Suggestions/UndecidedDecember2006

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This page is for suggestions that have 50% or more Keep votes vs Total Votes, but not more than 66% Keep votes, which would qualify them for Peer Reviewed page. These are good, but not quite good enough Suggestions that could (and probably should) be reworked, refined, and resubmitted by a willing, knowledgeable party. Before doing so, please perform the proper research; reading the votes and the associated Talk pages, and adjust your new submission. State on the submission that you are not duplicating, but have revised and are resubmitting for approval.

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 "psuggestions".
  5. Please note under the suggestion, briefly, what the controversy was about. It would be good for people to know when revising suggestions and deciding whether to submit a new version of one of these. Because these are necessarily subjective, please sign these sections.

So, the new template should look like:

===Suggestion Name===
 {{psuggestion|
suggest_time=Old Timestamp|
suggest_type=Original type|
suggest_scope=Original scope|
suggest_description=Original description|
suggest_moved=~~~~~ |
suggest_notes=Notes about the discussion about the skill. |
}}
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Dec 7th, 2006

Exiting Heavily Barricaded Buildings (Edit)

Timestamp: Matt Scott 17:07, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Minor Change
Scope: All players (especially free runners)
Description: I originally posted this on the bug reports page, but upon realizing that this is actually how the game is intended to function, I am posting it here as a suggested improvement.

The Problem:

According to the Barricades page of the Wiki, "Any player, whether zombie or human, can leave any building at any time. It is impossible to get trapped inside. Simply click on any adjacent square to leave a building. (Some interpret this as leaving by a hidden side-door, or climbing out the window of the floor above.)"

However, clicking on an adjacent building to exit a heavily barricaded building onto the street currently does not work if you have free running. With free running, clicking an adjacent building automatically places you inside that building. So free runners who want to leave a heavily barricaded building onto the street must find a neighboring non-heavily barricaded building and then exit. Unfortunately this is not possible if the adjacent building is also heavily barricaded. In that case, free runners must jump from heavily barricaded building to heavily barricaded building until they find (A.) a non-heavily barricaded building, or (B.) an empty block.

These options are better than nothing, but it remains that having the free running skill can amount to many wasted Action Points when one is ready to go out on the hunt, especially if the area is full of heavily barricaded buildings (which is the case in Fryerbank where I encountered this issue).

I understand why the game functions as it does now: the "back exit" being reserved for those who would otherwise be eternally trapped inside, but it simply makes no sense that a person who can jump from window to window does not have the option not to do so.

My Suggestion:

The "Leave this building" button should allow all players (both survivors and zombies) to exit heavily barricaded buildings as if they were not heavily barricaded. Currently, players who do so remain inside the building, spending no action points, and receive the message: "The building has been so heavily barricaded that you cannot leave by the main exit. (You can find another way out by clicking on an adjacent block, but won't be able to re-enter this building from the outside.)" Instead, all players should be able to exit onto the street below via the "Leave this building" button. Flavor text could be altered to explain how players managed to escape. This would allow all players (free runners or not) to exit heavily barricaded buildings through the mysterious "side-door."

In addition to this change, currently players without free running inside a heavily barricaded building click on an adjacent square and end up outside the neighboring building, and this only costs 1 action point. This should not be the case. Instead, when someone without free running clicks a neighboring building, they should remain inside the current building, spending no action points of course, and receive the message: "The building has been so heavily barricaded that you cannot leave by the main exit. (You can find another way out by clicking on the Leave This Building button, but won't be able to re-enter this building from the outside.)"

For free runners, clicking the adjacent building while inside could still function as it does now.

In Summary:

  • This change only affects heavily barricaded buildings, and specifically how one exits those buildings onto the street.
  • This allows free runners the same street access as is currently available to those without free running (while still allowing them to click on an adjacent building directly to use their free running skill).
  • It will always cost 1 AP to exit onto the street from a heavily barricaded building, whether the player is a free runner, zombie, or otherwise. This is no more or less than is currently the case.
  • This would help put an end to new players tearing down barricades to exit a building, because they wrongly believe this is their only option. (Of course they could still do so if they really wanted.)
  • This also serves to illustrate the "difficulty" of exiting an extremely barricaded building, while preserving the user friendly nature of UD.
  • The current functionality without this suggestion in place hurts both zombies and survivors. Free runners are forced to waste AP searching for a way out of heavily barricaded suburbs, and therefore zombies are left with less survivors on the streets.

Some Questions brought up from Version 1:

  • Does this require additional action points? No. Right now a player without free running can click an adjacent building while inside a building to end up outside that block, which costs 1 AP. A player with free running can click the adjacent building from inside another and end up inside that building for 1 AP. For the suggested change, a player (free runner, zombie, or otherwise) would spend 1 AP to leave the building, or a free runner could spend 1 AP to free run into the adjacent building. The cost is 1 AP no matter how you look at it.
  • Doesn't this remove the benefit given by free running? No. Free running into an adjacent building would still occur as it does currently with this suggestion in place.
  • Can't you just click on the "Leave This Building" button twice to exit onto the street? No. Go ahead and try it. You just keep getting the same message over and over (luckily wasting no AP): "The building has been so heavily barricaded that you cannot leave by the main exit."
  • Why would anyone want to exit onto the street (unless they are low level characters trying to level up)? My point exactly. Free running is often one of the first skills bought by low level players. As it stands, low level players with free running are forced to waste additional AP in search of a gateway out of a string of heavily barricaded buildings in order to reach the street below. This AP drain does not exist for those same low level players without free running. Besides, many high level players continue to hunt zombies for character reasons.
Notes: 9/14 (64%). Concerns over whether this would save any AP in the long run.
Left Queue: 10:41, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Dec 12th, 2006

Sanctuary: Churches To The Rescue

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 00:21, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Churches
Description: Churches are a bit different than other buildings in that they have no doors, perhaps all destroyed early on. This would leave a giant yawning entrance, barricaded by shoving items in the gap. This might leave a little space on top between the pile and the arch's keystone. Perhaps this unusual set-up would make entry possible even when heavily barricaded if someone were at the top of the cades and held a hand down to pull you up.

Sanctuary would be a civilian survivor skill, indicating that the person has experience assisting in churches when they were used for relief efforts. Inside the church someone with this skill would be able to see how many survivors are outside (not how many zombies) and pull them inside at a cost of 1AP apiece, regardless of barricade level. However the person with the skill must already be inside the building.

Here's the purpose of this skill. Trapped outside? Can't find an entry point? Were they all overbarricaded? Did your attempt to bash open a building with a crowbar fail miserably? Go to the nearest church and wait outside. If you're lucky maybe someone in the church will rescue you before you're devoured. For extra thematic goodness Kevan can reinstate the ability for people to knock on churches and allow people to hear what's being said outside: "Let me in! Help! *POUND POUND POUND*"

Since churches are often coupled with cemetaries and cemetaries are common revive points this would aid newly revived players that can't find a way of getting inside. Of course zombies would get wise to this and stand by churches waiting for an easy meal, but you're better off probably eaten by zombies outside a church with a chance of survival than being completely screwed 100% of the time elsewhere.

Notes: 11/20 (55%). Help the newbies vs. cogent concerns about zerg-abuse, in-game logic etc. See original votes.
Left Queue: 10:28, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

Double-Edged Skills

Timestamp: Reaper with no name TJ! 00:59, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Set of Skills
Scope: Anyone who has maxed out their side's skill tree
Description: This is a suggestion for a new set of "skills" that will work a bit differently than the current ones. For one thing, they will only be available to those who have completed their side's skill tree. Survivors must have all the survivor skills and zombies must have all the zombie skills (brain rot is exempted from this). These skills will cost 100 XP and 10 AP (I'll explain why in a bit).

A player can only have ONE of these skills at any one time. However, they can unbuy them at any time for no cost. The reason that it will cost 10 AP to purchase one is to discourage players who have excessively high amounts of XP from abusing the benefits of one of these and then switching to another one when it is more useful. They can still do this, of course, but the huge AP costs for constantly switching skills will nerf the benefits.

The biggest difference by far, however, is that these skills are double-edged. They have both positive and negative effects on your character. The point of them is not to actually make your character more powerful, but to make them more specialized. No longer will every maxed out character be exactly the same. Different players will be slightly better or slightly worse in certain attributes.

Now that the preliminary stuff is out of the way, let's get to the skills themselves.

For Survivors:

Combat Veteran - Countless battles have given you nerves of steel and combat proficiency to match (+5% accuracy to all firearms attacks, but it costs 2 more AP to revive someone).

Weapon Master - Be the weapon knife, axe, or nothing at all, you have become a master in the art of close-quarters combat (+5% accuracy to all melee weapons, but firearms accuracy is decreased by 5%).

Revive Specialist - Your vast experience in performing injections on zombies allows you to administer revivification syringes quickly but with the same precision (it costs 2 less AP to revive someone, but Max HP is decreased by 5).

Head Surgeon - Your medical skills and knowledge are unsurpassed (Can heal 3 more HP with a FAK, but accuracy with melee weapons decreases by 5%).

Heavy Lifter - Your musculature has progressed to the point where you can carry much more than the average person (Has 5 more inventory slots, but heals 3 less HP with FAKs).

For Zombies:

Killing Machine - Your body is a weapon, and you use it well (Accuracy for all non-weapon attacks increases by 5%, but Max HP is decreased by 5).

Predator - A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, and you excel at severing that link (feeding drag can now drag survivors with 15 HP or less outside even if there are barricades in the way, but the accuracy of all non-weapon attacks are decreased by 5%).

Mutation - Your body has transcended the bounds of human frailty (Max HP is increased by 5, but feeding drag now only works on survivors whose HP is at 7 or less).

Unrelenting Attacker - Your hatred of the living is so strong that it empowers you to claw your way past obstacles (can enter loosely barricaded buildings, but standing up after death costs 3 more AP)

Ravenous Hunger - Every fiber of your being yearns for the taste of living flesh (Digestion recovers 4 more HP, but bites now only infect target 50% of the time).

A small note: Whenever a new skill is implemented into a character's skill tree and that character has a double-edged skill, that skill becomes dormant (but not lost) until the character purchases the new skill, at which point the double-edged skill automatically starts working again. This is because the double-edged skills are only supposed to be able to work for people who have all the skills in their side's tree, which means that when new skills are implemented, they won't have all of them any more.

An example: Say Player A has "Combat Veteran". Then let's say Kevan implements a new survivor skill called "Skill A". "Combat Veteran" would stop working. Then Player A buys Skill A. At that point "Combat Veteran" starts working again, because they now have all the survivor skills again.

Another small note: If someone attempts to unbuy Heavy Lifter and they have more than 51 inventory slots’ worth of items, a message will appear warning them that the excess items will automatically be dropped. If they still choose to unbuy the skill, then any items after the 51st slot will be dropped as per the warning.

Finally, none of these are cross-class skills. They become dormant when a character is killed/revived. They can still be un-bought/bought, though.

Notes: 16/29 (55%). Most keeps required changes, other votes didn't like parts of the suggestion. See original votes.
Left Queue: 10:28, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

Dec 18th, 2006

Remote Necronet Access

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 05:43, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Scientists
Description: The Necronet Access subskill Remote Access indicates the scientist is a trained computer technician with the access codes to interface with necronet from outside locations. You may use the computers in any powered school or library if the suburb's phone mast is also powered to view the Necronet Map centered on the nearest necrotech, if it and its suburb's phone mast are powered too. If any of the required buildings lacks a generator the "Remote Access" button in schools and libraries would not appear.

Provides a use for schools and libraries, pretty handy if the nearest Necrotech is a ways away and you want to return to your current safehouse. Encourages survivors not to clump up.

Notes: 14/24 (58%). Those against felt it was too complicated, possibly a Dupe and had the danger of removing NecroNet dead zones from the game.
Left Queue: 10:05, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Dec 21st, 2006

New Year Suggestion(Edit)

Timestamp: --Slice 'N' Dicin' Axe Hack 13:03, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Temporary Items
Scope: New Years!
Description: 2007 is right around the corner. I say we should have some temporary items that are only available from New Year Eve to New Year Day. These temporary items are: Party Hats, Noisemakers, New Years Decoration, and Fireworks Rockets. The Fireworks Rocket can be found in Mall Hardware Stores, and they can be used to create Fireworks. When used, there will be a message depending on how far away from the fireworks you are. These messages would be: For those who set it off:You set off a rocket and watch in amazement as you see the rocket explode into a nice big fireworks display. For those who are on the same block as those who set it off: You see someone set up a rocket. The rockets explode in air creating an awesome fireworks display. For those at least 10 blocks or less from those who set the fireworks off: You see an awesome display of fireworks in the distance. For those who are at least 15 blocks from those who set off the fireworks: You hear the sounds of fireworks in the distance. Those who are more then 15 blocks away will not get a message. There is a catch for the fireworks however...It cannot be used on a block with a building. It has to be used outside in an open block(Park, Monument, Wasteland, etc.). The party hats can be worn by your character. These party hats can be found in Buildings that are not resource office buildings. Party hats will not take up an AP to wear, and also will not take up any inventory spaces when worn. And the noisemaker will create noise when you use it. The noisemaker will only have 5 uses till you break it, and it will take 1 inventory space. It is also found in non resource office buildings. The New Year Decoration will be used to decorate the room of the building you are in. The building description will be changed slightly to: You are in (buildings name). There are New Year decorations hung around the room... Or if the building was just ransacked after the New Years Decoration was put up:You are in (building name). The building is badly ransacked(and any other ransacked details). There are also New Years decorations scattered about the floor. Now you may ask...what good is this for the zombies? Here's what's good...since you have to be outside to set off a firework, zombies will be able to attack you. This gives zombies a chance to earn a few XP. Also, when a survivor uses a noisemaker in a building, any zombies outside of that building will be able to hear it.
Notes: 7/14 (50%). Those against felt that xmas trees and lights was enough for one year.
Left Queue: 10:22, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Dec 22nd, 2006

Sleep

Timestamp: Cutlet 03:51, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: All buildings with beds, i.e. Hotels, Hospitals, Mansions, Towers, Churches, and Cathedrals are now able to be slept in, unless the building is ransacked (to clarify, sleep would now be a new function, rather than simply passing out after running out of AP). Sleeping takes 2 AP to use. While asleep, you have a 10% chance to regain one HP each time you regain an AP. When you are not at full AP it takes 1 AP to wake up, but you wake up automatically when on full AP. While asleep, all attacks on you have a 100% chance to hit, and wake you up automatically. Sleeping survivors are shown in the room description, like this: "[Number] survivors are sleeping fitfully in their beds [List Names]"
Notes: 15/26 (58%). See original votes.
Left Queue: 10:22, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Yet Another GPS Idea

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 04:30, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Improvement
Scope: The GPS Unit
Description: And hopefully a good one. I know there are a lot of GPS suggestions in peer reviewed (and peer rejected) but I figure it's good to put more ideas out there and give Kevan the widest sampling of options.

Add a drop-down menu to the GPS unit allowing you to set it to any of the different colors you can shade contacts. If you're on the contact list of someone of the shaded color your coordinates will appear in a new column there. There is a range limitation to the GPS's wireless signal. It always shows their position if they're within 10 spaces. Any greater distance requires that the phone masts be powered or that new column will be blank.

This would allow people to share their current position with all their groupmates, and reduces the need to metagame where to travel next. The group leader just has to go and their allies can check where they are.

You would need a seperate GPS unit for each color of contacts you want to inform. You would be able to set GPS units back to blank if you decide you don't want to annouce your location anymore. Or you can discard the GPS unit. For an example of a GPS unit connected to a wireless phone network: http://www.boostmobile.com/boostloopt/?cid=boostloopt_bmdotcom_20061114

  • Clarification: Forgot to mention, you need to have a GPS unit on you in order to see the coordinates of other people. It doesn't matter what color (if any) that one is set to though, as long as you have one you can see coordinates.
  • Clarification: This doesn't let enemies see your position. Please re-read if you think it would because the color shading thing that prevents that is the whole point of this suggestion.
Notes: 11/18 (61%). See original votes.
Left Queue: 10:22, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

December 25th, 2006

Better Prison Suggestion

Timestamp: DinkyDao 07:39, 26 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Prison, Improvement on previously accepted suggestion.
Scope: Better Prisons, if implemented.
Description: This is an improvement on the previous suggestion of Prison, with a more realistic construction. This idea is based on an actual jail i had the misfortune of visiting.

The Prison is a 3x3 area, with a start-shaped central building and four courtyards. It is walled off, and the only way to enter is by the lower branch of the "star", the Reception. The central piece is the Security Outpost, and the other three branches are respectively the A, B and C block. You can only go exit the blocks and reception through the security outpost. It can be barricaded so that none can go in or out of the blocks. It is from there you access the courtyards, also. These are the Football field, Basketball Grounds, Running Track and Pool. The Reception cannot be free-runned in. Basically it is very similar to the Fort, except there is nothing of value to get there, really. Searching the detention blocks will only yield Books (10%), Newspapers (10%), Radios (2%) and sometimes a length of pipe (1%). Searching the Security Outpost will yield Books (5%), Binoculars (2%), Flak Jackets (1%), FAKs (1%), Shotguns (.25%) and Shotgun Shells (.75%). The Actual emplacement of the Penitentiaries is detailed in the other Prison Suggestion, being one in Shackleville and another in Judgewood.

Notes: Doubts over whether this would be useful, given the low search odds.
Left Queue: 00:53, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

December 31st, 2006

Lower The AP Cost To Use Syringes On Murder Victims

Timestamp: Jon Pyre 01:18, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
Type: Balance change/Improvement
Scope: Survivors
Description: Revives used to be too cheap to perform, costing just 1AP. Kevan increased the cost to make all the AP a zombie puts into killing a survivor, breaking through powerful cades before being able to attack, actually worthwhile. However this change also increased the damage caused by survivor on survivor killings despite their overall cheaper AP cost.

I suggest reducing the cost to inject a syringe into a survivor killed by other survivors from 10 to 5. The in-game flavor reason would be that it's easier to bring back those killed by survivors since those people are more intact with only a few holes put in them; they aren't ripped open and partially devoured. It'd still list the revive cost as 10 before you inject the syringe but as part of the revive message you'd get the line "On closer inspection they appeared infected by a more treatable strain of the virus and the procedure went better than expected." It'd be a pleasant surprise for the scientist.

This doesn't interfere with anybody's ability to roleplay a killer or work as a bounty hunter. Neither the killer nor victim are directly benefitted, only the scientist. Cheaper cost to kill should result in a cheaper cost to revive.

  • Q: Don't nerf my PKing!
  • A: This doesn't. Your attacks do just as much damage at the same percentage. Your victim is just as screwed, forced to wait a day mrhing in a revive queue. You won't be any easier to find by bounty hunters either.
  • Q:PKers have to find ammunition! Doesn't that balance things?
  • A: A survivor might have to spend a day to find enough ammunition to kill someone else. However I have as a zombie spend days attacking the barricades on a powerful building before I was able to attack anyone. It's clear needing to search is a cheaper cost than needing to break in.
  • Q: Don't nerf my Bounty Hunting!
  • A: This doesn't. The goal of bounty hunting is to take a PKer out of comission for a while. The PKer is out of the action for just as long, just if they stand in a revive queue the scientist that brings them back will spend a little bit less AP. Bounty Hunting aims to punish PKers, not scientists doing their job.
  • Q: Your logic is retarded. Who cares how somebody died, the revive cost is the same!
  • A: Logically I think it makes sense that a mostly intact body would be easier to restore that a gnarled corpse. If anything it'd be easier to find an intact artery to inject into. And there are things in the game far less logical than this, for instance only getting half-xp when attacking a survivor. What happens there, does attacking a human being make the part of your brain that learns less effective? Or does it make sense that the radio will put static over an f-bomb 100% of the time? This is completely logical and a needed game balance change.
  • Q: PKing is super rare. Why even bother dealing with it?
  • A: It's not quite that rare. And even if it were rare does not equal balanced. If even just 100 zombies in all of Malton were given the power to freerun that would be unbalanced. And PKing should not be overpowered even potentially. 10 zombies vs 10 survivors is anyone's call who'd win. 10 PKers thought could wipe out a safehouse of 10 survivors guaranteed.
  • Q: Hah! This is a Dupe!
  • A: This is not a dupe, it's a revision of that suggestion which had the far cheaper syringe injection cost of 1. This changes it to 5. It also had a different flavor reason that was the reason for many kill votes.
  • Q: There's already something to discourage PKing...50% xp.
  • A: Who cares about xp once you have every skill?
  • Q: Reducing the cost to revive someone by 50% is too much!
  • A: It doesn't. It reduces the cost to inject the syringe. The cost to revive someone is 12 to find the syringe, plus 10 to inject it, plus 1 to DNA extract, plus 4 for travel. So overall it reduces the AP cost from 27 to 22.
  • Q: That's all well and good but [unaddressed issue]!
  • A: Good point, I hope you'll check back on your vote later so you can read my response to whatever your problem may be.
Notes: 32/51 (63%) See original votes.
Left Queue: 12:34, 20 January 2007 (UTC)