Suggestion:20071008 Flashlights (revised)

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20071008 Flashlights (revised)

Uncle Bill 21:52, 8 October 2007 (BST)

Suggestion type
New item

Suggestion scope
Survivors searching non-powered buildings

Background

My original suggestion also included a looting skill which provided a small XP gain for finding items in ransacked buildings. Not suprisingly, this was shot down because of the XP gain. Point taken. Here it is again, this time With the XP gain (and the looting skill) removed.

Suggestion description

Flashlights would be a new item to boost search rates when searching in an unpowered building. The bonus would be about 3% and after each successful search, there would be a small chance of the batteries dying.

Game mechanics: Encumberance 2%, found in Warehouses (4%), Fire Departments (3%), and Junkyards (2%). The odds of a flashlight dying would be similar to the way spray cans run out. Please note that flashlights ONLY work in unpowered buildings, so the RNG would only check to see if your batteries ran out whenever you successfully found something in an unpowered building (or outside).

Previous flashlight ideas:

1. My old version from a couple days ago. Killed because of the possiblity of XP gain from searching.

2. Flashlight Version 2.0 This one was similar, but was rejected because the search bonus was too low to justify looking for it.

Voting Section

Voting Rules

Votes must be numbered, justified, signed, and timestamped. # justification ~~~~ Votes that do not conform to the above may be struck by any user.

The only valid votes are Keep, Kill, Spam or Dupe. If you wish to abstain from voting, do not vote.

Keep Votes

1. Keep - Author vote. Let's see if it works better this way. --Uncle Bill 21:53, 8 October 2007 (BST)
2. Keep - Although batteries RNG check should be done on any search - not only successfull, i just like the idea--~~~~ [talk] 21:59, 8 October 2007 (BST)
3. Keep - I like it too, useful in buildings where Gking is a problem. --Acoustic Pie 22:25, 8 October 2007 (BST)
4. Keep - I like it too, don't see many good suggestions these days. This is one, though. BoboTalkClown 22:27, 8 October 2007 (BST)
5. Keep - Good man. Keep em coming!--Seventythree^Talk 22:42, 8 October 2007 (BST)
6. Keep/Change-- No benefit in ransacked buildings, and it's all systems go. --MrCoolantSpray 01:05, 9 October 2007 (BST)
7. Keepish - Meh, won't get implemented, but not a bad suggestion either.--  AHLGTG THE END IS NIGH! 01:18, 9 October 2007 (BST)
8. Keep - something to keep the game fresh.--'BP^Tmz 01:44, 9 October 2007 (BST)
9. Keep Sounds pretty good I do like how the power runs out like a Spray can runs out of propellant. I say Keep --Johnny Reb 03:13, 9 October 2007 (BST)
10. Keep - As above.--Private Mark 05:37, 9 October 2007 (BST)
11. Keep - Meh. --Midianian|T|T:S|C:RCS| 06:24, 9 October 2007 (BST)
12. Keep - That's better. Glenstone 07:25, 9 October 2007 (BST)
13. Keep - I had the same idea for some time. I'm glad someone else thought of it.--Kolechovski 13:54, 9 October 2007 (BST)
14. SPLENDID - :) --Hhal 19:26, 9 October 2007 (BST)
15. Keep- Nice suggestionStudoku 20:04, 9 October 2007 (BST)
16. Keep - Issues are largely fixed. --Pgunn 20:07, 9 October 2007 (BST)
17. Keep - Sounds good to me. --Sonofagun18 05:19, 10 October 2007 (BST)
18. Keep - Yeh. Sockem 05:42, 10 October 2007 (BST)
19. Keep - A small search bonus isn't bad. --Shatterspike1 00:01, 19 October 2007 (BST)

Kill Votes

1. Kill - Would partially circumvent the penalty for searching in a ruined building, making ruining them even less help to zombies. Add to that the fact that this aids survivor search rates without significant risk. --The Hierophant 23:15, 8 October 2007 (BST)
2. Kill - I maintain that survivors already have flashlights (or lamps, or lighters, or lightning bugs in a jar, or whatever). Otherwise finding things in unpowered buildings would be next to impossible.--Jiangyingzi 23:58, 8 October 2007 (BST)
3. Kill - Definitely better than last time. Still not good. Minor problems: you didn't tell us how you would actually turn the flashlight on and off. Do you click the button in the inventory? Is it automatically assumed to be turned on when you enter an unpowered building? Is it the act of turning the flashlight on that makes the battery check occur, or is it the act of searching? Major problem: this would increase the rate at which people find syringes, which would increase the number of revives, and would result in widespread massacre of Zombies. --Steakfish 02:07, 9 October 2007 (BST)

   RE: To clarify, the flashlight is automatically on whenever you attempt to search an unpowered building. After each successful search (when a flashlight was used), the RNG checks to see if the batteries should run out. I maintain that this won't affect the overall find rates of syringes as much as you think because flashlights are expendable and you still have to spend time looking for them. --Uncle Bill 02:15, 9 October 2007 (BST)

   RE: I did take that into consideration. The rates would change only a little, which is why I voted "Kill" instead of "Spam." --Steakfish 02:40, 9 October 2007 (BST)

4. Kill - Don't mess with search rates.--Karek^maps?! 03:52, 9 October 2007 (BST)
5. Still overpowered compared to generators. For example, a flare gun has a 1.5% find which increases to 2.5% with a generator. This suggestion would increase that to 4.5%.--Pesatyel 05:55, 9 October 2007 (BST)
6. kill - it's effectively a stealth mode for searching. generators advertise your presence. that's how it should be. --WanYao 06:41, 9 October 2007 (BST)
7. Kill - As WanYao. -- John Rubin^{T! ZG} 07:59, 9 October 2007 (BST)
8. Kill - Wanyboy made a good point.-- dǝǝɥs oʇ ɯɐds: sʎɐʍ1ɐ! 21:49, 9 October 2007 (BST)
9. Kill - Mini generators that avoid the disadvantage of attracting attention from the zombie population. Me no like -- boxy • talk • 10:15 10 October 2007 (BST)
10. Kill - Make it so that a "flashing lights" message gets attached to the building, because otherwise it's not balanced. --Funt Solo 11:20, 13 October 2007 (BST)

    RE: Ah, I knew I forgot to add something... I think I originally meant to add something like that but never got around to it. Ah well, live and learn. If this goes up again I'll be sure to add it. --Uncle Bill 19:48, 14 October 2007 (BST)

11. Kill/Change – As Funt Solo, should be visible from immediately outside the building. ᚱᛁᚹᛖᚾᚨᚾᛏ 13:44, 18 October 2007 (BST)
12. Kill As Funt Solo and WanYao... --WOOT 00:39, 22 October 2007 (BST)

Spam/Dupe Votes

1. Temporary spupe -The link to flashlight 2.0 doesn't work. This will be a spupe until you fix it. --AlexanderRM 23:06, 8 October 2007 (BST)

   RE: Fixed. --Uncle Bill 23:52, 8 October 2007 (BST)

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