What happened to Chernarus?

[landfish 62]

Ok I knew we know very little about the backstory of the outbreak in Chernarus(probably because Dayz is still a freakin mod) But this is my suggestion for the SA if Rocket is planning to add a backstory for Chernarus.

News papers that would have headlines about the outbreak.

Wouldn't it be fun to collect newspapers and find out a lot about how people becomes infected? Not all newspaper should be useful though, some would just be a waste of time.

Videos.

When a real outbreak occurs, I expect scientist and doctors to be experimenting on live subjects who are infected. They'll probably take footages of it too to examine it. It would be great if we can find some cool videos on a video camera in a hospital about the stages of the infection.(or a video of a doctor/scientist talking about the cure that can't be made)

Zombies.

What would be better than telling the backstory of Chernarus than from the flesh eating infecteds themselves? The SA will surely have a lot more varieties of zombies but it would be cool to add something special. It should be obvious that zombies aren't just there for the survivors to shoot at, it should have that special thing that tells players mentally that they were once people. I suggest adding some zombies that will trigger the survivors emotion, take this for example:

at around 10:27. That moment really broke my heart, some DayZ zombies should be that emotional and make it harder to shoot at. Imagine walking into an old folks home and have old zombies who could barely walk trying to chase you but couldn't or get into a house and see a family who starved to death and became infected or just some static decorations of people(family/couple) who committed suicide than to turn infected. This could add a new flavor for DayZ and it definitely portrays zombies less of just shooting targets and more of people who are victims of an incurable virus.

Edited January 19, 2013 by landfish

[Steak and Potatoes 13480]

Zombies took it over seems quite simple.

[person915 345]

I suggested this once. Give the player the ability to find out this but don't have it known, like the intro to fallout. And in the end, to prevent people posting it, make multiple reasons that it happened, so no one really can know.

[Lido 54]

Generally, if one seeks Chernarus's backstory, one follows rumors.

Green Mountain awaits, my friends...

[N0 R3M0RS3 63]

"Zombies took it over seems quite simple."

But how did it come to be that zombies are in there? What is the story that made the zombies? How did we as survivors get dumped on an island? Is there a back story to any of this at all?

A witty comment does't tell any of this.

[landfish 62]

Zombies took it over seems quite simple.

??? what? 0.o sorry to be rude but that didn't made any sense.(It seems you are replying to the topic title but not to my post)

I suggested this once. Give the player the ability to find out this but don't have it known, like the intro to fallout. And in the end, to prevent people posting it, make multiple reasons that it happened, so no one really can know.

Yeah, good suggestion, makes it shrouded in mystery. Makes people argue, did this cause the infection? or did that cause the infection?

Green Mountain awaits, my friends...

Green Mountain is less of a backstory and more of an easter egg.

:I highly suggest people to read my first post, some of you seems to misunderstand the point I'm trying to make.

Edited January 19, 2013 by landfish

[guisho 258]

I would love to see frames with pictures inside the houses and maybe find some Zed that you actually can compare to any of the ones that are inside the pic. Hope Rocket see this and address your suggestion if he doesn't did it already

[N0 R3M0RS3 63]

id love to hear the backstory

[attorney1977 311]

Do we have to be drip-fed everything? Can't you make your own story up? Wouldn't that be infinitely more exciting than someone elses?

[Dragonsire 18]

Ok I knew we know very little about the backstory of the outbreak in Chernarus(probably because Dayz is still a freakin mod) But this is my suggestion for the SA if Rocket is planning to add a backstory for Chernarus.

News papers that would have headlines about the outbreak.

Wouldn't it be fun to collect newspapers and find out a lot about how people becomes infected? Not all newspaper should be useful though, some would just be a waste of time.

Videos.

When a real outbreak occurs, I expect scientist and doctors to be experimenting on live subjects who are infected. They'll probably take footages of it too to examine it. It would be great if we can find some cool videos on a video camera in a hospital about the stages of the infection.(or a video of a doctor/scientist talking about the cure that can't be made)

Zombies.

What would be better than telling the backstory of Chernarus than from the flesh eating infecteds themselves? The SA will surely have a lot more varieties of zombies but it would be cool to add something special. It should be obvious that zombies aren't just there for the survivors to shoot at, it should have that special thing that tells players mentally that they were once people. I suggest adding some zombies that will trigger the survivors emotion, take this for example:

at around 10:27. That moment really broke my heart, some DayZ zombies should be that emotional and make it harder to shoot at. Imagine walking into an old folks home and have old zombies who could barely walk trying to chase you but couldn't or get into a house and see a family who starved to death and became infected or just some static decorations of people(family/couple) who committed suicide than to turn infected. This could add a new flavor for DayZ and it definitely portrays zombies less of just shooting targets and more of people who are victims of an incurable virus.

Woah man, that video. If I was in his shoes, I couldn't just crush him for god sakes! And when the zombie boy grabbed onto his leg. Just damn man... I would rather make the zombies death a quick one, even though it's not exactly "human"

[burritoman259 593]

Does anyone want a backstory on the dew while were at it?

But seriously I would like a little bit of an backstory.

Edited January 19, 2013 by burritoman259

[landfish 62]

Do we have to be drip-fed everything? Can't you make your own story up? Wouldn't that be infinitely more exciting than someone elses?

Since when did I say a backstory needed to be shoved into your face? Wouldn't adding a bit of evidence as to what started the apocalypse ruin the the game? You can choose to find out what happened or you could just roll along, oblivious about the setting of the game(pretty boring if you ask me) I'm not suggesting the developers to write a story book about DayZ.

[IkaikaKekai 1957]

I think this could work, theres already minor hints at whats going on and whats happening, the mass graves at military sites, feild hospitals and such set up in the major cities as well as what looks like checkpoints. Probably the simple way to add the 'story' would be finding and reading newspapers in towns, wont have the full story(ies) but would hint at things more with headlines and parts of the story ('Contact lost with Island Nation of Panthera.' 'NATO Forces sending in Medical Specialist to Takistan to combat deadly strain Bird Flu.' 'Berezino under quarantine after Sailor with 'Lingor Rabies' escapes from hospital.') That way people who want to find out what happened or guesses at what happened can go look for them, while others can be content with eating beans and shooting people.

[TIC 1050]

DayZ's goal was not having an actual story. It's idea is that you should be able to recreate your own story from the experience you have encountered in the game.

It wouldn't hurt to add a bit of history on how the virus had spread in the Russian continent.

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

With rocket working closely with his brother, I'm sure there will be some explanation on a possible scenario of how it all happened.

As to individual stories and areas / places, I don't want the mystery all revealled to me, as a player who just spawned on a beach. I would like to discover the true story and what happened in specific locations.

People have suggested notice boards in towns, perhaps there can be clues lying around there? I liked also a lot the suggestion for notebooks and diaries, which could be used to expand greatly on the (world? considering the other maps?) infection and how it took hold.

Keep all out there theories, at bay, like meteors and mad scientist genetic experiments gone wrong. we don't need that as part of the mystery and appeal is not knowing.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Michaelvoodoo25

[thodouras95 21]

Indeed, it doesn't seem like something "hard" to imagine how it happened.Couple of experimental Soviet CW warheards fitted on some missiles, ChDKZ found them, launched them, but the chemical was still experimental, whole place gets f*cked, emergency evac of US forces (thus explaining the advanced weapons that are found throughout the map), everyone turns to zambi.

[terminal_boy 860]

The 2011 Vodka harvest failed and some bright spark tried to make moonshine out of old Soviet biological weapons, Ural brake fluid and Fanta.

The resulting explosion released enough Z-Rays to turn the complete male population of Chernarus into Zombies.

The womenfolk quickly checked that their handbags and shoes matched, before boarding the Costa Calamity docked in Elektro and sailing to safety.

Alas, the Italian captain and crew were so busy romancing the ladies, they totally failed to avoid Skalisty Island and the ship sank without survivors.

[Sutinen 635]

Great, except this is not The Walking Dead. If you die from starvation, you're dead. You're not coming back as a zombie, because they're not zombies in this game. They're "infected"

[Quartermaine 34]

I think Rocket has already addressed this in an interview. From what I understood there is going to be minimal backstory, it will be up to us to make up the mythology as we have our own adventure. As the SA website says "THIS IS YOUR STORY".

[person915 345]

God, this forum never sleeps! So many posts and I stayed up almost till midnight last night (like every weekend night).

I don't have time to read them all... Well, the patience.

Do we have to be drip-fed everything? Can't you make your own story up? Wouldn't that be infinitely more exciting than someone elses?

Anyway, you can make your own story up, but then what? It ends there.

If you have the ability to find out what happened, and piece it together, where it may come out differently that others' interpretations of it, then you have something. It's a progression. It's not really a "main questline" but something you can pursue and try to figure out, and keep you occupied, instead of "loot, die, repeat" cycle that most players follow. It gives the game some substance and it makes you feel involved. You may find one thing but then find another and it changes your opinion. Did the infection have multiple causes, or just one? How can I study this? Can understanding this infection help me fight zombies better?

And trust me, rocket & Co. are not the kind of people to make a half-ass story for how their work ethic is and what they do. It'll be a good one.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Neko-san

[Pvt. James Duke 28]

Ok this is my explanation:

A shipment of experimental bio-weapon is delivered to the NW Airfield on the last leg of its journey to a secure facility to be destroyed in part of a UN treaty to destroy all bio-weapons in the region. As the containers are being loaded onto a C-130 a group of communist extremists attack and over whelm the guards. Thinking it is a shipment of weapons they take a pilot hostage and try to fly out of the country to their rebel base. The hostage pilot dumps the fuel in an attempt to force the plane down. The terrorists shoot him and the plane goes down. The bio-weapon is released and the population is exposed. The CDF tried to hold out at green mountain and await a US marine force to decontaminate the region. The marines were not informed that the weapon being based off of a virus had mutated causing infected to become very hostile and delirious attacking humans on sight. The force is overwhelmed at the beach landing and takes a different approach they seal off the region. The last evac ship goes down in a storm and their are only a few survivors the players. The US military is trying to evacuate the players but a electromagnetic force is bringing down all out side aircraft. The electromagnetic force seems to be eminating from the Green Mountain radio tower. The other shipment made it out of Chen. To a island named Namalinsk...

Edited January 21, 2013 by Pvt. James Duke