smoq2

The problem you've experienced is not related to damage at all but rather crappy (alpha-stage) server architecture and netcode. In your case even the first bullet could have killed your target but the damage was registered by the server only after a couple of seconds. To put it bluntly, your target could already have (e.g.) -250% health before the server "noticed" it was even being hit. Time from server restart does not matter.

Ok, I think I get it. Nice addition indeed. However, not enough to get me playing again - waiting for zombie pathfinding, loot respawn, 64-bit servers, new renderer and especially better netcode so that other players do not slide around through walls and hits not taking 1-2 seconds to register. I guess I'm going to wait for a long time :D

I haven't been playing for a while. Is there some YT video or an article that demonstrates what this thread is about?

Although the idea is very interesting, I fear it is just going too deep into gun mechanics for the general crowd. As much as I am against unrealistic calibres, I'm staying with the "this is not Arma" guys on this one. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for complexity and elaborate systems in any game. I just worry about other players, and since this is a multiplayer game, I want people I play with to like it too, which requires it not being overly complex to handle.

Well, unless one of the devs makes a statement about the issue, we cannot be 100% sure, but join an empty server and see for yourself. You won't hear anything. However, an argument partially hinting towards your claim would be the network bubble - if we indeed heard other players, it would have to be within a small vicinity, within our bubble. Because, if the sounds are generated by other players, it isn't an issue for the sound department. Rather for the netcode guys. Nor is it "easy to fix".

Is anyone investing further in the project at that stage? Apart from the players ofc.

Hate to break your enthusiasm, but as the person above stated, it's the same engine with (quite) a few additions. So to sum it up for you: Nothing has changed, they are doing the same thing that they have said they will do. Just decided the RV engine needed a new name.

Now the problem with comparing DayZ style melee with State of Decay, is that the engine used for DayZ was originally not designed for that. Any sort of finishers like you mention would require mechanisms that would lock two entities (you and the zombie/other player) in fixed, timed animations, and the game doesn't support that. I'm perfectly sure it's "doable", but would also require a lot of effort. My problem with melee is that it doesn't seem fluent. It's fairly inaccurate by modern melee game standards and feels just clunky. With a moderate practice you actually become quite proficient with most melee weapons in the game, but the feeling of overall "clunkyness" persists. I would be perfectly satisfied with a melee system similar to Dark Messiah, if anyone still remembers how it works. I'm fairly convinced that system is way easier to achieve than the one from SoD.

My bet is on the meat, since the other two are not yet implemented to my knowledge.

That's what I actually meant... They should go one way (or the other). Instead they chose to have different implementations for different optics.

I'm going to contribute something a bit different but still related to the topic... I had a pondering session once on how to implement a mostly player-driven loot economy into DayZ SA. Let's take a fairly popular item as a case - M4. Let's say, there's a system that allows only an X amount of m4 to be available on a given server. Of course it wouldn't just remove the excess amount of M4 when 4 new equipped players joined, but rather simply try to remove specific M4's if they meet certain conditions (e.g. Never picked-up/never seen by anyone) to reach an acceptable balance level. We would have the item randomisation covered, as you would find items in various strange places where other players ditched them for something else. Of course it would be very hard to find a weapon as you would either have to kill/talk to get one or be very very lucky. As for other items, you can still craft a bow and go hunt, there are plenty of wells around - defending and surviving is still very much possible, throw in craftable clothes and you basically can go on living forever. But if you want some better gear you would have to go for unconventional options (everything else apart from simple searching) to get it. I'm sure many will not like this, it is simply my opinion and how I would envision a perfect survivor game environment. I would only like to ask not to boycott the idea outright but rather ask a question like "But what if..." if something doesn't stick. :)

Why didn't they go with a unified solution? A 3D attachment + zoom like we have with the ACOG for all other optics (LRS included), or overlay + zoom like we have in the case of LRS and PSO for all other optics. Why different solutions for different optics?

Yeah, if somebody uses hacks for the amusement of others (flying around playing silly music) it actually is kind of funny. I would laugh even if I ended up dead after such an encounter. I have an issue with the kids who use them to gain gear and feel "pro". They are the ones who actually ruin your game and it's surprisingly easy for them to do so. Banning does little harm, as they probably own several game accounts. I've heard something somewhere (don't quote me on this please) that getting banned in DayZ might get you a steam account ban, but even if so, that is a small obstacle, since they probably have several DayZ-only steam accounts as well. Now in games like CS, or some other multiplayer shooters, I don't really care about cheaters. Just switch a server and go on... Hell, sometimes I even stayed to test my skills against guys with aimbot or speedhack. I know that you cannot actually make a game hack proof, or at least it would require horrendous amounts of money, but I think that in a game where your long progress can be reduced to zero in a second, unique and extreme measures should be undertaken. Putting most calculations server-side, like they plan to, is one of them

The problem is, the OP is actually right. The hacker (or rather cheater/script kiddie) situation got more severe in the recent days. I see speedhackers or teleporters in key locations now, and until like 3 days ago, I haven't seen a single hacker before - probably because I don't outright PvP. Check this out: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/199272-speedhacker-and-his-buddy-spotted-at-neaf/ If a player like me, who usually avoids the crowd or just watches from the distance, can catch a cheater on camera then there must really be a lot of them.

So I was checking out the commotion at NEAF and look what I found: Look at this guy go, clearing out NEAF with his buddy. So after his last victim the hacker decided to loot a body so I took a shot. And guess what! I hit him! :D Screenshot You can see the legs stick out from behind the bush just to the right of my cross-hair. It was a great shot, at least 800m, and I was all screaming in joy - "I'm so pro! I killed a hacker! Hackers ain't got shit on me! >;)" Turns out it was a terrible decision... Should have just left him alone. 2 minutes later as I started moving on, some dude (Could be the same guy I killed or some other with the same skin or his buddy. Freshspawn clothes + m4) started teleporting all around the field I happened to find myself at and I was dead a second later. Conclusions: Survival rule no. 563 - Never kill a hacker unless no other option I've been on the brink on giving up DayZ SA until its more glorious times and this tipped the balance for me. I'll be returning to the game at a much later date, until that time it's just the forums for me.

"Hardcore" - original DayZ Mod player base. At least that what I meant. I didn't play the mod myself, so I don't count, but I intend to stay around until the product is claimed as "final" anyway. Expect "dick moves" from companies. In the end, most companies exist to make money - giving people something they want/need is only a side effect. Bohemia's idea of investment in the game was exactly that, Rocket's idea was to make a game for a niche group of players. DayZ was hyped enough (not entirely by the community) to make the game vastly popular, getting the "bandwagon" crowd to buy the game in early Alpha. This allows BI to get surplus revenue from the project, maintaining income levels, and Rocket to have his funds for completing the project the way he wanted it to be, ditching the "bandwagon" crowd in the alpha/beta time. Win-win(-win) situation for Bohemia, Rocket and dedicated fans. For the casual players - not so much. It's not that "dickish" like you claim it to be, just simple market strategy. All in all, it's just my speculation incorporating bits and pieces of my professional experience. And I have a 1000 of theories when it comes to DayZ marketing plan.

Since the very beginning of the running economy, or even mankind. Any marketer will tell you that the product's marketing life cycle begins the minute it reaches the public, regardless of stage of development. The minute it is out for the world to see, it will be praised, criticised and dismantled into base pieces (comparison to alternatives included). It's a mechanism you cannot stop by saying the product is not finished yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually very happy that DayZ is going this way. We're probably experiencing the peak interest in the game right now and it will slowly start to diminish in time, which means only the targeted, niche group of hardcore players will stay until the game is released. What I'm reading from Rocket's comments, that's how he actually intends it to be, which makes me quite assured this was the plan all along.

As with all other item repairs, I would expect "Worn" at best.

My guess it will literally "repair" your bladed weapons/tools. Same as the sewing kit for clothes or weapon repair kit for firearms. The only difference that hints I might be wrong is that the action is done via a context menu, not drag&drop. Did it change the condition of your fireaxe in any way?

I don't think they reduced the actual timer. I've been counting and it's more or less the same as it was, only the timer starts at 99 and then just says "Please wait" for the rest of the time your dummy is still hooked in the previous server. My opinion - even the timer is bugged. :)

The whole ballistics mechanics as well as even weapon spec configuration files are just placeholders. There's a fair amount of randomness regarding dispersion, which is a hot discussion in another thread. Plus, bullet trajectory is calculated serverside, so lag is an included factor, thus you can never estimate bullet travel time accurately. Also, current unoptimised server performance impacts damage calculation speed on the target, so if the server you are playing on has low FPS (not your FPS, but the frequency at which the server updates everything around you), it can even be up to 2 seconds before your target registers the hit and drops dead, and the actual bullet impact. There is also a bug where there is no blood/dust indication on the hit spot. Taking all this into account, well... Don't snipe. :) Or do it when you're sure of the distance and your target won't be moving for a couple of seconds (e.g. looting your other victim ;)) You can hope they will look at it sooner than later, but I wouldn't expect anything done in the matter until beta. Apparently Rocket claims that even 64bit servers won't do much in this aspect.

Hmm, I probably exaggerated then a bit. We seem to share a common ground here - "Also it IS a valid playstyle i just wish there was more people who did it for a reason besides pure enjoyment." I'm also aware that the "for the lulz" problem is due to alpha stage of the game. If balanced zombie-apocalypse-wise mechanics were probably implemented, than we should see the problem diminish. One of them is the actual struggle to survive, as currently there is none. Some of the top of my hat: - So many zombies that firing a gun should immediately bring a crowd of them on your ass, forcing the player either keep shooting down incoming ones (bringing more and more), or run (which also shouldn't guarantee a safe getaway). - Weapons so rare that the "for the lulz" crowd moves to some other game. - (this one is a bit extreme) Having food and liquids be consumed at a normal or slower rate when you don't play. This would force players to actually scavenge during their playtime and work together rather than derp around.

Why does a large part of the community attributes the problem with the game to KOS? KOS is a valid strategy in a survival game and is not the problem at all. Trolling is the actual cancer here. Running as a suicidal maniac with 1 bullet in a mosin to add another stick in the K/D ratio is as much problematic as running around with no pants singing stupid songs despite of being harmless. Both are inadequate behaviours for an apocalyptic situation. Killing someone for their possessions is, and always was, an inseparable aspect of social (or rather the anti-social part) life. Advocating that someone has no skill because he/she didn't initiate an elaborate conversation prior to the event is just wrong. There is only one loosely imposed rule in DayZ - stay alive. Of course you can enjoy going "against the stream", but you cannot say that those who stick with it are playing the game wrong. Bottom line, going for death-match mentality is equally bad to trying to make SecondLife out of DayZ. If you're tired of being killed by acting too heroic you're doing it wrong. I'm not trying to say that anyone should play DayZ in a specific way, just try to distinguish between valid KOS from trolling KOS.

This seems to be true to some extent. I'm Polish, and although I usually kill armed players when there is no option to hide or run away - I learned long time ago that talking does not get you far - I decided to help a freshspawn a couple of days ago. When I hid my weapon and was opening a can of peaches for him in my inventory, he quickly ran up to me and punched me in the face. I fell unconscious (was fully geared too). At first I was furious that I allowed for this unfathomably lame death of my avatar, but when the guy said: "I'm sorry but your accent sounded funny and I couldn't take any chances with you. I'm not actually racist in real life, but you know Russians in DayZ..." I just started laughing. XD

Don't know about opinions of others, but in my experience blunt weapons are practically useless. They have trouble hitting the head, since most of them are swung right to left and do less damage overall. They simply require much more work and a feasible melee system to be effective. My weapon hierarchy (from lowest to highest) - all blunt weapons, fists, screwdriver, bayonets, knifes, machetes, splitting axes, fire axes.