aks

I am doing okay and have a skype and located near berezino. The only thing is that I currently do not have a working mic

As a survivor who will not usually shoot on sight I can say that bandits add to the DayZ experience instead of detracting from it. It adds tension when you see another player because you have no way of knowing if they are friendly or not. It requires quick thinking on what to do in the situation. Should you go closer and risk asking if friendly from cover? Should you move away? Should you just shoot them? The game would be MUCH less challenging if not for this type of interaction between players.

Firing without properly aiming is surprisingly not accurate in real life. The crosshair mainly helps to have a general view of where your gun is pointing. Other than that, I suggest you learn to use the sights on a weapon-just like in real life.

We could also add in Rideable ostriches that crap cherry blossoms and make the rider invincible. They would be avaiable to newly spawned players only to balance things out...

There seems to be a pattern with windows os... Windows XP = good Windows Vista = bad Windows 7 = good Windows 8 = _____ <---fill in the blank based on patttern.... Just my opinion...

Ummmmm... How would you tell bandits from non bandits at stary? It is too urban to just wait until you hear shots.

Some of the friendly encounters I have had was when me and another player were going in opposite directions along the same route. We saw each other from a distance. Both of us had Primary weapons but I took a risk from 50-100 meters away and stopped and saluted. He saluted back and we carefully moved around each other always facing each other. After that we continued on our own ways. I would suggest always having encounters at range first. Tell or signal in some way for the person to stop and ask if they are friendly. Tell them to salute if they are and then if they salute I would suggest revealing yourself and standing up and saluting. Then other talks can begin with weapons lowered or at least not pointed at the other person. Even then unless the other person takes a risk or does something like gives a blood transfusion for you than be slow to trust and always keep your weapon ready for a betrayal. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS NEVER turn your back on a person you have encountered. This results in less disadvatages for you and helps to reduce your chances of being killed. This is just my general method. Obviously many people will shoot on sight so be ready for this also. If someone surprises me from close range I might shoot them as a reaction. This is why I suggest getting farther away while staying in some form of communication. (I consider saluting to be communication if out of direct chat range) Others may have other methods that work for them.

I wish you the best of luck with this idea. I will not be able to help on a regular basis and I do not have a working mic but if there is any other way I can assist I will help.

I think the current system is relatively fine. DayZ/arma 2 is relatively realistic. I do not think body armor would be a great addition to the game. It would make it too much like cod or bf3 where players can just absorb bullets. This will make it worse for both survivors and bandits just as alt+f4ing makes it worse for both survivors and bandits in firefights. In my opinion this would not be a very balanced addition to the game.

As a (generally) friendly player I can say that bandits add a certain effect to the game. They add tension in forms that wouldn't be there without it. They add an extra challenge for anyone wanting to take a risk and head to NWAF or Stary. Moments where other players were nearby and you weren't sure if they would try to shoot you were some of the scariest moments. Without bandits this game would be NOTHING like it is now. Many survivors assume that bandits take away from the survival feel of the game but instead they add reasons and incentives for taking certain actions (like finding a loud but powerful rifle that would be left alone if not for bandits). No one would try to remain hidden in forests or empty fields. Most rare weapons would never be bothered to find. Later in a life when you can survive in the wilderness near a pond and some animals bandits make sure you stay on your guard and don't leave behind your m16 or akm. tl;dr: Bandits add to the game. Not take away from it. (from a survivor's point of view)

I was lucky enough to find a fn fal at a chopper crash with four mags of ammo. As a weapon I would say that the sights are better on it than on an akm. The lack of available ammo is mostly okay for me as I mainly use my sidearm for taking down zeds and generally try to be stealthy. I have not gotten into a firefight with it yet but I can safely say although I like it better than the akm. I will probably ditch it when I find a decent m4 or other military rifle without ironsights. I always figured if I ran out of ammo for it I would just use an akm or ak74. This could very well be the scenario in which they have been found in other areas where other military rifles spawn.

I do not believe it has been added into dayz from the default arma 2 CO weapons list as of yet. If I were you I would leave it alone.

Good idea. It might take time to put in a system like this but the mod is still in alpha.

[attachment=1345]These are all good...Thought I might add one...

Military flashlights are good. I have found multiple but rarely picked them up and never used them because by the time I have found them I have usually found a glock 17 or some other gun with a flashlight. I also use chemlights. Military flashlights give off red light and do NOT ruin your eyes adjusting to the dark. They also give off less light and makes it less visible to bandits. I would recommend using them or chemlights instead of the basic flashlight or flares.

I was nervous at first about starting out with nothing but a bandage, a bag, a light, and some painkillers. Ounce starting out I realized that it added tension when you alerted zed going past a town and having them chase for a quite a while (1.7.1.4). I was only saved by running into a barn and finding a double barreled shotgun with 4 rounds. That gun saved my life. It really does seem to add even more difficulty at the start of the game but in my experiences so far I am thinking it was a good change. That being said, I wish you the best of luck in your travels in dayz. If however the change is too much for you to handle perhaps there are other games better suited to that mentality.

I am reasonably certain they have actually tested at least some of dayz in the current version of arma 3... That being said I am not sure about how dayz's release schedule from Alpha to beta compares to when Arma 3 is released. Arma 3 devs said that after E3 they would start talking more about an alpha or beta for arma 3 being released. So, yeah....ummmm.....We shall find out soon enough...

I think it would be better if the spawn areas were more randomized in order to avoid mass killing of newly spawned players. Also for starting out perhaps a compromise with having a makarov with NO mags and an EMPTY canteen with 1 can of beans. This might have an interesting effect on the way player interaction goes.

Have you spent a lot of time and been very visible moving in a large group to and from camps? Perhaps someone might be following you. It is unlikely but I guess it is possible...

I am also going to have to acknowledge the normal loot supplies decrease. I was in some inland barns and towns earlier and all I found were double barreled shotguns and empty cans. No food or drink. Perhaps reverting to previous loot spawns would fix this. Some people might complain that there would be less food and water in an apocalypse but if that would be the case I would like to request a lengthening of the time before eating or drinking is needed. I do not have to drink a coke or water bottle every 20 minutes to not die of thirst in real life. Therefore, the amount of time before a drink is needed should be increased. I think a good solution for new players so they can have enough gear to survive heading north would be adding a can of beans and an EMPTY canteen. This would eliminate the people who would travel north but need food going into cherno or electro and thus eliminating an even bigger killzone centralized location. It would also require the player to still find food or drink. Perhaps also a makarov with NO mags. The player would start with a gun but no ammo for it. This would be an interesting idea to be put in effect as no one could tell if the player had ammo in the gun or not from farther away. This would be a sort of compromise between the gun control people and the people who want guns.

I found my first gps the other day. NVGs I have not found yet. Were the percentages for the spawn chances ever actually confirmed by the devs?

Please don't take offense: "Why cant i dual wield makarovs in this game?" "I should be able to sprint and jump easily while carrying 100 pounds of gear on my back!" "Why does it take so long to walk places? This map is too big." 'lol i will 360 headshot noscope you all with mah snipah skilz" However, I do realize people have to come from some other game. I have played Arma for a few years but when i started i was inexperienced and had no idea what to do. Dayz is an anti game. Do not expect it to be fun or make many allowances for you from the realism side of things. I am going to have to use an over used phrase: deal with it. For the bf3 and cod players who actually welcome the game's realism I will fully support and help them learn how more about arma 2... That is all. I apologize for using elitest phrases and to those who I have offended.