Mookie (original)

I just don't think it's as simple as that. I'm not doubting Hicks, but there may be more to 'in the loot table' than there seems. Even the most serious crash site hoppers in the game don't find M4s at American crash sites. This is literally hundreds of spawns. They may be 'in the loot table', but the probabilities must be so vanishingly low as to be impossible for practical purposes. One guesstimate is 100x less likely to spawn than an SVD. And SVDs are rare. All the M4s anyone has seen are the same - OEM stocks and MagPul guards (with the occasional exception of a guard-less version). M4 stocks and guards do not spawn at all in 0.58 btw. My guess is there may have been one or two, but that all those currently in game are duped. Perhaps there is convincing evidence of someone actually finding a spawned M4, but I've yet to see it.

There are fewer Zs in this patch as the devs are investigating their effect on performance. They are also distributed differently - there are actually more at obscure north western locations than there are in mid-map towns. I'm UK based and usually play lone wolf, but you're very welcome to team up with me inland.

I did, thanks for posting. Also enjoyed your excellent use of paragraphs :D

1. Lag/FPS/desync. On the few occasions I've managed to get the game to run smoothly it's just a much better experience all round. 2. And, yeah, the people. The people are the worst.

I never say "friendly" because it's such a cliché. Everyone says it (unless they already have the drop on you) and it's become totally devalued because around 95% of the people who do say it start shooting about 15 seconds later. A large proportion of shootings are just twitch/panic reactions, which I try to avoid by saying hi, how you doing, not going to hurt you, anything you need, etc.

VMB? I wouldn't regard that as the West. Or even the North. It's a PvP hotspot (not least given its proximity to a crashsite) that any serious lonewolf northerner will avoid like the plague. Green Mountain may retain some of its mysticism, but nothing worthwhile spawns there. This is not an attempt at Mullraugh-like misdirection btw - it's really not worth it in this patch. You're not in the north, or in the west unless Lopatino is well at your back.

In theory it may have some relevance to a single shot, bolt-action rifle in the same way that a muzzle brake on a tank gun does. It directs the gases immediately following the projectile such that there is less vibration at the end of the muzzle. In practice this might translate to lower dispersion - ie greater accuracy at distance, but IRL only larger calibre 'sniper' rifles seem to have them. edit: what Basher said.

Well fair enough, but it's worth asking the question why it disappears and what (if anything) we can do about it. Because we are all alpha testers and can potentially help each other out here, etc...on top of the formal feedback mechanism. OP several things to consider. The new inventory system is seriously buggy - but that's because it's trying to follow rules differently to previous patches. For example, if you have a weapon (eg an MP5) in your inventory and log out with something occupying part of the space needed for it, you may well lose it (just as in game you will drop it if the space isn't available). I've yet to lose a primary weapon as you describe, but wonder if what you're experiencing might be related to the fact that the character screen (the landing page) in the game seems way more random for me than it used to in terms of what I'm holding in my hands (usually a water bottle it seems). Also, I get a sense sometimes that particular items in my inventory are bugged somehow and causing problems within it. Finally, I try to leave at least two inventory slots free, which helps with things like reloading and picking stuff up. On the upside, Winchesters and hunting scopes aren't terribly hard to find...

SVD is actually pretty quiet - especially compared to the Winchester. It seems quieter to me than AKs and SKS too.

Sorry, but not sure that's true. The ballistic helmet will protect you from most bullets short of a 7.62x54 at range (and you will probably still be knocked unconscious and have a ruined helmet). Motorcycle helmets will provide protection against fists. But that's about it I think. You're probably better off picking up a camo boonie hat or baseball cap than most helmets - especially brightly coloured helmets.

For me, it depends what else I'm carrying and whether it's useable at short ranges. Were that to be an AK or an M4, I'd be happy with an FNX. Were it to be a Winchester or an SVD (currently the case), I'd really prefer something automatic - which is why I lug an MP5 around...

As an experienced M4 and crash site person, I have a lot of sympathy for jayfkay on this. The fact that 'all' those in circulation have OEM stocks and MP handguards (or no handguard at all) makes me equally suspicious. Is it possible that one or two spawned at the beginning of the patch, but then didn't - perhaps thanks to some cumulative probability effect - rather than none at all? Or that the probabilities are simply so vanishingly low that only one or two have spawned (and actually been found) in this patch? Also, thinking gambler's fallacy here.

Apologies if you've mentioned this Black, but wasn't there talk of being able to bury the barrels? Or are these all free standing, etc?

I think it's a much tougher and more masochistic experience than any MMORPG I've played, partly by design, and partly because the game is alpha, so has all sorts of interesting glitches. That said, it depends how you play it. If you want to have a laugh, interact, wear a pink dress, die a lot in Cherno that's fine. But if you want to actually try to survive for as long as possible, it's a different story. At least until persistence is sorted out, there is no save game, no Eve Online station holding your stuff safe and sound.

I'm getting a weird sense of deja vu here.

Try doing it yourself? Using this as a basis perhaps? http://dayzdb.com/map/chernarusplus

In that case, perhaps you're like those who swear they've found M4s. Just incredibly lucky in a way that isn't reproducible in the case of 99.9% of the rest of the player base.

Spot on advice here, IMHO. Assuming you don't have stacks of 7.62x54, keep the 74 and consider looking for an AKM if you want to hit harder - given that the attachments can be used on both.

Your shot did not usually (or even ever) land where the dot was... Always my impression that that indicator is there more for interactions like opening doors than aiming accuracy.

They need batteries... We used to have batteries. Then they were taken away from us. There are no batteries in 0.57. Seriously.

Hmmm.

I killed a guy last night. Didn't really want to, felt bad. I was running up to a chopper crash when he ran around the side. Weirdly, given that he was about 10m away from me, he didn't see me. I tried to switch out to my MP5 without remembering I had an AUG in my hands. After five seconds of desperate fumbling, I got the Aug up and let rip, putting a final shot in his head, to be sure. He wasn't that well geared, and what he had was ruined. My only excuse is that crash sites are not the best place to hang around trying to make friends.

Mind you it would help if the hunting jackets, including the winter one, were actually waterproof. Oh, and if the summer one (the summer one) didn't make you overheat within minutes...

I'm not so sure about that. The mags are not as common as (eg) AKM ones, while the ammo is definitely not as common as .308. This is why lots of people prefer the Winchester in practice.

I know what you mean - have seen one or two postings from people saying they found them elsewhere. But I've never seen one anywhere other than Russian crash sites (and I've done a lot of SVD hunting). The mags spawn at tanks/armoured cars, and at guardhouse porches and in one or two other military buildings.