Jamz

I think it will feel different and new the first time the SA is played, but the confusion and disorientation of that first play of the mod will not be present. It will be almost as exciting though and I think a lot of the changes will add much to the experience (the ability to fire on the move for instance will change many things, from dealing with zombies to initial meetings with other survivors). I think the SA will feel like DayZ 2.

I'm waiting for a hotfix... zombies are too easy now, knockdowns are just mildly inconvenient and fewer zombies which are even easier to lose than pre 1.7.7 mean there's no challenge. How can people enjoy DayZ with wet zombies like this? I don't know...

I agree with pretty much everything in the above post. I also think that a game/mod like this needs a high level of natural difficulty to counterbalance its lack of endgame. Beating the odds and surviving for as long as possible should be a viable form of endgame in itself.

I think maybe it would be better if there was another mod called DayZombie to cover the slow moving classic zombie idea, perhaps... It obviously won't happen in DayZ, it seems like more of a 'what if' type thread to me.

I'd love to see slow moving zombies which required headshots, but as stated the numbers on each server would have to be increased massively. And not just across the server, they would have to be in large groups for it to be dangerous. One day when technology catches up perhaps... As for clearing towns, I suspect it would work if zombies spawned only outside towns but wandered in, so a fire team could set an effective perimeter. I'd also like to see the infection more easily transmitted but easier to bear ie no loss of blood until death but rather 24-48hours of in game time until you die and turn (become an npc zombie with your kit). Most players should be infected most of the time and that's enough time to find antibiotics. Good ideas OP.

I disagree. Not killing for no reason, at least in most of us, Is a preset part of what makes a human being. It drives the human races' survival, or we would be a (very small) race of psychopathic murderers. Sometimes some of us can find reasons to justify killing, however.

I'ts not just the lack of consequences that lead to KOS in game, there are also other factors to consider. The fact that it isn't real means there is no impact on your consience for instance, the natural intelligent human subconcious logic which stops people wanting to kill for no reason - It's within us to drive the continued propogation of the species. Also, the lack of any persistant progression of 'change' in the environment - there is no need to consider your future beyond 'where is my next can of beans coming from' - in reality DayZ would be your world forever with no logging out, so you would want to make provisions for your future life, your 'endgame'. Then there is the human instinct for self preservation, this drives people to group together for safety and usually avoid conflict and risking lives for no reason. There are exceptions but in reality the majority would prioritise survival over having fun shooting people. There are also many other factors in game which remove humanity from players, such as anonymity, lack of physical and emotional fatigue etc. In the context of video games, I read a good line in a post on here recently (I don't remember who said it) 'if you give a man a hammer, suddenly everything looks like a nail'. I think that sums it up and highlights that if players can in anyway harm other players in any video game or sim, then that is what will mostly happen. I had an idea on how to perhaps reduce it a while ago but wasn't sure if it was really in keeping with the spirit of DayZ, now I'm not sure I care as I choose to work alone (If the situation were real I would try to find a likeminded group).

I voted satisfied, with a bit of tweaking this patch could be near perfect imo. I was getting bored with DayZ being too easy to survive and praying that the SA would do something different to make this more difficult, but now the tension is back in the mod. I've racked up 15-20+ hours of 1.7.7 so far and not died, but it has been touch and go at times - as it should be. The environment in Chernarus has to be as much a threat as bandits and it finally is, combined with the rarity of basic loot now. The result is a good start at adding tension into the basic game... some areas of major cities are virtually no go if players are there now, with the new zombie mechanics. People having trouble with zombies at the moment - I would say it's worth missing out on targets of interest if it seems too dangerous and you don't think you can control the situation. I've only been infected when taking chances with multiple zombies. As for it taking too much time, well it takes as long as it takes to gear up and always has... Try and enjoy the process.

Yes... QFT

True, I found antibiotics in the firestation twice.

The zombies are just being tweaked. I expect in the next patch either infection chance will be lowered or antibiotics spawn chance will be raised slightly, but otherwise the actual zombies are perfectly manageable still if you have patience. In fact there seems to be less of them in towns (unless you fire your gun). They are buggy for sure, but more threatening than zombies in any other game because of it... DayZ should be three parts as equally balanced as possible imo, You, other players and zombies - zombies are catching up.

I think it's the best patch yet personally. I had to recalibrate my style quickly at first but there are so many more suprises now.. zombies randomly entering buildings, climbing ladders, even 'playing dead' (sic)... not died yet though despite having become infected a few times and the gear that counts is still there, you just have to be a bit more patient (found an AK74 Kobra, alice pack and camo skin on a quick Cherno run this morning). Caution is paramount!

You could always just find an empty private server, there are a lot out there.

I reckon he's actually someone with a couple of other recent locked threads... in disguise...

Remove them and don't replace them, they have no place in the mod as far as I'm concerned. Regarding choppers, I thought there was a rocket launcher in the mod? If it was removed then I'd rather that was put back in to replace the 50cals.. That would make more sense to me.

For me the removal of 50cal sniper weapons would bring DayZ one step closer to what it should be, so I'm all for it. I assume there are plenty of other people out there who agree with me and plenty who don't but maybe it's worth a try at least? It's not like they couldn't be put right back in if it turned out to be game breaking, and there are plenty of other ways of killing players from a distance if that's your thing. I really don't see why it's such a big issue.

Jason.

Reading these threads and all these ideas, I'm beginning to think the only way to please most people would be to have a number of different DayZ 'types', selectable individually by the server so servers could run the game type they wanted but anyone could join without downloading extra stuff. Its impossible to tweak DayZ to suit any given majority it seems.

I disagree, in real life you can grow your own food once established and how long do you think something like this would last? I'm sure people would stay in groups and move away from populated areas to try and start settlements. The only people trying to kill others without reason would be the criminals of society. The overriding goal of human beings is survival and for the majority that would mean preparing for the future no matter how panicked they were. The game is much different, it is actually incredibly limited like all games in comparison.

The key should be avoiding zombies I think, rather than dealing with them. Maybe if they did a lot more damage and their hearing range was increased BUT their vision range decreased? This would promote sneaking but make people think twice about using guns or sprinting into towns. The melee system would have to be improved to compensate and possibly the loot spawn system tweaked a little, but I think the SA will address this.

Sometimes people aren't looking for the ultimate challenge in every game they play, Sometimes the immersion is more important within the game. I play several other online games for pvp and love the challenge of pitting myself against another player, an unknown quantity. But I feel there is something more to this DayZ concept, something more than just 'sandbox' even. Maybe a chance for a different experience? I don't know exactly, it is certainly a different online experience as it stands today, and different to how it was a year ago, but I think it's not too far away from the possible creation of a whole new genre. I'd like to be able to say I was there at the beginning if it is...

Remove rules and add zombies to real life and people would group together to survive, do it in a video game and they will shoot each other to have fun. I think the SA will change this to a degree, but at the moment that's how it is in DayZ and for me it's not perfect but better than nothing. I agree with this and I think making it harder for people to kill others is a step in the right direction, but then you risk alienating a section of the community. Ideally I'd hope that the mod has more weapons added with the focus on player combat and the SA goes the other way to focus more on survival. I watch with interest.

Zombie threat should equal player threat. While players are more of a danger individually, the sheer numbers of zombies should balance their lack of individual danger. In an ideal zombie apocalypse, anyway....

I think this suits nicely

I predict a slew of similar games appearing if the SA sells well. Hopefully a new genre is born, rather than dozens of clones attack.