Something needs to Change with the Crate Drops

[Hellrazer001]

Early Alpha, the Orange Smoke used to go all the time, crates where really easy to find.

Mid Alpha Planes where Invisible and Crates where nearly impossible to find.

Current Alpha You can see the Crate Drop run straight for it and as soon as it hits the Ground the Smoke stops, and you cant find Jack, the smoke shoud go for around 10 Minutes to at least give you a chance to find it, either that or they are just dissapearing on impact.

[Zhorge]

Publicado originalmente por Hellrazer001:

Early Alpha, the Orange Smoke used to go all the time, crates where really easy to find.

Mid Alpha Planes where Invisible and Crates where nearly impossible to find.

Current Alpha You can see the Crate Drop run straight for it and as soon as it hits the Ground the Smoke stops, and you cant find Jack, the smoke shoud go for around 10 Minutes to at least give you a chance to find it, either that or they are just dissapearing on impact.

Not quite true. The smoke drawing has to do with the distance you're at. If you're close enough to a crate when it hits the ground, it still puts up the smoke. If you're far enough away, I believe (but don't take it to the bank) the smoke will shut off in the air. So, yes, if it's not obvious, I have been spending some time trying to figure out the exact 'smoke/no smoke' rules.

HOWEVER, with that being said, I do agree they should go back to how there were in Alpha 9. Sometimes at night, I'd get on the roof of my castle and look at the skyline all full of orange plumes from all the supply drops I didn't bother to get. I miss that.

[Zhorge]

Publicado originalmente por ZedClampet:

This is a symptom of the main board's constant whining to make the game more "hardcore". Minimap? Not hardcore enough. Find full, working guns? Not hardcore enough. Able to find crates with useful items in them? Not hardcore enough.

I've barely played since they nerfed guns. I'm sure that right before the apocalypse, everyone took their guns apart and spread the pieces all over the world. Riiightttt.

Nerfed guns? Except for the feral zombies they're all a one-or-two shot headshot even with a decent 9mm pistol. Hardly nerfed.

And when your sniper rifle is at the highest quality. The ferals go down in a clip.

[sanmarkey]

iF i SEE THE AIR SROP, I drink a beer and haul ace to the site, most of the time I find them easily. My problem is the stuff they place inside the crates, come on drop stuff that helps people to survive, old broken down equipment is not a life saver, never any food, just worn out parts, manuals that we have found fifty of them, and first aid. Heck ever once in a while put a note in it telling us where the military hid some weapons put it in a form of a quest.....

[Enzane]

@ZedClamet - the mini map was a tool the devs where using to see if the zombies detected you and then if they responded with correct movement. It was never intended to be in the game and did not get removed because of hardcore players whinning. Plus, the devs thought it removed emerssion from the game. Instead of players looking around them, they just watched the mini map.

[Zhorge]

Publicado originalmente por sanmarkey:

iF i SEE THE AIR SROP, I drink a beer and haul ace to the site, most of the time I find them easily. My problem is the stuff they place inside the crates, come on drop stuff that helps people to survive, old broken down equipment is not a life saver, never any food, just worn out parts, manuals that we have found fifty of them, and first aid. Heck ever once in a while put a note in it telling us where the military hid some weapons put it in a form of a quest.....

I use my minibike now. I actually have to wait for them to hit the ground. But before that I use coffee since I can make it and it's reliable in that you can drink it with a full thirst meter.

[Outcast]

Publicado originalmente por ZedClampet:

This is a symptom of the main board's constant whining to make the game more "hardcore". Minimap? Not hardcore enough. Find full, working guns? Not hardcore enough. Able to find crates with useful items in them? Not hardcore enough.

I've barely played since they nerfed guns. I'm sure that right before the apocalypse, everyone took their guns apart and spread the pieces all over the world. Riiightttt.

Let's assume there is a zombie apocalypse.
Everyone who has guns is going to get them and use them to shoot zombies, right? Ok, good, we all agree. Now, the one problem with guns is they need bullets. Once you run out of bullets, the zombies have all the advantages. We can see the zombies outlasted the bullets simply because we are in zombieland. So ammo should be hellishly hard to find since anyone who could access ammo did and used it until they died. Back to the guns, they are carrying their guns because guns locked in safes are pretty useless, so most guns were taken by survivors. Once they stopped being survivors and became zombies, they would most likely drop their guns. It's way better to fight zombies in an outdoor environment because you can run away easily in whatever direction is best. Therefor the guns get dropped outside. If you look at the cars, they've been outside so long that they are deteriorated pretty badly. Guns handle weather affects far worse than cars since cars are made to be in the weather all day every day. So guns will rapidly deteriorate until they are useless and it doesn't take very long. Don't believe me? Bury a rifle in your yard for a year and try to use it (don't really, it will blow up in your face).

So, in essence, you should always find faulty parts unless you get them from gun safes because this apocalypse in the game happened years before and the buildings are exposed to the elements as seen by trees growing through houses, roofs collapsing when touched, etc.

[Outcast]

I forgot to add, only junk parts in the safes because usable guns get used in pre-zombieland.

[CptnHarlock]

Publicado originalmente por Outcast:

Publicado originalmente por ZedClampet:

This is a symptom of the main board's constant whining to make the game more "hardcore". Minimap? Not hardcore enough. Find full, working guns? Not hardcore enough. Able to find crates with useful items in them? Not hardcore enough.

I've barely played since they nerfed guns. I'm sure that right before the apocalypse, everyone took their guns apart and spread the pieces all over the world. Riiightttt.

Let's assume there is a zombie apocalypse.
Everyone who has guns is going to get them and use them to shoot zombies, right? Ok, good, we all agree. Now, the one problem with guns is they need bullets. Once you run out of bullets, the zombies have all the advantages. We can see the zombies outlasted the bullets simply because we are in zombieland. So ammo should be hellishly hard to find since anyone who could access ammo did and used it until they died. Back to the guns, they are carrying their guns because guns locked in safes are pretty useless, so most guns were taken by survivors. Once they stopped being survivors and became zombies, they would most likely drop their guns. It's way better to fight zombies in an outdoor environment because you can run away easily in whatever direction is best. Therefor the guns get dropped outside. If you look at the cars, they've been outside so long that they are deteriorated pretty badly. Guns handle weather affects far worse than cars since cars are made to be in the weather all day every day. So guns will rapidly deteriorate until they are useless and it doesn't take very long. Don't believe me? Bury a rifle in your yard for a year and try to use it (don't really, it will blow up in your face).

So, in essence, you should always find faulty parts unless you get them from gun safes because this apocalypse in the game happened years before and the buildings are exposed to the elements as seen by trees growing through houses, roofs collapsing when touched, etc.

Publicado originalmente por Outcast:

I forgot to add, only junk parts in the safes because usable guns get used in pre-zombieland.

I like your way of thinking. :) ..

just a note: if you forget to add some text - there's an edit button. ;)

[Zukkus]

the crates should be orange. why drop a brown thing in the middle of the brown ground, unless you want to hide it

[Madgod_Dc]

i have had crates disappear on me, but i have also found crates without having a plane in sight. crate drops seem completely random in my opinion, which might be the entire point.

[Graebeard]

As noted before, there is an xml fix to place an icon on the minimap when the crate is dropped. What I find interesting is that the drops are manned by some outfit that has access to lanes, fuel, etc, while we're running around scavenging. How come there is electricity to light the streets and run fridges? Who pays the hydro guys and where are they? How come we can't find any maps at a gas station?

Cool game. Just wish we could salvage fridges and stoves to make our bases look cooler.

Thanks Pimps!

[Atech66]

I find crates all over the place man the point is to make you decide to run for it or not and don't dilly dally around you don't you lose

[LokitheWeaver]

Publicado originalmente por CptnHarlock:

Publicado originalmente por Outcast:

Everyone who has guns is going to get them and use them to shoot zombies, right? Ok, good, we all agree. Now, the one problem with guns is they need bullets. Once you run out of bullets, the zombies have all the advantages.
*snip*

So, in essence, you should always find faulty parts unless you get them from gun safes because this apocalypse in the game happened years before and the buildings are exposed to the elements as seen by trees growing through houses, roofs collapsing when touched, etc.

Publicado originalmente por Outcast:

I forgot to add, only junk parts in the safes because usable guns get used in pre-zombieland.

I like your way of thinking. :) ..

just a note: if you forget to add some text - there's an edit button. ;)

Had to think about this a bit. I think the idea of guns but no ammo seems sound. (Read "The Road" for a view of life in that post apocalypse situation). But I am still thinking that the idea of all firearms being broken up to 3-4 discrete pieces a little harder to accept.

A "faulty" 9mm, found in a duffle bag (and location counts - weather damage from desert would not equal weather damage from snow / wet forest.) Possible or likely. Just a part from a 9mm? Did the rest evaporate, leaving only this one part? I am certain someone can come up with a scenario - family of four, they have a falling out, everyone get a "piece" of the gun . . .

But when it comes to air drops? (Which is where the OP placed the thread)

Somewhere there is a group with access to planes, pilots, fuel, some system to identify general locations of survivors . . . and they load a crate with broken weapons, reading material and medicine. Which of these things is NOT like the others?

Medicine (antibiotics) = key survival item. Knowledge = key survival item. Odd parts from one or more different types of weapons? This is dead weight and useless hope = thanks for playing the "you bet your life" lottery, running all the way out here, through zombie infested lands . . . and what do we have for our contestant? Two faulty sniper barrels. Isn't that great?

Don't forget to tune in again next time, where one lucky contestent will win . . . an SMG stock, two stacks of med kits and a cartidge in a bear tree . . .

[Hellrazer001]

Publicado originalmente por LokitheWeaver:

Somewhere there is a group with access to planes, pilots, fuel, some system to identify general locations of survivors . . . and they load a crate with broken weapons, reading material and medicine. Which of these things is NOT like the others?

Medicine (antibiotics) = key survival item. Knowledge = key survival item. Odd parts from one or more different types of weapons? This is dead weight and useless hope = thanks for playing the "you bet your life" lottery, running all the way out here, through zombie infested lands . . . and what do we have for our contestant? Two faulty sniper barrels. Isn't that great?

Don't forget to tune in again next time, where one lucky contestent will win . . . an SMG stock, two stacks of med kits and a cartidge in a bear tree . . .

I tend to agree with this.

I can see if the Plane drops are from a Large group of Survivors that, are trying to help out other Survivors by dropping what they can Spare in signs of Activity in the area " your activity "

But I would like to see that all Drops contain say 4 food, 4 water, 4 Health, 2 Antibiotics, and then a random chance on Books, Tools, Guns with the better Items having a Less chance to be in the Crate. " or something like that "

That way it makes it worth while looking for Drops especially if you are in dire need.

As it is now you run a couple of Miles, maybe on an off chance find the Crate and all it has is a Faulty Sniper Barrel and a Book that you have and 2 antibiotics " Varies I know ".

In earlier Patches I used to look forward to going after Drops " especially early on " to get some food and water and Healing Items.

[Atech66]

we found 4 drops last night stopped going for them.. as far as flares point at flare.. look at compass.. remember direction.. walk lol I have 65 first aid kits and 45 antibiotics.. i stopped going for crates recently seems to be all FA stuff for some reason