Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid

[B42] Infirmities
 This topic has been pinned, so it's probably important
Twuben  [developer] 3 Oct @ 4:53am
Planned Features
Planned Features

Note: Many of these ideas are experimental or conceptual, and may not be implemented exactly as described. Features may change or be rebalanced during development.

  • Dynamic Illnesses

    Illnesses won’t necessarily be fixed at character creation; players could develop or even overcome conditions throughout a playthrough.

  • Mental Illness Concepts

    Depression – Possible effects on motivation, XP gain, or sleep.

    Alzheimer’s – Ideas include “forgetting” explored map areas or maybe forgeting skill levels.

    Anxiety Disorders – Heightened panic, stress sensitivity, chance of panic episodes.

    Bipolar Disorder – Potential mood swings that affect energy.

    Derealization Episodes – Visual/sound distortion effects to simulate disorientation.

  • Physical Illness Concepts

    Chronic Pain – Periodic debuffs (movement, endurance, aim).

    Stroke-like Symptoms – Temporary weakness, slowed movement, or blurred vision.

    Substance Withdrawal – Dependence on alcohol/meds could lead to tremors or mood penalties if untreated.

  • Custom Sandbox Options

    Plans for adjustable settings: illness severity, frequency, and chance of occurrence.

These are planned directions, not final features. Community feedback will strongly shape which illnesses are added and how they work.
Last edited by Twuben; 3 Oct @ 5:04am
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Showing 1-9 of 9 comments
Me again, with a few slightly more serious ideas than my previous suggestion.

Scoliosis - +4, You are prone to musculoskeletal pain in your torso and neck. It's difficult to carry as much as others.
Arthritis - +2, You are prone to hand pain. It takes slightly longer for you to do certain actions.
Distracted - +2, You have difficulty concentrating on any one thing. Occasionally you forget what you're doing and stop in the middle of an action.
Twuben  [developer] 3 Oct @ 12:19pm 
Originally posted by Willy A. Jeep:
Me again, with a few slightly more serious ideas than my previous suggestion.

Scoliosis - +4, You are prone to musculoskeletal pain in your torso and neck. It's difficult to carry as much as others.
Arthritis - +2, You are prone to hand pain. It takes slightly longer for you to do certain actions.
Distracted - +2, You have difficulty concentrating on any one thing. Occasionally you forget what you're doing and stop in the middle of an action.
You're on a roll lmao. I'll make sure to note that down!
copy and pasting this here since i saw you had an "official" way of tracking things on a list so figured i'd make tracking a suggestion easier :

if i may suggest something, i'd love to have mild and severe eczema as traits as it would heavily add to my "immersive" play as self runs, allow someone to take both.

how they can function? mild gives you a random rash every so often usually 1-2 at a time (usually on arm/hands or legs/feet) that requires cream/ointment to control, not controlling it causes you to to gain mild discomfort due to itchiness and possible infection.

severe eczema being a much worse version that not only can have 1-4 random rashes appear that require cream or ointment but can also be triggered by wearing uncomfortable or sweaty clothing for to long (implying reaction causing itching or something along those lines) which can give moderate discomfort, infection and mild to moderate pain.

as someone with severe i know this is not 100% accurate but this is probably as close as i could imagine getting in game mechanic wise.

a permanent and mild to moderate ailment that is on par with the smoker trait in terms of game impact is sorely welcome especially since good first aider skills would help keep it maintained easier.

i would also suggest that some bushes in the wild can cause poison ivy rashes but that would require changing a world object so i dont know if that is a feasible addition but would be a welcome injury to add to the list
I have a few ideas, it's really stupid, but I tried.

Epilepsy: Of course, this would be extremely difficult to play as a single player, and possibly very difficult to implement, but I'm thinking about playing with epilepsy trait; no one has done that yet.
Seizures that pose a threat to your character, preventing movement or actions, and can cause self-injury, including dropping objects in both hands.
Can be triggered by loud noises, explosions, bursts of gunfire, car accidents, or even a flashlight flickering.
Anticonvulsants can be used to reduce the severity of seizures or prevent them.

Sleep Paralysis: A less serious condition, it can combine sudden awakenings without panic with the inability to control the character for a while, plus add visual hallucinations. Sleep paralysis episodes affect mental stats, meaning you can add stress and unhappiness.
Typically, during sleep paralysis, the person is unable to speak or act and experiences hallucinations associated with incomplete awakening.
It can be alleviated with SSRIs or vanilla antidepressants.

Narcolepsy: The player may experience sudden fatigue, which can lead to unintentional falling asleep.
It can be alleviated with psychostimulants, SSRIs, or vanilla antidepressants.
Twuben  [developer] 11 Oct @ 6:05am 
Originally posted by Sophia (Sophel):
I have a few ideas, it's really stupid, but I tried.

Epilepsy: Of course, this would be extremely difficult to play as a single player, and possibly very difficult to implement, but I'm thinking about playing with epilepsy trait; no one has done that yet.
Seizures that pose a threat to your character, preventing movement or actions, and can cause self-injury, including dropping objects in both hands.
Can be triggered by loud noises, explosions, bursts of gunfire, car accidents, or even a flashlight flickering.
Anticonvulsants can be used to reduce the severity of seizures or prevent them.

Sleep Paralysis: A less serious condition, it can combine sudden awakenings without panic with the inability to control the character for a while, plus add visual hallucinations. Sleep paralysis episodes affect mental stats, meaning you can add stress and unhappiness.
Typically, during sleep paralysis, the person is unable to speak or act and experiences hallucinations associated with incomplete awakening.
It can be alleviated with SSRIs or vanilla antidepressants.

Narcolepsy: The player may experience sudden fatigue, which can lead to unintentional falling asleep.
It can be alleviated with psychostimulants, SSRIs, or vanilla antidepressants.
Love all the ideas!
LambVORTEX 12 Oct @ 12:59pm 
The opposite of Narcolepsy perhaps? (i think i can call it like that lol-)

Insomnia
Something related to sleep. Finding it difficult to sleep... Slower action speed? Generally makes it difficult to sleep optimally and makes you a sleepless zombie that can't function right.

My little idea sounds bad I feel like. But any idea/suggestion is good for traction. Ain't it?
Twuben  [developer] 12 Oct @ 8:46pm 
Originally posted by LambVORTEX:
The opposite of Narcolepsy perhaps? (i think i can call it like that lol-)

Insomnia
Something related to sleep. Finding it difficult to sleep... Slower action speed? Generally makes it difficult to sleep optimally and makes you a sleepless zombie that can't function right.

My little idea sounds bad I feel like. But any idea/suggestion is good for traction. Ain't it?
Your idea ain't bad, will note it down
I feel like a simple way to simulate depression and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning is to have your character sleep for longer. Maybe at the time you should wake up, the black screen fades away but your character stays in bed for a few more hours while you as the player can see all the time you are wasting (still speeding up time of course). This way you have an incentive to improve your health and you can instantly tell what condition you have developed, as no other thing would cause this
Twuben  [developer] 22 hours ago 
Originally posted by SpiffoGaming:
I feel like a simple way to simulate depression and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning is to have your character sleep for longer. Maybe at the time you should wake up, the black screen fades away but your character stays in bed for a few more hours while you as the player can see all the time you are wasting (still speeding up time of course). This way you have an incentive to improve your health and you can instantly tell what condition you have developed, as no other thing would cause this
I like the idea, I'll see what I can do
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