danielreid

I'm shamelessly bumping, given the overwhelmingly positive response by the people who got a chance to read before it fell off the main page :) I'd love to hear others' thoughts on the matter!

I died. A sniper winged me as I was moving slowly down a treeline towards a water supply. I rolled behind a pine tree, bandaged, fixed my broken leg (I had a full supply from hospital), and ate all the food I had. I then booked it back into the forest, never even catching a glimpse of the shooter. Sadly, I was still below the 3k blood necessary to keep me from blacking out randomly. I collapsed at the feet of an infected as I was trying to get into a barn - I never woke up.

Thanks for all of the positive feedback guys, it's good to hear there are others out there who share my thoughts on the matter! (forums can so easily get you down sometimes...)

@Cyanyde - Yes, agreed. Rocket has a pretty clear idea of where he'd like this to go, and even if he doesn't make all the right calls all the time, he's moving in the right direction. I've similarly been very disappointed with game after game which promises open-ended gameplay, where your decisions make a difference. Not a one if them has delivered on that promise. I'm not even convinced the current RPG mechanics (leveling up, skill-tree, etc.) which are being utilized in the mainstream are even the most effective way to do it (skyrim). Of course, many games and their teams are suffering from the "what is the endgame?" expectation which WoW created in far too many gamers. Too many developers focus on the end, and the part that makes up the majority of their game (getting there) becomes lackluster. You may have been around for Bungie's "30 seconds of gameplay" idea, wherein they build a game around 30 seconds of fun gameplay, and offer opportunities for it to occur over and over and over. I really liked that concept.

I laughed at the last line. Was that a quote from Red vs Blue, or am I getting the reference wrong...

This is the "anti-game" aspect working against your preconceived notions of what a video game should offer you. Survive, live, kill, eat, sleep. Travel the world and try not to die - I guarantee something interesting will happen along the way. :)

@ Aras - 2 years this August, best decision I ever made. You just need to find the right girl :) Sidenote: Epic derail....

YES Sound effects are more subtle than visuals, and allows for more of a gradiant.

Hunt bandits. How long can you survive with that as your objective?

I almost did something like that the other day. Thankfully, I asked my group first, Me, "should I shoot him? would you kill me if I killed the newb?" (to my IRL brother) Bro, "Yes." My temptation to be evil was stayed by the virtuous attitude of my faithful family member. If only you had such a companion...

Funny read, thanks for sharing :)

Wow, Devin - you sound like a real winner.

Actually, I disagree with you here. Gamers want to win. Other games have ingrained into a subset of gamers (largely the younger crowd) that killing is winning. If you were to remove any ingame indicator as to number of 'murders', and possibly to adjust the loot incentive for such types, there would be fewer of these sort. These are the same kids that kill their teammates in squad-based FPS games - they will always be there. The fact that this thread exists, that there ARE kind people out there (demonstrated on the forums), is part of the brilliance of this game. DayZ breeds distrust, and doubt, and causes you to question your own morality. My squad outfitted some random kid with an AKM and sidearm the other day (he had a hatchet when we found him). For all I know, if there hadn't been six of us at the time, he would have tried to shoot us in the back. It doesn't matter. There is no oversight - you can only protect yourself and those you might call friends. Do the best you can for most, and avenge the rest. PS My comment about "reality" was limited in scope, for obvious reasons (this is a video game).

I play with a group of 7. We only kill those who give us reason to, and with our numbers, most solo players run for the hills if they catch sight of us. I protect me, mine, and anyone who proves themselves worthy of our protection. "Griefers" exist in real life, and in an apocalyptic environment, you better believe there would be those who would kill for fun. "Some men just want to see the world burn."

F2P > Game-Purchase (F2P only if the purchased content does not affect the balance of the game: cosmetic, etc.) Studio Developed Kickstarter, for sure

I run with a group of 6-7 people. Yesterday we found a hatchet-wielding newb in Chero and outfitted him with some food, an AKM, and a sidearm. He somehow lost us as we headed towards Balota, and five minutes later we saw "Squirbo has died." on screen. Some people just don't have what it takes to survive...

That is amazing.

I spotted him, Squirbo, about 500 meters away. I was on cover duty, watching the city from one of the higher towers. He had naught for a weapon, but a hatchet, and was sneaking around the industrial complex near Chernogorske (sp?). Our squad had just finished gearing up at the medical tents. Ered decided to take the lead, to investigate and potentially bring him into the fold - we wanted to protect him. It took a little chasing to track him down, but he seemed friendly enough. If nothing else, he was a bit surprised that our six-man squad, all carrying assault rifles, had not already shot him. Hocisern offered him a sidearm from his backpack, and we led him to an extra AKM (though it was low on ammunition) we had left in the medical tent. The group decided it was time to move out, and I'm not really sure when it happened, but we lost Squirbo. Because he lacked the communication system our squad was employing, we had no way to find him. These things happen in Chernarus, you just have to roll with it. Five minutes later, as we were approaching the airfield to the west of Cherno, a chilling message was displayed across our comms: Squirbo has died. We'll never know whether it was zombies, or a sniper bandit who picked him off. We wish you the best Squirbo, and wish we could have been there to help you. RIP.