Bottlerocket

I agree! That's why I would spawn as a civilian and take to the hills. This is really just a suggestion as to how we could get more skins into the game, with a mechanic to back it up (five classes+male/female=10 skins). I don't see that some are superior just because they start off armed. They have very little ammo, and yes, the soldier would have a Mak. I reiterate - this only affects the way you look, and the gear you have, at the very start. After that, it's free-form gameplay just as it is now. Although maybe no weapons would be the way forward. Perhaps it could be: *Soldier: Starts with backpack, mak ammo and a compass. *Hunter: starts with a knife and Binoculars. Just tossing it out there - if anyone else has suggestions other than "this would ruin the game", fell free to toss them in too.

What's so bad about it? Remember - DayZ may one day appear as a standalone product, and I'm just tossing about ideas that would make that viable in the long term. As good as Day Z is - and I think it's very good - how much replayability does it have? I've not even outlined my 'playable zombie' mechanics yet :)

That's what I'm afraid of. Maybe the fact you get a different skin would tempt some people? Also, would be great for team-play when you and a few buddies spawn as different classes. As a lone wolf-type, I'd probably spawn as a civilian and do what I always do - book it off the coast.

*Should have said that you get to CHOOSE who you start as.

Good question. I'd pay full price (£30-40) for Arma3 if I knew there was a Dayz mod for it (that's what I did with Arma II). I'd pay full price for a standalone DayZ game. I'd pay a reduced fee (£10-£20) for a basic game and login to servers, with the option of cash shop for skins - but NOT weapons. Please God never make this game pay to win! I wouldn't pay a monthly sub MMO style (usually about £10-12) - I think that only works when you can invest in your char, meaning permadeath isn't an option. I'd probably pay a small monthly sub (£5), on top of £10-20 for the game. Ach just take my money.

I agree .... while it's unrealistic to be able to talk to everyone, it just as unrealistic to be unable to talk to anyone. The range of direct chat is too short, and I'm not sure if it's ever worked - at least, I never get a reply even when I'm close to someone. Plus, we've lost a big part of our game when you can't even ask 'Who's shooting in Cherno?' anymore.

Please leave.

Ach ... I'm at work. Generally play at night too. But always up for some Buckfast-inspired tomfoolery. I'm Bottlerocket on Steam if anyone needs to contact.

Hey Zantiago - that's a great story. What I love about this game is the incredible range of narratives it throws up.

Don't sticky it! The sound might trigger the horde! But in all seriousness - good job. Was kinda obvious it wasn't intended, though.

What server?

I'm friendly and never shoot unless shot at first. I die a lot. Last time I was standing in a wood admiring the fact that side chat still worked, when someone opened up on me with a sniper rifle. I got away that time .... but why did he do it? I was no threat - didn't even know he was there, and would have helped him if he'd asked. Side chat was working, after all. I'm just glad he was such a horrible shot.

"The beating of the hideous heart!" Personally, I hope the soundtrack of your misdeeds drives you slowly insane with guilt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tell-Tale_Heart

"It's a fucking zombie apocalypse"

Ok - updated to the patch last night (1.7.1.4) expecting a huge bloody, buggy mess, as per the description on the forums. Was pleasantly surprised to get onto a server no problem (Chicago 12 or 17, I think), with a minimal wait (no more than I'd expect when connecting to any online game) and with good FPS and everything apparently normal. Spawned with all my gear in the north, where I expected to be. Set out to find a hatchet, and got one after various adventures. All working normally. Loot seems to have returned to its normal state after going 'barren' in 1.7.1.2. I did my usual sneaking around zombies in the PRONE* position and didn't find their senses to be uber-normal. They were behaving much like they have been in previous builds. Although I was probably a bit wary and didn't get as close as I used to, just in case. I kept to my usual distance while outside and crouch walking, and didn't notice them aggroing from any further away than normal. However, I did: *Aggro zombies while I was in a barn and they were outside. I think it may have been noise, as they were alerted the second I started crouch walking. They couldn't see me. Ditto while I was in an airfield tower. *Aggro zombies that were round corners as I crouch-walked past. I couldn't see or hear them - the first thing I knew about it was the 'attack scream' (On another note, I like the new zombie sounds, but some are a bit similar to the 'attack' noise for my liking). Now: The hatchet/Meleee combat. Great that this is in the game, but I'd respectfully ask for a rethink on the hatchet now taking up a weapon slot. It's majorly annoying for it to take up so many slots in your backpack when you want to switch to a rifle, and doing so inevtiably led to me losing all my rifle ammo, even though I'd carefully cleared space for it in my inventory before the switch. It vanished the minute I put my rifle in my backpack..... The hatchet worked fine in combat, although I did have to 'reload' it upon first use each time, and it also gave off a puff of smoke! All in all - great work! Tonight I think I'll ditch my 200-zombie kills char and start afresh. That guy deserves a break. *You guys know that going PRONE and crawling is, and always has been, the only surefire way to sneak past zombies, right?

I'll field one of your points: You were killed because it's a "fucking zombie apocalypse". Not a walk in the park.

Welcome to your funeral :) Day Z is tough - I've died countless times and expect to die countelss more. It's the nature of the game. There's a lot of good info in the above posts OP, and I'd also suggest going into ArmA and playing the tutorial (think it's called Boot Camp?) Gives you a rundown of the basic movement controls. Also, chat has mostly been disabled now - that's intentional. You can use the 'direct chat' channel when you'e in close proximity with someone. You can change channels with the ',' or '.' keys. I forget which. But if you're close enough to chat, you're close enough to get shot. And you may get shot. Finally, check out the New Play Discussion forum for some great tutorials.

Never understood why you need a hatchet to get wood in the first place. I've been wild camping many times and it's pretty easy to make a fire with deadwood or snapping small branches. Your knee or your foot is more use than a hatchet. So my suggestion is, just remove the whole need-a-hatchet-to-gather wood mechanic. Axe is now a melee weapon, and takes up meleee weapon slots. To get wood, just go into a forest and click a gather wood icon. Simples.

Think Ima taking a break while all this gets sorted out. 'Bout a week should do it, I reckon.

You do know you have to sneak past the zombies, right? Possibly ... crawling ... in the prone position. You do know that, right? RIGHT?

the rest of post was fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck shit bastard cunt fuck fuck fuck. I'm wishing we had signatures, cause this quote would go straight in there. :D

Wow. What a fucking crybaby. Thanks god you posted this and spared the rest of the world your moronic attitude for the hour it took you to formulate such idiocy. Allow me to retort: 1) It's not a console game. Installing patches should be second nature to all PC gamers. 2) Removing guns is not about stopping PvP. It's about making a hard game harder. 3) Zombies are supposed to be the main focus of the game. "It's a zombie apocalypse". Dumbass. Call of Duty is that way <===

I'd be happy just being able to post, but haven't been able to since the roll back.... EDIT - Hot Damn! I'm back on the airwaves! Thanks, web gods - you know who you are :)