zybul

I really think matters of ammunition and PVP are probably regional... i.e. I don't see a lot of ammo/relevant weapons and/or PVP near the coasts or "down south"... having not survived more than a few hours at a time, I can't speak for what is in the big cities and/or the north, but I can certainly say that finding a gun let alone another player is usually a big deal...

If I've got a hatchet, I'm pretty fearless - it lets me kill zombies with impunity. My best run was when I found a hatchet in one of the villages down south and just kinda- stealth rampaged, killing zombies. If I found several, I'd duck down, but I'd go in and fight them one-on-one pretty wrecklessly. Best run I ever had, and I can't remember if I ever had guns. It ended up with me crawling for a couple hours with a broken leg after one lucky swipe from a zombie, until I got near the top of green mountain and had my flashlight out for some stupid reason instead of my hatchet - got hit a couple more times, went unconscious, died. But more generally, I've yet to encounter any players really out in the open on the roads and/or near the coast. Even in small towns. I usually run pretty freely until I near towns/buildings/where zombies usually are, then I drop to crouch and prone crawl for sneaky business.

I kinda figured thats where the gear would be... just places I don't get close to because I die. Frequently. XP

I like the idea of diversifying zombie types - crawler/hopper/shambler/fast zombies - so that they are actual types and not just the same basic zombie that can switch between movement types.. it is sort of crazy to see crawlers suddenly get up and rush you, or shamblers to stop, get down, and crawl under things (I'm not familiar with most undead being this versatile - runners, I could see things like jumping/climbing and being more mobile). Swimmers/climbing zombies also seem to be somewhat out of place, but again, I understand running a lot of live mobs shambling in the ocean taxes the servers, and also that people too readily probably shimmy up ladders to "get away" from zombies... although its weird I see climbers in doors, but not outdoors...

I didn't even realize my backpack provided additional slots for the longest time... and I do like the idea of using rags or more "trash" in improvised ways.

I'd be interested to know where all these Ghille Suits and Sniper Rifles are... probably far away from anywhere I've managed to get to in the last five days... XD

That was kind of my initial thought, too... However, what might be interesting is that players could cover themselves in gore ala Walking Dead and move slowly near zombies and thus be "safe" in their "guts suit"... of course, you might then look like a zombie to another player... costs/benefits...

Could be interesting. Are you suggesting this to work on other players, or players AND zombies?

I apologize for not being clear on what I meant. Essentially, I was proposing that any sort of "safe zone" - if we do have one/need one (which is an entirely different argument and one in which I would probably say we don't need one), needs to be player driven and maintained. Should it be easy? No. Would it happen frequently? No. Should it? No. But IF it were going to happen, it'd need to have some kind of associative costs/price to maintain... honestly, I don't think a "safe" zone, at this point in time serves a lot of purpose either. As for crawling, yeah, it can be frustrating at times, but it doesn't mean the game "isn't for me"... I just go do something else or decide to just be a little reckless and see what happens. ;) A fresh spawn has little to lose!

Sometimes neither is spawning with nothing and having to run/twenty minutes or crawl for 30 minutes trying to get to a loot structure only to find nothing... or an hour running to another map point, only to die... but a player maintained safe zone WOULD be realistic. I think the best way for something "safe" in DayZ to exist (semi-permanently) is to have it come at the price of some sort of player engagement/maintenance if it were to happen at all...

Oooh! -swoons- It's like the time I found a perfect condition old bike after spawning in near the lighthouse by the coastal airfield. Best spawn-loot I've ever found. I road that bike into the ground... and then fell into the mouths of zombies.

I tend to run on the Pacific Servers - usually Seattle, but I'm up for others. Fair warning - the only voice option I have is Skype.

I will have to check out Rocket's presentation, but something they pondered on Weekend Confirmed was the idea of players creating and maintaining zombie free zones themselves - rather than having a "safe zone" permanently, players could, if they worked at it, establish areas free of infestation through the placement of the appropriate fences and defensive perimeters, maintained by continuous player occupation... which then makes me think about how this could become a dynamic with infection. If you create safezones dependent on player vigilance/maintenance, it makes the tension and fear for losing that "safety" if some player corpses spawn zombies... I dunno, I'm probably reinventing the wheel someone else has thought of before. But that was my thought.

"What's your favorite kind of ice cream?" "Anything from CRYSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHL!"

I'm pretty sure that's because it's night time... and humans can't see very well in the dark. You might also want to double check your health levels, make sure you're not low on blood... I think one of the side effects from bloodloss is color desaturation.