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While "bad" weather certailny is cool and fits in, there is nothing wrong with the sunny days. It can be just as sinister. Many zombie movies use exactly that type of setting and it's awesome. It reminds you, in a way, that it used to be a "normal" world, set in "normal" times and yet now it's all fucked. The connection between "then" and "now" is very important, for the stronger effect. If it's all post-apocalyptic it loses it's charm.

Would love to see an official reply with their views on the matter, IF the development team is already set about this one way or another. Or at least their opinion. EDIT: why is this topic not more popular than it currently is? Come on folks, the very core of the game, right here. Bring your banners, cattle prods and riot-gear.

It's not about zombies being broken, it's about zombie-fighting mechanics being taken in a completely other direction. I'd much prefer to get the goose-bumps when I spot one from afar even with it's back turned to me, because I know all hell will break loose if I'm seen by it, rather than go towards him cold-headed, with no emotion, knowing I'll easily kill it within a few seconds. Not to mention, once again, that it's a real anti-climax having it stand next to me swinging at my head. I stop perceiving them as zombies right that moment. I'm not unsatisfied with the game, I know it's (too often mentioned for no reason) alpha, but I'm just a tad worried they'll keep this concept until the official release.

Eh, I was just thinking about what I wrote in my previous post and I concluded I forgot something... Encounters with zombies should be more unforgiving and difficult, I mean REAL hardcore. It shouldn't turn into another action game where you run into zombies and just hack'n'slash until you clear the area. Imagine how much more suspense it would carry if it was actually preferrable to avoid zombies and sneak around them, instead of approach-stab-kill routine. When seen by one, either run for your life or stay, and risk a truly tough fight (unless you have a gun with a silencer -so you don't attract even more zombies- and you have some room/time to shoot). Fighting zombies should be a HAPPENING, not a routine, else it'll get old real fast. Notice how I'm using the word "should" often. :) Well, it's what I'd like and believe would be good for the game at least, to correct myself.

I support the idea. I have found myself wishing for this more than once while playing.

Would be awesome, I love it.

It's what I've been saying in my post as well, and I referred to 28 days/weeks later as well. BEST "zombie" movie ever, hands down. Use it as a reference for the game zombie-wise, if you want suspense and adrenaline. And again, I must insist - MAKE ZOMBIES JUMP YOU, AND BITE INSTEAD OF PUNCH. It would make encounters with zombies more unforgiving and hardcore. You don't get a second chance if bitten. You don't get to take a few punches and such. Sure, let them scratch you so you have to bandage, but also bite. And make it look different compared to standing one next to the other exchanging hits. Zombie fist-fight is an ultimate turn-off. It immediately breaks the whole aspect of "shit, there's an infected after me, my palms are sweating and I'm about to shit my pants" and turns it into "aha, there's another ugly redneck about to get a black eye". It's definitely the single most important thing for me because it really takes away the most important part of the game, the part that made it into the headline: ZOMBIES. It's supposed to be a horror/survival game, not a decomposing-renegade brawler. A zombie/infected should take you down to the floor, get on top of you and try to rip your intestines with it's teeth, not f**** you up with a well placed uppercut. Long story short: yes, I'm all for making zombies fast and furious, just like in 28 days later. I'm also eager to have the melee system changed from scratch, because if in the end product I have zombies punching me in the face I'm gonna consider my money and time wasted.

I want to role-play a mouse. So, I need a mouse-mask to make this a great success.

As a matter of fact, I'd wish the whole stealth/sneaking was taken to a whole new level. I love sneaking around, using dark corners, short sprints, timing etc. We should have more freedom of movement, better jumping mechanics (basic jumping, rooftop jumping, jumping on a victim from a small height), rolling... We should be able to get a knife or any sharp object, sneak up on a zombie or a player, put one hand on their forehead (or mouth if it's a player) and slash their throat/stab them im the head/back without producing any noise, or at least as little noise as possible. IMO the melee combat, as is ATM, is terrible. It's clunky (ok, it's pre-alpha) but what's even worse, it's "headed in the wrong direction" to begin with. We shouldn't fight melee like in Counter-Strike, swinging our knives/axes like it's 1998. Give us some cool moves and animations in the end product. Fights are VERY important, but honestly I feel no tension at all when I see a zombie running towards me, as I should. There is no "scare" in the encounters. It's a boring routine. There is no real contact between a weapon and an object, just awkward aiming and what's supposed to be blood. Let my axe get stuck in the zombie's head, let me decapacitate them, let me cut off an arm, a leg, let me stab zombies/players repeatedly with a knife in panic. I don't know how much of all this is possible to code-in, but I'm pretty sure it's possible to at least improvize with a lot of things and improve them with respect to their current state. I said in another post that zombies shouldn't get into a fist-fight at all. They should try to cling onto us and bite our necks, shoulders, arms, legs, any part of our bodies. It could be a large variety (so it doesn't get old) of premade animations depending on our and zombie's movement, position etc? IE, each particular situation has 5-6 alternating animations that randomly kick in (I'm crouching with my back turned to a zombie, and it jumps on my back, taking both of us down into a laying position so I gotta shake it off/punch it quickly; I'm crouching with my back turned to a zombie, it approaches me from behind biting on my shoulder...). Also, make zombies do something sometimes, so that we have the chance to sneak up on them or be surprised by them. IE, make them gnaw on a fresh corpse in an apartment, or bang and claw on a locked door with a survivor inside, or whatever. Let them walk in on us while searching an apartment building. Let the whole group of zombies block an exit. Make us run for our lives. Give us occasional adrenaline rushes. They shouldn't just stand still in the middle of nowhere and be as predictable. Straying from the subject a little (I'm getting carried away), but don't make all the apartments so generic. Not everything should be completely destroyed. Make some of them with actual stuff inside NOT in state of decay, so that it looks like someone left in a hurry, not being able to take all that he/she wanted to. I want to have goose-bumps imagining what took place there maybe only a few hours ago. I'm in a no hurry, I realize it's work in progress. I just want to make sure the developers don't satisfy with the current mechanics/features and just polish it until the release day. We need variety, as the game is (obviously) based on a persistent world with repetition in mind. Which is awesome, but only if done right.

Discouraging... Because the zombies are all about the melee (and hopefully biting - fingers crossed). Rocket, is it at all possible to do anything about it or should I stop having false hopes?

I don't think I follow. What type of game is that? Zombies don't engage in a boxing match, as far as I know, in any game/movie or whatever.

I actually really agree with this. I notice that topics regarding the atmosphere aren't all that popular on the forums, compared to "is it worth buying SA?" bull, but it's what makes or breaks the game IMO. So back to your suggestion, excellent idea. A dense fog with very limited visibility, traces of people/zombies moving nearby, and a sudden leaping zombie - pretty good in my book.

I'm just worried my/our wishes might be tad too ambitious for the actual game.

I like your comment with a risk vs reward attacks, IE left vulnerable if you miss a vital organ.

Would be neat if we could pick up a shovel, dig a hole and stash some of our stuff so we can pick it up later, or with a different character after death. And not just by digging - alternatives would be nice too. Thoughts?

First off, a big HI EVERYONE to the DayZ community. Just bought the game, and the first negative impression I had is the moment I encountered my first zombie. The fight with a zombie looks like we're slapping each-other's face. It just takes every last bit of "terror" and tension away, it looks silly. A zombie, IMO, shouldn't try to hit you at all. A zombie should try to cling on to you, bite your hand, shoulder, leg, neck, head, stomach - whatever. Your defense would be to shake it off, punch it away with your bare hands if you have no melee weapon, or simply pierce it's skull with a sharp object. Which brings me to my second point. In DayZ you can kill a zombie by hurting it on any part of it's body. Why not follow the long tradition of the only way to kill it is to smash it's head in? It would make the whole experience more challenging and intense. I know I'd be much more nervous around one if I had to aim for the head. I'd also receive more thrill from killing one if my actions would be followed up with a satisfying animation of my character smashing it's head, or piercing it's skull. EDIT: oh and one last thing - making zombies more like the infected in 28 days/weeks later would add much more to the suspense instead having them be those classic, boring ol' zombies. Or just have both kinds in, for variety.

Hopefully it will be doable eventually, I really want to feel the adrenaline rush running from a sprinting pack of zombies, thinking of how to flee to safety on the fly. It adds so much to suspense even if you're sneaking around still unnoticed, knowing that all hell will break loose if they do spot you.

Thanks for the welcome. I wasn't referring to the details if the "zombies" in 28 days later are the actual undead, or just infected - which they are. It's an important aspect as well, but I just wasn't focusing on that atm. I meant their aggression and their agility. Instead of having a slow moving zombie dragging it's limbs towards you, we'd have a raging, hulking, quick one sprinting towards you with it's teeth shining bright in the Sun. ;) But yeah, your response does clear up the "headshot-kill-only" part I mentioned. Thanks. Edit: it WOULD be difficult to do the grappling part, indeed. Why not have it be a large number of preset animations that would take place depending on the situation, your and zombie's position etc?