pilgrim*

Shoot

I think you must be right and it is an artefact. But I lightened up the image above to show it better, the original is here (below), you can see there is not much sun. Dark day.. This thing looked like it was painted or marked on the rock - I thought it was a glitch in the skin but that doesn't seem right either. Also It stayed in the same place without moving while I went away and came back later. There was no sunlight at first, then a little sun when I came back, then just cloud again, pretty dark, and it stayed as you see it in this pic. I tried moving around close in front of it to find a light source with no effect - but often you can cast your own shadow on one object but not (at all) on another., so thi doesn't prove antyhing. Just as I said, it stayed there through different daylight, sunlight, and heavy cloud wuth no shadows from any other objects. I guess it is a light artefact, but it looks SOO painted on the rock. And it had hard clear cut edges. Was definitely spooky. I will try to go back tomorrow and see if it is still there. Maybe I should light a fire against it, to see if there is a change.. but this is not a good place to light a fire..it's REALLY NOT far enought from the perimeter fence to do that kind of stuff. Maybe this is only a case of what happens to backwoods loners after they have been out there for too long, . I could have sworn I saw a Duck yesterday morning. Tried to photo it, but it ran through a chainlink fence and then through the corner of a shed before I could hit the button.. went outside to search (I had to go round, natch.. Im NOT a duck), and I SAW a goat appear out of the air right behind the next tree as I was looking at it..about 3 meters away from me .. but never saw the duck again. It looked like a hen .. except for the beak, ya know ??.. Maybe I need to talk to somebody..? OK - sorry about all this, ... I guess I'll just go hide in a bush again.. At least when I'm in my bush, the rabbits in the next bush don't count their ammo and drink cans of beer any more, like they used to.. but I kind of miss that too.. Or maybe after all this IS the Rock with the Mark of Death on it, showing the Entry to the UnderDayZ.. there must be one somewhere? All it needs is a ringbolt and a chain so you can handcuff folk to it.

If you've spent time in that general region (running, crawling, hiding in barns or behind trees) you probably already came across The Aztec Rock I wondered if anyone knew any DayZ mythology about it.. or what is it's function (apart from sacrifice and the usual.) It doesn't seem to be a graphics glitch.. as you can mabe tell from the image This is a photo without humain entrails or the usual bandits heaped up with their bones broken waiting to die, etc.. So what is it, where is it ?? Why is it there ?? xx pilgrim

This screenshot is taken from right on the spot where Hetstaine planted his tents, last time I snuck through Exp you got to be crazy to hang out there and ... oops.. (so - I did warn him about it). ALSO I didn't tell anyone. DID I tell anyone ? No! Ask him for the grid reference. He'll share a 6-pack with ya, and a roast duck. .... Here's an easy one - the sunset gives it away: xx pilgrim

Everyone has their best choice melee weapon - I never got the knack of punching down zombies without risking being hit back a couple (or three) times, but I've seen guys take out 3 in one fight in just a few seconds, without a hair out of place.. Then they just straighten their tie and go about their business, like in the kung-fu films. For myself I don't like the machete - it's a big disappointment (hey TELL me if I'm wrong because I used to LOVE that thing) - in the Mod it was GREAT, it was all you needed, it was the first thing I looked for.. but here in SA you can't cut down trees with it, which is fairly dumb, it's crap for cutting meat (worst at loosing percentages of cuts of all the 'knives') and I don't rate it for melee.To me its just better than the baseball bat, which is not saying a lot. But maybe I haven't tried enough because of its other weaknesses. On the other hand the pickaxe (as you say) is a good weapon.. and also the hoe and the pitchfork are both great.. I'd carry only a pitchfork if I didn't need an axe for trees. Between those choices I guess the best would be the weapon that has the fastest action - to give you the most hits in a given time, but I never really checked that out.. the pitchfork is fast, swings crossways and it seems to hit everything in its path. BUT best ever, in my opinion: a thing that really cheered me up... I found out by chance (ya know, .I got dumb, taken by surprise, cornered) and I discovered that the screwdriver works REAL GOOD on zombies.. It's a total classic Special Services 'weapon of opportunity'.. It does a straight thrust, and you just stick it in their face or anywhere in the head ... amazing ! Bottom line is - as ganon46 says further up - everyone has their technique.. you have to find what works for you. The only reason I ever take out a gun when I go into a town now is because I think there are other players in the building or around the corner.. I keep the axe slung so I can move faster right until the moment I hear or see zombs, and then unsling. Zombs are really ZERO problem now.. I think mainly this comes down to working out the footwork, and knowing from experience when they are going to hit you, and what angles they can hit from (pretty wide angle from where they're facing in fact) I find it's best to go straight back at them, aiming to get close past one shoulder of the zomb before it can set to strike, and turn and do the same again, I dont ever strafe..I keep going forward and always keep turning.This works with up to 3 zombs as long as you always turn back through the middle of them all the time. They almost never get a chance to set up to hit you. But ganon46 is right.. you have to work it out for yourself. everyone has different techniques Aside: - We should be able to use the butt end of a gun (rifle at least) as a club. - We should be able to USE the fitted bayonet as it was intended. - And a host of other stuff for later that I won't detail .. broken scrap metal, an arrow as a stabbing weapon, chairs (if we have discrete objects like fridges, so why not street scrap, different zombie attacks, more 'unpredictable' melee (2 or 3 zombie random reactions instead of 1, zombie grapple for instance, zombie bite..) zombie lures,like thrown meat or smoke flares, fire-hardened ash poles sharpened as lances, maybe able to keep zombs at a distance.. many folk have suggested many ideas in the forums and quite a lot of them are not complex or zany and are workable..but that's for sooner or later, not at present..some good stuff has already appeared recently..the devs are doing ok) - HOWEVER We NEED to have real STEALTH, as in the old Mod.. because that was a great gameplay element, but at the moment it's a VERY unfortunate lack in SA.. And p.s. the heli crash sites should have a couple or three of bad zombie pilots wandering around, I think... (that was a great stealth opportunity in the Mod, crawling across a bare field with 5 of those guys wandering near... that was stress and excitement and gave some great moments.. Without even multiplying the number or zombies beyond what they are now, they can be used in a variety of ways that would AUGMENT the gameplay. People say they are underpowered, hit unfairly, etc.. but with a little reaction variety and a little situation variety they could be used to bring a new set of worries and problems into the gameplay. And - not because of ttheir pathfinding or their clothes ripping.. they could fairly scare the shit out of players. One dumb example - Suppose you take a swing at a zomb with your spade, and one day the zomb grabs a hold of the spade and hangs on to it, and pulls at, it and howls.. what you going to do ? scuse me for going on so long. I'm a zombie fan from back in the Mod starter when they ran really fast in zig-zags, and if you talked they HEARD you... all that stuff.. xx

You're in the wrong game ? You are holding a crowbar You are wearing a grass skirt How much did you pay a day for the Safari Jeep, do you get a driver with it ? Look out for the rhino behind the tree.. he's downwind, he can smell you, and he hates people who dress as witch-doctors

There are several threads about killing zombies around at the moment I think you have life too easy - you have the habit of pointing a gun an pulling the trigger and, bang, the target drops dead BUT killing zombies with a melee weapon takes practice. yes folks what you need is TRAINING and SKILL .. that's what makes the game FUN... and after only a few days you can hear that groan coming up behind you and take out your axe without even slowing down, turn around (in a running circle, of course dont STOP for J's sake!) and whack those one or two zombies DEAD without being scratched, and go on your way (4 to 8 seconds, 2 dead, you not dead).. it's EASY.. BUT you got to LEARN how to do it.. that takes a FEW tries and a FEW trips back from the beach.. THEN you have no problems This is what zombies are in the game for, right? to make you think, to make you learn, to make you find out what works and what does not, to know when there is trouble and how to avoid it..to know what's easy... call it ZOMBIE SURVIVAL Or do you want them to fall over dead when they see you ? That would be EASIER but maybe LESS FUN .. check out the forums.. You people, it's like you throw a knife at a tree 100 feet away and when it doesn't stick dead in the target the first time, you close the game and come here to complain. There are things in life that take a little bit of TRAINING.. and I SWEAR, dude, zombies are NOT difficult.. Herer's one example among MANY http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/211915-zombies-and-rarity-of-guns/#entry2123468 xx pilgrim

Yo have to stand close - even with an axe. If you don't hear the sound you are too far away (and 2 or 3 feet is too far). Best thing to do is stay right ON TOP of the zomb and keep hitting and KEEP moving so he can't hit back. I use the FORWARD key all the time, hold it down, and steer round and round with the mouse, always coming fast as you can back right on top of the zomb, so you're like standing on his feet. Dont ever stop still, just keep running and turning back into them all the time. Works. You can kill them with anything, the spade, hoe, axe, are good. Also bayonet or screwdriver stab in the head gets them fast. Some other melee weapons are pretty crap. Myself, I wouldn't go out armed with a baseball bat, for instance.

Rice and plenty of water worked in indo-china, works here Apart from that I just eat anything I find as soon as I find it.. I've never discovered a way of getting STUFFED by eating food.. you can do it drinking water, but you can eat a TON of anything at all and you get HEALTHY but nothing else.. did they take overeating out of the game ?? xx

Who would waste space in their inventory for a pair of handcuffs ? Those are strange people.. Also, you find these people in any place on whole planet. But do not be afraid of them, they come from Lego Star Wars. Is not my big problem. Just hit them with something. However Please ... I undestand all one hundred percent of everything about DayZ, but what does it mean this word "play" you are using? xx

Two things going on here - firstly, why don't you put out an ad for someone else who wants to be tortured too, then you can be a team and take turns putting bags on each other's heads, and ..breaking each other's legs with baseball bats..and talking about books you just read..ya know? and helping each other to collect rotten fruit. And carry handcuffs with you and a burlap sack, so you have the kit ready in case someone wants to hurt and insult you but they don't have any useful gear with them. And have competitions to see if it hurts more being hit with a spade WHILE you're throwing up, or if bad meat is worse than force feeding each other on charcoal tabs till you die. I find it HARD to believe you CANT find a psycho torturer when you want one.. I guess its the DayZ Angel of Ghastly Fate just setting you up for somethig unexpected, as usual.... .. good luck with it (and ps - following any player around and constantly reading to him from the bible, will usually get you what you want pretty fast) BUT .. the zombies and killers are BORING you ? So how about THIS to change ALL our lives ...??.... So .. SECONDLY - As soon as GRENADES work properly the whole bandit thing will get much more interesting: if you are holding a grenade with the pin out, and you drop it on the ground (on purpose ...or by accident) or if someone tries to handcuff you when the grenade is in your hand , OR you are knocked out , or shot, then you drop the grenade, and it GOES OFF That would make "threatening confrontation" a whole level of more interesting... because then if you hold someone to gunpoint, or put a bag on their head, or break their leg and look through their inventory, how do you know he wsn't holding tight onto a FRAG before you whacked him? .. and maybe he dropped it right at your feet because he figured he'e take you and your payday mates out with him first,... and, imagine, when you and your mates stop your car to give that roadside dude a lift to Berezino.. . how do you know he's not carrying a frag that makes him the DayZ equivalent of a dynamite shirt ?? hu ? If you DROP a live grenade for any reason it should definitely explode. (when you have it in your hand and you die, you go unconscious, maybe even if you have a knockdown shock.. or just because you LET it DROP at your feet. THAT'S got to be more fun than feeding rotten fruit to some pasing guy and thinking of nasty bad things to say, to him. Reply: <<< Hey - You think torture is cool? so come on dude, hit me with the spade, see what I have in my HAND dude..>>> AND in the meantime REMEMBER to tell the DEVS.. if you let go of a live grenade for any reason, it EXPLODES... ok ?? Wouldn't that scenario be FINE? Suddenly there would be worried bandits around, and worried military police patrols too, and worried campfire christians... And wouldn't that be great to get in that car with just your shorts and a shirt on, and tell them <<thanks for everything, and ....The Vybor Luminous Path Brigade says THIS ONE IS For you YA BASTARDS !! >> xx pilgrim

See - it"s really the Steak and Potatoes studio scan and they simply repainted it a bit, to disguise him, because Steak isn't a specially "symmetrical" person (neither am I, and no harm in that!) so they symmetricalized him a little bit a bit to keep it all inside the << Geneva convention Addendum on Possible Bio-Engineered Intelligent "Bigfoot" or other Forest-Dwelling Lifeforms>>. And they also made the ears more standard, etc (I think), and turned the beard into stubble so people wouldn't think DayZ was too unrealistic.. and some other little stuff., and that"s about all... You understand now ? There's an obvious explanation for everything if you just check first before making wild statements.. He's been off fighting bears again, that's all (you can't expect anyone to be completely symmetrical or completely a-symmetrical if they've been fighting bears, can ya?) And that's without even mentioning individual left/right testicular inequalities in the universal human male structure, ..or .. starfish symmetry.. or .... whatever... Think about fractals instead, it calms me down to do that; maybe will work for you too?

Yeah - at moments like that you can't afford to have your inventory open.

OK - so it's a symmetrical old guy see how excited that makes me .. ps - (symmetrical except his face and his head and his shoulders and his torso and his belt and his pants and his shoes and his hair and his neck and his back and his belly.. I dunno about his genitals, you think they're symmetrical too? ... if this was MY work in progress today, do you think I should write a suicide note and throw myself off a bridge tonight? Would you?)

^ That's GOT to beat Mass Effect, right ? You ever noticed that if you don't play DayZ for a day or three, you get kind of .. afraid .. to log in ?? Kind of twitchy ?? Because ... you KNOW what's in there..... I don't know what name to give it, and maybe it has many names... but you know what it is.. xx

You need to train up on zombiers a bit - try different melee weapons because different melee things have different strikes and different ways of hitting and timing (and some weapons are crap), and try punching.. try first person fights not just 3d person.. It DOES take a while.You don't need guns at all. Expect to get killed several/many times but spend a couple of days getting killed and then finding something to hit with and go looking for more zombies.. After - not too long - you get the hang of it.. I found out one day that a screwdriver works real good on a zombie if you stick it in his face... but 2 or 3 together is not so hot because you have to move fast to get the screwdriver headshot before the others waste you.. Keep always moving aside from in front of them, if they line up on you they hit - you have to dodge or run straight past them close before they hit you. Three or 4 zombies you can kill with an axe in 3d person by staying right on top of them and hitting them non stop and turning always back on top of them, I just use forward non-stop and turn with the mouse. suddenly there are none left and you aren't even hit once.. Also I've seeen bare-hand experts fist-punch down zombies and sidestepping.. classic boxing move, and the zombie goes down fast, the dude not even sweating.. I found out I liked the pitchfork or the hoe - they both suit my fighting style for some reason Spade is OK.. I heard the electric cattle prod is cool but you need a new battery for every 3 or 4 zombies you zap (I aint tried it, I just heard that) So there are plenty of ways, BUT it takes practice.. it's NOT like pointing a gun and pulling the trigger, you have to try the moves, practice, die, try again, find out what works.. but it's a lot of fun finding out. Also - if you run around buildings and down alleys, turning corners, the zombie often looses you.. but they don't fall down steep hills and kill themselves like they used to. AND now you can shut the door in the zombs face and he's (nearly always) stuck on the other side, so you can run in a building with 3 zombs behind you, and run out the back, and shut the zombies in there as you leave.. You should go on practicing the moves untill you're good at it, it's worthwhile.. and ask other players, they have other techniques.. it get's to be a habit so you usually know exactly how you are going to come out of any fight. They aint so tough. Hey - and Always keep some rags because on one hit you nearly always bleed, but you have plenty of time to finish the fight before bandaging. First thing I do when I respawn is tear my tshirt into rags and throw away the torch and battery, then you're set for action. xx

Yep - Grimey 'KOS noobert ' Rick - that's what we all used to call him. But when he says 500m, you do realise he's got the gun backwards over his shoulder and he's just aiming from the reflection in a piece of broken shop window. I seen him fire one shot round two corners AND bounce the bullet under a wrecked car, and he headshot two guys at the same time at the second floor window who weren't even standing in line with each other and that's BEFORE he got mad... If they ever put black greaspaint in this game, dont EVER go out at night, ... he'll be right behind you ALL blacked up with NO clothes on - and just the edge of his favorite shaving machete to make that air-cutting sound you never have the time to wonder about ... be afraid xx

You seen that big round boulder you have to carry around ? - wouldn't it be nice after a zombie hit it, you found your pocket full of just dust and gravel ? a smaller stone would be fine, edges should sharpen up to "almost" pristine if you work on them a little. Who wants a knife that looks as though its rusted away for 20 years, even after you "sharpen" it? Flints would be a nice idea for striking fire or making weapons (spear, fish spear, arrow ?) but just a standard commercial 'sharpening stone' like you find in a drawer or 2 or on a shelf in a backyard garage, a workshop, a kitchen, farm outhouse, toolbox, shed, barn, truck .. wherever there are knives or farm tools, or ANY edged implements. I'll bet YOU've got one at home somewhere. AND myself IRL I have a standard fire striker and steel (or maybe two, they cost nothing) - most any hiker has one, I guess the army too.. about as big as a car key, you can carry it on a string around your neck, or in your pocket, it weighs a few grams it lasts for YEARS.. you can find them in EVERY camping store, fishing store, hunting store.. And while I'm on it, what happened to those flat fold-out army can openers that were 2x longer than your thumbnail?? IRL I must have seen ... thousands.. Well - - At least if the rock fell completely to rubble you'd know it was ruined without having to read the description. xx

Putting a plastic raincoat OVER your other gear would be a pretty normal thing to do,...Whatever you're wearing, a raincoat, with a hood, will go over all that and you hold it down with your backpack even if it doesnt completely fit over your 'down jacket' or whatever. This is normal. I note that blankets seem uncommon in this country... Have any of you survivors EVER seen a blanket in any of those abandoned villages and towns?? There are plenty of different things you can do with a blanket.. make a bag, make a poncho, tie it around your shoulders..wear the damn think to stay warm.. a blanket has to be about the commonest man-made item in this hemisphere. Where are they ? xx

Had the stone in a jacket pocket After the first couple of trees you need to sharpen your axe EVERY time you cut wood, just to keep it totally blunt but not ruined. For the same reason you need to sharpen your knife every time you butcher an animal, to keep it good and blunt. So you get 45-65% of each cut of meat..... and make sure you sharpen it every time, back up to blunt, because if you dont, next time it will be ruined. And it took a WHILE to find a pickaxe (and you need to carry your axe at the same time, right?).. quite a while. so then I got the stone and I was good for fire - need fire maybe every hour ?? and it rains a lot and trees dont seem to shelter you now ?? SO Got a pickaxe, mined a STONE.. And a zombie punched me once in the chest while I was axing him one day, hit me once, and so when I checked I found a ruined stone in the pocket of my wasted jacket. I really didn't expect that, it came across as an ironic DayZ event and I laffed heartily. And - I know I can cut firewood now one more time before my axe breaks, then I'm screwed. I need a pickaxe or a new wood axe.. in the next hour ?? Or I can find antibiotics in that time and just eat the game raw, but still freeze?? Which option is least likely to take an hour, avoiding death if poss ? Kill another player, I guess ?? So there's the story of the Zombie Tiger Claw Punch and the Ruined Stone. xx

OK _ OK ... well - I got punched by a zombie and my stone was RUINED how about that ?

Non-persistent servers : In the late evening the servers usually (I mean OFTEN) reset as soon as the admin and his (1 or 2) mates can't find the loot they want at NWAF 3 guys all want mags for their guns, and the right guns and bits, so work out the time to search and that's how often the server resets Tell me I'm wrong Also if you shoot one of them they'll reset, natch .. and bottom line, they might just reset when they see you come on line, to make sure you know what's what (this is a private loot farm, naff off). I set my server search to "public" to make sure that word is still in the title, and avoid anything that claims to be a clan or private.. these I'm taking about are just the standard list servers. Early morning is the server hoppers Late evening is the admin loot farmers Some of the serious high-pop servers give good restart warnings - THANX for that, you Dudes Persistent servers: I still haven't worked out what's going on yet .. MAINLY seems to be nothing there, but then sometimes some really odd stuff turns up in crazy places. (??) xx pilgrim

don't the dead zombies stay around for a while if it is a server with persistence, instead of vanishing after a few seconds ?? - but frankly, I don't have any other clue, and maybe I'm wrong .. all the week before the 49 patch everything with "persistence" in the title had zero players on it.. xx

the sway I'm talking about is the animation. The sway is an animation. Where the bullet goes when you pull the trigger depends on the point where the animation has put the crosshair when you fire. THEN there is dispersion and bullet drop.. those are formula in the server used to calculate bullet deviation. In this game, neither of them is a complicated function.. BUT [this is the big but But it's about the way a human being aims... (not deviation, not the gun) The programmers got human aiming wrong ("sway" - not too big or too small) just wrong, for a really obvious reason, anyone - me too - could make the same mistake The solution could be so much fun, good for the player, particularly the military specialist players, and unique to DayZ, or all ArmA - as well as this being a first for Bohemia, because NO other game builder has THOUGHT about this yet, and so no one has realized how fun, unique, cool, more realistic, and how easy to implement and test, this is, and what a major first it is] A human being aiming a gun at a target is a complicated process.. I explained on the thread, I gave you the link http://forums.dayzga...n/#entry2072241 To a very limited extent that targeting process can be modelled in a video game HOWEVER The programmer who wrote in the "sway" used a standard function to move the crosshair around center target By 'standard function' I mean a classic mathematical formula that almost anyone can find anywhere .. it's used, for instance, to plot the trajectory of an object in orbit. around a planet, the earth around the sun, and ... plenty of other stuff, . ya know ?? BUT It's the WRONG formula to use for the 'sway' in the game. It's not a formula that imitates human targeting, in fact it does the opposite. I explained on the thread, I gave you the link again, below If you've ever aimed a gun at a target, or pointed your finger at a passing car...and if you 1: use a scope in the game 2: AND you think a little bit You should be able to figure easily what I'm talking about. A small difference in the formula (a rethink) - would affect DayZ and ALL the ArmA series. This could be an interesting and game-enhancing change. I'm convince (for sure - I worked out the math and tested it) What I explain is VERY easy to test out. Try it. (and for sure you'll understand why "sway" has nothing to do with "dispersion") Same gun always has same dispersion, but the same gun used by different people.. well, every one of them has a different aiming strategy, and every one of them has a different average accuracy.... THAT'S aiming, that's "sway".. not the gun. AND it' very easy to understand what I'm talking aout on that thread- WHY the formula needs changing - (not making sway smaller, not making sniping easier, nothing about that stuff)) I gave you the link http://forums.dayzga...n/#entry2072241 .... Even if you don't like maths .. ya don't need any .... you just have to GET the POINT about HOW a human being aims a gun. You probably did it yourself a 1000 times, and pointed at a spot on the wall, and fired a bow ... So think how you did that stuff, and what was going n in your head and your body while you did it. Try it out. If you can remember doing that, and check out that what I say makes sense. xx pilgrim