Deathcall

I hoped in today and headed there for some trading. Luckly everything went sort of smoothly, the only mishap was that my mic didn't seem to work in game. In any case, I followed regulations and traded a tent for some STANAG mags. Not exactly a fair trade but I had nothing else on me of similar value. I headed out and went to Berezino to scavenge and found my death at the hands of some non-bandit skin survivor in the southern market. I felt like a fool because I just headed inside and said "friendly". My recomendation to everyone who participates in the colony experience is that you remember that nice people are still the exception. Don't let yourself be drawn into a false sense of "security" just because you know there are friendlies going around. On a secondary note, I think that the "approaching the colony" TS channel should be somewhat changed to fit a wider array of people, mainly those who are heading there or have been there before. Another idea would be setting up secondary camps around the map. Nothing big, only places for scavanging parties to gather their loot and set pick up locations for transportation. Overall, it seems you have some good stuff going on. I'm looking forward to going back there once I'm done with work and respawn!

Shame. Can't see 2913 in the server list, can't join TS (at least the TS which was used at US 1040) and can't join your webpage. Guess it'll have to wait.

Time to unleash the storm! Two words... Depletable Worlds What's the most transcendental thing about an apocalypse? Well, that things as we know them end. What does it mean for a zombie (infected?) themed game such as Day Z? Ammo is limited Many people keep bringing up the fact that the in-game currency should be ammunition. This is a most realistic assertion simply because the production lines have stopped and it's most likely that even if there are a few people out there who know how to create more ammunition, the tools or "ingredients" necessary for that aren't easy to find. Even more, "high-end" ammunition like that of sniper rifles or other similar weapons would most likely require a level of knowledge not easily encountered in your every day post-apocalypse wannabe gunsmith. Food is scarce Granted, given the decrease in the "living" population after a zombie outbreak, the amount of food initially available for consumption (adjust this if people were able to stockpile before the infection became uncontrollable) would be sufficient to sustain the "starting" survivor population. However, as a server "ages" it will eventually run out. That means that there will be a moment where there isn't anything to be had in supermarkets or previously looted locations. People will have to go from scavenging to hunting and/or producing their own food. Medical care and supplies eventually run out First, think that many medical supplies and equipment require modern day technology in order to remain useful. For example, our so precious blood bags would technically need to be stored in cooling devices so they don't "spoil". Other things, like painkillers and antibiotics might be more resilient, as well as with most "main-stream" medicines (pretty much everything you can buy in a pharmacy), but serums and similar materials most likely won't survive for too long after the outbreak. Combine this with the fact that these things aren't getting "restocked" and that it isn't easy to produce them "at home" and you'll come to the realization that even though they might outlast food and ammunition, once they are gone, they are gone for good. Vehicles and Fuel The fact is that no new parts are being made and no more fuel is being refined. These two resources are as likely to eventually disappear as the ones I previously mentioned. You may be able to scavenge for some vehicle parts (adjusting for compatibility) and tap some fuel-tanks, stations or silos, but, in the long run, you'll end up walking everywhere. Even after reclaiming a refinery (if there is one), the refining process is not something that normal people can perform. The same way normal people cannot build new cars even if they take-over a factory previously dedicated to that purpose. Also, bear in mind that the most "priced" vehicles such as boats, planes and helicopters most likely utilize a non-standard type of fuel which will be even more scarce. Society reforms itself Despite me being a hardcore friendly survivor. I understand the developers' persistence when they say that bandits are as much a part of this game as zombies. And that would make absolute sense in a depletable world. Right now, there's not much point in killing people when you don't actually have a need for anything. This is just my opinion, of course, but in the current state of things, every player kill in Day Z is either out of tedium (because of lack of better things to do) or trolling. In a world where things are starting to run out, it would make perfect sense for those who are striving to survive to fight over the little resources that are left. This would mean that players who prefer violence would actually be justified in their actions. Of course there will still be killing "for fun", but wasting ammunition, food, medical supplies, fuel, etc., will be a punishment on it's own. Eventually, I'd like for the term "bandit" to disappear and have it fused with "survivor". Because we would all be "survivors", the difference would be how we choose to face this new world. Do we break away from the pre-outbreak social order and ethics? Or do we try to stay true, and reacquire what we have lost? Life goes on, or does it? We are survivors because we survive. The ultimate objective is simply to live. This is currently somewhat implemented in our current way of playing the game. People with long "lives" like to boast about how they have endured the apocalypse. The problem is that it doesn't feel as if we were surviving a zombie-outbreak, but an all out, free for all, gunfight in some imaginary land. Players on a server, as a community of sorts, should aim to have the "longest" survival attempt. What I mean is, it's not about how long a single player can stay alive but how long a server can sustain it's own population. If the players allow the food to deplete, they'll eventually starve. If they waste all their ammunition in pointless zombie or player kills, they'll have to go around with crossbows and axes until they can make some more. And so on. *** Very well, that's the idea I've been brewing for the past days. Of course, there are some... Problems Lets start by saying that this entire idea is meant for the Standalone, and I don't even know if it's possible (or in the developers interest) to go for it. I do know that's pretty impossible to do it with the current mod. Lets look at some of the problems and possible solutions to the "depletable worlds". Character bound to server Of course, characters will have to be bound to servers. That means that you won't be able to server-hop in the same manner that you do now. Players should be able to join any server, but they will spawn as fresh-characters when they switch, while their previous incarnation remains on the other "world". This will prevent "resource" swapping between servers and keep true to the idea of "which server can last the longer". Given the possibility of several maps, it may be possible to establish transition areas (or conditions) that allow characters to leave the current server and join a different world, as long as it's not the same map in which they have been playing (for "reality" purposes). Of course, if they decide to go back, they should travel to the same server they left or the entire point would be lost. I do realize that this is really complicated. But, if servers reach the point where they can host different maps at the same time, the whole server transition wouldn't be needed, making things much "dynamic". Also, I have no idea what kind of pressure this mechanic would put on the hive. Perhaps someone with more knowledge in that subject can point it out. Population Control, needed or not? This mechanic would imply that there should be a somewhat static population in a server. However, if too many players where to join and leave without contributing to a particular world, it could greatly hinder the server's "survivability". This accounts both for server hoppers (who might just try a particular one and then drop out, taking away precious resources with them) or trolls (who might come in with the clear purpose of damaging the experience for others). There are some workarounds which I can think of for this problem. First, and most drastic. Invite-only servers. Not really a measure that I see being implemented as it would deter the experience. Second, implement an "expire" date for characters. If a player chooses not to use a character in a particular server for a period time (say, just for an example, x times the amount of time he played on his last session*), everything that player consumed (such as food or ammunition) and holds (such as guns and other supplies) re-spawns, this should be limited to "short-lived" characters. Similar mechanics could be in place for "long-lived" characters, but only for those things that they were holding at the moment of expiration, otherwise, there could be a "flood" of consumables whenever a player who has been around for a long time stops playing, something which could be abused. *Secondary mechanic should be implemented to allow for players with an accumulated played time surpassing X to remain "active" longer. Third, no mechanic is needed at all and I'm over-worrying. Early Shortages "The Great Bean Rush of Chernogosk" could become a real event if resource spawns aren't handled correctly. What I mean is, if all loot just spawns once, this would imply that new arrivals are going to be in a really sticky situation, even if it has been only a few days since the server started. Ideally, loot will re-spawn up to a certain point, and at a slower (much?) pace. Some sort of meter should be instated in order for players to know what amount of "old-world" resources remain in a particular server. *** Well, that's the current state of my idea. I'm pretty sure they are several things which I haven't thought about yet. And some which I did think about, but that could use some tweaking. Who's up for some more brainstorming?

Mkay... more brainstorming... Zombies grab people! Of course, how come nobody suggested this? Zombies don't just stay in place and claw at you! They want to eat you! So they grab on to you. Right now you only get thrown down if you are low on health, which is not only a bit unrealistic but also... TOO EASY! If zombies were able to grab onto people, and if we implement some sort of QTEs to get away or some other mechanic, that'd mean that one single zombie could be your downfall! Also, it would foment group play, both for survivors and bandits. Oh! Also make some zombies spawn with protective gear! Policemen zombies could have body armor or protective head gear! Headshots don't work anymore? Go for the legs! Will be back later with another idea I'm currently elaborating...

Mkay, brainstorming... Need complete oil production facilities. That includes oil-wells with huge reservoir tanks, pipes to take the crude to a refinery (or tanker trucks, or both), the refinery per-sé, storage facilities and port for shipping the final product off-shore. As long as you are on that, add a derelict tanker-ship, anchored or drifting along the coast (not too close). Can function as a base for people with helicopters or boats. Will be back tomorrow with more ideas.

Aw man! I was hoping to play there tonight! Currently I see only one person logged in. Give a heads up through the forum when things get back please. I had a lot of fun last time I joined US 1040, and I didn't even make it to the Colony (though you might want to disguise your helicopter flight patterns if you don't want people finding out where it is).

Sounds very interesting, I saw some videos and kinda wanted to try it out but I'm still making up my mind about it. I think Rocket mentioned somewhere that community made maps were something he was looking forward to. Perhaps Lingor Island is what we could call a "first prototype"? EDIT: How awesome would it be if people around the world started making maps after their own locations? That'd certainly add a nice spice to the whole "survival" aspect, bringing closer to home so to speak.

This is the kind of stuff that makes me wish the forum had an option to TAKE beans from people instead of giving them...

Wanna have fun? Forget going up north to get all those awesome weapons and vehicles. The former will go away when you get killed and the latter won't stick around for long with all the bugs and hackers going around. If you want to have FUN, either as a survivor or a bandit, stay near the starting areas. You are more likely to run into other people there. If you want to cooperate, then it's the best place to make friends, and if you want to be just like the rest and kill indiscriminately, that's faster than sniping some hill up north and you may even come upon gear it'd take hours to find. Just my suggestion.

You think this is bad? Try visiting the Inn in Goldshire (WoW)...

Want a challenge? Try to make a community inside a server. Similar to what others have attempted (or are attempting) now. If you ask me, that's the most challenging thing that you can do in this game. Also, judging by the amount of hackers and griefers (some who chose to call themselves bandits but aren't), it'll be something that will require lots and lots of time, skill and effort. If you feel like being a Pioneer, try making a BANDIT community. It might sound like contradictory, but true bandits should be able to form communities as well. In any case, when people ghost in and blow it up with satchel charges, they won't be able to claim that the people complaining are butt-hurt survivors...

Is Danny Glover gonna join-in eventually? You know we need all those explosions!

To be honest I see no difference. Even with the scarf thing, it's pretty much KOS still. At least in my experience.

Looks similar in concept to Dead State! http://www.deadstate.doublebearproductions.com/

If I may suggest an idea to you guys, it might have been brough up before, but I wanted to make sure... Seems you have 3 types of problems with the colony: Hackers, Ghosters, Betrayers. Hackers and ghosters you can't really do much about, there's no means of defending yourselves from them. But betrayers can be worked around. There was a video of a guy blowing up your colony with satchel charges, he came in as a friendly. He had those charges on his main inventory so you couldn't see them. My idea is simple. A "tin can test". Fill a tent nearby the main entrance with tin cans and have the survivors entering take enough to fill their main inventory. This way, you'll make sure they aren't hiding granades or satchels, and since you can check their back-packs, it should make welcoming people much safer. Also, allowing people to roam free inside the colony might be a bit dangerous.

This again? For all the abuse people seem to believe goes on in US1040, their server still works... EDITED: Didn't see the video for some reason. Forget it. All in all, you are better than that Spii guy who ghosted in the other day (has a thread about it here somewhere), still, I see little point to blowing up this place so much... stop wasting satchel charges! EDIT2: I thought these guys had 3PV disabled on their server.

Looks like a hacked vehicle to me... Nobody stores those smoke grenades! EDIT Not saying that you hacked it btw, probably the guys you stole it from... would explain the exact same truck crossing your path a few seconds after you got yours. In any case, do not feel bad, hacked-in vehicles don't respawn after server restarts, so nothing truly lost.

This isn't related to the bandit/survivor dichotomy. This is about you going in that building using what some call an exploit (some) and leveling the place just because you were angry at them for some reason. There's no point to what you did other than annoying these guys. If there was abuse of their admin powers, there's a report system (doesn't matter how effective it is) in the forums. All in all, I could have at least respected your actions if you hadn't ghosted in. Even betrayal would have been better. Right now, what you did is on par with sniping fresh-spawns on the coast... IMHO anyway.

They took thermal out? I wasn't aware of this... guess I'll have to throw away the one I found on some guy's body... In any case, they should keep thermal... as long as they also allow you to cover yourself in mud like Arnold in Predator.

So let me get it straight... You ghosted on to this server just so you could destroy the building these guys were using as a base to help people with a bunch of really rare items such as satchel charges (I have yet to find a single one in two months of playing) and not only managed to kill a bunch of innocent people but also got the admin so flustered that they banned some other innocents as well? And this is supposed to be what? Funny? Sad? Trolling? I'm sure you had a lot of fun, but you are nothing but a poor soul who has no better way of enjoying himself other than ruining someone's else efforts. DayZ is clearly not for you. There's nothing in what you did that can be even be remotely considered as surviving. Please do this community a favor and either rethink the way you play this mod or go play something else.

Far as I know, wind (judging from the direction clouds move) goes only in one direction in DayZ, so I doubt this is possible. You sure your aim isn't off?

Never stopped ANYONE from killing me and I play with 250-280ms all the time... regardless of server or time of the day or anything.

If people wanted to have all out wars with a ton of helicopters and super-duper gear they would just edit a mission in Arma 2 and get to it... It's a fallacy to think that DayZ would be better with more mindless PVP, if anything, it'd only butcher the idea behind this mod further.

You sir have my beans.

You don't need a million players to alpha-test a mod, specially not now that the stand-alone is confirmed and going to be designed on a new (or improved) engine. For proof of concept and other things that can be carried over to the stand-alone, I think that private (locked) servers are good enough. BI has profited greatly from the DayZ mod and most likely doesn't require more people buying it to finish Arma3 or DayZ (standalone), so a sales drop wouldn't really affect them. Locked, invite-only or pre-assigned servers will most likely turn away some players, but overall, they'll provide more security in regards to hacking and help build a stronger community, possibly helping with other issues like the KOS mentality or server-hopping. Of course, these are just my suggestions.