Radios and Broadcasts

Redeye · 2013-03-14T14:19:35.000Z

In order to increase the usefulness of radios as well as add a few interesting features, I’d like to suggest that there be a large variety of radio broadcasts that you can receive, with various effects and/or degrees of usefulness. These broadcasts could be random, or could be at set intervals (daily/weekly/etc.) depending on the nature of the broadcast.

Some examples of potential broadcast types.

Weather: A daily weather forecast. Helps you plan your day.

Music: A music broadcast. Provides a morale boost ala the mp3 player.

Distress Call: A distress call from a helicopter/military squad/science team. Indicates the spawning of a downed helicopter or dead military/science group in the area. Can disappear after a few days to keep game balance while creating the appearance of other survivors hearing the broadcasts and taking advantage of them.

Supply Drop: Indicates the spawning of supply crates in the area. Can disappear after a few days to keep game balance while creating the appearance of other survivors hearing the broadcasts and taking advantage of them.

Swarm Warning: An emergency broadcast stating that a massive swarm of zombies is migrating to the area. Could be used to repopulate a cleared area or used as a timed event where you hold out until the swarm passes.

These are just a few possibilities, I’m sure there are plenty more.

Jack_Slinger · 2013-03-14T15:14:34.000Z

+1

Iosyn · 2013-03-14T15:22:21.000Z

Great suggestions. Should be more equipments in the radio broadcast stations too-- most probably electronics related.

Fniff · 2013-03-14T16:07:46.000Z

Another idea is that a survivor could commandeer a radio tower and start making radio messages. Could be like your usual “mission control” thing too, noting nearby events like “Hey whoa, something just exploded!” when you toss a mininuke at a row of gas-stations, or “Hey, I went to check out [TOWN NAME], and guess what? No zombies there! Just a load of corpses… Someone’s been busy!” when you clear out a town. The latter should draw survivors too, but that could be overly complicated.

Jaginun · 2013-03-14T17:36:17.000Z

I like this, it gives you an idea of the world around you. +1

ComputerWarrior · 2013-03-14T17:48:11.000Z

This is an excellent idea! My +1 goes to you as well.

Redeye · 2013-03-14T17:56:07.000Z

Thought of a few more.

Distress Call: A frantic plea for help. Indicates the spawn of an NPC in the area who has been trapped somewhere by a small horde who will gift you with items and/or skill training upon rescue.

Distress Call (Fake): A frantic plea for help. Indicates the spawn of an NPC in the area who will attempt to rob/kill anyone who responds to the distress call.

Severe Weather Warning: An emergency storm warning. Indicates an incoming severe storm. Severe storms are able to fell trees, break unbarricaded windows, and harm anything caught outside.

Anomalous Transmission: Strange interference in the broadcasts. Not an actual broadcast, but if the player is near an anomaly they start to pick up bizarre interference on the radio. The closer to the anomaly, the stronger the interference. Interference can vary depending on the type of anomaly.

Air Strike: A notice to evacuate a given area before it is carpet bombed/nuked. Warns of the formation of craters in an area of the map x number of hours from the broadcast. Don’t be there when that happens.

Radio Chatter: Radio chatter from an unknown group. Indicates the spawn of a group of NPCs, who can be inferred to be hostile, friendly, or neutral depending on the nature of the chatter.

Reservoir · 2013-03-14T17:58:51.000Z

[quote=“Redeye, post:7, topic:476”]Severe Weather Warning: An emergency storm warning. Indicates an incoming severe storm. Severe storms are able to fell trees, break unbarricaded windows, and harm anything caught outside.

Air Strike: A notice to evacuate a given area before it is carpet bombed/nuked. Warns of the formation of craters in an area of the map x number of hours from the broadcast. Don’t be there when that happens.[/quote]

Those two could end with the population of zombies in a static spawn game
Also having a two-way radio could stop the bombing, I mean, they are not going to drop a nuke in top of a human being, right?

Jack_Slinger · 2013-03-14T18:57:04.000Z

@Fniff

this is three dog coming to you from my bunker in this post apocalyptic wasteland.

Reservoir · 2013-03-14T19:01:38.000Z

[quote=“Jack Slinger, post:9, topic:476”]@Fniff

this is three dog coming to you from my bunker in this post apocalyptic wasteland.[/quote]
Hope the next Fallout has a harder Hard mode. The one in FO:NW was too easy for someone who could snipe with a revolver

ArgusTheCat · 2013-03-14T23:19:20.000Z

[quote=“Redeye, post:7, topic:476”]Thought of a few more.
Distress Call (Fake): A frantic plea for help. Indicates the spawn of an NPC in the area who will attempt to rob/kill anyone who responds to the distress call.[/quote]

This would be a great application of the ‘speech’ skill. Got a high enough skill level? Maybe you’ll notice that the distress call seems forced and deceptive. Alternately, if you have a radio of your own, maybe YOU could fake a distress call and lure some helpless survivors in to a trap.

Reservoir:

Also having a two-way radio could stop the bombing, I mean, they are not going to drop a nuke in top of a human being, right?

Have… have you MET other humans?

ribblle · 2017-01-15T20:41:14.000Z

Nice.

Ronin1791 · 2017-01-15T23:33:53.000Z

Great idea, +1!

Kulze · 2017-01-16T00:47:09.000Z

Absolutely a great idea for NPC interaction.

Calling air drops, artillery or other things thought are definitely not an option, at least not unless you can set up something in this direction in a proper distance and have survivors there. After all, New England has been given up by the authorities and quarantined as much as the in game flavor texts suggest, not support for you my friend!

Also, it could be used to give command to remote NPCs if you’re close enough.

The downside of using it for luring people in or making anything with uncertain outcomes could be in one part the uncertainity as well as a massive time sink, noone said a survivor would be nearby after all, one could wait several days while listening to actually find one. If the prices for bartering are finally balanced this could help out a LOT to get a sustainable base running where trade gets more common as time passes, bringing in new survivors to keep bartering more and more. Or you could lure them into a death trap as mentioned already, with those NPCs getting killed by you slowly ‘spreading’ the rumor about it being a bad idea to go there, making it harder and harder to actually spawn NPCs getting to you. The trading option could bring raiders on the plan as well, maybe even with cars in the future, trying to obtain all the nice and lovely treasures you piled up over time.

TeSparg · 2017-01-28T19:42:17.000Z

Great idea!!! +1

I think this will add more fluid gameplay (,that i think is needed…at the moment after you have done your base/vehicle you are just left with the main story line and the chalange to survive as long as you can,) and if you are the type of player that lives in a static base it will add a hole new level by stoping you from siting all day in your house farming and reading books and makeing you go outside for some time (these books have become the internet of the cataclysm…literally!).

The one with the bombing dosen’t sit well with me.BUT hey is the apocalypse! (And i think it might add a use for a good car to carry as much as you can and run from the site…if you are in it to start with.)

(Sorry for eny bad english!)