Penny Sue

I'm kinda torn on this ... feature. I totally understand why it works this way. On the one hand I, personally, don't want to do this. To me I feel like I'm intentionally leveraging game mechanics for expidited gain. I've really made an effort to just loot what I can and move on. I don't come back 10 minutes later. Even if I'm dehydrated and haven't found anything usefull for an hour straight. On the other hand... I've gotten pretty unlucky a several times. I sneak into towns filled with zombies and wander around buildings but what do I find? Empty cans, empty liqour bottles, chem lights, road flares, scrap metal, bullets for guns I've never seen. Sneak around into some other buildings... same junk. Get chased off by zombies and run... and run... and run... to the next town or set of buildings. Repeat. I've literaly died of dehydration... not a damn thing to drink. I find tons of car parts! Neat ... I can't drink them.... I can't eat them... During these bouts of bad luck I get REALLY tempted to force some respawns =) I actually tried it a couple of times... and it just felt wrong... it sucked the glory and exhuberence out when I findally did get something useful. I didn't earn it by risking my life... I cheated to get it and ultimately it was unsatisfactory. That first revolver I found when I risked it all to sneak past a bunch of zombies was marvolous! I cherished that thing! I earned it and I was worthy to wield it.

A lot of good ideas here that I like! Especially more melee weapons and improvised weapons. Fortifying and making defensable positions is a neat idea. However this does have the possibility of making the game too easy. People will start hoarding stuff once they have a location well secured. Essentially they will "Win"..... now what? I got everything I need in an obscure and heavily fortified spot... so what's the point of even logging in anymore? Even if I die I'll just come back to my fort. I love how everything is easy to get but it's also easy to loose. Being able to fortify and hoard makes things hard to looose yet they are still easy to get.

I like the idea of having the same name until you die. If your name and appearence are persistant even after death then you have essentially negated the entire "perma death" feature of this game. You didn't die... you're back with the same name and appearence. How do you explain that nobody really dies; they just wash up on shore everytime they get knocked out? Perma death is a big draw for me to this game and really simulates the notion that this is a harsh, gritty, world where almost nobody makes it. Those who do survive truly have achieved something that is very difficult and rare. In other games your character was simply ressurected. That doesn't seem to be the case here; there is no magic to bring life back to those that have died. Under the covers there should be a unique account name that can not be changed. Some ID number or whatever. So that administrators and developers can track people, weed out hackers / cheaters, and deal with other administration problems that stem from anonymous players. However this should not be visible in game. Your characters' name should be different.

Kinda goes along with my idea of having more emote animations. http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/101161-more-emote-animations-please/#entry951310

I really like this idea too. You can put me in the camp of "don't restrict it". I wouldn't mind a suicide option though. It does suck to just sit there completely imobilized and no way to end it. Maybe the prerequisite is that you must have some sort of weapon or a knife?

Thank you for the kind words and all the beans!

Using DayZ Commander was soooooo easy for this. You just click a couple buttons and BAH-BAM... all the DayZ mod files... all the mods to DayZ... updates to ArmA2... Finding servers is really easy too. The filters are very helpful in finding what you want while weeding out what you don't want. Highly recommend using DayZ Commander.

Thank you for clarifying. You make a valid point; the text could be used as a tool to spam and otherwise grief other players. Would you support this idea with out the text? =================================================================================== I did not know about sitting, thanks! I didn't suggest surrender because I did know it was already available. What do you think about having MORE features like these?

That's what really drew me in and many other people I talked to. There is no linear path to a goal. The only predefined goal is to see how long you can survive. The rest is all up to the players. This is the most liberating sandbox game I've played since Ultima Online's first few years. Yeah, it's been over a decade since I've seen a game like this! All we really need are tools, props, and a stage ... the players can, and should, do the rest. Regulation and rules only if absolutely necessary (for example to deal with cheaters).

Why do they have no place in this game? I thought the idea here was sandbox gaming at it's finest... not just counter strike with zombies?

Seems like eventually something happens and I can no longer just hit W to run. I know I can "toggle" walk / run to be default speed but even when I'm in default walk mode I can't toggle back to run! No matter how many times I double tap that key to toggle walk / run I always walk. Then in order to run I have to doulbe tap W. How can I fix this besides logging out > back in ?

Seems to be working better now. I think it was because I was stuck using iron sights ... even though I had no gun. Thus I couldn't really tell I was stuck there.

I loaded up ArmA 2, created a new profile, gave it a totally radical name, and exited. Loaded up DayZ Commander, jumped on a server, and I'm still named User! What the what?! Please advise, thanks!

It's a shame these new fancy monitors can't take a punch like their old CRT counterparts =(

Can you loadj ust Arma with out the error? I got mine from Steam and it works fine.... maybe have to troubleshoot with Gamestop ?

Where did you download them from ?

I awoke in some tall weeds with a throbbing headache which only worsened when I stood up. Looking about I can see I'm on the coast in what appeared to be mid-morning but with all the overcast it's honestly hard to tell. How the hell I got here I'll never know... Stumbling over to the nearby road I can see a long ways in both directions given how flat it is here. Across the road is a steep hill that goes up into the forest. Which direction to go? I have to go somewhere... so I start jogging down the road with the coast on my right. Soon enough I see a small town in the distance. As I approach I slow down and squint to scope it out. While I kept walking I start noticing movement.... now I can tell they are people! I think "Oh thank God! Maybe they can help?!" Quickly I notice they aren't moving... normally... limping and stumbling about. One guy is scurrying, crouched down, almost hopping like a frog or monkey. I don't know what their problem is but I know this isn't good... I crouch and close in real slow trying to say in the tall weeds. By now I can hear them.... the grunting ...and moaning. I think I can maybe sneak by them and get into the town. Hopefully find some REAL people? At least some damn supplies! "God I'm thirsty." The grunts turn to snarls.... a couple shift towards me... I stop and try to stay calm. Just then a couple howl and sprint at me! My hairs bristle and heart instantly starts racing. I jump up and turnabout in one motion then take off running! This of course drew the attention of more... judging by more howls and screams. Down the road I run; as fast as I can! Backpack bouncing.... breathing getting heavy.... head pounding to the beat of my heart. Quickly glance over my right shoulder... damnit... 4? 5? I break right, off the road, toward the hill. In the tall weeds I see an ATV.... what a sick joke... even if it did work I wouldn't have time to start it. Scrambling up the hill I have trouble with how steep it is. While it slows me down considerably I look back and see it's slowing down those lame brains more than me. Up and up and up I go. I climb until I run out of breath and I keep going. Finally I reach the top and take a few minutes to glance around; stop and listen.... the silence is reassuring. In my panic I disregarded all common sense. I'm now in the middle of God knows where and no idea where to go. I know I can't go the way I came so I start following the crest of this hill. Not much time passes and I come across another lame brain. Thankfully alone this time and given the amount of cover I have in the woods I'm able to avoid him. Finally the hill starts descending and I emerge onto what I suppose could pass as a gravel road but it is over grown all around and even in the middle. Great.... just great... where in the hell am I? I rummage through my backpack... flashlight... matches... bandages... just about useless. OK think... think... what the hell am I going to do? I glance left... glance right... turn around... turn around again... I take a deep breath and think "What do I NEEED?" Instantly "Water!" pops in my mind. I absolutely need water. I can go days without food but I'll freak'n die out here in a day or two without some damn water. I sling my pack and head up the road. Nothing.... keep walking.... not a damn thing.... where the hell does this road go? No point in turning around... I have no idea where that goes either and I'm an hour or so into this direction so there's no point going back. Finally this slow grade levels off and the forest gives way to prairie. Sun is fully up now and clouds are somewhat breaking. Given the circumstances... it's a nice day. That is a fleeting moment as I notice movement in the brush a ways up. "Great; what's this?!" I crouch down and scan the area.... a cow trots out of the shrubs... *sigh* I stand up and continue on my way. As I pass by I can tell the cow is very leary of me ... I don't blame her. Feels like I'm on top of the world being this high up. The grade starts changing down as I keep walking along the road. A wrecked trailer can be seen at a merging gravel road on down the hill. "Water... gotta get some water..." Closing in I can see the perpendicular road has some buildings on it. As I get closer to the trailer I see some walkers wandering about. I keep my distance and head down the hill toward the buildings. I can see a burnt out HUM-V by a barn and further down the road houses and buildings. I crouch down and creep up on the Hummer... searching around it... inside it.... just a burnt out ruin. Fine, I'll have to check out the barn. I inch toward it and I can hear some groaning inside. More than one... shit... I stop and think a few moments. Run? Yeah, I'll live... But for how long? I need some damn water. I can't run forever. At some point I have to nut-up. I don't know if there's anything of value that's even in there! It's a gamble... life is a gamble now... just fuck'n do it man! I shout in my head "DO IT!" to pump myself up! Still crouching I make my way around the HUM-V and strafe around the front of the barn doors. Looking inside I can see a couple of guys geek'n out in the corner... they don't see me... good. Closer.... few more steps.... "OK they still don't notice me".... close in some more... I'm in the door way now. Still good, they don't notice me, their backs are toward me. I glance around and notice some cans and refuse; score! I shift back a few steps and start to carefully move some stuff. Some cans clang together...the geeks snarl and turn; DAMNIT! I panic and stand up! They instantly lunge at me and I bolt out the door and sprint up the hill. Heart racing.... breathing heavy... vision narrows.... caution thrown aside... I run right into the group of lame brains I left by the trailer! SHIT they see me! HOOOOWWWWl I keep sprinting and run by the trailer just as one leaps out and shoves into me! I stumble which slows me down but I manage to stay upright. Another catches up and strikes me ferociously! The pain is intense despite my adrenaline rush. I regain my feet and resume sprinting. Glancing over my left shoulder I see I'm losing them.... I keep running. Seconds later it seems like the harder I try to run the slower I go... Like I'm running up hill but it's flat here. Again I glance but over my right shoulder.. damn it they are gaining now! Then I see blood on the gravel... this can't be good... I look down and see blood on my clothes. I push harder... "Faster!" I shout in my mind. My vision begins to narrow more.... everything is getting blurry... The blurriness increases with each pump of my heart. I'm down to just jogging now and I can't keep my arms up. I can hear them now snarling and grunting RIGHT behind me. Then a merciless grasp clenches on my left shoulder. "Gaahh!" I scream out loud now as it yanks on me and I start to stumble. My legs go limp under the strain to pull the weight of that which has grappled me. As I stumble and fall I pivot to the left and manage to break free of the grasp but it's too late.... I hit the gravel and skid kicking up dust and rocks. I flail my legs and put up my fore arms to block my head! Through the dust ... the blur... between my arms... the sun light flickers as their shadows sweep over me. Howling and snarling they pile on me... clubbing with their fists... tearing at me with their fingers... biting... I holler in fear and agony as they rip my clothes... then my skin... Limp go my arms as I can no longer fight back... my vision fades to black... but I can still hear and feel everything.... soon all is silent and still.

Thanks!

OHhhh I bet that was it! I never had a gun and it kept happening. I was using right click a lot to zoom in and scan around. I bet I tapped it like you said! Thanks for the info Pahv and TxBeaner.

I tried crawling prone a few times. Usually there was so much grass and brush around I couldn't see anything. Seems to work alright in urban areas where everything is pretty flat and line of sight is clear. Again don't get me wrong... this isn't a bad thing =) I thought it was very interesting that this game could invoke these real feelings from me. Just something you don't see in many games...like...ever. =^.^=

This was an "in character" account of my first time playing DayZ. I hope you enjoyed it! Maybe I'll do more?

It sounds super awesome and all. Then I keep reading these threads about how everyone hacks, it's all lame, don't even bother playing. I don't mind loosing to people better than me... however I just won't play if I constantly "loose" to cheaters. How can I minimize encountring these problems? Are there good serers with good admins out there? How do I find them? Please advise, thanks!

How do I find a server with good admins and minimal hacking? I won't pretend to think it will never happen but the idea is to minimize it.