PlutoniumPlague

lol I tried to search for it but got no results...they spelled "separate" wrong so you have to search for "seperate"...only one server and it's in the US so ping is really high for me (Germany)...under "State" it's listed as "Waiting"... :(

lol Don't know why but I imagined some sick role-play scenarios going down in those locked down buildings on the Japanese servers...can't believe no one has mentioned anything regarding tentacles yet...

What do you guys think of introducing classes and specialization? I know this diverges from the original thread topic slightly but this sounds like a receptive audience and this could help with some of the ideas you guys have put forward. In the beginning before or after you choose Male or Female you could choose a class: this could be soldier, electrician, engineer, pilot, etc. Before all the negative comments saying that this is not the intended direction of DayZ start popping up I think it's worthwhile to mention that in real life we all tend to specialize past high school and college. Not everyone is a gearhead capable of disassembling and reassembling an engine. Not everyone has the technical skills to put together a radio in order to set up a distress beacon. Not everyone can maintain a weapon (I'm not talking about picking up a weapon and shooting it, I mean long-term maintenance or repairing broken weapons). So depending on what classes and what attributes they had would this still be a realistic concept? Absolutely, yes. And it would really drive home the idea of working together. You want to get a group together to fly around the beaches in a helicopter shooting down new-spawns? Cool, go for it...but you better have a pilot to fly that helicopter and you're going to need a mechanic to fix and maintain it. Include a computer-savvy class who can operate generators to provide occupied towns with perimeter lights - or even electrified fences that keep out zombies!! Perhaps if they add those armories or special ammo depots you will need someone who is an explosives expert who can break into those secure facilities? If this was implemented and all the basic movement and running and gunning features were left untouched then people who lone-wolf would still be able to do everything they do now - up until they wanted to really progress into some end-game level activities. This would be a must otherwise you'll get a whole lot of backlash. But if implemented carefully and realistically I think people would go for it. Because right now it's really unrealistic for someone to be a jack-of-all-trades and be able to operate everything and repair everything and conduct medical procedures. Thoughts?

Interesting idea and there's been a lot of discussion on it already in these forums. Here's its most recent iteration, a worthwhile thread I think: http://dayzmod.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=28127

+1 The idea of infinite matches seems unusually unrealistic in a survival sim...I like the idea of making them like glowsticks...after 10 they're expended and you need to continuously be on the hunt for them. Every now and then I come across exotic ammunition for high-end weapons though I have never even SEEN anything better than an MP5 or M4. It seems like exotic ammo is way too numerous...I agree with the idea of limiting their spawns or at least consolidating them to certain locations (crash sites or military installations) that way you can't just find an ammo can of 100rds linked 7.62 in some random deer stand. This would level the playing field AND be more realistic (though I have a feeling a lot of bandits who are comfortable with where they are now will not support this).

1 - This is only your point of view, other players may have little to no intent on rescuing other survivors...in fact, I'd venture to guess that most players have the exact opposite intentions. And if that's the case then it really can get repetitive other than finding new ways to kill those survivors or duping them into trusting you...but eventually it's just killing. The point I'm trying to make is everyone plays with their own "end-game" conditions in mind. I don't think the OP claims at any point that there is an "end-game" in the current Alpha. I believe this is a highly subjective term...what amounts to early, mid, and end-game varies from player to player but I think it's safe to say that each stage has some attributes and goals in common - namely the pursuit of security and self-sustainment (or in a group). The OP is saying that in its current iteration the end-game can get repetitive because once someone is in their respective end-game then we run out of things to do. 2 - Again, this is a matter of opinion. DayZ is supposed to be a realistic apocalypse simulator, right? There are numerous threads on here that talk about anarchy vs. reestablishing some sort of society and civilization so let's not get into that. The fact is, many players would probably realize that long-term security and group cooperation go hand-in-hand. It's a basic tenet of social and cultural evolution. So if this is supposed to be a realistic apocalypse simulator then eventually people would start to congregate in a town, kill off the infected in the area, and start fortifying and supply-gathering. Right now it is impossible to lock down a town in this matter because of the current spawning system - which is in itself not realistic. In a real apocalypse if a sufficiently organized and armed group came across a small town with a few buildings and a dozen or so zombies they would kill the zombies and set up shop in the town. And if you want to lone-wolf or join a bandit group then this added functionality won't affect you....in fact you now have the opportunity to test your mettle against organized survivors instead of picking off hapless unarmed survivors on the beach...

OP, +1 for a well thought-out post; it's in stark contrast to the majority of posts on this forum and I like how you brought up some potential counterpoints and addressed them before someone tried to shoot it down with a canned argument we've already seen. +1 for the concept...I whole-heartedly support the idea of refocusing on the zombies...right now once I get to what I consider mid-game I pretty much only care about other players...currently zombies are a nuisance at best. We all know how to dodge them and when we're too hasty or just plain don't care we all know how to dodge them and lose them in terrain or buildings. One infected chasing me used to be a problem but now losing groups of 20 or more is relatively easy and I'm sure most of us are at this level. I like the idea of either more numerous or more dangerous infected roaming the board. If making them too numerous would slow down FPS or is unreasonable on servers then I like the idea of stronger infected in areas that are highly-trafficked. Personally, I think zombies should have even BETTER detection...watch any zombie movie and you'll see that the protagonists never crouch through the streets or crawl within 25 meters of the walking dead/infected (depending on franchise). I would prefer if we start off with a means of self-defense (hatchet or even a crowbar) and if the infected in DayZ were as capable as the infected in 28 Days Later or other more recent zombie movies. This would force players to have to group up because sneaking into big towns would be impossible at this point without a team to back you up. A prerequisite to this is fixing the clipping issues with doors and walls. This way you could at least barricade yourself in a firehouse or something. More and more I find myself with nothing to do once I'm at mid-game since I don't really care about high-end loot. You hit the hammer on the head with your analogy...once I'm self-sufficient and decently armed it turns into a survivor hunt for me. More complex gameplay would definitely increase the replay value several fold.

I don't think anyone is claiming this will be an abuse-free mechanic...pretty much everyone in this thread who is in favor of implementing this has described it in a way that it is an option to wear...so how would that affect the concept of anarchy? And just like in real life, you could wear it as a symbol of peace but still have every intention of shooting someone in the back...this won't affect how YOU play...but it gives OTHER people the option. And if they're half-way competent they will realize that wearing this comes at the cost of having a more visible white marker on your body...so they will still be cautious. But the next time they get the jump on someone or acquire someone in their sights at range then it could influence their decision to either spare a life or even try to make contact. Furthermore, why make it a white armband? It can be something less likely to catch a sniper's eye but still be subtle and visible and distinct enough that it is instantly recognizable against the base skin model. A hippy bandana or do-rag in dark tye-dye colors would also serve the same purpose and would be instantly recognizable the moment you saw someone and yet not be as visible as a white armband. Personally, I think people will abuse the hell out of it...and I don't feel strongly for it. Just playing devil's advocate. Remember, whether or not YOU think it could be useful isn't the only perspective. I do think like-minded players may find this feature useful...and as long as it is optional then the players who don't like it can remove it. Wearing a ghilly suit, of course, should cover this up thus negating it completely. On an unrelated note....what's the point of those acronyms?? ZOC and PC? I don't read every single post on this forum but I peruse many especially recently and have never seen these acronyms...why randomly insert a few little-known acronyms especially if you have to include the definitions in parentheses? I'm in the Army and there's acronyms crammed everywhere I look so it just seems strange to see it you know what I mean? ~PlutoniumPlague

Success... got into a British server...I'm exactly where I left off with my trusty flashlight...

Can anyone confirm that they made it past the character creation screen and into the game?

NVM, don't bother tonight; all servers seem to be down :( I could be convinced to play ARMA2 and just fuck around and fly a chopper...

Just added you both on Skype I'll probably be on tonight for a few hours but not long past midnight. Definitely after Wednesday I'll have more free time.

This sounds awesome as an additional game-mode...but I agree this could take FOREVER...especially if people camp (inevitably they will). A suggestion for a suggestion: For initial testing of this have the playable area limited from the coast up to 1km inland. This forces the action to be up close and personal on the coast and people can't hide in a random section of forest. Then as it goes through its own level of development and play-testing start adding more and more playable space. If the whole map was available you know someone would just repair a helicopter and fly off the map...

I never use it but I believe you have to right-click on it and there will be an option to equip it...it takes up your secondary weapon slot so make sure you put it in your backpack or it may get deleted (glitch). Personally, I don't think this is very realistic since you can hold both a pistol and a flashlight with relative ease in real life. For 3rd Person you are pressing the right button (assuming you left it default)...some servers simply don't allow 3rd person...check the server title before you join look for "3P OFF" or something to that effect. Hope that helps!

Use one of the many available maps (google it or search these forums) and when you spawn in you'll see your location in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Based off of that and the fact that the ocean is always on your East or South (depending on where on the coast you spawn) you should be able to link up pretty quickly. If you really can't tell then follow the road/train tracks to a town. At the town boundary there will be a sign that tells you where you are; extrapolate from there. Also...don't actually run ON the road/train tracks...handrail them using the woodline so you don't get sniped. As a cheap alternative you can just spam Respawn until you're both in the same city or one city away from each other. Also, if you're playing with a friend make sure you're both using distinctive skins (you can customize it in the game menu)...because if you just use plain default skins it would be very easy to mistake your friend for a stranger or vice versa whenever you lose visual contact. But to answer your initial question there is no way to sync up your GPS or in-game maps as far as I know.

I already posted that I agreed with the sentiment on this thread that wire be either removed temporarily or overhauled...but... just had a thought... I hate how wire is exploited in the game but the inner-troll in me would love to lay wire all along the southern and eastern coastline lol... Yea, it would be a dick move...but again the troll in me would love to see it if anyone has already done this or plans to do so...pics or it didn't happen!!!

It will vary yes...right now it's pretty much shoot-on-sight and there isn't any real benefit to cooperative play with strangers but this may differ from server to server. In-game if you want to play cooperatively you're best bet is to play with friends with 3rd party VOIP or look for a group here on the forums. The forum community is full of flamers, though lol so don't let that discourage you...the vocal community that reads/posts never really accurately represents the total gaming population. There are two extremes consisting of the elitist jerks you mentioned and then guys who push to make certain aspects easier/nerfed. In any case, there are some reasonable people lurking around the forums, too. I highly recommend you play through the single-player ARMA tutorial...that'll get you used to the mil-sim interface and inventory. Also a great way to teach yourself how to fly a helicopter should you ever come across one yourself in DayZ. Then start playing with the friend you mentioned...that's the best way to break yourself in...you spawn with nothing of significance (no means of sustenance or self-defense) and you always spawn somewhere along the coast. In my opinion, that is the BEST time to experiment...if you die it is meaningless versus if you die late game having accrued useful gear and having invested many hours of gameplay. Play around with the zombies to see how close you can get to them in various positions and the best ways of losing them. Go through some of the actions (bandaging, setting up wire, etc.) so you have an idea of how long the animations are. Get used to the inventory...better to lose some common item via an inventory glitch and learn what not to do when you have acquired a decent rifle later on. Overall, there's a growing community and it is likely to see continued growth despite the inevitable complaints that follow in the wake of each update or hotfix. Actually, I think it's a good thing since this is in ALPHA (an important note). There's always a lot of feedback after each update and some of it is usually constructive and useful though you'll have to dig through a lot of unhelpful flamer posts at first. There also tend to be a lot of repetitive posts but that's probably something that occurs in most forums for most games (I assume). Anyway, for the price it's worth it...I, too, wavered on the fence before I bought ARMA but I've been playing DayZ for about a month now (around when it started) and have no regrets. Even if you get REALLY frustrated I find ARMA II and its expansion to be an interesting diversion. Sorry for the long post....caffeine and insomnia and jetlag...

I burned up all my leave (actually just got back) so I'll be relaxing and recovering during 4th of July (I have the 4th-8th off)... I normally play on Ventrilo with my friends in the states....I've never used Skype for gaming...is it free and does it eat up a lot of bandwidth???

Do you have Ventrilo? I'm stationed in Germany and all my friends are back in the states so I'm looking to play with some English-speaking Europeans. I speak some German but not much.

I agree with the wire-cutter idea. I know some of you guys in this thread have dealt with either barbed wire or concertina wire in the past so I think you'll agree with this: how about we make it so you don't need a tool to dismantle wire...just make it a longer animation. Triple-strand or wire fences may be significant obstacles but single-strand wire on the ground is not. You can easily separate coils, jump over it, or remove the tie-downs. Other than purpose-built wire gloves (which you don't REALLY need if you're in a rush) there is no special equipment required to set up or take down a wire obstacle. I only read 3 pages into the thread so I don't know if this has been mentioned yet (it seemed like a lot of redundant arguing in circles so I only read a few pages, sorry). ~PlutoniumPlague

lol I was perusing the forums and saw a bunch of realism-complaint threads and was about to post something to this effect.... touche you beat me to it I whole-heartedly second the implementation of ericdude88's defecation proclamation!