hefeweizen

Yeah, I've always hoped that non-perishable food would becoming much rarer as we got closer to the standalone. Maybe a can or two in a small town, more in a big city swarming with zombies you have to clear/stealth by (I hope by that point just jogging into a town and looting while easily outrunning zombies will be impossible). The main source of food should definitely be hunting and foraging, as those seem most realistic a few years after society falls.

Well, they were Germans. They aren't known for being an overly friendly people. Worst tippers in the world, too. ... and don't give me that "It's a cultural thing." bull. They know where the hell they are.

That's your problem right there. If you can train yourself not to fear losing your kit then the potential for interesting interactions is way better. I have friends who do this, whenever they got a good rifle (this is mostly in the mod, mind you.) they'd get all paranoid and just want to sit and camp. Then they'd complain about how boring it was, and how "Nothing even happens in DayZ" at which point I literally had to tell them "That's because you play it wrong." No thanks, I've sat on my last hospital roof. If I'm playing DayZ I'm down on the ground, constantly moving and trying to get the jump on people.

Man, you're just the worst. Why aren't you just playing CoD or CS:GO?

The virginity is strong with this one.

So, on the DayZ mod official servers and in the current build of the DayZ SA Alpha there is not really any incentive to begin a new character on a full server, or really to play on a populated server at all before you have a "full kit". I'm not really a fan of this situation and I have to assume that it'll be resolved at some point. From what I can gather from the dev blogs, the plan by the devs is to leverage the "global item economy" in such a way that gearing up on a populated server will be the path that most people choose because loot will be more readily available on servers with solid population. I hope this system will work, but I have some doubts. Unless they make loot almost non existent on empty servers, it doesn't seem like less loot would dissuade people from choosing to loot in peace on their own private paradise. The other idea I have seen thrown around is a CS:GO/TF2 style matchmaking system. Where you wouldn't pick a server from a list, you'd be automatically sorted into a server with a decent population with the best possible ping. I personally like this idea, as I don't see a need to even allow people the option of playing on a server by themselves that is also connected to the public hive. There are people who prefer to play alone, fight zombies and eat beans. That is totally fine, but I personally think this style of play honestly runs completely contrary to what the "Official" DayZ experience should be. As such, I think its place should be on Private hives. Other complaints about this system I have seen have been that when Tents/Cars/Bases are put in place people are going to want to pick a specific server when they play so they can get back to their sweet ass pile of loot. Totally a valid point, though I think there could definitely be a system that allows rejoining the server where you've "Planted your flag" so to speak, while maintaining the integrity of the match making system. The other criticism I've heard of this idea is something along the line of "This sounds like consoles, so therefore I hate it." which is somewhat less valid and is just plain silly. However, as a long time PC gamer I can't help but expect this sort of reaction. Irrational hatred of consoles and anything perceived as "simple" is part of the culture, and until consoles eventually fade away it probably always will be. The other idea that I've been thinking about lately (and this is where I'm expecting a lot of flames on my ass) is an MMO style server structure. Clearly labeled official servers selectable from some sort of slick graphic interface that are added only as needed, these would be run by BI instead of random enthusiasts. This arrangement would go a long way toward establishing both a level playing field for all players and a more standardized "Official DayZ experience", it would completely curb admin abuse, these servers would have undoubtedly have better support from the DayZ team, adding servers only as needed would ensure population remains somewhat stable across all servers and that in and of itself would add a sense of value currently missing from items in DayZ. On a personal note and this is entirely opinion, I really would prefer this type of system when it comes to exposing friends to the game. The current server browser is a total mess, seems entirely outdated and to new players it can be a bit confusing. "Click on DayZ #6 on the U.S. hive and we'll get started." is a lot easier than "Filter for "RapeDungeon" then join the 24/7 Daytime, hardcore, extra vehicles, custom spawn points server. I know there are like six "RapeDungeon" servers, the one we want is the second one down from the top if you filter by server pop. You're in? Okay, I don't see you on the player list, exit out and filter for Rape Dungeon and we'll try again." Yes, I know this is an exageration and there is a friends tab (that works sometimes), but really it would be really nice to have a clear list of servers than didn't have a bunch of clan tags, server styles, hosting companies and rape dungeons. The other solution to this problem, is exactly what solved the problem on the mod: Private servers. I agree that Private servers would easily fix a lot of problems in DayZ and I honestly see this being the solution that actually works. However, the devs seem fairly set on public hive servers being the main way to play DayZ even after they finish Alpha and head toward full release. So for the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to disregard private servers as a solution and focus on what can be done to incentivize players to play on full public servers even while gearing up. What do you like about each of these ideas? What do you dislike? Do you have a different idea not listed here or do you see nothing wrong with the current way the public hive functions? TL;DR. Players gear up on empty servers and then jump to full ones. It is lame, each paragraph outlines an idea to stop this practice. Low loot spawns on empty servers, better loot on higher pop servers. (The option the devs are currently in favor of.) CS:GO/TF2 style match making to automatically filter players into high population servers with a low pings. MMO style servers run by BI that would be added as needed in order to maintain a stable population on every server. Private Hive servers, which although I think is the best option it is not what the devs seem to want as the main way to play DayZ. So for the purposes of this discussion we'll be focusing on options within the public hive. Thanks, Hefe

I believe it, there are probably a small minority of honest players out there. But you seem to think that the majority of the DayZ players won't use any exploit they can. That is painfully naive. I mean come on, have you ever played on a regular server? Combat usually boils down to "Who exploited 3rd person more effectively?". ...and come on dude, grouping? You're once again just being deliberately obtuse. You know the difference between what is an exploit and what is an intended part of the game play.

Come on Jamz! This is like saying "I don't think most players on regular servers exploit 3rd person. They just like to look are their character." You're being naive again, and I really have a tough time believing that you actually believe it. If the DayZ community had a spirit animal, it would be the guy I linked in the video below. http://www.twitch.tv/sincorpdt/b/506158847

Come on man, that is more than a little naive. It feels like you're being deliberately obtuse.

Playing on low pop servers isn't a valid style, when you consider the public hive system. Gearing up on a low population server gives you an unfair advantage over those who live out their characters entire life on a populated server and play the game the way the devs intended people to. Said playstyle wouldn't be eliminated, it just wouldn't be part of the official public hive. Private hives would be perfect for people who want to play alone and then they wouldn't be able to bring their easily gotten loot over to populated servers when they felt like deathmatching.

This is great. I've had a lot of arguements with really wacky PvE'ers lately. "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO PLAY YOU PVP NAZIS!!!!" Good to know that Dean is on my side.

No need to start name calling, you pissy little runt.

Plainly false, there are plenty of games that are buy to play and have official servers that are run by the companies who produced the game. Off the top of my head, Guild wars 2, Diablo 3, Guns of Icarus. I don't want things changed to suit my playstyle, I want them changed because they're bad. The public hive setup, as it currently is is terrible, it was terrible in the mod and it'll need to be changed before release. I think everyone agrees on that much, the devs sure do. So whats your idea to fix them problem, buddy?

Your taste is lacking good sir. I made some corrections.

There are lots of games that don't allow what are essentially cheater mods on player hosted servers. DayZ servers don't necessarily =/= Arma 2 servers

The devs have to know thats a bad thing. Don't they?

You did, and for that: Beans.

Why not just axe 'em? Put a cap on how many servers can be connected to the public hive, it might suck for server hosting companies but it would make gameplay 1000x better.

Lol. The guys who get all pissy when you suggest a change to the rules and then they're like "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO PLAY!!!!" are hilarious. Have you ever played games before? Games have rules, all of them. Those rules change a lot during development for the sake of better gameplay. Just because changes to DayZ might cramp your weird little play style doesn't mean they shouldn't happen. Don't people ever look at the big picture and think about what would make the more enjoyable for more people?

God I hope this isn't in option at all. *cue man in tri-corner hat holding a 128oz mountain dew and yelling "DON'T TAKE MY FREEDUMBS!!!!"*

Thing is, I like to play at every stage of my characters life on a server that has a decent population. It is tough right now, but it'll get better with loot respawns. However, the vast majority of players in DayZ are not going to do that, they're going to take whatever advantage possible in order to win. He thinks gameplay could be made better with a few simple rule changes! GET 'EM!!!!!! Oh DayZ, your players often seem so much older than they must really be. Not because they're any wiser, or more intelligent mind you. No, because they're so damn cantankerous and completely adverse to change for no actually valid reason. Also, I think Frothyboot18 has ED, but that is neither here nor there.

Totally agreed. You have me beans sir.

See, here is the awesome thing: It doesn't have to be like that, huzzah! The devs have much more control over this game than Dean had over what could be done in the mod. Sooooooooo, it would be stupid to not put system in place to stop this game from becoming a long boring conquest match from Battlefield 3. Also, hate to break it too ya little buddy, but I'm not gonna have to worry about Hueys all the time, this isn't gonna be the mod.

Well, so was that pleasant platitude about the nature of criminals and laws borrowed so lovingly from the NRA. Its a silly point of view, so it got a silly answer.

So, how would YOU put a stop to players gearing up on empty servers, then hopping to full servers to spray people with their M4 then?