Katana67

Yes, and in a survival situation, a can of sardines and a bottle of purified water is going to be your meal. Like it or not. The eating/drinking is a bit much now, and will be addressed. Wouldn't worry.

And 7.62x51 has a very different ballistics profile. M855 is known for having poor terminal ballistics. It still kills folks, and the anecdotal evidence coming out of Somalia in the 90's was misleading. But it's still deficient, hence why the DoD has been reworking M855 into the M855A1 ever since. This is an overlay of 5.56x45, 7.62x39, and 7.62x51. You can see that all cavitate at different depths and leave different permanent cavities. Likewise, the charts do not take into account the degradation in range. The overall point being, if you're adopting a "realism" angle... is that rounds have different range parameters, velocities, kinetic energy imparted at range, parabolic trajectories, and damage profiles. So why should all weapons therefore be dedicated killers regardless of (or only beholden to) where they hit? Until this type of intricate ballistics is simulated in tandem with accurate simulations of internal organs and bone fragmenting, a simple damage gradient is what we're going to have to deal with. And thus it warrants tweaking/balancing to make up for the faults of this type of approach. It also doesn't take into account the effects that different barrel lengths have on down-range performance. http://sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=1093 Agreed, that is part of the problem as it was in the mod. And this sort of proves my point that DayZ is profoundly about balance. They balance the loot. They threw out .50 BMG sniper rifles and TWS assault rifles in the mod. This is balance, it doesn't mean that weapons get nerfed or are therefore made unrealistic.

To your first point, but how quickly one dies is dictated by the damage profile of the round. It's just ballistics. The image doesn't prove your point at all. It shows a clear difference in cavitation qualities in each round. The demonstrated 7.62x39 diagram illustrates this. Maximum damage is inflicted upon impact, with a minimal penetration. My point is, that until one can replicate these intimacies of ballistics, weapons will have a gradient damage profile. You cannot say that all rounds have the same lethality. Some bring people down quicker by having harsher entrance cavitation/kinetic force, it's just the way it is

Both matter. Which is why the system needs to be tweaked. A 7.62x51 is going to cavitate in the torso far more than a .22 LR regardless of where you hit.

I agree that the weapons should be unforgiving and if you're getting shot at, you're history. You have to consider that if everything is a OHK, that places weapons with a variety of calibers on a relatively even playing field. Which is bad in my opinion. Certain rounds have different damage profiles, which should be recognized/simulated in-game. That and if everything is a OHK, how will this accommodate for their medical system? I'm of course speaking relatively now, as I don't think everything is a OHK in the standalone nor do I think that's what you're suggesting. But, as others have demonstrated, it's not prudent to just dismiss all notions of "balance" or "tweaking". Realism/authenticity can be accommodated for or even enhanced by "balancing" or tweaking the system.

I think the best way to approach it is to consider the caliber first. I don't want my 7.62x51 weapons having the same efficiency as 5.56x45. Making everything a one-shot doesn't leave room for much variation. I'd be cool with a 1-3 shot (depending on where you hit) kill with 5.56x45.

See my above post. Balance does not mean something cannot be realistic.

Balance =/= nerfing. Balance is one of those loaded terms that gets retroactively applied to DayZ with preconceived notions people get from CoD and BF. The developers are not uninterested in balancing DayZ, in fact "balancing" will be a major field of work in the Alpha/Beta. Rocket has said as much in recent tweets/posts. Something that's balanced can still be unforgiving. I'd like to decide for myself whether or not I'm in the majority/minority, and I'd like to decide for myself whether or not that's significant.

I've seen them spawn in car husks a lot. I was under the impression that we'd be able to join them all into one map though. It works that way when you actually access the map, but it takes up inventory space. To be honest, there's not much new you could learn in terms of the map. There's some outstanding locales, but not many. Most of the added northern region is unfinished.

I can't wait for zombies to be fixed so that there's more than five per town.

I think the system needs to be refined. I whacked a bandit in the back of the head with a fire axe and his weapon was ruined. I could understand the helmet and maybe the backpack.

I've always been on the fence with this. I mean, if one gets shot in the torso/face with a .45 ACP/5.56x45/7.62x51, you're probably going to die pretty quick. If you make the system less forgiving, it puts more significance/weight on having body armor. On the other hand, the "defending" player should be given some measure of flexibility in terms of being able to fight back. I get that. So yeah, they could balance it a bit, but even the mod was a bit ridiculous at times (see unloading Makarov mags into people's chests). That and as others have said, it's very difficult to manage your "health". I'm not even sure if it's tied to "Blood" anymore either, or how frequently hunger/thirst ticks away at your overall health pool. I'd rather they get away from the "Blood as health" system altogether.

Yeah, gotta' deploy it via inventory. Sort of cumbersome, but much better than not having any attachments in the mod. I hope they can manage to link the attachment actions to keys, for example pressing "L" again to switch on a weapon-mounted light. As of now you've got to access the inventory every time you want to turn it on/off, which can be a death sentence if you're trying to quickly remain stealth.

People need to learn how to offer critique without being inflammatory. It's so easy! All you have to do is you know... not... say certain things. It'll be addressed.

Very interesting. My grievance with it is that the system is no longer adequately intuitive. That's what a lot of people are hinging on I feel. I'm quite sure it'll be improved though. The whole deal requires a lot of food/drink though, regardless of where you start off. I mean, a can of sardines and a bottle of water would probably be a full meal in a survival situation. Granted, you'd probably require a lot of calories either way. My issue is also that it's not on a reasonable schedule. It's just keep eating. It's not on a 24 hour (or simulated 24 hour scale). It would justify relatively rare edibles if the hunger/thirst cycle was more gradual. Nor is it dependent on how much energy you're actually expending.

It's Chernarus, a fictional country. Enduring the zombie apocalypse, a fictional occurance. Not to mention that NATO (or whatever NATO analog) clearly played a role in the outbreak (see availability of AR-15's in the mod/standalone, crashed UH-1Y helicopters, etc.) Either way, the USMC intervened in Chernarus in the canon of ARMA 2. Therefore, NATO weapons could be found in Chernarus. Not to mention that most modern former Soviet-bloc states employ weapon systems from abroad, see Czech Republic (the country on which Chernarus is based) using AR-15's and Mk 48's for their SF. Also see Poland, Latvia, and Georgia. More weapons of all kinds please. Less discrimination as outlined in the OP. EDIT - That and Chernarus borders Takistan, another fictional country which had a heavy NATO presence.

Agreed. I still have yet to find a mag for the FNX45. Kind of annoying, especially considering I've found like ten STANAG variants. I just want a damn mag for my pistol!

DISCLAIMER: Critique =/= Whining. Likewise, simply because it's an Alpha, does not mean that the game is above critique. Moving along... Skip down if you want an idiot's TL;DR bullet-version. My two biggest gripes have to do with the zombies and the sickness. The latter has apparently been addressed (to an extent) in the upcoming patch, so I'll start with the zombies. Yes, I get that they're very much a WIP and are by no means finished. That said, I rarely encounter them. I'm sure this is a known issue, but I'm seeing maybe 3-5 zombies per town. Whereas I'd expect much more. They look great though, and the animations are much better than in the mod (though they still need work). That and it's beleagueringly annoying to have them draw blood most of the time when they do hit you. I get that this might be by virtue of it being an Alpha, but I'd like to see more "temporary sprains" being inflicted as well as broken bones on occasion. Bleeding is only one outcome of a violent tussle, and I'd like to see them move away from the "blood as health" system that seems carried over from the mod. With that said, they seem to have done so with how prevalent sickness is. Sickness, in my opinion, is far too easy to come by. I've had three characters, all of which have been knocked unconscious by sickness. The first character was because I didn't really know any better. But this last one, I've not used anything other than "Pristine" items and have properly purified my water/food. I still got sick and died. I'm not sure if I didn't disinfect properly, which brings me to my next point. Not everything is covered in harmful bacteria and salmonella. Not everything needs to be disinfected. Sure, if you find something that looks a bit off, that makes sense. But if you put on a shirt, it's highly unlikely that you'll get infected. Do our characters not have immune systems? There is no chance of just fighting off the infection naturally? I've come across some bottles of alcohol, but they didn't seem to do much. I've yet to see a bottle of disinfectant, so I can't comment on that one. But the point here is that you get sick far too easily and for indiscernible reasons (it almost seems ambient and guaranteed). If disease is going to be so pervasive, then medical supplies need to be more pervasive as well. I've yet to find a bottle of painkillers or anything that looks like it could cure the unconsciousness-inducing headaches that have been killing my characters (including antibiotics). I see plenty of medicine cabinets rendered in buildings, and not a lot of medical loot. I see some First-Aid Kits, which aren't really all that helpful. Likewise, I'm not sure if "Condition" has to do with a propensity toward being infectious, but seeing a "Worn" can of beans or a "Worn" canteen is completely insignificant. Simply because it's "Worn" (whatever that means) doesn't mean it's "bad". Likewise, these are things that require specific conditions to be deemed as un-usable. If a canteen has a hole in it, sure, that should be passed up. If a can is open, or leaking, sure... that should be passed up as well. But just because the label's torn off and it looks "Worn" doesn't mean that it'd be bad for you. Again, no idea if condition has any affect on your infection prone-ness. In my opinion, the only way you should get sick, is if you seriously fuck up or are in dire need of food so that you have to eat some questionable items. It should be something that's managed, but not constantly. That said, I like the survival elements implemented now, but just think they need to be scaled down a bit as to not be so annoying. Some minor caveats - Empty water bottles need to be more common, bottles with water already in them need to be made rarer - Disinfectant items (i.e. sprays, soaps, detergents, alcohol, etc.) need to be made more common. Most households have these items and it hardly seems like folks would be throwing piles of detergent into their cars as they try to escape the apocalypse. - Not sure if I'm 100% cool with barracks still being the destinations for high-end loot, I'd much rather it be spread out but with lower guarantees of spawning. I'm also not sure, therefore, if I'm cool with more barracks being included. - Flashlights still shine through buildings, they need work. - Some buildings/structures do not appear configured for loot (i.e. apartment blocs, certain military tents, etc.) Could just be me. - I've found far more M4's than I've found Mosin's/Shotguns, I'd've expected it to be the other way around. That said, I think the weapon spawns are fairly decent. - I feel that loot can still spawn inside/under floors and such. Praises - The towns look phenomenal, I was really taken aback at how convincing Pustoshka is now. - The weapon attachment system is great, very robust variety. I look forward to seeing this system expanded and/or applied to other weapons. - Gear is exceptional. - The inventory is leaps and bounds better than in the mod. I've had very few issues with it and it seems more complex and at the same time, less cumbersome. Suggestions - I'd like to see an attempt to integrate the loot system into the realm of plausibility, rather than just randomized loot percentages. I mean, most houses have ancillary things like empty water bottles, soap, old medicine, silverware, etc. I'd like to see an approach of "What is probably going to be in this house", rather than "diceroll = 50% chance of food spawn". I'm not saying that every house should have a lot of loot, but there are certain things which aren't very well represented in Residential loot. I like the scarcity of loot, but only so far as it's plausible. Weapons should be even rarer in my opinion, whereas certain household items should be more prevalent. - Dial down the rate at which players become infected. I like that it's a threat, but again, it should only really arise if the player really fucks up and neglects his character. I don't want to have to disinfect every ten minutes. - Same goes for food/drink. It should be a significant thing, but I feel like I'm eating/drinking every five minutes just to keep my character going. Just an adjustment to frequency is all that's needed. I enjoy the added weight that food/water now have.

Probably the best way of describing it. And pretty significant, as very little goes to plan with regard to releases!

If it's intended, and not just a still present bug, I think it's a great nod to the mod.

I haven't been to Balota more than once, but I noticed there's some barracks there. I think the bigger issue is two-fold. One, being that they've stayed with barracks as high-guarantee centralized loot locations for high-end loot. Rather than going with a more widespread distribution of high-end loot, but a lower overall chance of finding it in, say, a house. The second issue is that, with the first one in mind, they've added more barracks overall. They're all over the place now, I've found them at (If you don't want to spoil the locations, look away...) God knows where else they put them. This might not be a good setup.

Neither do I! Matt pretty much said the latter will not be included way back at E3 I believe. Doesn't mean I don't think they'd be great in SA. My point was that assault rifles and other moderate "military" weapons (i.e. Battle Rifles/DMRs, dedicated sniper rifles, "tactical pistols", "tactical shotguns", PDWs, and SMGs) shouldn't all be lumped together and therefore categorically dismissed in favor of a purely "civilian" lineup.

I forgot about this, .338 Norma Mag GPMG. #sharkswithlaserbeamsontheirhead I'd love to see more LMGs/GPMGs as well, albeit with hefty ammunition rarity and constant maintenance requirements.

I also think it's important to consider the attachments system now in tandem with mere addition of more weapons. I'd love to see this system expanded to include different barrel lengths (i.e. turning an M4 into a pseudo-M16/Mk 12, or shortening the barrel to turn it into a Mk 18/CQBR). Parts commonality would be an interesting dynamic for loot balance as well. These different barrels would have different properties in terms of accuracy and mobility. Same could go with foregrips and the like. I think the bipod is very cool in DayZ now, but it's a bit cumbersome to deploy. Same goes with the attached light, I liked it when it was just the "L" key. But very cool initial concepts.

Bring on the military weapons. As my entire post history has been dedicated to preserving "military" weapons in DayZ, I'll be brief. An assault rifle isn't god's gift to man, so stop acting like it equals an anti-materiel rifle. Someone with a Mosin can easily drop someone with an AR-15. Likewise, "military weapons" often have widely-available civilian variants. Whatever weapons they include will have to be balanced by rarity, rarity of ammunition, rarity of magazines, rarity of optics, etc. It won't be like it was in the mod, with 100% ready to roll weapons laying around with DMR mags spawning in every hut. Likewise, I think we'll see a "maintenance" aspect to weapons further on down the line where you'll have to periodically clean/oil your weapon. I mean, we're already looting M4's with degraded components. I have no idea if this actually matters in terms of performance yet, but it's a good start. So long as there's a variety of weapons, I'm all for whatever. I think there should be more "Russian" weapons, but that NATO weapons shouldn't be hyper-rare to the point of being useless. Dismissing any weapon categorically doesn't make sense to me. Bring on the military AND civilian weapons! Plus, if the initial crop of weapons is any indicator (M4 w/ robust attachment mechanic, and FNX45) we'll see plenty of military weapons. So folks who want to be bashing each other 24/7 with silly Romero melee tropes will have to learn to live with it. EDIT - On topic, I'd love to see more battle rifles. SVD, Mk 17, SR-25/M110/AR-10, FAL, G3, etc.