cardboardcutout

Run a US, Europe, Russia, Far East database then have those update to the central server each night or each week. New players come from the central server and their player gets cached on the server serving the game server they choose to play on. It forces people to play in their own timezone at least until the servers update yet they can still server hop to play with different people. It would help stop the waiting too as 5 servers would be getting hit not 1.

The mod is still in Alpha its been stated, you can't really say what its about beyond survival in a zombie apocalypse. Clearly some amount of faction based play is intended for the game as survivors bandits is built in. I think food in random barns makes sense, it would be the first refuge for most people fleeing this kind of outbreak; Of course they would take tinned food drinks and matches with them. If the Zeds were faster they would run faster than you, no escape when your low on ammo at all. Spawning water isn't a problem as you can fill the water at anything wet. Now if the ocean required desalination and water sauces required iodine it would be harder and yet still logical. I like the idea of powering houses however lighting a house would just be a beacon. So why anyone would bother is beyond me. I'd try to think about the game design as a whole not just your personal experience.

As this was happening to most people I know on Friday, Saturday and Sunday I don't think its the 1.5.7 patch that did it. I'll step all the way to assuming the now huge number of players effectively creates a D.O.S attack on the character server as it never responds and at hours when no one is around its easy enough to get in and play.

I think its a stunning update, I don't have any problems, bug wise, beyond waiting for a server response. You know I don't think the (somewhat) overwhelming numbers of zombies would be a problem if they were just 10% slower than they are. If they weren't on you before you see them after you've taken one down or could get a little distance between you and them. That and the really odd paths they take make them a little too rough at the moment. Being able to play would help.