ColdAtrophy

Right, plus it will holster a pistol too, correct? If you find the holster attachment, I mean. I've not seen or heard of anyone who had the completed vest so I guess that will be something to watch for. I started making grid patterns with my inventory open to try to catch anything that might be clipping into another object. I'm now finding way more stuff, mostly ammo, than ever before. Maybe that will help. Anyway, if it doesn't actually do anything unique over any other vest, then it's likely that my main menu is showing me wearing the plate carrier from some kind of bug then. I just couldn't help but wonder.

Thank you. It was fun to write. It was based on first all day experience playing with a new friend with artistic liberties taken of course. :)

Every last bit of that sounds absolutely fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of snipers, but based on the picture and some other stuff I read, they are adding the UMP45 which is one of my favorite guns in video games. Based on what I see now, there isn't much of a reason to carry more than some bandages/rags, epinephrine if you are playing with others and maybe a morphine stick if you find one. It sounds like this new system will require players to carry more medical supplies in the event of an issue and not as much ammo, weapons, and combat related gear. I really think we are in for a treat...and I'm in for a lot of deaths spent learning how things have changed. :) I'm also really excited at the prospect of crafting tables. That sounds like it could potentially add a ton to the long term playability of the game and perhaps make items that currently have no use, useful.

And, again, I'm not reading anything on this subject that states what you claim. From what I gather the hypothesis was that certain people more dominantly use the left or the right side of their brain. The study that you are citing seeks to debunk that and has succeeded. There appears to be no evidence that one side or the other is more or less globally dominant. It really seems like you are misinterpreting the data and extrapolating too far based on what you think it means to say, rather than what it says. "Based on the brain regions we identified as hubs in the broader left-dominant and right-dominant connectivity networks, a more consistent schema might include left-dominant connections associated with language and perception of internal stimuli, and right-dominant connections associated with attention to external stimuli." While this paper you cited is a very technical read, and I will not pretend that I fully understand all of it, it seems that they did, in fact, find some differences in how a person perceives the world around them and over development of grey matter around certain lateral hubs. They also don't really have anything to say here that backs up your statement.

I only have 80 hours so far, so I'm not veteran by any means and anyone who can, please correct me, but I have to say this. I've experienced desync. I've experienced a loss of connection to the server. They have both happened many times in the time I've played. I locked two zombies in a house and ran halfway down the road while they pummeled a ficus. The thing is, the server thought that I was the ficus for some reason and I kept getting hit. I've had it to where no items will transition at all. I can't pick anything up, I can't put anything down, I can't combine items, I can't equip anything. No matter what has happened though, I have never been locked in one place or stuck moving slowly. Not even for a second. Lag does not seem to effect your own movement on your client, only on the server. So what happens is that you get rubberbanded back to the last point that the server could verify your location, but you can still move around freely on your client in the meantime until the server and your client synchronize. This sounds fishy to me, and I'm usually the last person to cry hacks. I know that gamers are prone to such exaggerations. It's just that the lag explanation doesn't add up with my experience thus far. If anyone can chime in here, by all means, please do.

I see the link you posted. I see what it says, but I also know that specific areas of the brain light up on scans when individuals are experiencing different stimuli, emotions, solving specific kinds of problems, etc. If this was not the case, then people like this: http://thehumancalculator.com/would not be able to do what he can do. His brain, for whatever reason, began to use the part of the brain that controls motor function (movement in 3 dimensional space) to do mathematics. He doesn't use the same area of the brain that the vast mejority of us do. If you like, I can look for more examples. There are tons of studies out there that support this. We use specific parts of our brain to perform specific tasks, process information, etc. It has been proven untrue (as is still parroted by many as an urban legend) that we only use 10% of our brain, but that is because we now actually know what each part of our brain does. I'm not a psychiatrist or a doctor, but I did have to take a psychology class in college and we talked about this specifically. Perhaps you can find more information and I will be proven uncorrect. I'm not interested only in defending my initial statement. I'm open to learning. However, Wikipedia, while being a good starting point when you begin to research a topic, is not generally used as a relaible source because of the fact that anyone can add anything to a page, regardless of their qualifications, sources, or ability to properly interpret and transcribe that information into the wiki. Based on what I've learned in school and my own reading and experiences, I'd say the idea that our whole brain contributes to all processes has a lot of explaining to do because it would force us to rewrite nearly everything we know about the human brain. This is not good reason for it to be ignored (many new scientific ideas are met with stubborn refusal to listen but later proven correct), but it is a good reason to look into it further without simply accepting it at face value. EDIT: Based on what I'm reading so far, the idea of left or right side brain dominanace in particular people has been debunked, not that specific parts of our brains handle specific emotions, processing, actions, etc.

You really might be onto something here. I tend to freak out a bit when I come across other players because it's almost always rare and unexpected when I do. I stay away from highly looted and populated areas especially when I am playing alone. I'm gonna give your method a try. I did a little bit of reading and I think I understand why this works for you and may work for others. When you are in danger (IRL), your brain takes sensory information about the situation and sends it to your adrenal glands which begins to release adrenaline into the bloodstream. While this game is not real life, the mechanics of it make you fear death in a way that most games do not. It is capable of producing a very real fight or flight response in you. I have had this happen to me at least once, especially when surprised by another player. When this biological response kicks in, it becomes harder for your brain to process information the way that you normally would. "In moments of extreme stress, the brain does not allow for contemplation; it does not process new information the way it normally does. The more advanced parts of the brain that handle decision making go off-line, unable to intervene until the immediate fear has diminished." http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/16/your-brain-in-a-shootout-guns-fear-and-flawed-instincts/ This article describes the way that an officer's brain handled a situation wherein he and his partner came under fire from a guy with a revolver. He was able to do things physically that he might not normally be able to do, but he made some mistakes too that seem silly from a 3rd party perspective, like dropping his gun and not realizing it at all. When you begin to state what you see and do factually, you are using your left brain which is responsible for logical, grounded analysis, as you can see in the picture above. The right side of the brain, while not shut off or anything, is no longer "in control", which helps to block out feelings and emotional responses. I suspect that this is part of the reason why soldiers operate the way they do, aside from the obvious benefits of clarity in communicating to one another. You are forcing fear and emotional responses to the backburner.

Oh so that's why my public character was reset the other day. I was wondering about that. I let it sit on "Wait for host" for like 5 minutes, thinking that it would let me in eventually. Seems like this should be displayed prominently on the main menu or something so people know it's an issue when they first get the game.

I got to that point where I started thinking that way a couple days ago. I tried to be friendly but I was approaching people the wrong way and making myself an easy target. I have since changed my mind after playing the game with a buddy for a few days and picking up tips from him. For now, at least until I get more experience, I move slowly, I use binoculars, and I avoid others like the plague. If I run into someone unexpectedly and I have no way to escape unhindered, I shoot to kill. Do not approach guys in full mil gear carrying two weapons. They are more likely to be looking for something to shoot. Avoid the main roads, use bushes and trees to your advantage, take the long way if it provides more cover, and dress the best you can for not making yourself an easily visible target. If you must go to a military loot area, be quick, careful, and don't try to loot every single location by yourself. The second your boots cross the threshold into NWAF, for example, a clock begins ticking. I would not suggest that a person, especially one new to the game, go anywhere near these large military bases without backup. Even then, it is likely that not everyone will walk out alive, especially on a public server. In my opinion, KoS is not the answer either. The secret lies in a good middle ground between the two. You have to understand the context of where you are, who is with you, what you might encounter, what you look like to another player, who is with you, and behave accordingly.

Deleted - Some kind of weird double post resulting from an edit.

There are a lot of opinions being tossed around here and I see merit on both sides. It's hard to know exactly what the right thing to do here is to combat the issues that the public hive present. I wasn't going to post at all, just read and see what people are saying, but the statement I quoted here really caught my attention. I know there a lot of different playstyles and approaches to the game. Many people play to experience different things. No matter what your reasons for playing, I thing one thing that draws all of us the immersive aspect of DayZ. It adheres to a type of authenticity that largely does not exist in mainstream gaming today. That said, I can't help but overwhelmingly agree with the this statement by the OP. Since the game is in alpha and the devs may have plans to rework a lot that will go towards fixing this kind of issue, I acknowledge that and don't want anyone to misconstrue this as a complaint. Rather, this is my feedback. As the game is now, it amplifies the effect that abusive, exploitative behaviors that are rampant in any online game have on others. Like it or not, this game, at its' core, IS at least partially a shooter and, as a result, many terrible behaviors are going to come with that. Gamers have been learning how to stay alive in low TTK shooters for the last decade or more. The tactics they employ often have no regard for "the spirit of the game" and I wouldn't expect them to. It's up to the devs to combat these behaviors if they clash with the central design tenants of their game. I really think that the way server hopping works now needs to be addressed. Even if you make all the right decisions about how to approach a situation and clear rooms properly, the random variable of another player spawning into high loot zones make those areas 1000x more of a danger than any other location where a player may spawn in. While you could make the argument that the player knows the danger when going into these areas, he cannot fairly combat the danger and so is forced to go into a situation where he may be killed through no particular lack of skill on his part. I suggest that one small thing be added to the game to help combat the issue. If a player is attempting to join a server, players in the immediate vicinity, and only within "X" distance of the joining player, should get some kind of audio and/or visual warning. What that warning could be is completely open for debate. I do not think the position should be specifically given away. That could create a whole new issue. Regardless, the person spawning in on a mil loot area should realize that they not only took a huge a risk by not finding a safer place to log out, but every player nearby will get warning of their arrival. In my opinion, this is the only way to combat the abuse, save some aspect of the immersion (depending on how the warning is chosen to be implemented), and aim for an experience that is at least slightly more fair for everyone involved. The spawner knows the risks, and the person playing is aware that someone just dropped in and that could be in a location that they have already assumed to be safe.

I really, really like this idea. The more dynamic (like helicopter crash sites) the less exploitative the players can be. All of my deaths so far except for one have been at a static military loot spawn. In several of those cases, the attackers were simply waiting for players to happen by. Side note: Do wrecked/destroyed Humvees ever spawn anything? I keep finding them with nothing around or in them.

Send me a private message. I started two weeks ago. I just got past the "opening sequence" of the game, learning the basics on practically everything. I will explain everything you need to know.

I'm new to this game. I think I have somewhere around 30 hours played. I'm beginning to struggle just a bit and I want to hear some opinions on what I should do. It seems that this game really is much better to play with a small group, maybe even only 2 people. I find that I commonly come across 2-3 man teams. Most of the time, I am alone. I try to talk to people in game but I think we all know what that gets me. My real life nature, disposition, and values prevent me from behaving the way that most others do in-game. If I was playing something like Halo or Battlefield or <insert mainstream PVP game here>, these things are rarely a hindrance because those games are not immersive in the way that this game is. I guess one could say that I do a form of RP in games like this wherein I behave as I naturally would. I'm not playing this game just to kill zombies, or people, or just to find a sweet gun. I'm playing this game to experience the mutha-fucking zombie apocalypse! I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who has had conversations about just what we would do if the zombie apocalypse happened. Just today, I was in Pogorevka near Green Mountain. I found a truck and I was trying to figure out how to get gas in it. All I could find was a PET bottle and it worked. I got the truck started and to a gas station where I put a few more bottles into it with the hope of being able to get far enough to find some actual gas cans. So I started off down the road, only for the server to restart. When I rejoined, my truck was gone. I was sad. Oh well, I said. I checked the map and saw that a helicopter crash site was nearby. I started towards it and sure enough I saw the telltale black smoke. SWEET! Then I saw that two guys had beaten me to it. I walked up while one of them was drinking. I could have easily killed him. EASILY. That is not the first thought that comes to my mind when playing these kinds of games though. I hit PTT and said, "Hey. I'm not gonna attack you". I unequipped my fire ax from my hands as I was saying this. I did not have it raised anyway. I could have probably killed them both given the fact that they let me walk right up to them without even noticing I was there, but that just is not how I roll. The first guy switched to a firearm. The second guy readied his sniper rifle. One shot and I died. And this was on a "No KoS server". So what am I getting at here? I try to make friends so I'm not outnumbered in literally every altercation and all that gets me is shot, stabbed, trapped, and just generally fucked up. Most of the time, the person who kills me isn't even getting anything decent. I keep 3 cans of peaches, a can opener if I can find one, some ammo, a pistol, a sledgehammer or ax, a raincoat and whatever pants I can find that have 6 slots. If I can find them before I am murdered ruthlessly, I keep 1-3 canteens. I also always grab a compass ASAP. Other than that, they are getting some super common rifle or shotgun from me if it's not wrecked from the fight (not sure how that works). Except for the one day where I got killed by the Phantom Menace about an hour after getting an AUG. I fired like 3 bullets out of it so I hope the guy is enjoying it. So I'm not a target because of the badass gear that I don't have, talking does nothing but put them in "Ee's diff'rnt. keel im" mode, and I get no satisfaction out of simply killing the only genuinely interactive objects within the game world. The worst part about all of this is that I have seen some really pointless killing even when it doesn't involve me. There was a guy who was bleeding out on the ground, inches from death, and he stopped bandaging himself just to kill my friend who wasn't doing anything but looking at him. Do you know how that played out? They both died. I tried to save my buddy but I got a CTD (long story, PC issues since solved). No one gained anything. All of their shit was ruined so I wasn't even able to make use of any of it in the aftermath. If that guy had just acted like a person with a brain stem and not some feral stray dog, everyone would've lived. I feel like the only sane adult for thousands of miles that has just stumbled upon the camp of boys from Lord of the Flies. Suggestions? Is this just not the game for me? Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder. It is really, really cool when I'm not getting double fisted by dude bros with AKs and Hunting Rifles or, my personal fav, the Ghost of Veresnik Prison. I'm just getting a little bit frustrated and instead of blaming everyone else, I'm trying to figure out if it's maybe just me. Maybe this game just isn't my cup of tea, despite all that I enjoy about it. What do you all think?

I'm learning to stealthily move around the map. I now assume, no matter what, that someone is right on the cusp of dealing me a death blow. I have come across two players in the last day of playing within close proximity to me on highly populated servers. One I avoided completely. A truck came up the road while I was basically in a wide open field. I hid as best I could, switched to my SKS with PKU, and didn't move until about 5 minutes after I could no longer hear the truck, carefully watching and waiting for any sign that I had been spotted. The 2nd guy wasn't so lucky. I've been murdered so many times at a military area that this time, I did not take any chances. The guy made a dash in the direction of my partner and I lit him up. He never saw me at all. Chernarus has changed me irrevocably. Three days ago I was still trying to walk up to people with no weapon equipped and chat about our day. I wound up being shot, stabbed, beaten, trapped, and cheated out of what little I had. Experience is a harsh master.

I love player stories about the adventures people have in this game. This game is like one giant emergent gameplay machine. I think I'm learning what I need to do. This game has done something psychologically to the player that games simply do not do. It evokes a genuine flight or fight response in the player. That is a deep, largely uncontrollable, instinctual reaction that an artificial experience should not be able to easily trigger. You fear death as much you possibly could fear death in a video game. It makes the other players unpredictable and you cannot count on rational decisions being made no matter the circumstances. I used to think that mechanics such as these were punishing and that devs don't do it because it makes the game too difficult or frustrating for the player. That might actually be true in a general sense, but the way that it is implemented here actually enhances the entire experience rather than taking away from it. Thanks for the tips and advice. I think I will arrive at a playstyle and methodology that satisfies my personal goals and values without needlessly walking into the meat grinder. This game is so immersive that I might have to look into running it on VR tech. *Off to Google I go*

This is an excellent read. Thank you very much. :) It's heartening to see that there are others who feel the same way I do and there are tons of great tips on there. I'm learning that there is a lot more to all of this than what you immediately see on the surface.

I'm learning man. I've made some missteps, but I'm learning. My buddy just got done telling me exactly the same thing yesterday. He said that if he had approached them, he'd have had his shotgun in hand and immediately acted when it was clear death was coming. I'm crafting a Ghillie suit (have 90% of what I need) for solo encounters such as this one. Next time I'm gonna get close, blend in, tell them they are boned and that I would like them to either chat, be friendly, or trade. Barring that, they should GTFO before I decide I don't like their body language and put softball sized holes in their skulls. He also said that he simply does not approach people who are heavily geared up. He tries to avoid them, particularly when playing solo. My logic was that if I walked up, clearly not a genuine threat, and announced myself, that they would think, Why waste a bullet? I see now why that was incorrect. My goal was to put the other players at ease, knowing that I am no immediate threat and seeing that my gear is all boring, plain, common stuff. As I understand it, most just think free kill! If I give them no other choice, then they might be decent. I also have started carrying handcuffs. We will interact dammit! I don't want to kill anyone who doesn't force me to. We're all just trying to survive in Z-land, you know? EXCEPTION: Revenge.

Thank you. :) I like to write and this game evoked such strong and genuine emotions and fear responses that I simply could not help but to write about it. I can't say that I've ever played a game quite like this one.

http://i.imgur.com/9XHKdVL.jpg I'm just curious what these places are called. I seem to have pretty good luck getting stuff out of them, to the point where when I see one I get a tiny bit excited.

So I Went to the Hospital.... ....And as I looked around the room, I couldn't help but think, medical loot!

That was the 2nd helicopter I ever found. The 1st was completely by accident. This one was because I was nearby and had no other immediate goal. That was also the first time I ever actually tried to find one by checking a location on the map. I remember text scrolling on the screen as I joined the server about not killing on sight. Perhaps I'm not remembering it correctly. I have joined and been murdered in many servers in the short time I've been playing and I was killed at least 3 or 4 times on that day alone. Regardless of whether those are or are not the server rules, I'm told that server admins can't hold anyone to that and I doubt there is any way to realistically enforce it. So, no big deal I guess. That really isn't the main point that I was trying to make here, not by a long shot. I said "Hey, I'm not gonna attack you". I don't recall saying anything else. I cursed a bunch when I realized I was about to be killed but I had let off the PTT by then so I'm not sure what you are referring to. The fact remains that I could've killed your friend without any real trouble as he was stuffing his face. If I had been that kind of player, that is. Trust me when I say this: I will not make that mistake again. I've been killed too many times when I could have, should have, and would have killed the guy who snuffed me. If I had killed your buddy, what was going to stop me from killing you too? I could've walked up with that shotgun (that was loaded as you clearly saw) while you two derped around oblivious to the world. It's easy to snipe an unarmed man who just announced his presence and is not even moving. But I see the point that all of you are trying to make. I learned my lesson today and killed a guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You all have converted me. KoS is the name of the game. Avoid if you can, but if you can't - shoot first and ask questions later. If that's how you all want to play, then in order to participate, I must as well. I hope you frequent that server. I really hope our paths cross again. :)

So I've spent about 3 hours wandering Z-land and collecting supplies. I have a friend who has logged off for the night and my mission before I go to bed is to get as close to his approximate location as possible with the supplies necessary to help him fix his fractures and get going again. I've lost some blood, but I have plenty of food and drink, a few medical items, ammo and a gun, a melee weapon, and I've identified my blood type as A+. I still have a long way to go. I keep getting wet and therefore cold. I had a raincoat but it got wrecked and I had to discard it about an hour ago after a zombie attack. I can't figure out how to make fire to get myself dry when I have the opportunity. I'm worried that I'm not gonna make it to him and will instead die before I get there. Can anyone offer me some tips? What items do I need? Where should I stop to get better items and medical supplies? I'd like to avoid places known to be super hotspots so as to keep from a KoS situation. I will likely die in a PvP confrontation as I've lost a good chunk of blood and I have no idea how to get more. I had a saline bag which I think would have helped but it's missing from my inventory. My approximate location: http://www.izurvive.com/#c=30;67;4 I'm somewhere in here but I'm not 100% sure where. My friend is somewhere around here: http://www.izurvive.com/#c=78;83;5 Can someone help me plot a route that leads to the greatest chance of success? Thanks, A Survivor

Long story. I was being stubborn about not being a homicidal maniac, resisting playing the game the way one needs to to survive. I popped my murder cherry today, all in the interest of the preservation of myself and my partner, of course. You can read all about it here: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/222374-from-a-survivors-journal-day-1/ I can say without an ounce of hesitation that this was the single most compelling game experience I've ever had.

Thanks everyone. It was easier to figure out what the community would refer to them as by showing a picture rather than searching for however long through photos on a wiki or whatever and trying to match them up. Just trying to learn the lingo. B) I don't really worry much about what my graphics settings are at. The only two things I have I have a preference on are resolution (1920x1080) and Anti-Aliasing (Normal). Other than that, I'm really not sure what they are set to. The other settings don't really make the game look much different and they seem to have little to no impact on framerate or playability. I'm pretty sure my textures are set to Very High. If they aren't, there's no reason they shouldn't be since the game only uses 2GB of vram max and I have 4 (kinda, lol). I have an Intel i5-4690k and a Giagbyte GTX 970, the mini-ITX version. http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5252#ov In every other game I have played so far since I built this PC two months ago (BF4, Metro 2033 Redux, heavily modded Fallout New Vegas, Evolve, Borderlands 2, Titanfall, The Evil Within) I have been able to crank up most or all of the graphics settings in game. With this one, my frames vary from 20-30 in large cities, 40-55 in towns, and 60 everywhere else no matter what I do. I always limit my frames with Vsync and/or a limiter. I don't see the point in asking my card to output frames that I can't see on a 60hz monitor.