Jock McScottish

So that's a big yes then ;)

shoot on sight? That makes you MURDERERS, not bandits ;)

Thanks for the offer bro, I will check your server out! Thing is, I don't mind being killed. Its what happens when you prefer to play alone, one wrong move and its curtains... I was just asking around as the vanilla is private nowadays, and if its clan vs clan heavy an average survivor like me will always be shot on sight, no questions asked. I have played many versions of the mod, and have bumped into a few good guys in the past. The mod is getting older though, and I was thinking that the players left, especially on vanilla are all seasoned players who could travel the map blindfolded, with a squad of similar level players watching their back and the day of the lone player trying to nip around hoping to survive on their wits are over.

I like the Europa server strongbeam my good man, but my problem is Im usually on too late, and its usually dark there by the time I hop on. That's why I jump on the higher ping us434 server, but surviving alone is really tough now on the latest patch(the way it should be!) and I love the challenge of travelling up north, so I don't see much of cherno and elektro anyway when I play :)

cheers for the tips BC my good man. Listen, I know vanilla isn't RP, just was a wee bit shocked that I was so quickly taken out by other players when I wasn't much of a threat, unless bleeding with a group of zeds on my trail looked threatening! Maybe it was a mercy kill lol- Thing is, when I was playing I had came home, had a few Gin and tonics and felt brave enough to run from forest straight into a supermarket as the old hunger and thirst levels were starting to become a worry. Just knowing its vanilla though- you kind of hope that theres a chance a player might just help you out of trouble instead of blowing you away, no questions asked. I was probably a bit drunk and butthurt about being killed when I posted! I only shoot at bandits anyway, wouldn't give up my survivor skin for anything! Thanks again for the tips though, any tips are always welcome for loner players like myself on the latest vanilla patch.

I don't know lads, for me the latest vanilla dayz is the best, SA doesn't come close gameplay and feel wise. BUT, as a lone wolf player I love the enterable buildings of SA and can happily loot away for hours, finding food, guns and different clothing etc. I get so bored seeing my character in the mod with his skip cap, body warmer and cargo pants all the time only being able to check doorsteps for beans! Vanilla mod mixed with SA's enterable buildings and ability to change your characters clothing is my idea of Dayz perfection!

I deliberately don't memorise the map, the town names are foreign to me and I am happy with that. Be it mod or SA, I just try my best to head northwards, looting away any towns I come accross as I go along trying to survive. I enjoy the feeling of being lost and alone too much to learn the map. No friends, no teamspeak, just me against the Dayz world.

Hand damage. If you run around swinging your fists at anything, there should be a chance of breaking your hands/wrists. Punching a zed should have a small chance, as their bones are decaying and they are mushy. Punching a human player should have a slightly higher chance, as they have hard skulls/bones. Punching a player on the head when they are wearing a motorcycle/military/hard hat should have a high chance of breaking your hands, cos in real life if you punch hard objects, its gonna bash up your hands! A big failing in SA is that your weak fists are an unbreakable weapon. Your fists should only be a weak weapon of last resort, like in real life. Throw a punch and hit a wall instead of your assailant? Instant hand break and cant pick up/use stuff. Will make unarmed players think twice before acting all Rocky Balboa.

Makes me nostalgic about my first Dayz kill, watched a bandit running up to a corpse he had just shot up, and I shot him in the back whilst he was looting the dead body! I then stood over him watching the blood spurt, I was so proud of myself :)

Don't get me wrong, its great being able to easily outrun zeds as I aint the best dayz mod player and need every advantage I can get. So its strange moaning about a mechanic that helps me so much, but if I wanted easier, I would hog SA. Went back to it recently, and although its coming on, once you have tasted the latest vanilla mod, the SA feels really empty and easy in comparison. So thanks for the good news BC.

Hate the fact you can now sprint the map on vanilla like SA without ever getting out of breath! It cheapens the mod IMO.

fine vid my good man, an absolute bloodbath :)

'unlikely' being the operative word my friend! He could have played along, tugged at their heartstrings a bit, even try to make 'em laugh as the old saying goes, but he got all butthurt on 'em... Look at his post, they didn't kill him right away, and even after some petulant answers they still didn't kill him... However I am basing it on the way I play. when I spawn in, I want my character to survive no matter what the cost. If my character is unlucky enough to get captured by sadists? I want to get him out of it by whatever means and survive, cos survival is the true end game here! If I die I fail, so I dont encourage players to execute me!!!

OP, you should have taken the chance to hone your communication skills, and tried to talk your way out of being executed instead of just giving up like that! You would have gotten a bigger buzz if you had talked them into letting them spare you rather than giving them a reason to finish you off! Never give 'em a reason to kill you if you aren't a threat. You aren't going to change them if you encourage them to put a bullet in your head!

Exactly to your whole post. If the game played like a proper zombie survival movie? One bite would finish you off. Dayz vanilla players should actually count themselves lucky that zeds cannot bite, and even their worst swipes are curable.

Well said metalxtongue. dangerous zeds make the game, not break it. After a long break I am ready to delve back into Dayz vanilla mod after test driving SA again the other day, and although its coming along nicely vanilla still rules for the ultimate zed survival experience. I just wish that the original vanilla mod had more change of clothes options, would be nice not to see me wearing a baseball cap and cargo pants for once!

Funny you should mention this bro, I know some people are having some fun with the question, but I bought SA when it was released, quickly thought 'game needs time, LOTS of it' and stuck to the mod. I popped on a couple of times since to check SA's progress out, but quickly went back to the mod. and then... Last night in a bout of boredom, I gave SA another go just to see how its coming along, and I must say its come on leaps and bounds IMO! 1. The way you can mod your player. Playing the mod, that skip cap, shirt and body warmer with cargo pants combo gets depressing after a while. The amount of clothes you can find and wear on SA now? Its great to be able to customise your player to make him feel a bit more... yourself. 2. The player base? I am Scottish, and the UK servers are even busy in the wee small hours! 3. has the player base changed? I logged on 3 times tonight, and had 3 very different experiences. First time I logged on, a bunch of Geordie bandits(led by a hacker I think as he levitated beside me, he said it was a glitch) took me to a hanger full of loot and let me gear up before executing me, second time I bumped into a French axeman in a firestation who took some swings at me but said he only wanted to help me, and when I said 'by trying to take my head off' he left me alone! Third time, I spawn in and am gearing up, this armed to the teeth military player appears, but doesn't shoot. I run, he follows, I give him the slip and hide in a house(not possible on the mod) and watch him running past me as he searches for me. Friend or foe I will never know. Each occasion? Scary and fun! 4. Certain highlights in term of updates? No idea, I just pop on to SA every so often and play, but this time I came back for more! 5. How good is the SA game now? I would give it an 8. To me? The enterable buildings and customisable clothing are a true game changer. I love the mod, but the fact you cannot use all of the buildings or change clothes to suit your needs? Its the little things that count. Vanilla Mod is 9 out of 10 because of its true survival nature, but its held back by character blandness and of course glitchy zeds.

Well I usually play the mod, but decided to hop on SA about an hour ago just to see how it is coming along. Within 5 minutes I encountered a bunch of armed to the teeth geordies who surrounded me. First player interaction I have ever encountered on SA, so imagine my relief when they told me they were good guys and to follow them for lots of lovely loot! Of course when something sounds too good to be true it normally is I thought, but hey I had nothing as a fresh spawn, so had nothing to lose. So I follow them to a warehouse building,(surrounded) only a snigger from one of the gang on the way to let me know that maybe all is not well. But hey, inside the hangar its like a store, everything there. So they tell me to gear up, even helping me find my way around the different inventory system, only telling me not to turn my gun they just gave me on them. So as soon as I loot up I think 'blimey, they actually ARE good guys!' and say thanks, bang bang I was executed on the spot firing squad style.. Was a great wee experience though! But its fair to say that if you haven't bumped into a group of bandits yet, you have just been lucky so far!

There are still a couple of vanilla servers that are doing well, and they are the ultimate test of your survival skills with the latest patch. I attempted a hike up to NW airfield on my lonesome last time I played, and to a guy like me that is an 'average' player, it was truly gruelling. Heavy zed activity in every town makes finding a well and some cans of food a real test of nerve. I got close to NW airfield, but spotted a motorbike and in an error of judgement blew my cover just to hop on and see if it was working. a couple of minutes later cornered by a herd of zeds, who smacked me to death like a bitch for being so stupid, I like the way SA is coming along, but its a walk in the park compared to surviving the latest vanilla servers!

Thanks for the advice Geryon my good man

Just played again on US434, same result. Thirst gets the better of me half an hour in, killed a load of zeds with my trusty hatchet, salvaged two pepsi, drank them and was dying of thirst again about 10 mins later. It just seems a wee bit too tough IMO, and will only scare new vanilla mod players away to the easier versions IMO.

vanilla mod is all well and good, and its my server of choice when I hop on. However, its as tough as 'ole boots to the casual player, or the friendless player like myself now that 1.8.2 rules, if you don't know the map? Its curtains due to thirst quick style. In real life I am hopeless with directions, and playing Vanilla mod is no different! Without a clique or a clan, vanilla seems pretty out of bounds for the average player looking to play the toughest version. I think the latest version has crossed the line with the brutal thirst system, last time I bumped into a fellow survivor he begged me for a drink cos he was dying of thirst, I had no liquids and we both got swarmed by zeds and died. It was a great movie moment, but at the same time? It was like we were both punished for playing lone wolf.

last time I popped onto standalone the sprint was still so fast that its like riding a bike, until sprinting is slowed down and results in fatigue, thirst and hunger levels rising quickly, there really is no need for vehicles. I can just imagine the truck while its speeding up, with players outsprinting it until it hits about 30mph! And any mistakes made by the driver? The tireless sprinting players will catch up in no time. I feel the devs are feeling forced to throw in vehicles as a crowd pleaser, knowing that the SA isn't ready for it. Me being an older player in my early 40's, age has taught me to be patient. I stick to the mod, and every so often I check out the SA to see how its coming along, and IMO its coming along beautifully. I can see its being built from the bottom up, every time I play, it looks better and feels smoother on my poor little GTX 650. By testing every two months, I can see the progress being made. I suppose the point I am making is... be patient!!! I can see the foundations being built, and that's the most important thing. The zeds and rides? I am happy they are taking a back seat at the moment. Devs are looking at the bigger picture, and I for one applaud them for it.

If anyone has seen the original wicker man film, they will know that people wearing scary masks have bad intentions no matter how innocent they act.