# Needful things (simple additions to improve the game)

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [March 23, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570 "2014-03-23T22:36:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 6

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**Author:** ![Aluminumfoil](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/aluminumfoil/32/5163_2.png) [@Aluminumfoil](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Aluminumfoil)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/101 "2014-04-08T00:46:09Z")

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Despawn wild fruits, flowers, and vegetables if the temperature falls below 0 Celsius.

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**Author:** ![Binky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f04885/32.png) [@Binky](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Binky)\
**Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/102 "2014-04-08T16:14:41Z")

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> [@Aluminumfoil](#):
>
> Despawn wild fruits, flowers, and vegetables if the temperature falls below 0 Celsius.

Great idea. Seconded this.

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**Author:** ![Cat09](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/cat09/32/285_2.png) [@Cat09](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Cat09)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/103 "2014-04-09T17:37:53Z")

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gasoline tanks are too close together for even standard cars to fit through, nonetheless a big truck…  
shouldn’t be too big a fix?

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**Author:** ![vache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ea666f/32.png) [@vache](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/vache)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/104 "2014-04-09T18:00:26Z")

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You mean the gas pumps at the gas stations?

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**Author:** ![Cat09](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/cat09/32/285_2.png) [@Cat09](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Cat09)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/105 "2014-04-09T19:05:49Z")

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err… yes. sorry about that!  
another quick thing, more powdered drink stuffs: lemonade, _powdered orange drink_(tang), iced tea, etc.  
Edit: also, plantable fruits / root veggie chunks. sometimes the fruit is the seed after all

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**Author:** ![secretfire](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/secretfire/32/2984_2.png) [@secretfire](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/secretfire)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/106 "2014-04-09T19:10:15Z")

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Building/area suggestion: The Traffic Jam

Several screens of cars. The cars should have a mixture of zombies inside of them and outside of them. Ideally, it would stretch on, and on, and on… It would be kinda extra cool if you had zombies stuck in the cars and unable to escape, such that the sites would tend to be sources of noise and thus draw in more zombies/hordes over time. (I suspect this would only be do-able via a seatbelt zombie that was too weak to escape a car but generated noise, or something, but I know nothing of the code).

Don’t tell me these wouldn’t be EVERYWHERE in a zombie apocalypse.

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**Author:** ![vultures](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/vultures/32/69_2.png) [@vultures](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/vultures)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/107 "2014-04-09T21:45:06Z")

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More use for the sewer system and infrastructure. This means floods, too. 😉

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/108 "2014-04-10T02:00:10Z")

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[quote=“secretfire, post:106, topic:5570”]Building/area suggestion: The Traffic Jam

Several screens of cars. The cars should have a mixture of zombies inside of them and outside of them. Ideally, it would stretch on, and on, and on… It would be kinda extra cool if you had zombies stuck in the cars and unable to escape, such that the sites would tend to be sources of noise and thus draw in more zombies/hordes over time. (I suspect this would only be do-able via a seatbelt zombie that was too weak to escape a car but generated noise, or something, but I know nothing of the code).

Don’t tell me these wouldn’t be EVERYWHERE in a zombie apocalypse.[/quote]

Would fit on a Highway tile, yeah. Maybe in major cities, too. Something much larger than the Wreckage, though, I take it.

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**Author:** ![secretfire](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/secretfire/32/2984_2.png) [@secretfire](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/secretfire)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/109 "2014-04-10T03:44:02Z")

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I drive for an hour every so often on a road called ‘279’. Its bad enough on normal days. You merge one lane and it gets backed up for 6 miles. I can entirely see something like this if there were zombies:

[http://www.horsenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rick\_Atlanta.jpg](http://www.horsenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rick_Atlanta.jpg) (walking dead image)

I mean, it’d basically be a zombie all you can eat buffet. It would probably end up looking more like this in-game, especially once a player drove into it:

[http://adventuretouringmotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/walking-dead-season-2-1318792822.png](http://adventuretouringmotorcycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/walking-dead-season-2-1318792822.png)

I wasn’t actually sure if a response to KA101’s post was necessary; the question might have been metaphorical, but … didn’t want to be rude by not answering.

Anyways, just seem like iconic zombie imagery, so I thought I’d throw it out there.

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**Author:** ![KA101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/278dde/32.png) [@KA101](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/KA101)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/110 "2014-04-10T03:48:12Z")

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Yeah. That sort of traffic’s a great idea but it’s not a Needful Thing because I’m not at all sure that it’d be simple to code. As it stands highways need more design and mapgen love, so it’s tough to get a good merge to jam up.

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**Author:** ![John\_Candlebury](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/john_candlebury/32/6437_2.png) [@John\_Candlebury](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/John_Candlebury)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/111 "2014-04-10T05:24:27Z")

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Pretty sure the code that generates highways is also broken. And has been like that for a long while by now. IRC they spawned with cars and zombies (or perhaps it was just dynamic spawn doing its job)

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**Author:** ![Goombah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Goombah](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Goombah)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 7:15am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/112 "2014-04-10T07:15:37Z")

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Arrow slits in walls. Seriously. This should be doable. I /should/ be able to make defensive modificartions to walls that allow me to attack things in relative safety. An arrow slit or murder hole, like you see in castles in reality, would be /exactly/ the kind of thing I’d do in a zombie apocalypse. With hordes and other eventual changes to stationary base play, the ability to do basic defensive tricks like that seems useful.

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**Author:** ![Vorpal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Vorpal2](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Vorpal2)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 8:26am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/113 "2014-04-10T08:26:08Z")

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The ability to have a warning on eating/drinking anything you might not want to accidentally eat/drink from hitting the wrong button:  
Mutagen/purifier, meth, ammonia

Shift+V sorting - show all weapons/ammo/meds around me, to make sorting piles of dead zombie gear easier.

An option to stop dropping/picking up items if you’re hurt.  
Dropping 100 2x4s when a wolf walks up to you can be bad.

An option to keep reading until all recipes are learnt.

Dogs being less hostile or something? I mainly kill them because they mess with safe mode.

Monster spawning:  
One option for static spawns  
One option for dynamic spawns

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**Author:** ![RipRoarinBoogerPenis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/riproarinboogerpenis/32/20_2.png) [@RipRoarinBoogerPenis](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/RipRoarinBoogerPenis)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 10:42am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/114 "2014-04-10T10:42:38Z")

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-Stacking furniture as a makeshift barricade. Push that couch in front of the door and throw a chair or two on it. Maybe count items as well. The more weight it put on the more movement points/damage it will take to destroy it.

-Buildable barricades. Just a quickly cobbled together mess of whatever is around to slow your pursuer. Maybe have an improved version that damages your pursuer

-Obese and underweight negative traits. Have it effect movement speed and carry weight I suppose. More variety for character creation.

-Have an addiction negative character trait. Have it work like selecting a martial art but instead you choose from a list of chemical dependencies with different point values.

-Remove requirement of another glass bottle for molotovs. I should seriously just be able to stick a rag in a bottle of booze and go.

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**Author:** ![John\_Candlebury](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/john_candlebury/32/6437_2.png) [@John\_Candlebury](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/John_Candlebury)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/115 "2014-04-10T11:30:06Z")

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> [@RipRoarinBoogerPenis](#):
>
> -Stacking furniture as a makeshift barricade. Push that couch in front of the door and throw a chair or two on it. Maybe count items as well. The more weight it put on the more movement points/damage it will take to destroy it.

Do not quote me on this, but I think that pushing big furniture(bookshelves, frides, wardrobes) against a door already increases the doors bash resistance

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**Author:** ![Slax](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/slax/32/5385_2.png) [@Slax](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Slax)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/116 "2014-04-10T19:38:44Z")

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I’d like to be able to switch modes on flashlights. Less light, less battery drain. The sort of stuff LED torches come with these days.

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**Author:** ![Mrnocamera](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/mrnocamera/32/61_2.png) [@Mrnocamera](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Mrnocamera)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/117 "2014-04-10T19:52:07Z")

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> [@John Candlebury](#):
>
> [quote=“RipRoarinBoogerPenis, post:114, topic:5570”]-Stacking furniture as a makeshift barricade. Push that couch in front of the door and throw a chair or two on it. Maybe count items as well. The more weight it put on the more movement points/damage it will take to destroy it.

Do not quote me on this, but I think that pushing big furniture(bookshelves, frides, wardrobes) against a door already increases the doors bash resistance[/quote]  
I quoted you on it.  
Feel free to punch me for that.

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**Author:** ![Aluminumfoil](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/aluminumfoil/32/5163_2.png) [@Aluminumfoil](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Aluminumfoil)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/118 "2014-04-10T20:33:46Z")

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Looking at (x) or mousing over a square on the viewport should display whether the square is Interior or Outside.

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**Author:** ![Chiko](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/chiko/32/3238_2.png) [@Chiko](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Chiko)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/119 "2014-04-10T21:02:49Z")

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> [@Mrnocamera](#):
>
> [quote=“John Candlebury, post:115, topic:5570”][quote=“RipRoarinBoogerPenis, post:114, topic:5570”]-Stacking furniture as a makeshift barricade. Push that couch in front of the door and throw a chair or two on it. Maybe count items as well. The more weight it put on the more movement points/damage it will take to destroy it.

Do not quote me on this, but I think that pushing big furniture(bookshelves, frides, wardrobes) against a door already increases the doors bash resistance[/quote]  
I quoted you on it.  
Feel free to punch me for that.[/quote]  
Lol, I think he’s right, though. I found these “BLOCKSDOOR” flags in some of the furniture.

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**Author:** ![Zireael](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/zireael/32/956_2.png) [@Zireael](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Zireael)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/needful-things-simple-additions-to-improve-the-game/5570/120 "2014-04-11T10:12:40Z")

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> [@Aluminumfoil](#):
>
> Looking at (x) or mousing over a square on the viewport should display whether the square is Interior or Outside.

That’s a great idea.

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