For years now I have tried to play with self imposed permadeath where I delete my game file and start over if I die. I haven't tried using the permadeath setting in the game options. This game feels much more immersive when you feel like your life is at stake. But with each alpha update it seems my runs get shorter or I have to give in to playing a resurrected player. I was just caught off guard by a dire wolf in a tier 2 quest the other day. I was trying to figure out how to motivate myself not to erase my file and start over and I had this idea, I'll have myself a funeral, dig a hole, bury some rotting meat in a wood box and build a nice tombstone and then I'll keep playing.
My suggestion would be tying this in with another idea I've been thinking of for a while, replacing dropped backpacks with a player zombie wearing your armour. Expanding on this..
When a player dies, instead of "resurrecting" you respawn at your bedroll with a message like "Father isn't coming back, we need to fend for ourselves now, we must go and put him to rest." Then a new quest will start where you have to go and kill your zombie wearing your armour to retrieve your items. Rename the debuff for dying as "in mourning." The treatment for this debuff is a funeral ceremony where you dig a hole and bury father, this will shorten the mourning debuff.
I think this would add more weight to dying beyond just a debuff and recollecting your items from a backpack and it would help to maintain immersion, its mostly about immersion.
My suggestion would be tying this in with another idea I've been thinking of for a while, replacing dropped backpacks with a player zombie wearing your armour. Expanding on this..
When a player dies, instead of "resurrecting" you respawn at your bedroll with a message like "Father isn't coming back, we need to fend for ourselves now, we must go and put him to rest." Then a new quest will start where you have to go and kill your zombie wearing your armour to retrieve your items. Rename the debuff for dying as "in mourning." The treatment for this debuff is a funeral ceremony where you dig a hole and bury father, this will shorten the mourning debuff.
I think this would add more weight to dying beyond just a debuff and recollecting your items from a backpack and it would help to maintain immersion, its mostly about immersion.