WolverineZ

Hello forum. Long time lurker, but never posted anything up until now. I have some concerns, and for once, just once, I'd like to get Hicks or someone from the Development team to at least respond to some concerns I've had since purchasing this game back in Dec. 2013. Lately all I see is a PvP-fest happening in Berezino or Elektro. Armed thugs with uber military-grade weapons & gear (I thought M4s were not in .59?), etc. You see tons of YouTube videos of someone or some group just having a massive shoot-out at one of the notable places in Chernarus. Brian, if you read this, since you're the Director, what is the "end-goal" of DayZ SA? Will it be a truly gritty & unforgiving survival game, or is it just going to be a PvP game that everyone seems to want it to be? Like, you saw what happened to the DayZ Mod, right? Epoch ring a bell? Vanilla servers were down to two that I frequent (434 and Europa). To those of you who are about to rain down the hate on me, just remember I completely understand that having shoot-outs is part of the game. I'm not against it because PvP is part of the game, but common sense would tell you based on video evidence on YouTube that a lot of these YouTubers only care about is the PvP aspect, and I'm getting a bit uncomfortable of where the direction is going with the PvP aspect. I get that there's nothing much to do, as the PvE aspect is yet to rear its head. So, does this mean that the Developers will do something similar to what H1Z1 did? And that is split the game into two types? One a gritty survival simulator game, and the other just a PvP slugfest in Elektro? Don't ridicule me please without being honest with yourselves. Which does this community want the game to be? And what do the Developers want this game to be? If the Developers never release the server files and just make this into a gritty survival game then will that drive you away from the game? Then why in the heck are you playing it in the first place? There's ArmA II & ArmA III for crying out loud, and tons of mods for either of them. Why do people want the game to turn into a PvP fiesta? Are you all saying that the "vision" of where Brian is taking the SA is in the wrong direction? The video evidence is more than enough. Gear-up, find some unsuspecting dupes, and shoot 'em all up. Okay, that's fine cause that's the way you/they want to play it. But then why not shrink the entire map down to one city, and just give everyone weapons? Let's hear what the Developers have to say about this. One way or another, we're all waiting to see where the SA finally takes us on this long & hard road to completion. Just what it turns out to be is what I'm concerned about. Thank you, and keep the comments civil. Don't be like the DayZ reddit people who downvote and crap on everyone who doesn't share the mob mentality. Edit: Personally for me, I want a world similar to the Walking Dead, where every other player could be an ally or a villain. But by keeping cool and using your brains vs. just going with your inner PvP-lust to have a shoot-out is not the ideal situation in a survival horror mmo. I'd like to use common sense when encountering potential bad guys; if we have a shoot out then we risk the Infected storming in, or other players heading to our direction? What's the advantage of having ruined gear and bleeding out, where we could've just reasoned with each other? Look, it's a game in the end, and maybe no one has a lot of time to grind and gear-up. I know I sure as hell don't (family, work, bills, etc.). But I love this game very much, and it's all I play (even though there's nothing for me to do other than watch over my camp).

Sorry about not knowing a lot. All I do is just play the game, come to this forum (when it was accessible a year ago or so), but then I got locked out (I think I lost my password, or the server was just offline due to massive long-term maintenance?), so I joined reddit last year, but man, those guys just downvote the living shit out of any honest opinion or question. I was finally able to get back into this forum (I guess by sheer luck?), but I can't find the 'Bug Report' button. Thanks for your help.

Oh no. :( But why? I thought people are paying to keep even official ones online, no? Sorry, I have no clue to how the system works. My understanding was that all DayZ SA servers were being paid by someone, yes? Or no? Why would Vilayer or Fragnet or any large GSP host for free a DayZ server (30 man server)? Do they get some royalty or money out of it?

Thanks Noctoras, you hit the nail on the head. I feel the same way. I get how modding can increase a game's longevity, but I say way after the game's been released. Having mods available at or around the time of release is not a good decision.

Good point, but on the other hand think about this: A newb learns the ropes, and over time by trial & error, they get better and better. Practice over & over again builds confidence, experience, and skill. The newb becomes the veteran, and the cycle continues. And thus I get to my point, which is "Why punish skilled players to make their lives so much more harder than the new player?" I totally get what you wrote, but there's got to be a better way at making things fair. For example, why not make all weapons more civilian rather than military grade? I don't know what the best answer is as you have way more experience than I do since you're a server owner, but is your server similar to 434 or Europa? What mod are you using for your server if I may ask please? Or better yet, what's the name of your server, so I could look it up. You've piqued my interest.

Thanks Brian for your thoughts. Glad to see how the decision making process is done behind the scenes. Although releasing the "keys to the kingdom" is an eventuality, I would like to say something that I've learned from both school, work, and life in general, which is "Stick to your standards". I know you and your team have always done this, and done far more than many of us expected, but hear me out. For instance you mentioned "You can't force people to play the way you want them to." In other words "Let people play the game how THEY want to play it", which is great as I'm all for that. Power to the People, Power to the Players. But why not re-phrase it to "Let them play it however they want within the boundaries of the vision or goal that the Creator(s) wanted their game to be"? You touched upon this when you wrote "You can design the path to go the direction you want, and iterate upon it, and refine it time and time again." And you went on to write "If you don't give people the option or the tools to play how they want to - they WILL find another experience that does." I'm slightly in both agreement & disagreement with you on the last quote though. For example, let's take a board-game like Monopoly or Risk, etc. People read the rules and play the game. Sure, they'll learn techniques or things to do in certain situations (depends on the complexity of the game) that are unique to the game, and may have an advantage over other Players, but the point is they are all still playing within the rules/design/boundaries/parameters of the game. The game Creator had a goal/vision set in mind, tweaked it over time with some trial & error, used some test-player feedback, released his/her final product, and Bob's your Uncle. You could expand this to video games. There are games that are simply single player adventures, or more complex RPG "Open World" settings. And DayZ SA is a much more complicated game akin to a MMO Survival Sandbox game. We all know that. But even as a Sandbox type of game where you can almost do anything you want, the Creator still had set out a vision or goal, and then the players played within those rules/boundaries based on sound decision making by the Creator. If your original vision or goal was to make the SA as a non-definable game (if that's even a term) then great, go for it. But I always felt that the Mod and the SA were supposed to be a gritty survival horror game, similar to experiencing (or living?) in a "Walking Dead" world, or maybe a slightly morbid "The Road" world. So why not just stick to your guns and keep the SA to a gritty survival Zombie apocalyptic game? Are you worried that if you don't release the "keys to the kingdom" for modding purposes that the player-base will just fall off the planet? I don't think that will happen. Sure, maybe the PvPers will drop off, since they might not get their "insta-gratification" (or "fix") of shooting other players (Battlefield, COD, or CSGO come to mind). But I truly think that those Players who follow your vision will continue to play. Like the old adage "If you build it they will come", and I think it still holds true in many facets in life or culture. So what I'm simply saying is "Don't fret about what some of the more vocal community base want this game to be like in their minds". Rather, just set your vision, and "they" will follow. "They" being those who like your vision, and many or all players will play DayZ how they like it yet still set within your rules or vision or boundaries. I for one am worried about the eventual community split, but we'll see. That's still many moons to go, so in the meantime we can all still enjoy your gritty survival horror MMO sandbox game. It truly is one of a kind, and simply put I play no other game other than DayZ SA. I'm so happy you put this out in Alpha to allow us to experience this adventure with you guys. Looking forward to not just .60, but beyond that. Thank you for reading my post (if at all).

Thanks Hicks, I really appreciate your message, as it helps bridge the Developers and the Players together on this long road ahead. I know it's frustrating for you and the team, but there are those of us who appreciate the time & effort you're putting into fixing many of the bugs currently.

Amen brother. I can't wait for wolves, or illnesses, or hordes of Infected becoming the real deal. And of course other players will factor in as well, but they risk of being overrun by the Infected or by wolves. And yeah, I finally found a mag for my Makarov after an hour of searching. Like, I get how police stations have them, but why is it that every police station I visited only had pants, stun batons, handcuffs, or police hats?

That's an awesome Walking Dead type of encounter. Kudos man for taking a stand and protecting your own. Again, I'm not against the PvP aspect, but just wanted to know how everyone else felt with the latest trend of "Let's go to Cherno to shoot some bambis". I'm glad that there'll be predator wolves and bears to contend with. I hope one day we'll get to ride horses.

I would love it where food is scarce, ammo is in low supply, and people have to consider the risks of PvP. I would love it where the Infected are truly a threat, and that could throw a monkey wrench to the CSGO or COD lovers out there. I know they love to fight/shoot, as I play some Battlefield 3 & 4, so I get the whole PvP aspect, but I also want to play this game the way it was envisioned by the team. I know SMoss said we can play it to the way we want, but I'd love it where loot is scarce, and perhaps it would change things up a bit. :)

Yes, exactly my thoughts. I worry about the fragmentation of the community where there'll be mods of mods (look what happened to the original DayZ Mod). And then you might get a situation where if a group gets vocal enough then the Dev Team might have to bow to "their" expectations, while not taking into consideration what's good for the entire community. I expect other players as a threat, as they might shoot me for my own supplies, but I love the aspect where another player really has to think things through by determining do they waste that precious bullet on me, or do they try to negotiate with me for a possible trade, or to make a truce when looting a town? I love this game, and I definitely don't want to see the community fragmented into different camps. Hopefully we'll get a better picture of things to come once .60 hits Stable. :)

Thanks SMoss for your post. I've been reading the current goings-on have been on the DayZ subreddit, and although I understand some players want just PvP, I don't feel that was the vision you and the rest of the Team had envisioned us to play. I get how other players are threat, so I'm not saying "PvE" is the only thing to the game, and I don't want to see our wonderful community split-up, like how H1Z1 did with their King of the Hill and Just Survive modes. PvP is part of the game, but this game is so much more than just a COD or CSGO clone. I am really happy that you guys are giving us something that's so unique and incredible. I don't play any of my other games, as I enjoy this survival horror simulator a lot! Whenever I encounter anyone my heart rate goes up, I tense up, and then I have to figure out if this guy is a good guy or bad guy. Do I fire a shot, but risk the Infected running over my position, or to I call out to the other player in hopes he/she might consider a truce, so that we both can loot a town safely (even though in the back of my mind I'm worried he's going to kill me).

Thanks Noctoras for your input. Yeah, I'm a bit concerned with how some (?) of the player-base wants the game to go in one direction, while the Devs want to take us to a gritty harsh survival MMO. Like, I get what players are saying. Gearing-up to get the bare essentials, then running to Elektro or Cherno seems weird to me. Like, I could see someone mod the game where you have one city, start all players with Makarovs and a shotgun, and let everyone have a shoot-out. However, I fear then you'll get what happened to the Mod (434 & Europa are the only two vanilla servers that are frequented enough), while everyone else is playing a military-themed mod, or a mod of a mod. And I don't want people to hate me for saying how I want to play the game, but if the Devs have a vision then I want to play their vision. If after a while I want to try something else then I might try a mod or two of the SA, but let's see where Brian and the teams takes us. I don't want this game that I love to have split communities, and then hardly anyone plays a vanilla version of the SA, while everyone else is playing a COD modded version of the SA. Thank you for your thoughts. I didn't mean my post to ruffle any feathers, but I have my concerns.

Thanks for your help & insight. I see, I didn't realize why streamers were just doing the PvP thing (i.e. they needed viewership, so hence they do the PvP battles to get fans). Okay, I'm not heavily into Twitch, as I'm more into YouTube. Yeah, I hope the heavily geared "thugs" hugging "Camper's Rock" near Kamiwovo learn that shooting at the bambis is just wasting precious ammo.

Thanks for your post. It's fine, let server owners do whatever they want, as it's up to the players on how they want to play, but I'd really like to hear exactly what Hicks has to say with how the direction of player interaction is going these last few months. I just want this out front in center right now, as I think right now 1) the majority of the player base just wants PvP, and 2) what is the exact vision of the end goal SA in Hick's mind since he just got promoted to becoming the Director.

Thank you for your post. It's refreshing to read someone's post without the toxicity that the reddit page has.