IncrediBurch

Let me preface this thread by addressing those who do not prefer to use controllers for most PC games: This thread isn't for you. Please ignore this thread unless you'd like to contribute constructively. To those who prefer a controller, I do have a warning you've probably heard. Day Z (Mod and SA) are not very controller friendly, despite having default schemes in place and allowing controller mapping. Namely, you can't navigate the inventory screen at this time without a mouse. I understand you have your preference, and that is why I provide this information. I have begun testing what the default control layout for Day Z: Standalone with a Standard Controller. I'll use Xbox 360 controller terminology since that is the most common controller used on PC. Be aware that you can use a non-Xbox controller, but if it doesn't support Xinput, the default scheme won't apply and you'll have to map every action individually in the game's option menu. I haven't figured out all the controls. Possibly some of the controls may be mapped for certain gear or situations I have not or cannot encounter (ex. Vehicles, entering and exiting). I haven't used a loaded weapon yet in DZSA, so I'm not sure which button is "Reload". Please feel free to contribute any knowledge you have about missing and existing controls. Default Layout: Left Analog - Move (Analog sensitivity enabled) L-Stick click - Crouch (Toggle) Right Analog - Aiming R-Stick click - Unknown D-pad UP - Interaction menu scroll up D-pad DOWN - Interaction menu scroll down D-pad LEFT - Unknown D-pad RIGHT - Unknown X Button - Unknown Y Button - Unknown A Button - Interaction / Confirm B Button - Go Prone (Toggle) R Bumper - Map screen R Trigger - Unknown (I had an Axe and it didn't swing, so it might not be "Fire") L Bumper - Unknown L Trigger - Zoom Start - Game Menu (ESC key) Back/Select - POV toggle (First and Third person) Just like the Mod, you can choose to disable the Xbox 360 controller default scheme and map buttons as you like to the controller. You cannot edit the game's primary controller scheme. You have to map every input individually, but the analog sticks will automatically register analog input for movement and looking. There are also Third-party applications you can download to your computer to create more sophisticated button mapping layout on controllers for the game. You can see other threads for more information on those. Let me suggest an alternative to those of you who prefer controllers that could help you immensely when trying to play this game. The game recognizes controller, keyboard, and mouse input simultaneously. Being the weirdo that I am, I use a hybrid control layout. I utilize the LEFT SIDE of a controller for movement, while using a gaming mouse as my RIGHT SIDE controller, and spread out useful commands between them. I turn off the default controller scheme in order to map everything correctly. Here is my personal custom layout for the left half of the controller... Left Stick - Movement L-stick click - Vault/Jump D-pad UP - "Up" (Toggles standing and crouching, or moves you to crouch from prone) D-pad DOWN - "Go Prone" (Puts you into prone from any position) D-pad LEFT - Toggles Raise/Lower Arms and Weapons D-pad RIGHT - Map (Doesn't toggle. You have to push another button to exit the screen) L Bumper - Inventory Screen L Trigger - "Look" (Swivel head without changing movement direction) Back/Select - POV toggle I map other common useful commands to my extra mouse buttons. Everything that is combat related is at my finger tips. I only ever have to use the keyboard for non-combat actions. I understand I could be in danger at any time. I take responsibility for my own bad judgement if I put myself in danger. Hope this helps some of you :)

I've hit my saturation point with the game. My spirit broken. Disenchantment complete. I'm not asking for pity, sympathy, none of that. I'm just sharing the last notes of my story with Day Z. Long Story Short: Over many in-game lives, I worked to get my favorite gear, ample survival supplies, most of the in-game tools, set up a private base at a prime location, and risked my digital life to find and repair a vehicle legitimately (not relying on hackers making every vehicle spawn). I even had a Mountain Dew I found in the wild (regular item spawn). I didn't drink it, just kept it as a badge of honor. I endured all the game flaws, even outlasted all my friends' tolerances for the game. It became lonely, but still satisfying to be self-sufficient. So, I'm taking my new vehicle further north. I decide to see if I can find a slightly better off-road vehicle. I park it in the woods far enough away so items spawn properly. I find the better vehicle and check what's needed to fix it. I head back for my current vehicle. It's gone. I run back and forth thinking I might have just ran past it. Nope. It's not marked on my map anywhere. I'm stranded so far away with just my basic supplies and favorite weapons. I've decided my time in Day Z is done. I trek straight back to my base. I throw every piece of gear I have into my 2 tents (backpack and all), sit myself down, look into the sky, and disconnect for the last time. It had been thundering and turning to dusk in-game as I made my way back too. Kind of a perfect ending. It's comes down to the point where I can't stand putting in so much effort for so little payoff. I barely had the vehicle for an hour. I've spent weeks trying to find and get a vehicle going. Basically the whole time I've been playing. I know the game has that kind of balance, where things don't last long. Don't get attached to your gear is Rule #1 in this game. Well, that's how I measured my progress. I'm not entertained anymore. I'm not knocking the game, I still had fun with Day Z while I could. I knew I was reaching this point. I'll give the stand-alone a shot when that is finally released. If you want my gear, it's on US1721. Enjoy it while you can!

That's a good point. It does seem weird for me to come say "I'm done while you are the people who are still playing." I came on to share my thoughts for three reasons: first, sharing your Day Z story is part of the experience (emergent gameplay and such). Second, feedback for the devs. I'm sure just about everything we post here helps them in one way or another. Third, I wanted to see what other people would say about my thoughts. Obviously, some people think I'm being whiny. To an extent, I am. I'm mentioning a negative moment in the game. So to those who thought my intention was to whine "like a little noob bitch" I say unto thee...Day Z scratches a serious itch in my gaming tastes. I would not have put up with the other issues in this game if it didn't. I appreciate all the well wishers. I'm not 100% gone. I'll be checking in for updates on the stand-alone and mod builds. I can't wait to see what shape the game takes in future updates.

It's really amusing to me how much hate their can be in the forums. Clearly, my post wasn't complaining about the game. And I'm still checking the news everyday to find out when the stand-alone alone is hitting. I'm still interested in playing, it just doesn't have me hooked anymore. I know this isn't a fully polished game. It's really not about the alpha-build HAVING bugs, it's about WHAT bugs there are. I saw there was a hotfix patch recently, so I updated my game and hopped in for a few minutes just to see if anyone had found my base and looted me, or a server restart wiped my gear. My stuff is mostly untouched to my surprise, but maybe 2 items were taken. I know one of my guns was taken, but it doesn't look like they touched the ammo. I know that there are cheats out there where players can see where tents are, so I'm not so sure if I was found legit or not. It doesn't matter at this point and that's all I was saying. I kinda went on a bender with the game, invested a lot of mental energy into it, and finally snapped. It's still fun, it's still there, I'm just taking a break. When some of the more annoying bugs are gone, we'll all have a lot more fun.

How about when starting a new character, you get the option to choose either starting with the standard supply set or pick "random starter gear" and run the chance of getting some better stuff. Of course, balancing would be involved. First off, there would be no chance of military type gear being on the character (except Tools). Second, each item has a value, so getting a single better item means you get less extra. I'd imagine most commonly a player could start with an extra set of bandages or pain killers, maybe an empty water bottle. Those with fair luck get a full water bottle or a can of food, but no pain killers or bandages. Those with great luck could get a morphine injector with a bandage and painkillers, but no flashlight. Common weapons like the crossbow, crowbar, makarov, lee enfield, maybe even a bigger backpack could all be part of the random possibilities. Of course, if you start with a weapon, there's a good chance it'll have only one magazine with it while you get no extra gear, while you might get the weapon without a magazine and receive some starter gear. Those sorts of trade offs with the best scenarios being like 3 food cans, but nothing else, not even a backpack, maybe starting with an axe and basic supplies, but no backpack. It's important that random provide players a chance to start with different gear on, to change up the lives a little, but not encourage players to want to have an "ideal start" loadout that they'll constantly keep trying to get. Just a thought to spice up the constant demise we all must face in Day Z.

I've seen the Day Z Mythbuster videos and one of their last myths didn't quite explain the whole story, so I just want to get it straight for future reference. I realize the standalone may change all this, but just give me the info as it works now. Do Bandits more slower than Heroes AND Survivors, or do Survivors and Bandits have the same speed, while Heroes all faster overall? Secondly, did anyone notice if Bandits leave footprints while other classes don't? This came up once while I was playing with some friends as my buddy accidently obtained Bandit status, and my other friend thought he noticed him leaving foot prints while he followed. I haven't heard anything about this before, so I brought the question here.

Thanks for all the well wishes from those of you who had something unjerky to say. Like I previously wrote, this isn't about getting sympathy, just sharing my story. My forum name and in-game are the same so you can look for me. Even if you're a bandit player, it's cool. I played for PVE, so I'd only shoot in self defense. I've had chances to kill players before, but I figure it's funnier to watch Z's eat them than waste my bullets. I've got plenty of other games to play. It's a good thing I finally hit this wall because Day Z really had consumed my free time for a few weeks. Hopefully it will be even more fun once the stand-alone alpha drops.

LOL, you're right! I totally didn't "play" this "game" for rElz. I do understand what Day Z is about. I was able to play with and around those principles. The game had gotten the better of me on a couple other occasions and quitting didn't cross my mind. I've simply had my fill for now and I told you where my breaking point was. Honestly, it's not the car stealing part that bothers me. It was that it was just as likely to have been teleported by a hacker or eaten by bugs that made me hit the wall. If I could know for a fact that my vehicle was stolen by player legimately, I would hunt that player down and reclaim what was mine. Plus, I knew where another vehicle was and I could have spent the time repairing it as well. The car stolen from me was already the second vehicle I had tried to repair. I already knew it wasn't worth fixing vehicles because they don't last for a number of reasons. You sir/mam are the unreal player. But you are a real jerk. Good day!

To the OP: I disagree with you. The "players" that you speak of play on all sorts of devices, including consoles and PCs. The "dumbed down" you speak, has nothing to do with actual game quality. Sure, the graphics do always take a hit from PC to console, but that's ok. Graphics capabilities naturally evolve over time. New games released on PS3 and Xbox 360 can't reach the current pinnacle of PC graphics, but they can still look damn fine. You want Rocket and the team (aside, Team Rocket, LOL) to make as much money as possible? Then you better beg them to bring it to as many platforms as possible. They need to reach the audience on all fronts. The poor long-term support you're talking about doesn't even affect you. You only play it on PC. This is exactly what your point boiled down to: "You aren't going to give the console version enough support, so don't make anything for the console at all." That's a terrible point. Even if you're line of thinking was that the PC versions would end up with less long-term support because there's a console version, you should complain to developer to give support, not say "don't bother at all so you can't partially disappoint people." At the end you said that possibly bring it to next-gen consoles rather than current. Current gen consoles can handle this game. The technical issues can be worked out and the game could play just fine on Xbox 360, PS3, even Wii if they wanted it to. I understand you saying that perhaps holding it off until the next-gen would be your preference, that's fine. By the time they get the game to a point where they could do a retail release, the next-gen systems would probably be there only choice. Don't kid yourself into thinking you have a valid point for requesting Day Z not be brought to consoles. There isn't a good reason not to. Just don't buy the console version if you don't want it. They'd make it regardless our opinions because we're not the audience they be trying to selling that version to.

Right now, Day Z plays simply as "Survive as long as you can". The game never really ends and that's fine. I feel that's one mode of play and Day Z can facilitate a few more for different type of people. Here are my ideas on the goals that one could be trying to accomplish in Single Player and PVE Multiplayer. A goal that could be applied to single player is Rescue. First, the player needs to find the initial rescue point. This would be a helicopter with some soldiers in it. The player won't know how to find the rescuers except by tracking them. You play and find all the gear like normal, but you're trying to find the rescue squad and join up with them. However, there is a chance the rescue squad can die from zombies, helicopter failures, or bandit attacks (all NPC driven of course). This means you have to survive until you can tell a new rescue force have arrived. If you succeed in joining them, then you get access to checkpoint where you can save your progress, get vehicles and gear on demand, and then are assigned to go help other survivors throughout Cherno. With each successful clearance of missions, you get better gear to choose and can take more with you when trying to retrieve survivors. A secondary mission could also be zombie exterminating where you're simply ordered to go into an area, wipe out so many Zombies and come back alive. Scavenging for supplies for be a third mission option. For PVE multiplayer, the goal would be to lockdown major towns and cities. The way to do that would be to exterminate all the zombies within a time limit. You would need to work with a different sized group of players to accomplish this based on the size of the location. You can temporarily secure parts of a city bit by bit, but a town needs to be completely occupied all at once. Once a location has been successfully locked down, it becomes a respawn point for all players involved. The goal is lock down all of the map and maintain control. As time goes on, Zombies will come from the perimeter and you'll have to play tower defense basically. Players will have to spread themselves out across the map in order to protect all the towns. Unoccupied towns fall quickly and easily to invading zombies. Also, the longer you hold down places, and the more places secured, better gear spawns within your territory and you'll be able to support more people. Feel free to critique my suggestions and submit your own. I want to hear what everyone else thinks about alternate goals for game modes.

I think the idea idea for a second storage item is good. It would be a smaller complimentary pouch the character wears on the front. I don't see why the Vest pouch can't be worn is conjunction with bigger packs.

Considering the random nature of loot generation in-game, a non-hacker finding scripted loot is equivalent. You didn't know you were going to find that stuff, but you did. Lucky You! Enjoy. That's why you don't ban players who pick up scripted weapons. You ban the scripters.

Maybe not F2P, but I wouldn't mind the old arcade system. Pay $1, get one Day Z Life. Pay $1 for each live. You still respawn at the coast, but that $1 gets you as much game time as you can manage to stay alive for. Perhaps there'd be rules where you can respawn at an established base you made in a previous life. Dunno how they'd work out the kinks. I'd just like to see a game try it again.

2 Questions today that sort of coincide. #1. Does anyone know more precisely how often more Zombies spawn into an area? I realize all zombies in an area don't have to die for Z-spawns to occur, but I was wondering what the actual number is. I've been to areas where they seem to respawn within 30 seconds to 2 minutes, other where it's about 5 minutes. I easily lose track of time, so I'm probably wrong on one of those counts. #2. Are Heli-crash sites subject to the same item respawn times as normal loot locations, or are all heli-crash sites one-time-only loot until server restart? I apologize if these questions have been asked before. I wasn't able to find the answers through the forum search or the Wiki.

Speaking of Green Mountain, I have a story about the first time I went there. Coincides nicely with the curse. I was leaving Zeleno and was going to travel through Green Mountain to get to Stary. I told a friend this plan (also a fellow Day Z player) and he told me emphatically "DON'T EVER GO TO GREEN MOUNTAIN." I decided not to question him directly, figuring it's probably some major PVP hot spot (Sorta true). I did some research and found out about the curse. I thought it would be great to just sneak through once and silently know I'd been there and lived through it. Plus, it had a chance for vehicle spawns, so why not. Went up from the East (or whichever end has all the thickest evergreen cover) and snuck around to the front gate. I'm only a few feet inside from the entrance, following the wall. I turn back to look into the main field to see if anyone is there. I heard flies, so I figured a dead body was around. At the time, I didn't know there was a mass grave there always making the fly sound. I expected to possibly run into someone, so I'm being extra cautious. Once I turned around, I saw a player on his knee with a gun out. It didn't seem to have noticed me yet, so I took my chance and booked it out of the area. I figured it was probably a player spawning in. I head back down the east side so I have the most cover and can reach the deer stand on that side. I go into the Deer stand without any trouble and pick up an ASR (might have just been an AK, but it replaced the Enfield I had with me). There was also a glass bottle up there. The thought came to mind to see if Zombies really do check out the noise made from throwing an empty bottle. I threw it, the Zombies went towards the noise, I used the distraction to get down from the deer stand. I'm facing the zombies, watching their movements as I begin to walk away from the stand. I notice that my crosshairs aren't displaying properly, so I click the Fire button to raise my gun. Turns out, I didn't switch back the weapon mode and I was carrying a frag grenade and smoke grenade. After I see the animation, I quickly click the weapon switch button and see "Smoke Grenade - 1" pop up. I brain fart and think "Ok, I just threw my smoke grenade. No worries." I turn around and keep walking, not running...2...3...BOOM! Face Palm! I fall unconscious, bleeding, sprained, and broken legs. I have no morphine. The timer runs outs, I wake up and bandage myself at 8000+ blood. I eat what meat I have on me back to full health. Still, my legs are broken, I like the gear I have, and I'm at full health, but really far away from any hospital or medical areas. After a failed rescue attempt by my friends, I try crawling to Cherno. I make it about half way and decide it's time to give it up, cut my losses. I crawl to the next closest town and beg zombies to eat me. Most just walk on by me. One even did so while I was standing. It was broad daylight. Finally, one Z got hungry and ate me. Sweet Release! (this was before the respawn button in the options was fixed). I realize it was my stupid mistake, but once again, I can't help but feel the Green Mountain Curse played a part in my misfortune that day. I've since been back to GrnMt and looked around. Nothing weird happened, no players, no items. The Day Z gods had received enough of my misery as a tribute, and felt no remorse.

I wish I could remember the exact town I was in, but I'm pretty sure I encountered a Day Z god/guardian angel, whatever you want to call it in fun. And, not just once, but twice on 2 different occasions. Here's the kicker, it took the form of a rabbit. I'm in one of the smaller towns, stopping inside a big metal shed, the kind with high upper walk-ways and stairs on the outsides. So I walk in without any aggro-Z's and see something weird on the ground inside. It's a bunny. I thought it was a glitch, so I keep it in my sights to see if it moves. Sure enough, it hops out of the shed. It hops just a few feet outside and I just ignore it. After I patrol the perimeter, I'm coming back in the front and I see the bunny still standing outside. I've never known animals except for Cows to stay in one place very long. The bunny hops back inside the shed. Suddenly, a Z aggros on me and I dart back in the shed to take it out. The bunny darts back outside, but doesn't go more than a few feet again. I'm using an MP5SD so I'm not making noise with my gun fire. I walk back outside and the bunny starts moving in the direction I was planning to go. I start running and it runs to. I sort of followed it at this point and I managed to make it out of the town without aggro any more Dead-heads. I lose track of the bunny. Next time, I'm heading down towards Balota airbase to set up a looting base. I may have switched servers from the last encounter, I can't remember. Regardless, I looking around trying to find a good place to set my tent, but I keep coming up other tents in the woods. I risk looking inside them and sure enough a few of them had AS50's or high power ASR's. I decide not to steal anything so as not to anger the players. I also have my favorite gear on (MP5SD + M9SD) and plenty of rounds. I'm spooked and don't want to stick around, so I begin running. Suddenly, I spot another bunny as I clear the tree line. It starts running with me. I'm kinda following it, but it suddenly makes a sharp turn to my right. I ignore it and head straight. Suddenly, Z-aggro of 3 comes after me. I turn right and see the bunny on the hill like it was waiting for me. I start running towards it and it dashes into the woods then back behind me. I make it into the woods and suddenly the zombie noises stop. The rabbit is gone and the Z's had turned away. I realize all this could be explained by glitchy and coincidental AI, but I think it's far more fun to think of digital divine intervention being the cause. The Moral of these stories is: Trust the Bunnies.

Cherno is great starting loot spot. Most players hit it up often, or even camp by it to grab the loot and do PVP. My recommendation is only hit up Cherno if you're low on medical and basic supplies if you're playing to survive. If you want to PVP, set yourself for some good times. Be wary though, many player like to barb-wire the market, church, and fire station to frustrate anyone who comes in after them. Also, there are a lot of good sniping spots that can be difficult to spot. Make sure you're full ready to die anytime you're entering a major city.

This isn't a cheat report, more like a PSA. I figured if anyone else wanted to go have fun or is looking for servers to play, be wary of US 317 Cherno. I just did a quick raid in there today and found the streets and houses around the fire station, church, and super market lined with satchel charges. Definitely 30-50 charges in the area. Luckily, the players who set them didn't blow them on me. I got the supplies I needed and left. I don't PVP unless I have to, so if the players who set them see me, I'm not interested in messing with you. I figure you want people to go in there to destroy them, so hopefully this will draw in challengers for you. Side question, do set satchel charges detonate if shot? I tried to defuse them, which I guess I can't do. That, or they already detonated and the server didn't register all those buildings being destroyed at once. Please fill me in, I didn't find the answer searching through the forums or Wiki.

I'm not talking about adding Role-playing Game stat progression abilities or the like. I'm talking things we can do as players that we can do in real life and should be able to do in Day Z. Improving the simulation for the sake of fun gameplay. Feel free to comment on my ability suggestions and add your own. -Drop throwable items or throw them behind you while running. In real life, if we had a smoke grenade or even a frag while we were being chased by zombies, we'd sure as hell chuck it behind us without breaking stride if it gave us hope of escape. Same with flares if it would perhaps give us the chance to distract the zombies. The commands would be on the scroll wheel. -Hold the flashlight and a side arm at the same time. This is just common sense and the game makes it way to difficult to put a sidearm away to break out the flashlight. Balance it by giving the sidearms a greater recoil effect when held with one hand. The benefit of the guns with flashlights on them would still be good because they wouldn't suffer the recoil increase. -A basic melee attack without a weapon in-hand. I'm sure this suggestion is already on the forum in triplicate, so count this as me voting for it. I vote a kick, because I would use a kick over a punch. The melee attack itself would be completely non-lethal, but it would allow for pushing back zombies and if they fell from a high enough place, then there would be a chance for lethality. -Use primary weapon for blunt melee. Sometimes we run out of ammo for good guns, but that doesn't mean the weapon it self is useless. Some of the guns are quite long and could be swung in a baseball bat fashion to knock back zombies. I'd say they only have lethal potential with headshots. -Auto-vault small fences and be able to climb over certain taller fence types. Just a general skill that would be useful and should be on the game. Same goes for climbing certain trees.

-Players should be able to drink straight from water pumps, ponds, and wells, without a water bottle. It would be stupid to see a player die from thirst, standing in a pond because they didn't have a water bottle to drink the water from. The balancing factor is that fresh water sources are scarce and you can't more water with you without a bottle or bringing Soda cans.

So, I wanted to share this story of mine and I figure many of you probably have similar stories scattered throughout the forums. Specifically, I want to talk about when glitches in DayZ decide to help you rather than make you cry. I was on a decent survival run, had myself an M4A3 and M9SD with a couple clips and the necessities thanks to a successful solo raiding of the North-West Airfield during the day. I went into a small town to scavenge a bit, perhaps find a vehicle, and naturally attracted some Z's as I darted about. I decided to duck into a small residential house and just pop what few dead-heads were following me. Figuring I'd preserve my M9SD ammo for a more dire situation (irony incoming), I kept my M4A3 out and began blasting the Z's as they came through the door. Well, my gun was louder than I thought and there were more Z's than I thought in the area, so they kept coming. I had the ammo to spare, so no panicking just yet. Then suddenly, the DayZ gods gave me a middle finger and let 3 Z's walk straight on through the wall I was near. I back myself into the next corner, switch to Full-Auto and unload. There is a break in the wave of undead, so I make for the door. Unfortunately, one more Z walks in and traps me in a corner. Unable to escape, I am beaten until bleeding and unconscious. The DayZ gods then bestow pity upon me. As I fell unconscious, I glitched through the wall I was against, pushed outside by the "physics" and what Z's were left stayed trapped in the house. The unconscious hour glass ran out just in time for me to stop the bleeding right...at...300! (and some change). Knowing full well I was at the point where one more hit could kill me, on top of potentially falling unconscious again at any point, I made peace with my pending demise, and decided to fight til the last moment. I darted to the woods without a single Z to follow. At the tree line, my guy finally collapsed from low blood, but I survived. I managed to find a secluded spot near-by with a pond so I could hunt and drink myself back to life. Almost died of hunger too. Eventually I recuperated, only later to die from unexpected PVP hours later. I still think back fondly of how a glitch saved my life for once. Please share your divine glitch intervention stories here. I hope you liked mine and I look forward to reading yours.

I actually think the Ammo system should go the other way where ammo is more general. I realize it's a sacrifice of simulation aspects, but hear me out. Lump the ammo into the categories of weapons (handgun, shotgun, SMG, Sniper, etc.). Next, keep some of the different versions of ammo (Pellet, Slug, SD) and add some new types (hollow-point, etc.). Balance this out with having ammo spawns not always being full boxes/magazines. Make the different versions rarer than others, and keep it so some guns can only use different versions. All guns would use the basic ammo at least. I think this system would be easier from gameplay perspective and a development perspective. Of course, these are developers of a soldier simulator, so I imagine they are just fine with sticking to real-life caliber measurements. Just throwing my thought out there. I'd at least like to see some alternative ammo types for existing weapons.

Will controller support be a feature of the stand-alone alpha?

A lot of the fun in this game is the random nature of player encounters, loot spawns, and events. What Chernarus sort of lacks is Non-Player driven events. Other than zombies and towns/cities/military bases, there isn't really much in the wilderness that shows other survivors have been making their way through, other than what players put down. Players like to set up tents and bases in the secluded sections of the map, because that's what smart survivors do. The wooded areas and fields should have a chance of showing supposed survivor activity. I suggest that item spawns be more liberally placed in the field and woods. These would be much rarer than the item spawns of a town or city. There would be chances of finding random food, guns, ammo, and even set tents that just spawn in the wilderness (I'd prefer the tents to have the same spawn set as deer stands). Such spawn placement could help alleviate player dependency on PK'ing and huttling around cities. Also, random set tents could look the same as player tents, freaking out players because they'll think other people are around, when in reality it's just a random spawn. Zombies and dead NPC bodies (or dead zombie bodies) could be part of the spawns too. There should be no guarantee of zombie spawns around a tent like deer stands and buildings have. Random items in the grass might have players going even slower in the wilderness and give some unlucky players a second chance when low on food and water.

Expanding on the the idea, if difficulty settings are going to be re-instated/improved/continue (not sure what if they officially exist at this point), then perhaps Regular and/or Recruit settings could have no chance of Zombies spawning in the wilderness, while veteran could have a small percentage, and Expert could have a slightly higher percentage to balance the use of safe-zones. Same thought for Burritoman259's idea of active bear traps being in place. On the harder difficulties, traps, barbed wire, sandbags, and tank traps could be hazards that spawn to mess with players.