Kurkistan

1. It truly depends on what kind of response we get as far as gathering supplies go. I hope that we're up and running by this weekend, but if we can't get a minimum number of boats/tents, then we'll probably start up with an outpost on the mainland. 2. Generous contributions from our loyal members at first. Just about everyone can get their hands on a Winchester at the very least. As our numbers grow and we go on more supply raids and get more customers, we'll be relatively well stocked with mid- to high-end weapons to arm our members with. 3. The Steam group currently has 69 members. Cut that in half for pessimism's sake and its still a healthy amount. We'll have more realistic numbers after a few days of real operation. 4. Hah. Hah hah. Stone. That's funny. Plans are currently set in warm Playdough. We have a general plan that we'll discuss in more depth at the meeting, but are very open to improvement.

As to the first' date=' that's a worthy enough idea, but I feel that it's best to get all of the questions like that out here on the forums, where they can be read by hundreds instead of heard or misheard by handfuls. Yes, Michigan is on EST. Everything's merrily confused now because of daylight savings (EST is normally at GMT/UTC -5, but is only at -4 right now). http://www.time.gov/ [hr'] Would you mind asking those questions here on the forum, CoolCat?

Big Announcement: Thanks to everyone for your patience. We'll be having a public TS3 meeting at 4:30 PM EST (20:30 GMT) on TS3 server 79.161.200.234:9117 on Wednesday, June 20th. Publik, Vulwulf, and I will be hosting and have the floor for the majority of the meeting. We'll open the floor to the audience towards the end for questions and suggestions on aspects which we might miss. EDIT: I can't do basic math, apparently. Times adjusted, take heed.

Ah, thanks. I guess I missed that post. Is there a confirmed date and time for the meeting yet, or is that still up in the air? We'll probably have something by tomorrow, we just need to make sure that we'll have troll-kicker and all three of the Triumvirate online at the same time. We're trying to keep everything on the forums at this moment. We'll probably use PM's to set up initial guard postings and the like, so having everyone who's interested posting their availability and whatnot here would be quite helpful.

That's one of the things we're ironing out, but we'll most likely be using Vic's TS3 server for the initial meeting. We won't be releasing the DayZ server in that meeting, so it should be safe to broadcast. We just have to make sure that someone online will have the ability to kick/mute trolls if it comes to it.

Probably for the best, given the zombie flash-mobs that we would have fallen to if we played 1.7.1 right off the bat :) Call me a sad, unfun little man, but I actually quite enjoy this kind of discussion and organizational footwork. I just hope that everyone can have the patience to bear with us as we pull together the thousand little threads into a cohesive whole. ;)

An update from on high: We are in the process of setting up a meeting to set plans for an initial base and/or preparations for that initial base, quite possibly over TS3. We (Publik, Vulwulf, and I) are still ironing out the chain of command (I voted that it be the chain that I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in ruttin' command here, but I was overruled) and fluid communications, but things are smoothing out quite rapidly. EDIT: I can't really call it ninja, since I was 15 minutes later than Vulwulf, but I suppose that this goes to show that we're still working out who does what. :)

That is a concern, but I don't think it's a monumental one. If we can control a good amount of land around our base (with sightlines, patrols, etc.), then that would provide a wealth of entry and exit points from our area. We could also establish a policy where anyone we see attacked within an area where we can successfully project force is treated as a customer, and their attackers sniped into oblivion. Such a policy might invite "damsel in distress" ambushes, but we could probably work out a reasonable enough set of guidelines so that such a situation isn't an overwhelming threat.

What are your thoughts on joining us as partners? You reel in big fish and maybe provide some freelance acquisitions or security, we provide a stable meeting place and base of operations where your clients know that a 3rd party will be watching over the trade.

Bolded the last bit for emphasis :) On the topic of leadership, I don't really want to lead per-se, and I'm not going to go and declare one. If someone steps up and ends up in a leadership role, I'll pass the ownership of the Steam group (for now I'll just give Kurk and Vul join ownership if possible). I'm also thinking we use officer roles in the group for members, owners for defined leaders (when they arise), and general members for affiliates. For a start grab one of those Urals and drive it to a certain place once a day for a few hours and defend there? Would be good until vehicles get better about sticking around. I agree that it's best to leave leadership fluid for now. As to the initial base: I know you scoffed at using the Balota medical camp as a base, but it's actually a fairly nice setup. On the Pro side, it has triple-gates, no Zeds spawning inside or even being able to get inside, a relatively clear initial area to use as our initial "market" with room to expand as we grow, and four watchtowers. There are clear, flat plains on three sides with a lightly wooded area on a hill to the North, which we could staff with a handful of stealthy sniper-killers if it becomes necessary. Con wise, I know it's near the coast and uncomfortably close to Cherno, but I few well armed guards with nasty attitudes could deter bandits, while newly-spawned Makarov wielders aren't exactly credible threats. Suicidal ghosting with the aforementioned Makarov might be an easy tactic for griefers, though. A big point in our favor for this initial base is that it won't really be that ripe of a target. If we don't initially place any emphasis on long-term storage, then the only thing of value for raiders to try to steal would be the items in the inventories of guards and clients, which guards and clients would all be heavily armed and working together in the face of such a raid, instead of being individually pick-off-able as they normally are. There remains the problem of clients and guards being targeted as they commute, but that's a problem for any set base. Probably the worst thing about a base near the coast is that victorious raiders could camp their fallen comrades' bodies until they jog up from a respawn relatively near by.

I'm on board to. I'm glad that you're still invested in the concept of a trading post, Publik. We have to talk about spiffy names, though. :) The thought has occurred to me that a slightly less ambitious start-up might be appropriate. A relatively small, easily defensible outpost on the mainland that we only man for a few hours a day (hours of operation which we make quite clear to our potential customers) with a minimum of tents or other long-term assets. This would function simply as a place to facilitate trade and perhaps hire out a few mercenaries. Such a small startup would provide a proof of concept for this kind of trading post--as well as generally getting the word out--until we have the manpower and customer base to make Skalisty a viable base.

Victor might ninja me on this, but we met up at the gas station at 6, waited 15 minutes for anyone else, then went off to look at the proposed site and discuss guard placement and whatnot. I imagine that Victor will PM people with the relevant details for another meeting, probably stressing that things kick off at the start time and finish at the finish time, instead of the times being a window of arrival.

To everyone asking for the meeting location, that would kind of be a troll-a-thon if we broadcast it on the forum itself. He might be in-game already, but try PM'ing VictorM if you want the location.

You know, using the forums is actually a form of metagaming. Just saying. If you were really hardcore, you'd make this band of misfits without posting on the forums about it. Edit: Just had a little read there. You're planning on putting it in the med camp next to Balota? Balota? The SW airfield? Where everyone without a brain goes after wandering through Cherno? "Friendly in Cherno?" Cherno? As to the "metagaming" question, my impression as to VictorM's intent to limit metagaming is moreso a specific limit to any kind of unrealistic, real-time communication on the ground in DayZ. If we're selling storage space, then we'll need to write down who owns what where. If we're drawing up guard details, we need to hash out time zones, availability, and inclination as well as writing it all down somewhere (google docs in the end, I would suggest). We need to know who's doing what where in order to be an effective company. All of this could be accomplished in a real world scenario with a white board in the company barracks and a few clipboards, all discussed when even "off duty" company members are present, since they will still exist on the face of the earth. The key to not using TeamSpeak is that it is a supernatural and supernaturally secure means of instantaneous communication across the width and breadth of the zombie apocalypse. The difference, then, lies in that TeamSpeak provides a real-time, unrealistic benefit while forum threads and excel spreadsheets are simply organizational aids. That's my read of the situation, at least.

I'd be interested in getting in on the ground floor of this. I PM'ed you. Also, fun fact. Rocket plans to include a minimum 30m spawning distance for zombies, so carefully spaced guards could zombie-proof an area just by virtue of being there.

Well that would explain why my account mysteriously vanished. As the original announcement thread has been locked and I don't want redundantly post a new thread, is it necessary for me to generate a new password, given that I joined on June 2nd? The announcement thread says that Mr. Troll only got a backup from the 22nd. Also, as I can't find any "dayz_auto_updater.exe" in my downloads from the 2nd, does that mean that I never downloaded it, or just that it's super-sneaky? Sorry for possible redundancy, but I couldn't find anything through the search function and would prefer not to spend the next hour scouring my registry and changing passwords if not absolutely necessary.