Teemo (DayZ)

A lot of this stuff will be addressed in due time, as stated by Rocket and others. We're currently in the alpha stage, which means the only aim of this round of testing, if finding bugs and exploits, and seeing if the code works. Being playable is a secondary concern. The east will be fleshed out, houses will all have a chance at loot, loot will be on a respawn timer, not server reset timer, and so on. I like the anti aggro mechanic, but I suspect it wont be an issue once the kinks of server stability have been ironed out. Still... Nothing quite as heart pounding, as popping up in Novy Sobor, only to instantly aggro 4 Z's, kite them into a field, and take them out with your fists, meaning you start this round badly damaged, bleeding and praying you can still manage to tear your shirt and use it, before you pass out. Sometimes, adrenaline is a good thing ;) That was my last start, and I care more about this char than any others. So far, he's been unlucky as fuck and had to really fight every step of the way. I care all the more about staying alive, because I didn't just have some easy start.

I just think it might make more people try to survive, instead of playing it Call of Duty style. It wont affect everyone, but it might just make that little difference, which can have a big overall impact. The reason I say make it very visible is that, if it's in some hidden stat window, people will forget about it, or not care. But if you log on every time, and see: Current survival: 10 hours. Average survival: 2.4 hours. Longest survival: 16.7 hours. I really think this person is going to do what ever they can, to beat their own record. Suiciding suddenly becomes a VERY unappealing tactic, as does rushing into camps for loot, if you're 2 hours off your own record. Positive reinforcements and reminders are VERY powerful habitual modifiers.

Heh, don't take it the wrong way mate. Every single person who ever played this game, started out moaning about lack of starting with your friends, or how hard it was to find them... Every. Single. One. But once you get into the game... You cherish the time when you were lost. The sense of wonder seeing Cherno for the first time, would have. Before you knew where to farm for gear, before your routine pick ups, and griefing... All you had, coming into this game, was a sense of foreboding, awe and suspense. My only regret with this game, is that this feeling can't last longer than it does. The sooner you use your off game maps, the sooner you tweak the gamma to see better at night, and the sooner you hole up with your friends, and just suicide rush buildings for loot, cus you know you can raid your own corpse later and get it back, is the sooner we get the "Kill on Sight" mentality back. It stops being about suspense, and the magic fades. Upon closer inspection, that beautiful diamond in your hands, sparkling with potential and atmosphere, is just another shard of glass. A cold, ruthless pvp game that, while fun on it's own merit, in no way resembles the treasure your mind made it up to be. It could have been so much more. The longer you hold off from meta gaming, the longer you can hold on to that illusion. Kilchilron was right. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Actually, while you might not realise it at this early stage, that was probably some of the most sage advice you're going to get, regarding this game.