tanks

[n]    Personal Hygiene (going to the bathroom, etc.)

          Playing as a zombie

[n]    Porting/Console Version

[n]    Random generated maps

[n]    Rape

[n]    Respawning/Quicksaving

[n]    Sex

[n]    "Special" Infected or any type of superhuman zombies

          Specific named weapons (such as AK47, M14, etc.)

[n]    Unlimited/large amounts of ammo and weapons

[n]    Voiceover

[n]    Zombie Beasts or Infected Animals

[n]    Zombie Camo, or Using Zombie Guts as a Disguise

 

Tentative Yes's

These things are things that either the community overwhelmingly supports or the devs have already said they're interested in adding. These things do not need further threads, so please refrain.

 

 

[y]    Ability to lock doors

[y]   Animals

[y]   Hunting

[m]   Armor

[y]    Barricading with furniture

[Added]   Bodies of water 

[y]    Bows and Crossbows

[y]    Cauterizing wounds

[y]    Car Batteries

[y]    Chainsaw

[y]    Cleaning up corpses/blood

[Added]    Crawling Zombies

[y]    Dogs

[y]    Electronics

[y]   Feral Animals

[y]    Generators

[y]    iPods

[y]    Malnutrition

[y]    Area Maps (no location marker)

[y]    More animations

[y]    More map content

[y]    More weapons

[y]    More jobs

[y]    More sprites

[Soon] More Baldspot and Kate

[y]    More/Different sneaking animations

[y]    Movable items (such as wheelie bins)

[Soon] NPC's (of all types, good and bad)

[Soon] NPC relationships

[Soon] NPC companions

[Soon] NPC infection

[Soon] NPC management

[y]    Online Multiplayer

[y]    Passing out

[y]    Profanity Filter

[Added]    Rain Barrels

[y]    Suicide

[y]    Sadist Movie Director

[m]   Sleep quality

[y]    Sewers and basements

[y]    Traps

[Added]    Unarmed combat

[y]    Vehicles

 

Already confirmed

[syfy]

i've tried a few 75-85 pound compound bows, i would have serious doubts about it being powerful enough to puncture a skull. even a 4 bladed arrowhead with a shaft of aluminum or kevlar may not be enough, unless you can go in thru the ear or the eye

[harakka]

even a 4 bladed arrowhead

Bladed shapes are generally not very desirable for penetrating hard surfaces.

[Kajin]

i've tried a few 75-85 pound compound bows, i would have serious doubts about it being powerful enough to puncture a skull. even a 4 bladed arrowhead with a shaft of aluminum or kevlar may not be enough, unless you can go in thru the ear or the eye

Arrows from a regular bow used by medieval bowmen could reliably pierce a person's skull through a metal helmet if it hit. With modern compound bows and modern arrows skull puncture is a sure thing

[Rathlord]

It wouldn't be a problem with a 70+ pound longbow (as an owner of one). Keep in mind that compound bows and crossbows are actually much more common (and in general, much more powerful) than longbows, though. Trust me, they'd have no problem with it.

[CatGuitarist]

Ok, i am in my friend's house

Check ZombieGoBoom, it shows that crossbows and bows can puncture a skull pretty easily, and surprisingly deal more damage when they have no head...

[grogbro]

xbows and bows would be awesome...loving how this game is shaping up. 

 

Hopefully no 'mutant' anything...just lots and lots of zombies. 

[syfy]

Ok, i am in my friend's house

Check ZombieGoBoom, it shows that crossbows and bows can puncture a skull pretty easily, and surprisingly deal more damage when they have no head...

 

 

when i'm wrong, i'm wrong.

and i readily admit to being so.

[silents429]

Not to mention they AREEE rotting corpses being shot at.

[Rathlord]

Ehh, bone doesn't really rot. The marrow goes away eventually and it loses some flexibility, but bone stays strong long enough that it wouldn't make much difference. That's one of the things that has always really disgusted me about TWD zombies with their flapjack skulls.

[silents429]

Ehh, bone doesn't really rot. The marrow goes away eventually and it loses some flexibility, but bone stays strong long enough that it wouldn't make much difference. That's one of the things that has always really disgusted me about TWD zombies with their flapjack skulls.

I. I can't believe I said that.

Like seriously even without your response I don't know why the frack I would have said that.

Im going to go into my corner.

[Rathlord]

Too much TWD

[Kajin]

I think they described it something like the minerals were being leached out of the bones? To be fair that would make bones a lot softer... I just don't know what sort of biological mechanism would be needed for that to actually happen. There aren't any that I'm aware of that could do that.

[Rathlord]

I've got bones in the woods from deer I killed almost a decade ago that are still firm. Insects eat the marrow sometimes, but there's not much marrow in the skull anyways, and there would have to actually be insects which is arguable for zombies at best.

[silents429]

Too much TWD

Never watched it.

[Jago]

The chance to hit the head of a zombie with a bow are pretty slim for average Joe. I tried it out myself once, trying to hit balloons from a distance of 20m. Without a lot of practice most shots will miss, so bows shouldn't be very effective against undead imho unless you train your survivor intensively. Crossbows might be a better choice.

(Hey, what do you think about crafting targets for training with bow and crossbow?!)

 

But bows should still be available of course, for hunting and for fighting NPCs. Your human enemies will fear nothing more than taking an arrow to the knee during the zombie apocalypse.

[Rathlord]

Aye, would like to see it get it's own skill for sure.

[fionnmarr]

Ah.. In the real world my 45 lb draw recurve long bow will put a carbon fibre arrow with a solid steel tapered pile through a car door at about 30-40 meters. 

 

Ah.. what a misspent youth I had...

 

As for the chances to hit. Why not factor in the skill of "Aim" already in the game? Keep it simple and assume a person who is a crack shot with a pistol could also be a crack shot with a bow once they achieve a familiarity with the weapon and have a bit of practice. It's a game after all, so the question is just how complicated do the Devs want to make it?

 

And crossbows.. oh wow I hope they bring those in. All my fantasies about being Daryl from Walking Dead suddenly get a huge boost... 

[Kajin]

I don't think making any gun skills also work for bows is a good idea. It just doesn't feel right.

[silents429]

Bows and guns don't work the same even if you get familiar with one or the other.

[fionnmarr]

Like I said. It depends on how complicated the Devs want to make the game. Note that the category is is "Combat" and the skills are "Aim" and "Reload" etc. 

 

Nowhere is the word "Gun" mentioned. Other people have suggested the ability to throw knives and rocks. If all that was brought in would you suggest a separate "Aim" and "Reload" skill for bow type weapons? Which would start diluting the exchange of experience to skill points. What about throwing knives? Would they also need a separate "Aim" and "Reload" skill? Or be covered by "Blade"? And if they are then that's not very realistic is it? Your ability to throw a knife effectively has nothing to do with how well you stab something with it.

 

The more skills you have the more specialized you need to be or the more time you need to spend grinding for xp. And don't we all love grinding for xp. 

 

Project Zomboid works because the skill set is simple. It fits neatly on one drop down window and covers all aspects the character needs to survive in game. 

 

If they do introduce bows, throwing knives, hell even a home made trebuchet, then having one skill to determine your chance of hitting your target keeps the game simple and fun. 

[dra6o0n]

What about leather slings crafted out of a belt, used to sling small rocks? Inexperienced slinging won't do much but cause concussion or minor injury to players, but a very experienced slinging can result in high velocity rocks which can kill anyone if hit on the head, and do decent injury and even chance of breaking bones. I'm talking about baseball sized rocks, shot at high velocity like an arrow.

When ranged weapons, not firearms are involved, a ranged skill is needed which is based on a dexterity factor.

When you aim, you must be stationary. You hold the fire button to charge a gauge up, which if you let go will determine if you hit or miss and damage done. You can stop aiming to avoid hitting friendlies during charge up.

[Ewok]

Given that 'blunt' and 'blade' weapons are viewed by the devs as being distinct enough to warrant separate skills, I'm guessing that bows and guns will be treated differently skills-wise as well. Just my guess then.

[dra6o0n]

Given that 'blunt' and 'blade' weapons are viewed by the devs as being distinct enough to warrant separate skills, I'm guessing that bows and guns will be treated differently skills-wise as well. Just my guess then.

Firearms skill and Ranged skill works.

We dont need reload and aim if they are within each one.