Some suggestions Thread - Zombie Master Black Edition mod for Half-Life 2

I'd like to give the developers of this mod my two cents on the matter of weapons, ammo types, zombie types, functions, etc. I feel I should start on this:

Some things are automatic for a reason.

When I saw the video for the slide-release and ammo checking, I was very impressed and happy in what direction this mod was going in, but now that I think about it, mapping out your keyboard will become A LOT more tedious if you intend to make a separate key for functions like this.

Now, I'm all for realism and survivalist concepts, but I'm sure that someone who's handled a gun for at least a couple of days, locking the slide back into position would be instinctive. Me, being a gun fan, I've handled a handgun before, and whenever I would go through a full magazine, I'd change mags without thinking, and the slide would be back in place before I even realized it (it became a part of my muscle memory). So, if anything, the slide-release should be OPTIONAL, along with shotgun pumping, bolt operation (like on hunting rifles and what-not), and lever action. I know you want to be very realistic, but if anything, this small operation would probably clutter up your keyboard, since it's a function that is necessary for survival, so it needs to be close to your left hand, taking up spaces for the flashlight, use key, leading (if you were considering adding that as well)...you know what I mean. Unless you make it sound you just have to tap the reload key a second time, I'm down with it, otherwise you might end up over complicating the game. OH, and this isn't JUST about the slide-release. More functions are bound to come to add to realism, but will we have to sacrifice playability in the name of realism?

Moving on...

9mm rounds aren't nerf darts!

What do I mean by that statement? Well, it's obvious that lots of games (Like ArmA 2, and mods, INCLUDING Project Reality) underrate the pistol round and the power behind it, often just making it a last ditch weapon, and to add to the insult of under powering it, make the character use it one handed like it has no recoil at all. Well, I considering how much one 9mm or .45acp round can do to a person (sometimes instant death or fatal wounding), it can undoubtedly do a good deal against a zombie. So if you intend on making this game realistic, I really hope that it doesn't take four shots with a Makarov to take down a single zombie, or else the player will run out of ammo VERY quickly. Not that I'm saying the weapon should be one hit kill or anything, considering in most zombie stories, they can't feel pain, and take a lot more abuse than the average human, but what I'm getting at is that they need to actually be reliable when used in a close encounter, and that it has the capability of taking out more than just one zombie per magazine. Also, make the player hold it with TWO hands, I've fired a glock before, and though it's easy to handle, it still needs two hands to control properly.

Medical Kits, Supplies and Ammo: An urban myth

In the world we live in now, the large population makes it hard to gather supplies in the case of an emergency, including a zombie invasion (though most of the population wouldn't go for supplies at that point), but let's be honest, if the military were to be involved, they'd have more than enough ammunition to take down zombies, and any self respected gun collector or owner would have a good deal of ammunition in their home. And most families have an emergency kit for disasters, and most of those people are zombies for they can actually use them. So, perhaps stashes of ammunition and supplies shouldn't be as hard to find as some make it out to be. Military bases/outposts would be obvious places to search (given they're abandoned), and randomly placed handguns/ammunition throughout suburban homes would be nice, along with a small amount of emergency supplies, like a medical kit and food, spread out throughout homes as well. This would make for long searches through apartments/houses just to get enough resources to fight off zombies...giving the ZM plenty of opportunities to place traps. Whatever you do, make it so it's a challenge, but don't make it so hard to find that each player only has two magazines for each weapon, or else you'll sacrifice fun for realism.

Zombies can jump 50 feet, right?

Going to my last point here, I think you should be very careful with what abilities/constraints you put on zombie types, for it can make for some unbalanced and unenjoyable gameplay. Let's see, for instance, there's the almighty blob. You can put it virtually anywhere you want, it can do one hit kills, and is very difficult to find/kill. Oh, and if the ZM decides to be a dick and spam them, then you can expect to have a very short round. So, in short, this is one of the worst fucking ideas on the planet when making a REALISTIC experience. It gives the ZM the ability of winning quick and easy, giving him something to laugh about while everyone else suffers and doesn't even get a chance to win. I mean, really? This shouldn't have a place in a mod like this; this is the same type of crap that the original ZM would allow. Instead of making some major pain in the ass for the humans, make a zombie that takes a group effort to take down (I'm not really saying a Tank from Left 4 Dead, but that's certainly a point of reference), and gives you a sense of accomplishment for killing...while bringing the team together and actually not just going out on your own. I'm fresh out of ideas on what a zombie like that would be, but I'd like to think that you guys got the people to do that.

Well, I'm done with my suggestions, you guys make the decisions, I just throw out more options to spice up your decision making. Add plenty of guns, plenty of zombies, and just enough people to have fun with, and I'll play your mod. Besides, this whole thread is in the context of realism, which I think would be the main goal of this mod, but it could be only a part of it.