Suriel

"Journals of the Dead" - after a week - has turned into something I really enjoy to create. YouTube, Blog & some Poser & GIMP combined, this is NOT the right place for people who like: - "Look how smart we were when we killed this guy" vids We are usually not smart. ;) - It is not the right format for people who like 50 sec vids. We are long-winded and dull. You will like it if you like soap-style documentation, in-depth characters (for a soapie), Zombies, long stories to read enjoying your morning coffee, fictional ads, hilarious tactical analysis and more... Blog (with all the info & vids): http://journalsofthedead.wordpress.com

What is Journals of the Dead all about? Well, you can go see for yourself: http://journalsofthe....wordpress.com/ Basically I got bored just playing one nameless person after the other. And I strongly believe that DayZ is a mod that is more than just mindless PVP. I posted some further info on Reddit, but the basic stuff I put on the blog should do. There are currently 2 YT vids on my channel linked to above blog. If you're too lazy to read you'll miss them. Just a warning... If you enjoy, enjoy. If you hate, feel free to hate... - Suriel I. THE CHERNARUS ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE COVERAGE: The Journals of the Dead Most of the world’s civil, corporate & military satelites were focused on Chernarus during the DayZ, better known to the rest of the world as the first outbreak of a major Zombie Apocalypse. While there was no time to focus on any individual survivor’s fate amongst the walking dead while the crisis lasted, many a death was captured live cam. And many of the survivors kept journals while they lasted. Those who made it say, it was one way to deal with the extreme feeling of isolation, a way to keep their sanity in the midst of Hell on Earth. Several Media Stations competed for the rights on the gathered satelite data and began the giant puzzle, piecing together information from hundreds of different sources, including interviews with officials and those who escaped, satelite materials, journals… What you are watching here is the success of this mission. May those who died in Chernarus never be forgotten – and may they never rise again. II. THE REAL WORLD BACKGROUND I’ll create a random name using Fakenamegenerator.com. This will be the “official” name of my DayZ character until he dies of course. I’ll post a journal and perhaps some vids & pics for the character after each session. Each journal will begin with a summary of what the character was before the zombie apocalypse. And each journal will end with a quick surmise of his ultimate demise. Then I’ll pick a new name. Memorable moments will likely be captured in a YouTube video on my channel. Simple as that. Time to head out…

Romantic appliances for candles aside. I might use a gas lantern... Perhaps even a lantern. But walking outside with a candle in hand? That sounds a bit... weird?

Now that we have female character models in game, we need candles! And red wine! No survival without candlelight dinners.

Turn off loot, but at the same time activate some kind of workbench - or several different ones - in town. Loot will not spawn automatically but players are able to produce e.g. ammo and the more primitive weapons. Make what can be produced different from town to town, but do not hardcode it. E.g. if you lose a town & it gets re-conquered something else can now be produced here. Exclude food stuff totally from the possible production. That way you have a reason for hardcore city dwellers to either trade with the lone wolf hunter types or send out hunting/scavenging parties. (Basically, you have trade). Add the nice little fix electricity feature someone proposed and there is our "light in the dark".

NPCs: In short I'd like to see more non-combatant NPCs. Women & children, helpless boarded up people, some in early stages of the infection. I think we have enough fighter types running around. I think the endless discussion is not about is the game PVP or PVE. The discussion is: Should totally PVP be so rewarding. I am all against implementing mechanics against "bandits". I also would not want to hide out in some NPC controlled & protected market station. That would be just boring. The answer is some constructive long term goals to pursue for everyone, single & group players. And these goals should be more rewarding. I mean, what would anyone want to do? Carve out a save spot, get some electricity running, find/build up a steady food supply - or at least try to. Or even better: Try to escape!

Items: 1. Stationary radios in some of the buildings. You can use them and they have a big coverage. You must pick a channel. 2. Walkie talkies. Small range, you need to pick a channel. 3. People who have neither cannot receive. And you can turn radios off. Why? Because I understand the need of some to communicate, but I don't want to go back to the crap times you had with global on, which was mostly trololol and "Friendly here, friendly there" blah blah that totally killed the immersion for me.

I'd love to see some AI controlled humans, but not other players used as "sacrificial lambs" for the trigger happy... I don't think we need bots, the game is too focused on that deathmatch aspect already anyway. Better NPCs: * Children hidden away that you could try to rescue and get to safety * People doing a last stand with a club or whatever was at hand just when you arrive * Persons yet human but obviously infected * etc Basically NPCs that make you feel more involved and make you think, not just target practice.

They can take it out, but not before I have tried out that barbed wire I just found... ;) I never had any before! It might be quite good for base construction, so I really think what they should do is make it possible to cross it without the rare tool kit.

Why would you need a blood increase? Playing in a group already gives you the ability to use blood packs & added security. If anything there should be more ways to play constructively in a group, not just some "magical " fight buffs.

My opinion only: I do not want side chat back. If there were a Zombie Apocalypse, I would have not side chat. And the whole bragging/friendly?/random stuff was killing immersion. That chat was NEVER silent and rarely informative to say the least. They can come up with radios. Preferably anything that has map-wide range would be stationary. Like one radio per city and some perhaps in the villages. And walkie talkies for closer range. Otherwise current voice in close quarters is enough. If people still shoot each other at least now when they die, they are without weapons, so there is a consequence to it. That is good, not bad. The game is about survival, not about shooting other people. Weaponless players get killed by idiot CoD kiddos & asses. Just like anyone else. But now if they die, they get some boring time looking for a new gun. Which is good, discourages them & lets them go back to TF2 or their preferred brand of mindless shooter with instant killing gratification. (I play such games myself, btw, but not for the same experience I want in Day Z. They are much better at what they deliver in that respect & Day Z is much better at what I expect from Day Z.) There need to be more coop features that make long-term survival worthwhile. Also, there need to be more options to play this game as a survival game. Since most of my posts were culled meanwhile as it seems, I do not want to repost all the changes I proposed to make this a worthwhile experience for different playstyles.

If you want to play a sniper, do what a sniper does if he is working solitary. Change your position after shots. Don't sit there going "Trololol - nailed another one". Because then the same might happen to you - through exploit or just good play - and then someone else gets the LOLZ. And you deserve it. Aside from the fact that I hate people that camp and snipe without any reason... ;)

Crawling over a doorstep is a known bug that can lead to broken bones. I agree it should be fixed. Just like falling a few steps from a barn ladder doesn't usually break any bones. It hurts a bit. So while I agree the system needs an overhaul, I cannot agree with the suggestion to turn it off until then. It adds flair. Be aware of the bugs and avoid them.

What is that "real gameplay" you are talking about? Having the ability to shoot others? You are a survivor in a Zombie Apocalypse, not Rambo. Your goal is to survive. Not join a slugfest. The change to start without weapons made it much more frightening. And, yes, you have to be careful in the beginning or after a respawn. That doesn't mean it is impossible. It adds to the whole mood of this mod. I also noted many players are much more cooperative suddenly. Like people would likely be if they are one of the few not searching for a nice Brain-a-colada...

I would like to have some more options in the game that actually deal with true survival, less with gunpoint darwinism. Don't get me wrong, I don't want PVP gone or any easier, but it should not be the only focus of a Zombie Apocalypse survival game. Nor should zombies or bandits be your only trouble... Just brainstorming here for some features I'd like to see: - Need to sleep: Yes, you will get tired after a while and - yes - you will need to sleep. This means finding a safe spot. And if noone is around to guard you, a short prayer cannot hurt, as people who sleep are kinda helpless. If you don't sleep, you should start to hallucinate after a while. - More realistic food & drink system: I don't know about you guys, but I don't have to eat a tin of beans every hour or so to prevent myself from starving. A lot of calories even after a hard march. Food should be scarce, water should be contaminated from time to time, so without purifying it first - or at least cooking it - you might contract an illness. - Make-shift shelter construction & camouflage If I already know that there are only zombies and maniacs waiting for me in the settlements, why the heck would I go there? I'd build a shelter somewhere and camouflage it as good as I can. I wouldn't build large open fires either. Why tell the whole world I'm there? No true survivalist does that. There should be more options for the people that actually want to survive to do just that and avoid what was once civilization, except for the (truly) inevitable scavenging. "Shyte, I need antibiotics.." Personal camouflage: Rub yourself with zombie flesh or something and they ignore you for a little while.(hope it doesn't rain) - Traps There should be various traps one can construct, both to catch animals for food and larger ones, to protect one's lair. (E.g. while sleeping). Not all of them should be immediately deadly. A grenade trap might kill a person, but will draw attention. Obviously not something I want near the shelter I just constructed for hours and where I stored all my food & other supplies. Some might not kill at all, but just alarm anyone nearby that someone is coming or someone has passed. - Psychological influences Extended times of loneliness, murder, etc should take a toll on the mind after a time. I'm sure I'll have tons of other ideas later. The main gist is: I believe this game gave the PVPers what they wanted, but PVP I can do anywhere. Now give the survivalists what they want, too. (And I might add I like PVP, I just don't like mindless PKing).