Suggestions/RejectedMay2006

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This page is for the storage of Suggestions that have failed Peer Review and have been considered Poor and Unworthy Suggestions. This is not the place to put new Suggestions. The Suggestions Page is the queue for new Suggestions to be voted on and suggested. Any Suggestions that have not been voted on will be removed from this page.

Notes for Editors

Those who are placing Suggestions on this page should do so under the following procedure:

  1. Take the entire template and paste it into this section.
  2. Remove the entire suggest_votes field.
  3. Add the field suggest_moved, and then timestamp it with ~~~~~.
  4. replace "suggestion" with "prejection.

So, the new template should look like:

===Suggestion Name===
 {{prejection|
suggest_time=Old Timestamp|
suggest_type=Original type|
suggest_scope=Original scope|
suggest_description=Original description|
suggest_moved= 04:30, 22 Nov 2005 (GMT)|
}}
----

Peer Rejected Suggestions

1st May 2006

Exponential XP

Timestamp: 20:31, 21 March 2006 (GMT)
Type: Skill buying system alteration
Scope: Everyone
Description: Resubmitted from back in March, where it was submitted twice. The first time it was pretty dead due to most voters misreading the suggestion. The following sentence added for clarity:

THIS IDEA DOES NOT RESET THE GAME. YOUR SKILLS ARE WIPED, BUT ALL THE XP YOU'VE EVER GOTTEN, INCLUDING WHAT YOU HAVE SPENT ON SKILLS, YOU WILL GET BACK, SO YOU CAN BUY THE SKILLS AGAIN. THEY'D SIMPLY COST DIFFERENT AMOUNTS. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE VOTING. THANK YOU.

The second time the crucial kill votes were "like the idea, hate the numbers." So I've finally gotten around to changing the numbers. here goes.

I submitted this a long time ago and it was shot down, but it's been long enough and and situation is different enough I believe it deserves a resubmit. I've also clarified the details somewhat, to please don't be an ass and call dupe. Anyway. My idea works like this: Homogeny is a big problem in today's UD world. The suggestion prior to this one, regarding endgame skills with high XP costs, attempts to remedy this problem, but I feel there should be a more fundamental solution. Thus I propose that instead of a flat 100XP cost for skills (with class/crossclass multiplers) the cost should go up depending on your level. The first skill a new character buys should cost 50XP. All subsequent skills should cost a bit more, but going continuously up so that the cost to buy every skill in the game is huge. The progression would go up by 10 with every skill--50-60-70-80 etc. But what about all the players that already have huge numbers of skills? Simple: they lose all their skills and are refunded 100XP per each (or 75 for class skills and 150 for cross-class, depending on their status) and this, plus whatever XP they have currently, can be freely spent under the new system. Yes, this will be painful. Yes, I would rather my highlevel characters could stay high-level. But there's really no other way I can think of to solve the homogenity problem short of actually resetting the game, which nobody wants. This method turns an essentially simple skill-acquisition system that becomes meaningless very quickly into one with a lot more depth and strategy involved--you hesitate a lot more before buying Shopping when you know it'll take 100XP before you can get Bargain Hunting, and for that entire 1000XP Shopping will be pretty useless, since it'll be more profitable to search in a Hospital or PD. IF you're going to be a gunner, buying all the gun skills first will make it that much harder to get essentials like Free Running or Diagnosis--perhaps you ought to hold off on the shotgun skills and only buy the pistol ones for now--but of course that means the shotgun ones will cost more later. I think that boost to the flair and flavor of the game is worth experienced players losing some power.

Left Queue: 20:35, 1 May 2006 (BST)

Axe Headshot

Timestamp: 20:49, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Weapon alteration
Scope: Humans with axes
Description: When a Human uses an Axe to kill a Zombie, they lose the axe as it becomes embedded in the Zombies skull. However the user of the axe doesn't need to be a Zombie Hunter to use this skill.
Left Queue: 22:11, 1 May 2006 (BST)


Agility

Timestamp: 01:40, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors and Zombies
Description: Appears on the skill tree by itself, but similar to Body Building it is classified as a Civilian skills. Survivors will get a 5% increase to their chance to hit for hand-to-hand skills as well as a 5% chance to dodge hand-to-hand skills (to include zombie skills). This 5% chance to dodge is implemented as a subtraction from the chance to hit, and the chance to hit cannot be reduced below 25% (so that neither slain survivors nor starting zombies are not penalized when faced with a higher level character). Zombies on the other hand, will gain an overall 10% chance to hit for attacks, but no chance to dodge. The justification for this is that as the zombies are already dead and are not so concerned with getting hit.
  • Attack Calculations
    • Zombie Attacks
      • Claws
        • Human w/o Agility - max 70% chance to hit, 2.1 damage per AP, 24 turns
        • Human w/ Agility - max 65% chance to hit, 1.95 damage per AP, 26 turns
      • Bite
        • Human w/o Agility - max 50% chance to hit, 2 damage per AP, 25 turns
        • Human w/ Agility - max 45% chance to hit, 1.8 damage per AP, 28 turns
    • Survivor Attacks
      • Fists - 30% chance to hit, .3 damage per AP, 167 turns
      • Knife - 45% chance to hit, .9 damage per AP, 56 turns
      • Fire Axe - 45% chance to hit, 1.35 damage per AP, 37 turns
  • Survivor Description - Through training you have increased you ability to both hit and dodge hand to hand attacks
  • Zombie Description - You have begun to rot and as such you have gained some flexibility, increasing the speed of your attacks
  • Balance Considerations - As you can see from the math this skill will actually benefit the zombies the most due to the overall increases in the effectiveness in Zombie Skills. Even when faced with a survivor with Agility and the 5% dodge chance a zombie has an overall advantage. However, there is also a slight boost to human hand-to-hand attacks making items such as the fire axe slightly more appealing.
Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Blood Rage

Timestamp: 02:45, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Your zombie becomes enraged at the sight of his own blood when wounded

and goes on a killing frenzy. This is the basic idea of blood rage. This skill requires Vigour Mortis to buy. When your zombie's health drops below 20, your zombie gets and extra 5% chance to hit with all attacks. I think that it would be kind of realistic, but it is not overly powerful.

Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Urgent Reload - Shotgun

Timestamp: 03:38, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors, Zombie Hunter Class
Description: This skill would be part of Zombie Hunter skills tree and would also require the user to have Advanced Shotgun Training, meaning that the earliest that it could be acquired is at level 11. With this skill the player would have a 50% chance be able to reload both rounds of their shotgun at the same time when faced with two or more zombies with at least one of them an active player (i.e. also online).
  • Implementation - The use of this skill would be transparent and the 50% would be rolled if the shotgun is empty and there are two shells in the players inventory. If the roll is successful then the user would get a message along the lines of The urgency of the situation causes you to move faster as you quickly reload your shotgun. If the roll is not successful then there is no effect and the player receives no messages (i.e. normal reloading)
  • Flavor justification - As a player progresses in the game it would stand to reason that they would get more experience with the shotgun, further more it also stands to reason that you would move a bit quicker in the face of possible death.
  • Metagame consideration - This skill would partly give another element to the zombie hunter tree, but it would also increase the flavor of the class overall. For example, this skill could cause some players to start going looking for dangerous situations and playing a bit more risky style.
  • Balance Consideration - Due to the fact that this would be a random roll the actuall balance would not be affected too much - the range to kill a 50HP zombie without a flak jacket would be between 11AP to 14AP. So overall the game balance would not be affected, furthermore, it would only be of use under a limited number of situations.
  • In game Description - In the face of danger you have a chance to reloading your shotgun faster
Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Citizen

Timestamp: 15:09, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Consumers
Description: Everyone knows that "Consumers" are not the only people in Malton. I propose that instead of the "Consumer" class, the third Civilian class be changed to Citizen.

What this means: Basically, when a player chooses the Citizen class they would be allowed to choose their starting skill and one piece of starting equipment. The starting skill would be any of the Civilian skills, and the equipment would be chosen from: cell phone, baseball bat, spray can, crowbar and length of pipe.

All of these skills have a "Class" that appear in Peer-Reviewed already, why not just lump them all together into one.

Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Shotgun Headshot v2

Timestamp: 16:37, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Weapon balance change
Scope: Zombie hunters
Description: Currently, the shotgun is a far less valuable weapon than the pistol. It takes so much AP to find and reload shells that I find it a weapon I fire off just to get it out of the way before the "real" combat begins. (Obviously, I fire it off at enemies, I'm not that stupid.) I propose that the Headshot skill be altered to activate every time on fatal shotgun hits, but a little less frequently on fatal strikes from other weapons. Since acquiring shotgun ammo is sort of hard to avoid, this would really just mean survivors would save a couple shells for when their target zombie is at less than 10 hp, in order to achieve the headshot. It'd make for a slightly more strategic use of weapons.

The real-world justification for this (if you insist on having one; has anyone come up with a really satisfying RW explanation for Free Running yet?) would be that only shotgun blasts have sufficient "spread" to thoroughly damage the zombie's brain every time.

Here's the math:

Shotgun - 100% chance of achieving a headshot on fatal strike
All other weapons - 65% chance of achieving a headshot on fatal strike

Before you call this a "headshot nerf," consider that most anyone who has the 10+ levels to buy Headshot probably already has both firearm skill trees maxed, and searching for ammo generally produces both pistol and shotgun ammo. This suggestion would only change when survivors choose to use their shotguns, and would give the shotgun an added feature to compensate for its overall low HP/AP damage ratio. Would make for a little more strategy in executing those finishing blows. Yes, if you choose to kill your target with something other than the shotgun, occasionally you would miss the headshot. But I find that a really interesting twist.

Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Generator Defense

Timestamp: 16:51, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: If you are in a building where a generator is set up, you could click a button, and get the message, "You take up a vulnerable position defending the generator." You would then be added to the top of a stack, like the zombie stack, with the generator at the bottom. Zombies, or survivor GKers, who choose to attack the generator would actually be attacking the top defender in the stack, with a bonus to their hit percentage, probably about +10%. When the defenders are all gone, then the generator is at the top of the stack and can be destroyed.

Where there are a bajillion survivors and the building is basically well-defended, you can add yourself to the stack with minimal added risk because you won't be at the top for long and you'll probably get healed if you are: as long as enough people do it, they all gain because they get the generator bonus to their search AP instead of having it destroyed first thing on every break-in. Where there are only a few survivors and a place is being overrun, no one would do it because they would just be giving the attackers a free to-hit bonus. In between, it would get interesting.

Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Double-barrel

Timestamp: 19:34, 1 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill for shotgun use
Scope: Survivors
Description: Double-barrel would be a skill--either in the military tree, under Shotgun Training, next to AST, or else a Zombie Hunter skill. This skill allows you to shoot a zed with both barrels of a shotgun at once (thus using both shells), for one AP KEEP READING. The catch would be, it'd do less than 20 damage (though still more than 10, obviously) at full accuracy. NOTE: I mean full normal accuracy. IE 65%. Sorry if that was unclear. I'm thinking 15, though I'd like someone to run the math for me. The idea is that it'd actually do less dam/AP than single-barrel shotgun use when you average in reloading and finding ammo--maybe a lot less--to counterbalance the obvious tactical advantage of being able to deal a lot of damage quickly if you have them preloaded. You're voting on 15, allthough I'd like someone to tell me what amount of damage the combined blast would have to do to get 75% of normal shotgun dam/AP when you include finding ammo and putting it in the gun.
Left Queue: 01:08, 29 June 2006 (BST)

2nd May 2006

Advanced Necronet skills

Timestamp: 17:57, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: A survivor can buy "Revival Veteran" once he has Lab experience to halve the ap cost of reviving. Once he has this skill he can buy another skill called "Professional Manufacturing" to decrease the cost of manufacturing syringes to 15ap.
Left Queue: 20:31, 2 May 2006 (BST)

Kung Foo Combat

Timestamp: 17:58, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: This is a suggestion for a new civilian survivor skill tree called "Kung Fu". The skill tree would increase the power of weaponless combat. Skills from this tree cost 75xp to all survivors, since they maybe aren't as useful as the other skills. the skills are as follows...

Karate Training: 10% extra chance to hit with Punch and kick attacks. The beginning skill in the Kung Fu tree.

  • Kickboxing training: A survivor can now kick enemies for 3 damage at 5% chance to hit (20% once the skill is earned).
    • Hardened feet: Increases chance to hit with kicks by 15%
  • Advanced fist training increases chance to hit with a punch by 15% (for a total of 50% chance to hit with fists, i think).
Left Queue: 22:53, 2 May 2006 (BST)


Box of Shells

Timestamp: 00:10, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Survivors, shotgun
Description: This suggestion is for a new item to the game, namely a box of shotgun shells. These boxes of shells are found with 1 to 3 shells outside of armories, inside armories they are found full with 5 shells. When a box of shotgun shells is found then the player will take all shells up to the maximum that they can hold in their inventory.
  • Chance to find
    • Armory - 2%
    • Police Department - 1%
    • Mall Gun Stores - 2%
  • Contents of Box
    • Armory - 5 shells
    • Police Department & Mall Gun Stores - 60% chance of only containing 1 shell, 30% chance of containing two shells, 10% chance of containing 3 shells
  • Flavor Text
    • 1 Shell - You have found a box of shotgun shells, however, there is only one left
    • 2 Shells - You have found a box of shotgun shells with two left inside
    • 3 Shells - You find a half full box of shotgun shells with three left inside
    • 5 Shells - You have found a full box of shotgun shells
  • Mathematics
    • Police Department - Shells can be found by themselves at the rate of 1 shell for 17 AP versus the box of shells which can be found at the rate of 1 shell for 100 AP, 2 shells for 50 AP, 3 shells for 33 AP
    • Mall Gun Stores - Shells can be found by themselves at the rate of 14 AP versus the box of shells which can be found at the rate of 1 shell for 50 AP, 2 shells for 25 AP, 3 shells for 17 AP
      • The 2% find rate of the box is low enough that it will not be increased by skills, I am unsure of how calculations for the 30% find powered malls is preformed so I will not speculate on it
    • Armory - Shells can be found by themselves at the rate of 1 shell for 17 AP versus the box rate of 6 shells for 50 AP which equates to 1 shell for every 10 AP spent
  • Analysis - Outside of armories the pay off for finding a box of shells is so low that the pay off in the long run is negligible - in essence they add a bit of lucky flavor to the game. However, inside of armories they are more likely to be found, but this is also in keeping with the increased risk of being in an armory.
Left Queue: 01:10, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Knife Throw

Timestamp: 00:19, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Ability
Scope: Survivors
Description: A survivor can throw his knife at an enemy for 5 damage at 15% chance

to hit. The survivor loses his knife if he does this. Hand to hand combat does not affect the chance, but advanced knife training does. I think this gives more of a reason to use the kitchen knife and buy Advanced knife training.

Left Queue: 01:10, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Death Speech

Timestamp: 02:59, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Death Rattle
Description: This is yet another idea to improve the use of Death Rattle.
    Skill: Death Speech (Appears under Death Rattle)
    A Zombie with this skill will have the first three letters
left alone when they use Death Rattle

This skill would allow Zombies to say small words like "Die" or "Eat".

    Skill: Improved Death Speech (Appears under Death Speech)
    A Zombie with this skill will have the first five letters
left alone when they use Death Rattle

Using this skill Zombies could say more complicated words like "Smash", "Crush", "Kill" or even "Help"


So, for example: "Eat Brains" would be translated as "Eat dkelso" or something to that effect. Zombies could even make whole sentences by speaking over and over again time talking would of course cost one AP.


Something like these skills could increase RP value and help dead survivors ask for Revives.

Left Queue: 01:10, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Despoil

Timestamp: 20:30, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Essentially a more extreme ransacking, it requires Memories of Life and Ransack to be available. A zombie with this skill would have greater memories of what existed before they were killed (emotions, feelings etc.), but their brains have deteriorated and as such they can only feel certain emotions, chief among them anger (I just know that someone studying biology is going to tell me that that's completely wrong and impossible, but hey...). As such, they feel a compulsive need to destroy things - much more than simply knocking over a few shelves and pushing over a desk. They gain the following bonuses, but only if there are no Survivors present (in Large Buildings, there must only be no Survivors in that particular corner):
  • A +10% bonus to destroy Generators
  • A +5% bonus to damage Barricades (but only if they're inside)
  • The benefit of smashing NecroNet computers when Ransacking - the damage done by Ransacking needs to be Repaired before NecroNet can be used again in that building, even if there is a powered generator

They don't gain the benefits while there are Survivors there, because the presence of living creatures distracts them.

Additionally, if there are Survivors present then their Feeding Groan has a +1 bonus to its range.

However, they have a 50% chance of not opening a door when using the Memories of Life skill, because they're in such a rage that they've partly forgotten such things.

Left Queue: 01:10, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Weapon Expert

Timestamp: 22:57, 2 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Milatary
Description: A skill that allows you to search for the kind of Weapon you want in a building, Basickly it adds some bottons next to the search botton that says look for gun, Malee Weapon, ammo.
Left Queue: 01:10, 29 June 2006 (BST)

3rd May 2006

Rifles

Timestamp: May 2, 2006
Type: weapon
Scope: human
Description: It’s new types of weapon described below.

- Rifle: Simple, average damage of 5, but with 8 rounds per clip. It will not unbalance gameplay, because of the scarcity of ammo clips, and the original attack percent will be 5%. The next skill, fire arms training, will get it up to 30%, the next one, called rifle training, will up the hit percentage to 55%, and that will be it for skills because of simplicity of using a rifle. Point, shoot, reload. Rifle will have a mode to toggle on/off, so they can attack with the bullet or the Bayonet, simply there to enhance the rifle, it will have a base hit of 3, benefiting from hand to hand, and knife training, and also beyonet training, a new skill which raise the bayonet hit chance to 50%. The rifle will total 55% for 8 rounds, with balances it out with the pistol, it will just be a different weapon to use for flavor.

Left Queue: 2:04, 3 May 2006, BST

Find Ammo

Timestamp: May 3, 06
Type: Skill
Scope: People
Description: Allows you to find ammo better, or it increases the ability to find ammo by 30%.
Left Queue: 14:31, 3 May 2006 (BST)

Flare Six-Shot V4

Timestamp: 18:22, 3 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Weapon/storage Item
Scope: Humans
Description: I took the old one and tweaked the stats. This weapon is like a pistol that shoots flares. Each flare gun provides one ammunition for the flare Six-Shot. It has the same accuracy and damage as a regular flare gun. When used as a weapon, you can shoot just one flare, or all six flares into a target (which costs six ap, same as shooting individualy. It's just more convenient). I am not suggesting flare guns become ammo, just a new way to carry them. If you shot all of your flares into a target with the weapon you would have a total of 90% chance to do 15 damage. it is like a shotgun in that it takes up two inventory slots. It can only be found in armories, and is a rarity. Overall, it takes 12 ap to have a 90% chance to do 15 damage (each flare has a 15% chance to hit at full accuracy). To use the Flare Six-Shot you must have basic firearms training.
Left Queue: 21:39, 3 May 2006 (BST)

Rail System

Timestamp: May 3, 2006
Type: improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: Basically, it puts the train stations to use. If you are a survivor in a powered rail station you can travel to the nearest powered rail station within a 20 block radius. It would help with travel, also it could cost 10 AP to use.
Left Queue: 22:22, 3 May 2006 (BST)


Shotgun Modifications

Timestamp: 19:38, 3 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombie Hunters and their Shotguns
Description: This would be a Zombie Hunter skill that would allow Zombie Hunters to customize their Shotguns to various situations

Skill: Shotgun Modify (Appears on the Zombie Hunter skill tree). Allows Zombie Hunters to Modify their shotguns

Mechanics: A character with this skill would click a "Shotgun" in their inventory and be taken to a new screen to modify their shotgun. Once this screen is displayed the player would have 4 options to modify the weapon:

1) Increase Firepower: The shotgun would now deal 12 Damage and only be able to hold one shell.
2) Increase Accuracy: The shotgun would now have +5% Accuracy and only be able to hold one shell.
3) Increase Ammo and Decrease Firepower: The shotgun would deal 8 Damage and be able to hold 3 shells.
4) Increase Ammo and Decrease Accuracy: The shotgun would now have -5% accuracy and be able to hold 3 shells.

Once the modification was complete then the shotgun would be renamed to something else I am however unsure about any names. A player could click on the new weapon in his inventory to remove the modification and change it back to a regular shotgun.

The cost to modify a shotgun would be 100XP and 1 AP. The cost to remove a modification would be 0XP and 1AP.

I am not sure if this would be unbalanced or not but it is an idea to get people to spend some of their Banked XP. Im also working on one for Axes, Knives, and Zombie Combat skills.

Left Queue: 01:19, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Mutant Viral Strains

Timestamp: 23:07, 3 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies, and victims
Description: This would be the 10th level zombie skill, and like it's survivor brother, has no other requirements.

Mutant Viral Strains (could be renamed, but I could not think of a more appropriate name) represents that the virus has mutated in older virus to a point that makes it more active. The virus multiplies ni the zombies glands, and it spread to others via the bite attack, because of the saliva. Basicly, it's a more active version of the original virus, but does not attack normal functions as the infectuous bite strain. The description would go as follows: Mutant Viral Strains: After a long time of exposure to the virus and serving as it's host, a new active strand has emmerged, but does not destroy normal tissue when multiplying. You may now pass on this infection to others you bite.

To talk game mechanics. This would act as the normal infection, but would do no damage and would stack with it. If you are infected, your status shows as 'Ill', and if you are both infected and 'ill', it could show as 'Weary'. What it does slightly fight the Necrotech syrum, even more than it's founding strain. A character that is 'ill' and dies has 25% of having the next necrotech injection fail on him. And I emphasise, only the first attempt. FAKs and Necrotech syringes heal this is one use (and FAKs also heal the infectuous bite at the same time). This would be a way of 'balancng out' the Head Shot skill. Zombies wanting to raise as zombies take +5 APs, Zombies (infected) wanting to raise as humans have 25% chance of having the first syringe fail.

Left Queue: 01:19, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Anti-Virus Manufacture (Simplified Redo)

Timestamp: 23:24, 3 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New NT Skill
Scope: Manufacture AN-6 Anti-Virus At Powered NT Buildings
Description: Anti-Virus Manufacture

Appears on science skills tree just under NecroNet Access, adds no benefits to your zombie character. Only prerequisite is NecroNet Access.

You are experienced at manufacturing and storage of the NecroTech AN-6 antivirus. You can establish anti-virus storage facilities at any powered NT building at any time for 25 AP. Any survivor with the NT employment skill may use these facilities to cure their infection for 1 AP.

  • Provided it is a powered NT building, that is also not ransacked you may spend 25 AP to set up these facilities any time. This building's description will now add "You see there is an ample supply of the AN-6 antivirus in cold storage." Every time your character successfully does this to a building that hasn't had AN-6 storage for at least 6 hours your character gains 7 XP. (This prevents people from setting up facilities, destroying it, and setting up again for XP harvesting.)

Using The AN-6 Anti-virus

  • Anyone with the NT employment skill can click on the "Use An-6" button, and for 1 AP, they are cured of infection!

Loss Of Power, Loss OF AN-6 Stores

Any time a NT building with these storage facilities loses power, the entire stores of AN-6 will be immediately lost. The lab equipment is unaffected, but it still takes 15 AP to re-create the antivirus. The anti-virus doesn't last more than a minute if it isn't stored at or below -5 degrees celcius. (Even when injected, it hurts a lot because it's so cold!)

Any zombie that destroys a generator in a NT building, causing the destruction of the AN-6 stores immediately gains 7 XP!

This is the reward for serving the zombie cause: infect all survivors.

  • NT Employment limitation: Any player with NT employment skill is not able to attack generators in a powered NT building with AN-6 storage, other survivors can destroy these generators, as well as zombies, but because of the security considerations (and certain death by complete incineration, company policy) no NT employee is permitted to destroy a generator in a NT building with AN-6 stores.)

Plot, Reasons:

This is mainly intended to be a secret anti-virus that NT just discovered and has made available. The darker purpouses behind it, is many survivors will choose (or eventually be forced to choose) some manner of NT employment just to have access to the anti-virus!

Infected survivors may still make it to their favorite NT building, only to find it without power and no anti-virus! Now they have to go to the hospital.

Ultimately, it makes sense that NT can have an efficient anti-virus, just in case. So NT employees can focus on revives, and not be "out of the loop" as a zombie for too long, because of periodic infection. This anti-virus is limited in the fact the generator must be maintained, and the building not lost to zombie incursiuon, and the antivirus cannot be picked up and moved with you like an FAK.

This also can come in handy for NT employees who get infected constantly while doing their DNA scans, revives, and scouting of the area.

Left Queue: 01:19, 29 June 2006 (BST)

4th May 2006

Revification Needle gun

Timestamp: 02:52, 4 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Item
Scope: Humans: Users. Zombies: Targets.
Description: The revification needle gun is a modified air pistol designed to fire miniature and simplified versions of the standard syringe. It was designed in response to the decrease in effectiveness and increase of difficulty of the standard method of sticking syringes into zombies to convert them into human form. It requires 2 AP to fire, and has a base accuracy of 10%. However, this base accuracy can be increased by proficiency in using more conventional firearms. AllStarZ 02:52, 4 May 2006 (BST)
Left Queue: 5:32, May 4th 2006 (BST)


Reanimation

Timestamp: 01:05, 4 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: Many people like to play both sides of Urban Dead, switching their allegiance occasionally for a change of pace. Sometimes I'd like to try playing a Brain Rotted zombie, but didn't want to face having an immense hassle in getting revived inside a powered NT building each and every time the next time my allegiance went back to human. Here's an answer to that.

Reanimation would be a high level Necrotech skill that would use NecroNet Access as prerequisites. A survivor with this skill would have a new button when in powered Necrotech buildings: Reanimate, which would cost 1AP. This is a procedure in which the scientist injects themselves with a self-made solution to repair their rotted brain tissue. The next time they die their Brain Rot skill is dormant. The zombie can be revived and scanned without difficulty. When revived if they do not Reanimate themselves once more the next time they die their Brain Rot would be fully active again.

This skill would improve the game in that it would provide players with more options. I may want to roam around Ridleybank as a brain rotted zombie for a month or two, but then for a change of pace I might want to go defend a mall somewhere. If I want to stay human for a while then it's convenient to not have your own skill force you to go through the difficult process of an indoors NT revive each time. If I ever want to become a brain rotted zombie again it's a simple matter of not reanimating myself next time I'm revived. This wouldn't hurt gameplay balance as it doesn't penalize anyone, it simply allows players to have more options as to what they'd like to be doing.

Left Queue: 01:25, 29 June 2006 (BST)

5th May 2006

Scent Life

Timestamp: 02:51, 5 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Your zombie can sense the presence of survivors in the area. If there are any survivors within one block of your zombies, a message will say "You smell Survivors nearby". It's not overpowered at all, it just helps you by saying where there might be survivors (much like feeding groan). It requires Scent Fear
Left Queue: 05:17, 5 May 2006 (BST)

Killing Frenzy

Timestamp: 02:52, 5 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Your zombie has killed so much he is frenzied and has red eyes. survivors attacking him have a 10% to waste an ap and gasp in fear. They do not lose their ammo, just ap. The zombie can also be individualy targeted as a result of his blood red eyes (unless there are multiple zombies in the area with the same skill). Requires Vigour Mortis, Brain rot, and all "scent" skills.
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Bloodwrath

Timestamp: 02:55, 5 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: zombies
Description: Your zombie gets +5% chance to hit with all attacks when there are 3 or more survivors in the area. this skill requires Vigour Mortis.
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In-game Caiger Mall shirts

Timestamp: 03:31, 5 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Flavour item
Scope: Survivors; Caiger Mall
Description: This would be a simple flavour item, available only by searching Caiger Mall. It would be described in-game as a "shirt bearing the legend 'I looted Caiger Mall and all I got was this lousy T-shirt'", just as one of the real shirts might be described, although the item name in the inventory would simply be "Caiger Mall T-Shirt".

Alternatively, a better possibility might be to make the longer description appear only on "using" the shirt in inventory, which would bring up something along the lines of "You hold up the shirt that you found to look at it; it bears the legend 'I looted Caiger Mall and all I got was this lousy T-shirt'."

It occurred to me that this could be an amusing item to find in-game.

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Stopping Power

Timestamp: 18:59, 5 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Shotgun Improvement/Skill
Scope: Shotgun Damage
Description: A shotgun right now, is currently uneconomical to use because even though it

does 10 damage you still must use 3 AP per reload (vs 1 AP for pistol). To balance that, I think shotguns should have a change at damaging ones AP (1-3 ap per hit, 1-5% chance). I think there should be a new skill(?) for this, like "Stopping Power" or something, that increases your chances of damages someones AP. However, increasing the bonus too much would be really annoying, so I think it should stay at the 1-10% level.

Left Queue: 21:32, 5 May 2006 (BST)

Bicycle

Timestamp: 16:31, 5 May 2006 (PDT)
Type: Item add
Scope: All Survivors
Description: Add a Bike item which can be found in the streets. Survivors may move on the streets at 1 area for 0.5 AP. However, Survivors may not enter a building while carrying a bike, they must drop it first. This will allow quick movement across the city but at the cost of AP used to find one. Also, the bike has to be ditched before the survivor can hide out. It would be useful for longer trips, as the AP wasted finding it likely might not be worth the savings.
Left Queue: 03:11, 6 May 2006 (BST)

Add by-user Time Zones

Timestamp: 17:31, 5 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Interface change
Scope: Everyone not in BST
Description: Add the option for users to pick a time zone in their profile so that timestamps for attacks, deaths, flares, feeding groans, etc are displayed in the user's native time rather than always in BST. This would probably require a "Daylight Saving Time?" checkbox. There is a Greasemonkey script here but it would make a fine addition to the game itself, mostly for those who aren't willing/able to find and run said script. Displaying a user's selected time zone to others is outside the scope of this suggestion.
Left Queue: 01:31, 29 June 2006 (BST)

6th May 2006

Fire Zombie

Timestamp: 03:41, 6 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Ability
Scope: zombies
Description: If a zombie had a fuel can in his inventory at the time of death he

can use it to set himself on fire for 2AP. When the zombie is on fire he gets +1 damage with hand attacks, but zombies that are flaming can be targeted as "The/A Flaming zombie" and he loses 2 hp per ap. If the zombie dies while he is on fire he is immediately headshot. He is also no longer on fire.

Left Queue: 03:57, 6 May 2006 (BST)

Fight Back

Timestamp: 17:53, 6 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Humans
Description: The skill 'Fight Back' appears in the Civilian Skills list with Body Building as a pre-requesite. When a human player is not logged in they have a 10% chance of dealing damage to someone who attacks them. This counter attack will deal 3HP damage.
Left Queue: 19:26, 6 May 2006 (BST)


Default Group Affiliations

Timestamp: 13:03, 6 May 2006 (BST)
Type: General Change
Scope: All new players
Description: I was sitting here and thiking, how come do people start off with no group affiliations? They all must be a part of some kind of group, because hey, we all like to think our characters had a life before the outbreak. Then it stuck me, each player should have a default group when the begin the game. So what I suggest is that for each starting class they each have a different group affiliation to start off with in their profiles. So the group affiliations would be like this...
  • Private - "The Army"
  • Medic - "The Army"
  • Scout - "The Army"
  • NecroTech Lab Assistant - "Malton Medical"
  • Doctor - "Malton Medical"
  • Cop - "The Workers Union"
  • Firefighter - "The Workers Union"
  • Consumer - "The Workers Union"
  • Corpse - "The Workers Union"

Although I guess there isn't any reason to keep, there also isn't any reason to kill. This just adds a bit of flavor to the game as it makes it a bit easier to get into character. A problem that could arrise is if someone designed a group with one of these names, from the statistics page it would then be linked to their group page which would promote their group dramaticaly. So what I suggest to counter that is that the statistics page doesn't link to any of these groups. This wouldn't clash with any current group.

Left Queue: 01:33, 29 June 2006 (BST)

7th May 2006

Infection Alteration

Timestamp: 14:32, 7 May 2006 (BST)
Type: balance change
Scope: Infected Humans
Description: Infections should take more than a Med-Pak to cure. Lower the chance of a cure by a med-pak to 30%.
Left Queue: 01:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Faster Manufacturing

Timestamp: 19:02, 7 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Balance Change
Scope: NT Revivers
Description: Currently, Manufacturing a syringe costs 20 AP and requires a powered NT building. Searching in an unpowered NT building will get you a syringe roughly 10% of the time. Manufacturing a syringe is thus effectively pointless - with the lights on you can usually find 3 with the AP it takes to Manufacture just one.

Suggestion is that the 'Manufacture Syringe' AP cost will be lowered to 10 AP.

Note that even with half the AP cost, searching will still be more effective than manufacturing so this should not upset the game balance in any way. Manufacturing has the out-of-game advantages that you don't have to hammer the search button and discard the useless duplicate GPS Units and DNA Extractors searching gets you (not to mention the network/server load from repeated searches and drops).

Left Queue: 01:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

GPS waypoint entering

Timestamp: 23:14, 7 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Item upgrade
Scope: humans with GPS's
Description: I would propose that users with a GPS be allowed to enter waypoints with short description of what it is (say, a safehouse, necrotech building, hospital, etc.)for a 1AP cost, and could activate a "find" function for previously entered waypoints, also for 1AP. You couldn't have more than 50 waypoints stored on your GPS at a given time.
Left Queue: 01:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

8th May 2006

Set Trap

Timestamp: 04:18, 8 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies who ransack.
Description: Requires, fuel can, pipe. 5ap to create one trap. Create a trap. When a zombie ransacks a building there is a 20-30% chance that the trap will detonate. Causes 10 damage to the nearest 5 players in the building, upon hitting there is a 5-10% chance of shrapnel being lodged in the players head, costing the player 5 more ap to stand up. Up to three traps can be set at a time. The second trap will detonate at only if the first trap does at 10% accuracy without headshot effect and the third at 5% if the second detonates without headshot effect.
Left Queue: 06:32, 8 May 2006 (BST)

Clymore Mine

Timestamp: 05:04, 8 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Item
Scope: Humans
Description: The Claymore Mine would be found in ONLY armories to keep with realism. The use of these claymores is for defensive purposes only. They claymore is planted inside of the barricades when clicked upon. When the claymore is installed each time you attack the barricades, human or zombie (The claymore knows no difference) you have a 1 in three chance of setting of the claymore, at whichpoint, the blastis large enough to take out 3 full health players and take four full health players to half health automatically. Human or zombie and flak jackets make no difference. By doing this, it makes both overbarricaders having to be more careful, free-run an essential, and defenses against zombies more effective.

Claymores should have a 10% chance of finding in armories and can be found nowhere else. This no only raises the need for armories but it makes them a larger target. IN addition because of the ammunition in the armory, and the other claymores. Claymores CANNOT be used on armories.

Left Queue: 05:24, 8 May 2006 (BST)

Infectous Bite Upgrade Version 2

Timestamp: 18:24, 8 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Infectious Bite
Description: After reading the thoughts on my previous suggestion I have retooled them and I think that I have figured out the kinks in the system.


Skill: New Strain-Appears under Infectious Bite on the Zombie Skill Tree A zombie with this skill has a 25% chance to give a "Higher Infection" to a Survivor.


A Higher Infection could only be cured by use of the Surgery Skill or using a Revivication Syringe. The zombie would have no knowlege as to wheather or not the infection that they deal is "Standard" or "Higher" and a Survivor could only have one infection at a time. The survivor would be informed to the level of the infection by an alert along with being bitten:

"You have become Highly Infected and should seek medical attention as soon as possible"


I think this should address any concerns that anyone had with my previous suggestion.

Left Queue: 23:07, May 8 2006


Street Smarts

Timestamp: 12:02, 8 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: You know the streets - You know the ins, and the outs, and sleeping outside never bothered you. Zombies and other players would only be able to see a player if they are in the same block as them, not adjasent. Slightly more protection for those stuck outdoors, but roaming zombies can still find you
Left Queue: 01:36, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Radio for PD contact

Timestamp: 00:26, 9 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New Equipment
Scope: Survivors
Description: This is a piece of equipment that allows communication between police departments in a 9 block radius (just like necronet), under the following conditions:

1. there is a powered mobile phone mast in the suburb - if the radius extends into another suburb, that too must have a powered mast

2. the PD must have a running generator, as must the department that is being 'called'

3. the PD being called must have a radio too

Search Odds: Mall Tech Stores (9%), Junkyards (2%) (I have purposefully made it unavailable in PDs on the grounds that turning one up during a search for ammo/weapons would make things a little too easy - requiring them to be sought after means a degree of forethought is needed to install one/ replace one.)

Usage

A player with one in their inventory can install it for 1AP.

Much like the mobile phone, it can send a message of up to 255 characters, costing 1AP to send. Unlike the mobile though, the message will appear in the room of the PD being called, rather than requiring any button pressing to read the message.

Sending the message would require a drop down menu next to the room options, with the available PDs listed ('available' meaning the points listed above), selecting the appropriate PD and entering the message into a text field.

Given that its functionality is linked to the presence of a generator, if the generator is destroyed, so is the radio - no extra AP should be needed to destroy one.

In the event that a zombie is present in a PD when such a message is received, it will of course be able to understand it - just as they can understand speech and graffiti.

Scope

While mobile phones are capable of long distance communication under the same circumstances, and have similar search odds, there would be advantages and limitations to using this equipment that make it distinct from the phone.

Sent messages would be privy to an entire building, rather than private, and could be sent by anyone, not requiring mutual contacts or membership to a group. While I imagine that this would be a very useful tool for groups, non-affiliated characters could also make use of it.

Of course, the disadvantage lies in the fact that there's a great likelihood of not knowing the person who has sent the message, and what their intentions are. As I imagine it, a PD recieving a message would not get the name of the person who had sent it, only the name of the station.

I am having some difficulty with the 9x9 radius aspect of this suggestion however - if it was bound by suburbs then often there would be a closer PD in a neighbouring suburb, and there are some suburbs with only 1 PD, and 7 with none at all. With this in mind going by radius from the PD seems the way to do things - but I'm not certain about the numbers.

Left Queue: 01:36, 29 June 2006 (BST)

9th May 2006

Dual Wielding

Timestamp: 22:42, 9 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Weapon Improvement
Scope: Humans
Description: After the skill of Headshot, Dual Wield should be attainable. Humans can use two weapons at once i.e. two knives etc (both must be the same). The bonus is 2 bullets or shells fired at once for the cost of 1 point. Would you actually gain anything by it? Probably not but flavour text could be added to make it worthwhile!
Left Queue: 23:43, 9 May 2006 (BST)

Infected Human attacks

Timestamp: 23:38, 9 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Balance Change
Scope: Infected Humans
Description: Infected Humans should have the option of being able to pass on the infection through biting (another box that appears when infected). This would be used by PK'ers or Zombies that have been unwillingly ressurected.
Left Queue: 00:45, 10 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Helps PKers.


Spot the Wounded: Version 2

Timestamp: 14:22, 9 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Slight Adjustment
Scope: All Survivors
Description: This would be a kind of starting "ability" for all survivors. When you enter a building you will be able to take an action called check survivors. This action will cost 1AP and is basically the same as asking, "Who needs healing?" However, unlike asking the people in the building, it will give you an automatic response.

It will highlight those survivors with less than 15 HP. This will allow people without Diagnosis to identify who needs healed. To limit server load, it will work like talking and you only check 50 survivors at a time. In a place like a mall it could take several AP to get round everyone.

Everyone can tell if someone nearby is badly hurt and you don't need to be a doctor or anything to tell that they need medical aid.

Left Queue: 01:37, 29 June 2006 (BST)

10th May 2006

Dummies

Timestamp: 01:49, 10 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Ability
Scope: Humans
Description: A survivor can set up a "dummy" of a zombie for 20 ap anywhere. the dummy has one health and everyone attacking the dummy gets 100% chance to hit. A syringe used on the dummy would not be wasted. If a syringe is used the screen would read "You push you syringe into the zombie, but see hay and pull it out because it is a dummy." Someone attacking the dummy would read "you attack the zombie, but when you punch it hay comes out and you realize it is a dummy." Anyting done to a dummy will Not give you ex.
Left Queue: 02:58, 10 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Voters believed it to be pointless.


11th May 2006

Toxic Miasma

Timestamp: 09:25, 11 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Zombie Skill
Scope: Level 4 Zombies and above
Description: Many many suggestions have come around that attempt to improve the infection mechanic; either by somehow making the infection more deadly or harder to heal away, or both. However, I believe that by making infections more common, it would improve not only the bite attack for attacking survivors, but also make the bite attack equal to the all-mighty claw attack.

So, how is this done? By adding a new skill on the Digestion Tree, after Infectious Bite. The description would read something like "the zombie has become a drooling, pus and snot-flailing creature of disease, and therefore any close contact can inflict a deadly infection".

The skill itself would change the bite attack to a special (4/1) damage (60%) accuracy attack. After attacking, you hit at a rate of 60%; however, after you hit, you have two possible options, figured by a 50-50 RNG check: either a 4 damage digesting and infecting attack, or a 1 damage infecting attack.
The effect of this change would be to enhance the consistancy of the infection mechanic; rather than being a side-effect of a high-damage successful bite attack, it would be the primary focus of a midling-damage and random attack. The average damage per AP would be 1.5, the same as a claw attack- however, the Claw attack would provide a Grasp change, and under these numbers the Grasp would only provide a .25 bonus to Damage/AP, rather than a .3 for claws. This means that when attacking a single survivor, it would be best to use claws; while for a group of survivors it would be best to use your bite attack.

Against survivors, it would mean that for 5AP a zombie would have an average of 3 survivors infected; while humans would be able to heal that damage per survivor with 4 to 5 AP per FAK, meaning that, over time and averaged across Malton, you would not be able to heal them all without suffering some effects of infection, making FAKs more valuble and infection far more feared rather than an after-thought.
Furthermore, this would not enhance the claw attack at all, avoiding any kind of barricade nerf, and would be easier to impliment, as it is in the same form as a barricade attack, with the two layers of hitting (Hit, then Creak or Collapse) being the same form as the above coding. The final result would be that a single zombie unsure he is able to kill an entire room could instead infect a group of survivors and still have an effect on them.
Left Queue: 02:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Storage Trunk

Timestamp: 02:00, 11 May 2006 (EST)
Type: improvement
Scope: Survivors and Zombies
Description: It would be nice to be able to build a Storage Trunk in a building (needing construction skill as a pre-req) that could hold, say, #100 30 items (this number is just off the top of my head, can be changed).



The Storage Trunk could be filled with items, such as guns, ammo, FAKs, Syringes, etc. at 1AP per item, and emptied at 1AP per item.

This would be useful for people defending remote sorts of building (ie, far away from a mall) and would make "Re-Stocking Runs" and Supporting-type players have a bit more of a job. (Not everyone likes to get their hands dirty)

So the drawback: There really shouldn't be any way to secure the trunk that a crowbar or axe wouldn't get by quickly, so the stash is really a community stash, subject to all the dishonesty in the world.

For the Zeds: Lets say your stinky self breaks down some barricades and you find yourself in a building with a storage trunk, what would you do? Smash it to pieces destroying everything in it of course. And since it has in a way hurt the Survivor cause, you would get XP for it. Either a flat rate, say 5XP (high so that people don't build them in every building they come across for no reason), or one based on the contents, 2XP minimum, to a maximum of 10XP, 1XP per 10 items within (based on 100 item Storage Trunk). This would reflect the ?joy? that the zombie would get breaking all of this stuff, and the damage done to the human cause. Also makes people think twice about keeping a filled Storage trunk around.

Left Queue: 02:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Generator Defense version 2

Timestamp: 21:40, 11 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: Generator defense would be a military skill. When you have the skill and are in a building with a generator, a button shows up. If you click it, you get the message "You take up a vulnerable position defending the generator." You remain a defender only until you take an action (or die). Attacks against generator defenders have +10% to hit. Up to three characters may defend the generator at a time. Characters defending the generator are listed on the room description.

Attacks may be made against a defended generator: On each attack, the RNG rolls a d4. If it rolls a 4, the attack is applied to the generator. On a 1, 2, or 3 it's applied to the defender in the corresponding slot, if any. So if there's only one defender, you have a 75% chance of attacking the generator, and a 25% chance of attacking the defender; when all three defender slots are occupied, you have only a 25% chance of having your attack go against the generator. No matter which target the attack is applied to, it still has to make its normal to-hit roll. The to-hit bonus applies only when the defenders themselves are attacked, not when attacks on the generator are redirected to defenders. After all, you weren't even trying to hit that person, so it doesn't make sense to give you a bonus to do so, but it wouldn't be right to make you lose your AP by not getting your normal chance to hit some target.

So attackers have two options: take out the defenders at a discount, if there are enough of you to be destroying the generator and munching some bra!nz too, or go after that generator directly if you're just trying to bust in and take it out so as to make some trouble for the harmanz. Either way, if it's a serious attack you'll probably still get the generator, but at least the active defenders have a chance to try to take you out before you do.

Left Queue: 02:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

12th May 2006

Buckshot (Revised)

Timestamp: 02:22, 12 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Weapon
Scope: survivors
Description: This is a new firearm. It starts with 7 damage at 5% chance to hit.

It uses new "Buckshot Clip" for ammo. Each clip gives the buckshot two ammo, and a buckshot can carry a total of 4 ammo at one time. It's overall accuracy is increased by the already-existing shotgun tree. I believe this is a very well-balanced and useful weapon.

Left Queue: 04:14, 12 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Quoting Saromu- 'It's weaker than the shotgun and doesn't hold as much as a pistol. No one is going to want it when they can just get a pistol which is better.'


Dropping (revision 6)

Timestamp: 02:52, 12 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Humans
Description: Holy Crap I've changed this alot.

This is an civilian skill.

It allows a survivor to drop their items (excluding flak jacket, dna extractor, ammo, and syringe) out of a window of a tall building. This is used to hit a random charachter (survivor or zombie) outside for 2 damage at 15% chance to hit (3 damage and 15% chance to hit with generator) The thrower would see "You conk Joe Rombie on the head with a Generator. He takes three damage". The charachter who was hit would see "A/an (item) falls out of a window an falls on your head. You take three damage." It would be a funny and functional technique, enabling survivors to defend barricades from the inside instead of the outside, thus risking retaliation. It also gives us a small, if unimportant use for the crucifix. The downsides are the ridiculous amount of searching required to do this on a regular basis, not knowing if anyone is actualy outside without first checking, in which time you can be attacked, it has much lower accuracy than a pistol or shotgun, it can only be used from a tall building, and it's useless when the horde (or whoever you're trying to hit) gets in and you've thrown your stuff out the window. You don't get any experience for doing this, so it's not a way to get free ex.

Left Queue: 04:37, 12 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Oddly, Attacking from inside considered too safe.


Parasitic Tentacle

Timestamp: 22:22, 11 May 2006 (EDT)
Type: Skill
Scope: Brainrotted zombies
Description: As it is, the headshot skill is designed simply to harass. It confers no direct benefit to the skill's owner, and punishes zombies. As a counter-balance to headshot, I propose the following skill (before you ask, yes, this was largely inspired by Resident Evil 4):

Parasitic Tentacle (appears under Brainrot tier): If hit with a headshot, the zombie has a 50% (percent negotiable) chance to strike with a parasitic tentacle, inflicting 5 damage (damage negotiable).

Now, I know that there are those that say "No auto-defenses," but many rigourous conditions must be fulfilled for the skill to take effect. First, this skill requires that the player pay (what I consider) the ultimate sacrifice: Brainrot. Brainrot severely limits gameplay, and is attractive only to hardcore zombie players. Parasitic tentacle would bestow an added bonus to brain-rotten zombies, and thus make Brainrot a better skill to have.

Second, this skill would only activate when a zombie is headshot. The majority of survivors are not zombie hunters, thus, this skill would take effect for less than 25% of all zombie deaths.

Third, it would make the punishing Headshot more of a gamble. Sure, you might make the zombie spend extra AP, but will you also pay a price for making the zombie pay a price? And keep in mind, unlike Headshot, which has 100% to activate, Parasitic Tentacle activates only half the time.

Fourth, Parasitic Tentacle isn't really an "auto-defense." On average, for a zombie without Ankle Grab, it costs 30 AP on average to use this skill. And even with Ankle Grab, it costs 12 AP. Not exactly what I would call "auto-defense."

Though keep in mind I'm not married to the numbers, and would be willing to change them if the general consensus demanded it.

Left Queue: 04:55, 12 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Auto-defence, Retro-active penalties & Not in-theme.


Timestamp: 16:58, May 12 2006 (PST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Paid Users
Description: Paid users recover AP at the rate of 2 per half hour, thus helping to support the site at more than just the too many server requests being fixed.
Left Queue: 11:32, 13 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: 'STER said it best: 'A.) messing with AP in any way is a bad idea, and will generally break the game. A double recharge rate for ANYONE is just not going to work. B.) giving donators special powers leads to what we like to call AdventureQuest syndrome: a quote-unquote "free" game where--just like in real life--the people with money get everything and everyone else is subpar. This is to be avoided.'



Stats:zombie AP usage

Timestamp: 16:01, 12 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Stats page change
Scope: People who want to knows whats going on
Description: a new stat on the stats page that is the total number of AP used by zombies (maybe humans too)

why?well because as a person who follows the stats Traker page i would like to know how much zombies are actually doing out there. The zombie population in malton is just under 50% (more that 50% if you count dead bodies too) but in the corner of malton i live in, the zombies arnt doing much. this statistic would be the easiest way to get a feal for how many zombies are eating brains and not just standing in a revive que. i think this would be the easiest way to get a statistic on zombie activity, because the number of active zombies includes anybody whos logged in the last 5 days to see if hes been revived yet and more complicated methods such as counting the number of attacks performed by zombies would be harder to track, and probably harder to understand.

Left Queue: 02:03, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Slight Infection Change

Timestamp: 17:56, 12 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Balance Change
Scope: Infected Survivors
Description: OK, this is a very small change to the way Infection cures work.

Basically what I am proposing is that when a First Aid Kit is used to cure Infection the infected survivor's HP is not restored.


To me curing an Infection is a little too "Something for Nothing", this way a Survivor would have to be a little more careful about getting infected.

Left Queue: 02:03, 29 June 2006 (BST)

13th May 2006

Finding Revivification Syringes

Timestamp: 13:21, 13 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Balance Change
Scope: Who or what it applies to
Description: I just spent 20AP's to manufacture a Syringe. My last 10 Points I spent searching the Necrotech Building and found 9 Syringes. Is this a late April Fools joke or does finding one need to be made more difficult?
Left Queue: 18:38, 13 May 2006 (BST)
Notes: Had insufficient detail to be a suggestion.

Flak Jackets and Zombies

Timestamp: 22:19, 13 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Game Mechanics
Scope: Zombies
Description: After playing as both a zombie and a survivor, I have found that the most annoying thing (for a survivor) is running into a zombie with a flak jacket. They cost additional AP to kill, and take away from the mood of the game. However, as a zombie, I realized that flak jackets were great, but I still felt sort of getting revived just to find a jacket and then jump out a window. So here is my suggestion, zombies should still be able to wear flak jackets, but any survivors attacking a zombie with a flak jacket on should get an increased chance of a headshot (maybe +10%). I think would make sense, because if you were trying to kill someone, you wouldn't aim for their flak jacket protected areas, but would instead aim for the head.
Left Queue: 23:13, 13 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Headshots happen automatically with death, making this suggestion redundant.



Repair training

Timestamp: 23:24, 13 May 2006 (BST)
Type: skill
Scope: survivors
Description: Currently, ramsacking is a minor annoyance. clear out the zombies, spend 1 ap, you're done. Kinda minor. This will make it a little more troublesome to survivors; This is a new skill under construction. it is required for survivors to fix buildings. It means one more little skill for vets to spend their 1000 xp on.
Left Queue: 05:44, 29 June 2006 (BST)

14th May 2006

Auto-favour-return (reworked)

Timestamp: 22:46, 14 May 2006 (BST)
Type: game update
Scope: all
Description: Here for an encore performance! If a charachter heals you for any amount of hp you say "Thanks (charachter)" automaticaly. Can be set to on/off. zombies would say gragh instead. Others can also choose if they want to see the messages on their profile.
Left Queue: 11:15, 29 May 2006 (BST)

Supply Chest

Timestamp: 10:59, 14 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New item
Scope: Survivors
Description: The idea: Searching is, as stands now, the only way to acquire items in the game in UD. This does fit the tone well, as it represents a desperate scrabble to survive. But it does seem also in tone that survivor-groups and the odd rare lone survivor might have a small stockpile which could be used to supply them (and their friends) in a pinch or for barter purposes. Some kind of limited-supply, limited-use supply chest would be one way to go.

How it works: When found, you would get the message: You search and find a supply chest. It would have no use until you enter a building and place it (like you would with a portable generator). When you place it, you would be asked to give a 4-digit lock-code (whether its strictly numerical or not is a coding preference). After being placed, it would appear to everyone in the room (something along the lines of There is a (open/closed) supply chest in the building.). Also, like a portable generator, it would be unmovable and destroyable (probably at the same rate). It would be able to hold 20 inventory slots, though there may be limits to what kind of items it might hold (I'm thinking two-slot items and port. generators are right out). In order to access it, a player would either have to input the code or it would have to have been previously opened in such a manner. It would stay open (and say as such in the building desciption) until closed (which anyone can do). Both the opening and closing action cost 1 AP a piece.

Where found, at what rate: All buildings except Malls (would mess with the stores too much) at 3% (tenative number). If rates of other items need to be adjusted, do so, but I doubt the necessity.

The clincher: To keep from completely devaluing searching, there is a limit of how many Supply Chests there can be in Malton at any one time, probably somewhere in the range of 15-20. If the number of Supply Chests hits the limit, it can no longer be found in buildings. If one (or more) is destoyed, then they can be found in buildings again until hitting the limit again. The limit should be big enough that every corner of Malton could lay claim to at least a couple of chests, but rare enough so that they have some value.

Left Queue: 06:16, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Door Sealing

Timestamp: 17:12, 14 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skills
Scope: Survivors and zombies
Description: A Sub Skill of Construction. The skill allows a player with a metal pipe or crowbar to wedge a door shut for 1 AP. Basically the player shoves the pipe/crowbar between the handles stopping zombies with memories of life from opening them.

This will give players an extra defense if the barriades fall. This can only be done after closing the doors and if barricades have not been erected. If a zombie tries to open the doors a message along the lines of "The door has been wedged shut you cannot open it" is displayed.
This skill not only provides a bit more safety for survivors, it gives a use for a metal pipe.

To counter this zombies can acquire a skill called Door Ram. This sub skill in the Memories of Life tree gives the zombie the ability to throw themselves at a wedged door in an attempt to break in.
This action will cost 1AP. However because the zombie is throwing itself at a hard object it loses 1HP. There is a 15% chance that the zombie will break through the wedge.

Left Queue: 06:16, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Bar Door

Timestamp: 18:28, 14 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: Inspired by the above suggestion. An ability to use a Crowbar, Baseball Bat, Length of Pipr or other stick-type object on a building other than a Church or Junkyard. When you do so, instead of the doors being "secured" (which I've always taken to mean just "closed," to explain why a zombie needs to remember a human-like action (like turning a knob) to open them) they become "barred." This means you've stuck the stick thing through the handles like someone does at least once in most zombie thrillers, and in fact most action movies that take place in a building. This means that the doors act as a last level of barricading. The catch is that now, since the zombies have to bash at the door like they do at barricades, they can now open it without need MoL. That helps with turning knobs, it doesn't help you smash things. The tradeoff means barring your doors might be good and might be bad, it'd depend. Note that you'd have to have the object in question, and you'd spend it doing so (you've left it in the door handles, and then the zombies break it) so this would also require some searching AP.
Left Queue: 06:16, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Secondary Rooms

Timestamp: 19:50, 14 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Building Feature
Scope: All Players
Description: As Malton's citizens become increasingly familiar with their surroundings over time, several basements and bomb shelters have been discovered throughout the city. Randomly placed throughout Malton (as with NT Buildings) these are the areas that have remained sturdy and usable during the chaos.

Basements can safely hide up to 10 people. After that, no more survivors can enter. Bomb Shelters hold only 5 players. When there is space available, all players in the greater room will see a "Enter Basement" (or bomb shelter, etc.) button.

When Zombies break into a building, they will only be able to 'find' and enter the secondary room when they have ransacked the building using the new ransack skill.

For flavor, areas you can enter to 'hide' might go by different randomly selected names.

  • 10 Player areas:
    • Basement
    • Cellar
    • Attic
    • Stock Room (for businesses, etc.)
  • 5 Player areas:
    • Bomb Shelter
    • Crawlspace
    • Office
    • Freezer (for clubs, bars, etc.)

The reason for this is, of course, flavor mixed with another usage for the "Ransack" skill. It also provides a method with which folks can hide (something a lot of folks would like, for better or worse) without making them a "ZOMG NINJA".

You cannot hide from Zombies. You can merely move to a room they won't be able to get to before Ransacking the building. Entering and leaving a secondary room would cost the same AP as entering and leaving a building itself.

In horror films, folks are always headed for the basement. They're always hiding in a back room. This would help add to the fear for Survivors (What if the building is being ransacked? If the zombies get in, we won't be able to leave until we walk out of the room into that zombie mob inside!) and it also adds a new level to the gameplay in a 'hide and seek' manner without violating realism.

Restricted numbers inside these buildings will help keep the spam low and prevents these rooms from becoming safehouses for hundreds of players at a time.

While in a secondary room, you cannot hear groans unless they are coming from the same block you are on. Zombies who are tracking prey could see a message akin to "Doctor_Headshot is here... somewhere..." which would alert them to the fact that their target is in a secondary room inside the same building.

While in a secondary room, your map view would not change save for the fact that you only see people/zombies in the room, and the name of the building would somehow note you are in a secondary room.

Even when a secondary room is full to capacity, an equal amount of Zombies (5 or 10) would be allowed to enter and massicre those who are hiding. Reasoning is that the undead will cram in and start attacking regardless of available space or human concepts of capacity.

Dumped bodies would be moved to the greater building, which can then be dumped outside if need be.

I can envision a new Zombie game of Hide N Seek.. however that would be expressed with Death Rattle. Large-scale efforts to clear all hiding players from their spots, etc.

Imagine the possible messages for Zombies as well... "While smashing a filing cabinet, you find it had been placed infront of an office door."

Left Queue: 06:16, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Specialization

Timestamp: 17:49, 14 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies and Humans who have been playing for a while
Description: Specialization

This is an odd two part skill, for players that want to be a bit more unique and might be getting bored with Urban Dead. To get it, you must be at least level 10 with 200 XP to spend. It can be obtained by anyone regardless of their starting class and can be transferred to use as a zombie or a human. The catch is that you can only have one of the following choices, provided you meet the requirements for it to be an option. When purchased, all choices that you meet the requirements to will be displayed for you to pick one from. As soon as you’ve made your choice, that is it, and you won’t be able to pick another. If you buy this skill and the option you wanted is not available yet, you may choose not to pick anything yet. As you meet their requirements, the remainder of the options will appear.

Cop Specialization= Detain Enemy Players with this specialization can choose to spend 20 AP to hold another player captive. The captive player has a 3% chance to perform any action while the person detaining them is in the same space. Should the person detaining another character leave the space that that character is in, the detainment is released and the character is free to perform any action without penalty again.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Basic Firearms Training - Pistol Training - Advanced Pistol Training - Shotgun Training - Advanced Shotgun Training - Hand To Hand Combat - Free Running - Body Building - First Aid - Diagnosis - Headshot -

Firefighter Specialization= Forced Passage If stuck either in front of or behind a barricade, players with this specialization have an additional 20% chance of breaking down the barricade enough to get in or out of the building.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Hand To Hand Combat - Axe Proficiency - Free Running - Body Building - Construction - First Aid - Surgery - Diagnosis - Headshot -

Consumer Specialization= Territory Knowledge Players with this specialization know their surroundings fairly well. For 5 AP the player can type in the name of a building, monument, park, or cemetery to remember how far and in what direction that building is. If the player doesn’t know the name of what they’re looking for, they can do a search by category for the nearest of that type to them. Players who do not have NecroTech Employment, will not be able to search for NecroTech buildings as a category, but can search for them by their building name if known.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Shopping - Bargain Hunting - Hand To Hand Combat - Knife Combat - Basic Firearms Training - Pistol Training - Shotgun Training - Body Building - Tagging - Construction - First Aid - Headshot -

NecroTech Lab Assistant Specialization= Viral Recognition Players with this specialization can spot players who have been infected or are infectious from a distance. A ! symbol is placed next to the names of players who are infectious or infected within the 9 square surroundings.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: NecroTech Employment - Lab Experience - NecroNet Access - Diagnosis - First Aid - Surgery - Construction - Basic Firearms Training - Pistol Training - Headshot -

Doctor Specialization= Surgical Precision Players with this specialization have such a keen understanding of the human body that they know just the right spots to attack to do the most damage. Players who have this will have an additional 1-3 points of damage to hand to hand attacks. Blunt force and Wedged weapons that you must swing, such as pipes, bats, crowbars, and axes do an extra 1 point. Fists/hands will do 2 extra points, while a knife does an extra 3 points.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: First Aid - Surgery - Diagnosis - NecroTech Employment - Lab Experience - Body Building - Hand To Hand Combat - Knife Combat - Basic Firearms Training - Headshot -

Private Specialization= Preemptive Strike Players with this specialization have tuned their reflexes to the point that they will always make the first attack if threatened. The way it works is when ever another player attacks a character with this specialization, the attacking player will see a message saying something along the line of “ You attack so-and-so for yadda yadda damage, but not before they hit you for the same amount.?? This will only work on the initial attack though. Should the attacker miss on their first hit, the damage that would have been done if it was successful will still be done. XP is not given for a Preemptive Strike.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Basic Firearms Training - Pistol Training - Advanced Pistol Training - Shotgun Training - Hand To Hand Combat - Knife Combat - Body Building - Construction - NecroTech Employment - First Aid - Diagnosis - Headshot -

Medic Specialization= Spot Wounded This specialization allows a character to tell others if nearby humans are under 50 HP without using AP . The wounded character(s) will show a + symbol next their name to all players within that square, so long as the character with this specialization is presently there too, either dead or alive.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Basic Firearms Training - Pistol Training - Advanced Pistol Training - Shotgun Training - Advanced Shotgun Training - Hand To Hand Combat - Knife Combat - Free Running - Body Building - Construction - NecroTech Employment - Lab Experience - First Aid - Surgery - Diagnosis - Headshot -

Scout Specialization= Group Lookout Characters with this specialization can tell what players are presently just outside or inside a building without having to go out of or into the building to check. The character will have the option to “Peek?? into or out of a building for 5 AP with a 10% chance of success. This will show only the number of “people?? and the number of dead bodies. It won’t tell if they are human or zombie, as it is only a quick peek. Should you fail or there not be anyone to look at, a message stating that you couldn’t see anyone will be shown.

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Free Running - Basic Firearms Training - Pistol Training - Advanced Pistol Training - Shotgun Training - Advanced Shotgun Training - Hand To Hand Combat - Knife Combat - Axe Proficiency - Shopping - Body Building - Construction - NecroTech Employment - First Aid - Diagnosis - Headshot -

Corpse Specialization= Inspire Fear It is more difficult for all other players to enter the same space as the character with this specialization. There is a 60% chance of entering the same space as a character who has this. In the event of a successful entry, a message stating something like, “You hesitate for a moment as you move into the same area as so-and-so.?? While a failure to enter the space will say something like, “You thought about going over there, but then you saw so-and-so and changed your mind.??

To obtain this specialization, the player must have the following skills: Vigour Mortis - Neck Lurch - Death Grip - Rend Flesh - Tangling Grasp - Memories of Life - Death Rattle - Feeding Groan - Ransack - Lurching Gait - Ankle Grab - Brain Rot - Scent Fear - Scent Trail - Digestion - Infectious Bite - Diagnosis - NecroTech Employment - Body Building -

I know this is long winded and a lot to read, but I want you to know that this is just a suggestion and can have things changed to make it better. Furthermore, some of this may seem like duplicate suggestion, as I didn’t take the time to look though all the files. I would also like to give up the rights to this suggestion and allow it to be picked apart for other suggestions should it not be approved as it is.

Left Queue: 06:16, 29 June 2006 (BST)

15th May 2006

Play Dead

Timestamp: 15:21, 15 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: All
Description: I'm not sure if this has been suggested before, and wouldn't be surprised if it has, but I am unable to find such a suggestion.

The premise of this suggestion is a skill that allows zombies to appear as "dead bodies". My reasoning behind this suggestion is that it would give a bit more "work ethic" to human players when combating the undead.

A skill under "Memories of life". Play Dead can only be used inside buildings.

For 1AP, the player clicks the "Play Dead" icon and receives the text:

  • You slump to the ground purposefully, imitating a rotting corpse

Any human character players in a room with "fake" dead bodies would simply see the usual message of:

  • There are X dead bodies in the room

And would have option of dumping the bodies outside. If selected, all of the "real" dead bodies would be dumped outside, however, the imitation corpses would produce the message:

  • X of these corpses are undead, you daren't try to dump them outside

This would reveal all the zombies playing dead in the building to all other characters in the same room. Zombies can identify zombies whether they play dead or not.

There is no AP cost to zombies who are identified. Similarly, there is no AP cost to zombies who cease playing dead themselves. This is implemented by clicking on either the square that you occupy, or one adjacent,

This is what I mean about work ethic. At the moment it's "me see zombie, me kill zombie". But look at it like this:

You find yourself in a building. It looks safe, barricaded at an acceptable level. You've only got a few AP left. But there's a dead body in the room. Do you try to move the zed? If it's a corpse, then all is good, but if not, you've just used an AP identifying that it's really a zed. You've gotta move again. If you've only got 1AP now you're moving blindly into the next room.

Now you got to work to identify your enemy, spend AP that bit more wisely, choose your battles in case you end up in a room full of "fake dead".

This skill would add a certain tension and paranoia to the site of dead bodies, which is what ALL dead bodies should do in a zombie apocalypse situation. In Malton however, dumping dead bodies is as trivial as throwing out the trash.

This skill does NOT stealth zombies. It can only be used inside buildings (due to Zeds limited intelligence, and fear of open spaces!) and the zombies do appear, only as dead bodies. Outside of buildings, zombies can still be seen from adjacent blocks, and the "Play Dead" option is not available. As mentioned above, zombies can identify zombies in all cases, as per normal. Don D Crummitt 15:21, 15 May 2006 (BST)

Left Queue: 10:00, 29 May 2006 (BST)

Add Another Major Resource Point -- Ropes and Bungees

Timestamp: 17:45, 15 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Strategic realignment
Scope: Barricading
Description: We don't know what it will be, but we can be nearly certain that Kevan will add something to the game that changes it so dramatically that the new item becomes a must-have. My goal in this suggestion is, if it's an item or a building characteristic, don't put it in malls or NT buildings. Hospitals and police stations are resource buildings, but they can't hold a candle to malls.

Fuel cans are a big step in this direction already, but the number needed is small enough that auto repair shops don't seem to be major battlegrounds so far. So let's further enhance the value of auto repair shops, and get some more survivors out to another type of building instead of just the malls and NT buildings where most of us are holed up.

So goal is to have something that's used in fairly large quantity, and is worth finding in a place other than the mall and transporting to be used in various places including the mall -- without having excessive effects on anything else. One other effect is that any new item, unless it replaces an existing one, places more demand on the same limited number of inventory slots: to minimize that effect, the new item should have a fairly high "density" (i.e. number of uses per inventory slot). FAKs and ammo already come from malls; if an item aids healing or damage-dealing enough to raise the value of its source building, it would undermine the value of malls. Barricading is the only other activity done frequently enough to raise the value of a building, so barricading it is. Bungee cords and coils of rope would be added to the game, to secure barricades with; and barricade numbers would be adjusted to compensate. Because barricading odds have not been documented, however, the numbers can be specified only by criterion rather than with explicit numbers.

Both items would be found in mall hardware stores (1% each), junkyards and warehouses (2% each), and auto repair shops (4% each). All finds would displace junk items. I acknowledge that there's no really good in-character reason for auto repair shops to have rope be easier to find; let's just say it's that there's less other junk around in what was formerly a well-organized workspace than there is in a storage area. The real reason, as with so many other things, is to make the game mechanics more fun.

A bungee cord would be a single-use item: when you click on it, you attempt to barricade with +30% to succeed. You still would be adding flavor-text-only items; the flavor-text rationale for the bonus is that because you can bungee them in place, they can be stable in places they wouldn't otherwise be able to go in. A coil of rope would be a multi-use item like a firearm (hence taking up two spaces in inventory), only it's always found fully "loaded" and you never find "ammo" to reload it. Using a coil of rope would give you only a +25% chance to succeed, but a coil of rope fits eight uses into two inventory slots.

The number of barricade levels per change of text description above VS would be increased so that it would take the same average number of AP to get to maximum as it currently does, including search AP at best possible success rates (i.e. in auto repair shops with generator). This means that barricading would be less efficient overall, because you don't always get to do your searching in the best of circumstances. But it would also be more effective at best, because you would be using stored search AP as well as the AP you spend during a break-in.

The odds of loosening a section of barricade above VS1 would be increased so that it would take the same average number of AP as it now does to get barricades from any text-description level to the next lower. Below VS, where you already have a 100% chance of successful barricading, neither the number of levels nor the destruction odds would be changed.

Left Queue: 10:00, 29 May 2006 (BST)

I'm HUNGRY!!!

Timestamp: 00:38, 16 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: zombies
Description: Your zombie gets +5% chance to hit with all attacks when there are 3 or more survivors in the area. this skill requires Vigour Mortis.
Left Queue: 06:22, 29 June 2006 (BST)

16th May 2006

Suicide Pills

Timestamp: 03:03, 16 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New Item
Scope: People wishing to commit suicide
Description: Pretty straight foward. It's a bottle of pills that kills you dead. The coldest. I'm thinking they'll be found in hospitals for a 3% chance? (Negotiable) The idea is that jumping out of a window would be a more efficent way to commit suicide most of the time, but there are certain cases when this could be useful. Like, when everything is overbarricaded and you can't get in a tower or NT building to kill yourself. They're a one-time use item, of course. For realism purposes, they're not actually a "suicide pill" pre-say. It's a bottle of perscription pills that will kill you because you over-dosed. Of course, there's no explaination for why it kills you immediately, but there's no explaination why you spend a few minutes doing hours worth of hard labor then sleep for 23.9 hours either, so I don't think it matters.
Left Queue: 06:24, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Shotgun Spread

Timestamp: 03:09, 16 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Change to existing gameplay mechanic
Scope: Survivors firing shotguns
Description: Due to the spread of the shotgun, using it in a crowded area involves some risks. Areas with 20-50 survivors give a shotgun user a 5% chance of wounding (for three damage) a "nearby" survivor or zombie (the survivor or zed is picked at random out of the stack). Areas with 50-100 survivors get a 10% chance to do the above. This can be beneficial in zed-infested areas or harmful in crowded survivor areas such as malls.
Left Queue: 06:24, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Increased Tension

Timestamp: 15:16, 16 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Basically, what I'd like to see is a higher chance of being able to break down barricades. It highly offends me that I can spend over 70 AP and not get the barricades down-- only to be rebarricaded back to full in less than ten AP from a single survivor. As such, I would like to suggest a skill that increases the chance of collapsing a barricade by five or even ten percent. It would probably be best suited as an upgrade to the already present Vigour Mortis. While this would present a major drawback for the survivors-- it would mean the less populated areas would be a feasible ground for those few zombies in the prowl, no longer requiring masses in the dozens to accomplish such a basic goal.
Left Queue: 06:24, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Degenerative Contamination

Timestamp: 17:36, 16 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Zombie skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Okay, I actually dreamed this suggestion up as I slept last night. No, really. So if flies like a lead balloon, we can blame my subconscience. The thought that my slumbering mind produced was a way to make Infectious Bite more powerful without penalizing new players.

A survivor with the Bodybuilding skill is hardier, but his vigorous circulatory system tends to pump nasties through his system at a much faster rate. A zombie with the skill Degenerative Contamination can bite Bodybuilders to afflict them with an infection that robs the survivor of 3hp per AP of non-speaking action.

If a zombie with this skill bites a survivor without Bodybuilding, the infection imparted is of the generic, 1hp/AP variety.

Note: this skill would have Infectious Bite as a prerequisite.

Left Queue: 06:24, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Viral Recognition

Timestamp: 15:06, 16 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Humans and Zombies
Description: Players, either alive or undead, with this scientist skill have studied the undead and been around them long enough that they can spot players who have been infected or are infectious from a distance.

A ! symbol is placed next to the names of players who are infectious or infected within the 9 square surroundings.

To get this skill the player be alive and must have a combo of both Diagnosis and Lab experience. The cost of the skill its self I am not sure about and would like to talk about what seems like a fair price.

Left Queue: 06:24, 29 June 2006 (BST)

17th May 2006

Upgraded Firearms

Timestamp: 5/17/06
Type: Weapons/guns
Scope: Survivors
Description: I feel the human weapons are a bit out-dated. I mean, what police station carries a double barreled shotgun? I'm suggesting a weapons upgrade, why not add a "Beretta" with 15 round capactiy and maybe a "Combat Shotgun" that can hold 5 shells. I'm quite happy with the damage tables, just not ammo capacity of older weapons in a modern city.
Left Queue: 07:43, 18 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Incomplete, likely to make guns too AP efficient.



Electrocution (not a dupe)

Timestamp: 01:05, 17 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Event
Scope: All
Description: I found an electrocution suggestion, but it was moved to a talk page (which no longer exists) and so I'm not sure if this is a dupe (regardless of the fact it was author-removed). Basically, when attacking a generator with a crowbar, pipe, kitchen knife, or fire axe, survivors or zombies have a 50% chance of taking 4 "electrocution" damage. This will help reduce griefers, I think.
Left Queue: 06:46, 29 June 2006 (BST)

New Zombie Skill

Timestamp: 02:57, 17 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: Well, I can't think of a name for this skill, which is why I just called the suggestion "New Zombie Skill".

As of now, the standing human to standing zombie ratio is 54% to 46% percent. That sounds fairly close, but it's actually a fairly large difference, considering that many of those zombies are active humans waiting for revives. I submit that these numbers are decpetive, and that the favor is actually a lot more towards the humans than it seems with these stats.

A common complaint that I've heard over and over is that barricades are too powerful, with a roughly 6 to 1 AP (If I remember correctly) for survivor/zombie building/destroying rates. As such, any suggestion to improve barricades is immediately shot down, and for some reason, any suggestion to improve the attack ratings on barricades is equally shot down.

It seems to me, however, that Malton is a relatively safe place for being under Zombie seige. I think that is further favor were given to the Zombies, that it would become a more dangerous and therefore more exciting place to be. I think this skill will shift the balance towards zombies just enough to make the game more exciting, but not enough to make them over-powered.

It's actually very simple. The premise behind this skill is that the zombie has become slightly more flexable (for a zombie) and has gained a little more coordination. It would be purchased under "memories of life" of life skill, and would allow the zombie to pass through building that have been only "loosely barricaded". Effectively, this allows the zombie to save a few AP destroying the last section of barricades, without actually weakening the barricades or increasing the attack probibilities on them. Walking through a "loosely barricaded" building would cost 3AP, since no Zombie is as nimble as a human, and it will take them a little extra time to get through them. Since "loosely barricaded" is the very first stage, and is usually very easy to take out with a few AP anyway, this will not make much of a difference for a single zombie. When attacking it groups, it will only make a difference if every zombie in the group has the skill, otherwise the barricades will need to be taken down anyways. Essentally, this skill doesn't appear to do much, only saving a few AP attacking barricades here and there (since there's still an AP penalty for walking through the barricades), but when you "Multiply it by a million", it might just be enough of an edge to make the game more exciting, and get closer to an actual balance between human and zombie. Perhaps the zombies could even have the number advange for once.

Left Queue: 06:46, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Exposure

Timestamp: 10:23, 17 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Skill/Flavor/Newb Balance
Scope: Humans and Zombies
Description: "This is an urgent message to the NecroTech staff, supporting Military, and all remaining citizens of Malton. We are sad to inform you that you may never leave. It has come to our attention that we were wrong about the virus being transmitted only by fluid transfer. We have found that it is in fact an air-born virus. Luckily, due to Malton`s relative isolation, the infection has not spread as of yet. For those of you who are thinking of suicide, I highly advise against it. Allow me to go over what you`re in for.

As you may have noticed, killing the infected is not all that difficult, but they continue to come back. This is because the air-born virus will only effect and regenerate dead and inactive tissue, hence why unbitten survivors who die becoming `zombies`. There is, of course, a growing number of the infected dead who have a lethal form of the virus in their salivatary glands that can transmit the virus while slowly killing the bitten person. This was what we thought was the worst of things, but now we know that prolonged exposure to the air-born virus, though not lethal as of yet, does increase the body's susceptibility to infection from the lethal variety. This might even include a second hand infection from providing aid to the newly infected. We are, again, sorry to have to announce this news to you. More aid will continue to be sent to you as this now has become a global issue. God speed, Malton."

Ok, here`s how it works: Players must be level 20 to purchase this 100 XP zombie skill and the player must have the Infectious Bite skill. Zombies who have this skill produce more of the air-born virus as they increase in level (A.K.A. decay). As a result, humans who are higher in level (A.K.A. exposure) feel the effects of this skill.

Biting and infecting a human causes more damage per turn the higher the human's level. As an example, level 10, the virus does 2 points every turn till cured, level 20, it does 4, level 30, it does 8 and caps off with a 10% chance of infecting someone who attempts to cure you with a F.A.K..

The down side of getting this skill is that the higher the zombie who has its` level is, the more decayed they are, making melee weapons more damaging to their bodies the higher they go. As an example, level 20 makes Knives, Pipes, Bats, and Axes do another 2 points of damage, level 25 causes an extra 4 instead of the extra 2, and level 30 is an extra 8 instead, and caps off with another 3 AP to stand back up once killed.

Left Queue: 06:46, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Lose One Flak Jacket Upon Death

Timestamp: May 17th 2:30pm EST
Type: Balance change
Scope: Humans, Zombies
Description: Short and sweet: If you die, you lose a flak jacket. Assume it was looted from your body, or maybe wore out during the attacks that eventually killed you.

This actually increases the value of flak jackets, since most players will usually just grab one during their very early levels and then never bother with them again, other than to dump extras from inventory during PD searches. It would be a lightweight code change (drop top 1 flakJackets from character xxxx), require no changes to how flak jackets work in current damage prevention, and add value to carrying spares. It also adds incentive for non-ammo-carrying classes to visit the local PDs and Malls, and gives extra flak jackets a possible use besides simply clogging up the inventory as they do right now. Maybe some will want to carry two or three spares in inventory, just as a non-medical class human currently might carry a FAK or two to remove infection.

As a corallary, no special changes would need to apply to zed flak jacket use - and let's keep that argument of "flaks should/shouldn't be used for zeds" seperate for other discussions. I am not looking to change Status quo on that. Zeds that die too often would run out of spares and revert back to regular damage adsorbsion.

Left Queue: 06:46, 29 June 2006 (BST)

18th May 2006

Mentor

Timestamp: 8:52, 18 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Newb Balance Change, Skill, and Flavor
Scope: Humans and Zombies
Description: This is a skill that can only be taken by those who have maxed out their human skills and paid the amount required for the skill (200 XP perhaps). The skill does transfer over to zombies too but with some minor flavor changes.

"After running and hiding from zombies, knowing that the less experienced survivors have most likely been given a death sentence, you begin to wish there was something more you could have done to save them."

Whenever a player under level (3) is in the same space as you, you tend to watch out for them. Should that player be attacked, you will take (20%) of their hits in an attempt to save them. The attacker will get a message stating that you jumped or moved in front of their attack on so-and-so. The low leveled player will get a similar message on how you took a hit for them, and you will get a message on how much damage the attacking player was about to do to the low leveled one, as it is done on you instead. The attacking player still gets XP just the same, but now you get the same amount of XP too for your actions. (In the case of multiple low leveled players in your square, you will do your best to try and cover them all. In the event of multiple players with this skill, the damage and XP is split evenly between you and a new type of message states to all involved, all the people who took the hit at the same time for the low level player.)

Everything that is in () is subject to change.

Left Queue: 01:33, 19 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: see Dan's vote - '(1) You're not just being there, being in the way as with the zombie stack and ransack/repair prevention: you're doing something, "jumping", without spending AP. (2) If it's salvageable at all, it would be improved by filling in the "maybe"s. (3) The drawbacks are too strong for the person with the skill: there's nothing to keep you from dying when you don't want to.'
In addition, the suggestion hurts zombies by making it take 20% more attacks to kill a survivor if they're being defended.



Construction, revised

Timestamp: 08:03, 18 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: survivors
Description: (I suspect something similar to this has been suggested, but I didn't see it in the archived suggestions. Sorry in advance if this idea has already been presented.)

Construction, currently one skill, would now become 3 skills, each costing 100 XP and ascending in hierarchical order just like firearms: Construction - Repair - Engineer (or something).

Construction would let you build barricades, but only up to VS+2. Repair would let you fix ransack damage. Engineer would let you build barricades as usual per the current rules.

Rationales:
Game logic: Why not? It's not like people are innately good at fixing stuff or building barricades. Note that shopping is a skill in this world. Everyone wants more stuff to spend XP on.

Game Balance: As the balance is shifting back towards humans again, this might be a slight enough alteration to tip the scales back the other direction. I don't think this would unduly grief noobs, and it puts some teeth in ransacking.

Left Queue: 07:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Keys and Passcards

Timestamp: 08:09, 18 May 2006 (AEST)
Type: Item
Scope: Survivors
Description: (Not exactly sure of the specifics/mechanics, but I thought it was a good idea.)

Keys and Passcards Everytime you search a building, you have a small chance (say, .5-1%) of picking up a key for the building (or Passcard for NecroTech buildings). This would both increase a survivor's chance at finding items (since you have the key, you would be able to access more of the building) and different items altogether (Say, using a Club Key would have a small chance of finding a pistol (something that would usually be kept in a lockbox) or a mobile phone. These keys would be building type specific, for example a PD key would be useless in a Motel. The key would take up one item space (for balance). For balancing purposes it would be harder to find a PD key or a Mall key than a Motel key.

Furthermore (and I realise that this would be harder to code) you could have building specific keys (this would be more realistic), for example a key for Club Margesson wouldn't do anything in Club Kempster.

Rationales:
Game logic: This would add an element of specialisation to the game, and add to the roleplay (you'd expect be familiar with a safehouse that you've frequented for a while, or a specific type of building).

Game Balance: This wouldn't be too much of an advantage for survivors, (the more keys you carry, the less you have for weapons/ammo), and the actual chance of finding a key for a building would be rather small. Further more, if it is still considered unbalanced (and I don't actually suggest this) the keys could have a small chance of being lost/broken with each search.

Left Queue: 07:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

19th May 2006

Knife Defence

Timestamp: 23:44, 6 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: I know automatic defenses are loathed, as shown above. However, I think I might have found a way to make it work. Read on before voting.

Knife defense: You are more alert to people around you, allowing you to retaliate against attacks. Requires the Knife Proficiency skill. This skill allows you to attack people who attack you with a melee weapon (making it much less useful, but makes much more sense) "automaticly". If you have a knife, over 40 APs, and are being attacked by a melee weapon, you automaticly attempt to hit him, and your attack rate, and use up 1 AP as if you initiated it yourself. Yes, it's an automatic action, but it's not a free one. And the fact you need 40 APs or more, representing the fact your 'awake' and alert, makes sure you cant be griefed to -10000000 APs by repetitive heals and punches or stabs. Would make people carry a knife without making it a weapon of choice. And it's only vs melee units so it's far from overpowered.

Left Queue: 06:49, 19 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Auto defence is disliked, as is automatically using up AP.


Play Dead (Alternate name: Zombie Theatrics)

Timestamp: 00:04, 20 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies (Usable by survivors)
Description: A zombie with this skill, taken under the "Memories of Life" tree, requires "Death Rattle" also. Using it, the zombie (or revived survivor) spends 10 AP to lie down and pretend to be dead. They appear on the map as dead bodies, and for all intents and purposes, are treated as such; they can be emptied from a building, they gain AP, and do not appear on the map as targets. They may stand up as though they were dead and headshot (5 extra AP, even for standing survivors) at the HP that they had when they laid down. The main use of this would be for zombies who wish to prepare ambushes, large groups of them playing dead, and then jumping up when survivors try to inhabit an unoccupied building. It would also be used by survivors who don't have the time or the AP to find a building that isn't too heavily barricaded to enter, allowing them to pretend to be dead to avoid getting zombified while drained of AP. This is balanced, however, by the need for said survivor to spend 300 XP on zombie skills, the other two being only useful to the life-impaired.
Left Queue: 02:44, 20 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Zombies pretending to be dead can't be attacked, and are thus invincible. 'Life-impaired' is pretty funny.


Diligence

Timestamp: 05:56, 19 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: Diligence is a new survivor skill. It increases the chance to gain ex from books by 30%. Could possibly be a "new player" skill.
Left Queue: 08:31, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Ladders

Timestamp: 11:03, 19 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: With the cost of 15 AP, player could build a ladder leading from the street into a heavily barricaded building, normally not accessible by anyone. This would need the Construction skill. As zombies lack the dexterity to climb ladders, only survivors could use them. When walking in the street and approaching a building with a ladder in place, player would see the text "The building is so and so barricaded. You see a ladder hanging from the window" and players would be presented with the option to climb into the building. It's harder to climb into a building than just going in through the door, so there could be a 2-3 AP cost to climb into the building, but this would probably stress the server. However, zombies outside could rip the ladder down if they chose to do so, as the dropdown list would list barricades and ladders seperately. The chance for succesfully destroying a ladder would be the same as destroying a part of a barricade. Ladders could not be destroyed from the inside.

So, in a heavily barricaded building with no other entrance, a ladder could be built, but the cost of doing so and the possibility of zombies destroying it would make the player think twice about building such a thing and visible ladders would work as a sign to the zombies that fresh meat is waiting inside. Also, the ladders would be essentially destroyed after zombies weaken the buildings barricades to 'very/quite strongly barricaded' with the message "The ladders fall down due to the violent shaking of the barricades." Destroying the ladder with the barricade would prevent the advantage of using a previously built ladder and thus saving a load of AP for building a barricade and still get a ladder.

The numbers are just suggestions, they can (and should) be tweaked to get them as player- and server-friendly as possible.

Left Queue: 08:31, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Undead Resilience

Timestamp: 14:45, 19 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: -1 from all melee damage.

Prerequisite Skill = Brain Rot

Cost: 100 XP

As the rot spreads throughout the zombie's innards, the skin tightens to hold the body together. The result makes the zombie harder to damage with melee weapons due to its stronger skin.

All melee attacks are less effective against a zombie with the Undead Resilience skill. This cannot reduce a melee attack to zero damage.

Left Queue: 08:31, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Fireman`s Carry

Timestamp: 10:26, 19 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Skill and Flavor
Scope: Humans and Zombies
Description: Body Building is a prerequisite to this 100 XP skill. This skill can also be used by zombies.

The effect is that a player with this skill can pick up another player (or their dead body) and carry them to another location, Before all the Kill and Spam votes start piling in, let me finish.

The skill has a (40%-60%) chance of success to pick up a person(/body). (the higher the other player`s level, the harder they are to pick up maybe) The player who has the skill must select a player to pick up and spend an AP to do it. Failure to pick someone up gives a message stating that you started to pick them up but lost your grip. The person being picked up gets a similar message stating that you tried to pick them up. You can carry only 1 person at a time. While carrying another player, this skill also limits what can be done by the person carrying. They can no longer attack or use Items, and they cannot (enter or exit buildings unless the doors to that building are left open.) They CAN only Speak, put the person back down (with no AP cost), or move (with an additional 1 AP cost, due to the additional weight of another player.) Should you be killed or run out of AP while carrying a player, you automatically drop them, and a message stating that you are unable to carry them any further is shown, to both you and the one you were carrying.

Now, while being carried, The player can still do all actions that don`t require moving, AKA move to a different square or enter/exit a building, and they can`t use Axes, Pipes, Bats, Crowbars, (or Shotguns) as they are difficult to use while hanging over someone`s shoulders. If the player wishes to be put down, they can either say it to the player carrying them and hope they do so, or attack the person carrying them. (the first successful hit causes an auto drop.) Players being carried can still be attacked, and should they die up there their body (can still be carried without having to pick it back up.) (Players can "Stand up" while being carried.) A message that So-And-So is carrying you or put you down is given when the action is performed. Zombies(/dead bodies) that are carried who have Scent Trail can use it on the one who carried them, if applicable.

Why would someone want this skill? I`d be surprised if no one did, as it is highly useful both in a positive rescue kind of way, or a negative sacrificial sort of way. (You can pick up that body you just revived and move them to a safer location) or allies who have run out of AP can be helped, or you could pick up that PKer and drop them in an enemy infested area while they have no AP or pick up an enemy and drop them in an area with all your buddies so you can kill them one at a time...

Everything that is in ( ) is an uncertainty to me and I would like comments on these areas particularly. Also make sure you read the comments of myself and others before posting, as we might have already found a solution to a problem in the suggestion.

Left Queue: 08:31, 29 June 2006 (BST)

20th May 2006

Victim Reflex

Timestamp: 15:54, 20 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Minor Combat Change
Scope: Survivors & Zombies
Description: Whenever someone is attacked, there is a certain percentage chance (about 10% for survivors, 5% or less for zombies because they move slower) that they have a reflex action, and attack their attacker with any melee weapon they have, with 100% or similar chance of hitting (because of the low chance of reflex), without using up any AP. This would allow people to fight back to a small degree while they are not online. They could just use punch or bite, instead of melee weapons, to make it simpler.--mBread 15:54, 20 May 2006 (BST)
Left Queue: 17:14, 20 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Auto defences are disliked.


Attack a Random Zombie, version 2

Timestamp: 01:51, 20 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Minor combat change
Scope: Survivors attacking zombies
Description: The target selection list on the attack button would now include "a random zombie". To fully respect zombie anonymity, and to allow the active aspect of stack defense, you would not be randomly choosing a specific zombie to attack. Instead, you would be choosing a random spot in the stack, and attacking whatever zombie in that slot. As long as you keep attacking without touching the target selection (including attacking with a different weapon), you keep attacking the same slot (taking any action other than attacking will reset your target slot). But if one or more zombies changed the stack order by taking an action, you wouldn't be attacking the same zombie.

There would normally be no advantage to attacking a random zombie, so people would normally accept the default. Thus for those who want to try to get the kill bonus another attacker had done most of the work for, you still could. But those of us who find it courteous to avoid killstealing, we could do that too.

Left Queue: 08:32, 29 June 2006 (BST)

GPS Improvement

Timestamp: 11:31, 20 May 2006 (BST)
Type: improvement
Scope: Humans
Description: The GPS is only good for e-mailing or texting your comrades details of your present location. How about changing the contacts list to show your buddies current GPS location? Obviously they too would have to possess a GPS unit themselves.

PK'ers would lose the feature of being able to carry one constantly in fear of their location being currently on display, so would have to constantly drop/find one to remain anonymous. A small price to pay for a murderer!

Left Queue: 08:32, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Play Wounded

Timestamp: 15:52, 20 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Newb Balance Change and Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: This 100 XP zombie skill will allow a player who is level (5) or under to look like a wounded human to other humans (when ever they hold still for 1 Hr. and when they stand up as a zombie after being killed.) Players who are level (6-15) can do it (after 5 Hrs. and when they stand up as a zombie.) And players who are over level (15) can (only do it when they stand up as a zombie.)

The player’s name will be the name of (the last human they came in contact with,) and for the other players who have Diagnosis, they will see the player as having under 25 HP. Attempting to heal the player will not change what is seen as the HP level. The only way to tell that they are not a wounded human is to (use a DNA Extractor on them, they use an AP, or they are attacked by either a human or another zombie.)

Everything that is in ( ) is just an example and can be changed to make the suggestion better. Please be sure to read the comments of either myself or other voters, as we may have already come up with a solution to problems with the suggestion.

Left Queue: 08:32, 29 June 2006 (BST)

21st May 2006

Fair Trade V2

Timestamp: 03:25, 21 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill/Event
Scope: Survivors
Description: I like trade suggestions, I really do. But they're unbalanced a lot of times due to zerg concerns. What I've done is categorized weapons. Only weapons in each "level" can be traded for each other. For example, I can trade a DNA Extractor for a Mobile Phone but I can't trade a DNA Extractor for a fully loaded shotgun. Also, I have devised a way to make sure trading guns with certain amounts of ammo in them is not unfair.

A player (let's call him X) with the skill 'Negotiation' (100XP for all classes) may propose a trade with ANY player Y using a drop-down list for 2 ap. Why? Because zerg concerns have been already addressed. The player being "proposed to" (:/) can accept or deny. X and Y's inventory is now surrounded by a colored box, indicating that inventory items can now not be used until the trade is completed, and all clicking of items in inventory will go toward a trade. In addition, the "attack" dropdown, search, barricade, and enter/leave options would be grayed out, and there would be a box that says "Stop Trading". While trading, speaking does not take any AP, but speaking can only be directed at the person you're trading with, nobody else hears your speech.

As for the actual mechanics, once Y accepts the trade. X picks an item Z out of a drop-down that he possesses, then clicks "Offer". This way, you will not be able to see the other person's inventory, and if you want one of their items you must tell them using speech. Y is told that "X has offered Z for trade." Y can click an item in the appropriate category that he has in exchange, he can decline the offer and pick his own item out of any of the ones he has to start the process again and offer it to X, or he can stop trading by clicking the button.

Here is an example:

Player ILiekCake has Negotiation

ILiekCake offers trade to WTFCentaurz by clicking WTFCentaurz in a dropdown field. (2AP)

WTFCentaurz declines by clicking the Deny button.

ILiekCake offers trade to OMGBox. (2AP)

OMGBox accepts. (2AP)

ILiekCake says "hey, i heard you got a phone, i need one" (0AP)

ILiekCake clicks his GPS unit and clicks Offer. (0AP)

OMGBox says "wtf u fag i dont want a gps unit" (0AP)

OMGBox clicks Stop Trading. (0AP)

OMGBox says "you're a n00b" (1AP)

ILiekCake offers trade to Sean Connery (2ap)

Sean Connery accepts.

ILiekCake offers his GPS unit. (0ap)

Sean Connery clicks the drop-down next to Decline, clicks his mobile phone, and clicks Offer (0AP)

Sean Connery says: "Talk to me, punch the keys for god's sake." (0AP)

ILiekCake says: "ok do you want a DNA extractor" (0AP)

Sean Connery says: "Yes, yes!" (0AP)

ILiekCake clicks the dropdown next to Accept and clicks his DNA extractor, then clicks Offer.

Sean Connery clicks Accept Trade.

Both players exchange items.

Sean Connery says: "You're the man now Dog!"


Level 1, Items that have no or extremely little use:


Crucifix, Book, Poetry Book, Wirecutters, Newspapers


Level 2, Items that have small use:


Beer, Wine, Baseball bat, Length of Pipe, Kitchen Knife, Flare Gun


Level 3, Items that have medium use but having multiple doesn't confer benefits:


DNA Extractor, Mobile Phone, Empty Shotguns/Pistols, GPS unit,


Level 4, Items that are somewhat useful:


Flak Jacket, Crowbar, Fuel Can, Portable Generator, Fire Axe, First Aid Kit, NecroTech Syringe, (FA is on here because I see it as a useful weapon, but not quite able to beat the Pistol/Shotgun, and it's about equal to the other stuff on here effectiveness-wise.)


Level 5, Items that are useful and weapons.


NOTE: When trading a Pistol for a Shotgun, player cannot trade back for more ammo (trade in pistol with 1 ammo for shotgun, then trade shotgun for pistol with 3 ammo) for one server cycle. (Therefore it could be done, but would only at best give you two more bullets, and you wait longer for one server cycle than to just pop to a PD and search a bit)


Pistols with 1-3 ammo in them can be traded for Shotguns with one shell loaded and vice versa. (In reverse case, player gets choice.) Pistols with 4-6 ammo in them can be traded for Shotguns with two shell loaded and vice versa. (In reverse case, player gets choice.)


Level 6: Ammunition


Pistol clips, shotgun shells. (Yes, they're interchangeable. The rate of finding, balanced out with the amount of ap/shot, etc, makes them about equal).

Left Queue: 08:33, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Advanced Free Running

Timestamp: 12:57, 21 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Humans with Free Running
Description: Change the success percentage of Free Running, so that occasionally players will not make the jump/leap or whatever from one building to the next, maybe a 80-90% chance of a successful leap. Failure will result in the Human being out in the open. Advanced Free Running would have a 100% success rate.
Left Queue: 08:33, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Advanced Knife Combat (reworked)

Timestamp: 21:28, 21 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors with Knife Combat
Description: At the moment Knife Combat is a fairly redundant skill. It is only really used by people who want to max-out their skill trees. Nearly everybody will have an axe, which does more damage with the same accuracy. So knives are, for most people, a total waste of time. This skill would require Knife Combat as a prerequesite, and would increase the accuracy from 40% to 65%. This would mean that instead of doing 0.8 damage per AP, it would do 1.3 damage per AP. This would make it better than the fire axe in terms of simple damage.

I accept that realism should not alone be used to argue the case for a suggestion. However, in this case it does make sense that a knife wielded by a trained military porfessional (in their skill tree) would be more accurate than a big cumbersome fire axe. But because this skill would give an advantage to the knife in terms of damage done per AP, it seems fair to even the 2 items out in other ways: The knife could not be used to attack barricades (this would obviously affect knives from the very start, not just with this skill).

I respect that there was a suggestion here that is very similar. However, I feel that this skill provides a suitable use for the knife, whereas the other one still fails to combat the problem of the knife being useless. With this skill, the knife and the fire axe both have their merits, with the fire axe being the best choice to take down barricades out of any weapon.

Do not forget that you have a 6% chance of finding a fire axe in a fire station, whereas to get anywhere near that with a knife you need to have bargain hunting and search a mall hardware store (7%).

This skill would only give survivors an extra 0.1 damage per AP compared to what was available before, so no unfair advantage in their favour really. It provides something useful for them to spend XP on, and gives a plausible use for the kitchen knife.

Left Queue: 08:33, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Wounding

Timestamp: 00:20, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill for Suriviors
Scope: Humans, Military
Description: 100 XP, Military Skill.

If a Human attacks another Human with a Knife, he may wound that Human. The wound would act like an infection by a Zombie...if you do anything but speak, you lose 1 AP. It can be cured by a First Aid Kit. If you die, you do not lose HP until you get revived. Revives does not take away the Wounded flag.

Wounding also hurts Zombies as well. If a Human attacks a Zombie with a Knife, he may wound that Zombie. However, that wound is temproray. After 15 AP of moving, or if a Zombie get cured by a FAK, or a Zombie get revived, the wound "heals" itself, and the Wounded flag goes away.

Wounded and Infected stacks. A FAK may remove only one of the two flags randomly. Another FAK will be need to remove the other flag. If a person is Wounded, he will appear to a person with Diagnosis with a symbol "!", showing he is wounded.

Left Queue: 08:33, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Cozy Fire

Timestamp: 00:23, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill & Improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: This suggestion would add the ability to create a cozy fire in certain locations both improving the role-playing aspect of the game, as well as giving survivors a reason to concentrate in some areas. This is a suggestion in three parts - the skill, the item requirement, and the affects of the fire in the game.
  • Create Fire (Skill) - This is a new survivor skill that would appear under the Construction tree and would allow the cozy fire. Therefore the total cost of this skill would be 200 XP (Construction + Create Fire). The fire cannot be built while a generator is running, nor can it be built in malls, power stations, armouries, auto repair shops, and police stations due to the risk if the fire were to spread. It costs 5AP to build the fire, and there is a 30% chance that you will not be able to get the fire started. Furthermore, the building will appear lit form the outside, much the same why it does when the generator is running, and the fire will continue to burn for roughly the same amount of time as a generator runs when fueled.
  • Lighter (Item) - This item is a prerequisite to creating a fire (most people cannot make one via rubbing two sticks together), and would be found in malls (5% rate, 10% in sports stores and hardware stores), junkyards (5% rate), pubs (5% rate), hotels (3% rate), mansions (2% rate), and schools (2% rate). This item would be consumable and would run out of fuel after 1 to 2 uses, similar to the spray can.
  • Impact - The fire would work in a matter similar to the first aid kit, however, is more geared towards the overall atmosphere of the game as well as encouraging role playing. As such the fire has two impacts on game play - minor healing, and limited free speech.
    • Healing - Players with less than 30% total health in the same building as a fire would see a "Rest by the fire" along with an input box for total AP they can spend resting next to the fire. The AP necessary to heal one HP is two AP thus if you have 30% total health you would spend between 10 to 12 AP to heal up to 40% of your health. The maximum amount of AP you can spend on healing is 30 AP. This ability would also be available to zombies if they enter a building while the fire is still burning.
    • Limited Free Speech - Players in the same building a fire will be permited to say two things a day without an AP cost.
Left Queue: 08:33, 29 June 2006 (BST)

22nd May 2006

Repeat Actions

Timestamp: 01:46, 22 May 2006 (CST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Everyone's interface
Description: Actions are constantly repeated, I doubt few people go a whole day without doing at least one action more than once in a row and often the same action 50 times in a row. It would be a major improvement and even reduce server load if actions such as attack and search were able to be performed in bulk. In the case of attacking, use it like a powerful weapon, the more AP put into the attack, the greater the odds of inflicting damage/greater damage, should too much AP be invested, that's damage wasted, like firing a shotgun at someone with 1hp left. Even if not applied to attacking, there are so many actions that require constant repetition that could be reduced to only a single refresh instead of 50 a day. Constant repetition is boring as well as wasteful waiting to refresh to repeat the same action.
Left Queue: 12:33, 22 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Repeating action suggestions are very much disliked by voters.


Rats

Timestamp: 10:22, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Humans and Zombies
Description: My idea is that there should be rats in the game. These little sewer-creatures would scurry around, and have the ability to cause 1 HP of damage to both humans and zombies. When attacking a human, there would be a 10% chance of causing an infection, which would be treated just like an infection caused by a zombie. Rats would have a total of 50 AP, just like us, and would take the same amount of time to regain them.

Isn't this a pointless addition to the game, just creating more work for the administrator? Not really. The game currently lacks any environmental (ie not controlled by players) damage, except for jumping out of windows...which is rather pointless. The addition of rats would allow both humans and zombies to be harmed by something in a realistic way.

But realism shouldn't justify a suggestion. When you think about it, in a squalid city that has been overrun by zombies, and has dead people on the side of the road, there would be plenty of rats running around.

Where would the rats come from, and would you be able to kill them? Each rat would have 5HP, and could be killed with the usual method of getting XP - equal to the number of AP lost, in this case. Because rats could be killed, there would need to be some form of reproduction*. Every rat that survives for a week (debatable) would 'divide in 2' to form another rat.

Wouldn't players be able to earn too much XP from killing rats, and make them their number 1 targets? Absolutely not. Each rat would only give a maximum of 5XP, and rats would not exactly be covering every block. If enough people kill the rats, they would not really increase in numbers.

  • This form of reproduction is totally scientifically wrong. Rats cannot fertilise themselves, no matter how fast they do seem to breed in real life. But it would simply be too complex to have 2 rats meeting each other, and then some sort of probability of another rat being made.
  • Note The messages displayed for rats would be:
"There is a solitary rat here" / "There are x rats here"
"A rat bit you for 1 damage" / "..., and its bite was infected" --Otware 11:00, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Left Queue: 14:06, 22 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Voters disliked NPCs.


Looks Like a Tornado Hit It

Timestamp: 04:33, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Balance change
Scope: Survivors on janitor duty
Description: Ransack is a lot of fun for zombies, but of limited strategic value. For ransack to have any lasting effect, zombies must maintain a presence in the building -- otherwise any survivor can clean up the mess for 1 AP. However, it's much more natural for zombies to wander building to building in search of their next meal. To allow zombies to get on with the business of finding and eating brains, while maintaing ransack's strategic usefulness, I suggest that the success rate of cleaning up a ransacked building be reduced to 25%. This is commensurate with a maxed-out zed's best chance at reducing a barricade's strength by one level.
Left Queue: 08:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Ladders and rooftops

Timestamp: 05:12, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Item and a skill
Scope: Heavily barricaded tall buildings
Description: A ladder would be the first of a new category: large items. You still need an inventory slot open to search, but large items don't just go into your inventory. Instead, your text description says "you're holding a ladder". You can't attack or search while holding a large item, and moving costs 2AP. You can barricade, adding the large item to the barricade at normal chance to succeed. And you can set the ladder up. To set the ladder up costs only 1 AP, but you have to be outside a building.

If you're not looking for them, it's just a junk item that you have to drop immediately instead of having the option of doing some more searching and dropping the trash later all at once.

Ladders would, of course, enable people to enter heavily barricaded tall buildings. Survivors would pay 3AP to enter. Zombies would need the new skill. They would pay 3AP for a 20% chance to enter, but if they failed they would fall for 4 damage and there would be a 10% chance of the ladder getting knocked over instead.

Anyone can knock a ladder down, for 1 AP with 100% success. A ladder that's knocked down would have a 10% chance of being damaged and vanishing; if it did not vanish, any survivor could set it up again for 1 AP.

Ladders outside buildings that are not tall (i.e. do not have a suicide button when you're inside) would lead to the roof of the building. These ladders could be climbed for 2AP, since you don't have to squeeze through the window. Zombies with the skill would have a 40% chance. Characters on the roof of a building could see for two blocks in each direction instead of one. If is still there, you can go down it just as you went up; if it's taken down while you're on the roof, you can still get off, but you take 25 damage.

Characters on a roof would not be visible to those below, but if there's a ladder you could go halfway up it and look for 1AP. Zombies would need ladder climbing skill in order to have this option.

Ladders would be found in fire stations at 4%, warehouses at 2%, and at 1% in museums, railway stations, schools, and factories.

Left Queue: 08:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Walking Wounded

Timestamp: --09:00, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Injury related
Scope: Injured Survivors
Description: A basic fundamental of injuries is that they restrict the actions of people, though both pain and pure inability. To transfer this into the game, I suggest creating penalties on people below certain HP levels.

People of 10HP or below would have to spend 2AP for any movement actions (moving between blocks and entering/exiting buildings), to represent severe damage to the torso and extremities, which makes walking and climbing barricades very tough.

Due to the fact that the people are wounded severely enough to limit their movement, anyone below 15HP would be highlighted as "wounded" for all players in the room - even without diagnosis - and the room description would be as follows; "There are 53 other survivors here. 11 of them look badly wounded." Or "Also here are Madeupguy1, Madeupguy2, Madeupguy3 (wounded), Madeupguy4 (wounded)"

I considered implementing Zombie penalties, but decided against it because Zombies, being the walking dead, have already taken the most grievous wound possible, and are still moving. You don't get much more crippling than death!

Left Queue: 08:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Arson (reworked)

Timestamp: 15:42, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: Arson would require a fuel can, and would cause 2 HP of damage to every zombie or human in the building. XP would be gained in the usual way from the damage done.

In buildings with more than 10 players, the first 10 players would be harmed. This is to stop people with Arson from getting too much XP from an arson attack.

The player who committed the attack would not be harmed, but would obviously be recognised as doing so by everybody else in the building.

Admittedly this skill would mostly be used by PKers in normal circumstances, but would not upset the game because of the large number of fuel cans they would need to do much damage. Arson would be more of an irritation, warning or challenge to players.

At the moment fuel cans are only useful for fueling generators. Generators are only useful in certain situations, and a generator in a building with no purpose can attract unwanted attention, and cause serious harm to the inhabitants. Often the person who refuels a generator will not actually see any personal reward in terms of XP stemming from this themselves. This skill would provide an alternative use for the fuel can, but would not eclipse its use in generators - because they are completely different things.

The messages would be something like this:

<insert name> started a blaze that burned you for 2 damage.
<insert name> started a blaze at the other end of the building.
The smell of smoke lingers around the blackened room (refering to recently arsoned building)
  • There could also be no more than 2 arson attacks on a building in any one day. After the 12 hours the above message (The smell of smoke...) would disappear. Whilst that message is up, another arson attack cannot be made.
Left Queue: 08:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Item-based Specialization

Timestamp: 17:41, 22 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New items
Scope: Survivors
Description: Currently, survivors have no real way to specialize, and little incentive to organize. If we got a modest bonus from items bulky enough that it's not worthwhile to have all kinds, that would present a choice of what to specialize in, while leaving those who want to remain generalists free to do so without penalty.

For necrotechs:
Serum pump, syringe adaptor, and battery pack: Each is a two-slot item. If you have all three, you can do revives for only 5AP instead of 10.

For healers:
Medical Reference volume I, volume II, and volume III: Each is a two-slot item. If you have any one of them, you heal an extra 1HP when doing surgery in a powered hospital (16 instead of 15). If you have any two of them, you also heal an extra 1HP for every FAK used with First Aid skill (11 instead of 10 normally, and 17 instead of 15 if using surgery). If you have all three, you also heal an extra 1HP regardless of skills (6 instead of 5 for no skill, 12 instead of 10 normally, and 18 instead of 15 in a hospital).

For shooters:
Bandoleer, speedloader, shellholder, reloading die, bullet puller, and priming tool: These are one-slot items. If you have all six, when you load a pistol clip it fills in partially loaded pistols; your pistols hold nine rounds and your shotguns hold three.

The necrotech items would displace half the trash found in NT buildings, the medical books would displace half the newspapers found in hospitals, and the shooting gear would displace half the flakjaks and flares found in police departments. So in addition to the hefty investment of inventory space, it would take a fair amount of searching to accumulate any set.

Left Queue: 08:34, 29 June 2006 (BST)

23rd May 2006

Last Resort

Timestamp: 12:28, 23 May 2006 (EST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Humans
Description: You`re on the run, infected, out of ammo, and very badly injured when it dawns on you that you`re about to die... "I'm gonna die; die and come back as one of those-those THINGS!!!" In desperation, you look through your inventory one last time, praying that there is a clip, a shell, a first-aid kit, or even a fucking band-aid that you might have overlooked; anything that can kill the zombies following you or heal your injuries... Just as your searching through your stuff and looking behind you as you run; SMACK! You run straight into a zombie`s side, dropping all your stuff on the ground. Sitting on your ass, looking up at what you just ran into, you find that your now surrounded, and by all accounts, FUCKED! You start crawling away in that awkward crab style when your hand feels something sharp prick it. It`s your last Revivification Syringe. You think, "I could use this on one of them, but that will only keep one mouth from biting me. There`s no point in pretending that I'm gonna make it." Zombies less than a foot away and you still on your ass, you decide that the only thing you might be able to do is make it so it won`t hurt... You turn over to your knees, say a quick prayer, and just as the zombies reach out to grab you, you stab yourself in the temple with the only item near by, sharp and strong enough to penetrate the thin layer of skin and bone there, and down you go... You awake with such a head ache... "So this is what it feels like to be dead?" You reach up to where it hurts and pull out a very bent, and very empty syringe... You stare at the syringe in one hand while the other puts pressure on your temple to stop the bleeding when your figure out, "Wholly FUCK, I`m bleeding! I'm-I'm alive? I`m ALIVE!!!" Groans can be heard not far away as you give away your presence in excitement. You grab your stuff and start limping your way outta there, not wanting to tempt fate again, especially since you don`t have anymore syringes.

Ok, now that I got story time out of the way, you can guess what I`m about to suggest. With this skill, a player can inject themselves with a Syringe as a last resort, and have it work.

This will be a level (10) Zombie Hunter skill, and will cost (150) XP. To get the skill you will need to be able to use a syringe, of course, but to use this skill the player must be under (10) HP and have a Revive Syringe in their possession. Once the player meets those requirements, the player can spend an AP to use a syringe on them self, and should they die within the following (15 minutes) they will come back as if someone else revived them. If they die, but not within that time frame, they will come back as a zombie. If they don`t die at all, they only have lost an AP, an IP hit, and a Revivification Syringe. (I might consider a percentage of failure also, but currently I think it should be 100% success if done at the right time.)

Please be sure to read and re-read comments on this suggestion, and note that everything in ( ) are easily changed.

Left Queue: 23:23, 23 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Auto-Revives considered too powerful; removes survivor's fear of death.


NecroNet Messaging

Timestamp: 03:44, 23 May 2006 (BST)
Type: NecroNet improvement
Scope: Humans with NecroNet Access skill
Description: Memo to NecroTech staff: We are pleased to inform you that our network administrators have brought the NecroNet messaging services back online. You will now be able to send short text messages to other powered NecroTech offices that are within one suburb of your current location.

Implementation - This suggestion is an extension of the previous NecroNet Systems Upgrade suggestion, and would allow you to send a short text message to terminal at another NecroTech office location by selecting that NT office from a list of available locations, the list would always show locations with in the permissible distance regardless of the status of power at the location. The individual would be allowed to send messages to NT offices with in their own suburb for the cost of 1AP, and NT offices that are one suburb in any direction (i.e. Wray Heights to Gulsonside) for the cost of 2AP. The message would be viewable at the location it is received at for 24 hours before it would be deleted from the network. Once the message is viewed by an individual it will be deleted regardless the amount of time left on the 24 hour clock.

Left Queue: 08:35, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Bone

Timestamp: 21:56, 23 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Zombie Weapon
Scope: Zombies
Description: A new zombie weapon, bone, is available from the cemetaries around Malton. As a zombie walks into a cemetary, it is informed about a corpse (which is found every time):

"Your eyes lay on a fresh, almost completely eaten corpse."

A button will display the option of ripping a bone off the corpse at the cost of 3 AP. Survivors are not presented with this option. Acquiring a bone would produce a message:

"You tear a bone from the corpse."

Zombie's claw attack will be changed to bone attack, which has a base 35% chance to hit and do 2 points worth of damage. Vigour Mortis, Death Grip and Rend Flesh work as they use to, but gripping a survivor becomes impossible, so Tangling Grasp doesn't effect Bone attack (max. 60% to hit, 3 dam). Bite attack remains as an option and is not affected in any way. The bone can be discarded as any other item when being a zombie.

After 10 successful blows (target being survivors, zombies, barricades, generators...), the bone breaks and is automatically discarded and bone attack will be reverted back to claw attack. A message would be displayed:

"Your bone breaks from wear. You revert back to using your claws."

Also, death will cause the zombie to lose grip of the bone.

Left Queue: 08:35, 29 June 2006 (BST)

24th May 2006

point blank shot

Timestamp: 17:00, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill, balance change, improvement, etc
Scope: a zombie hunter skill
Description: when using a melee attack (e.g punch or axe), if the user attacks with a gun it does +5 damage and has a +20% chance of hitting. it also is not affected by a flack jacket.
Left Queue: 17:51, 24 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Not clearly understood by voters.


Mutilate

Timestamp: --Veragoot 22:08, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivor
Description: A survivor skill that requires a knife to use. It gives the survivor the option to mutilate a dead body for 5 AP and make it harder for it to rise by adding 5 AP to the stand up cost. A dead body can only be mutilated once every time it dies. Once a body rises, whether as a zombie or human, it becomes unmutilated(causing the stand up cost to return to 10 AP) and is able to be mutilated again once it's a dead body.
Left Queue: 22:56, 24 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Griefy, and especially hard on zombies without ankle grab and/or headshot.


Zombie Skill: Schizophrenia

Timestamp: 22:26, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New Zombie Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: In honor of famed schizophrenic Francis Dec, zombie brainwaves can now randomly intercept nearby mobile telephone signals, both receptions and transmissions. Jeez, guys, I was trying to keep this simple, but before I get death by spamming, let me try this description:

Zombies are able to develop schizophrenia, which allows them to eavesdrop on the most recent mobile phone message that is on the phone of a nearby (say the standard 6 blocks) survivor.

It would be fun because of the occasional "strategic intercept" it might provide, but, more importantly, would give the mad zombies material over which to taunt mobile phone users.

Ex. "Your foggy mind hears a voice saying, 'I'm in Pagram Library. If you've got FAKs, that would be good!'

List it under Memories of Life.

Left Queue: 23:13, 24 May 2006 (BST)

Carrying

Timestamp: 16:45, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivor
Description: OK this skill will allow active survivors to carry inactive survivors into buildings and around the suburbs. The catch is, that any and all actions you take while carrying use up double the normal action points. Example: moving would cost 2 AP every time instead of 1 AP. Also if the carryed player logs on he/she will automatically be let go if he/she has more than 1 AP. To those that think that zombies won't be able to kill people because of this think again. Zombie spies will also be able to carry inactive players too, so they can also be carried off to their doom, far away from friendlies. It seems pretty evened out, maybe a little tilted to zeds, but all in all it could be a good addition.
Left Queue: 23:43, 24 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Failed since players could be moved against their will.


Unlimited Speech via integrated IRC

Timestamp: 19:02, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement, etc
Scope: all
Description: I find that the way speech is handled in game discourages roleplaying and communication. The ability of people to cooperate and learn is based on speech, and with speech costing 1 AP a shot, the city of Malton is too quiet. I propose speech cost nothing, for survivors and zombies.

I suggest that the Urban Dead CGI be integrated with an IRC client. This client will be limited in that no special commands will be accepted from the user (things like /join /leave and changing rooms). Furthermore, the client will not include a list of users. This is to prohibit players from determining whether or not another player is not logged in, and performing some beatings against an undefended target.

Under the hood, I think that the IRC server used in Urban Dead should have nicknames and passwords the same as the player uses to log in. The input can interface properly with the old "speak" command, but it will cost nothing. Zombies will still be limited in what they can say through speak. When a user begins the game, their client will /join #block_you_are_in. If they enter the building at that location, they will /join #block_your_are_in_INDOORS. When they move to a new location, they will /leave the old channel, and /join the new one. Logging out will /leave the room, of course. None of the chat rooms will be constant- they will only exist when there are users inside (thus saving the server from keeping 100,000 or more rooms online 24/7).

An example: you start out in Gryffon Lane (/join #gryffon_lane). Then you move to Rilke Towers (/leave #gryffon_lane /join rilke_towers). Then you enter Rilke Towers (/leave #rilke_towers /join #rilke_towers_INDOORS). You log out (/leave #rilke_towers_INDOORS). The room names won't be displayed, nor the users names- all they will see is a text window for the chat.
Left Queue: 23:46, 24 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Rejected due to the message spam it would cause, and that it was a free action.


Zombie Skill: Instill Fear

Timestamp: 2:44, 24 May 2006 (PST)
Type: New Zombie Skill
Scope: Zombies
Description: There are many experienced zombies wandering around Malton. Any untrained human that encounters these savage zombies may panic and act erratic. For instance, shooting wildly at them (decrease in accuracy).
Left Queue: 00:36, 25 May 2006 (BST)

Notes: Insufficient detail



Library Improvement: Remote Necronet Access

Timestamp: 06:34, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement, etc
Scope: Library
Description: Here's an idea to make libraries a more lucrative survivor destination. Most libraries now have computers. It should be possible for a scientist to log into Necrotech's database from there. I suggest that when a library is powered that players with Necronet Access can "Access Necronet" and bring up the necronet map from there. This would fittingly make libraries a place people go to get information, and give them some utility.
Left Queue: 08:57, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Bottomless Pockets

Timestamp: 07:53, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: This skill has the prerequisite of Body Building and increases the number of inventory slots from 51 to 61. Since you are stronger because of your body building, you can carry more.

I chose 61 as body building increases the HP max from 50-60HP, so it makes sense for a skill that has BodyBuilding as a prerequisite to increase the item limit by 10. The skill would allow you to carry 5 firearms or 10 extra ammo/fak/blunt weapons/etc.
This skill does carry over to zombies but since zombies can't search it will just allow them to keep the extra items they have so they can use them the next time they become human.

Left Queue: 08:57, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Bandoleer

Timestamp: 15:47, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Item
Scope: Survivors
Description: The bandoleer would be a two-slot item capable of holding three pistol clips. Clicking it would reload a pistol, just as if you had clicked a clip. It would have three drawbacks: First, it would be found only in armories at a rate of 2%, so if you do your ammo searching in a mall or PD you couldn't just drop it when it's empty and get another when you have spare clips again. Second, you spend an extra AP putting the ammo into the bandoleer, decreasing total AP efficiency. But the main drawback is that clicking a clip would fill partial pistols before it would fill your bandoleers, so you would usually have to waste ammo to fill it.
Left Queue: 08:57, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Cars

Timestamp: 23:21, 24 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Item, Tactics, Realism
Scope: Humans and Zombies, but particularly Humans
Description: I suggest that empty streets be lined with any number of cars. Cars can be found to be either locked or unlocked and there are different types of cars (see list) which serve different purposes:
  • Cars
    • Unlocked cars: can be searched for items (1AP per search) or entered as a hiding spot, like a building (1 AP to enter) (cars cannot be barricaded). UNLIKE BUILDINGS, cars do not protect you from zombie attacks, rather they simply hide you. Zombies can still attack you, if they stumble upon your hiding spot. Cars have a maximum capacity of one person.
    • Locked cars: Locked cars can only be searched until you have broken into them (1 AP). Locked cars cannot be entered. Alternatively, pending player input and votes, locked cars can be entered, but only after breaking into them.
  • Car types and items
    • Civilian vehicles: may contain beer, newspapers, crucifixes, lengths of pipe, etc. (search success rate up to player consensus)
    • Police cruisers: may contain shotguns or flak jackets (search success rate up to player consensus)
    • Ambulances: may contain first-aid kits (search success rate up to player consensus)
    • Fire engines: may contain axes (search success rate up to player consensus)
    • (Optional, suggestions welcomed)Commercial vehicles (i.e news vans, tow trucks, 18-wheelers, power services): may contain power generators, lengths of pipe, etc. (search success rate up to player consensus)

I feel that this adds to the tact and realism of the UD universe. Looking dowm my street I can spot at least fifteen vehicles, but Malton seems to contain none. Note, I am not suggesting using vehicles as means of transportation, simply for hiding and finding items.

--Jupiter 23:21, 24 May 2006 (BST)

Left Queue: 08:57, 29 June 2006 (BST)

25th May 2006

Book Learning and Lecturing

Timestamp: 09:32, 25 May 2006 (BST))
Type: New skills, possibly a new class
Scope: All players
Description: Yep, this idea is just gonna get shot down like a low flying duck.

Anyway, new skills:

Comphrension (Civillian skill) The chance of gaining EXP from reading a book or listening to a lecture is increased to 30%.

Keen Study Habits (Requires Comphrension) [better title?] +2 EXP when gaining EXP from successfully reading a book or listening to a lecture (3 EXP for non-science characters, 4 EXP for science characters).

Lecturing (Requires Keen Study Habits [hence referred to as KSH from now on].) [This idea was partly inspired by the suggestion "Preach."] You can now hold lectures in places for whoever will listen.

Lecturing works like this: You need a book in your invertory and 5 AP. Click the button "Lecture" when you have these, you'll then be in "lecture mode." Only one player can lecture in a block or building (one can lecture OUTSIDE a building when a player is lecturing INSIDE, though) at any one time, after 5 hours of lecturing you will stop lecturing. Being attacked or performing any action will also make you leave lecture mode. While lecturing, you will show in the room description as "[player name] is holding a lecture here.", and other players can click the button "Listen to the lecture" for 1 AP. Listening to the lecture is kinda the same thing as reading a book in your invertory. Thus, your Comphrension and KSH skills (if you have any) come into play when listening to lectures. Successfully listening to a lecture nets you the same EXP as reading a book then with the same rate of success (w/o KSH: 1 EXP or 2 EXP for science, w/ KSH: 3 EXP or 4 EXP for science). Zombies with Memories of Life can also listen to lectures, with Comphrension and KSH skills coming into play. They can lecture other zombies themselves if they have the Lecturing skill and Memories of Life and can do so without needing a book, but humans cannot learn anything from them or listen to them.

Lecturing uses up a book EACH in your invertory, so 3 lectures require 3 books. If someone gains EXP from a lecture, the lecturer gains 1 EXP for each one, i.e. 6 people gain EXP, the lecturer gains 6 EXP. This is a cap on this EXP gain, with a max of 30 EXP gained from a single lecture.

If you lecture in a cinema, office, pub or club, you gain 3 EXP for each successful EXP gain by students and your students' chances to gain EXP from listening is increased by 10% (due to lecturing on eye catching stages present in these buildings).

Also, a chance to maybe add a new civillian class Teacher to the game...?

Any more suggestions would be appreciated.

Left Queue: 09:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Nails

Timestamp: 20:19, 25 May 2006 (BST)
Type: item
Scope: survivors
Description: Survivors can find a new item called "Nail" In junkyards. If the survivor is carrying a baseball bat they can use the nail for 1 ap to make a "nail bat". A nail bat does three damage (instead of two) but cannot be used by zombies. It would add some flavor to the game.
Left Queue: 09:02, 29 June 2006 (BST)

26th May 2006

Silent Kill (a knife improvement)

Timestamp: 17:40, 26 May 2006 (BST)
Type: improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: Currently, a knife is worthless. Fire axes are much better. Many people have tried to remedy this, but haven't suceeded. this should dothe trick. If a survivor kills another survivor with a knife, there is a 50% chance of it "Mattiator killed Poopyman (timestamp)" appearing when someone logs in. The person who was killed would still see you attacking him "mattiator attacked you for three damage...And again...and again...". The justification is someone is going to hear when you kill someone with an axe, but might not with a knife. It wouldn't affect Zombies.
Left Queue: 18:55, 26 May 2006 (BST)(GMT)

Notes: It was disliked that player killers could remove nearly all of a player's health with a firearm, then deliver the final blow with a knife, and still kill silently. It was also felt that it would encourage PKing.


Change to First Aid

Timestamp: 20:29, 26 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill change
Scope: First Aid
Description: Expand First Aid to read "Player is able to heal an extra 5HP when using a first-aid kit, and survivors with fewer than 31hp are shown as 'wounded' in room descriptions".

I chose 31 as it was pointed out to me that 30 is the revive health of an uninfected bodybuilt human. This would make just-revived survivors a tasty source of exp for level one doctors/medics, and level one doctors/medics a tasty source of health for just revived survivors.

"On or below half health" would work too, but it is clumsier to say and probably much harder to code so vote on "31hp". I may resubmit this later with a different threshold method if a lot of people like the concept but not the number.

  • editted due to screwing up the time format thingy
Notes: 10/18 Keep/Total. See original votes for feedback.
Left Queue: 10:03, 29 June 2006 (BST)


Zombie Specialization, version 2

Timestamp: 02:06, 26 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Skill set
Scope: Zombies
Description: Zombies do basically three things: attack barricades, attack survivors, and defend other zombies by managing who's ahead of whom in the stack. I propose six specialist skills, two for each task. All the skills have normal 100XP purchase cost, and require level 10 to purchase. You can switch which specialist skill is active before standing up again after you die.

For barricade attackers:
Unfocused Rage skill: You feel an overwhelming urge to smash something. +2% to hit against barricades, -5% to hit against survivors.
Contagious Rage skill: User: "You howl with rage." Affected zombie: "A howl of rage resonates within you." Everyone else in the same location: "A zombie howls with rage." This is used on your fellow zombies; you must have Unfocused Rage active to use it. It puts a contagious rage flag on the first zombie in the stack who has Unfocused Rage skill active and is not already flagged. The flag gives an additional +4% to hit against barricades and -4% to hit against survivors (a total of -6% and +9%). They lose the flag the next time they die.

For survivor attackers:
Hatred of Life skill: You seethe with hatred toward the living. -3% to hit against barricades, +4% to hit against survivors.
Contagious Hatred skill: User: "You moan with hatred." Affected zombie: "Your hatred intensifies." Everyone else in the same location: "A zombie moans with hatred." This is used on your fellow zombies; you must have Hatred of Life active to use it. It puts a contagious hatred flag on the first zombie in the stack who has Hatred of Life skill active and is not already flagged. The flag gives an additional -3% to hit aginst barricades and +5% to hit against survivors (a total of -6% and +9%). They lose the flag the next time they die.

For meatshields:
Body Rot skill: As your muscles decay, the infection of undeath retreats to your body core. Attackers have to shoot or hack through more rotted flesh to reach the reanimated core. -5% to hit on all attacks, +4HP.
Contagious Rot skill: This is used on your fellow zombies; you must have Body Rot active to use it. It puts a contagious rot flag on the first zombie in the stack who has Body Rot skill active and is not already flagged. The flag gives an additional +8HP and -5% to hit on all attacks (a total of +12HP and -10%). They lose the flag the next time they die.

Left Queue: 10:05, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Realistic Health

Timestamp: 20:05, 26 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Modify behaviour based on health
Scope: Survivors
Description: To add some additional realism to the game, survivors should act differently when they are injured. I player with less than 25HP should require twice as many APs to attack, while those with less than 10HP should require 2APs to move. This reflects the increased difficulty of performing actions with serious injuries.

Once a player's hit points are below 30, they pass beyond the healing abilities of mere first aid, and require surgery. This makes the surgery skill significantly more useful than it currently is (it is generally easier to use two first aid kits on someone than get them to a powered hospital and heal them with surgery). Players with the surgery skill should also be able to perform field surgery. This should restore 5HP anywhere, and an additional 5HP in a powered building, regardless of the number of hit points of the recipient.

These limitations should, in general, not apply to zombies, since it is assumed that they are permanently in a seriously injured state on account of being dead. They already suffer the 2AP movement penalty as a result of this.

In the short-term, this will potentially affect balance in favour of the zombies. It is expected, however, that it will make the surgery skill more attractive, offsetting this. It should also lead to more careful to avoid becoming seriously injured.

Left Queue: 10:05, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Choosing Names For Items

Timestamp: 21:32, 26 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Survivor items
Description: This suggestion allows a survivor to give a name to each item in their inventory that can be used on other players. For example they could rename their first aid kits defibrillators. You could name a specific item (eg one pistol) or every item of a certain type (eg all pistols).

The given name would appear in their inventory. If the item is used on someone, they would get a message like: Stompy Seneco attacked you with <item name> for 3 damage. The same swear filter as from tagging would be applied to naming items. Importantly, a checkbox would be provided which allows players to receive the game messages without the name changes, ie receive game messages as they are at the minute. This option would be on by default, not least to prevent confusion of new players.

Left Queue: 10:05, 29 June 2006 (BST)

27th May 2006

Silent Kill (a use for the knife), round 2

Timestamp: 17:13, 27 May 2006 (BST)
Type: skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: Currently, a knife is worthless. Fire axes are much better. Many people have tried to remedy this, but haven't suceeded. this should dothe trick. Once a survivor has bought a skill "Assassination" (beneath knife training) A survivor can attempt to attack another survivor with a knife "silently" at regular chance to hit for 5 ap. If they suceed, the message "X killed y" would not appear for others. The person who was killed would still see you attacking him e.g. "Mattiator attacked you for three damage...And again...and again...". The justification is someone is going to hear when you kill someone with an axe, but might not with a knife. using silent kill on zombies would have no effect.
Left Queue: 18:00, 27 May 2006 (BST)(GMT)

Notes General comments regarding silent PKing being bad.


Yet Another Option for Usable Blunt Weapons

Timestamp: 04:50, 27 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Weapons alteration
Scope: Blunt weapons
Description: A new skill, Strength Training, would be added. It would have Body Building as a prerequisite, just because of the name. Strength Training would give +2 damage with all blunt weapons. So the bat and pipe would max at 25% times 4 damage, or 1.0 average damage. That's only 83% of the damage output of an axe: still basically worthless unless they have some other advantage, but usable as a backup weapon if they did.

Here's the other advantage: In buildings where the flavor text includes tables and chairs, on a tiny fraction of your barricade failures (I'm thinking 0.1%, but small enough that it's negligible for balance, however small that takes), you succeed instead and the flavor text says you smash one of the legs off the chair with your bat or pipe.

So the niche of the blunt weapons would be for those who normally use firearms exclusively but carry an axe as a backup, and for those who like to have a lottery ticket. For the latter, the longer the odds are, the more of a kick it is to finally see that busted-table flavor text. Plus Kevan could tell us only some of the details, and people could have the fun of seeing the rare flavor text as a surprise. Not everyone's cup of tea, but that's what the axe would still be for.

Left Queue: 10:07, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Gender

Timestamp: 16:28, 27 May 2006 (BST)
Type: improvement
Scope: all
Description: You can choose your gender (male/female/none) on your status page. Just a small improvement...
Left Queue: 10:07, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Rough Skin

Timestamp: 19:44, 27 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New Skill/Minor change
Scope: Zombies
Description: Okay, this is a two part suggestion. I know a lot of people don't like that, but the reason it needs to be two parts is because one would be unbalancing without the other. It applies to Zombies and Flak Jacket use.

The first part is to make a skill for Zombies that works as sort of a Zombie Flak Jacket. It goes directly under Vigor Mortis. I'm not very good at naming skills, so the name is negotiable, so please don't vote on that. Having this skill has the exact same properties of wearing a flak jacket, except that it makes more sense as a skill for a zombie in my opinion.

Of course, the second part of the suggestion is to make Flak Jacket useless for Zombies. Currently, Zombies use Flak Jackets more than humans, which is nonsensical and complained about often. Also, Zombies have fewer skills than survivors. This allows to add a new skill for zombies without any kind of balance change, so it kills to birds with one stone.

Now, one forseeable problem with this is that making flak jackets useless all at once could significantly reduce the strength of Zombie hordes until all of the members are able to purchase the skill. This isn't the point of this suggestion, so I propose that there be a one week grace period in which the skill is available, and Flak Jackets are still usable for zombies. They will NOT stack. During this one week grace period, zombies will be able to to benefit from Flak Jackets OR this new skill. This should give zombies plenty of time to aquire the skill before their flak jackets are rendered useless, and newbie zombies won't know the difference anyways. After the transition is complete, I don't see any reason that balance would be affected at all.

Left Queue: 10:07, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Field Surgery

Timestamp: 20:37, 27 May 2006 (BST)
Type: New Skill/New Item
Scope: Survivors
Description: Ok, Since you guys didn't like my Surgeon Skill Then I will go with what you said and change it:

New skill: field surgery

Field surgery is a skill under the First Aid/Surgery skills tree. It costs 100 experiance points for civilians, 150 experience points for Military and 75 experience points for scientists. The Field Surgery skill enables you to perform the benefits of surgery, so long as it is in a powered building and the user has a scalpel in thier possesion.

Because you need a scalpel to perform Field surgery, I propose a new item:

New Item: Scalpel

The scalpel can be fount in a Hospital at a rate of 2%. If you have a scalpel in your pack then you can perform Field surgery. As a weapon the scalpel has a base hit rate of 10% and will rise to 25% with hand to hand combat and will further rise to 40% with knife combat. The scalpel does 1 point of damage due to its size.

If anyone has any questions feel free to put them in your votes.

Left Queue: 10:07, 29 June 2006 (BST)

28th May 2006

29th May 2006

Throw

Timestamp: 05:05, 29 May 2006 (BST)
Type: improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: A zombie breaks into the building you are squating in. Fearing for your life, you empty your gun into the zombie, which doesn't phase it at all. Terrified and desperate, you hurl the now useless smoking hunk of metal in your hand at the zombie. You score a lucky hit, and bean the zombie right in the forehead. Too bad he still grabs you and eats your brains...

So, if I were scared witless, and was desperatley fighting for my life, I would throw my empty gun at the zombie, if only to distract it. I propose that for 1 AP, you should be able to throw inventory items as an attack. The chance to hit should be low, like 15% (this is up for discussion) and the damage caused should also be low, like 1 HP. This reflects both that throwing something needs to hit a critical area, and that even if it does, its not going to do much.

The only items that should be able to do more should be the knife and the axe. They can do their melee damage, if they hit.

In the end, this is a flavorfull way of Dropping items in a somewhat useful manner. It could also be fun for Roleplaying purposes, where you can be the "Ninja Zombie Slaying Priest", killing zombies with flying Crucifixes at rates compareable to punching a zombie to death.

Left Queue: 07:09, 29 May 2006 (BST)

30th May 2006

Counting Coup

Timestamp: 04:22, 30 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Ability
Scope: Survivors
Description: Shooting rotters at a revive point would be regarded as a fair way of farming some XP, if bystanders could be sure you were really shooting a rotter. As it is, you can say their profile number, and people can confirm that the profile number you gave is that of a rotter. If they're checking in real time, you can announce in advance so they can see that the zombie you named appears as a standing zombie before you kill them and as a dead body afterward. But if they log in afterward they can't be sure you weren't lying.

In a turn-based game, the verifiability shouldn't depend on real-time interaction.

I propose that you be able to do the same thing on a strictly turn-based basis that you can already do for a real-time observer, whether that's by having a "count coup" button appear after you kill a zombie to show a text message including the zombie's link, or whether it's having attacks targetted to zombies on your contact list automatically convert the "a zombie" to a link in the "killed a zombie" message, or have a separate "attack to count coup" option on the attack button. It's all the same, as long as you get to let bystanders see that the zombie you killed was indeed the rotter. If you can control it, it should cost you an extra 1AP, just as if you had said it with regular speech.

Left Queue: 14:03, 30 May 2006 (BST)


Barricades improvements for both sides

Timestamp: 05:58, 30 May 2006 (BST)
Type: Game mechanics, new skill
Scope: Barricades and Zombies
Description: In this point in the development of Urban Dead, to be a newbie zombie (being it being killed as a survivor or starting at corpse class, because theres not much difference at all) is painful. Unless you're lucky and can keep up the tracks of some big horde like the Ridleybank Resistance Front or The Shining Ones resorting to metagaming (something that most newbie players dont know of), or the even less frequent event of a survivor standing in the open, you're reduced to some kind of cannibal being, feeding on your kind. The only way to gain experience as a zombie is combat, and every survivor is unreachable for the common of the newbie zeds, being them behind buildings barricaded to the level of at least very strong+2. This cannibal status, punished in game with half experience and out of game with the obviously twisted morality of the act, plunge most zombie players in a state of depression, uneasiness of mind (talking seriously), explaining why most of them just give up or resort to the nearest revive point to play the fun side of the game: survivors. Heck, survivors only are PKers if they choose so, not like newbie zeds!!

Let me emphasize what a barricade means to a new born zombie: the absolute impediment to reach your objective, to do what you're supposed to do: eat brains. You have to cultivate at least 3 skills until you can really bash trough them: Memories of Life, Vigour Mortis and Death Grip; and in any survivor-ruled suburb, zombies get no experience at all, standing up after a headshot only to walk amongst deserted, or best said corpse filled, streets until they get headshot again. Correct me if im wrong, but even the most crazy of the trenchcoater, level 1 firefighter, can make a trip to [Ridleybank], bash Petrosjko (no offense) head a couple of times and die honorably with 30 "hard earned" experience points in a day of "hard work". If you try to bash trough barricades without those 3 skill, you will run out of AP half way and log on next time with full barricades built again, and what have you won? Nothing.

After this short monologue, that i hope enlightens even the most hardened sights of survivor-only players, i have this suggestion, or rather 2 merged suggestions that if submited separated get spamminated, but together... you will choose with your vote.

I propose that every succesfull hit that a zombie lands on a barricade ("You smash at the barricade. Part of it collapses.") grants the zombie 2 points of experience. That will be an average of 25 points of experience every 50 AP with maxed skills, 17,5 to beginner corpses (or just anyone with Vigour Mortis and not Death Grip) and 12,5 for a slayed survivor (no zombie skills). Enough (i think) to grant newbie ferals a more etic, helpful way to gain experience than cannibalism, that grants maxed zombies an average of 30 experience per 50 AP (Tangling Grasp could improve this rate a bit but it seems to be ineffective against fellow zombies). Take on account that a healer gets around 62 experience every 50 AP granted for them that they search for FAKs on a powered hospital (and im saying a powered hospital, not requiring any skill, not even shopping or bargain hunting that can easily boost that quantity on a powered Mall), and that bashing barricades is as critical and vital for a zombie than healing for survivors.

Now, if i were just rooting mindlessly for zombies, i wuold let this suggestion just as it is. But imagine... this gets implemented ( =D ). Now, what would us have? 31% (i made the calc) of the zombies are either level 1, 2 or 3. Lets assume than 1/3 of them are searching for revives, and the other 2/3 are training (most of them, sincerely, practicing cannibalism). Imagine that only half of them, not them all just half, starts bashing barricades for XP. It will be zmobaggedon! 1500+ zombies starting to bash trough chairs, planks of wood, tables, refrigerators and finally a friendly veteran open the door. If siege tactics like The Mall Defense Manifesto count with zombies getting bored of getting no experience bashing barricades and then leaving, it wuoldnt work anymore. To tell the truth it is fair, now both sides dont get bored (not that much) anymore. But surviving will be harsh. So, i propose that every Large Building that have the main disvantage of when a zombie enters it can move freely to any of its squares, to have extra levels of barricades to counterbalance that disvantage, and for these leves to be implemented as follows:

It has been reported than barricades can be built up to the level of Extremely Heavy+4 (And if anyone doubts that a barricade can be built beyond Extremely Heavy+0, today i smashed a barricade from Extremely Heavy+2 to Quite Strongly, and i know it was EH+2 because i succesfully smashed it two times and it was still Extremely Heavy in the building description). Anyways, to barricade up to that level is next to impossible even with your two best friends zerg_1 and zerg_2 (joke), so i propose that the max level to be cut to EH+2 (hard but possible to do even for 1 person alone) and to create a new skill: Fortify (player is able to fortify large buildings) to be placed under Construction at the normal value (100XP). This skill will make you able to barricade up to 8 new levels. The first 4 will add to the building description the legend to "The building has been Extremely Fortified", and further fortifying will change the description to "The building has been Imposingly Fortified". Their mechanics will be the same as barricades, and as said before they will only apply to Large buildings. The difficult rate at fortify is to set up by Kevan, as well as if any modification is needed to the normal rates of barricading, because he's the only one that knows the success rate of normal barricading. To start fortifying, you have to be on a large building and the building have to be EH+2; when it is, or if you bring it up to EH+2, the "Barricade the building" button will change to "Fortify the building", and you can start to fortify it. Every time you fortify succesfuly, it can say something like "You find some ropes and secure the barricades with it" or if you fail it can says something like "you fail to find something to strenghten the existing barricades", to represent that there's no more place to put things on the barricade, and the only thing you can do is secure it trough ropes, cables or maybe nails (im not creative enough to give you 5 sentences for fail and 5 for success, so dont ask).

So, thats it. The first part alone (bashing barricades giving XP) i saw something when i was new to the wiki that i think that wuold be a dupe or almost a dupe, but this one is carefully (and painfully) calculated . The second one (the "Fortify" skill), i didnt find anything like that anywhere, let me know if i didnt search enough. Both of the merged suggestions are there to the only purpose of making a newbie zombie playable (as i consider it is not in the present day). If you consider one of this suggestions is good and the other one is not, let me know so i submit it alone. This suggestion wont be as popular as my "Frightening Touch" suggestion, it is quite controversial, but if something here seems workable, that can be saved, and i have all the time of the world to further think how to fix whatever you find flawed. Thanks if you readed all the suggestion, and if not, dont vote =) .

Left Queue: 10:57, 29 June 2006 (BST)

Linear XP

Timestamp: 20:31, 21 March 2006 (GMT)
Type: Skill buying system alteration
Scope: Everyone
Description: Resubmitted from several times before, with new better numbers and increased topicality.

THIS IDEA DOES NOT RESET THE GAME. YOUR SKILLS ARE WIPED, BUT ALL THE XP YOU'VE EVER GOTTEN, INCLUDING WHAT YOU HAVE SPENT ON SKILLS, YOU WILL GET BACK, SO YOU CAN BUY THE SKILLS AGAIN. THEY'D SIMPLY COST DIFFERENT AMOUNTS. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE VOTING. THANK YOU.

I submitted this a long time ago and it was shot down, but it's been long enough and and situation is different enough I believe it deserves a resubmit. I've also clarified the details somewhat, to please don't be an ass and call dupe. Anyway. My idea works like this: Homogeny is a big problem in today's UD world. The suggestion prior to this one, regarding endgame skills with high XP costs, attempts to remedy this problem, but I feel there should be a more fundamental solution. Thus I propose that instead of a flat 100XP cost for skills (with class/crossclass multiplers) the cost should go up depending on your level. The first skill a new character buys should cost 50XP. All subsequent skills should cost a bit more, but going continuously up so that the cost to buy every skill in the game is huge. I'm thinking the total cost ought to be 10,000 XP. Assuming an average overall XP/AP rate of .5, which seems pretty conservative to me, the total time to get every skill would be 417 days. That seems about right. A character with every skill ought to be an incredibly rare thing, the hardcore people who have been logging on every day for more than a year. Therefore, with each level the cost of the next skill will go up by 13 XP (i've done the math on this--assuming 38 skills, that'll come as close to 10000 as one can get without fractions). So 50-63-76-89 and so on.

Now, about all the players that already have huge numbers of skills. Simple: they lose all their skills and are refunded 100XP per each (or 75 for class skills and 150 for cross-class, depending on their status) and this, plus whatever XP they have currently, can be freely spent under the new system. Yes, this will be painful. Yes, I would rather my high-level characters could stay high-level. But there's really no other way I can think of to solve the homogenity problem short of actually resetting the game, which nobody wants. This method turns an essentially simple skill-acquisition system that becomes meaningless very quickly into one with a lot more depth and strategy involved--you hesitate a lot more before buying Shopping when you know it'll take 1000XP before you can get Bargain Hunting, and for that entire 1000XP Shopping will be pretty useless, since it'll be more profitable to search in a Hospital or PD. IF you're going to be a gunner, buying all the gun skills first will make it that much harder to get essentials like Free Running or Diagnosis--perhaps you ought to hold off on the shotgun skills and only buy the pistol ones for now--but of course that means the shotgun ones will cost more later. I think that boost to the flair and flavor of the game is worth experienced players losing some power.

The New Stuff: Some players of UD got bored and decided to start their own low-tech, browser-based, free online game. It's called Nexus War, and I have to say that frankly, what I've seen of it so far I like a lot better than UD, and I'll tell you why: the class system. They were starting a new game, rather than changing an old one, so they could build on something learnt in UD: homogeneity is boring. NW has 1 starter class and a branching system that eventually lets you choose from 13 different end classes in three different factions, each with their own exclusive skills, and you could run one character for every faction if you liked. Now, I love UD and I intend to keep playing it. But I'd love it a whole lot more if we fixed this. Solve the homogeneity problem. Vote Keep.--'STER-Talk-Mod 20:13, 30 May 2006 (BST)

Left Queue: 10:57, 29 June 2006 (BST)

31st May 2006