*Regulator* Oldtribe

Hey Kryfex, check out this topic - we're talking about just this thing: http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F42919-law-to-lawless-lands%2F -O

Definitely one of the things I'm going to try out as soon as I can is setting up a "noob tent" where people can come to take what they need and leave what they can. Haven't really had the chance to do it yet, since it'll be an obvious sniper target (needs to be known) so resupplying and visiting it will be more dangerous than avoiding it. On the other hand, it does provide some interesting counter-sniping opportunities... :D -O

Actually, I think the best kind of Regulator would be a "repentant bandit" - this guy would have the necessary skills to do this job and had most likely reached a point where player killing had lost it's excitement almost completely. He'd understand the point of view of both parties and like you said, there are no innocents in DayZ, we've all killed other players for good or bad reasons and felt both good and bad about it. At the end of the day, this whole idea came from reading the forums and seeing the unbelievable amount of frustration people have and thinking "hmm how could this be fixed without changing the game" - I think penalizing bandits "unnaturally" is downright stupid (although I'd like to give them some added horror effects, like having the ghosts of the people you've killed walk behind you, only being seen by you). -O

Yeah, and that's the ultimate bottom line for doing it - you have my beans, good sir. -O

The "Law" I'm mostly concerned is the Golden Rule of ethics (also found in the Bible, although I'm not religious): Don't do anything to others that you wouldn't wish done to yourself. It's simple, easy to remember and the basis of all civil conduct. This being a game though, we can improvise a bit - I am not the higher authority to anybody (even the Regulators themselves), so whatever brand of "frontier justice" people will want to enforce is entirely up to them (I'm a big fan or Justified, the Preacher comics and westerns in general if that helps you understand my point of view). Play how you like, just don't shoot anybody who doesn't deserve it. I'm a simple man. -O EDIT: here's the wikipedia link for it - the rule of reciprocity that was essential in building any organized culture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rule

Awesome! Consider yourself hired as the comms officer - let's figure out concrete ways to get this idea a bit more organized. I think keeping a member roster and sharing information are the most critical things we need to figure out. I think organization on regional level is better left to the Regulators themselves - we'll provide help and suggestions, but I think every community usually has somebody who likes to assume responsibility to develop their cooperation further (and I'm all for letting people do this in their own way - it's more of a philosophy than a clan, anyway). -O

Hey - it's all about your personal integrity. I think having traitors in our midst (and adapting our tactics to deal with them) would provide some awesome game experiences! That's why we're here anyway - this game makes you actually give a shit :D -O

I see it a little bit differently: I'd rather get shot by a scared survivor than shoot him myself, because why not - it doesn't take too long to gear up again (and I actually like scavenging for the essentials, all I need is binoculars and a winchester or some other good zombie gun) and at least I'm setting an example that this guy can choose to follow (naturally some people just like to grief and will never change - those guys I'm just hoping to get bored of it all eventually). That being said, I am cautious and use many of the methods Chewsta outlined in his excellent post above: I give food and guns, but not directly - leaving them in a nearby shack and telling the guy where to find them is a good way to avoid getting assraped with your own Makarov. I don't usually band up with survivors either - after the situation is over, it's time for me to go. I also naturally mistrust anybody I spot lying low with a sniper rifle. I won't shoot them on sight, but I usually stay hidden and observe what they are doing: if I see them killing others indiscriminately, I start popping smokes, flares and potshots in their direction to mess with their heads and help buy their victims a few seconds or minutes to make a getaway. If I have a clear shot, I will take it (usually a carbine against a sniper won't really win, but I might at least wing him). Most times I am not successful (and sometimes I get killed in the process), but I enjoy the "guardian angel" role so much that I don't mind. I've been preaching about this in the forums, so I'll post it here too for anybody who's interested: http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/42919-law-to-lawless-lands/ It's a plan for a different, and (to me at least) very rewarding way to play DayZ - give it a read if you feel like it and sound out if it appeals to you. -O

Welcome to the fold, Brother Grey Warden! Here's the (slightly updated) Regulator creed: 1) Let your presence be known and actively help out survivors in the servers by offering protection, healing and food 2) Never kill for personal gain, vengeance or loot 3) Be ready to help out your Regulator brothers when called upon Honored to have you aboard, spread the good word! -O

Ideally the Regulators would be made of small bands of players within the same geographical region (to keep pings average and make alerting others easier) - the ideal patrols would be friends who already play together boosted with a few independent Regulators that are available to help. Think of the organization model a little bit like the Hells Angels or other motorcycle clubs - they are independent, but follow a mutually-agreed set of rules. They get together on a larger scale every now and then to swap stories and party, but mostly each Chapter runs it's area of operations it best sees fit. In a similar fashion, Regulator Chapters could be led by an experienced guy with a good tactical eye and helped by somebody who handles the comms so people in that area currently playing can be contacted when needed (actually, this guy is the most important link in the chain). They'd have their own teamspeak, skype chat, steam group or whatever they decide to use and play in any way they see fit with the caveat of abiding to the Regulator code of conduct. If some of them wanted to form a tighter clan and pull tougher ops, no problem. If other chapters consisted of lone wolves who don't want to go through all the hassle of finding everybody, talking about plans and doing the whole hoo-hah thing, that would be possible as well. Nobody is excluded if they agree to follow the Code. :) ...and Ratfever, sorry to hear about that but beans for your honesty - I hope the Regulators will make your game just a little bit cooler too :beans: -O

Nice one! Death and respawning is an integral part of this and Tommypwnzya will learn the ropes sooner or later - the important thing is that you gave him that one experience that wasn't completely negative so even though he gets killed 8 times, he'll remember that one time he was actually helped out and tell about that to others he meets for sure. And since you came out of it feeling good too, I'd say Regulator mission accomplished. Beans are yours. :thumbsup: :beans: -O

Yeah, hackers, cheaters, ghosters and such are a part of the game we as players cannot really do much about. Luckily, we all know how they operate (ghosters being one of the main reasons I think Regulators or any vigilante groups should not have fixed bases) and can adapt our game style to minimize their impact on the game we love to play. I always talk about bandits as an enemy, but let me be absolutely clear: I LOVE BANDITS. I love the fear they put in me, I love the challenge they give me and I love how they inspire me (and some of you guys here too) to start roleplaying as a lawman. So bandits, please don't go away :D I loved your story, Brad - how about we spam this forum even more and start a topic where any of you guys who've decided to take part in this little scheme of ours can leave reports and share stories about how your game is going? Every time somebody who's getting fed up with the treachery reads about something more positive for a change, we'll make a tiny bit of difference in where this game is hopefully headed. My last night's ranging was pretty uneventful - patrolled Stary and NWAF but miraculously didn't find anything except zombies (who almost tore me to pieces btw) and a couple of tents...I guess next I'll head down south. Did manage to score a BIzon from a heli crash though, so not a complete waste of time :D -O

Yeah - whoever that guy was, he was working for Team Good. Thanks for sharing the story! -O

Howdy Insaner, 1) It's all very much in its infancy as of now, but I'm not looking so much to form a clan with a solid base as I am hoping to develop a "ranger force" that consists of people following the same creed (in fact, I see that happening all over with various vigilante groups running radio stations, hospitals and what have you) - the only reason I'm asking to add the tag ([Regulator]) to your name is to build awareness: the more times people see a player doing good and carrying his "badge" with pride, the more they will start to associate the Regulators as a trustworthy group. 2) KoSsing is a complicated subject - we need to understand that people have no trust and will almost always shoot on sight when met. Building this trust will take time and sacrifice and not everybody who joins the cause will be there at the end just because it'll be frustrating and hard to get there and turning back to blowing people away will just seem as the easier path. For me, the solution has been simple so far - stay out of sight. In the original thread I already wrote some of the things I've been trying (observe common ambush areas and use global channel or direct talk to warn people off, interrupt firefights by popping rounds/flares to distract the combatants etc), but I'm sure there are dozens of other ways that resourceful players will find as well. That being said, I don't mind dying for somebody (actually, with my current gear, I'd mind a little) - it's easy to scavenge decent gear in an hour and get back to business. As a rule of thumb, I try to make a difference between a scared survivor airing me out with a doublebarrel and a camping bandit popping anybody that wanders into his LOS. 3) Like I said, I don't believe in fixed bases - this game enables amazing movement and the power of an effective force is in that - moving light and calling your brothers to help out when possible. In my vision, the Regulators would be such a force - nimble, resourceful and not tied down to any location. You play the game as you used to, looting what you can and when you meet with your brothers, resupply them while they supply you back. And yes, if we locate a bandit base where they hide all their loot, we'd ride that sonovabitch down, use their vehicles to flatten their tents before blowing them up and then vanish back to wherever we came from. 4/5) So far, I'm just trying to get this thing off the ground - there are no websites, member rosters or such. I'm not the best guy to run those either, so any potential Regulators willing to do some admin work should let me know. Same goes with teamspeak - me and my buddies have been using just a steam voice chat so far but I have no idea how to run something large scale from a tech standpoint. :D Man, long-ass post again...in closing, I'd like to point out that I don't want to be a boss, a general or a dictator. Even if people liked this idea and the Regulators had 5000 members some day, I'd still play on my own style and would come to the forums or campfires to hear the stories on how my brothers have been helping out to make this place a better experience for everybody (including the bandits). -O

Wow, you guys seem to have a good thing going on here. Can I come and talk to you fellas about this law enforcement idea I've been thinking about? -Oldtribe

I support you 100%. Maybe you'll find this interesting: http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/42919-law-to-lawless-lands/ -O

The only reason I'm asking for the tag is that the ideals will spread faster as we will seem more like an unified group. That being said, if you want to keep your freedom, who am I to say otherwise - what is important is that you play to protect, tags or no. Good to get you aboard. -O

Indeed you can! I just wish we could have cowboy hats...

It's a great point you're making Darknight, so let me respond here as well: I don't want to create a giant bandit-killing clan since that will inevitably turn into a giant bandit clan. I want the people who think the game has more depth to it than just lurking in the bushes and killing for sport join up and take part in this to prove that there can be laws (even if they are of the 'frontier justice' type) in the game. It will take time, but is instrumental in enacting the 'subtle change' you guys are looking for too. In it's essence, this is a combat game first and foremost (at least currently), so I'm not thinking most people will find it enjoyable enough to do grass-roots good deeds all the time without much other rewards than getting shot in the head by the guy you just helped out. For this, we'll need to have roles for enforcers and those enforcers can channel their love for combat for the best possible cause: improving everybody's game (including the bandits, I'd say). I'm not great at combat, so I patrol and observe (and yak here on the forums) but always with the idea of NOT killing others and trying to prevent others from getting killed too. This all makes me sound very holier-than-thou, I know, but I find it to be the most enjoyable way to play currently. In closing, do what you feel is best for you, but try to help rather than harm - that'd be a good credo for donning the [Regulator] tag. -O

Best way for this to work is to set up your own server and admit patients in with a password. For location, I'd choose Elektro so you can keep resupplied easy. The other option would be to do what Dr. Wasteland does and equip your medics on your own server (or the safest one you can find and then send then to do runs in troubled areas. -O

Yeah the lack of trust between players is the biggest issue that this game needs to overcome: I love the sense of paranoia, but there needs to be something you can trust or at least believe in without the game devs having to force faction rules etc on the community. Because I don't think it can be solved any time soon, I urge anybody trying to play a good guy to do it overtly so just to start tipping the scales a little bit towards that direction too. I don't make direct contact with people, but I use the map bug to write messages that anybody can see, global chat (if it's working) and just leaving supplies behind to places where I hope somebody can come across them (I wish this game let me leave written notes). I've interrupted a firefight by starting to pull fire towards me (not sure who started it or what it was about but as far as I know, the guys in the village got away) etc...it's all (hopefully) left at least somebody thinking "wow, that guy helped me out". -O

Yeah after giving a reality check to myself on the safe zones, I don't think they are a very good option actually - people can ghost in and attack them from the inside, it takes a lot of people to secure anything bigger than a farmhouse etc etc - the better approach is to give these murderers a healthy fear of repercussions - you kill people, you'll attract attention. Enough attention, you become the prey and 1) DC, 2) die 3) kill/evade your pursuers - all of which are good outcomes for any of the noobs you were targeting just earlier (and gives the Regulator soldier types a clear, good mission to execute, real milsim style), so win-win. -O

Valid points Osirizoran, but I have to say that if you hunker down to a high-risk area and keep watching it for a while, you can start to see people getting killed fairly frequently and can usually pinpoint the killer (or at least see their lootrunner) relatively easy: I've seen many guys who get pretty sloppy when they're hunting humans - they stand up to binoc the area, fire multiple shots, have their lootrunner walk up to their position to deliver ammo (or something) and they just overall get wayyy too comfortable/careless after they've killed a few guys. There are some stunning exceptions to this as well, but in those cases I wonder why even bother wasting your .50 cals on useless targets (except maybe for target practice). Observing might be boring and that's why I don't want to tell anybody what to do - think of taking the [Regulator] tag as a way of telling other people that you're not necessarily a threat right off the bat. The way you play the game is totally up to you: snipe, heal, observe, charge head-on - whatever tickles your fancy. Just have a point and a bigger picture guiding the decisions you make (if that makes sense). This game has hundreds of thousands of players, so even a fraction of a percent playing with this "philosophy" is a massive force to be reckoned with. Furthermore, it'll accommodate many different play styles - the tactical guys can band up to hammer hard on bandit positions while lone wolfs can gather intel and set up resupply points for survivors. -O @Ratfever: I think the small number of guys we have all scattered all over the place (UK, US, Asia, Europe) so I'm trying to plant the seeds of this thinking and hope every member inspires more people to join the cause on their own region rather than running this from a centralized "Regulator HQ". Bands of RL friends make good "cells" to begin with and judging by the amount of hate these forums have for the state of the game now, the momentum will keep it going until we've made the game better for everybody.

I don't think there's more than a handful of us currently (10ish) so spread the word, lead by example and stay safe - I've been playing lone wolf this week (banding up with three guys on the weekend) and just doing observation/warning and dropping food and ammo near the beach (don't know how long it stays on the ground, but people were getting iced constantly so hopefully somebody found something useful). If you guys want, I can create a FB group to server as the member roster so you can hook up on raids there? -O

I wouldn't like it any other way, man - the fear of death is what keeps the game good for me :D I know there are some badass lone wolves out there too (I've been fought a few and usually gotten my ass handed to me), but I'm also thinking that some of these elite guys are getting bored of sniping targets of low value for a can of beans and might feel it's time to try out some bigger game that has been out of reach - organized bandit clans. I really hope we get a few of these mofos to join the Regulators, because there's nothing more dangerous than an all-around lone wolf player moving in the night...so, if any of you are reading this, think about it. No need to change anything in your play style, just point the gun at people who'll put up a real fucking fight and let people know that the LAW is in town (yeah I'm being melodramatic but I just think this game needs some drama :D) -O