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Looking forward to 0.4 Milestone and suggestions


DirtySanchez

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Hey everybody just wanted to get this one off my chest and see how the rest of you feel.

We all see the population roller coaster as the months have led on, with many different reasons as to why.

Yes I will agree with the majority that are going to reply with "We need the performance fixed first".

Well performance improvements will take time and with every Arma update there is more to do for performance so it in essence is a never ending battle for the devs.

So to get back on point. When I first started Donkey Punch last year I was very excited to see what was in the game at that point.

Content is usually a big concern for the players and I wanted to see what I could tease them with.

Well sure enough I got to tease them with Safes and Keys, neither had any function at that time, but those items are for a topic on their own. :)

I feel that content should be the basis of 0.4, flood us with the goodies that you guys have already stored away, let the public community work out what issues arise.

Epoch has come a long way in terms of getting the community involved now with GitHub and we already see it going in the right direction in terms of helping out the devs.

So lets get the entire community involved in the new content for the 0.4 milestone

So what if items have no use at this time, its still more for them to play with and hell, let the owners play around with the usage for now.

Just give us a blood bag and some antibiotics and we will make them work in game for our players until you guys can work em into the epoch code!

Sorry for the rant but I felt this should be put out there to see the rest of the opinions.

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0.4 Milestone..

 

I don't know about anyone else but I am seeing a massive player drop and looking at some of the servers and stats around its not just me.. Games like GTA5 and RUST seem to be taking players away.. I have even seen more players back on my A2 Overpoch server

 

Would be great to see what is coming up and when so we can start to dangle carrots in front of the players again.

 

One thing that seems common with everyone I speak to is that they miss being able to own 5 of each choppa and 5 SUV's (Yeah I know its silly but hay)..I am wondering if its possible to borrow the idea from Altis Life and have some type of garage system so that the players can own 100 vehicles (something to spend the 100000000's they have in the bank) but be in a "virtual garage" so they are not on the map at once.  Even something like charging them RENT for it.. I am wondering about coding this myself but I think it may help the whole community if it was part of epoch.

 

Just an idea as at the moment players have nothing really to spend the money on.

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I'm looking forward to 0.4 a great deal! One reason being that I'm growing tired of GTA: Loading Simulator and also that CBA compatibility was penciled in for 0.4! (Although I'm not holding my breath :P )

 

0.5 Is the update I'm looking forward to the most though, seeing as that was when we (the community) were supposed to be getting access to the server files, well that was before toys were thrown from prams and we got them at 0.2!

 


One thing that seems common with everyone I speak to is that they miss being able to own 5 of each choppa and 5 SUV's (Yeah I know its silly but hay)..I am wondering if its possible to borrow the idea from Altis Life and have some type of garage system so that the players can own 100 vehicles (something to spend the 100000000's they have in the bank) but be in a "virtual garage" so they are not on the map at once.  Even something like charging them RENT for it.. I am wondering about coding this myself but I think it may help the whole community if it was part of epoch.

 

While I don't agree with the suggestion, this does tap into something I've pondered for some time. More so while interacting with PvE servers. That is "how do i keep players poor but still motivated?" . I think part of the answer to that will come with time and the mod reaching completion, however there is another thing at play here and that is finding a way to break the hoarder mentality that players have.

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For Epoch to maintain long term replayability, several things need to change.

 

1) Some kind of economy/market system needs to be developed. Traders should not have fixed prices forever, pricing needs to fluctuate based upon supply & demand, especially now that folks can farm some basic craft items & sell them to traders. Highly desirable vehicles are also far too cheap.

 

2) Hoarding is the bane of Epoch server performance. Dozens of players building giant bases to hoard hundreds of loot items and several vehicles that never leave the garage are bogging down the database and server cycles. With no practical way to hurt these bases (especially when built in an Arma building), hoarding spirals out of control until world limits are reached which then kills the server population.

 

3) Base building needs expansion. Rather than building an undefendable vault as is the only current option, having access to defensive structures like revetments and guard towers/fighting positions would allow for some decent PvP interactions with a purpose. Naturally, these improved base items would require significantly more resources than the current items. Several levels of fortification quality would be cool, from ye olde pointy stick stockade to a full on stone/concrete/steel facility worthy of the Maginot Line (or at least as sturdy as the bigger military installations already a part of Altis).

 

4) Please fix the antagonists. I miss the Cultist and would love to be able to interact with dogs.

 

5) Haven't forgotten the Rock Monster, either.

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Lol I just used the editor yesterday to check out the construct!

Pricing is configurable and up to the server owner.

Plot distance and building limits are also configurable.

I just added a crafting menu that covers all that jazz. I have pictures in my ad post under public servers. I will be releasing the donkey menu gui. the preview post is waiting for moderation at this time.

Yes the antagonists are missed. but I'm thinking a zombie will do just fine

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I continue to believe Epoch has virtually unlimited potential.  Server pops will come and go with new updates, as is the case for most games.  My primary concern is that I want it to feel like a survival / horror game and not a survival / military game.  Shooting soldiers has been done to death.  No mystery.  I realize that is a tall order and having the AI soldiers now is something of a placeholder....I hope....but one day when this game has it's own unique map with various beasts running around that threaten you.....lots of beasts.....and I pray no soldiers.....it will become that awesome balance of creepy, survival, base building, massive loot, player driven economy game we all know it can be :)

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 .... "how do i keep players poor but still motivated?" . I think part of the answer to that will come with time and the mod reaching completion, however there is another thing at play here and that is finding a way to break the hoarder mentality that players have.

 

Breaking not only the hoarder mentality, but also the "give it to me now" sentiment are both issues, imo.  I realize that there are (at least) two schools of thought on what makes  a good gaming experience in Epoch/DayZ.  I mention DayZ because that is from where I found Epoch. Survival (from zombies and pvp) and in particular finding/crafting just enough to eek out a meager existence created the ambience that I found compelling.  Working hard to find/craft loot made it all the more valuable and gave one the sense of "I've worked hard and I"ve earned every bit of what I've built/collected. I need to be careful."  Then along came Overpoch. Loot galore, weapons everywhere and yet still the need to hoard.  And, oh, the cries of "Admin, I just died. Can you teleport me back to my body?"  

 

But I digress and am wandering off the OP. I'd like to see the trend of individual server configurability continue.  Added content would be superb. Though I know this isn't an Epoch issue, an easier method of joining servers playing different maps would be a dream (not to mention more maps).  A guy can dream can't he.....

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I think a lot would love to hear what the developers have in the think-tank for the next update.

 

 

AND before they actually start working on them it would be a really good idea (imo) to ask or have a poll that players could vote to help them decide on what to work on next for both bug fixes and new content.

 

 

I'm really not sure as well what Influence the Epoch team has with BI because there are some big core issues with Arma3 right now that are not doing Epoch or any other mod of Arma3 any good.

The big one that comes to mind is the blowing up of vehicles for no apparent reason.

 

That issue is definitely hurting Epoch and other mods of Arma3 right now and it seems BI could care less about fixing it.

 

 

 

I as well have slowed down playing Epoch lately.  Regardless.. looking forward to it breathing new life..

 

 

I don't look at your post as a rant OP... Things like this need to be said to clear the air and let the developers know where some of the players mindsets are.

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Post like this are not rants post like this show that we are still here supporting and helping in anyway we can.

Me personally am taking the time to tweak and fine tune what I already have on the server.

One thing that springs to mind though is being able to change buy and sell price of items I don't really like the tax method. On some items it's k but a lot of others it doesn't.

Anyhow looking forward to the update. Keep up the good work devs and even to you scripters your doing some amazing stuff

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@DanVonTrap:

You can change the overall tax rate  in epochconfig.hpp (somewhere around line 80).

As noted above in this thread, you can now change the pricing and tax rates for individual items to your hearts content. I believe that there are a few threads around that discuss how to do this. 

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Zombie is the missing ingredient but I see a lot of players on Breaking Point now I know the devs are steering the boat way from old but its what really made epoch so special. 

 

I will answer you casually :D Fuck the zombies. Seriously, ask yourself, does Epoch need to be yet another mod with non-working dumb zombies which are just annoyance and add nothing to actual game play?

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As much as the zed thing has been done already it's the constant "not so deadly" threat they introduced.

 

It was more of an annoyance and if you let them, they will kill you.

 

 

The only issue I have with A3E is it seems the antagonists are way more deadly which causes the developers to make them a bit rare.

 

So we are at a cross roads.

 

You don't get many because they are deadly yet not many would want a crowd of sappers running all around you like they were zeds in A2.

 

 

 

They are trying to accommodate by increasing spawn rate but yet the antagonists itself is just a bit to deadly imo to begin with.

 

 

To me.. The sapper should of been that rare antagonists and their should of been that primary creature that would run around in higher numbers and chomp at you and if you let many of them get you then they would kill you otherwise it was more of an annoyance.

 

Just my 2 bits.

 

I can totally agree the zed thing has been done.. but it's the "feel" that they should aim for as their starting point that A2 had.

 

All these deadly antagonist may not go over well or make the mod inviting.

Imagine you put your last floor on your newly built base only to have a rock monster come down the road, flatten it and destroy all your vehicles in it.

 

 

I can only think of one thing that would clear a server out quicker than that.. a hacker. lol

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Impenetrable bases just leads to glitching and exploits.

 

Nothing seems to be destructible except metal stud walls. (And only sometimes).

 

Base raiding should be fun, but either time consuming or resource-intensive, not impossible.

 

People hoard because there isn't much else to do :)

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Well i would say screw adding more content its just going to cause more issues more lag and well less performance, Its just my 2 cents but get epoch optimized spend the time to make it run like it should and get rid of the physics on all the building supplies that should be the most important thing right now instead of adding in a rock monster waste of time but we all have are say, but still fun to play

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1. Exploding choppers.

 

2. ( been offline last 4 weeks so might be fixed ) - cinder wall = indestructable.

 

3. Increase a "ship of the line" A.I. unit that is easy to kill on its own and does small to moderate damage.

 

4. make 3 spawn in groups linked to loot system thus ... more players doing more looting in same area = watch the fuck out.

 

5.Soilder A.I. currently are more dangerious than most clans . Give me 5 guys with night stalkers and A.p. firing snipers 700 meters away across open ground

over 3 AI. soilders 100 meters away with cover inbtween any day.

 

6. Admin Tool Set - option to clear items from traders. - Myself and MechDan as well as Bornlucky used to Port to every trader almost daily to clear them of over stocked choppers , Gold , Wooden walls etc. on the Epoch Frequency Server .  Not a frustrating issue at All........

 

7. Admin friendly Missom scripts???  ok less a 4.0 update and just a private want for a template misson generator ... which to be honest i have not actually looked into ..... since we used to run our own player based missons.... oh thats it ... a player group sign on option to starr/trigger a misson type?

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Full Disclosure, I play on Donkey Punch.

 

Me and about 16-20 guys all tried Epoch after Day-Z Standalone. It was great to have gear, to fly and drive, and to build a base. Back around 2.0 you could really raid a base and that was some of the fun. Now my guys are cut down by GTA, Rust, and other Arma servers like KoH and WL.  I still log on to Donkey Punch and will donate to it b/c the owner is putting a lot of work to fill the void of content. I still enjoy what is there but Epoch itself is not that interesting to most of my guys because of one main issue: lack of forced player interaction. The game depends too much on AI.

 

What this game needs very very badly are not new AI but mechanisms that force players to a few places on the map so that risk, danger, and reward are more consistent.

 

Some ideas:

 

Radioactive Storms that make you ill...forcing players to move into a few safe zones on the map for 10-15 minutes. 

Add interesting Events like Air Drops, Capture the City, Capture a flag... 

Drones that mark players on the map...

Requiring a jammer to be maintained by chips that are only found on player bodies or at key global events...

Allow players to take heads or player tags and hang them on a wall outside their base....

Allow players to revive and arrest other players to take them...sell them...or hold them for some period of time. 

Allow players to craft cars/helis...let players mod them like the Get Wrecked Mod 

Expand the group settings to perm and temp (a thing that you can do now on Donkey Punch) to allow for temporary groups... 

Let players trigger events like the Admin Hunt...

 

At this point in the game you could build a massive base, get $$$, gear, and all that w/o ever interacting with another player. 

 

.02

Loops

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Full Disclosure, I play on Donkey Punch.

 

Me and about 16-20 guys all tried Epoch after Day-Z Standalone. It was great to have gear, to fly and drive, and to build a base. Back around 2.0 you could really raid a base and that was some of the fun. Now my guys are cut down by GTA, Rust, and other Arma servers like KoH and WL.  I still log on to Donkey Punch and will donate to it b/c the owner is putting a lot of work to fill the void of content. I still enjoy what is there but Epoch itself is not that interesting to most of my guys because of one main issue: lack of forced player interaction. The game depends too much on AI.

 

What this game needs very very badly are not new AI but mechanisms that force players to a few places on the map so that risk, danger, and reward are more consistent.

 

Some ideas:

 

Radioactive Storms that make you ill...forcing players to move into a few safe zones on the map for 10-15 minutes. 

Add interesting Events like Air Drops, Capture the City, Capture a flag... 

Drones that mark players on the map...

Requiring a jammer to be maintained by chips that are only found on player bodies or at key global events...

Allow players to take heads or player tags and hang them on a wall outside their base....

Allow players to revive and arrest other players to take them...sell them...or hold them for some period of time. 

Allow players to craft cars/helis...let players mod them like the Get Wrecked Mod 

Expand the group settings to perm and temp (a thing that you can do now on Donkey Punch) to allow for temporary groups... 

Let players trigger events like the Admin Hunt...

 

At this point in the game you could build a massive base, get $$$, gear, and all that w/o ever interacting with another player. 

 

.02

Loops

So basically we need a mod that is the best parts of other mods. :P

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I will answer you casually :D Fuck the zombies. Seriously, ask yourself, does Epoch need to be yet another mod with non-working dumb zombies which are just annoyance and add nothing to actual game play?

And I will casually answer you fuck your post! Without the zeds there'd of literally been no epoch! Zeds definitely should be brought in.

I myself don't much care for the running and exploding dildo or the constant buzzing of the million drone army.

Give me base building, looting, and the undead over what epoch currently is any dayZ.

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Full Disclosure, I play on Donkey Punch.

 

Me and about 16-20 guys all tried Epoch after Day-Z Standalone. It was great to have gear, to fly and drive, and to build a base. Back around 2.0 you could really raid a base and that was some of the fun. Now my guys are cut down by GTA, Rust, and other Arma servers like KoH and WL.  I still log on to Donkey Punch and will donate to it b/c the owner is putting a lot of work to fill the void of content. I still enjoy what is there but Epoch itself is not that interesting to most of my guys because of one main issue: lack of forced player interaction. The game depends too much on AI.

 

What this game needs very very badly are not new AI but mechanisms that force players to a few places on the map so that risk, danger, and reward are more consistent.

 

Some ideas:

 

Radioactive Storms that make you ill...forcing players to move into a few safe zones on the map for 10-15 minutes. 

Add interesting Events like Air Drops, Capture the City, Capture a flag... 

Drones that mark players on the map...

Requiring a jammer to be maintained by chips that are only found on player bodies or at key global events...

Allow players to take heads or player tags and hang them on a wall outside their base....

Allow players to revive and arrest other players to take them...sell them...or hold them for some period of time. 

Allow players to craft cars/helis...let players mod them like the Get Wrecked Mod 

Expand the group settings to perm and temp (a thing that you can do now on Donkey Punch) to allow for temporary groups... 

Let players trigger events like the Admin Hunt...

 

At this point in the game you could build a massive base, get $$$, gear, and all that w/o ever interacting with another player. 

 

.02

Loops

 

1. I agree motivation for player vs player interaction is a must.

 

In the past myself and others on our server ran Player group based events... with lots of success.

 

example: 1 clan takes a protect V.I.P. , escort convoy , Hold defend town ( usally with a V.I.P. element holding a missom document ) etc  and are paid a fee for taking the contract plus bonus per tagged member for achieving objectives ( all convoy survives , vip killed but documents protected ).

Then all other groups and individual players are given TARGET details, And are paid on achieving set conditions within either (A) Time frame or (B) before defending team reaches a destination.

These events required little other than an admin to spectate and give out awards ... and players on server.

 

2. The issue with above events is without a pre defined script they do require admin assitqnce, ... were as allowing for players to " accept a misson ' based  on player pop ... or even creating random " capture the town - every member of group adds to team count and reward payout - similar to KOTH  , would be awesome....

3. All i know dor sure is that when players are presented with an objecrive they can all reasonably travel to ... and the reward is interesting ( a 50.al ute on a server with very limited armed vehicles for example , or a truck full of high cap vests and carry alls , or a strider loaded with charges ) ...

Server Pop runs straight there. even normally non pvp groups get in on the actiom.  And a server that promotes these events gains pop.

But a MOD that does this automatically ... god dam ... that would be amazing....

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