Vehicles Getting Stuck Off-Road

[Bullet_Magnate]

Right now it seems like there's not much penalty for driving off-road except (I think) increased tire wear.  

 

IRL, driving off-road with vehicles not suited for it can easily result in them getting stuck, sometimes badly. 

 

This would definitely be relevant in PZ, as ending up in a disabled vehicle surrounded by zeds is exceedingly dangerous.  

 

(As an aside, I'd also like to see the possibility of vehicles sliding / skidding / spinning when road conditions are poor (pooled water / mud / snow), but I think that may be a bigger step since it involves tinkering significantly with vehicle physics (?).)  

[Pandorea]

Driving is pretty dangerous (in game) as is, is it not? 

 

Some cars have harder time when traversing off-road areas, too. Is there a specific vehicle you have in mind that could benefit from this mechanic?

[Bullet_Magnate]

On 2/16/2023 at 6:02 AM, Pandorea said:

Driving is pretty dangerous (in game0 as is, is it not? 

 

Some cars have harder time when traversing off-road areas, too. Is there a specific vehicle you have in mind that could benefit from this mechanic?

 

It certainly can be dangerous, but I think people learn pretty quickly to control their speed and avoid plowing through massive hordes.  I always keep those things in mind while driving, and I honestly can't remember the last time I had a character die or suffer serious harm from a crash. 

 

There's not a specific vehicle I had in mind, but there are definitely some vehicles that would / should be more susceptible, especially ones with small wheels / engines (like little compact cars) or that are built low to the road or tend to spin their wheels easily (like sports cars).  Cars that are higher up and/or have engines built more for torque than speed (like pickups and SUVs) should have an easier time. 

 

I think this idea occurred to me when I was pretty consistently driving a small compact car through a muddy field (or what looked like one anyway), and found myself thinking that I'd never do that in reality for fear of getting the car stuck.  Having cars be more susceptible to environmental limitations like that might also be a way to nerf cars a little without having to make them unrealistically fragile (e.g., having the engine deteriorate rapidly from running down squishy zeds).  

 

Edit:  This could also add some fun tension to the game, especially if there were way(s) to free / "unstick" the car.  Imagine frantically trying to get the car unstuck as the zeds get closer.  Would be a fun change from the old "engine won't start" trope.  

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Bullet_Magnate
fixing typo