pillock

... and it were possible for melee combat to not be shit.

1. Stilts 2. Unicycles 3. Bowling balls 4. Mummification 5. Kilts

If it becomes possible to repair ruined items, possibly linked to a skill-based system that was mooted, then it'd absolutely make sense for players to deliberately damage or ruin guns that they find. It'd also add depth to the game if most guns that spawn are damaged when you find them (and consequently less accurate). But until the repairing mechanics are in place, I don't think it should be possible to damage them. It'd wreck the game.

A good day's hunting!

Raft building!

Not sure when. Bit it will happen. In the mean time, just make allowances for the fact that zombies cheat.

Have you not tried doing this? Because you can! I agree, exchanging one for the other could be made easier, so you don't have to drop the hand-held one on the floor and faff about with the inventory; and it'd be nice if you could use the melee weapon 'slot' for a gun. But I would actually like to see us being able to craft slings and straps out of rope/tape/rags/whatever, and carry lots of things - it could be balanced by the weight-carrying slow-you-down mechanism (which I believe is in the works), and by disallowing you from carrying ANYTHING on your back unless you have constructed or found an appropriate attachment

I'm kind of hoping it'll be possible to import a very simple Paint-like programme into the game, so we can line-draw on notes.

Yes. Yes it is. Internet military historians are hilariously easy to provoke into righteous fury.

Stop it, please. I was only joking. On 'cowboy hats': Anyone who thinks they are only worn by American cowboys is an idiot. Anyone who thinks they don't exist in eastern Europe is an idiot. It would be great if your choice of hat actually hat effected your body heat - hopefully we'll eventually get mechanics for keeping warm or cool, depending on weather and time of day, and cowboy hats and sun glasses will become more than just a way to try and make your character look like 'The Man'.

DON'T!

Cowboy hats in themselves don't make the game 'feel too American'. But I think there is a general slant in the balance of lootable items that is too far in that direction - and I guess cowboy hats contribute to that. But it's early days yet. DayZ needs a bigger variety of clothing and other loot - and I'd hope it ends up with more of an Eastern European bias than there is in the game's current state. I'm not really that worried about it, but I think it's a useful discussion for the development process. And speaking of useful discussions: If it weren't for the US, all Europeans would be speaking German! [Aha ha. Ha. Sorry.]

I sometimes have to use text chat because a housemate on the floor above me can hear my talking. It is an old house, it has low, thin, badly insulated ceilings - sound carries quite easily. And my housemate is apparently a much lighter sleeper than your missus. So maybe the game could cater for a variety of people and situations, rather than blandly generalise and assume everybody has exactly the same life?

Does anyone want to talk about DayZ?

In your imagined world, this may be true. In reality, it is not.

Assault on Firestation Elekro

This is a perfect illustration of why the game needs hand grenades.

Some people use text chat instead of the mic because they are playing late at night and don't want to disturb housemates, partners, etc.

This is the crux of the argument. Is DayZ a survival game, or is it a military supremacy game? If I had an operational aircraft in a zombie apocalypse, I'd use it to get the fuck out of there - not to assert territorial control over the area and fuck up other people's survival. Helicopters don't contribute to any other part of the game except the military aspect - they're an offensive weapon, not a survival tool. This isn't a mod for a military combat sim any more - it's a standalone title with its own setting and objectives. Helicopters are fun - no doubting that - but do they not just wreck the gameplay balance and turn the whole thing into a helicopter acquisition contest?

Is it? Our survivor characters are civilians, aren't they?

I would argue that you can. I know it's not supposed to be based on a specific real-world country, and I know there are certain other aspects that bring the game away from reality (zombies!), but you can still maintain an idea of real-world authenticity. I was just disagreeing with the principle of the final clause in your post below (and was somewhat irked by the first one!)

If you're sacrificing the authenticity of your scenario for the sake of generating more sales, then I'd say you are dumbing the game down. It detracts from the immersion if it doesn't feel believable; and if it's going to be believable, it needs to feel as much as possible like a real Eastern European former-Soviet Bloc country. I'm not saying that DayZ actually is suffering from this dumbing down, but in principle if they were to implement too much American stuff just for the sole purpose of making American gamers feel more "at home", then I would describe it as dumbing down. That's not a dig at Americans, either, it's just the principle.

I was being a bit mischievous, but you deserved it. Anyway, I think putting certain items/features in the game just to appeal to one particular (large) section of the target audience, even if those items are totally out of place within the scenario, then that is dumbing the game down for the masses.

You mean dumb it down for the masses?

If it's a sandbox, then there isn't an 'end game'. I really hope DayZ doesn't turn into a game of "capture the helicopter". Because what's that got to do with surviving a zombie apocalypse?