Re: 0.42c Bugs Updated...

Posted by DayZ_SP on Oct 25, 2012; 5:41pm
URL: http://kodabar-dayz-daizy-single-player-forum.163.s1.nabble.com/0-42c-Bugs-Updated-tp349p622.html

I read both your posts zed, in answer generally to the Dayz single player, you have a basic pattern now setup fairly well with the ai and the loot and spawns in the game, but like the standalone, where do you go from there?

The big difference between the MP and SP versions of DayZ is MP provides endless emergent game play where simple things become the goal e.g. find your friends, find shelter, seek food and water, avoid Zombies, Bandits, heal yourself if wounded, etc. These goal(s) change minute to minute, hour to hour like your example illustrates. MP has infinite play until you are killed. This is the only way to stop playing even when you log off because you are a persistent character that can be spread over numerous servers.

Conversely, SP DayZ is finite. You have the option of playing until you get bored (quit, save, restart), or just starting all over again whenever you feel like it. This is why I feel single player DayZ needs more direction as far as larger goals are concerned e.g. Get to a specific cache of food, medical supplies & better weapons marked on the map. How you get to that cache of survival gear is where the emergent (non-scripted) game play comes from in SP since it is a finite game play experience overall. And the beauty is players don't even have to go after the cache if they don't want to, but it gives single players a tangible goal with real rewards other than just surviving.

This is why I hope to have more time in the future to hopefully get scripted Helo extractions working in the game.

I feel this would give SP players a realistic goal with tangible rewards given the context of the game:

Get out of the infected hot zone.

This is the essence of survival and what is great is, is it is not time dependent. It allows for emergent game play, but gives SP players an secondary goal they could be working toward after they get bored of just surviving (fighting, looting, setting up camp) in the infected zone.