PVP Masks and "remembering face" system

[anondogolador]

Well, the PVP system still needs to be highly improved and we all know it. Despite talks about a brilliant new "aggression" system, i think the game still could use a little bit of realism, specially dealing with meeting new survivors and PVP. This will be also very useful for RP servers, making it harder to kill characters for metagaming reasons (like "i hate player X, so i'll hunt his in game character) and making it harder to not be noticed as a raider.

 

My suggestion is this (those who played Haven & Hearth and Space Station 13 are familiar with it)

 

-Every character displays a random name above their face representing their appearance

-If you click "Remember character's face", you'll add the character's number to a friend's list and you'll know that the guy with that number is the guy you saw

-To have a player 'meet' another survivor and know who he is, they must add each other to their friend's list. When a player does that, both players will see their real names above their names unless they're wearing masks

-When players wear 'mask' items (such as balaclavas, ski masks, bandanas, gas masks, surgical masks, cloth masks (Basque separatist style), etc) the player's name/character's number is hidden unless the person speaks, then the chat will show the person's number/name depending on whether the listener knows the raider

-Equipping the mask is similar to equipping a piece of clothing or the backpack. It would be great if every mask had it's own model/sprite, letting players kind of develop their 'village raider uniform' with identical masks and hats. Like a player village of everyone wearing ETA style cloth masks made out of sheets, green pants, black shirts and berets hidden in a forest just waiting to ambush and rob survivors would be awesome.

 

Why i think this idea is so important:

The talks about the revolutionary new aggression system is great, but this system lacks. The ability to just turn on 'aggressive mode' and have no one be able to recognize you sucks because it will make it easier for people to just raid players and just move around undetected. Having the need for masks will make it easier for survivors to recognize raiders (even if you have the skull displaying above the raider character) and harder for people to commit random crimes. Also, this will allow players who want to be burglars but not killers to just put on a mask without the need to turn aggressive on other players.

[MostBestRoleplays]

I don't know how PvP works now, and if names are visible if you turn it on(I'm quite new to the game)

But wouldn't it just be easier to be able to craft a makeshift mask out of sheets or something? You put it on and your name will appear as [Masked] untill you take it off, would be a whole lot easier.

 

Although if that happens everyone will probably be walking around with a mask 24/7.

 

I disagree with everyone being strangers to eachother before adding them to your friends list, it is too much hassle and not everyone is here to roleplay. I bet that when MP gets some more features and scripting possibilities, you can probably script it onto your server.

[anondogolador]

I also almost made a new thread but i think this one is good enough for another suggestion that fits the mask system i proposed.

 

Intra-character interaction

 

To work with the mask system, there is another suggestion that in my humble opinion would greatly improve Project Zomboid's realism.

It's a system for interaction amongst characters similar to Space Station 13:

 

-Handcuffs and similar movement restriction system

-Resist handcuffs system that allows the character to break free from weak handcuffs, such as ropes/sheets tied around the hands with characters having knives equipped on their main inventory having a easier time to cut ropes. Proper handcuffs would be rarer and unbreakable by the handcuffed character. The only way a handcuffed character would get free is if someone opens the handcuffs with a handcuff key or if a third character (like a rescuer) with a saw or a hammer breaks the handcuffs for them (takes some seconds and makes loud noise, alerting zombies and enemy villagers)

-A system that allows you to steal and unequip items from unconscious or restrained characters (for instance, you are raiding a village but they repeal your village's attacks and you get captured during the fighting. They can remove your mask and weapons from you and put handcuffs on you to 'interrogate' you about your village's location)

-If you pass out due to wounds, your friend or a village medic can apply bandages and feed/inject you medicine (assuming we get a medicine system overhaul, which would be great. I think injectable morphine, antibiotics and medicine are very needed) or if the village has a rogue medic that infiltrated them to be a 'fifth column' the rogue medic can poison you while you are unconscious.

-If you equip tissue or socks on mask slot you can't speak. Similarly, you can equip tissue or socks on a restrained/handcuffed character to avoid him from shouting

-A rare 'taser' melee weapon that knocks living characters unconscious but is ineffective on zombies and also injectable sleep toxins. Maybe the ability to make injectable toxins with sleeping pills, water and a medicine bottle. Also, a rare animal dart weapon that is useless on zombies and stealthy but can apply medicine, sleep medicine or poison on players from a distance

I don't know how PvP works now, and if names are visible if you turn it on(I'm quite new to the game)

But wouldn't it just be easier to be able to craft a makeshift mask out of sheets or something? You put it on and your name will appear as [Masked] untill you take it off, would be a whole lot easier.

 

Although if that happens everyone will probably be walking around with a mask 24/7.

That's pretty much what i'm proposing, however players with masks would be regarded as possible raiders and avoided by other players (similar to how Cyrillic languages are a sign of raiders in Haven and Hearth and russians are avoided by westerners), so i see honest survivors not wearing masks.

Players with aggressive mode on but without masks would still have their names/char number ID be displayed above their characters.

Also, it would be better IMO if you needed scissors to craft sheet masks. It would add a little bit of difficulty into being a stealthy raider other than turning on aggressive mode.

[dra6o0n]

Memorization system is done in a game called haven and hearth, and its pvp survival much like dayz.

Except people can kill you with a single punch.

 

When you memorized someone their 'ID' appears in the friend list, and you can label them as you see fit and it'll pop up when they appear. You can also share the description and if you end up befriending one of them, your label gets overwritten.

[MostBestRoleplays]

I also almost made a new thread but i think this one is good enough for another suggestion that fits the mask system i proposed.

 

Intra-character interaction

 

To work with the mask system, there is another suggestion that in my humble opinion would greatly improve Project Zomboid's realism.

It's a system for interaction amongst characters similar to Space Station 13:

 

-Handcuffs and similar movement restriction system

-Resist handcuffs system that allows the character to break free from weak handcuffs, such as ropes/sheets tied around the hands with characters having knives equipped on their main inventory having a easier time to cut ropes. Proper handcuffs would be rarer and unbreakable by the handcuffed character. The only way a handcuffed character would get free is if someone opens the handcuffs with a handcuff key or if a third character (like a rescuer) with a saw or a hammer breaks the handcuffs for them (takes some seconds and makes loud noise, alerting zombies and enemy villagers)

-A system that allows you to steal and unequip items from unconscious or restrained characters (for instance, you are raiding a village but they repeal your village's attacks and you get captured during the fighting. They can remove your mask and weapons from you and put handcuffs on you to 'interrogate' you about your village's location)

-If you pass out due to wounds, your friend or a village medic can apply bandages and feed/inject you medicine (assuming we get a medicine system overhaul, which would be great. I think injectable morphine, antibiotics and medicine are very needed) or if the village has a rogue medic that infiltrated them to be a 'fifth column' the rogue medic can poison you while you are unconscious.

-If you equip tissue or socks on mask slot you can't speak. Similarly, you can equip tissue or socks on a restrained/handcuffed character to avoid him from shouting

-A rare 'taser' melee weapon that knocks living characters unconscious but is ineffective on zombies and also injectable sleep toxins. Maybe the ability to make injectable toxins with sleeping pills, water and a medicine bottle. Also, a rare animal dart weapon that is useless on zombies and stealthy but can apply medicine, sleep medicine or poison on players from a distance

I don't know how PvP works now, and if names are visible if you turn it on(I'm quite new to the game)

But wouldn't it just be easier to be able to craft a makeshift mask out of sheets or something? You put it on and your name will appear as [Masked] untill you take it off, would be a whole lot easier.

 

Although if that happens everyone will probably be walking around with a mask 24/7.

That's pretty much what i'm proposing, however players with masks would be regarded as possible raiders and avoided by other players (similar to how Cyrillic languages are a sign of raiders in Haven and Hearth and russians are avoided by westerners), so i see honest survivors not wearing masks.

Players with aggressive mode on but without masks would still have their names/char number ID be displayed above their characters.

Also, it would be better IMO if you needed scissors to craft sheet masks. It would add a little bit of difficulty into being a stealthy raider other than turning on aggressive mode.

I like the handcuff idea and being able to steal from restrained characters, and the taser weapon sounds really cool. But a lot of these ideas are very roleplay focused in my opinion. Muffling characters can be roleplayed, we don't need a script for this because if they don't want to be cuffed/muffled they would just log off and it'd be gone (right?)

 

Oh and I have a suggestion for the mask idea, if you put on a mask you get a mask ID, so that someone can still remember your voice next time he comes across you, instead of just being [Masked].

[anondogolador]

Muffling characters can be roleplayed, we don't need a script for this because if they don't want to be cuffed/muffled they would just log off and it'd be gone (right?)

 

I was thinking more like the handcuffs would stay. That's why i was hoping regular handcuffs would be rare and breakable so people would avoid using them lightly and characters with tied up hands could just try to break their cuffs if they're alone and safe from zombies and enemy survivors. If they're with real metal handcuffs, they'd have to run from the zombies (i'd make it so that you can't use handcuffs on legs, but only tie it up with rope/sheet rope) and find someone with a hammer/saw/sledgehammer/axe to free them.

 

Maybe even allow the handcuffed character the freedom to search things like corpses (maybe with a limitation, like an action bar that needs to be filled before the character can search the container/corpse, perhaps have it be influenced by a skill) but not equip items. This way he could find a knife to cut a rope or find a handcuff key on a container or corpse. So you'd have ways to free yourself, but limitations that make it hard to do so if you have enemy (player) company

 

I also haven't mentioned, but blindfolds would be great. Specially to escort prisoners and hostages.

 

If it was up to me, i'd add a lot more of that scripted 'enforced-through-gameplay' type of roleplay for multiplayer games but surely this is a decision up to the devs and how they envision PZ to be. I am just giving some suggestions.

 

Another idea: Instead of the "agressive mode" applying just to everyone, it would be great if you could toggle it on just for some players. This way you wouldn't have to toggle agressive mode while a survivor is escaping and this way players could just stay aggressive towards a set number players like an opposing village. This would allow for more deep faction relations in servers, including village wars and truces. (Village X's council/Leader decides that all Village X's players must make toggle aggressive mode off from players from Village Y during peace times and truce. Village X's leadership decides that all Village X's players must toggle aggressive mode on for Village Y's players during war times.) Maybe have a group/village system where the leader can toggle aggression on and off for everyone towards a certain settlement. Maybe make two separate 'agression' systems, one towards everyone (like a raider mode) and one towards certain players/factions (like a hate mode or war mode) with different skulls representing each.

 

I don't think lumping aggression and war with criminal behavior and looting is satisfactory when it comes to faction relations but maybe that's just me.

I would like to see servers with different 'city states' having alliances and wars. Trade would be awesome, but it is impossible with the game item system since all regions of the map are pretty much the same when it comes to resources. Except things like 'fish' and 'animal meat' that is yet to be introduced and would be more common in some areas (like west point for fish, considering the large river and western forest/muldraugh for animal meat considering it's forests)