TheWalkingDude (DayZ)

I completely understand the importance of scripting in ARMA2. It makes sense to open such a thing up to a game that was typically for a community of very niche gamers. But now DayZ has made ARMA2 rocket (hah!) up the Steam charts, maybe they should, I dunno, rethink the way it is implemented - make it server controlled. Make it have an off switch. Relying on client side exploit detection is a losers game - like the war on drugs, or piracy. The key is to not have gaping holes in your product and let the cheat detections focus on external things, like memory editors. I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert on ARMA2, but it seems to me that BI sacrificed security for ease of use, when it comes to the control gamers have. Giving gamers control is a great thing, I wish more developers would do this and it is becomming a lost art thanks to locked down consoles, but you have to be sensible about it. It sounds to me like it was only pure dumb luck ARMA2 online itself wasn't completely ruined by hackers already, and the only reason it wasn't is down to the sheer fact it wasn't popular enough to attract the attention of a massive amount of hackers like DayZ is. That's a downright retarded mentality to release a game on.

So basically the answer is shoving hands over ears and yelling "LALALALALALALALALA". Where is the Iraqi Minister of Information? There is no hacking problem! BTW your first link doesn't work.

Where did I say "scripting problem"? I said scripting exploits, which they are. And if it is "as intended", why does BattleEye try to stop it? Just because it fails miserably isn't relevant.

I'm sure mass killing can be detected easily enough via data collection. If a player kills others in a short amount of time across unusual X,Y coordinates, then it's a hacker. If the game kept tabs of your X,Y every few minutes and all of a sudden you are transported to the other side of the map, the X,Y wouldn't add up and the next time you logon you should go back to the last X,Y that makes sense. ARMA2 has sold enough copies to DayZ upstarts alone that they should address the scripting exploits, if there are plans to keep it a mod for the foreseeable future. If there is no such plan then they better hurry up with the standalone version because the game is fast becomming unplayable. Being alpha is irrelevant - people keep saying this but, I'm sorry, Alpha code isn't released to the public in an uncontrolled sense like this. It is simple a contradiction. The reality is this is alpha grade code released as retail - because you techically paid for ARMA2 and not DayZ is splitting hairs and deliberately ignoring the reality. If you already owned ARMA2 then well done, but you are very likely in the MINORITY of the soon to be 1,000,000 strong DayZ user base, as most effectively bought DayZ no matter how you want to spin it.

The game is simply unplayable. Every session today (5+) I have experienced teleporting hacks.

Yeah, post a video .........so everyone can see where you hide.

Anyway I think the point of the OP was he is disappointed this isn't more of a zombie focused game. He's kinda the polar opposite of me - I'm disappointed it isn't a more survival focused game without the need for zombies. What we have is a game that doesn't really sit in either camp fully. And I think he has a point. The Z's are not the focus of the game despite the name and art work. One would be tempted to say "put up or shut up", and either make the Zs a force to be reckoned with or get rid of them, but hey, DayZ is pretty damn popular like it is, so who am I to question.

I do, but only for sports games. A true survival game needs to be PC IMO - you need that advanced inventory, you need the better graphics, mouse control etc. More importantly you need a developer who is open with the community, and a healthy update/patch system. DayZ ticks so many boxes, but to me the zombies are a let down and might be why I eventually lose interest. They won't ever be removed like I hope (unless someone can mod the mod and create a Z-less server?), but realistically maybe they can be made to be the true secondary elements that they are. Right now they are simply not what keeps me coming back to DayZ, but they take up so much time and effort. It feels like having to play 30 minutes of mini-games before I can get to the real substance, like I'm stuck on a loading screen playing Pacman waiting for my actual game to load. But then I've never been very heavily into the whole zombie thing, so maybe this game isn't for me, but it just comes so close and teases with all its other awesome aspects it's hard to accept.

Obviously few here will agree, but I actually tend to think zombies could be removed from DayZ entirely and it would be a much better game. Some changes would need to be made to make players still play with caution so it's not just a FPS - you still want people on edge. I think this could be easily achieved though based solely on the threat of other players. Right now, zombies are annoyances and completely out of tune with the actual good parts of DayZ. I never see them as being much more than a secondary part of the game fun and enjoyment wise, and yet they force you to crawl around on your belly in situations where being prone makes little sense really. I've never heard of zombies who can't see thing moving along the ground - it makes no sense. With a name like DayZ though the path has been chosen, and IMO it was a necessary path to attract attention, at the expense of a better gaming experience. If I knew a similar game that was all about a realistic apocolyptic survival with the junk like zombies removed, I'd be playing that instead.

Why would a church choose to write a program on a piece of paper with a bloody hand mark on it.

I like this suggestion - some places should be empty of them entirely. You will never know of course, so you'll still be careful, but right now they are far too predictable.