Suggestions/RejectedFebruary2007

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Peer Rejected Suggestions

February 1st

Blockade

Timestamp: Nibiletz 01:43, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Balance Change
Scope: Zombies
Description: To begin, I apologize for the mistakes I made above; I'm new to this and don't know what to do with the time. My skill is pretty simple and would be believable in a real zombie apocalypse. I would like to make entry points more signifigant, because survivors can go in and freerun into a nearby fortress whether it is in survivor hands or zombie. I think that survivors should not be able to enter a building, (without free running) if there are 25 or more zombies standing outside. If zombies were surrounding a building, I really doubt that you would be able to slink into the crowd of corpses without being eaten, unless you are shaun of the dead. Even though zombies are not intended to be able to hold a building, this would make their standing around an entry point during a siege useful, and would be resonable. Thank you.
Left Queue: 06:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Contagion

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 08:29, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: This skill would be designed to tempt survivors with no zombies skills into trying the other side for a while by temporarily letting them sample the zombie skill Infectious Bite.

Contagion would be an Infectious Bite subskill. When a zombie with Contagion kills a survivor when the slain survivor rises they can temporarily infect the living with their bites as if they had Infectious Bite. They would lose the ability the next time they are headshot or revived. Flavor wise the zombie has temporarily become a carrier of the infectious form of the disease, but they haven't become a natural producer of the virus yet and any disruption to their body will set them back to normal. If the killed survivor has Infectious Bite already this provides no added ability.

This way after you kill someone they might think "Huh, I have infectious bite for a while. Maybe I should try this out, see how I like it" instead of marching directly to the revive queue.

Left Queue: 06:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)


February 2nd

No XP for ransacking, GKing, de-barricading without survivor equivalent

Timestamp: Probert 16:26, 2 February 2007 (EST)
Type: Rollback or alteration of recent experience change.
Scope: All players
Description: The recent addition of experience gains for ransacking, generator killing, and de-barricading is nonsensical. In general, zombies in movies simply do not attack generators (although they would be attracted by the noise) , nor do they ransack; these are artificial creations of our own community to counteract survivor benefits. Gaining experience from one or the other is nothing but a hollow attempt to improve zombie game play at the expense of survivor game play. Therefore one of two things should happen; Either survivors get equivalent experience for providing generators/radios/etc, barricading and de-ransacking a building, or the zombies get none at all.
Left Queue: 22:21, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Who's Making That Racket?

Timestamp: Blackberrylaw 03:52, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: innate ability
Scope: applies to everyone
Description: Humans and zombies alike (while outside) should be able to hear the sound of barricades being created or destroyed within a 3x3 square. Barricading involves either the moving of heavy objects (such as furniture) or the use of a hammer and nails. Attacking barricades involves smashing stuff. Both actions create quite a ruckus.

This should be something innate, like the ability to see flares being fired. Similarly, it would be a passive ability requiring no AP.

Left Queue: 13:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Zombie Mutations (Advanced Classes)

Timestamp: Valore 15:40, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill Development for High Level Zombies.
Scope: Zombies At Level 15 and Higher, with Brain Rot
Description: Mutations, basically, a class for zombies to take at their Endgame, meaning they must be Level 15 and above, with Brain Rot. You may only take one mutation, which costs you 500XP. Taking a second mutation is possible if you gather another 500XP, but resets your XP total to 0, and you lose your original mutation.

Why? Most importantly, to allow specialisation during later levels of Urban Dead, especially for zombies, who technically only have one skill tree to the survivor’s three, all the way to the end. Let’s face facts, we don’t have enough zombie players, and personally, even as a survivor, I’d like to see more of the lovable drooling corpses around. I believe this will mark the formation of more zombie ‘packs’ which will make best use of each other’s mutations.

Additional Note, I’ve seen the similar thread in the PR section, surprisingly only after I’d finished with my suggestions.


Musculature Overgrowth 

The virus has concentrated itself in your muscles, swelling them to grotesque proportions, turning you into a lumbering engine of destruction. Survivors flee in terror as you smash through their pathetic barricades.

Benefits:

+25% chance of damaging barricades on successful hit.

Does double damage to barricades

+4 damage to claw attacks, unaffected by flak jackets

+15 max HP

Receives -1 damage from all attacks

Drawbacks:

Attacking and moving costs +1AP

Rising costs +10AP

Cannot use flak jackets

All attacks are made at -10%

Does not benefit from Tangling Grasp

Priority Target: May be targeted separately from hordes, and attackers get +5% to hit.

Comments: Numbers seem unbalanced until you crunch them. They have half the number of attacks, so have half the chance of hitting, but when they do, it’ll hurt like hell.

Cellular Regeneration 

The virus has manifested an unusual ability to mend your wounds. Survivors can only stare in horrified amazement as gashes, pistol wounds and even shotgun blasts close up and mend before their eyes.

Benefits:

For every AP spent, the zombie is healed 1hp.

While lying on the ground, the zombie may lurch back into the undeath, spending only 1AP(6AP if headshot) to launch an attack in the same action on anything around it.

3 AP Feign Death: This zombie may choose to collapse to the ground, feigning death. It retains its current HP value.

Drawbacks:

Maximum HP is reduced by 25.

Loses infectious bite and Digestion skills.

Comments: Basically annoyances, they die quickly, but unless headshot rise up even quicker, getting in a cheap attack while rising. If you don’t kill em in one sitting, not hard considering their HP, you’ll probably have to start over. Good for zombie loners, as well as strategic corpses during sieges, who drop dead to prevent themselves from being headshot.

Infectious Host 

This virus strain has somehow bonded with various pathogens, which have thrived in the corpse ridden environs of Malton, giving you a stomach churning stench, which pales in comparison to the deadly symbiotic diseases you now carry.

Benefits:

Survivors attacking you in melee have a chance of becoming infected.

You may infect survivors through both tooth and claw.

Survivors attacking you while infected do so with a -25% chance of hitting

Drawbacks:

-1 to melee damage.

Loses 5hp if a first aid kit is used on this zombie, not affected by first aid skill

Takes +1 damage from all attacks

Comments: Basically a zombie which dies quickly, ironically fastest to melee attacks which probably end up killing their assailants as well. Might serve to strain first aid kit supplies during sieges.


Deathly Charisma 

You have evolved, becoming somehow connected to other zombies. It seems to urge them on, and zombies in the area move with a certain sense of undying purpose under your unseeing guidance.

Benefits:

Find Horde 1AP: Can sense zombies within a 5 block radius. Similar to Scent Death, but more specific. Returns a message: You sense X minions towards Y

X = a few, a group of, many, a horde of

Y = east, west, north, south

Gather Horde 10AP: Using this skill informs zombies within 6 blocks of the Horde Leader’s presence and identity (group affiliation?), in a way similar to the feeding groan skill. Zombies that hear this call may spend 3AP to join the Horde Leader at his location. This does not work indoors, and stops working if the zombie leader moves indoors, e.g. groans then enters a building. Zombies always join the closest horde leader, or the one who has used the Gather Horde skill most recently.

Zombies in the presence of a Horde Leader may make the following attack:

1AP Mobbing: Flat 80% chance of hitting, but results in only 1 damage, and does not affect barricades. This attack is independent of any other modifiers which may otherwise affect the attack.

Horde Leaders get +10% to all their attacks, and deal +1 damage.

Drawbacks:

Priority Target: May be targeted separately from hordes, and attackers get +5% to hit.

Horde Leaders require +20AP to rise if killed.

Comment: What can I say, good as a solo, until you get repeatedly killed by roving zombie hunters. Allows zombies to congregate and follow you, perfect for zombie migrations, and once the situation degenerates into a zombie on human free for all, zombies can just perform the equivalent of a dogpile, which although does lower damage than individual zombie specialised attacks, will eventually crush the harmanz under sheer weight of numbers.

Conclusions Two of the classes, Cellular Regeneration and Infectious Host, would be suited to both solo and group play, while the other two Mutations definitely lean towards group play, since they actually provide specialised bonuses. Although not unbalanced in their own right, I believe that if these were to be implemented, then similar ‘prestige classes’ should be introduced for Survivors as well. However, I currently have no ideas concerning those.

Left Queue: 13:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Barricade (Nerf) 2.0

Timestamp: Gage 22:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: balance change
Scope: Everyonne
Description: This one is much less drastic than the other one. Much more likely to be implemented into the game IMO:

Barricades, when completely destroyed, would not be able to be rebuilt for 10 minutes.

I just got into stickling and had the barricades closed on my heels. It was ridiculous.

This wouldn't apply to individual barricade levels, just when the barricades are completely gone.

Note - it has been brought to my attention by MRL1984 that this could also help counteract barricade bots and such. Thanks for pointing that out man!

Left Queue: 13:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

February 3rd

Color The Items

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 04:45, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Game Inventory
Description: I was DNA scanning a zombie today and it took me a moment to find my extractor in the random jumble of guns, first-aid kits, and syringes that was my inventory. I suggest coloring the item buttons to allow different items to be found easier when visually browsing through your inventory.

I suggest tinting all weapons red, ammunition a lighter red, tinting first-aid kits light blue, necrotech equipment gray, generators and fuel yellow, phones & transmitters and radios green, binoculars black, spray cans purple, and leaving all flavor items white. This specific color combination is just a suggestion though, anything to help differentiate things would help. The colors would have to be set to an appropriate level as to not be an eyesore.

Left Queue: 16:23, 20 March 2007 (UTC)


February 4th

Groan anywhere

Timestamp: Police Officer Jesus 00:34, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Zombies
Description: My suggestion is a change to the feeding groan skill for zombies. Instead of just being able to groan when faced with survivors, I suggest changing it so that you can groan anywhere. For example, let's say a zombie almost destroys a barricade to a mall, but is almost out of AP. If the suggestion is applied, the zombie can groan and call other zombies to finish the job.
Left Queue: 21:14, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

February 5th

Scent Life (again)

Timestamp: Gage 01:06, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: zombies
Description: Child of Scent Fear.

1 AP, able to smell out the largest concentration of harmanz in a 3x3 area. This skill will only detect groups of harmanz larger than 5.

Left Queue: 00:56, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Realistic Injury

Timestamp: Valore 07:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improvement.
Scope: Survivors
Description: Here's the situation, I got bitten by a zombie, got infected, and had to scramble around to find a FAK, and when I finally did, I had 7hp remaining. This was about a month ago. I still have 7hps remaining, but I've levelled up 5 or 6 times since then. I find it strange, that 7hp, which would probably equate to me losing unhealthy amounts of blood, trying to hold various vital organs in, or at the very least limping around with a few broken bones, I am able to free run about with impunity, happily axing zombies, and rummaging around for supplies without any care to my current precarious state of being.

My suggestion is therefore that your current HP should affect how well you are able to perform certain actions. Surely someone who has less than 10hp should be a little weaker than someone with full health. As far as I'm concerned, my HP could have been indicated by a 'Dead/Not Dead' tab, for all the difference it makes.

These are a few ideas for effects of having low HP. These would only affect survivors, since zombies hardly notice if they're missing a few chunks of flesh.

Having less than 25% of your health points decreases the damage you do in melee combat.

Your chance to hit decreases, reflecting your weakened state.

You consume more AP when moving, because logically a person who's been shot shouldn't really be running as fast as a fully fit one.

Searching while severely wounded has a fixed % chance of failing, returning the message 'Your wounds are making you see double. You find nothing.' .

I thought I'd mention this because of one particularly ridiculous incident where I was being attacked by a zombie, but survived because he ran out of AP. With about 5hp left, I then proceeded to shotgun/axe him to death. It would make more sense if a Survivor who is on the verge of death flees screaming, rather than proceeds to take his assailant out regardless of injuries, Terminator style.

Alternatively, I also thought it might be possible to have these penalties apply to zombies as well, the difference being that zombies were able to buy a skill that allowed them to ignore these penalties.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Left Queue: 01:04, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Fun With Suicide

Timestamp: Nibiletz 18:21, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Modification to Function
Scope: Everyone
Description: Right now Jumping out of a window of a tall building serves a two purposes: For people to be idiots and for Zombies revivified to swiftly return to their undead state. I think that there should be a rather fun and realistic use to suicide: falling on Players below! The one falling from the building would comicly land apon the first player, survivor or zombie, standing outside the building. This would deal 25 damage and be really hilarious. This really wouldn't prove to be a useful tactic during a siege, because it would end up killing you and widen the time for every survivor to get a revive, so there isn't too much room for abuse. And I doubt that pumping out characters to use as ammunition will become an issue either.
Left Queue: 01:04, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Barricading causes Room Message (Revision 1)

Timestamp: Fjorn 21:19, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill Chane
Scope: Zombies mostly, but effects all survivors with construction.
Description: Zombies inside a building see who the active barricaders are. To clarify: ONLY zombies INSIDE see the barricade message. Due to feedback from last time I suggested this, survivors are left out.

This will help the dying zombie side of the game while impacting survivors a small amount, mostly forcing them to chose between barricading now and possibly becoming zombie food vs barricading letter when zombies are APed out and possibly letting more in.

Left Queue: 01:04, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

February 6th

Horde Mentality

Timestamp: MrAushvitz Canadianflag-sm.jpg 04:30, 6 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Memories Of Life Skill
Scope: Allows zombies inside to help zombies outside open doors
Description: Horde Mentality

Appears on zombie skills tree as a sub-skill of Memories Of Life. Adds no benefits to your human character.

If your zombie is indoors at a location, all zombies outside this location may open doors as though they had the skill "Memories Of Life". This only works while your zombie is standing.

Simple enough, but so new zombies know they can now open the door... when a zombie with this skill is inside the "Open Door" button will look different for zombies outside who do not have MOL (it will be green and say "Open Door 3 AP")

Every time your zombie assists a zombie outside in opening a door, you gain 1 XP! It is assumed your zombie murmors or makes some kind of hand gesture that eventually inspires the less intelligent zombie to remember what a door/doorknob is.

This skill has a definate drawback, you're helping lower level zombies gain entry.. but you have to remain standing to do so. (Not such an easy task in a well defended safehouse.)

This still means the other zombies have to remove any barricades that have been errected, all other rules apply.. it just temporarily allows them to open doors.

Left Queue: 12:43, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

February 7th

Ruined Entry: Ransack Large Building Effect

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 02:17, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: One of the staples of zombie movies is that zombies will find a way. Just when you think you're safe zombies will break down that wall, come up from an underground tunnel, break through the window. I suggest taking advantage of this in-genre plot device to extend the benefits of the large building upgrade. Large buildings are malls, mansions, and cathedrals, locations where you can see those indoors in adjacent squares and move from interior square to interior square without free running.

Ruined Entry would be a subskill of Ransack. If a zombie with the skill is inside a ransacked building and clicks on an adjacent ransacked building rather than ending up outdoors they will break their way into that building giving the two buildings the properties of a large building. Anyone, human and zombie, can then see who is in the other building and walk between them indoors without free running. A ransacked building can be connected to more than one ransacked building, as many as are adjacent, ransacked and then connected by a zombie with Ruined Entry. This allows zombies to create "Ruined Entry" networks, allowing zombies to walk indoors between ransacked buildings across entire suburbs. Unlike large buildings however the passage would seal up the second the building is fixed, putting things back to normal. To be clear, this doesn't allow zombies to use ruined entry to free run into barricaded/repaired buildings, only ransacked ones.

So why would this help zombies you ask? Since the buildings are already ransacked it wouldn't provide the benefit that the large building upgrade gave zombies, namely being able to conquer a mall just by clearing one corner. All the buildings are already cleared. What it would do instead though is make it easier to maintain ransack. If you're in a ransacked building with eight zombies and you can see the ransacked building next door only has one zombie you could walk over to make it a bit harder to take. Also it'd make it easy to tell when buildings around you have been retaken. If you can't see into the building to the north anymore that means someone cleared out the zombies inside.

So it really isn't all that powerful since it doesn't help attack survivors. But it would be useful for zombies trying to maintain ransack. You could just walk inside from ransacked building to ransacked building making sure everything is nice and zombified around you.

Notes

  • This wouldn't interfere with free running.
  • Yes this would allow survivors to move between/scout ransacked buildings too but since they can do this with free running already the benefit to zombies would far outweigh the benefit to survivors.
  • Just to clarify, if a zombie with ruined entry inside a ransacked building clicks on a non-ransacked building it deposits them outdoors, as normal.
  • You could still close the door inside a ransacked building that has been breached with ruined entry but since ruined entry bypasses doors entirely it would only block zombies without Memories Of Life that try to enter from outdoors.
Left Queue: 13:06, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Collapse Barricades

Timestamp: boxy 10:48, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Balance change
Scope: Anyone attacking barricades.
Description: If a building is unoccupied by survivors, there is a 30% chance that any successful attack upon the barricades, once they reach VS, will make the whole pile collapse, leaving only the doors secured (if that building has them).

This in no way weaken barricades that people are hiding behind, only those that are abandoned.

  • Makes barricade strafing easier to combat.
  • Doesn't make buildings being used any easier to get into.
  • Zombie territory would be harder to retake.
  • Zombies don't know if a building is occupied or not until the 'cades collapse (no X-ray vision).
  • Only useful in already empty suburbs.
  • The percentage chance, of course, can be changed to suit the barricade vulnerability you want to set.

A negative may be that the zombie wanted the XP for every barricade level, rather than getting in. However XP harvesting is a bit pointless, so this encourages role playing type objectives, where getting inside buildings with prey is the goal, and empty buildings take less AP to identify.

Left Queue: 13:08, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Zombie Surprise Attack

Timestamp: EL Zillcho 14:00, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: balance change.
Scope: Zombies.
Description: Everyone knows in urban dead that the zombies never truely die. Eventually they all wake up and start attacking you once again. But how do you know WHEN they will come back? No one knows when they'll come back to kill you, Except for the zombie itself of course. When a dead body rises from the grave it should be able to use suprise attack on any survivor in the same spot hes in, this attack will always have a 100% chance of hitting the person (as the survivor doesnt know its coming). Also it cannot be used against other zombies. When a survivor is in the area and your about to wake up there should be another button that says "stand up(ATTACK)" Kevan can figure out the damage it does, if he wants to add it(or you can give your own suggestions of how much damage it does in your votes:) ). It gives a new enviornment of realisim, horror, and it'll keep survivors on their toes .
Left Queue: 13:10, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

February 8th

A Foldable Bicycle WITH SUGGESTIONS ADDED

Timestamp: Valore 05:00, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: New Item.
Scope: Survivors.
Description: Name: A Bicycle (Changes Included 9/2/07)

Found where: Junkyards 2%, Auto Repair 2%, Sports Store 2%

What: An item that takes 10 slots in your inventory, and similar to Fir Trees, requiring a wire cutter in your inventory to obtain.

Purpose: Bicycles can be unfolded outside for 15AP. If you have an unfolded bicycle in your inventory, moving into specific road areas, i.e Carparks and lanes, roads, streets, etc, costs 0AP, while other open areas with no enterable buildings cost you 1AP to enter. Moving into and out of other squares, i.e those that have buildings to enter, costs 2AP. If a bicycle is in your inventory and unfolded, you are unable to enter buildings. If a zombie is present in a square you are entering, movement costs +1AP. You cannot attack while a folded Bicycle is in your inventory. Folding a bicycle costs 15AP. While riding a bike, you are only able to see basic information in the square you are in, and cannot see people or zombies in adjacent squares.

Why: I thought it would be nice for those who are looking to migrate to another suburb, perhaps to help out in a siege. It would provide a sensible use for roads, monuments, graveyards and wastelands as transit areas. The AP spent unfolding and folding negates the 0AP needed to move somewhat, suiting the bicycles for longer journeys. Using a bike would also involve the player planning a bike route, which I find adds to the feel of the game, where survivors would make plans, prepare, before carrying out their actions.

Added a few edits for those who suggested them.

For those who called it a 'jetpack' or a 'magic carpet', I challenge you to use the suburb maps and cross the map willy nilly. I think you'll find its not as easy as you assume.

Also, I'd like to remind people that even though using the bike costs 0AP, you can logically only move 150 squares at the most, due to the IP hit limit.

Look at it this way. A full quota of 50AP already allows a character to move near to 5 suburbs, which is pretty much half the Malton map in its own right. A bicycle simply allows expedited movement, using a MINIMUM of 32AP after the changes. And the minimum assumes you find the perfect route from where you are you your location. It is expedited movement, at a cost of any other actions for the day.

As for a similar one for zombies, I'm not sure if zombies need expedited movement. Zombie hordes were always supposed to be slow and unstoppable, not mobile.

Previously, votes stood as 6KEEPS, 11KILLS, 6SPAMS.

Criticisms:

Left Queue: 13:18, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

February 9th

Free Running/Lurching Gait change

Timestamp: Gut stench02:57, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill Alteration
Scope: Survivors and Zombies
Description: This change attempts to add a little believability to the Free Running and Lurching Gait skills. Survivors with Free Running always succeed in doing something that probably requires quite a bit of dexterity and coordination. On the other hand, Zombies with Lurching Gait always succeed at moving at a faster pace, something that also requires dexterity and coordination. Since they are both movement skills and crucial to both types of players, it would be harsh to have them just "fail" at times. I suggest having a chance of "slipping" for both skills. Survivors would have a 5% chance of almost falling while free running, and the action would cost 2 AP if a slip occurs. Survivors could receive a message saying You lose your balance and almost plunge to the street below. The same mechanics could be applied to zombies when using lurching gait. 5% chance of almost falling and the action cost 2 AP. The message could be You stumble and almost fall to the ground.
Left Queue: 13:23, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Zombies Die After Falling from High Building

Timestamp: Lt Charlie 23:55, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Minor Improvement
Scope: Zombies
Description: When Zombies jump from a tall building, they don't majestically land on their feet and proceed to shamble on out the door. They die, kind of like when survivors do the same thing.
Left Queue: 13:31, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

February 10th

Chainmail Vest

Timestamp: c138 RR - PKer 18:25, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Item
Scope: Everyone
Description: Acts as a melee flak jacket, ie. 1 point of damage is reduced when you're attacked by any non-firearm weapon that deals more than 2 points of damage. Can't be carried at the same time as a flak vest; you need to decide which will be more useful to you (if you get PKed a lot or you're a zombie, find a flak jacket; if you're defending against a zombie siege or get ZKed a lot, find some chainmail). Found in museums (in the Medieval-era display cabinets), churches (on the bodies of dead warriors), fort armouries (amongst the weapons and protective gear), cathedrals (on the bodies of dead kings) and mansions (on suits of armour).
Left Queue: 03:46, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Make Barricade Destruction/Construction AP Equal

Timestamp: ShadowScope 02:54, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Balance Change
Scope: BarricadesCades
Description: Barricades need some nerfing, but there are controversy on how to nerf them. Then I read Reaper with no name talking about balance basically be 1 zed vs. 1 surivior. And then I recall the fact of 1 Surivior builds a barriacde with 50 AP, and 1 zed takes it down for 68 AP. Surivors feel happy that they are defeating the poor Zeds by having them waste AP knocking the barricades and I feel that need to be addressed.

So, here is what I suggest. Increase the AP cost for building Barricades, by increasing the chances that one cannot build a barricade when it is high enough.

Constructions Strength

  • 1 Loosely barricaded (100% barricade chance) [1 AP/Barricade]
  • 2–4 Lightly barricaded (100% barricade chance) [1 AP/Barricade]
  • 5–7 Quite Strongly barricaded (75% Barricade Chance) [1 AP/Barricade] (For the most part, 75% barricade chance is merely a token gesture, it really won't cause any hardship for the player, I believe...)
  • 8–10 Very Strongly barricaded (75% Barricade Chance) [1 AP/Barricade]
  • 11-13 Heavily barricaded* (50% Barricae Chance) [2 AP/Barricade]
  • 14–16 Very Heavily barricaded* (25% Barricade Chance) [4 AP/Barricade]
  • 17+21? Extremely Heavily barricaded* (10% Barricade Chance) [10 AP/Barricades]

Up to VSB, it takes 10 AP to barricade, therbey sealing the building and preventing zombie attacks. However, it cost more AP to barricade up. To complete buidling up to HB, it cost 6 AP...to build up to VH, it cost 12 AP. And, finally, at EHB (up to level 4), it cost 40 AP.

This means a total of 68 AP is spent...with hapens to be the amount of AP a Zed has to spend to tear down the barricade. Of course, for a surivior, it is AP-effienct to barricade up to VSB. But when you barricade beyond VSB, it cost more AP, making suriviors lose lots of AP in building these barricades. And since malls usually are at EHB (for good reason), this makes Zeds feel as if they are being useful, as the AP they spend knocking down an EHB barricade means a surivior must waste 10 AP rebuilding that Barricade.

Of course, this is all based on averages (if the RNG gods love you, you can spend less AP. If the RNG god hates you...then you spend more AP).

NOTE OF CLARIFCATION: It seems that for QSB and VSB, it's 1.33 per level, meaning that it cost 70 AP not 68 AP to barricade. Just 2 AP extra...it's not a lot. Please vote on the merit of the suggestion, I hope.

Left Queue: 13:39, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Loot the bodies!

Timestamp: Gene Splicer 03:10, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Mchanic/Skill
Scope: Survivors, minor zombie bonusses
Description: That in any outdoor area containing corpses, survivors may scavange equipment from their fallen allies.

Important Note: This does not actually remove anything from the inventories of the bodies. Just like malls, hospitals and pds never run out of equipment, neither does any well-stocked corpse pile.

New Mechanic

When in an outdoor area with at least one corpse, you have an option "Search the bodies". You have a 10 + (4*number of corpses)% chance of finding something, capped at 50% total. The "somethings" can include pretty much any item commonly carried by survivors, ranging from pistols to crowbars, similar to an Shoppingless Mall search.

New Skill

Graverobber: You can choose what to search for when scavenging from the dead.

With Graverobber, you gain the options to search for Medical Supplies, Weapons or Gear in addition to Search the Bodies.

Medical Supplies yields First Aid Kits and the occasional syringe. 5+(2*NOC), capped at 25%, average 1 in 8 of succesful searches producing a syringe (so a max of 3% chance of a syringe).

Weapons yields Axes, Blunt Weapons, Knives, Firearms, Flares or Ammo. 5+(3*NOC)%, capped at 35%.

Gear includes pretty much anything from the Useful Items list from this here Wiki. 10+(3*NOC), capped at 40%.

Q&A

What's in it for Survivors?

Demallify/NTify the game. Also, the closest we will ever come to a trading mechanic.

What's in it for the Zombies?

"I'm searching ten bodies! Wait, what, nine bodies?" *feeding groan* "OH CRAP ON A HANDSTICK BASTARDFACE"

Why only outdoors?

Indoors the lack of ventilation makes the bodies smell too bad to search. Also, indoor searching would allow powered building bonuses and zerg "mall piles" inside any safehouse. Finally, it would not result in survivors standing around outside looking confused as the root through wallets for credit cards, wriggling their tempting buttocks brains around in the open for all the Zombies to see.

Why no exact per-item search rates?

Are you serious? Do you know how long that would take? And how HUGE the tables would be? And the amount of "Kill - Make pistols 1% higher -- MrPickyBastard" votes that would cause? And above all, how much He Who Will Not Be Named would not care and would just put in what he thinks is good himself? If you really want them, I'll move this to discussion and ask people to post their opinions on what the rates should be, but I think they are best left as one of those mysterious factors that seem to change based on the Ratio board. I only put the Syringe ones in so it would be obviously OH LOOK WAY LOWER THAN EVEN AN UNPOWERED AT GUYS to anyone who would autospam based on that.

Jesus, that last one was a bit confrontational, don't you think?

Less hippy crap, more voting

Left Queue: 13:39, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Lurking Shuffle: Ransack Detection Skill

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 05:10, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: I suggest adding a Necronet map like skill to let zombies know what buildings around them are ransacked and how many zombies occupy them. This would be useful for finding a ransacked building to sleep in and to esssentially keep score for the area.

Zombies have learned that hiding in a ransacked building may provide some safety from zombie hunters. They have started to listen for the sound of zombies aimlessly shuffling around conquered buildings. A zombie with the Memories of Life subskill Lurking Shuffle longs to join other zombies in their occupation. They would have a have a new button "Detect Ransack". Pressing it would bring up a 10x10 display like the Necronet map. Instead of showing numbers though each building square would indicate the number of zombies by changing the saturation of the building's color.

A ransacked building without zombies would be the same color as an unransacked building with or without zombies, almost grey. So a hospital would be a reddish gray. If a building is ransacked and occupied by zombies as the number of zombies increases the color would become more saturated to indicate the presence of many shuffling feet. It should reach full color around twenty or so but having to estimate by color you'd never get a specific figure.

This could be useful in reinforcing ransacked buildings with only one or two zombies, or to find a large successful horde that just broke in a building. It should be a nice utility skill for zombies to have in their arsenal.

Left Queue: 13:39, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Light Load/Unbouded Shuffle

Timestamp: MrAushvitz Canadianflag-sm.jpg 09:30, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: A New Survivor & A New Zombie Skill
Scope: For those carrying fewer items, your max. AP is 55!
Description: I tried this kind of suggestion once almost a year ago, but this time, it's a bit different in light of more current skills, changes and game features.

There is one skill for survivors, and one for zombies, both do the same kind of thing.. but in different ways.

Light Load

  • Survivor skill, appears on Civilian skills tree as a sub-skill of Bodybuilding, adds no benefits to your zombie character.

When your survivor has 15 (or less) items in their inventory, your maximum AP is 55, rather than 50.


Unbounded Shuffle

  • Zombie skill, appears on skills tree as a sub-skill of Lurching Gait, adds no benefits to your human character.

When your zombie has 10 (or less) items in their inventory, your maximum AP is 55, rather than 50.

Game Mechanics, Both Skills:

  • If, at any point and time, your inventory goes above the listed amount for that skill.. if you were over your normal AP limit of 50 AP, those extra AP are immediately lost and you drop down to 50 AP (prevents abuse/cheating.)
  • If you have purchased both skills, there is no additional benefit. But your maximum AP is 55 as a human, or a zombie.. if you have the less equipment required for that form.

Why?

These skills are a benefit to those who are less encumbered with an assortment of weapons, gear, medical supplies, and the like.

Not all players would want or need these benefits at the price it would cost them (for example, those who rely primarily on firearms and ammo.) But for those who would play a lighter fast moving survivor (ex. scout, a hand to hand specialist with a fireaxe or knife, the quick combat medics.. in & out with the FAK's), as well as a "pure" zombie (doesn't stay alive long, only searches for the occasional newspaper), then this is right up their alley.

Newbie players, may definately find these skills worthwhile ("I don't even have 15 items!") until they have accumulated a larger inventory stash.

Even after you've purchased this skill, it is always a potential benefit when you are low on equipment (you just fired off all your ammo, burned off all your FAK's, at least the next time you log on you have more AP to act.. search for more items...)

The zombie skill definately makes the corpse starting class, more attractive to play for starters. (No searching, no problem.)

The zombie version of this skill, is 5 items "harder" because zombies don't usually need items, or benefit from them (except a flak jacket!) But also to reflect an encumbered zombie's lesser capacity for improved speed (possibly dragging things behind it, and so on.) Whereas unencumbered zombies, can be a much more mobile! (A naked zombie chasing after you is just that much more frightening, for a variety of reasons...)

Left Queue: 13:39, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

February 11th

Fort PilBoxes

Timestamp: Mattiator 00:05, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill, Fort Upgrade, New building type
Scope: Survivors in forts
Description: This is a suggestion that makes forts a far more viable place to sleep. In the corners of each fort area (i.e. one NW, NE, SW, SE from the armory) there would be a "pilbox", a new type of building. Pilboxes could only be barricaded to VS+2, thus allowing the armory to be Extremely heavily barricaded, thus providing more defense. Survivors and zombies would be able to travel freely into the Armory through a pilbox if the Armory is at VS+2 or below Without free running. You would not be able to find any items by searching the pilbox.

Pilboxes would have a chaingun inside that can be fired at zombies outside the pilbox regardless of barricades for 3 damage at 15% chance to hit (not affected by skills). You would have to have basic firearms training to fire the chaingun. How the chaingun would work is you would click a button "Fire Chaingun", which would aim at zombies automatically (if you could choose who you aimed at, it would become a PKing weapon). You would not be able to see if zombies are outside. However, zombies can get in and smash the chaingun in the same way they could a generator. The gun could then only be repaired by someone with the new military skill, Gun Repair, which would allow you to fix the gun for 1 ap. The chaingun cannot fire at people inside the pilbox, and you cannot get ex from firing the chaingun. the gun would not be able to produce headshots. The chaingun would add a little more excitement to fort defending and provide some strategic decisions, such as whether to storm the armory or knock out the pilboxes to provide no easier way out for survivors.

Overall i think this makes life way easier for people in forts, while making it a wee bit trickier for zombies to get inside a millitary fort.

Left Queue: 12:39, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Tissue re-growth

Timestamp: Nibiletz 01:08, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombified Survivors.
Description: One thing that I have encountered is survivors killed in action accidentally purchasing Brain Rot while they are Zombified. I think that there is a simple way to remedy the plight of these players, by including a skill that can be gotten after you have purchased brain rot. It would reverse the affects of Brain rot as the tissue in the brain spontaniously grows to become healthy, and Brain rot would once again be an option on the skill tree of zombies. This skill would cost 200 experience, because the tissue healing is much harder to do than it rotting, and therefore it should cost more to obtain.

This skill would also allow zombie players that have purchased Brain rot on purpose an opportunity to be revived more easily, in the case that they decided to play as a survivor, and not have to have a hard time being revived. I don't see how this could be really complicated, because its just like any other skill, and it would be appreciated by people in the situation(s) cited above. I hope I made this clear enough.

Left Queue: 12:39, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Endurance/Clear Mind

Timestamp: --NecroHealer 06:04, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: New Skill
Scope: Survivors and Zombie
Description: This is a improved version of a skill I submitted a few days ago, but after it was killed and I was notified of many flaws and problems I removed it to revise it to be more fair and better fit the game.

Ok, I have heard many people complain about the max AP saying it is too low and also in the FAQ it says that there may be a new skill that raises it. Well, here is my suggestion for the new skill in a way that is fair to both Survivors and Zombies, low level players and high level players, and will not horribly alter game play.

How it will work: The Skill would be called, “Endurance” for Survivors and "Clear Mind" for Zombie's, it would raise the max AP to 60 in 25 hours instead of the currant 50.

Where it will be placed in the Survivor Skill Tree and XP cost: This skill would be placed in the Human Skill Tree as its own skill. This skill would be in the Civilian Skills, therefore costing the same amount for everyone.

Where it would be placed in the Zombie Skill Tree and XP cost: This skill would be placed in the Zombie Skill Tree as its own skill. This skill would cost 100 XP, same as the survivors.

Two different skills, do you have to buy it twice? No, you would not have to buy it twice. It would be made that if you one of them(Survivor or Zombie version) you would automatically get the opposite one. i.e.: Purchase Endurance for 100 XP, you also get Clear Mind.

Left Queue: 12:39, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Give Items

Timestamp: Lord of the Pies 20:22, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Game Mechanic
Scope: All Players of Urban Dead (Zombies aren't people and it is therefore perfectly fine to exclude them)
Description: Note: this sat on the suggestion page for a few days; several people commented on it and made suggestions, some of which have been incorporated into this suggestion.

Now, quite a few trading suggestions have been shot down already; however, that was mainly due to the potential zerg abuse, in that a player could use a number of alt accounts to find themselves ammo, fuel and FAKs without expending any of their own APs.

However, I have devised a system whereby this can (hopefully) be avoided. Plus, it also avoids griefing where a player can be given a whole load of useless crap that they don't really want. So, here's the system:

For 3AP, a survivor can give an item to another survivor in the same building (or block if outside or in a large building). This would be done through a drop-down menu next to the 'drop item' menu at the bottom of your inventory, with a second menu for the target. The item would immediately be moved from your inventory to theirs at no cost to your target, although there would be a message telling the target that '[player name] gives you [a/an] [item name]'. The item would then be able to be used as normal.

However, to prevent zerg abuse, several items would be considered too valuable to simply give away:

  • Guns, aside from Flares
  • Ammo
  • Fuel Cans
  • Generators
  • Radio Transmitters
  • Fire Axes
  • FAKs
  • Syringes

Everything else can be given away freely. These items wouldn't even appear on the list of items to give.

In addition, in order to prevent griefing, there would be a section in a player's profile visible only to themselves (so no-one can just look in your profile to see what you'll accept and deny) which would contain a list of items, each with a check-box beside it and with the heading Accept the following items given by other players:. The sections would be:

  • Blunt Weapons and Knives (Baseball Bats, Metal Pipes, Crowbars, Knives)
  • Alcohol (Wine, Beer)
  • Literature (Books, Poetry Books, Newspapers)
  • Technology (Radios, Mobiles, GPS Units, DNA Extractors)
  • Military (Flak Jackets, Binoculars, Flares)
  • Miscellaneous (Wirecutters, Crucifixes, Spray Cans)

Ticking the box allows other players to give those items to you. Not ticking it means that you will automatically drop any of those items if they are given to you. Any player who attempts to give someone an item they have chosen to deny will receive a message like the following: You give [player name] [a/an] [item name] but they immediately drop it. This action would still cost the player 3APs but the target wouldn't receive anything and wouldn't see any message spam. Similarly, if a player's inventory is full, the following message would be displayed: You give [player name] [a/an] [item name] but their inventory is full. In this case, the item wouldn't be removed from the player's inventory, but they would still lose 3APs.

In addition, the page of hints a new player gets after signing up and creating a character would include a short tip to the effect that Some players may attempt to give you items. In your profile there is a list of items which can be given to you along with tick-boxes; after signing up none of the boxes are ticked. If you want to be able to receive a particular type of item from other players then tick the tick-box next to that item in your profile.

To counterbalance this suggestion somewhat, zombies with Memories of Life would be able to give other zombies items (really, the only things they would want would be Flak Jackets and possibly GPS Units if they show your location even if you're a zombie). The general idea would be the same, with a drop-down menu with all items in your inventory in it next to the 'drop items' menu. However, you would have to have the target on your contacts list in order to give them an item. The text would be different too; something along the lines of A zombie drops [a/an] [item name] at your feet, with A zombie being replaced by their name if they are on your contacts list. As with survivors it would take 3AP and zombies can still choose to accept and deny different items. However, survivors would not be able to give zombies items and vice versa.

Anyways, the purpose of this suggestion is twofold; firstly, there are RPing benefits; in pubs you can give other players drinks, in libraries it's books, and if you happen to beat a zombie down to near-death but are about to run out of AP you can hand your trusty crowbar to someone else to finish the job.

The other purpose is to help newbies enter the game on a better footing; helpful players could give them useful items such as Flak Jackets or DNA Extractors (well, a Flak Jacket and a DNA Extractor) which they would otherwise be prevented from finding by over-zealous barricaders of PDs and NT buildings. In fact, some altruistic groups may form for that very purpose, which crosses over with the RPing side (although it might turn into more of a black market).

Left Queue: 12:39, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Zombie Skill Tree and Memories of Life Changes

Timestamp: Preasure 15:15, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improvements
Scope: Zombie skill tree, Memories of Life
Description: Currently the zombie skill tree is this:
  • Vigour Mortis: Zombie gets +10% to hit with all non-weapon attacks.
    • Neck Lurch: Zombie gets an extra +10% to hit with bite attacks.
    • Death Grip: Zombie gets an extra +15% to hit with hand attacks.
    • Rend Flesh: Hand attacks deal an extra 1 damage.
    • Tangling Grasp: If the zombie hits with hands, its further attacks on that victim get +10% until it loses its grip.
    • Feeding Drag: Zombie is able to drag dying survivors (those with 12HP or less) out into the street, provided there are no barricades and the doors are still open.


  • Memories of Life: Zombie is able to open doors to buildings.
    • Death Rattle: Zombie is able to communicate through a limited, groaned form of speech.
    • Feeding Groan: If faced with a survivor, the zombie can emit moans audible outside up to six blocks away.
    • Ransack: Zombie is able to damage the interior of abandoned buildings, making them harder to search until they are repaired.
    • Flailing Gesture: Zombie is able to gesture towards people, objects, buildings and compass directions.

However, MOL is increasingly a defunct skill - opening doors is not much of an obstacle, but newbie zombies must purchase it first to be able to gain the more beneficial Feeding Groan and Ransack. Because a locked door is an unfair obstacle to a newbie zombie (unlike other things in the game, there is no way around it until you have the skill), doors should be able to be broken open for a cost of 4AP without MOL. With MOL, it can be done for free upon entering.

Also, the positioning of Feeding Drag (while vigour mortis is more of an essential skill) is not easily purchased. Given that Feeding Drag, Feeding Groan and Ransack are some of the most essential functions to the survival of newbie zombies, making them more available and easier to purchase would make things easier for already put-upon newbie zombies.

To make things easier, the skill tree is rearranged thus:

  • Vigour Mortis: Zombie gets +10% to hit with all non-weapon attacks.
    • Neck Lurch: Zombie gets an extra +10% to hit with bite attacks.
    • Death Grip: Zombie gets an extra +15% to hit with hand attacks.
    • Rend Flesh: Hand attacks deal an extra 1 damage.
    • Tangling Grasp: If the zombie hits with hands, its further attacks on that victim get +10% until it loses its grip.


  • Feeding Drag: Zombie is able to drag dying survivors (those with 12HP or less) out into the street, provided there are no barricades and the doors are still open.
  • Death Rattle: Zombie is able to communicate through a limited, groaned form of speech.
  • Feeding Groan: If faced with a survivor, the zombie can emit moans audible outside up to six blocks away.
  • Ransack: Zombie is able to damage the interior of abandoned buildings, making them harder to search until they are repaired.


  • Memories of Life: Zombie is able to open doors to buildings upon entry for no extra AP cost.
    • Flailing Gesture: Zombie is able to gesture towards people, objects, buildings and compass directions.

From this, the former MOL skill set becomes more open, feeding groan, feeding drag and ransack are more easily purchasable, and because the newbie-helping skills are more open, this benefits those starting as zombies. Doors are no longer an impassable barrier, and are now merely a tough, but beatable, problem – allowing low level ferals to get into safehouses more easily.

Left Queue: 12:45, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Wrench (Revision 4)

Timestamp: Mattiator 21:04, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: weapon
Scope: zombies and survivors
Description: This is an item for flavour. A wrench can be found in junkyards (10%), warehouses (5%), hardware shops (10%), and especialy in auto shops (20%). It can be used by zombies and is a blunt weapon. It regularily does 2 damage at 10% chance to hit. Also, it can be thrown at an enemy for four damage (Thanks to Cyberbob240 for the idea. Quote: "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!") at 15% chance to hit. You lose your wrench if you do this. This weapon also has a better chance to damage barricades and generators (both zombies and survivors).
Left Queue: 12:45, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

February 12th

Exhaustive actions only when AP stay positive

Timestamp: LAME MAN 01:47, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Game logic improvement
Scope: dead and reviving characters, probably anyone doing AP-costly tasks
Description: After my zombie character was killed (with a headshot) by a survivor recently, I was left dead with 0HP and 1AP. I accidentally hit the button to stand up and saw my character rising with -14AP and therefore standing prone to attacks for a period of at least seven hours. And it didn't take even one until he was actually killed, once again taking away at least five hours from him. I found this not only frustrating, but also illogical, as AP use is seen as a measure of exhaustion. And with 1AP, my character shouldn't have been able to fulfill such an exhaustive task. I also see no reason why a non-AnkleGrab-character should be able to use up to 14AP beyond his limit this way, while characters with this skill can only do so by 5.

I therefore ask to disallow standing up, or rather more any action which would lower AP beyond 0 (I have not advanced far enough to see other actions), as it defies the game logic.

Left Queue: 12:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Grab something!

Timestamp: DinkyDao 07:04, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Makes new consumers start with a random melee weapon.
Scope: Harmanz
Description: Simple. New Consumers start with a random melee weapon, with the following chances to start with each.

Bat(25%) Length of Pipe(25%) Knife(25%) Crowbar(25%) Why? Well if there was a zombocalypse, i'd expect people to grab the nearest thing they can find and use it as a weapon. Simple Logic. Edit: OK OK, NO MORE FIREAXE! I repeat, Fireaxe has been REMOVED.

Left Queue: 12:57, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Un-Buying Brain Rot

Timestamp: --Captain911 10:22, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Un-Buying A Skill
Scope: Brain Rotted Zombies/Survivors
Description: Here's how it works. Zombies who have the Brain Rot skill can Un-Buy this skill for 1000 Exp. Under the skill Brain Rot there would be a skill or a button which would take Brain Rot off for 1000 Exp.


I suggest making it 1000 XP. Why? Because this would help reduce the problems of griefing by making it unspammable, yet most high-level players can afford that cost - it's hefty but they can afford it once or twice. And if you feel that this shafts the low-level players, I think that's unlikely because if you're a low-level survivor/zombie, what are you doing getting the Brain Rot skill?


My reason for this is that I have played as a zombie with Brain Rot for more then a year, and I would like to play as a survivor now (with all my skills). I would be willing to Un-Buy Brain Rot for 1000 Exp, I believe this is reasonable and should be implemented.

Left Queue: 12:57, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Buying Skills as Body

Timestamp: Mark 18:59, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improvement.
Scope: Everyone.
Description: I was killed recently, and out of curiosity checked the skills page. There it showed I could buy survivor skills, while a dead body. I stood up, checked again and it now showed zombie skills. I soon got revived. I again, as a body, checked the skills page, and it showed survivor skills.

Now, I realize that zombie skills shouldn't be shown, so as to avoid someone freshly-killed buying Ankle Grab to save 9 AP. But do skills even need to be shown at all when dead?

I propose that when a player is a dead or revived body, that player cannot buy skills. Clicking on the skills page would show “You must stand up before buying skills.”

Left Queue: 13:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

February 13th

Headshot or Brainrot

Timestamp: EL Zillcho 01:46, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill decision.
Scope: survivor or zombie specialization.
Description: You only get 1! the whole point of the headshot and brainrot skills are that your a devoted survivor/zombie, so act like one. Once you choose one you cant choose the other. Anyone who has both skills would be refunded 100 Xp. After the update kicks in, next time you sign on if you have one or both skills(in the case of having one you arent refunded the 100xp and would pick headshot or brainrot.) there will then be a menu screen with brainrot or headshot and you simply pick one or the other (this could be a last chance for depressed zombies who want a chance to live once again, they would still be dead/undead until they are revived of course.)

this will be a one time thing, after the update no one will be allowed to have both skills and the fact that you could have both would be in the history part of wiki next to the old -xp headshot rule.

I want this to end up fair with absolutely no chance of sticking a player with a skill that he/she doesn't want or cheating/giving away xp. So if you think of anything please say so.

Left Queue: 15:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Yet Another Barbed Wire Suggestion

Timestamp: Mattiator 04:51, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill and item.
Scope: Survivors
Description: Currently, almost all of the "Razor Wire", "Barbed wire", etc. were shot down. Wirecutters are useless. This idea solves the problem. You can now find a new item, "Barbed Wire" in forts (5%) and warehouses (5%). when you are outside a building, you can click on your barbed wire to use it around the doorway. anyone entering the building (survivors without free running or zeds) would take 3 damage. They can obviously be snipped by wirecutters, destroying them instantly. moving through the square or attacking the barricades wouldn't cause damage. After 10 people have moved into the building (and taken damage) the barbed wire would dissapear, so it wouldn't grief zombies.
Left Queue: 15:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

PK Changes REVISED AS PER VOTER SUGGESTION

Timestamp: Valore 05:50, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Gameplay Improvement.
Scope: Those who enjoy PKing.
Description: Murderer Skill Tree

Why: As stated in the Suggestions FAQ, PKing is here to stay. While it is not to be encouraged, I thought it would be nice to at least make PKing interesting, the idea behind this being, if its in Urban Dead, lets at least make it somewhat fun. As such, I came up with this suggestion to both allow PKers a certain small advantage if they choose to continue on their current evil ways, while also emphasising that regardless, there will come retribution for their actions.

While building this suggestion, I considered certain factors:

1. Survivors should not be griefed more than they already are by PKers.

2. PKers should be able to enjoy what they do, although this enjoyment should not contradict factor 1. Players should not be allowed to grief other players, period.

Description: Below are a few skills which only are use to PKers, and may be bought by any survivor for 100XP. Players which have these skills would then be looked upon perhaps with some sort of suspicion.

Skills:

Feed The Crows Some murderers enjoy watching their victims suffer, torn apart by the shambling hordes of dead. In zombie infested Malton, everyone can hear you scream, but few people really care.

For 3AP, Murderers may dump victims with 10 or less HP outside buildings, food for any zombie who happens to pass by. These victims are placed outside the building they are currently in, regardless of building barricade level. Other players in the room see the message: "XXX dumped YYY outside the building"

Scavenger (Requisite for Graverobber) More comfortable with the dead than the living, Murderers have found little solace in most civilised areas, and have become accustomed to looting the corpses that litter Malton’s streets.

Murderers searching areas always have a 0.1% chance per corpse of finding a random item. This ability also allows them an additional roll in buildings if they fail to find anything during their original search.

Example: Murderer searches a police station, and finds nothing. However, there are three corpses present, the murderer also has a 0.3% chance of finding a random item, which is calculated after his failed roll. If the murderer finds something on his original roll, this ability is ignored.

Graverobber: With the recently implemented policy of Sacred Ground, the amoral Murderers have found that Graveyards are an even better place to find useful items. Murderers searching graveyards have 0.2% chance per corpse of finding a random item.

Conclusion: Removed skills that would boost combat, while avoiding the flagging of PKers excessively, as many of the guys who voted suggested I do. Thanks for your feedback guys, please vote again.

Left Queue: 15:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Melee Weapons game mechanics

Timestamp: Cataphract 15:01, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Game Mechanic
Scope: Everyone
Description: We all know melee weapons are heavily underpowered compared to firearms, which is highly unrealistic and barely balanced-but a 'simple' solution like making them more damaging or giving tons of skills is useless. I mean, shoot a zombie and chop it with an axe. Which is more effective and heck, easier to do? To keep things simple, this suggestion is two-fold:

A)Melee Weapons should take into account that unlike ranged weapons where you shoot at a mass, at close combat you have many of these buggers attacking you. So 10 zombies in the same square make melee weapons useless because no survivor in his right mind would just hack away at a horde and let them overrun him- have you seen this in any movie? This, on the other hand, might create problems with zombies amassing in hordes to protect themselves... well, I'm afraid that's the case, folks. Weapons should be categorized by reach. Reach 0 are knives and fists, for example. Reach 1 would be for axes, swords, clubs etc. Reach 2 would be for spears and polearms. For every zombie in a horde after the first, reach 0 weapons receive a -10% penalty, reach 1 weapons receive a -5% penalty and reach 2 weapons receive a -2% penalty, all cumulative. Penalties reach up to 30%, but a two-tiered zombie-hunting skill, 'Horde Slayer', would decrease it to -20% and -10% respectively.

B)Make melee weapons more anti-zombie. My ideas would include

i)Increase accuracy. All weapons should have +10% to hit zombies.

ii)Increase damage. A two-tier zombie-hunting skill, 'Zombie-slayer' that adds +1 for the first level and +2 for the second level.

C) Durability of weapons. A weapon has DP-Durability Points, and sharp weapons have Sh-Sharpness. Every attack has a chance of reducing Sharpness (which reduces weapon damage), to simulate how bladed weapons blunt with use, and also a smaller chance of reducing Durability Points. When durability points reach 0, the weapon is broken and discarded. Durability points can't be restored, but Sharpness can- except that there's a chance that durability points are also removed in the process. Think of a sword- it blunts with use, you sharpen it, but eventually from the sharpening it gets so thin it breaks.

The above should make melee weapons deadlier against lone zombies (as is the case, since a single zombie is easy to kill) but useless against hordes of'em. This will pave the way for more powerful melee weapons that do not unbalance the game but balance it. I'll post a list of weapons (full with damage, accuracy, reach and durability) and skills tomorrow- can't make another suggestion today.

Also now set in cement. And to answer some of you (this is not a discussion but a statement meant to answer some typical questions): Q: But I can still hit one of them! A: Indeed, you can. But noone in their right minds would close in a horde of zombies with whatever weapon he might have at hand, because it's still difficult- your weapon can be caught up, and those precious seconds of inactivity used by zombies, and in a zombie-crowded room it's difficult to maneuver a large weapon. Thus, I've capped the penalty to 30%, with skills decreasing it to 20% and 10%.

Q: We don't want more powerful melee weapons! A: Many have expressed interest in more powerful melee weapons, a realistic and flavor-adding suggestion. And it's a more satisfying experience being able to bash a zombie to bits than simply riddling it with holes.

Q: Other melee weapons are flavor items, only the axe is useful. A: What's the point in that? Then remove all others. Otherwise, tweak the existing ones and add others to make it better.

Q: Melee weapons have low damage and low accuracy but don't need to be reloaded- it's balanced. A: Maybe, but hardly realistic. But powering them up the way they are IS unrealistic. So, I have given them two drawbacks: they're not that good against hordes (it'd be much better if this was real-time and had distances, but we'll simulate it as much as we can) and the durability issue.

Q: Why make it realistic? It's a game. A: Because it's supposed to be a realistic game with a gritty, real world feeling. It's got the 'survivability' factor good enough because if you stay out you're dead, but the combat factor, I'm afraid, is lacking. If I didn't want a realistic game I'd go play Star Wars or Pokemon.

I will also open a discussion thread.

Left Queue: 15:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

free running tweak

Timestamp: Honestmistake 17:31, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill, balnce change
Scope: Everyone with free running.
Description: .Freerunning between buildings upto VS baricades as normal, 2AP for those above this to represent accesss dificulty, If you only have 1 AP you get the message "someone has baricaded the building and you were unable to find a safe passage!" A small and simple change that should encourage people to go outside occasionaly. Taking into account input from the talk page I further suggest that the extra AP be waived if you have less than 50% of your inventory full or both a crowbar and a new civillian skill 'free passage'
Left Queue: 15:48, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

February 14th

Look Outside

Timestamp: Preasure 20:12, 14 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: New feature
Scope: Survivors in tall buildings
Description: With the use of binoculars, survivors can look out from tall buildings to see who is outside adjacent ones. However, they can't look out directly ont the building they're standing on, even though it is clearly tall enough to see in other direction.

'Look outside' would be a 1AP action avaliable to all survivors in tall buildings (those that binoculars can be used from). when used, the player would see a brief overview of who is outside, as with binoculars. (X zombies, X survivors) By looking outside, survivors would better be able to make descisions about barricading of the building, and what they could do with their AP.

Left Queue: 15:59, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

February 15th

Dismember

Timestamp: Valore 06:47, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Zombie Hunter Skills.
Scope: Zombie Hunters.
Description: A Zombie Hunter should not only be well versed in knocking a zombie down, he has also begun to learn ways of ensuring his efforts to destroy the undead menace are of maximum efficiency. As such, Zombie Hunters now have access to a new skill, which allows them to better live up to their names.

Dismember

A Zombie Hunter may attempt to slow the prodigious vitality of Zombies by dismembering their corpses. A Zombie Hunter with a melee weapon may attack corpses in the area as if they were a normal foe. If they hit, the corpse is noted as 'dismembered' and takes an additional 5AP to rise.

Anyone who asks how corpses that are dismembered can still rise, I'd like to ask how corpses that have been headshot by shotguns can still have heads. And as for reviving survivors who get dismembered, well, the miracle syringe that allows you to leap back to life also allows you to pull yourself back together.

Left Queue: 16:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Headshot change

Timestamp: 16:32, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill change.
Scope: Headshot players.
Description: At the minute, getting headshot means you must pay 5 AP extra to stand up. The change I'm suggesting is to make headshot not increase the stand up cost, but instead, when a headshot zombie stands up they travel to a random block 5 spaces away. To save the effort of looking up a map and then clicking 5 squares in one direction, after you stand up, for a single turn there'd be a button saying "Go back to <the name of wherever the zombie was killed> (5AP)". This would cost 5 IP hits as well as 5AP. I think this change would mean that in a siege situation, survivors could clear away all the zombies who choose not to pay the 5AP cost to travel back, and headshot wouldn't be such a burden on zombies. The ingame justification for this change would be that when zombies have their brains blown out they lose their sense of direction, and so wander around the area in a daze until they come back to their senses, by which time they are 5 spaces away.

I know that this is a bit of a Pied Piper skill, but I think in this case it's OK because you can't move anyone more than 5 squares if they doesn't want to be moved and the fact that the zombie is moved to a random location means it's not possible to use this as a cheap way to get about.

Left Queue: 16:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Rage

Timestamp: ShadowScope 19:01, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: New Skill
Scope: Zombies Who Want to Alert Ferals that A Building is Ransacked.
Description: There had been a discussion over the possiblity of letting people know that a building is ransacked from the outside. People argue this is X-Ray Vision, and that the ransacking happens from the inside, and not from the outside. I wonder about a possible solution to this.

A new child skill, under Ransack, is called Rage, that costs 100 XP. If you are a zombie inside a building that is ALREADY Ransacked, you can now click on Rage, and spend 2 AP to make the area even more ransacked. The Zombie's hatred of the human race has showcased itself with much destruction and rage being done to the building, throwing items all over the area and destroying the building totally. Once an area is "Totally Ransacked", the Rage button cannot be used again.

It still cost 1 AP to clean up the mess. It is a flavour skill with some use.

The use is this: People outside of the building can see this flavour text: The doors are swung open, and there is lots of thrown items scattered about. This building appears to be very ransacked. This allows feral zeds to know that the building is ransacked, and therefore, let them decide wheter to defend it or just walk onwards.

This is not X-Ray Vision, but rather a sort of Zombie Graffti that allows for outside Zeds to know that a building has been secured by the nearby Zombies. Costing Zombies a total of 3 AP (1 AP for ransacking, and 2 AP for Rage) to secure a building for Zombiekind seems a small scarfice to make for the cause of wiping out the human menance.

Left Queue: 16:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

February 16th

Confetti

Timestamp: Tryce of Thunder 16:43, 16 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Asthetic
Scope: Item
Description: When you edit your profile, there will be an option to set "your" birthday. After setting it, it can't be changed. On your birthday, if you have room in your inventory, you'll be given the item "Confetti". You can shoot this at survivor or zombie(after which it disapears like a Flare Gun), who will get the message "[Name] shot confetti at you. [Random flavor text]". The flavor could be "A lot of it lands on your head.", or "You stare at the colors as it falls to the ground.", or what have you. There is no real effect of shooting outside of the flavor text. This item will be usable by survivors and possibly zombies, since having zeds blow confetti in the faces of survivors would be damned funny.
Left Queue: 16:14, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

February 17th

Town Mail Boxes

Timestamp: --Carnage 15:07, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Flavor/Another Place to Tag
Scope: Everyone
Description: Here's how it works. There would be "Town Mail Boxes" outside of random buildings in each suburb. They would be available on a few outdoor locations in the city, provide an extra surface for spraying graffiti tags. There would be about three to five Town Mail Boxes in every neighborhood, but more would be found in some places.

It costs 3 AP to tag a town mail box, versus the usual 1 AP. So, town mail boxes tags will tend to be more permanent. The change besides the AP cost when compared to a bill board would be that zombies can tag them by "Scratching Them" since there not high up like bill boards and are not as hard as a buildings surface. It would cost 3 AP for a zombie to tag one, a very interesting discovery is that zombies can scratch the boxes very well (Its like they remember how to write when they where alive) so it would appear as a survivors tag would In English not Zombie Gibberish.

Survivors Tag:

Somebody has spray painted Im going to take over the world onto a mail box.

Zombies Tag:

Something has Scratched I Smashed your Brains Onto a mail box.

Left Queue: 14:30, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Speech

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 17:21, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: It can be hard for a leader to communicate with their group once more people are attracted to their safehouse. Ironically having a large following of devoted followers can mean that you won't be able to discuss you battle plans with most of them. I suggest a new civilian skill: Speech.

A person with this skill has a new dialogue box that for 1AP allows them to say a message twice as long as ordinary talking that will be visible by everyone in the room. The catch is it can only be used once a week. After using it the dialogue box would simply not appear on your interface for 168 hours.

This allows a leader to give periodic updates to all their allies but the long delay between each use should prevent it from causing server load the way unlimited talking with no 50 person limit did.

Sample speech: "Ok folks, we're going to move out! While I think we could hold this building for a while I'd rather go somewhere else and keep that horde that's been following us guessing our position. I scouted and found a library three west that seems ideal. I'll see you there."

Left Queue: 14:30, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Machete & Axe buff

Timestamp: Cataphract 12:53, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Weapon
Scope: Survivors
Description: � new weapon for survivors to defend themselves. READ IT before you dupe it. Because people have been complaining that it makes the fire axe useless, I resubmit this, making the fire axe do 4 damage but with 5% accuracy... Check the bottom of the page for comparison. It actually, at maxing out, makes the fire axe slightly better. And knives are supposed to be poor weapons unless they're starting weapons- they're nowhere near as good at zombie slaying as a good chopping weapon.


Machete


Damage 3 points

Base accuracy 15%

Locations Mall Hardware Stores (3%/6%), Junkyards (2%), Forts (5%), Mall Sports Stores(?%), Arms (5%), Museums (3%),

Specpro 1931 4601013.gif
   Starting Skill: 15% Accuracy 
   Average Damage Per AP: 0.45 
   Average Damage Per 5 Attacks: 2,25 
   To Kill 50HP Enemy: 112 Attacks 
   To Kill 60HP Enemy: 134 Attacks
   Hand To Hand Combat: 30% Accuracy 
   Average Damage Per AP: 0.9 
   Average Damage Per 5 Attacks: 4.5 
   To Kill 50HP Enemy: 56 Attacks 
   To Kill 60HP Enemy: 67 Attacks
   Knife Combat: 45% Accuracy 
   Average Damage Per AP: 1,35 
   Average Damage Per 5 Attacks: 6,75 
   To Kill 50HP Enemy: 38 Attacks 
   To Kill 60HP Enemy: 45 Attacks

Comments: The machete is a long, wide-bladed knife, closer to a short sword in length, whose heavy chopping blade was initially designed for clearing brush- yet it remains a potent weapon even today in Africa, the Philippinnes and other less developed areas of the planet. In the hands of survivors, it's easier to use than the fire axe due to its better balance and smaller weight, and its cutting capabilities are on par with the firefighter's weapon. (note: the Location find rates are merely an example. Don't kill it just because you disagree with that!).


Axe

Damage 4 points

Base accuracy 5%


   Starting Skill: 5% Accuracy 
   Average Damage Per AP: 0.2 
   Average Damage Per 5 Attacks: 1 
   To Kill 50HP Enemy: 250 Attacks 
   To Kill 60HP Enemy: 300 Attacks
   Hand To Hand Combat: 20% Accuracy 
   Average Damage Per AP: 0.8 
   Average Damage Per 5 Attacks: 4 
   To Kill 50HP Enemy: 63 Attacks 
   To Kill 60HP Enemy: 75 Attacks
   Axe Proficiency: 35% Accuracy 
   Average Damage Per AP: 1,4 
   Average Damage Per 5 Attacks: 7 
   To Kill 50HP Enemy: 36 Attacks 
   To Kill 60HP Enemy: 43 Attacks
Left Queue: 14:30, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

February 18th

Improved Body Recognition

Timestamp: Pode 17:40, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improved Information Visibity
Scope: User Interface
Description: You've been in a safehouse for days, fighting back and forth when a survivor is killed. There is a message with a link to the zombie's page, but the person's name is just in text. It would be nice if there was a link to the person's name so they could be recognized in zombie form (added to contacts).
Left Queue: 13:51, 26 March 2007 (BST)

Feeding Drag

Timestamp: OmishWarrior 18:43, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: balance change
Scope: Humans
Description: Feeding drag is a very powerful skill for zombies. they get to drag survivors outside and have an entire group feed on them. I know its not such a hot idea but humans should get something similar. We should be able to drag zombies away from us. I mean, whats the point of killing them if they are just going to stand up and continue killing us, they're basically unstoppable. And its not like they're going to to go very far, we have to use AP to kill them, dump their bodies outside, drag them, and have enough AP to return to a safe house. It should cost double to drag a zombie too (1 AP for you and another AP for the extra weight)
Left Queue: 13:51, 26 March 2007 (BST)

February 19th

Sniper rifle [again]/ sniper rifle kit

Timestamp: —The preceding unsigned comment was added by The X (talkcontribs) 20:03, 19 Feb 2007.
Type: Improvement
Scope: weapons/skills
Description: [my first one so please if ive done something wrong tell me]

like a previous suggestion, I like the Idea of a sniper rifle. but, I also would like there to be an ordinary rifle. a weapon you can find in a police station, schools, or tall buildings. it would be like the knife, you would pick up a rifle [that has 1 bullet per reload and 7 damage] but each time you picked one up it would be a random name. such as: ROTC rifle, bolt rifle, practice/target rifle, ect... But a survivor could make it a sniper rifle that deals [12 damage] and can see like binoculars as well as attack to every one of the 9 squares around you [from a tall building] with the sniper rifle kit. it would be found in tall buildings, Police departments, random streets, or in the forts. a survivor cant attack [while on the grounds/streets]with a sniper rifle, but can with an ordinary rifle. this would affect human skills to make a rifle training place...ammo would be rare and this cant be found in the only building it can be used in: one of the skyscrapers.

how about kickback effects the survivors health a bit? feel free to edit this idea if you want to. i dont care.

Left Queue: 13:53, 26 March 2007 (BST)

February 20th

Hiss Of Challenge

Timestamp: MrAushvitz Canadianflag-sm.jpg 13:45, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Zombie Skill
Scope: You recognize a survivor from your contacts list!
Description: Hiss Of Challenge

Appears on zombie skills tree as a sub-skill of death rattle, adds no benefits to your human character.

If your zombie enters an indoors location, and sees a survivor from their contacts list.. you may make a "Hiss Of Challenge"

  • The hiss of challenge itself, is a button that is available: If your zombie enters an indoors location and there is only 1 survivor present on your contacts list.
  • Clicking the hiss of challenge button, costs 1 AP to do (and the survivor you targeted gets a message "A zombie just hissed threateningly at you, it seems to "know" you..")
  • Your zombie cannot make the hiss of challenge if there are more than 1 humans they recognize, because that just blows your ability to "focus" on 1 victim.

Bonuses/Limitations:

  • You have a +5% bonus to bite attacks on this human survivor!
  • If you kill this survivor, you gain an additional 5 XP for the kill!
  • The hiss continues indefinately until someone "breaks" the challnge in some way. (Your target could log on, and kill you, breaking the challenge.. gives them a chance to hit back, and settle the score.)
  • If you or your survivor target leave this location, or die.. the challenge is ended. Also, if you attack any other target other than just this survivor (even objects like barricades, generators, etc.) the challenge is ended.)
  • If you have made a hiss of challenge it "suspends" your ability to make feeding groans whilst you are at this location with your target. (Even if 4 other survivors suddenly show up.. no feeding groan even if it would be sweet.)
  • If another survivor who is also on your contacts list enters this location, that "breaks" the hiss of challenge. (You get a message "another human you recognized distracted you!)
Left Queue: 14:01, 26 March 2007 (BST)

February 21st

Making wirecutters useful again

Timestamp: QuantumEcho 00:41, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: New Use for Old Item
Scope: Survivors
Description: Everyone knows that wirecutters are now useless, as every cuttable thing in the game has been taken care of. I thought that perhaps a great new use for wirecutters would be making them able to cut the wires on a portable generator, so a survivor can pick up the generator and take it with them, i.e. to a new safehouse location. Yes, this does bring up the problem of generator stealing, but since most places with generators are group HQ's that are heavily guarded, I don't think it would be much of a problem.
Left Queue: 14:09, 26 March 2007 (BST)

Map Redraw, Concept 1: Mall Reduction

Timestamp: Valore 06:50, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Balance Change, game improvement.
Scope: Everyone
Description: Map Redraw

EDIT Deleted other suggestions, so to better focus on idea of Mall reduction.

Alright, a not so encouraging sign, but I’m going to start this suggestion with a disclaimer. This suggestion is quite radical. It is quite big. Kevan’s going to have a hell of a time implementing it. I hope those who vote will do so on the merits and concept of the idea, rather than voting ‘Kill- Too Radical/Big, etc.’. Now, here goes nothing.

What: I vote for the redrawing of the entirety of Malton. Demolish everything, start all over. Basically, gameplay wise, skills wise, everything is still the same. I’m just hoping that by redrawing the map, we can abolish many unfortunate organic developments in UD that have made the game less fun, and stale over time, as well as improve the game by making it more challenging, but not increasing the learning curve or difficulty level for new players. This redrawing will be a community project, organised here on the Wiki, if there is sufficient support for it, as well as some sign of willingness of Kevan's part.

The first concept of this is the reduction of the number of Malls present in Malton.

Proposed overall changes:

Fewer Malls

Why: The Method behind the Madness

I believe in the reasoning of ‘high reward, high risk’, for any game. Malls are currently the most rewarding building in the game. With Shopping and Bargain Hunting, any survivor can fully equip himself with anything he needs in a single day or two. As for risk, unless you’re at Caiger, there isn’t any. Mall about to fall? No worries, lets move on to the next. I myself have been a mall migrant. ‘Oh lookie, Mall Tour has us next on its itinerary, goodbye, I’m off to another Mall. This in my opinion makes the game unfun in a number of ways.

Firstly, it often forces players to play and purchase skills in a certain way, ala Bargain Hunting, followed by shopping, and then moving to the nearest mall. No matter if you’re a healer or a zombie killer, there are few situations where a mall would not provide some advantage, no matter how small. This itself defies all Urban Dead reasoning, Malls currently, are a free lunch.

They also negate the uses of all other buildings which previously performed certain functions, which to those who are familiar with game design, is poor game design. Those who play the RTS game Starcraft will be able to understand this concept. One of the reasons Starcraft is a fun game to play, and is currently still around, is because no unit ever lacks a purpose, whether at the beginning of the game, or towards the end. With UD, there is absolutely no reason I’d search at a PD for weapons and ammo, or at a Hospital for first aid kits, if I could instead opt to go to a Mall.

So what is to be done about this? Simple. Malls should be reduced in number. I’ll go as far as to suggest there should be no more than 4 malls in Malton, one in approximately each quarter of the entire map.

What will this accomplish?

Malls will become hotly contested areas. Survivors can’t simply flee to the next nearest Mall, simply because the next nearest Mall is 50AP away, and the next Mall will simply be next on the Mall Tour itinerary anyway. Malls will become far more dangerous, because they become much higher profile targets, which will often come under siege, the way they should be. Survivors will be forced to defend malls more viciously, because Malls full of stupid survivors will be wiped out time and time again. Zombie hordes will be better able to concentrate their forces at wiping out human strongholds.

Conclusions:

I hope by redrawing the UD map, there will emerge new possibilities for gameplay improvement and changes. Also, with fewer malls, hopefully Malls become less of a ‘free lunch’, and more of a ‘high risk, high reward’ area, and also that malls stop serving as the end all of Urban Dead gameplay.

Left Queue: 14:09, 26 March 2007 (BST)

February 22nd

Targetting different zombies from the same group

Timestamp: Aguyuno 02:14, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Improvement/balancing issue
Scope: Survivors, mostly
Description: There isn't much to say about this, since the title really says it all. It's just that I recently made a "NecroTech Lab Assistant" character and was thoroughly annoyed by the fact that, even though I'm standing in an area with 4 zombies in it, I can apparently only brain scan ONE of them, because the other 3 remain impossible to target until I've killed the one 'in front' of them. I only really realised this issue when I played as the scientist character, however this problem DOES plague _all_ the survivor classes. Basically, it means that if you're a zombie and at like 3 HP, but you move back a square so that you're standing "Behind" another zombie for whatever reason, that survivor attempting to kill you now has to blast through that 60hp zombie before he can so much as SCRATCH you.

If this was a problem for both classes, I wouldn't care. However, as a zombie, if there's multiple characters in the vicinity that are survivors, you can select whomever you want to attack from the pulldown menu. Ergo, I think this is an annoying... bug, I guess you could say, that comes with the fact that zombies don't have names and so the game simply picks up "a zombie" every single time - since they all have the same name, it doesn't write down every single one in the list, since that'd be a waste.

To avoid this issue, why not just attach "Zombie #1, zombie #2..." etc. etc. so that when you press the pull down list in a horde you can attack different characters. That, or just make it so that people's names appear still but it says (zombie) or something infront of or at the end of their name - this fixes the OTHER issue, of when some obnoxious zombie attacks you (a fellow zombie) and then runs away, you can now find them again a lot easier. Because as it is currently, there's no defense against that if they run away - you simply have to take it, or risk attacking every single other zombie you see who probably isn't even them before you find the one you want.

And that's pretty much my entire suggestion, methinks. I hope it doesn't get completely rejected...

Left Queue: 13:45, 28 March 2007 (BST)

Variable Building damage

Timestamp: —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Meh'Lindi (talkcontribs) 08:44, 22 February 2007.
Type: balance change
Scope: Zombies and survivors equally
Description: The suggestion is to be able to (variably) damage building integrity.

Basically the opposite of barricading. Intended for zombies and wilful survivors. That you can destroy the integrity of the building entrances, windows, doors, making holes in fences, walls that have levels in the same way as barricades. Thus you'd get "the entrances to the building have been lightly damaged" "heavily" "very heavily" etc. In order to make the building barricadable it must be repaired first as normal - but each level of damage must first be repaired one at a time. This is to change the ability of someone to walk into an empty building and "repair building damage (1AP)", and then barricade to "quite strongly" with only a few more APs

One of two ways I think of it as working:

  * In the same way that you can "attack" people or things, you can "attack" the building entrances.
  * In the same way as the zombie skill 'ransack' but available to all classes.


(For reference, I have five characters who do things in different areas of the map, three are level 41, and I do prefer playing them as survivors not zombies - I'm suggesting this as a challenge)

Left Queue: 13:45, 28 March 2007 (BST)

Increased XP for scanning rotters

Timestamp: BzAli 13:31, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: small XP change
Scope: Scientists.
Description: Now, we all know that you have a smaller chance for succesfully scanning brain rotted zombies than you have of scanning non-rotters.

We also know that this can be used to annoy revivers. However, this often annoys ordinary scanning scientist as well. A newbie just starting the game runs around, happily wawing his DNA Scanner at the largest group of zombies he can see, is often forced to scan the same zombie 3-4 or more times before he is able to move on. What I suggest is simple: Increase the XP for scanning brain-rotted zombies to 6. It's 50% more than non-rotters, but rotted zombies takes on average far more than 50% more AP to scan. This would help new scientist feel less frustrated when they encounter rotters in their scannings, and makes sense from a RP-view as well: NT is more interested in those who've been zombies longer.

Left Queue: 13:45, 28 March 2007 (BST)

Doctor and Medic Starting Skill Change

Timestamp: Anotherpongo 15:58, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Starting Skill Change
Scope: New Doctors and Medics
Description: I think Doctors and Medics should start with the diagnosis skill, not the first aid skill. Two reasons:
  1. The only way to tell who needs healing (other than active players) is through the diagnosis skill.
  2. The first aid skill lowers the XP gained per HP healed when healing other players. It means that while first aid kits go further, the same person can only be healed half the number of times for the same amount of XP.

This suggestion would help new medics and doctors gain XP slightly more easily.

Left Queue: 13:45, 28 March 2007 (BST)

February 23rd

Welding

Timestamp: EL Zillcho 04:33, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill.
Scope: extra barricades.
Description: This is a sublevel of construction. an item will be added, the torch. this skill makes you able to take the snipped fencing on the ground and weld it back onto the fence(for 5 AP) for you to be able to weld the fence back together, a generator must be running in the square, and of course there must have previously been a fence in the area. when a fence is welded no one can get in the area. you must cut it(for 5 AP) in a neighboring square if you want to get out. because well its a fence thats what its there for. so get everyone you want safe, in. This makes the perfect safehouse from zombies(of course it doesn't do much for PKers and curious players).
Left Queue: 13:46, 28 March 2007 (BST)

February 24th

Advanced Communications

Timestamp: 13:48 24, February, 2007 Blackie Chan (moved to bottom of page. - BzAli 22:06, 24 February 2007 (UTC))
Type: Skill
Scope: All
Description: Advanced Communications


SURVIVOR

As of right now, survivors cannot transmit more than about I think maybe 60 characters max on the radio (I tested and max is really 60). I propose a new skill called advanced communications that allows a survivor to use up to 120 characters on the radio and will be a sub skill under radio operation. It also lets radios broadcast on two frequencies.

ZOMBIE

When a zombie player owns this skill however it allows them to use the letters e, i, t, u, and o when using death rattle. Just for a quick fact, I believe the letters currently useable in death rattle are a, b, g, h, m, n, r, and z, so in total zombies with this skill could use about half of the alphabet which is 12/26 letters I think. This is a sub skill under the death rattle tree when playing as a zombie.

For the survivor description when purchasing the skill it reads, Doubles your communication skills. The zombie version reads, allows you to use more letters in death rattle. This skill is purchasable as a universal skill for both survivors and zombies so no syringe required to purchase this skill, just 100 xp.

Left Queue: 13:59, 28 March 2007 (BST)

February 25th

Marksmanship

Timestamp: Kamikaze12 12:53, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Zombie Hunter Skill
Scope: High level Survivors.
Description: Appears on Zombie Hunter skills tree as a sub-skill of head shot

Taking into account the complete lack of zombie hunter skills other than head shot.

Proposing a new skill should be added that increases the accuracy of all firearms by a further five percent. This skill would apply to the usual zombie hunter rules that state a player can not buy them whilest they are under level ten.

Convinced that this will make becoming a zombie hunter a more rewarding occupation whilest not effecting the game dramatically. The implication of this skill will also dispell the minor injustice that a player who has full firearms skills and is only level six can kill a zombie or even another player as quickly as a level forty one player can.

In Closing i am sure this skill will bring a new diversity to the zombie hunter 'class' and will altogether make more of a rewarding gap between higher and lower level players.

Left Queue: 14:01, 28 March 2007 (BST)

February 26th

Ghouls

Timestamp: The Mad Axeman 14:18, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: New type of undead
Scope: Eldar zombies
Description: This idea is to add a new type of undead to Malton - ghouls. Ghouls look rather like zombies except that their skin has withered up, drawing close to the bone. This makes them look thin and feral. While zombies lurch through the streets, ghouls scuttle and scamper, as often on all fours as standing up errect.

Upon reaching 10th level all zombies gain the option to buy the mutant virus skill detailed below. Anytime a zombie or ghoul with this skill is killed they see two stand up buttons. One of these says "Stand up as zmobie" and the other says "Stand up as ghoul". Pressing either of these will bring the character back into play as the appropriate type of undead beastie. Ankle grab only reduces the stand up cost for standing up as a zombie and regeneration only reduces the cost to stand up as a ghoul.

Because they are faster, ghouls only pay 1 AP to move, rather than 2. All ghouls skills cost 100 ep to learn. They are effected by the headshot skill and syringes in the same way as zombies. A revived ghoul functions like any normal civilian survivor. They have claw attacks (20% chance to hit, 2 damage) and the ability to use blunt weapons. They lack bite attacks.

Ghoul are still considered to be one the same side as other zombies. Ghoul against zombie (or zombie against ghoul) is considered zking and earns half experience.

Ghouls are distinct from zombies but not each other. When in an area containing both, a message along the line of this appears, "There are 7 zombies and three ghouls here."

The skills that ghouls have are listed below. The new ones are shown in bold. Those in italics function the same as a given zombie skill but only while a ghoul. Zombies skill that are not listed below become inactive while the character is a ghoul. Survivor skills that normally cross over to zombies also cross over to ghouls. No ghoul skills work for zombies.

  • Scent fear
  • Scent Blood
  • Scent Death
  • Scent Trail
  • Brain Rot
  • Feding Groan
  • Death Rattle
  • Flailing Guestures
  • Ransack
  • Scavanging: Allows the ghoul to search when inside any building. They do not find the same things as survivors, and the exact type of building is irrelivant. Instead, there is a 30% chance that they will find/make something usuable as a club. A club acts the same as anyother blunt weapon (10% to hit, 2 damage) but ghouls can buy skills that improve their performance radically.
  • Lairing: A ghoul can lair in any building that has already been ransacked. A building that has been laired in has its status displayed to anybody entering. Ghouls recieve a +10% search bonus in laired buildings. Survivors destroy a lair at the same time as they repair ransack damage.
  • Feasting: When the ghoul kills a survivor, they instinctively tear chunks out of the body and consume them. After making a kill, the ghoul heals 5 hp in addition to the normal bonuses.
  • Mutant Virus: This skill acts as a flag that tell the game the chartacter is a ghoul rather than a zombie. Because Ghoul move faster than zombies, this skill is equivalent to lurching gait.
  • Regeneration: THe ghoul recovers from injuries very fast. Acts like ankle grab.
  • Pouncing: The ghoul can make powerful leaping and lunging attacks. +15% to hit with claws and weapons.
  • Racking: THe ghoul has learnt to attack with the clas on both its hands and feat. +15% to hit with claw attack.
  • Pounding: The ghoul can throw itself at closed doors until the burst open, allowing entry. Works like memories of life.
  • Smashing: The ghoul can swing a weapon with great speed and agression. +20% to hit with blunt weapons and +1 damage. However, after each attack there is a 16% chance that the weapon breaks, hit or miss.
  • Crushing Blow: The ghoul can now attack so fast and hard that they get another +15% to hit and +1 damage with weapons. The break chance remains at 16%.

This gives ghouls a total of 19 skills.

Ghoul claw attacks are less effective than zombie hand attacks, averaging at 1.0 damage per AP at maximum. However, at 50% to hit, they have the same chance to tear down barricades.

Blunt weapons can go as high as 2.4 damage/Ap, compared to 1.71 for a zombie hand attack, but the breakages mean that ghoul has to restock on clubs sooner or later. THe MBA for clubs under the best of circumstances is 1.71 - exactly the same as a zombie hand attack!

However, the need to resuply means that ghouls have far more reason than zombies to be teritorial. To act at peak capacity they need laired buildings, and will fight to control and retain them. Such conflict will become most severe if the lair is also resouces building for survivor.

Clubs can be used to attack barricades giving a maximum 30% chance to drop a barricade. However, against barricades the MBA is only 0.21 compared to 0.25 for claws, so in the long run it isn't worth it.

This suggestion is designed to make the undead more fun to play. It opens up a new selection of skills for them to buy and allows dedicated brain rotters to switch between the different playing styles that ghouls and zombies use.

Left Queue: 13:48, 30 March 2007 (BST)

NT Equipment Destruction

Timestamp: People's Commissar Hagnat [cloned] [mod] 15:50, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Game Change
Scope: NT Buildings
Description: After ransacked, zombies get the option to destroy the NT equipment inside a NT Building. This costs 5 AP. If the ransack is cleared, a NT building whose equipments were destroyed would function as a regular building (you cant find or craft srynges inside the building), until its equipments are repaired.

Survivors can repair the building with NT Spare Parts, an item that weights 10 units, and can only be used in a NT building. Repairing the NT equipment grants 10 XP, and costs 10AP. This item can be found in other NT Buildings, at half the rate of finding srynges.

Left Queue: 13:48, 30 March 2007 (BST)

Infectious Bite Does Not Outlive You

Timestamp: Timzor 19:14, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill modification
Scope: Zombies and Survivors
Description: My suggestion is simple: An infectious bite should not continue to haunt you after death. My reasons for this are twofold: Both fairness and logic. First of all, I feel that an infections bite plagues you enough when you get it the first time. It's easy enough to die either from the infection, through combat combined with infection, or through staying in one place and getting attacked, because if you move, you'll die anyway. Now, all that is fair enough. What seems unfair is having it continue to afflict you AFTER you shamble to a revive point and live again. If there is no one around nice enough to provide you with a first aid kit, you will most likely join the shambling dead again in a few turns. Secondly, having the infection only last through one life cycle just seems to make sense. If a necrotech syringe can transform you from a rotting, diseased corpse to a healthy, functioning human, surely it can also take care of the zombie infection you have flowing through your veins.

In summary: The same infectious bite can only kill you ONCE. It should not still be in effect after being revived.

Left Queue: 13:48, 30 March 2007 (BST)

February 27th

Scent Trail Applies to Humans

Timestamp: Sexy Rexy Grossman 04:13, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill change
Scope: Survivors
Description: This brings revenge to the humans. The same "triggers" of the current Scent Trail skill apply: only if someone attacks the human (but does not kill them) or applies a FAK. (The "attempts Revive" trigger does not apply.)
If a particular zombie targets a survivor, the survivor has the option to track it down. Likewise, those who are currently being attacked, or was attacked but not killed by another survivor has a chance to hunt down their attacker. This gives a slight challenge to the PKers, as if they attack an active player or do not kill their target, they could be hunted down.
Left Queue: 13:52, 30 March 2007 (BST)

Swing Ball Melee Weapon

Timestamp: Kamikaze12 09:23, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Satire/New Weapon.
Scope: Zombie and Survivor.
Description: It has become evident to me after re-watching shaun of the dead that the most common house hold weapon in britain (where i personally think malton is set)has been overlooked.The standard garden swing ball would be used as a melee weapon much like a baseball bat this way it can be used both by survivors and zombies players as a melee weapon. However the swing ball can be used to 'impale' the victim with the sharpe bottom end of the swing ball. This is a one use attack the swing ball is assumed to be stuck in the victim.The impale skill can be used both by Zombie and Survivors i mean even zombies know how to shove a sharp object at its prey.The impaled swingball will alos act much like infection with the player losing 1hp every time they spend an AP until it is removed (by using first aid kit)

description reads - you extract a large metal rod with a ball attached to it from ...players name.... and patch up the wound. This doesnt apply to zombies due to the obviously rare use of FAKS

heres the basic stats

Damage 2 points Base accuracy 10% Locations Mall Sports Stores (41%/20%) Schools (21%/10%)

Impale Damage 7 points Base Accuracy 10%

description will read - You impale a zombie it looks blankly at the swinging ball.

You impale a survivor they stumbles backwards and gape in shock at the protruding metal rod..

Left Queue: 13:52, 30 March 2007 (BST)

Flare Gun / Fuel Attack

Timestamp: MrAushvitz Canadianflag-sm.jpg 11:06, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Optional Attack
Scope: If you have a flare gun and fuel, vs. a zombie!
Description: If I may politely point out, the "human torch zombie" is something, I think we all want to see.. periodically. So, if it's done right.. shall we?

Flare Gun / Fuel Attack:

Survivor attack (only!) this button attack can only be made against zombies not survivors!!! (Zombies don't care if you throw fuel on them, they really don't.. it's the fire that makes them angry.)

  • If you have at least 1 fuel can in your inventory, and you are at an outdoors location that contains at least 1 zombie... you will see a button that says "Douse Zombie In Fuel 1 AP".
  • If you click it, you make a "fuel" attack on a zombie 1st in stack, as normal. 1 fuel can is removed from your inventory each time you use this attack, whether it hits, or not.
  • Chances to hit are double your current flare gun accuracy (max. 30% chance to hit!) (Unskilled survivors: 2.5% x 2 = 5% chance to hit a zombie with your fuel.. it sucks, but.. it can get you XP, read on.)
  • Each time you "hit" the zombie, it does 0 damage.. "You douse the zombie with the fuel!" but the computer now keeps track of how many fuel cans this particular zombie has been hit by.
  • A zombie may only have a maximum of 3 fuel counts on it at a time, any more, is a waste of gas.
  • For every 5 AP a zombie spends, it loses 1 fuel count. (It gets shook off, drips off.. etc.) So if a zombie spends 15 AP doing, whatever, all this fuel is gone.. and they are now "normal" again.
  • Zombies don't know how much fuel is on them, just when they're hit by it, same is true from what the survivors "see". You may occasionally flare gun a zombie who already had fuel on it, and be pleasantly suprised!
  • If a zombie is killed, or revived the fuel count immediately goes back to 0. Suicide jumps off buildings have no effect.
  • Multiple survivors may toss fuel onto the same zombie (why not?), but with the messages.. it can be hard to tell how much was thrown on it (unless it's not active) so, you take your chances. You'll know when the time is "light"...

Lighting The Fuel

Once you feel that you have hit this zombie with enough fuel.. now you may shoot it with your flare gun, any time you like.

  • A hit, on a zombie, with a flare gun will cause that zombie to burst into flames.. if it has at least 1 fuel count left on it!
  • The flare gun, does it's regular flare gun damage first (modified by flak jacket as normal if any.)
  • If the zombie is killed by the flare gun itself.. there is no "fire damage" because it's already dead.. sure it caught on fire, and all looked cool.. but it's dead now, life goes on. And when the zombie dies, all fuel counts go away.
  • If it's still standing, now, the zombie takes FIRE damage! All survivors/zombies read the message "(survivor) just lit a gas soaked zombie on fire with their flare gun!" (and again, and again, if this happens a lot on this location today.)

Fire Damage

  • This zombie now immediately takes a random amount of damage. (Right after taking that flare gun damage, if it's still standing.)
  • This zombie takes 4 to 8 points of damage for each fuel count they had on them, each group is counted seperately.. then the total is added together as 1 sinlge hit. "Your zombie bursts into flames! You took X damage!!"
  • This big stack of fire damage is now modified by the flak jacket if any (20% damage taken off, rounded off normally) And that damage is applied to your zombie.
  • If your zombie dies to this fire.. the message reads "You fall to the ground incinerated" and other zombies/survivors read "A zombie falls to the ground, incinerated."
  • The survivor who lit the fire is the one who gets the XP for the damage dealt by the fire (so some survivors may be frantically trying to hit a zombie with their flare gun, before the other guy.) And if you killed the zombie, the same is true for the killing XP bonus. It's a race, it's fun.
  • Any zombie that gets hit by a flare gun, and is set on fire.. and does not die is awarded 2 XP, for surviving, and adding to the game enjoyment! (The coolness of outdoor firefighter combats in Malton.) (Kind of hard to abuse, because of the sheer flare gun damage will kill even a bodybuilding zombie soon enough.)

Incincerated:

Zombies that have been incinerated the system records the time, that zombie was incinerated.. that zombie cannot stand up for 5 minutes. This is actually relevant in a seige (if you go outdoors and burn some Z's!) This has no effect on headhsot for or against.

But it is only a movement prevention effect, your zombie is down, and stays down, until the time is up, then you may stand again. (And infect those SOB's!)

Closing Point:

Now, that's all it does, all it can do.. and it's actually simple.. but I put it out point by point so we can all see noone can abuse it or cheat on it. If a bunch of survivors want to go zombie hunting with several fuel cans and flare guns (well maybe only 2 of them are even good with the flare guns) that's their business! If they're crazy enough to do it, sure.. if you prefer your shotgun, excllent.. your business!

To recap, this attack only works outdoors, if you are a survivor and you are attacking a zombie with it.

If some idiot kills your fueled zombie with another non-flare gun weapon, fuel is "gone", or if someone combat revives your target fuel is "gone". (Not 100% accurate, this is a game.. call it the don't burn me, I'm alive rule.)

Get gas on them, then light it. Sure, you may miss with all of your flare rounds, and swear.. a lot. But, you want torched zombies, you gotta earn it! Obviously, it would be good to have a lot of fuel.. and flare guns.

Can be harder to pull off unless you're well stocked to do so, but, exciting, and just, oh-so-cool.

Left Queue: 13:52, 30 March 2007 (BST)

February 28th

Brain Fever

Timestamp: S.Wiers X:00 00:26, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies with Brain Rot
Description: Zombie skill. A Sub-Skill to Brain Rot. Costs 100 ExP's to purchase.

Zombies with this skill are host to a variety of cerebral infections that, in the living, cause a high fever accompanied by weakness, hallucinations, and amnesia. Characters infected (via "Infectious Bite") by zombies who have the "Brain Fever" skill are infected and lose HP as normal, but are also flagged as being affected by "Brain Fever". This flag for "Brain Fever" lasts until the infection is cured. Brain Fever is easier to detect than a normal infection, and can be detected using the "Diagnoses" skill, or with "Scent Fear". If a survivor or zombie contact has the Brain Fever flag, a red * would appear next to their name when viewed by a character who has either of those skills.

For every HP a survivor looses while affected by "Brain Fever", there is a chance they will also drop a single item of equipment from their inventory, due to infection induced exhaustion, confusion, or (in the case of a flak jacket) need to to cool down. This happens after all other effects of the HP loss and the action that caused it are applied. The chance of this happening is equal in percent to the number of items the survivor is carrying, with each item having an equal chance to be lost. The technical details for how this is determined are as follows:

  1. Each time the survivor affected by "Brain Fever" looses a HP to infection, a random number ("D") from 1 to 100 is generated.
  2. Starting at the top of the survivors inventory list string the server would count "D" characters into the list.
  3. If this count ends up "over" a letter character representing an item, the server would delete the item (if any) that was represented by that letter character (just as if the item were dropped) and send a message saying "due to your fevered infection, you have dropped your XYZ" along with the report of HP loss.
  4. If the count ends over a numeral (representing, for example, a loaded gun's ammo supply or a radio's frequency) or runs past the end of the inventory string, there is no effect.

Note that since the list string can have at most 50 items in it, there is at most a 50% chance an item would be dropped. I most cases, the chance would be somewhat lower. Note also that there are two fairly simple ways to minimize or even completely avoid the effects of "Brain Fever". The first is to have a FAK on hand at all times, and apply it as your first action when you are infected. This looses you 1 HP but cures the infection, so you will perhaps loose a single item- but never the FAK, as you use it and THEN the effect of Brain Fever is applied. The other is to simply let yourself be killed, and then get somebody to apply a FAK to you before you get revived, curing the infection while you are still a zombie. That way you would never loose any HP to infection, so the Brain Fever would have no chance to effect your inventory.

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