Target Practice (DayZ)

Yeah, I think there are some issues with the version Steam installs being slightly out-of-date, so it's generally easier to install DayZ through DayZ Commander and using the built-in serverbrowser. It's not that hard, and you can still launch the game through Steam if you're so inclined.

It's just DayZ being DayZ - due to the nature of the game being a mod on an engine that's not entirely suited or designed for it, there are serious optimization issues. I've got a similar system (i7-3770 instead of the i5), and I get similar framerates to you. There's not really much you can do about it other than just live with it until the standalone hits. :)

The Balota Buddies are indeed a good bunch - I've played a couple of times on their servers, and even the bandits are good fun. You could do a lot worse than play there. Alternatively, I'm part of a group of players (aging from roughly 19 through to 28) dotted around the EU - we're not a clan, we're just laid-back folk who enjoy playing survivor, and you'd be more than welcome to drop by and join us if you're so inclined. We don't all play every night, but we're about more often than not.

I think the Kamenka spawn is a situational one. If you like playing in/around big cities and high traffic areas, it's not great, because it's a long walk to get to that stuff from there. If you're more or a 'barns and stables' kind of player, the Kamenka route is a really good one.

Deer stands are lower-risk but have a moderate chance of getting mid-tier weapons. NWAF is high-risk on any populated server, and has a low chance (mainly due to others looting it before you) of getting high-tier weapons. Deer stands are definitely the safer bet assuming you aren't too desperate to get your hands on a spectacular weapon. In all honesty, I've never found much at the NWAF anyway - the odd M16A4 and that's it. All the really sexy weapons are found at crash sites.

Sure, I'll add you in a bit. :)

DayD? :P

^ that, pretty much. Plus the whole 'selling it as beef' thing probably hasn't helped matters. I have no qualms with eating weird and wonderful animals, but I'd generally prefer to know about it before I do so.

It's difficult to say. The main issue we had in the past with the younger guys was twofold - one, they simply wouldn't shut up - we had one guy who spawned away from the group and then proceeded to give us a running commentary for the next hour or so about every zombie he found and how it was chasing him. Usually in a fairly loud voice, too. We don't mind communicating and being outgoing, but there's a limit - we were all too soft to just tell him to shut up as well, so we grimaced and put up with it for an hour before going to bed early because we just couldn't take any more. I'm not suggesting that we're about to pigeonhole all sub-20 players as mic-spammers based on a couple of bad experiences, but it has left us a little gun-shy with the younger players. The other reason is more straightforward - when there's a 10-12 year difference between members of the group, there's not always an awful lot to talk about when you're not actively discussing DayZ, or when there's just two of you online and you're starting that long walk Northwest from Stary. It's not intended to be a 'you're not mature enough' thing, because I disagree strongly that you can make an assessment of someone's maturity based solely on a number, but there can occasionally be a certain degree of awkwardness when you realise that the person you're playing the game with is closer to your kids' age than yours! Daww, but holding hands as we skip through the forest is like the #1 reason I play the game! :P Wait, the gold? There are leprechauns in Chernarus now? Quick, after their lucky charms!

Bonus lol-points if when you gut a horse the meat comes out as 'beef'.

I've held people up before that I simply didn't trust not to shoot me. I had no intention of robbing or killing them, I just didn't want to take the risk of them spotting me then shooting first, so I held them up, made them put down their guns, walked them away a short distance and then turned and ran. A 'surrender' action would be a lot more reliable, as it would mean I wouldn't have to get them to put down their guns, because in DayZ you never know if they'll disappear or not. Lowering their gun is NOT sufficient in my eyes, because lowered or not, they're still holding a damn automatic weapon that only takes a second to raise.

Not a bad idea. Wouldn't hurt to default it to a keybind, and would give a bit more flavour to things. I'm all for it.

Man, screw you. It's no wonder I fly like a brick with guys like you hogging all the flying talent. <_< Seriously though, have some beans. That was awesome.

Please stop. If the OP was interested in joining your clan, he would have done the first time you posted. All you're doing is making yourself and your clan look like inconsiderate idiots who think that spamming people's threads = recruitment. Think before you post and show others a bit of courtesy and maybe you won't need to post three times in a single thread before anyone pays you any attention.

Hey, what did I ever do to you?! *sobs* But yeah. Freeloaders/moochers irritate the hell out of me. Had I been close enough, I'd have probably put a bullet in his face, but I dunno if I'd actually have gone to the trouble of hunting him down. I'd probably just have offered him a few choice words and the advice to take the shot next time, because if I see him, I'll shoot him on principle. :P

So, last night, me and a friend were making our way Northwest from Cherno, taking our time, looting the smaller villages, and he spots a tell-tale plume of smoke creeping out of the treeline right next to the Western edge of Kozlovka. That's waaaay further South than either of us had ever seen a crash site before. After sitting and watching for a few minutes and trying to work out if the risk/reward was worth it (getting to it required crossing an open field), we gave it a go and sure enough, it was a brand spanking new crash site with a couple of nice weapons (including the fabled AS50). Anyone else noticed crash sites that far South? I'd never seen one below Msta before that.

Don't know what to make of this - on one hand it's nice to know that you don't have to walk for an hour to even have a chance of accidentally stumbling across a decent weapon that wasn't looted from a corpse. On the other hand, the last thing that the Cherno and Elektro area needs is MORE military-grade weaponry.

and a facebook update to go with it. Brace yourselves, gentlemen... the neanderthals are coming.

Just looking to provoke a little debate on this one, having wondered about it myself, and then found a few others expressing similar sentiments in another thread. One of the first things many people (including myself) will say to a new player looking for advice/tips is 'trust no-one'. It seems to pretty much be the community-accepted rule #1 of DayZ. However, many of my experiences with other players have been fine. Sure, like many others, I've been shot on sight a couple of times by players who simply aren't interested in interacting with others outside their TeamSpeak (or who are aspiring/dedicated bandits), but those players I've managed to actually open some kind of a dialogue with have generally been relatively friendly (or at least not actively attempted to kill me). I think a lot of it boils down to how you define 'trust' - many seem to be of the opinion that 'don't trust anyone' is more along the lines of 'assume everyone you meet is going to try and kill you'. Whilst obviously that varies from server to server, I think for the majority of players that's simply untrue. I've killed players as a survivor. In a couple of rare instances I've even fired the first shot, but only in situations when I feel my survival is at risk if I don't. Personally, I see 'don't trust anyone' as more of a 'don't let your guard down around people you just met'. I've personally witnessed (well, listened to one half of it) a guy with an M16A4 try to help out a newspawn near Balota by letting him take a bandage out of his backpack. As soon as that guy turned his back, the newspawn buried a hatchet in his skull and took his gear. A harsh lesson, especially for someone who was trying to do the 'right' thing, but a valuable lesson nonetheless. The thing is, Chernarus (or whatever your map of choice is) is an unforgiving world for a lone player, and finding an ally, even just someone to watch your back while you change backpacks in a supermarket makes your life a lot, lot easier, particularly if you're new and can pick up tips from your new buddy. To that end, I'm not sure we should be perpetuating the assumption that EVERYONE will try to kill you, but on the same note, it would be remiss of us to fail to inform new players that there are a LOT of players out there who will simply put a bullet between your eyes just on principle. So yeah, what are people's thoughts on this?

Apparently they're aiming for Monday the 25th, but that's obviously subject to change if things crop up.

Maybe not quite 'traps' as such, but I'd say there could certainly be mileage in a 'tripwire' alarm - tin cans are already in the game, so you'd just have to put some kind of string or wire in there, and hey presto, you've got a ready-made alarm that will make a lot of noise if tripped. I'm thinking it'd likely be used by snipers/bandits who are wanting to make sure they're not crept up on, and by trolls who want to boobytrap buildings in cities and things so that anyone who trips one generates a ton of aggro.

That's a really good idea. I presume it's been suggested already?

Oh god yes, in DayZ's current alpha form, it wouldn't be practical. However, in the SA, when pretty much everyone's going to be wearing unique clothing combinations, it'll make identification at least a little easier. To be honest though, the RG was merely a handy example of the sort of thing that players will develop for themselves once the metagame starts to bed in. I've got no doubt that a game with the popularity and following of DayZ (not to mention the freedom) will come up with some crazy stuff.

Yeah, I certainly don't think it would be adopted in DayZ to the extent it has been in UD, but it's certaily possible we could see something along those lines in the future - a quick search of the forums even now would likely reveal a collection of threads along the lines of 'hitmen for hire', 'bounty hunters' and 'Will give item X to whoever kills player Y', so there's already a portion of the userbase that such a thing would appeal to. It'll be interesting to see what kind of Metagame DayZ develops over time, as it's one area where it does share a bit of a similarity with Urban Dead - the 'survivor' players have no goals other than just 'survive', so once players have got gear they're happy with, they're pretty much free to create their own entertainment, and that's where things get interesting.

It's largely luck of the draw. I've only ever found badly-hidden vehicles, I've never actually found one in its 'natural' spawn point (unless they happen to spawn in the middle of woods!). But then I've found four helicopters. Never been searching for them, just happened to stumble across 'em while looking for other stuff.