Madix

The traffic seems almost directly correlated to server population and where you are. I have bitmeter running all the time on my computer to monitor my usage and this game averages around 30-60 kB/s but can sometimes jump to as high as 90-150kB/s when I'm around a large city with a lot of players in it. ~150kB/s is an unacceptable amount of traffic for a game. Most online games average what? 5-25 kB/s? It practically makes the game unplayable for anyone with a usage cap. Also, anyone using standard Verizon 4g wireless network should check out Millenicom for the same network but at $70.00 per month with a 20 GB cap.

As you stated earlier in this post, you lose "nothing" by shooting people in the face when you see them. But you're right. The game doesn't "require" you to KoS just as it doesn't "require" you to eat and drink. This is a survival game, it's certainly your choice not to survive. I guess it is somewhat possible to avoid being KoSed, unlike eating and drinking, as long as you "don't be seen" (which is the most repeated f@@ktarded response on these forums). You can certainly stick to shitty towns with no loot in them, server hop to unpopulated servers, or combat log if you see someone but it's boring as hell and it completely breaks the immersion of the game. I completely agree with that. But when more than 50% of the population is sadistic serial killers it only "improves the experience" for them. Aggressiveness breeds aggressiveness, passive friendly players that never KoS have to choose to join the crowd and KoS themselves, live like a coward and miss any "social" aspects of the game, or leave the game for good. I know that the game is in early alpha and I don't need to be constantly reminded that it isn't complete. I agree that KoS most likely won't be so prevalent when Rocket gives us something else to do just as It's also likely that game breaking bugs will be fixed.. but what's the harm in offering feedback? Someone like you should know the benefits of being proactive. At least with feedback, nobody dies.

The fact that the game requires you to KoS so much more than real life is my problem. DayZ isn't another generic CoD type game... It's supposed to be a realistic post-apocalyptic survival simulator. Each encounter should be suspensful, unique, and completely unpredictable. How immersive can the game possibly be if every encounter is the same old "kill or be killed" every time? For the record, I don't think that KoS should be removed (It's your choice to be an asshole). I just think that players shouldn't be forced to play in a way that's against their morals... that there should actually be something to gain through cooperation.

I don't know how anyone can justify the KoS problem by suggesting that it's realistic. Do you really have so little faith in humanity to think that everyone is out there to kill you? That murdering innocent people is acceptable as long as they pose a risk, no matter how small? You know why I know people wouldn't KoS in a real life apocalyptic scenario? Because in real life people don't respawn, they're dead forever. A normal, non-psychotic, person would feel remorse for killing and they sure as hell wouldn't be going around ACTIVELY SEEKING OUT AND HUNTING unarmed and friendly players as if they were deer. I would rather risk being shot in the face than feel that murdering everyone is a necessity.

Here's an easy solution to fix KoS: Allow players more than half a second to react to being shot at. Perhaps people will think twice before shooting you if you have a chance of killing them instead. This would also help less aggressive players to be more friendly because there's less risk in allowing other players to live.

Shooter McGavin was a rhyming DayZ player too: "Just stay out of my way... or you'll pay! LISTEN to what I say!"

It also seems like bullet impacts often drown out the sound of bullets firing, even at close range. This can easily mislead you as to what direction the bullets are coming from, leaving you open when you try to find cover.

KoS wouldn't be so bad if this game wasn't so unforgiving. If you hesitate at all around armed players your screen will most likely turn black before you even know you were shot. The only practical way to defend yourself in DayZ is to hide and crawl around for hours or to literally shoot every person with a gun.

The most general definition of bandit is someone who robs and steals at gunpoint. In other words, "banditry" is not the main reason people KoS. They do it because it's fun, It has nothing to do with your loot... Why else would they shoot people with no gear? Anyone else that kills on sight only does it because they've been KoSed so many times and they're tired of dying to assholes.

DayZ will never be a simulator because of other players and their ability to find exploits to make the game less "harsh" for them. Here's an example; Everyone here will probably agree that using a flashlight is suicide because you can be seen from damn near halfway across the map. Anyone not using their flashlight is relatively safer, but they also can't see a damn thing!... Now consider that any player can easily exploit their gamma settings until they can see in the dark. It's the best of both worlds! Thanks to gamma exploits, the "harshness" of the darkness now becomes an asset as you no longer have any drawbacks and can now wait in safety and shoot any unsuspecting roleplaying chumps "dumb enough" to turn their flashlights on. To me, nothing breaks immersion more than assholes exploiting game mechanics. A game, like any book or movie, does not need to be realistic to be immersive (allowing my character to live longer than half a second in a fight does not break my suspension of disbelief in the slightest!). The sad irony is that many people who come to these forums and bitch whenever someone has a constructive suggestion that makes the game "less realistic" have probably server jumped, exploited gamma, or combat logged at least once.

Realistic scenario: 1. Set up good loot on an airstrip/exposed area. 2. Wait in a safe location a mile away until a chump tries to loot item. 3. Shoot chump without him ever knowing you were there (with no risk to yourself of course). 4. Let corpse rot there to lure in even more chumps. 5. Repeat and repeat cheap shotting chumps until you kill them all (rage quit) or turn them into even more paranoid assholes that kill on sight. Cost to chumps- Hours of hard work getting what crappy items they have. Benefits to shooter- A few seconds of satisfaction and possibly some more ammo to kill noobs with. Sociopath= Tormenting people for your own short lived gratification