Bakst

Excuse me? I happen to play on both a private white-listed server and public servers, and I'd really like to know: Where are all these scripters everyone seems to be complaining about? When BIS/BE/devs finally brought the hammer down on a bunch of common cheat scripts about a month ago, I started playing on public medium-pop expert servers again, and I haven't encountered a single "hacker" since, not one! Now obviously, my personal experience doesn't represent the community as a whole, but frankly I think they've made great progress in fighting the rampant cheating. Scripted-in weapons are still out there, and duping is still a problem, but the major game-breaking cheats like thunderdoming etc. are much less frequent than they used to be, at least in my experience.

Page 20? I say at least 10 more :) And how about the "This update is great for hackers cos we can't Alt-F4 anymore" replies -- I'm guessing there will be many more of those by page 20. All bets are on!

hahaha awesome. even tho i have no clue what a stacktrace is; i assume it's where you trace the stack :D

Dude I totally agree. Pen & paper would be amazing, and actually I think that's been confirmed for the SA (?). In addition, photos would be pretty awesome. Find an instant-camera, some Polaroid film and batteries, and start taking snapshots of people, places, bodies, etc. Don't know if it's doable from a technical POV tho, since the images would have to be stored server-side in order to be preserved after the player logs off. Maybe limit the amount of film per server?

Afaik all but the cigarettes idea have already been posted on this thread (I've been following it for a while now). It's an interesting suggestion -- after like 20-40 fags you would get addicted and suffer penalties if you don't smoke regularly... to be honest, though, this is probably too much of a micro-feature with no real benefit to gameplay, so I don't think it's gonna get added. Still a pretty good idea tho.

I agree, especially with the first sentence. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is about being in combat mode. For those of us who never Alt-F4, this changes nothing -- I mean, is it really that important to log off immediately after killing a cow or throwing a tin can? If so, then you're probably up to no good. If not, just be patient; 30 seconds is a really short amount of time. Other than that, it affects absolutely nothing about the gameplay. I played for a few hours last night and hardly even noticed the combat system (although I would like to see it become an icon instead of that ugly text box). Personally, 70m/50m seems perfectly reasonable to me, whereas 30m/15m is a mighty small radius... like, you could be holed up in the NWAF barracks with an all-out war raging all around you outside and still manage to log off. And if we're talking "irl it's like this and this" then I'd say that irl, if it's raining bullets anywhere within a 30m radius of my person, then I would certainly consider myself in combat (and mortal danger)!! :) Edit: I understand that this system can potentially reveal other players within the radius. I suppose that's the big gripe here? I guess that can be fixed by tweaking the radius. At some point, silent kills would alert nearby players anyway, realistically. Oh and on another note, I don't buy the "big win for script kiddies" argument. I haven't encountered a single scriddie in weeks, but even if I did, Alt-F4 doesn't always save you. Cheaters need to be dealt with on a different level, and giving legit players the ability to log off instantly is not a viable anti-cheat strategy imo.

absolutely fantastic, thanks!!!

Übrigens, @DaGolem: "Wild" heißt auf Englisch "game" oder "prey" aber definitiv nicht "wild" ;) You would use the noun "wild" more like as in, "I'm hunting my prey out in the wild" i.e. in the untamed outdoors. Hope I don't come across as a wise-crack, I just thought pointing out this false friend could be useful to you in the future.

I just wonder if the servers could handle it... with so many objects (the tracks) spawned at once, I fear it might not be feasible from a technical point of view. The authoritative source! Congrats, it's a great thread :)

Hey no problem, that's what discussions are for :) I love these forums because the community is so alive with ideas. I'm not against group mechanics per se, but I think groups should be supported by more subtle means that don't intrude on the immersion and authentic gameplay. Skins will make a huge difference, as will radios and underground base construction, which Rocket has said he wants to add in later updates. Your idea would work well in the context of Arma2, but I don't think nametags are the way to go in DayZ. Wow thanks for making me aware of The Hunter, that looks like a pretty cool game! It would be truly amazing if you could track wildlife and other players in DayZ (with the help of your dog!). Not sure how that would work, but I'm all for it.

Hi new poster, sorry to say this point blank but that's a terrible idea. It's not that I think you shouldn't be able to group up and coordinate with other players, but this shouldn't be done via annoying and easily exploitable game mechanics like you described. There's no authenticity in having a perma-tag over players with constant map visibility, it simply isn't like that irl. It's a cheap shortcut that would make things WAY too easy. Instead, radios should help groups coordinate their actions across the map, or else just use Teamspeak & co like everyone else. Rocket has said time and again that he doesn't want to influence gameplay via specific game mechanics, but rather the game aims to provide a framework where players can do as they please. So if you want to group up with friends, there's no need for an official "group" designation in-game: just start working together and PRESTO! you've got yourself a group. Furthermore, with new customizable skins/clothing for the characters, you'll be able to tell people apart better with no need for distracting tags. If you want map visibility and name tags, go play on rookie servers, they have that kind of stuff.

haha word to that. still some nice screenshots tho. Can anyone say how close this game is to release right now? ... mid or late November perhaps? *bambi eyes*

The DayZ SA is going to be a polished & expanded version of the mod. It's still DayZ. I don't think the devs are promising anything more than that, and besides these screenshots are just a tiny snapshot of what's to come. Personally, I don't want the standalone to be so totally different from what we have now. The devs can build on what is already an awesome foundation, and I think that's precisely what they're doing. On a related topic, a lot of players seem to dislike ArmA's (and thus also DayZ's) HUD & controls. I understand that it's a different style with a sometimes clunkier feel compared to other FPS games, but for me personally it offers some distinct advantages over the usual FPS control scheme, namely the freelook, zoom, and many other detailed functions that can be performed. It's a system that befits a simulation game like ArmA, and it's a unique product by a (previously) lesser-known company that stands out from the rest. I'll admit the learning curve was a bit steep at first, but it was worth it. The one thing that needs an overhaul is the inventory system, but that is in fact being reworked as we speak.

Apache25 is that you? ^_^

Okay I put it wrong. You're right they're using the ToH "Arma 2.5" (Rocket) engine, but what I'm saying is that they can strip anything not needed for DayZ from the code so that the possibilities for hacking in the SA are limited to begin with, assuming the devs get it right. I think it will be more hack-proof.

Yeah seriously. "Hacking was the only fun thing about DayZ" that guy obviously missed the point about this game. Meanwhile, waiting to see... (edit) but I think the fact that the devs are building the SA from the ground up allows them to keep it tight in a way that hasn't been possible with the ArmA2 engine.

That sucks that you got teleported four times in one night, but I really have to disagree with your claim that it's "worse than ever." The exact opposite is the case: broadly speaking it's better than ever, and that's not just me saying it, I've been reading it all across the forums. I'm not sure why it has improved -- whether it's Battleye's efforts, scriddies losing interest, or something else -- but the consensus is that it has improved. What server(s) were you playing on where the teleporting happened? Like I said in my previous post, I have moved back onto medium-to-high pop public Chernarus servers and things have been going swimmingly. I'm not saying cheaters are gone completely, that'll never happen, but it's nothing like the raging ever-present cheating that we had just a few months ago.

They really have managed to cut down the scripting and cheating to a very acceptable level. I've actually moved back to high-pop servers (20-30 players preferably) over the past few weeks and I haven't been teleported or hack-killed once! Imagine. Duping is still pretty widespread but that's because the alpha release is still buggy, not because of scripts for the most part. It's quite awesome, OP you should come back.

(quote edited for brevity) I think drugs would be a pretty awesome addition, but I can see how it could easily get too complicated. I don't really see how there can be a sleep mechanic -- I think we just pretend in our heads like our characters sleep while we're logged off :) -- but caffeine and similar uppers could still provide a temporary boost to stamina like you described. I'm all for it. I think more broadly speaking the game might do well to feature chemicals, which players can mix into anything from saline solutions, drugs, bombs, poisons, and so on. That would be pretty cool imo.

Hi and sorry for the late reply. In answer to your question, I'm not sure that you can use your new cd-key through Steam because it's the retail version i.e. not purchased through Steam. What you can do, however, is "add a non-Steam game" to your library (it's under the "Games" drop-down menu), so that you can use Steam to launch any game or program installed on your PC. That way you'd still be able to use the Steam overlay and whatnot. Otherwise, any progress fixing the original problem on your end?

I agree with ShaDDer, there should be several in-game incentives for teamwork in addition to the advantages that are already inherent in group play (tactical superiority, simultaneous task solving, item storage and camp guarding, etc.) Afaik blood bags are currently the only game mechanic that actively encourages coop, but I hope the standalone will include many more such items. To be honest, the whole concept of blood bags in this game is somewhat inauthentic, in that you normally can't just give someone a blood transfusion in the field, certainly not in 15 seconds and especially not without any equipment other than the blood bag. As some folks more knowledgeable than me have pointed out on this thread and the forums, field medics use different techniques and gear to treat bled-out soldiers. Otherwise a blood transfusion requires an IV setup and some time in a steady position such as a hospital bed. As for splints, this could indeed be a one-man job. I guess it all depends on what new medic functions are added to the SA game. For my part, I can't wait to find out!

DayZ Commander is definitely more useful to the casual DayZ gamer than PlaywithSix. For general game info, the DayZ Wiki is always your friend (if you bought the Steam version, use the overlay). As mentioned above, Sacriel's YouTube channel is awesome, I learned a lot just by watching his hilarious vids. There are also a few guides out there, but really the best is to simply start playing and don't get frustrated, because you will die... a lot. There will be bugs, as this is still an alpha release, and there will be cheaters, although cheating has gone down drastically recently. Can you tell us more about your experience with The War Z? What was buggy about it? Did you interact with other players, and if so, how did it go? And want about this in-game currency? I'm convinced WarZ is a huge pile of crap but I'd like to hear someone's opinion who has actually played the game.

Excellent, keep up the good work ruarz! What about the idea of Polaroid photos (to supplement the Notes idea) -- is there enough support for this idea for you to add it to the Community Wishlist? I'm certainly not the first to suggest it.

You know, most of this has already been addressed in the OP if it hasn't already been announced by the devs: 1. OP: -BASIC WISHLIST- High-end military gear should be far rarer and harder to obtain. There should be a greater emphasis on civilian weaponry, particularly hunting rifles, shotguns and melee weapons. Weapons in general will also require maintenance afaik, meaning that if your gun is in crappy condition it is liable to jam. 2. OP: -CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES- 3. Devs have announced "Chernarus Plus," an expanded and altered version of the Chernarus map to serve as a starting point for the SA; there may also be a nearby island such as Utes accessible by boat or aircraft. 4. Good idea, this has been discussed on the forums and should be added to the list here; the same goes for the L85 thermal scope, which should be more sensitive to interference from glass etc. 5. OP: -A REVISED HEALTH/STATUS/WOUNDING SYSTEM- under the "Breathing" header. Currently, being out of breath affects your aim and produces heavy breathing sounds. I agree with you that it should also affect your running speed, which would slowly go down to a walking pace after so many minutes of uninterrupted running/sprinting. 6. Absolutely. 7. See 1. 8. OP: -CHANGES TO THE ZOMBIES AND THEIR BEHAVIOR- I'm not sure players will be willing to put up with four rl-months of a particular season in the game. For example, I'd probably enjoy a snowy-white winter scenario for a few weeks, but then I will long for the summer weather again. Instead of forcing a four-month cycle, perhaps different maps (once they are introduced) should exhibit different climates? I guess as long as server admins can decide how they would like the weather to behave (in general) on their servers, everyone has a choice and that's cool. I'm all for choices. 1. Personally I'd love to see a single-player campaign. Needless to say, loot gathered in SP would not carry over to MP servers. It could server almost more as a gameplay tutorial than a narrative campaign. 2. See above. The stamina system definitely needs a few tweaks. Disagree on SP, simply have two separate characters for SP and MP with no overlap between them. Due to the lack of other players in SP mode, there would have to be new challenges to make it interesting. NPC's should be avoided but perhaps they could make it a lone survivor scenario, i.e. "you are the last human on Earth, go follow some mysterious radio broadcast to the promised land" or whatever. Sort of like a gameplay tutorial with a narrative. Has definitely been suggested, including in the OP, which no one seems to read: -A REVISED INVENTORY SYSTEM- Also, Rocket has said that the SA inventory system is being rebuilt from scratch to make it more intuitive, and that includes having appropriate slots for rifles, handguns and melee weapons (assuming you have found the necessary gear, i.e. gun sling, holster, tool belt, etc.) Couldn't agree with you more. To be fair, your suggestion concerning the inventory system (re. switching melee weapons) has also been made elsewhere a million times. It's even in the OP. I don't mind so much when people rehash old ideas, since there's nothing new under the sun, but don't get after the noobs for doing the same. That would indeed be awesome.

What really bothers me is that there are so many variables here. I mean, in my case it all happened so fast and I only have my own experience to go on because it happened to my friend's character while we were playing on the same server. We're pretty certain it was a script kiddie who took control of my friend's character, but how can we be sure? What the hell do we know? We have no logs, no video capture, no proof. Assuming someone used a script on my friend and it wasn't just a glitch in the code or something else, the next best explanation I can think of is that this somehow corrupted his database entries in the Hive. That's the central DayZ server that synchronizes player info such as gear with the thousands of public servers around the world. The Hive info is linked to each player's unique GUID = Global Unique IDentifier, a string of characters that identifies your hashed cd-key through Battleye. That's why you were able to play a new character using your friend's unused cd key, because it provides you with an entirely new GUID and thus fresh Hive entries, but it doesn't fix the problem. Now here's the other thing: instinctively, anyone with a passing familiarity of this game will think, "you probably installed some kind of malware cheating program thinking you would get an AS50 TWS, and it stole your cd key and now you're screwed!" All I can say is that this is a legitimate problem that happens to legitimate players, and I think this is confirmed by the fact that there has been no ban, only system fail. This seems to be a rare problem and frankly, I'm at a complete loss.