BobitoZ

I should make a distinction. The ambient sound is almost perfect. This is the only game (outside of Valve games) that I don't instantly turn the music off. The ambient sound(s) builds the tension. The player/infected sounds punctuate the tension.

It really should be a priority. I really can't stress enough how important sound is. Try watching a movie without it. Or changing a manual gear shift without it. Can you do those things without it? Yes, but that feedback with it, is that much better. Even if it takes another year, sound is that important.

Maybe having the character breathing heavy is too arcady to indicate danger. Something simple like distinct sounds for footprints may be all that is needed. Injected have a distinct sound, you have a distinct sound, and other players have a distinct sound. I think this falls in the same rational as having 3rd person. Self awareness needs to be translated to the player in some way.

"Care to define what needs to be done? I know the sound effects are out of whack at times but it doesn't break the game for me." The sounds are just not consistent enough. There should be a specific sound that's for the infected spotting you. And a specific sound for when they die. Falling to the ground is not enough feedback. These sounds need to be different enough for them to be distinguished from other sounds the infected make. It's Psychology, look at any behavioral feedback model. Rocket does listen, he just doesn't listen to the ill informed minority. If he did then this would just be another failed attempt at making something unique... Like WarZ is. Thanks for making it personal... I'm sure he can make up his own mind of what is and is not ill informed. Like I said before I'm giving constructive criticism to help the project. No project needs a bunch of yes men. That's what War Z was full of.

Thanks for the replies. Just giving some feedback, like I should. That was kind of the point, "noob perspective." I've already bought 2 copies of ARMA II: CO and look forward to getting the standalone.

I fully understand that it's a mod. I just want to highlight my initial impressions after playing for about 14 days. I only want success for Day Z at this point. Constructive criticism is useful for any content creator. If I could have them work on anything it would be the sound, physics/animations and UI. That's what usually separates a A game from a AAA game. Moral choices of players are something to be left up for debate latter. We can't get to that point though if the game mechanics get in the way.

As this is an Alpha I feel like I should provide some feedback. I'm sure many of these issues have been brought up before but hopefully a new perspective can highlight those issues. User Interface: It's clunky. Really, nothing else can be said. I've gotten use to it at this point, but it clearly needs to be streamlined. Sound effects: Needs more consistency. The zombies need to provide better feedback when they spot you, when they hit you, when you hit them, and when they die. Take HL2, the combine always make that the same sound when they die. It provides instant feedback for the players actions and does not break immersion. The same should be done for other players. If there is another player in proximity and has their weapon drawn, there needs to be some kind of indicator. Something as simple as your player breathing heavy would be enough to alert danger. Again consistency, otherwise the sounds are just a jumbled mess. Physics: Needs work. The fact that a bicycle becomes useless on even a slight incline is unacceptable. Reward/Cost: Most important aspect in any game. This needs some serious looking into. If a player decides to kill another player there needs to be a really high cost involved for doing so. All a bandit needs to do is camp high traffic areas and let the supplies come to them. This has no cost for them. A towel on your head is not a cost. If a player consistently kills other players they should have to pay for that. Their health should be less, they should get hungry/ thirsty faster. Every aspect needs to be harder for them, because right now there is no cost. They are basically acting like zombies/infected, so treat them as such. The reward for helping other players needs to be higher. Right now the incentives to do so is too low. Hacking: I get that this is put more on the servers right now, but I do hope you realize at this point in time hacking is the norm. When the standalone version is released there needs to be some strong anti-hacks in place. Dying to a hacker appearing behind you in the middle of nowhere is unacceptable in mainstream gaming. Especially when the cost is so high. It will have a huge backlash. Overall Impressions: The concept is great. The mood is spot on. The tension is palpable. Please take the time to listen to your Alpha Testers so this can succeed in the best possible way.