Cliff_beefkake

Pistols should spawn with magazine but no rounds. If the gun was used during the apocolypse it would most likely be empty, but the magazine should be inserted. It just makes almost no sense.

I agree with some of your assessments. But, I disagree with others. I play defensively and used to scout for open doors to allow me to retreat without engagement since most encounters ends with someone being killed. That recourse is gone now that doors are opened randomly. I can scout for a while, but stuff still goes down when I enter a town and someone that's careless comes running in. I usually have to shoot first, but it would be more realistic for players to make contact without being in the line of fire, or in the same room. I agree that most of the sensory information (heat, cold, physical condition) should be displayed because it is not available to the user as he is in a different environment. I agree that the suggestion "someone is near me" is not that well-defined, and would probably be abused. I had amended the concept to exclude messages for someone who is crawling, or crouching. Also the message shouldn't appear if your character is running/jogging as the noise you make would cancel out your ability to hear other players. As for earphone to hear sounds characters make (footsteps), this is woefully under-developed. I've spent time in the woods, and I'm also a vet. You can hear someone jogging or walking along with gear from 20-30 yards away, easy. This is amplified in urban areas, as sound reflects off walls and is amplified in rooms/buildings with no insulation. I would easily hear a door close or someone with a full backpack walking up stairs. A message would go off (if you don't' want to improve the sound engine), and I could shout something like "Stop" or "Please back off." I don't know if the game was specifically designed to be a shoot-on-sight pvp game. I mean if you want that, shouldn't you be playing breaking point? Anyway, zombie survival would be all about banding together. I don't think there'd be much shooting on sight for the hell of it.

I agree, and would amend the concept to not include crawling or crouching. If someone is sneaking up on you through crawling or slow walking, then the message shouldn't appear. I'm just thinking about providing defensive/non-bandit-type players with more options than shoot-on-site when being close to other unsuspecting players. Like, if you're still and I run by within 20 yards, you should get the message, not me. That would give you more options to either engage, retreat, or make contact. Maybe there should be a better contact system. If the game is about surviving, then shooting everyone you come across makes for lame game play.

I agree, but the sound engine is lacking. It's not realistic. You should be able to hear footsteps at least 20 yards away, especially with people moving around with gear. Plus, the random open doors has left me without a way of being defensive/non-bandit-like when entering cities. I walk in, take my time, and some schmoe walks into a room that I've painstakingly entered, and I gotta' shoot him, or he gets to me first. Either way, it's forcing me into a shoot-first mentality. Not really a good direction in concepts of survival. Usually, harsh situations make people band together.

Thanks for writing in. You have some good points. I play in a defensive, non-bandit way. I don't think the object of the game is to shoot on sight. Many do, and it's because there's no other recourse in the game. I've had to several times, and I don't think the game play offers anything other than being in an extremely paranoid mindset. Sure, people turn on each others, and there's in-fighting within groups, but if the game's a survival simulator, then it should be easier to detect people around you (if they're not intentionally being stealthy). The first point. I agree. The message should not come up if someone is sneaking up on a sniper. Crawling or crouching would not be noticed, and the message should not appear. If you are sneaking up on someone your intentions are not good, anyway. Many of my encounters in .49 have been from doors being open randomly. Even after camping and scouting I don't really know if someone is currently in the area or not. So, some of the people I've had to gun down when I came across them simply because they're so close, and I can't trust them (they also can't trust me). I believe that socialized human-beings (since they are survivors after the zombie apocalypse) would still cling to some level of morality and not shoot on sight. So, I'm proposing an in-game way of knowing when someone is unwittingly jogging or running around a 20 yard area. It would give you the option to retreat or engage. The game doesn't give you much of an option to play as a survivor. Only as a coerced bandit. I've been in the woods, and I'm a veteran. If you sit still and listen, you can always hear someone walking around or running within 20-30 yards, especially with gear. A message system would allow people to either retreat if possible, or engage if they really want. Either that, or they need to enhance the sound engine, because it sucks. It's bull that you can be in a building and sitting still, you can't hear a door close or open when you're in an adjacent room. Your second point: I agree that the untrustworthy thing is nebulous. It was just a suggestion for a character to show signs of mental issues from combat, or shooting someone on site. People that commit those types of acts usually suffer from PTSD (afterwards), are sociopaths, or have extreme anxiety. You can usually spot the symptoms of these disorders within a 30 seconds. Just trying to enhance the simulated experience.

Doors are now open and closed random when the server restarts. I know it sucks...

Just a suggestion, but I'm tired of the anti-social aspect of this game. I think it's an awesome game, and I have a lot fun gearing up, killing zombies, and surviving. But, I'm really tired of getting gunned down or having to gun down others in random encounters. If you can get messages about your environment, like I'm cold, or I'm hot, or my leg is broken. Why can't we have the character say something about another player being nearby? If another character is within 25-40 yards, why can't the character say something like: "I think someone else is near." Why not? If I was in a deserted town, I'm sure I'd be hearing someone walking or running near me. As I have actually hunted and spent numerous hours camping/hiking, I know when an animal or another human is near me within 30 yards. Also, the if the DayZ engine can determine so much about environment, why can't it calculate some type of rating system for players and their kills? Say, if a character has killed several characters, that character should "appear" untrustworthy to others. Maybe you get a message like "this person doesn't look that trust-worthy." Or, "This guy has a good look to him." There's no real incentive to team up and trust others, and I think it's hurting game-play. Clans are burdensome, and I don't know if they're really the answer in a game like this. It's very difficult to actually team up with anyone at this point, unless you know them outside of the game, and a rating system would make this game a bit less anti-social and a bit more fun. Just my two cents.

Hello All, Been playing for a few weeks now. I got geared up really well a few times, but got mowed down in some dumb encounters. I just got shot by a 12 year old kid who pretended to be 'friendly'. Looking for some decent people to play with that won't shoot me in the back. Really, I don't see any way of having decent game play beyond "survival" if you can't trust (to some extent) some other players. Very fun game, and realistic. Just wish people wouldn't be such @ssholes on the game.