Suggestion: Bring Back Player-Written Notes for Shelters and Stashes
I would like to suggest bringing back the ability for players to write and leave notes for other survivors.
I recently built an improvised shelter in a remote location and thought about how interesting it would be if I could leave a written message inside it for another player who happens to discover it.
For example, I could leave a note saying:
“Hello survivor. Feel free to use this shelter. I’m currently looking for .308 ammunition. If you have some to spare, leave it here. Take any food or supplies you need in exchange. I’ll check back later.”
Another player could then leave supplies, take something in return, and write a response. Over time, two players who have never actually met could potentially develop a kind of survivor pen-pal relationship through the shelter.
I think this would fit DayZ extremely well because player interaction does not always have to involve direct communication or PvP. Finding a handwritten message in an abandoned shelter could create stories, uncertainty and trust between complete strangers.
It could also lead to emergent gameplay:
Trading supplies through hidden shelters or stashes
Warning other survivors about dangerous areas
Leaving messages for strangers who helped you
Creating secret meeting points
Exchanging information about supplies
Developing friendships without initially meeting face-to-face
And, of course, the possibility of deception or traps — which is also very much part of DayZ
To prevent excessive notes or server clutter, written notes could simply follow the normal persistence rules of the container in which they are stored.
DayZ is at its best when simple mechanics allow players to create their own stories. I believe writable notes would be a very small feature mechanically, but could have a surprisingly large impact on immersion and emergent player interaction.
In short: Please consider bringing back writable paper/notes and allowing players to store them in shelters, crates and other containers.
Thank you for continuing to develop DayZ.