mercules

"Just because Rocket likes aviator shades doesn't mean they belong in Chernarus."

I prefer to play on servers that haven't added safe zones, but even so bases are not easily built and maintained by a single person so many people end up finding others they like playing with and working with them.

There are a few locations not mentioned where military loot spawns. However there is typically only 1 or 2 spawn points at those locations so the chances of there being something "really good" are very low.

Who wants to sit on a hill all day and wait for some helpless new spawn to try and grab some loot? No wait... I'll run to the NWAF and grab some more... no I have 10 DMR clips already and NVGs. Hmmmm... I guess I'll... um.... Gee I wish there was something to do other than try and pick a fight.

If anyone is "seeing it in all the screenshots/videos" that would probably be because there is a very limited crew playing the SA right now. One of them has that mask. So now if I had found something that makes me stand out in such a unique way would I leave it in my backpack... Hell No! I'd proudly display that thing far and wide. With one server and say 50-100 people playing what are the chances of "that guy" being in screenshots and videos? Chill out. It is a mask. Next up you will be ticked if there is a Hello Kitty sweatshirt in the game. If you really want to know how such a mask could make it into Chernarus... some kid had to have the collector edition of the game and his parents shelled out dough for it. Guess what it comes with? Derp!

I see the Epoch hate is still strong. Honestly, vanilla Epoch is about as rough as Vanilla DayZ. The main difference is that if you score something like a HMMWV and manage to fix it up it won't be missing when you log out for 3 hours. Why? Because you will have cautiously driven that thing to a trader, traded it in, and ran with your newly gained currency. Then at some later date when you have managed to save up even more you will buy a locked one with a key and hope no one shoots the crap out of it, steals all the tires, and/or has found a lockpick kit and swipes it. We are all babies who can't handle loss eh? So, to build a simple wood structure of 4 walls, a roof, and a door. I will need 300 wood piles. This is for the simplest structure that requires me to loot nothing other than an Ax. That isn't including the workbench I'll have to assemble with is another 12 wood piles. We will assume I looted a tent and so don't need to build storage while doing this. 312 wood piles averaging about half a minute to chop down a tree and get 11-13 piles from it so 12 on average. There is 26 minutes just in chopping. Turning those into lumber requires an animation for each piece. 156 animations of what, 6 seconds each? Almost 16 minutes crafting just the lumber. Then we need to turn about 1/3 of that into plywood another animation so 10+ minutes rounding out the 16 from before. Now we turn those into 1/3 walls and 1/4 floors then into walls and roof, which is 23 more and a door which is 24 so 2 and a half more minutes. So 40 minutes just in animations, this is not including running from tree to tree and the inventory shuffling to get the right things where you need them to craft OR actually setting up the walls and floor which takes a few minutes each to get aligned right. So the fastest I could probably assemble a small little wooden structure would be about an hour and that is if I was racing to get it done quickly. Add in wandering zombies(and they don't just spawn near loot in Epoch) and having to double check my area for other players because chopping wood in Epoch requires having the hatchet IN HAND so about 26 minutes having no main gun in hand total, and you are easily talking an hour and a half of work. At this point it still isn't locked so anyone can stroll inside. If we add in a RARE drop off zombies Combination Lock; I don't want to even figure out how long it would take to loot the ammo(or bandages and food if doing it hand to hand) to shoot enough of them for the rare drop; we now have a secure structure. Someone can wander up with a hatchet and chop through one of the walls in say, 10 minutes. So please tell me how tragic it was that someone raided your stash of canned food and soda, or the 50 beefsteaks you had that it took you all of 20 minutes to gather. Tell me how horrible it is that you lost your DMR (which doesn't exist in Epoch) because some guy came up on you while you were sniping at the NWAF. You didn't lose weeks and days of work(months if you have to run around and loot cinderblock) to some person who found a plane and crashed it into your base. Vanilla there is nothing to lose. Everything you have is borrowed. Some people like that. In Epoch you can point at something and go, "That is mine." and when it goes away you know you lost something. In fact the key in your inventory taunts you about the SUV that was shot up so much it blew up. Sure you got those bastards, but now you are on foot again and there is that key taunting you.

Yes... they delayed the game so that Rocket could get the Payday mask in. Anyone sensing sarcasm in my voice? They most likely have someone who is working on textures for gear and when he said, "What should I do next." someone said, "Maybe come up with some masks or something to cover the face?" and Rocket went, "Oh.. I love Payday." at some point. Then there was the, "Hey, I wonder if I can do that, that would be pretty cool." and it is done. Now this is a person who ISN'T working on the network bubble or the login process and is not involved in anything holding the release up. This is someone who now finds he has the basic things they need in there textured and can make frivolous things and so is doing so.

I asked my homosexual friend to be sure but he doesn't not believe the mask looks anything like himself.

No... this is actually a GOOD thing. You won't think so right now since you have only been playing a month, but these players offer a unique chance to deal with them. Usually what you get is one or two guys hiding in the woods shooting new spawns. You just get a pistol and hatchet and think you will strike out into the woods or maybe try and sneak into a Firehall, pause a second to put the hatchet/crowbar into your hands and *blam* you are down and bleeding. These guys sound like a fun challenge. May I ask what server that is? If I can get them motivated I might mobilize 3-8 of us and see if we can challenge their rule. ;)

Really could have done without this. Otherwise it is interesting to see that someone is at least attempting to do something a bit different. It's a lot more interesting than, "I crouched to pick up a can of beans and fell over dead never even having heard the shot ring out."

I disagree. I think everyone should start with Vanilla and then once they are at the point of going, "Well, what else is there to do?" Then they should try something like Epoch where there is that next step.

Well, the ONLY thing that is actually safe... is a Safe. Your walls can be taken down by a guy with a melee weapon if he is determined and there are still Satchel Charges and Grenades around. I don't much like the safes as they do give you one thing that is totally safe and can't be messed with. Even so Safes are not totally safe. You can crack a safe as it is a 4 digit code but it would take a LOT of effort to do so. The code is assigned random so you can't even use people tendency towards certain number sets to crack it. Since it takes a full animation to enter the code it could take a long time but it is possible to do. You can also hide nearby and shoot someone after they have opened their safe. This is the easiest way to crack one. On normal vanilla Epoch servers you tend to save up for a vehicle, then save up for a Safe. Then you start gathering to craft things. This takes place after what you would typically do in Vanilla so it extends out the time before you go, "I'm bored... PVP." Even so you are typically having to watch out for others constantly since it is easier to let someone else gather up all the cinderblocks then shoot them, take their keys, and drive away with all their work.

There is no reason to pick up anything in DayZ that doesn't fit in your backpack. Why? Because there is no way to secure it. So the game ends up boiling down to, "Pick up gun. Get ammo. Shoot someone. Die. Repeat." Don't worry about food because there is no real reason to "survive" since there is nothing to do but shoot people. Don't fix up a vehicle, because you just basically did a bunch of work for something you can't even use or it will be stolen while you fill it with gas or step into a building to find some beans. Park that chopper off the map so no one will take it, don't bother to use it, you spent time fixing it up and using just means someone might shoot or steal it.

Keys "secure" a car, but it can still be stolen. It can also be damaged. What keys do it make it so you don't have some random person who spots your vehicle run away from it because you got out and went into a barn. The NPCs are all traders which is basically an interface to turn X into Y. "noobs" huh? <_< How quaint your ignorance is. It's very much like Vanilla only you can take reasonable precautions to secure a few items so it is actually worth picking things up instead of, "Eh, doesn't fit in my backpack... leave it sit." and gives you something to do besides "I'mma goin' shootin' sum unarmed guyz in'na 'Lektro" ================================== That reminds me. In Epoch I tend to use more of the map. You don't build your base in the most heavily traveled areas, for obvious reasons, so you tend to wander around the map looking for the random spawns like Supply Drops, Helicopter Crashes, Mass Graves, and such as well as bases. You also tend to go to Industrial spawns instead of just Residential to gear up and Military to get better gear.

Because it makes me play DayZ instead of playing BF3/4 with slower respawn options. ;) Reasons why I like Epoch. 1. Trade system - Now hold on before you go all Loony Toons about how stupid trading systems would be in a Zombie Apocalypse you would actually be very wrong. When supplies get scarce people often have an abundance of one item and lack of another. They often will trade one for the other. The choice of using 1oz metals is appropriate as there is little use for them other than being more rare and a good trade token. Barter systems do not work because of numerous reasons the most common being lack of mutual wants... I have chickens to trade but the guy who has what I want doesn't eat chicken or eggs. Another is lack of "division". A working car is worth how many chickens? The trade system adds value to Epoch because I no longer find myself wandering past something and going, "Eh, I've got the X I want so I won't pick that up." Example: Say I am using an M16A2 and I find an M4A1. I don't just toss out the M16A2 because it has some value. If I can I will hold on to it until I can hit a trade post and then exchange it for something else I want/need. At the same time this does detract from the whole, I need to scavenge for X. However, it does remove some of the "choke points" of regular DayZ. Hospitals, Military Spawns, and such were common points that people would camp to kill others because you HAD to go to a couple places to get X if you needed it. Now you can pick up a bunch of Y and trade for X. Of course that means you have to go to a trader point but it does split up the spots people might camp. 2. Vehicle system - Vehicles can be locked. You can find random vehicles in bad shape around the map and fix them up then use them, or you can sell them and buy other things. Eventually you will probably buy a vehicle. At that point you get a key. Without the key people can't easily run away with your vehicle. This means you CAN actually drive it to a location you intend to run around in. You can log off and have some expectation it might be where you left it. This makes vehicles usable and worth getting. At the same time your vehicle is not totally safe. The easiest method to steal from it or it is to simply wait for someone to forget to lock it or take their key from them. If you are the spiteful sort you can simply destroy a locked vehicle and ruin their day or find one and strip the tires off it. There is also a rare loot drop that allows you to hotwire a car and steal it. The car will be locked after the restart but you could race it over to a trader and sell everything in it as well as the vehicle and make profit from stealing from someone. 3. Real Weight system - They give us HUGE backpacks but everything has a weight and while you might try to cary two Main Rotors, you probably are not carrying them very far. Never pick up two piles of Cinderblocks if there are zombies around because there is a very real chance of you passing out from carrying them and dying. When you are exhausted from carrying heavy things or running for a while with a bit of weight you shake so bad you really can't shoot. This forces you to plan out your routes to avoid carrying heavy things over a long distance. You can load up a backpack with a few guns, but they will weigh you down. You also don't tend to packrat around with your backpack crammed full all the time because it is just too heavy to do reasonably. 4. There is a reason to kill zombies - No really. A bunch of very useful rare drops come off of zombie corpses and you need those to "do things" in Epoch. Want to craft a locked door? Well, you need a combination lock off a "worker" zombie. Hope one drops for you... it might take a good deal of zombies. They are not that much more threatening, but wanting to actively engage them instead of just avoiding them is a nice change. 5. Crafting/Modular Building - This is probably the biggest selling point to Epoch. You can build an actual base. It can be something simply like 4 wooden walls and a roof with a garage door allowing you access to the inside, to elaborate fortress designs with multiple layers of defense. This lets you stash loot and have it be moderately secure. People can still raid your base and nearly everything is destructible so you need to plan on loosing it, but it isn't a tent in the woods that anyone can access, they need to go through some effort to get your stuff, not just walk up to it and hit the scroll wheel. It gives you something to do once you have some food, some drink, ammo, and the gun you want, besides, "Let's go shoot someone." You still shoot at people but it isn't the only reason to log in. Typically you log in and go, "I need some mortar... I guess I'll hit some Industrial Spawns." and off you go hunting up supplies. Instead of, "I need a couple more DMR mags, I used mine up shooting bambis." ====================================== Epoch weaves all these things together so you end up using all the features. You want a base to secure a few items or sometimes to show off. For that you need weapons so you can go loot areas and kill zombies for some of the things you want. You will also need a vehicle since building supplies are heavy. Luckily you can lock it and it should still be there after 30 minutes of running around a town looking for loot. Then you need to transport those things to your base area and build while hoping no one spots you. The vehicle has to be close to where you are looting or you will have to make many small trips or stop and rest a lot while moving heavier things to the vehicle. Someone hits your base or steals your vehicle(s) and suddenly you are trying to figure out who it was and return the favor. Someone kills you and takes your pride and joy Chopper Key then flies it away. Well you stashed a spare key in your base so you dig it out and hunt up your helicopter and steal it back. It gives you a lot to do that is interacting with the world and not just trying to work your way up to better guns and full equipment and then hunting people.

I forsee a new and exciting way to break my legs. :D

Eh, it is fairly easy to get your hands on, ammo is easy to come by, and it zeros. In addition you can use the marks on the scope to figure out where to zero it. It is a rifle you can pick up even after visiting the coast again and shoot things a good distance away. I've actually used it in Epoch since DMRs just don't exist, which has forced me to actually take a look around at other guns suitable for "overwatch" in a group.

That would definitely make people a bit harder to pick out at a distance but not impossible. As it is the Ghillie colors don't match the "default" colors of the ground very well and so the demarcation line is often really visible. Up close it would help a bit but not as much. It is a bit backwards that you are sometimes more difficult to see up close than you are when you are far away.

The phrase, "You get what you pay for." comes to mind when dealing with Best Buy. Are you using the mouse/keyboard that came with the machine? If so have you tried using a different mouse and/or keyboard? Have you updated the drivers for the mouse or keyboard?

I once sneezed and someone in my family I haven't seen in 3 years died. I started holding my sneezes in so I don't kill again. :rolleyes: On topic: 1. Yes, play vanilla first. Play a lot of it. When you do become bored of Vanilla I would recommend Epoch but even there try and find an Epoch server that is vanilla Epoch or close to it, it will be a much better experience. 2. Don't worry about a clan, but finding 3-4 people who play about the time you play isn't a bad idea. It's always nice to have someone who will watch your back and that you can actively trust since most of the people you meet suddenly in game you should probably only trust only while their gun is pointed away from you. 3. Yes and no. Official DayZ vanilla servers are on Hives which means that if you log off from one and then log into a different one anything on your person goes with you. Tents and vehicles do not. This leads to some interesting things where people gear up and hide tents on less busy servers and then hop into busy ones for PVP. Private hives you start with a fresh character and it saves only to that server so any progress you make is lost if you switch servers. I almost prefer those. 4. I have had no issue with DayZ/ARMA II on Windows 8 or 8.1... I wish I could say that about all my games.

Gee... was that an option? ;) Maybe reread the title.

I have a feeling a lot of the most hard core bandits in the game would pee themselves if involved in an actual fight and I am not talking about one with guns. I think a lot of my desire to avoid fights in a game such as this one comes from knowing that no one really every gets out of a fight unscathed.

Probably doesn't hurt that at least in a few cases it has been true for some of these guys. One time looting a few military tents I warned my friend he had a guy coming in on him. I was on overwatch for a couple of them. He had a survivor skin so I didn't shoot. Instead my friend moved to a position where I would have a clear shot. He told him he was friendly and didn't want to shoot him but would if he had to and that his buddy had eyes on them both right now. Guy decided to try and kill him anyway. He was down and dead in seconds but my friend needed a bloodbag. Then we looted him and moved on. Kept another friend near me to use a silenced weapon to ward off zombies and spot players sneaking up on us while my friend looted the area. Works pretty well.

Bandit Skin = "You have actively shot at and killed another player... more than once." "I got this Bandit Skin defending myself." Cool story bro. I've defended myself and not got a bandit skin. I laid down cover fire and got the hell out of the area. I don't shoot bandits on sight, but it is pretty close to being on sight. They get anywhere near me, point a scoped gun in my direction, or simply be laying down on a fire hall or aiming down into a town with a sniper and I will kill them.

It's Epoch and unless it is radically changed by the owner of the server the M14 does 8000 blood more or less. There shouldn't be a damage drop off at that range and it was a headshot. An 889 pistol shot to the head of a zombie kills them dead every time. Since zombies have 4000 life we know a headshot does at least 4.5 times damage, which would be at least 36,000 damage for an M14 to the head... AT LEAST. Seems likely to me if your friend was low on health.