sudZ!

We need bugles to signal that the hunt is on! Rocket... take note!

That's a badass name for a dog, Smasht! I think Lassie and Spot are in trouble.

Not counting for the blood loss while this is happening, yes. But headshots are the confounding element. I know for a fact that you can take someone down with a max of 5 makarov headies, i've done it more than once since the damage value changes. oh, and the hatchet is FAR better than the makarov!

lol... thanks Zetal. Good catch... Servers can currently handle HUNDREDS of spawned zombies at a time. Maybe the HORDES don't need to be 50, that was a completely arbitrary number, but they could handle 20 or so in one spot in a few locations around the map. If you've ever blaze of gloried into a town, you know that 20 is a small number of zombies to have going in the same area... Hopefully a new game comes with the ability to make this happen!

Congrats guys. Fantastic news. I have a 3 week break between semesters starting on the 17th, If you could go ahead and release by then, that'd be great. :)

Yeah it really sucks. 2 full clips with all hits and a few headshots is more than enough though. Either you missed more than you think, he had 1000hp and died soon after you did, something glitched out, or he was hacking. Glad I could clarify that for you :D

fixed. Also, of course it's about money. But getting paid for having the intelligence and drive to create something unique is exactly what our society is built around. You can't hate on a guy for legitimate success.

Yeah... I was hoping for some serious zombie murdering and all I got was you sitting in the back of a church killing zombies, just like I've done 100 times. Good idea... bad execution! And nothing says killing zombies like Darudeian remixed female adult contemporary artists. :)

There are multiple issues here. 1. If the engine just didn't allow you to remove the grass, then it'd solve all of these issues. It'd be even better if it wasn't such a resource hog as well.... alas, that's not what we've got. 2. This is similar to what most competitive FPS players do. They drop their graphics, turn off physics, and pretty much strip the game down as close as they can get it to being matte colours running over other matte colours. They do this because it causes less visual distractions. This = the milliseconds quicker reaction time that can give you the edge over an opponent. So... Where is the line drawn and how can it be drawn? This is something that Rocket needs to consider when he goes standalone... and judging from his past decisions, I don't think you'll be able to tinker with scripts to remove tactical impediments. We'll see!

You don't get it. He now has access to the SOURCE CODE of the engine. He can change how the entire game works if he wanted to (and presuming he's allowed to in his contract with BI) This is absolutely the best news possible...here are the other options if Rocket didn't go with the RV4 engine: 1. He builds his own engine. This would be fantastic... if you want to wait 1 year+ for first release. Also, it's likely you'd get a half-finished game because he wouldn't have the budget to create a top-tier engine from scratch. 2. He signs with another studio and works on another engine. This could possibly work out well... except it likely wouldn't. Rocket and his other Devs know the RV4 engine intimately. Porting their ideas to another engine might work, but again, it'd come with delays. ALSO, if he were working for another company he likely wouldn't have the same respect/leash length as he'll have with BI. There's a personal relationship already built... that's how the best things get made quickly. For all we know, Rocket could have a restraint of trade clause in his current contract with BI that doesn't allow him to work for anyone else in the industry for X years if he leaves BI... That's not uncommon. No matter what, this will work out well. If it doesn't, it's not because of the VR4 engine, it's because it wasn't dev'd well. Personally, I have no doubts it's going to rock!

yeah my suggestion is rooted in the idea that we're getting a standalone game at some point. ARMA II's engine definitely isn't up to the task at this point. It would certainly make the most sense to have the zombies processed server side and obviously rendered client side. Having unique zombies would be cool too, they could just be zombie leaders. So if you've got a pack chasing you and you take out the leader, the rest of them cannot see you/hear you as well. I presume it wouldn't be all that hard to figure out.

Think of it this way Jobe: If those people hadn't bought the game in the last month, DayZ may not be going standalone at this point. It's precisely BECAUSE people forked out that cash that we'll get a new and improved DayZ. I, for one, paid $20 for this and would pay another $20 if I knew it would make the standalone better. Sometimes it's worth a few bucks to be a part of something unique, ya know?

The fact that he's signed on with BI is a pretty good indication that he'll be using the Arma 3 engine. I can't understand why he wouldn't. It makes perfect business sense from both points of view. It IS possible that DayZ gets released before Arma 3. If it's standalone, it doesn't need to keep up with arma's dev schedule. Also, it will be released in the "minecraft model", much like this mod. It'll come out in Alpha, and then Beta form. If you buy into it during Alpha you'll pay a smaller % of what you'd pay if you bought it retail. This means that DayZ could release and function as a MASSIVE beta test for Arma 3. If BI is smart, they'll realize that their meal ticket ISN'T Arma 3, it's DayZ. If DayZ shows off that engine well, people will also buy Arma 3. Looking forward to some updates!

Day Z Development ‏@dayzdevteam @FanasNize Thanks! We need to fix the bugs :( I think the best way to put it... I think, perhaps, this is the end of our beginning. Bring on the next chapter!

I'm like Will McAvoy... breaking news before all y'all!

Haha yeah I think that's about right.

"Alpha" for a standalone carries more narrow connotations than that of an "alpha" for a mod. By your logic, the handful of guys who created dayZ should have alpha tested the game by themselves, figured out the balancing issues and made 90% of the content decisions before opening it up the the public for a beta to fix minor bugs. They haven't even decided if they want humanity to be influential to gameplay, how can the be in the bug fixing beta stage? As for time. The game has been out for 4 months. A lot of Alphas for mods last 6 months to a year.

I believe it just hit 1million actually

This is why I have been destroying any weapons I can't carry. When I find a guy with, let's say, an AS50 and FN FAl, all by himself, sprinting through fields 500M from elektro he's either got hacked stuff, or he doesn't deserve that equipment. I'll kill him, take what I can and destroy the guns that I can't. If the game isn't able to limit the amount of top-end weapons out there, I'll do my part.

This game is a ridiculous resource hog. I get better frames in BF3 on ultra than in arma II. I completely understand why, it's just a pain in the ass :)

Wat? Hitler diatribe notwithstanding, Hackers DO get bored. And I didn't say that fixes shouldn't be made, I said that hackers will get bored, or it'll go to standalone and hopefully things will be fixed.

I just want to say one thing about hackers. They WILL get bored and move on. This game doesn't have THAT much to do. There aren't leaderboards for them to wiggle their e-peens at; there are significant physics and graphical limitations that won't keep them interested for months; New games will come out that will provide new challenges (that ARMA II blatantly does not). There will always be cheating in this mod, but it'll calm WAY down soon enough. We're in the pinnacle of player growth, and with that comes hacking. In a few months either the game will be standalone, or many of the hackers will get bored of griefing with 2008 technology. Hang in there team.

I agree with OP. This might be a good idea: You're able to use a can, fill it with lake water, build a fire, boil it and then drink it on the spot. Once you've got the water you cannot run with it or it empties the can. You can also use the can to drink at a pump, but again, you cannot run with it or it empties.

When I started out I skipped the towns at spawn. I found it a lot easier to head to a barn, find SOME kind of weapon and then head towards cherno or elektro. If you do have to go into a town, try playing at night. It's dark as hell, but you'll be able to get past Zeds with impunity and only need your flashlight when you're combing for loot. I think you'll find you'll get geared up a lot quicker this way. Good luck and don't give up!

Someone hired you for full-time employment? I'm sure this will be implemented, but it's not a top shelf issue. I have never died at night, and I've found some of the best gear I've had at night. Chill out.