Equipment left on the ground

[Dayzo 182]

Can anyone explain the game mechanics for when, for example, you leave stuff on the ground, do some looting, and then return to your dropped equipment? Sometimes it disappears and sometimes it doesn't, and it's maddening.

Today I saw a body with a Czech backpack, laying on an ATC after being mauled by zombies. I dropped my own backpack and ran about 300m to the body, quickly put on the Czech and ran back to cover. But my own had despawned when I returned, taking all my stuff with it and leaving me with an empty Czech.

However, in the past I remember running for kilometres and hours away from dropped equipment, and yet it would sometimes still be there when I got back.

Cheers.

[GOD™ 2795]

Well then you learned a lesson today don't leave your shit on the floor and run 300m just to pick up more shit.

[fluxley 2228]

It depends on the server, many servers run a script that clears dead bodies and placed items in order to improve overall server performance, could be every 20 minutes or every hour or whatever they set it to.

[dallas 5195]

I always recommend you use the left window of your inventory screen and drop items with the small < arrow > buttons. If you use the drop button on the right side, the item often disappears for a moment before it reappears somewhere randomly around you or fall below the geometry.

[Hetstaine 10852]

I love it when i drop something to pick something else up and sort out my gear and the server drops out.