Developing Suggestions

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Developing Suggestions

This section is for general discussion of suggestions for the game Urban Dead.

It also includes the capacity to pitch suggestions for conversation and feedback.

Further Discussion

• Discussion concerning this page takes place here.
• Discussion concerning the suggestions system in general, including policies about it, takes place here.

Resources

• The Frequently Suggested List
• Suggestions Dos and Do Nots

How To Make a Discussion

Adding a New Discussion

To add a general discussion topic, please add a Tier 3 Header (===Example===) below, with your idea or proposal.

Adding a New Suggestion

• To add a new suggestion proposal, copy the code in the box below.
• Click here to begin editing. This is the same as clicking the [edit] link to the right of the Suggestions header.

• Paste the copied text above the other suggestions, right under the heading.
• Substitute the text in RED CAPITALS with the details of your suggestion.
• The process is illustrated in this image.

{{subst:DevelopingSuggestion
|time=~~~~
|name=SUGGESTION NAME
|type=TYPE HERE
|scope=SCOPE HERE
|description=DESCRIPTION HERE
}}

• Name - Give the suggestion a short but descriptive name.
• Type is the nature of the suggestion, such as a new class, skill change, balance change.
• Scope is who or what the suggestion affects. Typically survivors or zombies (or both), but occasionally Malton, the game interface or something else.
• Description should be a full explanation of your suggestion. Include information like flavor text, search odds, hit percentages, etc, as appropriate. Unless you are as yet unsure of the exact details behind the suggestion, try not to leave out anything important. Check your spelling and grammar.

Cycling Suggestions

• Suggestions with no new discussion in the past month may be cycled without notice.

Please add new discussions and suggestions to the top of the list

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Suggestions

Mark Lair

Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 22:48, 25 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Skills

Scope: Zombies

Description: Mobile phones and radios allow survivors to arrange to meet from anywhere in the map. Zombies should also have a way of finding specific contacts. I suggest a new skill: Mark Lair. Mark Lair would give zombies two new powers. The first is the power to mark a lair for 1AP by spreading your blood and ichor around the room. This power can be used inside any ruined building. You can only have one lair designated at a time, and marking another ruined building as your lair erases your link to the first one. Your link is also broken if the ruined building is repaired. The second power is the ability to "Scent Lair" any of your contacts for 1AP. Using this power provides directions to their lair (even if they aren't there anymore). If they don't have a lair, or their last selected lair was repaired, you'll get a message informing you that you can't detect any lair for them. This would allow zombies to use ruined buildings to summon allies from anywhere in Malton.

Discussion (Mark Lair)

The meta-gaming communications (DSS SatPhone, forums, irc, etc) ruins the need for this. --•▬ ▬••▬ • •••• •▬ ▬•▬• ▬•▬ ^{#nerftemplatedsigs} 23:23, 25 August 2012 (BST)

I don't think out of game options should preclude in-game features. And even if you do use something like SatPhone, it's not necessarily available on every computer you play Urban Dead on (for example, playing UD on a school/work/friend computer or using a mobile browser). And for roleplaying reasons, someone might not want to ruin immersion by going to an outside forum. I have nothing against metagaming, but I think it shouldn't be mandatory if you want to find friends. Also, this would allow you to track down any of your contacts. Communicating out of game requires knowing their SatPhone number or knowing which forums they frequent (if they're even on a UD forum). All those practical problems aside, one of the reasons there are so few zombies is that it's hard to be a casual zombie player. You need to organize out of game to be effective, which means that players who only play briefly and casually won't find that side as attractive. There should be better communication for casual players who just spend their 50AP and they're done for the day. --A Big F'ing Dog 01:12, 26 August 2012 (BST)

That's not true. I ran a zombie alt before and I played solo. No groups. It very simple playing a casual zombie. Just follow the latest groan. That's really all you need to do if you run solo. --•▬ ▬••▬ • •••• •▬ ▬•▬• ▬•▬ ^{#nerftemplatedsigs} 01:25, 26 August 2012 (BST)

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Beckoning Murmur

Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 16:01, 22 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Feeding Groan Sub-skill

Scope: Zombies

Description: A simple idea to make it easier for hordes to stick together without metagaming. Beckoning Murmur would give zombies a "Murmur" button they can press anywhere at anytime for 1AP. Murmurs would work similar to Feeding Groans, but with different limitations. A Murmur is quieter and can only be heard over a distance if the listener heard you utter a Murmur in person first since they last acted, so they're keeping an ear out for your voice. It would appear like this, if the zombie moved about and murmured multiple times: A zombie quietly murmured something here (timestamp), and again from 2 north (timestamp), and again from 3 west 1 north (timestamp). Only people that were present for that first in person murmur would receive the other messages. Nobody else would see anything, even if they're otherwise within the murmur's broadcasting range. Murmurs should also have a pretty small range. I'm thinking a maximum distance of 5 blocks. And they would also be inaudible indoors, just like Feeding Groans. The idea behind this skill is you could lurch up to a group of zombies, murmur, then lead them to a building you know to be occupied. For 2AP (one murmur in each location) you can gather a horde without having to break through a building by yourself first to issue a Feeding Groan. Feeding Groans would still be important though, since they would serve as a guarantee of human meat and would carry over a greater distance. Murmurs would have varying value and it would be up to the listener whether to trust the murmurer and follow or not.

Discussion (Beckoning Murmur)

I say this in all sincerity: one of these days you'll crack the formula and come up with an awesome skill that helps ferals. So, I heartily encourage you to keep at it, since you've been on the right track with several of your ideas. Unfortunately, I don't think it's this one. As a zombie, I already get spammed with plenty of feeding groans that lead me to places that have either been rebarricaded or else have been emptied and ruined, and those are for places where known food exists. This skill makes no promise of food (or even that anyone will follow you), which, to me, means that it'll just be pointless spam I ignore. —Aichon— 18:16, 22 August 2012 (BST)

I was thinking that people would listen to murmurs from contacts, groups members, or high level zombies who seem to know what they're doing, and ignore random murmurs from anyone else. And the murmurs from a single person would be listed on one line so it wouldn't fill up your whole page. --A Big F'ing Dog 18:50, 22 August 2012 (BST)

So would it be non-anonymous? As it's currently written, I thought the zombie wouldn't be identified. —Aichon— 19:43, 22 August 2012 (BST)

That's right. You'd get the zombie's profile link, because it starts off by speaking in the same place as you. --A Big F'ing Dog 21:52, 23 August 2012 (BST)

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Latent Infection

Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 06:48, 17 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Infectious Bite Subskill

Scope: Zombies

Description: Here's an idea for what I think is a flavorful and balanced zombie buff. A zombie with Latent Infection carries a more resilient form of infection, that can be halted by not permanently cured by first-aid kits. When a zombie with the skill bites an already infected survivor a second time, the survivor receives this upgraded form of the infection. The improved infection behaves the exact same way as the old one, draining 1 HP per AP and a first-aid kit stops the health drain as normal. However after receiving first-aid the survivor still carries a latent infection. No health is drained and the survivor can live on with a latent infection indefinitely. But every time the survivor takes damage from any source there's a percentage chance equal to the amount of damage they took they'll get reinfected with a normal infection and start losing health again. Example 1: A survivor carries a latent infection. They try to free run into a ruined building, fall to the ground and take 5 damage. This gives them a 5% chance of getting reinfected and needing a new first aid kit to stop the health drain. Example 2: A survivor carries a latent infection and is attacked by a zombie using hand attacks. Each successful hand attack deals 3 damage and has a 3% chance of reinfecting the survivor. The health drain can be stopped over and over again with a first-aid kit, but the latent infection lingers on. There's no downside until you take damage again, and then only if you're unlucky or take a lot of damage. If you don't take damage too often the latent infection might rarely inconvenience you, and you could keep playing with it forever if you choose. If you take damage frequently then it might prove very inconvenient, reinfecting you all the time. Latent infections would be curable though, through two means: If you have Lab Experience, using a Necrotech syringe on yourself (other players still can't use syringes on the living) Getting revived Both cure methods only remove the latent infection, and leave your regular infection untouched. You'd still need a first-aid kit to stop the health drain. Although that's for balance reasons, it makes sense too. Even if a syringe can cure the infection in your bloodstream, you'd just get infected again if your wounds aren't cleaned.

Discussion (Latent Infection)

Lore issue: in UD, the infection from Infectious Bite is unrelated to whatever is causing people to come back as zombies, so it makes no sense that a syringe or a revive would cure this. Also, I'm just not a fan of this. It's decently enough balanced, I suppose, but it sounds like a really frustrating mechanic for survivors, and not like it would be fun at all. —Aichon— 15:53, 17 August 2012 (BST)

Hm, I didn't know about that part of the lore. --A Big F'ing Dog 18:43, 19 August 2012 (BST)

Yep. For instance, you'll come back as a zombie, regardless of how you die or whether you were infected. Also, if you were revived while infected, you'll retain that infection after you're revived. According to game lore, it's something that developed after the outbreak began. —Aichon— 20:16, 19 August 2012 (BST)

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Anything

Timestamp: THE Godfather of Яesensitized, Anime Sucks Yalk | W! U! WMM| CC CPFOAS LOE ZHU | Яezzens 01:05, 17 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Any Update At All

Scope: Whatever

Description: Some sort of update, anything you want, big or small, broken, flawed, or perfect. Suvivor, Zombie, or PKer buff. Just something... anything.

Discussion (Anything)

I am uncomfortable with how certain I am this would be voted Peer Reviewed rather than Humorous. Bob Moncrief ^EBD•W! 01:57, 17 August 2012 (BST)

I would vote keep. And then three months later I would post a new suggestion titled "Implement the Peer Reviewed Suggestion 'Anything'" --A Big F'ing Dog 02:51, 17 August 2012 (BST)

I would Spam it for failing to abide by the rule of not making suggestions that depend on other suggestions. :P —Aichon— 03:08, 17 August 2012 (BST)

The suggestions page has changed :( Looks like I'll have to do voices:

• This suggestion offends me mortally. How dare you suggest a buff to zombies, why I can barely leave my safehouse to shoot them they're so strong! Zombies aren't real players anyways
• buff PKers? Don't you know they're awful people and Kevan Upon High never meant for them to play, that's where the half XP thing comes from.
• SURVIVORS? As a zombie player let me tell you that survivors are literally impossible to eat
• Your idea is rubbish noob go play the game some more
• I am so angry right now I cannot even type etc etc --Karloth Vois ^¯\(°_o)/¯ 10:47, 25 August 2012 (BST)

GPS Waypoints

Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 18:58, 16 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Item

Scope: Anyone With A GPS

Description: What if GPS units had the same functionality as setting a safehouse, allowing you to store directions to a different location in each one you have? It'd be much easier than having to keep opening up a map in a separate browser window for every frequently visited location. It would be worth spending a little encumbrance for that convenience. Here's how it would work. You'd click on a GPS Unit at the cost of 1AP. The GPS unit would no longer show your current coordinates, but instead show directions to the building you clicked the GPS in, like so: The Blackmore Building [14 north, 9 west] Clicking the GPS Unit again for another 1AP would clear this data, showing your current coordinates again and leaving the GPS unit ready to save a new location. Zombies would be able to use GPS units to navigate this way too, but they would have to save the locations while alive.

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Follow

Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 00:38, 14 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Skill

Scope: Zombies

Description: This is a skill idea designed to help zombies coordinate and find each other around the city without having to metagame. Nothing wrong with metagaming, but an in game option would be nice. A zombie with Follow would be able to select any zombie present (if in their contacts) as their leader for 1AP. You can only have one leader at a time, but can switch leaders as often as you want and would be able to select no leader as well. Leaders do not have to be in your own group. Having a leader provides one benefit. Since you're carefully listening for this zombie's calls, you can now hear their Bellows from anywhere in the city. On the left hand side of the screen, beneath the city map, you would have N-S-E-W directions to the last location your leader bellowed from, with unlimited range. You have no way of knowing whether the leader is still there or not, just that their most recent bellow was from there. The next time your leader bellows those old directions are erased and replaced with the new location. Bellow directions are not visible if you're a survivor, or if your leader hasn't bellowed since you started following them. TLDR version: Follow would let you select one zombie as your leader, then receive coordinate directions to the most recent location where they used the Bellow skill.

Discussion (Follow)

I don't like this because it doesn't make rp sense. How could you hear this zombie's bellows from miles away? Are they like elephant feet? Please explain. Bob Moncrief ^EBD•W! 02:28, 14 August 2012 (BST)

I figured that zombies have superior hearing, like their enhanced smell. But it's true that this might stretch even that explanation. --A Big F'ing Dog 16:46, 14 August 2012 (BST)

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Form Horde

Timestamp: A Big F'ing Dog 02:50, 13 August 2012 (BST)

Type: Skill

Scope: Zombies

Description: Survivors have Scout Safehouse, a skill that rewards them for being stationary and defending a specific place. What if zombies had a mobile counterpart skill, designed to reward them for moving around and allying with a specific zombie? Form Horde allows a zombie to "Follow" any zombie in their contacts that's in the same place as them for 30 AP. This appoints that other zombie as your leader, providing a morale bonus when they're standing in the same room as you. This morale bonus gives you a 10% chance of not spending an AP when performing an action, saving you around 5AP a day. You can only have one leader at a time, and replace your old one if you follow a new zombie. You only benefit from having a leader if you're in the same place as them, you're both zombies, and you're both standing up. Now, as a zombie you can't stop people from following you. You don't have to give permission in order for someone to select you as their leader. But followers have no particular power over you, and can't do anything like automatically sense your position or automatically move after you. All it does is give them a small AP bonus. And yes, two zombies can follow each other if they want.

Discussion (Form Horde)

Does the bonus go away if either dies like how the bonus goes away for survivors when the block is ruined or they die? Can the zombies see the location of the one they are following like how survivors can see directions to their safehouse? —Aichon— 03:44, 13 August 2012 (BST)

No, death wouldn't erase the bonus. Zombies die too often for that to be fair. The bonus does not apply if the leader is human or knocked down or not present, but you don't need to spend another 30AP once you reunite. And no, the skill does not let you track the leader in any special way. That could lead to griefing if that was the case. --A Big F'ing Dog 05:16, 13 August 2012 (BST)

The second one is good news, but the first one makes this skill far too overpowered. For survivors, they need to spend 30AP up front, and all they get out of it is a chance that it will eventually pay off, since they need to engage in a minimum of six days of specific actions in that building, without either of them falling, before it will pay off on average. In contrast, your skill is guaranteed to pay itself off. I also think you're overestimating zombie deaths and underestimating how powerful this skill is for certain groups of zombies. Despite being active in strike teams nearly every day for the last several months, it's been weeks since my MOB zombie died, and it was weeks before that since it died previously, meaning that, even with deaths negating it, this skill would have paid for itself several times over. And considering that strike teams generally have the same strike leader every day, you're talking about a five-zombie strike team effectively having a permanent boost allowing them to knock down an extra two full levels of barricades every single day. That's immense, and it comes without any drawbacks, downsides, or chances needing to be taken. Strike teams, while I love them, are not in need of buffing, yet this skill seems perfectly tailored to buff strike teams while doing little for the rest of the zombie population, which is the group more in need of buffing. —Aichon— 05:48, 13 August 2012 (BST)

Good points. What if the cost was reduced to 15AP, but the link is erased if the following zombie is headshot, requiring another 15AP to follow again. That way the skill pays off if you go for more than three days without a headshot.--A Big F'ing Dog 06:28, 13 August 2012 (BST)

As I said, I go weeks on average without getting killed or revived. Three days would pay off nearly every single time, unless we were in the middle of a decent siege, and those only show up maybe once a year. Also, see Ross' comment below. It's EXTREMELY true. I don't know any intelligent survivors using the skill, simply because it is so worthless. The only time it pays for itself is when there aren't zombies around, but if there aren't zombies around, then the skill is worthless. Plus, now that I think about it, if we had a skill like this, it would encourage survivors to go outside and shoot zombies more often, which is something I definitely think needs to be discouraged more. —Aichon— 16:42, 13 August 2012 (BST)

Scout safehouse is a self imposed idiot tax. Zombies dont really need their own version. --Ross^WHO????ness 10:13, 13 August 2012 (BST)

Also, rereading this, zergers wet dream. --Ross^WHO????ness 16:46, 13 August 2012 (BST)

True. I guess it provides a bonus in the wrong places. I like the mechanic of having to ally yourself with a specific zombie though, so I'll try to think of another skill that uses that without an AP bonus. --A Big F'ing Dog 18:07, 13 August 2012 (BST)

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Suggestions up for voting

The following are suggestions that were developed here but have since gone to voting. The discussions that were taking place here have been moved to the pages linked below.

There are currently no suggestions up for voting.