Cannon76

I have had my character reset multiple times since the last patch but it seems to be more server issues not connecting to the hive server or something, so it just loads a default new spawn character. Trouble is it saves over your old character somehow... I have also had my game freeze repeatedly since the update. Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it isn't happening.

Occasionally a server may not be able to connect to the "master server" for your save data. When this occurs you will start with a default character again and spawn on the beach. If the server manages to connect to the "master server" it may end up overwriting your safe file and you may lose your previous one. Sometimes there is a server warning in red as you join. I have seen alot of this since the last update. It can be pretty frustrating but as lots will tell you....its best not to get attached to your character anyhow as you will die soon enough. Either from BS glitchy bugs, KoS, or just garbage lag.

Pros: - I like the faster zombies. More intense of a threat. . - I like that there are MORE zombies. - I like that gun shots alert nearby zombies causing you to get swarmed These things make it better. Cons: - Zombies re-spawn right next to where you killed them, and sometimes fairly quickly. I am not sure how that mechanic works at the moment but I think they should re-spawn on the perimeter of towns and villages, OR a safe distance away from player location. - Hit detection still sucks. Zombie on top of me swings at me, friend behind me takes a hit...? - I feel like I have to shoot the female zombies (specifically) 3-4 times before a hit registers. - zombies see thru walls - zombies walk thru walls - zombie line of sight is too far, should be at most be 100 meters. Consider state of decomposition, eyes would be the first to go. Should be alerted by sound more than by sight. These things make them annoying. Overall tho the items on the CONS list have been outstanding issues not related to the zombies new speed. I find the new zombie speed acceptable but could MAYBE be dialed back just a little bit. I haven't died in awhile but I imagine being a fresh spawn sucks even more now.

Sounds like it has all been said already. But....must...type...answer... Step 1: Figure out where you are. (blue road signs, landmarks) Step 2: Step 3: Profit Step 4: Your friends figure out where THEY are... Step 5: Plan a rendezvous point somewhere in between you and navigate your way there. (daydb.com) You will learn the map in time. Just be patient. It can take literal hours JUST to link up. What I used to do, since available playtime is always a factor, is my friends and I would spend a night just linking up and then grabbing basic supplies (food, water, melee weapon, backpack). Then the next time we played we could go on full loot runs. Also if you do make a wrong turn and get lost, you can always run back towards the coast South or East depending on where you are in general, to get your bearings and try again. Chances are you will run into something you can recognize before then but its always an option.

Expect a ton of "Alpha" or "I have 200+ hours and I have yet to see a player using hacks." comments as a result of your post. I know these types of players exist and are becoming more and more frequent. I have run into players like them more than once. It's one thing to die in a legitimate firefight, or even to get KOS'd lame as that is, and its an entirely different thing to get killed by a cheater. I would hope for a new wave of bans as soon as Battleye updates which occurred the other day I think or with every update but don't expect the devs to put too much time into it for now until the game goes to Beta phase. For now its hard to swallow, but swallow you must.

Anyone who says they KOS because someone had their gun drawn is a liar and a moron. First consider the fact that YOU have your gun out ready to KOS like a douche. Then consider the fact that since 80% of players, probably more, play this way...you would be an idiot NOT to have your weapon ready to defend yourself. This is especially true depending on your location, major cities or air fields for example. SO that is a pretty lame reasoning on behalf of the KOS community. It really is the lamest way to play this game. It pisses KOS'ers to hear it be spoken out loud because they think they are badass. But it doesn't take a whole ton of skill to shoot someone who is unarmed, or doesn't even know you are there. You don't get bragging rights sorry. Sad Panda. That being said, KOS is never going to go away. Hopefully the finished game mechanics push the community towards mutual cooperation or at least punish that game play style, or reward cooperative play more but that is months away and we don't really know what they have fully planned. So don't cry about it. Its a BS way to play, and it ruins the game, bur the only way to defeat it is for the hunted to become the hunters themselves or become so stealthy that you don't ever make contact with other players. It exists so we have to deal with it.

After a fresh spawn I have a route I take from one end of the map to the other. It takes a few hours and I am usually able to re-kit by the end of the trip. I may log off at or nearby the airfield, and go to bed. Next time I play I jump on, and look at that I am at or nearby the airfield and travel the same route in reverse. Again takes a couple hours but i might be able to find a few a few things to enhance my gear. That doesn't make me a "server hopper." Sometimes I will make my run from point A to B, then jump to a new server and make the run from point B to A. That doesn't make me a "server hopper." Even for the folks who are out there who DO literally loot, jump servers, loot, jump servers, loot? Why should you give a crap? Let them. It's not hurting you. Nobody wants to spend 6 hours playing and running around and not being to even find a can of beans. That's not fun. Its a sandbox game right? All the KOS players cry when they are being judged by others for the way they play and say, "its a sandbox game, I can play how I want, there are no rules!" Well guess what you are right. There are no rules. So if someone wants to spend 2 hours getting loot instead of several days, or if they prefer to play on low-pop servers instead of a full one? More power to you player. Play how you want. Eventually re spawning loot will be implemented. Just like the re spawning zombies that is coming soon. When this finally goes in this "perceived" problem will work itself out on its own. We will all have less need to play on different servers at that point as you won't have to wait 4 hours for a server reset to find a backpack and an ax.

You play, and you read, and you learn. Lots of people on the forums are just sitting at work trolling all day. That is the joy of the interwebs these days. It's best to find some friends to play with. To find some in game you have to take risks. Its harder to not play a bandit / KOS style so know that you will die more often. Just because someone is a fresh spawn doesn't mean they are a noob, newbie, or rookie. 90% of the time that is just another Bandit who got killed a few minutes ago. They will want to get their kit back or re-kit so they can join back up with their buddies and play on and that means the potential can of beans in your pants pocket is fair game. So don't turn your back on anyone. Likewise, just because you see a survivor who has good equipment doesn't make them a bandit or coast camper. I read a lot of people saying, "if he has an assualt vest, its safe to assume he is a bandit." or "if if you spot a player who is prone with a scoped mosin its a safe bet they are KOS sniping." None of that is true. Every player out there wants to get good gear and find cool clothes. That is part of the fun of the game. Everyone has their own preferences. The only universally accepted piece of kit that screams, "I am a bandit" is the payday masks. BUT even then some folks like those ugly things. And that sniper you spotted might be up to no good, but he might also be up to some good. Maybe he is watching and looking for bandits, coast campers, or KOS players to shoot. Does that make him any less of a potential threat to you? Not at all. The point being the only way you will know for sure is to hide and watch yourself. LOOK and see what is going on. LISTEN for voice chatter, gunfire, etc. Witness their behavior and then decide to make contact or ghost out of town and move on.

The point is that KoS is a short sighted mentality. If the ultimate "end game" is just going to be more PvP, then this game won't achieve the greatness we all feel it potentially has. Every game has douche nozzles. And as a gaming community playing in an Alpha we have the power to guide and push the development along in certain directions. They {devs} are watching us. They are tracking us. They are listening to us. They may not be responding much but all we can do is have faith that they have a general plan in place for what this game becomes. At this stage the game has so many unique elements that set it apart from a CoD or Battlefield game. Why devolve it into just another mediocre squad Vs squad FPS. That makes no sense. These things have their place in a game like this, don't get me wrong. Hopefully it becomes a fleshed out and organic experience instead of, "there's nothing else to do so I just KoS."

I am curious as to everyone's' thoughts on what the eventual planned Endgame is for DayZ SA. The game is often referred to as a murder simulator, and bringing out the worst examples of humanity. I myself have been murdered needlessly countless times when I had often little or no valuable supplies. You start the game helpless, and you work hard to scrap together the basics. Next thing you know you are shot dead for fun, or for the single can of soda you had in your pocket. Obviously I am referring to spawn campers. This isn't a complaint thread, don't read this wrong. I understand that if this were a real life situation, if society crumbled under the weight of any worldwide catastrophe, only the lucky and the strong would stand a chance for survival. So running into a spawn camper who would shoot you dead for sport or for nothing more than that prized can of beans....is a "reasonable" expectation once in awhile. Hell, DayZ SA is turning into quite the social experiment if you ask me. Do I wish this sort of in-game behavior was less rampant? Absolutely, but we are gamers. There are no real world consequences for our actions in most cases, so why not let your dark side bloom? That being said I prefer a different kind of play-style. I like to role play, as myself, in the role of my character. Would I snipe another person across an airfield who is looting a building in hopes he mind find some ammo or a medkit? No probably not. I find that I would in 90% of scenarios not shoot first and ask questions later. I personally prefer a more cooperative style of play. I'd like to have positive experiences with other players, rather than negative. I have to date in fact had a single positive experience in-game so far, out of countless negatives. I was looting an airfield on a low-pop server, hoping to find some ammo for the pistol I had been lugging around for days or maybe even a rifle. I came around the corner and I saw a silhouette of a person, the sun behind them making it difficult to make out any detail. Thinking he was a zombie I swung my ax and gave him a good chop. Amid the blood spray he cried out in shock. He was sorting thru his inventory and didn't see me come around the corner. He begged me not to kill him. I assured him that it was not my intent and the attack was a case of mistaken identity, that I was not hostile. I felt remorse over his gaping wounds and offered him up a spare medkit that I had just found. He cleaned his wounds. He laughed over the incident. I felt better. We did some trading. We chatted for a bit. I think he was from the UK because he had a heavy accent that I couldn't quite decipher. It was cool to talk to a gamer from another country other than my own. (an assumption on my part I guess) Ultimately we exchanged pleasantries, wished each other luck, and went our separate ways. I was able to avoid my first ever "cold blooded" murder of another player. I felt too vulnerable out in the open of the airfield and so I felt rushed to book it into the woods to safety. Otherwise I would have offered to team up and exchange info to play together later. I would like to build a network of friendly players. My point is, the game, even in its Alpha stage, and with lots of players coming from the Arma II Mod, has the potential for lots of different styles of play; - Maybe you are just one of those spawn camper douche-balloons who gets his jollies from ruining someone else's game experience because it tickles you. - Maybe you are one of those types who joins a "clan" so you can have squad based PvP matches against other clans. Spending your time in between your official matches hunting the "most dangerous game" for practice and supplies. (I personally don't find this much different than spawn camping.)- Maybe you want to make friends, team up, establish settlements and trade, craft, hunt, and rebuild. What kinds of things can you think of that would enhance the game in a way to make all these choices valid options?? Here are some basic ideas; - Objective based quests or missions such as; hired mercenary missions involving supply deliveries, escort, or rescue, defense based missions protecting a settlement or objectives from a large zombie herd headed their way, or missions to attack/eliminate a large group of zombies or bandit threats.- NPC roaming bandits- Dedicated servers for different play styles, PVP, Co op, PVE, etc. - Actual survivor settlements with merchants, including a "barter" type economy or using ammo for currency. - Join a cult, gang, or group of bandits with similar mission based quests directly related to that group type. I am just spit-balling here. I would dislike if this game continues to foster and enable player on player murder to the point where it just becomes a game about getting the best equipment and then hunting other players for sport. I think this game can be more than that. As the gaming community involved on this level of the Alpha we have a chance to shape the ultimate future of the game and what it becomes.

I was not trying to imply that elements such as banditry and KoS don't have a place in this game. I would argue that these negative factors have value in enhancing the experience of playing DayZ in fact. The loss of your character has emotional ramifications. My point is simply that these elements seem quite lopsided at the moment and adding elements to the game that would promote balance benefits everyone. You need to have some good mixed in with your bad. Otherwise the game will just devolve.