Are Tents Useless without Secure Storage?

[kwairt 0]

After playing the game for a while now I find tents to be almost utterly useless. Every time I've ever stored items they are always stolen. I mean I've hidden my camps so good even I can't find them but after a while someone does and everything goes poof.

I'm sure the idea has been brought up before but I can't help wonder if limiting everyone to one tent and making the items inside secure would be better. I'm not even sure if I like the idea of people driving over tents. The reason I bring this up is after spending a great deal of time trying to make camps in a supply line I realized that tents are in fact almost useless.

I can understand allowing players to use multiple tents without risk it would be stupid. However the idea of storing items safely in 1 tent seems reasonable to me. I mean if you die it's still going to timeout after 7 days. Making trips back to your tent from the coast can take a considerable amount of time. Yet when you get there it's been pillaged by players that do nothing but look for tents.

I would rather have to make the players ambush the camp site in person or make it so that the tent can't be stolen from until the player dies. As of now I just find them absolutely useless. By the time I get back to the tent to try and eat some food it's long gone.

Would limiting every player to 1 tent and making the items safe inside be too much for this game? I mean we have hackers on every server and bandits everywhere. I just don't see how the tent is even worth having if it's so useless. So far I'm on Day 3. I've managed to survive but not in any way thanks to my tents. In fact they have caused me more work and grief than anything. Which is why I kind of think they should be improved or removed.

I mean a tent doesn't really hold that much. It holds enough food supplies and some tools. Bit of ammo and a few guns and some packs. I mean you can store a decent amount in there but nothing that doesn't take time and effort. Just seems pointless to have to put so much time into survival to have it stolen so easily. I mean hell give me a shovel I'll burry my food.

I know alot of hardcore players won't like this idea. Maybe some will. I like to think of myself as a hard core player but I think a bit of leeway in regard to tents is in order. To at least make them have a purpose. Limit tents to 1 per player per life and make the goods safe inside until that player is killed. Forces some camp ambushes when people are online and would make for some interesting moments around the fire I'm sure. I just can't see myself using tents now or moving forward. It's more or a less a game of deathmatch with alot of luck due to spawns. Unless tents are made secure and limited I really don't see the point.

I realize this has probably been beaten to death already. I did search but couldn't find anything so I figured I would just post in the new player section. I don't like the idea of a 100% secure storage location like War Z. However with 1 tent and some limitations I think it would still be hardcore just with a bit of reason for people that are actually trying to survive.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Malicar

[patriots20068@yahoo.com 100]

I can tell you know that tents will never be secure. I don't see that happening. I for one could careless about tents though. I just find them a waste of time. I'm usually a lone wolf, so I don't need to go back to a tent. I'm always moving. If I played with a group all the time, I could see using them in an area we mark as a base of operations. But tents eventually get found and if a hacker is on the server, just pray he doesn't go to your tent.

[Welch (DayZ) 756]

I don't know what you're talking about, I've kept several tents in one location for over a month of active use, and I went back to those tents yesterday and they still had everything in them, and they haven't been used for another month. In addition, I had several land vehicles and helicopters. We (my group and I) were regularly flying those helis in and out of the camp, and it wasn't found. So I don't know why you're complaining, you must have bad spots.

[kwairt 0]

Well that is just it. Hackers hackers and hackers. I've put alot of effort into hiding my tents from air and land. In places I can safely have a fire off the beaten path etc. Driving over a tent is one thing but stealing everything inside is another. If you couldn't drive over them then you could make barracades so I understand that logic. However with everything that goes on in Day Z I just don't see it taking away from the experience if they were limited but secure until you die.

Even if the tent was reduced in size it would would offset some of the secure storage risk vs reward elements. Having 1 tent wish secure items in Day Z doesn't make it too accessible in my mind. It would give more reason to survive to ensure your tent is safe. Everyone just running around ganking everything. It's more of a hiking simulation with guns. Hell why can't I burry some food then? At least let me burry some food and water and tools. I mean that would be more realistic than tents. However I do like the camp idea and the groups that can form around it. It's just right now I don't see the point.

[kwairt 0]

I don't know what you're talking about, I've kept several tents in one location for over a month of active use, and I went back to those tents yesterday and they still had everything in them, and they haven't been used for another month. In addition, I had several land vehicles and helicopters. We (my group and I) were regularly flying those helis in and out of the camp, and it wasn't found. So I don't know why you're complaining, you must have bad spots.

Well then where do I sign up for your team? I'm really tired of trying to make secure camps and spending all my time trying to build up supplies to survive. Risking trips into cities for medical supplies and shit that I can't normally carry is just insane. I risk enough trying to get the supplies let alone store them. Again why can't I just burry them like anyone else would? Shovels? Anyone?

[guyver1 70]

Isnt DayZ supposed to be 'authentic'?

If so, then leaving a tent out in the open (even in a good hiding spot) in a post apocalyptic 'war zone' is authentically going to be looted if its found..

Its not the game that needs to be changed, its your mindset.

[kwairt 0]

Isnt DayZ supposed to be 'authentic'?

If so, then leaving a tent out in the open (even in a good hiding spot) in a post apocalyptic 'war zone' is authentically going to be looted if its found..

Its not the game that needs to be changed, its your mindset.

Ok so why can't I burry some food in the ground? I mean sometimes you need to make things a bit more accessible. I understand the mindset of the game which is basically KOS everything that moves and steal everything that isn't nailed down. Run ove the tents if you have a vehicle. I get it. However the point that some are missing is the game is nothing more than a big deathmatch right now. Sometimes you need to make it a bit more accessible to make it worth the effort. The map is huge yes but it's not big enough to hide camp sites. There isn't enough terrain out of the way to make it properly feasable. This is why I suggested limiting the amount of tents and storage capacity. To balance the accessibility to allow players to safely store items until they die. People die all the time so once they die you can steal their stuff and they will have to go back to their camps and take as much as they can and relocate it or whatever. Que the campfire ambush. I don't find that too easy by any stretch. Also I have changed my mindset which is why I won't be bothering with tents anymore. Instead I will travel light and just KOS everything I see and take their shit. No point trying to camp in the game. Hence why i think they are useless.

The amount of time and effort required is just not worth it. That is my mindset now.

[Sergeant Squatt 58]

I've had a UAZ moving camp for months until I crashed it on a pretty decent pop server; just depends on how you hide it and where.

[kwairt 0]

Trust me I've spent a great deal of time trying to conceal them. Somehow they still are found. I suspect hackers can probably teleport to objects etc but I haven't ever looking into the hacking side so I'm just assuming for now. Obviously putting sites on the top of every damn mountain is silly. Hiding i out of the way of travel and under trees etc is good. However being that I travel always on foot I have to spend a good deal of time getting supplies to store them. By the time I come back to use them they are gone. Ive done this all under the cover of darkness making sure to not be followed or spotted from the air. It's just not enough though.

So I guess I need to join a team where camps are guarded or what not. I dunno just seems pointless to me now as a solo survivor.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Malicar

[LeopoldScotch 9]

I dunno just seems pointless to me now as a solo survivor.

That's why I invested time and effort into trying a few different private hives until I found one that had a great group of regulars, almost ALL of whom are more than willing to go out of their way to pick you up in whatever vehicle they may have (granted you work with them and help out if they need it whilst enroute to your requested LZ). Otherwise that's the point when on any other hive. Trust no one, take no prisoners, and use only the hatchet!

[kwairt 0]

I only see a few decent private hives and most aren't even running the latest version of the server. In fact finding a server in general running the latest version is very slim pickings and most are overpopulated.

Can you recommend a good private server? I don't really see how that will help the situation but I'm willing to give it a shot.

[Lebenese 1]

I've had my tent set for 2 days now. Has not been noticed :)

[irl-calibre 744]

tents are essential. i've managed to keep them going on busy servers all the time for ages, lost a good one last night which had a m4 acog innit which i was looking forward to using again and a few other tasty goods, but, cest la vie! non?

[Welch (DayZ) 756]

Well then where do I sign up for your team? I'm really tired of trying to make secure camps and spending all my time trying to build up supplies to survive. Risking trips into cities for medical supplies and shit that I can't normally carry is just insane. I risk enough trying to get the supplies let alone store them. Again why can't I just burry them like anyone else would? Shovels? Anyone?

Oh I don't roll with those guys anymore. But I went back and there was still stuff.

[shadowjack 254]

Survival is about making hard choices. Safe storage eliminates to many of those choices.

Tents are not useless, they are an option. I don't use then. The few times i have bothered to place one it is with the knowledge that it is for someone else to use. I can never remember where i put them.

[Tigerbeetweenie 51]

Trust me I've spent a great deal of time trying to conceal them. Somehow they still are found. I suspect hackers can probably teleport to objects etc but I haven't ever looking into the hacking side so I'm just assuming for now. Obviously putting sites on the top of every damn mountain is silly. Hiding i out of the way of travel and under trees etc is good. However being that I travel always on foot I have to spend a good deal of time getting supplies to store them. By the time I come back to use them they are gone. Ive done this all under the cover of darkness making sure to not be followed or spotted from the air. It's just not enough though.

So I guess I need to join a team where camps are guarded or what not. I dunno just seems pointless to me now as a solo survivor.

Actually many of the so-called hackers that 'hack' this game just utilize client-side information gathering tools. There are generally two kinds: Packet based and Process based. Packet based tools just copy and read packets to and from ARMA 2 and whatever port it's bound to. Process based information gathering tools actually read process memory utilizing the Windows API system and gather information via that method. The most common type of tool is an external map which basically just holds player positions, tent positions, loot positions, etc. It's really a pain and because it's clientside, there is no way to prevent this. It can be limited, however, by reducing the set of information sent to each client (i.e. only packets about entities within a defined and limited area which changes alongside player position). Edited January 2, 2013 by Tigerbeetweenie

[Sula 1205]

If you play on lots of servers you will find some are useless for tents because other players help themselves and on others they're fine. I often lay down a dummy tent to cause a distraction from my real tent. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I prefer to play lots of servers so as to keep things fresh not get used to kit and players. It all goes in the end.