Once the extra areas become available travelling will become more difficult.
An idea to make travel easier could be vehicles.
They cost to buy and to run, but SP used to move could be halved or more.
For example:

Motorbike - 20,000 to buy.
Runs on fuel, 1 point of fuel per square moved.
Movement costs 1 SP per square instead of 2.
Requires 40 technical to use.
Provides storage space of 20 enc (enough for ammo, food, health, spare fuel and a spare weapon.

As a disadvantage, if you run out of fuel it takes 4 SP to move 1 square as you push your bike looking for fuel.

Would be awsome to have vehicles that could sotre more than one person. Like if your clan is miving to another safehouse, tell them all to get ready, then the next day when everyone is in the van, bus whatever, you all can move at the same time.

you should have some smarts to use it too :o

I like this idea although I have an additional broader concept for that.

Think similarly to mass transit where there is a crew of survivor npcs that only specializes in taking you to safe houses. The benefits are you won't lose any SP (since they do the driving and you just sit back) and no zombie encounters (since they are others who already do the look out).

The catch is you can't control your destination; the bus runs on fixed routes and they only go to areas you had already ventured before(greyed areas not red fogged ones) so as not to use as 'cheat' for questing. Lastly, you need to pay for the destination as they need the money for fuel, ammunition, plush seats, air-conditioning, and air fresheners aren't cheap. Plus the bus runs on bio-diesel...stuff! and they will have fixed prices for that. There can only be specific locations where they act like 'bus stops' (usually these would be safe zones)
An interesting added feature: For a certain price however, they can carry you to a specified grey tile (expect the price will climb the further you go) - you just need to input coordinates of the grey map.


Special (surprise) quest or could even be an optional quest of which the reward is getting to use the bus transit: Bus breaks down or you discover a group of npc survivors stranded trying to fix the bus; you can either help in three ways:
Defend from zombies: Spawns some random zombie encounters, hopefully adjusted to player's level.
Help repairs: Requires some technical skill.
Supply tools: Requires certain items in your invetory like wrenches and stuff.
or leave them beat (the later being like quit mission).

Or be a fag and loot the poor suckers when they aren't looking.

If you do succeed helping, the npcs will be thankful and you get a discount from their travel fairs.

Hmm interesting concept,but im afraid i dont uderstant the whole 'catch ' thing.You mean you could be moved anywhere at random and still pay for it ?Its kinda harsh.

No, actually it's like this.

For going to travel to a specific safehouse you have already been (like the campus as an example) you will be charged a fixed price but if you want to have a specific location to go to, that'll be depend more on how far the destination is, the further the higher the price it'll be. The main benefits are you won't run to encounters and you won't waste as much SP. Of course like everything in ZP, inflation is going tod rive you crazy.

The addition of the optional/event quest is to help make that the prices of those fares more tolerable. The feature would prove quite useful if say you need to traverse between downtown and suburb.

Just icing for the cake, the npc survivors who operate the bus could not be working for the authorities; they're more like mercenaries who's main interest is only hording cash which explains the high prices.

OK thanks for explanation,and i still think it is a good idea.

AH! And on the "buss" there should be a ministore, where all the prices are +10%!

Fallen that's a great idea. Very clever of you.

I would like to see bicycles used for distance travel. You might use say 7 SP for every 10 blocks you ride. You could also gain strength and stamina points for riding around. Like every 200 blocks you ride you get 1 point for either stat. The map travel menu can have a box for Ride Bike and you enter the number of blocks in 10 you want to go. If you over shoot or fall short you have to walk the blocks.

You'd ride past a lot of random encounters, but maybe sometimes you ride into a group and it costs you a turn to get your weapon and get off your bike, or, if you had the right combo of smarts, agility and strength/marksmanship (which ever applies to your weapon) you could do it from the bike.

a good way to show lack of thinking but a better way of saying what has already been said the tech level should be less and i agree with smarts but i also said in my thread cars and even big Vehicles like apc's and such and why have to pay for it we are in the biggest free car park ever why pay for what you can find out in the street

Vehicle random encounter: "You see some undead in front of you. [Ram'em] [try to avoid them] [Stop and fight them]"

if your vehicle is sturdy enough, [Ram'em] kills them, giving you half the xp you would get from [Stop and fight them] and no money. if you [try to avoid them] you need a light vehicle and high agi. if you fail on 1. or 2. you lose 50% hp AND have to fight the undead. Sounds reasonable to me.

BUT theres one problem, theres no space for vehicles. every road is filled with cars and debris. so unless we get a map outside the city, vehicles are useless D:

I don't think so, I mean what if it's not a regular vehicle. If you watched Land of the Dead, there is a retrofitted truck called "Dead Reckoning" that has a spiked plower/fender but then I guess it'd be unrealistic if the the truck can go just anywhere, might as well have a helicopter. How about limiting it to certain tiles then?

Also, if we do manage to make a 'converted tank of sorts' I imagine it's going to require some technical skill and materials. It'd be cool if players could help collaborate making such a vehicle, it'll open up more to player interaction.

The other thing about cars is limited supply of gas. It's unrealistic that very many people could drive. Even cars that have gas will run out and syphoning and refueling will be very dangerous. Very few, very organized, very well defended vehicles are a possiblity thought. For a time.

Cars aren't the only way to get around. Bikes, those skateboards we're using as weapons, scooters. Realistically it's not safe to use them but someone would probably choose to anyways.

It would realy be a nice feature!
Vehicles will be dificult to add in the game but it will be another thing that only ZP, as a browser based game, will have.
I was wondering in the web and I triped on this game "zombie driver" its not a browser based, but the game play videos are realy good.
I think that ZP developers had discussed this subject before but, vehicles are in demand.

In the zobie driver the dead throw stuff to hit and damage the car, some explode, and a lot os other stuff you better check.

I realy like the ideias posted here but in the start we should keep it simple. I the SP cost is up to developers to decide and players just can't move SP free.

Another way is that It could be a driving skill sold as account upgrade that players buy it one time.
Vehicles is a subject hard to discuss in terms of "what players want" and "what the game can provide"

Another way to look into the SP:
I already know that there is an "don't you dare posting SP topic" but this is not about SP directly.
- If players could have vehicles they would use more SP looking for GAS in every single car;
- The vehicles should have a high price, so players would keep lootering to make more money, and for that they use more SP;
- Vehicles can take damage and to repair it the game can use distance and vehicle type to build the repair cost. And again players will go crazy using all SP they have to repair the vehicle;
I think that even with the lower cost to move around, it could be more or less, characters would spend more SP to maintain the vehicle.
The point is: SP is used to make money, so money is, somehow, SP.
(I give you my word that I won't answer about SP costs)

I don't care about the SP costs, I would like to have a car to attach two machine guns and run over the dead just for the picture!
Just imagine: You enter a map, and then pops up an random encounter. You can "flee, atack, run over ..." And later you go check your rank: Run over: 666 zombies!

ps.: Pease don't reply this complaining about the SP cost, this topic is about the VEHICLES.

Thanks Pixel Pandemic!
Have fun!

given the setting, I think it would be truer to form if we avoided large motor vehicles and stuck with low-tech transportation. Bicycles and skateboards and such. Rollerskates/rollerblades would reduce agility but increase speed, so your movement cost would only be 1.5 or 2 per square, instead of 3. Bicycles similar, but also increas enc marginally. (Or at least they would if you scavvy/purchase the saddlebags for them) And of course there are a number of shopping trollies lying around. right now they're just artwork, but they could increase enc and perhaps speed (marginally, say from 3 down to 2.5 sp/square) A natural mount for a PKM or compact chain gun, dontcha think? Aiyyeee, we're gonna have to deal with the zed bag-ladies first if we want to get one.
Let's not forget the skateboard. yes, just one can be used like rollerskates, but a huge penalty for agility (and chance of random accidental damage everytime there's a random encounter, 'cause you do a faceplant when you literally run into a zed) With suitable tech skills and a few 2x4s, however, you could make your own machine-gun go-kart racer. Huge enc bonus, at an obvious penalty for agility.

Well, as I said before, I won't repli about SP cuz SP should be managed by the developers.
I just think that adding cars, or skates, like a lot of people want to, will give players a lot of diferent options to act in the game.
I think that game devs are looking for theier priorities and vheicles are not listed there. We have a great beta game here and there must be a lot of other news.
I don't undertand why ppl still push the term of "low tech vehicles" as if it realy counts. If you have limited car tech, why are you using a over powered high tech sniper rifle? Thats why I think that thats not the point.
I think that players can help improve the game with new stuff to add into the game and NOT to change it! The way it is now is good. We have a thousands accounts and thats shows how fine the game is doing.
I dont want it to change, I want it to improve.
Now lets go to the game features: imagine that you are driving your car and you enter a map with 5 groups of 10 zombies, what would you do?
a- get you Ben 10 watch and morph?
b- play zelda's ocharina to warp back in time?
c- accelerate your car running over the zombies trying to shoot them in the head with the guns you attached to the hood of the car?
d- yell "leeeerooooyyyy" while swinging your huge "pen knife"?
I vote for vehicles for "fun purposes".
Players ask to much, and PP knows it well.
There are a lot of variables that, as players, we can't see how they can ruin the game.

I think the trick with vehicles is balancing. There needs to be a downside and different options lend them in different ways.

I think non-automotive transportation like bikes and skates etc, those really should just be a matter of modifying the SP it takes to move space to space... but how do balance that out. Given the setting it demands some sort of a downside, otherwise every survivor of the Zombie apocalypse will want to ride around on skates. Realistically, how hard is it to shoot while wearing skates or riding a bike?-I think thats something to be considered.

Personal automotive vehicles, like cars and motorcyles have the benefit of fuel being needed which would help balance out their advantages. Zipping past zombies would be easy and the possiblity of running out of fuel gives players one more thing to scavange. I don't want this to turn into Grand Theft Auto... where every car is working and can be stolen, so I think there should be some amount of questing and scavanging that should go into initially getting the vehicle and maintaining it (beyond fuel). That might also lend itself to players with customized rides. Vehicles being attacked shouldn't really matter unless a zombie horde exceeds a certain size. That could be addressed by giving the vehicle a "Mass" that which has a direct relationship to the size of the zombie horde needed to stop it and force combat.

When it comes to group vehicles, the simple balancing mechanism is, bigger vehicles use more fuel... SP use remains consistent and applied to everyone riding (maybe a lower rate than the driver), and fuel consumtion spikes the heavier the vehicle.

Next the "mass transit" meathod, where the bus takes you around... I think its a good idea, but if it goes everywhere I think it detracts a bit too much from the survival element. I think some sort of restored subway option might make more sense. Where there are specific points you can go too and from very easily, but only as long as the station remains protected a zed free. Having the subway work like the way the bus was described with a shop makes more sense, since its large enough.

Now we are talking!
I realy like your post!

I agree that its a realy tuff job to change and aplly so many features at the same time, but as players we can wait for it. I just hope that developers have the time to desing it for us as they did with the current game version.
I know that we can't run until we learn how to walk, but I 'm waiting for an official point of veiw from developers. If they are going to do something about I'm sure it will be a good job.