Icus

I love Day Z, I really do. I love wandering for hours in the wilderness, hunting for loot in houses, deer stands, military tents, etc. I love the thrill of wondering if a player is stalking the same area as me, fearing a sniper is watching over the military spawn I'm looting, or finding a vehicle in some nonsensical part of the map. I love looting some poor sap's tents of his rare guns, killing pigs for meat, and looting stores and the thrill of finding that uber rare piece of gear. I found my own pair of NVGs, my own M107, my own Coyote Backpack, my own silenced M4, Silenced M9, etc. So with all this to love, why have I stopped playing Day Z? Well, you might say the latest patch, 1.7.2.5, a "hot-fix" intended to fix some graphical issues, was the last straw for me. The way this patch fundamentally broke tents and vehicles has crippled any enjoyment I can find in the game. I say broke as opposed to buggy because they simply don't work. So what if I looted some sap's tent? His stuff will just re-spawn tomorrow. Hell, I can just keep going back there day after day and gear up my friends too. It cheapens the game, and I cannot handle this cheapness. Sure, you're sitting there, saying "well, then don't use the uber loot duping tents, duh!" and you'd be right. But the way tents are broken also makes it incredibly risky to store my gear before going off adventuring. This means I can't store my extra food, ammo, my day/night weapons and more, without fearing a re-set. What if the server crashes while I'm playing at night, or re-sets suddenly? My day/night guns will be gone. I'll have to find that ammo again. It means that if I wander across the map, I have to wander back before I log out or all my things will vanish, and this turns playing into a chore. Then there's the helicopter my friends and I fixed up. Gone in less than five hours. Did the server reset and despawn it/return it to the island I found it on? Or was it stolen? I don't know, and because of that uncertainty (which should not be), I can't be bothered to play. The real reason I've given up isn't any of the above reasons, really. I guess what was truly the last straw is how Rocket and co have basically thrown the community to the wolves in order to promote the standalone at various conventions. I don't blame them of course, I can't wait for the standalone, but I was also looking forward to enjoying Day Z the mod in the meantime. A simple tweet, a forum post, a reddit comment, anything that says, "we know tents and vehicles are broken, news soon" or something along those lines is all I need. I'm sure there are others who fell the same.

Just because there's a higher chance of finding better loot there doesn't mean there should always be good loot there.

Rocket and co should wipe all tents and vehicles. All characters while they're at it. The mod has gotten out of control with an inflation of gear via duping and vehicle hording that has gone beyond levels of reason. However, they should only implement this kind of radical action when/if they get duping and hacking in weapons under control.

The guns themselves are fine, as is. The trouble comes from things like duping, hacking, etc. Spawn-wise, they're pretty rare but thanks to tent duping, duping in general, and the clip refill bug the guns are not balanced by what should be very rare (and risky to obtain) ammunition. I found a camp with over twenty tents and it was full of AS50s (one, or more, per tent). There were over 20 clips of ammo+. No way was that legit and it kind of took the fun out of finding it. I got more of a thrill when I found an MP5SD on a random tent with nothing else but food and med supplies because I knew I had raided someone's stash. The AS50 camp was more like stealing a grain of sand from the beach.

At approximately 10 p.m. Eastern time I encountered a hacker on two occassions on US 416. The first time I was procuring a bicycle and out of nowhere a UAZ appeared honking at me attempting to run me down. I dismounted and killed the driver. His name was [saH] WalkingDead and his GUID is 09fa7512e2ed8d50278a7edcc1176dbf. Now, I had no reason to suspect him of hacking at this point, until.... Some friends were helping me find some parts for the UAZ, as its engine and tires were damaged. One of them was at the Northeast Airfield (not far from where I killed WalkingDead), when a tractor appeared. Turning around, I found the UAZ had vanished. As I approached the airfield my friends were killed one by one. I gave chase when the tractor drove away, but suddenly, in the middle of a random field I noticed a player appear, then go prone, face my immediate direction and fire a DMR. I fired back, and while his shot missed, mine was a headshot and [saH] WalkingDead died again, from friendly fire this time? Why I KNOW he was a hacker: -2 vehicles within 10-15 minutes -Regained NVGs, and GPS within 10-15 minutes -Systematically wiped out my friends, when only one of them had fired at him and all three had ghillie suits and were prone inside trees around the North East Airfield -Blatantly teleporting in front of me. Fortunately he was a terribad shot. Admins feel free to PM me with any questions.

So you're playing one of the most epic, hardcore, and exciting zombie games out there. But are you prepared for the unforgiving world of Chernarus? The first thing you need to do to prepare yourself is realize DayZ is in ALPHA right now. There's a reason very few games have open Alphas. You know how Betas are often buggy, unstable and prone to rapid iteration (ie quick changes/fixes/nerfs/buffs)? Well, Alphas, by virtue of the game not yet being ready for beta, are worse. There's a reason a simple hotfix breaks tents. It's because it's Alpha. When people complain about fixing bugs before implementing new features, they are failing to understand the purpose of Alpha. The point of Alpha is not to get the game playable, it's to assemble its skeleton. Stabilization etc. comes in Beta. Day Z is remarkably stable, and fun, at present (for an Alpha) so it's easy to get spoiled. Just remember when something breaks, the devs know, and they will get to fixing it, but shouting at them about how "fixing all bugs should come before implementing anything new!!!!" is not what they need to hear. Besides, even if they did do that, implementing a new feature could very well introduce just as many bugs as before. This would slow development to a crawl, and while you might be happy with your tent city in the middle of nowhere with more duped guns than anyone could possibly ever use, I can't wait to see how they expand this harsh, unforgiving world.

I kind of agree. I think shock should only apply if you get shot. I get the realism element, but I don't think I should be punished if I log out when I randomly break a leg in the middle of nowhere (proning too close to a tree lolololo) and want to wait for my friends to log in and bring me morphine. Another idea is to introduce a new debuff to penalize alt+f4/logging out and alter shock,

Dictating how the mod is supposed to be played is precisely how it ISN'T meant to be played.

It amuses me that, in a real zombie apocalypse, many on the forums seem to think everyone would hold hands, sing Kumbaya, and work together in a world full of monsters ready to eat them at every turn. That's not the case. Ever see what happens in a city during a mass evacuation? Here's a hint: It's not cooperation. Sure, many people do the right thing and flee with their families, but many also stay behind and pilfer what was left behind. They smash open stores, homes, etc and loot whatever they can because at the end of the day, humans are opportunists. Sniping a lone player in a field is an opportunity in this game. An opportunity for rare loot, or basic supplies, that enhance your ability to survive. Believe it or not, there is already a great incentive for group play: It's more fun. I usually play solo but also often manage to get friends together once or twice a week to go on loot runs, hunt for players or vehicles, etc. You can't trust someone you just met, that's the way of the world. A false, videogamey reward for group play like bonus damage against zombies or a higher chance for loot or whatever it is you think the game should do to force players to play how you want would undermine everything this game does so well: the freedom to do what you want.

Goren, I just wanted to commend you for not Alt+F4ing last night when I engaged you at the Berezino tents on US 44. Kudos to you, sir.

Set up camp in cherno. Crack shot AI NPC pwns fresh spawned players. Bathe in noob tears. In all seriousness, it would be nice to have a crack shot elite NPC guarding your loot while you are away. But how is that realistic? How many discarded tents come with a spare human being armed to the teeth ready to fight and die to protect your loot? The vulnerability of tents/camps/vehicles left behind is one of the most realistic, and rewarding, elements of Day Z. Have you ever seen a hard to reach area and thought "maybe there's a tent up there" and figured out how to get there then found a treasure trove of silenced guns? Because it's awesome. Have you ever had a spare set of NVGs looted off your tent? That sucks. But you just set up camp elsewhere.

Since alot of people are misreading, or not bothering to read, Rocket's reply, here's a rewording (as I understand it): Clicking abort to log out counts as "logging out" and CARRIES NO NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. What this means is if you log in to a server, decide its laggy, and log out, you should have nothing to worry about. Now whether the game will have any systems in place that detect if you fired a weapon etc. before logging out...I don't know. But you will have a 5 second "still in world" ghost to worry about too if you should log in/log out somewhere in danger, or trafficked by many players (ie server hopping in NWA). However, hitting alt+f4, or having your client crash, counts as a "disconnect" and lowers your reptutation with the Hive (a too low rep and you will be banned, with the ability to appeal).

Also for people lamenting about taking a half hour to run to friends...you can spend a half an hour trying to find the "perfect" respawn to be close to your friends. Like, if your pals are in Berezino, and you want to spawn in Solnichny, you could spend an hour trying to get the "right" spawn, overloading the server all the while.

I for one like the new respawning mechanic (or lack thereof). For those lamenting spawning at Kamenka, you do know it's a hop skip and a jump away from Balota airfield, home of 4 deer stands, 2 hangars and an ATC? That's a pretty solid source of loot and weaponry. Or, you could head north for Stary/Novy and try your luck. It does suck to link up with your friends, but it does no matter where you can spawn. Implementing a choose where you spawn mechanic would require tweaking. Otherwise, everyone will choose Novy to get to Stary and that place will become a graveyard of noob corpses, either as people rush the 15 military tents or head to the NW Airfield.

I think the real issue with DCing is how cheapening it is for the DCer. Danger? DC. Well, if you want that kind of hand-holding, just load up any other shooter where you can spam F6 to quick save every step. The fun of Day Z is in the threat of losing everything you've earned. Found NVGs in the barracks? Well, now you have to survive getting out of the airfield. Got a treasure trove of loot? Now you have to hide it. Your tent will be found, your vehicles stolen, but you know what? You'll find other people's tents too, and steal their vehicles, so it evens out. That's the fun. I admit, it took me awhile to realize that. I used to sprint everywhere, picking up a zombie train, then log in/log out to despawn them. But the game got boring quick. Now when a bullet hits near my feet, I try to find the attacker and decide if fight or flight is the best decision. The tension I feel in moments like this does not exist in any other game, period--and that's what makes Day Z special. If you hack, DC to avoid death or re position, you aren't playing the game, you're cheapening it for yourself and others. I died the other day and lost everything. Coyote backpack. NVGs. Silenced m9+m4. But you know what? The moments before I died were epic. A 2v3 gunfight over a vehicle, blood spouting from the jeep as it drove before the passengers jumped out and died. They all had similar, maybe even better gear, than myself. In the end, my friend managed to escape with the vehicle and reclaim my NVGs, so I'm not naked again (and have regeared almost completely in under a day). Day Z is fun, and it sucks to lose loot, but when you know where to go and have backup, it's not too hard to re-gear.

Guild wars style- the other models don't sit right with me. Although, I might be willing to pay per month provided a few conditions were met by the time this goes full-release: more stable servers, stronger anti-hacker software/policing, and a bit more depth to the zombies. I would like a mix/choice of community/developer servers, leaning toward developer servers since I feel like those MIGHT be more secure.

With a well hidden tent in the Northern edge of the map, I decided to hit the North East airfield on my way to the North West. Things got ugly fast, as I was swarmed by zombies just outside the traffic control tower. I made a poor tactical decision and decided to go up the ladder to, hopefully, deaggro the zombies. Unfortunately, the delay between shouldering my weapon and getting on the ladder meant I took a few swipes from a zombie and wound up bleeding. I ran inside the main room of the tower and bandaged up, then examined the loot. Just an assault pack and some ammo on all three floors. Time to hit the hangars. As I'm about to enter the first hangar, I hear the sound of a bullet hitting the ground near me, followed by a loud gunshot. I will admit, I don't know the sound of each gun well enough to say what it was, but I ran inside the hangar and my attacker unleashed between three and six more shots at the wall I was taking cover behind. I waited, attempted to peek out the side of the hangar, but to no avail. My heart was pounding, and I knew I could easily log out and log in to a night server and escape with my NVGs. But that would cheapen the experience, so I sprinted at max speed between the two hangars and into an industrial building (where I found a toolbox which had been eluding me this whole life!) Safe, for the time being, I logged out inside the building and waited for night to fall. One thing I wonder, why wasn't I shot at while on the ladder, or in the tower, where I was a much easier (and stationary) target? The world may never know....

Since finding my first set of NVGs, I've been only playing at night. I usually log in with a set of goals: Loot NW Airfield Barracks, get some food, etc. Last night my goal was to find a tent, a toolbox, and get some med supplies. The night prior I had hit up Stary Sobor's military tents to no avail (just an M16 and an AKM, and I already have an M14 and a Silenced M9). I ran North East, hitting Deer Stands along the way. I came to Berezino where I found a tent in the store before running into the hospital where I grabbed a few blood packs, and some morphine, then decided to hit up the miltary tents before logging in the Northern woods for the night. There wasn't much in the tents: some DMR ammo for my M14, some silenced M9 ammo, nothing special. Then in the last tent...a body. Prone. Motionless. Perhaps unconscious. Fearing a server hopper, I pop two rounds in her skull. No murder, but a few moments later I hear flies buzzing. Not sure if I really killed her, or if it's just a bug with how kills are awarded. I loot her body, and jackpot. She's wearing a Coyote backpack, but I already have one. She has a silenced MP5, 3 clips for it, camo, a CZ550, and tons of food and ammo for other guns. She also has a military flashlight, and a toolbox! My guess is the player despawned intentionally to change to a male character to wear the camo. Sucks bro! I ran due North and logged, debating where to put my tent the next night....

This little diddy I like to call "The Night Raid." My friends Tpyo, Stephen, Kyle(KDawg), Caze and I have been playing together somewhat regularly. Over a one week period or so we found a car, truck, tractor and a bus that we had hidden in the woods and were using as storage for rare loot. Caze found a night vision+thermal scoped assault rifle (L86) at a chopper crash, I found a CZ550, and Tpyo found an even better sniper rifle (DMR). We stored the guns when we make solo supply runs, since death is pretty much guaranteed when venturing into high-traffic towns. A few nights back, we decided to put our best guns to use. We had been avoiding playing at night, since it's pitch black (and day-night is in real time, based on the server's location). But with Caze's rifle providing overwatch, we felt somewhat safe hitting up high-value loot spawns and grabbing as many good guns and ammo as we could get our hands on. The five of us hopped in the truck, equipped weapons with flashlights, stocked up on flares, some token med supplies, and rolled out. We headed North and hit Solnichny, a town with two stores and a hospital, to get some basic re-stock on our medical supplies. This went without incident, and we lit our way with flares, casting the town in an eerie red hue. Next we drove north, to the town's barracks where we found guns of moderate quality. We had to kill a few zombies, but otherwise we weren't too concerned. Caze had us well guarded through his thermal scope, and a few cracks from his rifle and confirmation of zombie kills over vent kept our minds at ease. We rode onward, stopping at a gas station to refuel our truck. We made a few other uneventful pitstops, then headed toward Stary Stobor, probably the 2nd most desirable loot spawn location in the game (after the Northwest Airfield). If any of the 7 others on the server were here camping for other players (no doubt wearing night vision goggles), that was where they would be. So, we played it safe. We hid the truck off the road and obscured by buildings and trees, and we hoofed the rest on foot. Caze deviated so as to get in a good position where he could scan the horizon for enemies, while Tpyo, Kdawg and I lit the area with flares and started looting military tents. It was a loot pinata. AKS-74U's with sights, a DMR sniper rifle, MP5, a few glocks, and more than enough ammo for them all. We looted what we could, then got out of there. Or, we tried. An errant shot from a gun sent a horde of zombies crashing down on us as we scouted out a vehicle spawn. Tpyo and I shot dozens of zombies while Kdawg cut them down with an axe. We took cover in a small shed--Tpyo and I shot out of the door ways. We lit the area with flares, but it just alerted more zombies. Kdawg got knocked out, he was bleeding, broken bone, and the zombies were still coming. Zombies sprinted at us and fell to the loud cracks of AKM and M19 shots--like something out of Black Hawk Down. I bandaged Kdawg, gave him morphine, but we had to wait for him to regain consciousness because I couldn't carry him out of the building and all our Epi-Pens were on the truck. Gunshots filled the black night's air, until the last zombie fell and our magazines were near spent. Kdawg finally awoke and we ran to the truck, laughing and glad the ordeal, the chaos, was over. We were happy, and perhaps high on the success of our adventure and our awesome new loot, chose to drive on and check for more vehicle spawns. At our next stop, Stephen had logged for the night. I chose to stay at the truck while the other three scouted ahead. I had my new rifle, the DMR to sort, putting my other bounties back on the truck: I exchanged my Glock with a flashlight on it for a Colt .45, placed my M4 with flashlight on the truck as well, and used my new DMR as a primary weapon. I sorted weapons, and ammo, on the truck and awaited everyone's return. Flares glowing in the distance broadcast their path back, and I threw a few flares at the truck so they could see it. We began to clamor on the truck when the sound of bullets hitting metal startled us all. "Who's shooting?" no answer, more gunfire--but it sounded muffled. "Who's shooting?" no answer, still, then my screen flashed red. My character fell from the truck. Everything went black. The following events are based on my own mental reconstruction from Caze and Tpyo's accounts. Tpyo hopped out of the truck, ready to fire at our assailants, but Caze, previously afk returned and, in a panic, switched to the driver's seat and drove forward, not realizing Tpyo had stepped in front of the truck. Tpyo was run over, Kdawg got shot, and Caze drove the vehicle ahead a bit until getting out of the vehicle and taking cover. We learned later our opponents had night vision goggles and could see us, plain as day, while we fumbled about limited to sight provided by flares. They didn't count on Caze's incredibly rare L86 with a Night Vision and Thermal Scope. With thermal vision, he could see our assailants clearer than day. He waited for them to approach the truck. When the first was within kill range, he opened fire and lit him up. shaneWALKINGDEAD has died was broadcast to the entire server. A less experienced combatant might have ran over and looted immediately. But Caze was patient. He waited. Another bandit appeared, attempting to loot his friend's body of his high value items before they were lost. Caze unleashed a torrent of bullets and while each hit their mark, our quarry escaped thanks to the cowardly tactic of ALT+F4ing to prevent death, though he probably relogged and died almost immediately based on how many times he was shot. Caze looted Tpyo and I's bodies, got our guns back then turned his attention to our killer. He had NV goggles and a silenced M4. He grabbed them, threw them on the truck and was off to grab me and Tpyo, who had respawned and made our way back to our staging area.

How would you remove barbed wire with your bare hands in real life, I wonder? The military grade razor wire needs wire cutters, so the idea of being able to remove it without a toolbox is laughable. I do think, however, that requiring a toolbox to set them up, as well as remove them, would help alleviate the "epidemic".

Also the influx of high end weapons/Stary Sobor PVP would go bonkers since everyone would respawn there. Bandits would have a field day with the fish in a barrel, but not being guaranteed a good respawn is what it should be: a penalty for death. The reality is, that "good" spawn you clamor for is most likely near where you died, and what you want is your loot and the chance to get the drop on the guy who killed you. You died, deal with it, start again. (Note: I have a problem following my own advice on this issue, but I believe in the harshness of the game as is).