Hoping for some cool heads...

[Murdernickle 0]

Hey everyone! Long time lurker, but this is the first time I've decided to actually register and get in on the posting. This community is divided heavily into many camps but I think it's possible for people from those different camps to come together for some intelligent discussion if presented with the right grounds and starting point. I've lurked long enough to know that I may get flamed or told to go to CoD and that's cool, but I'm looking for people from different play-styles and backgrounds to talk about their experiences with the latest changes.

I'll start off with a bit about myself. I'm someone who had Arma 2 for a long time but never was able to get into that heavily. Perhaps the problem is that I'm a bit too used to the Battlefield style of pick up and play with friends and move on when you got bored. The heavy tactics and things like that weren't really my cup of tea and that's my fault for purchasing a game that didn't fit my style.

At the time I was a bit younger (4 years to be precise) and perhaps I didn't fully appreciate what the game had to offer. When DayZ came along, I found it to be something quite different. I started as the newb asking for friendlies in Cherno as many of us did. Since then I've ran the spectrum from shoot on sight bandit, to geared out pacifist with a coyote backpack, all the food and drink i could want, as well as a car. I'm also someone that lost all of that to a single Lee Enfield shot and someone that got lucky!

I mostly play solo not out of choice, but I have a group of friends that I typically play games with. I stay pretty loyal to them and none of them have really found this mod appealing sadly. So I'm a lone wolf usually and I have learned how to live on my own in the game. It's a different style of play, but a rewarding one.

Lately some of the updates have been a bit problematic to my enjoyment of the mod. The increased zed intelligence and damage is at the forefront of that. I often could sneak in, move stealthily, be intelligent and get out not with ease, but with a certain amount of efficiency that came from time in the game. When I would get fully geared and I no longer needed things from towns, I would kill myself and start it all over again. That's how I enjoyed the game.

With the new zombie mechanics there has been a decidedly high level of difficulty added to the game that I don't think was necessarily needed. We see a lot of players saying that they don't think zeds are a threat and to some extent that was true. To some extent, those players were making it that way by having all the ammo they could need as well as friends to raid with. I would imagine a zombie apocalypse would be easier when you basically have the force of a small military operation haha.

The lone wolf is getting a bit left behind the further we go down this patch route. I know Rocket wants this to be a social game and that's wonderful. I fully expect places like NW airfield to be absolutely deadly and dangerous for single players. The small house on the outskirts of some little town, i would expect to be more friendly for a lone player such as myself.

With the latest patches I'm having a hard time getting anywhere near a town. I sneak and watch for movements but I will inevitably get caught out which is a little disconcerting. There will always be a line between full simulation and an enjoyable experience. Rocket might have gone a little too far with these patches. 1.7 is where the game felt about right for me as far as detection. If I was careful I could get around usually, but I would still often get caught out by letting my guard down or making a poor decision. I would be punished for it and that's what I want. I now seem to be punished for moving stealthily or moving towards a town sadly.

This is not to be taken as me being ungrateful for the work Rocket has done. This is a phenomenal mod and a huge undertaking. I'm heavily impressed with this mod feeling as polished as it does. Alpha is alpha and bugs will be bugs. Testing is testing and I know we're meant to test the bugs and go from there, but I think realistically we know that everyone has some feelings for the direction we want the mod to go.

I'm going to continue playing and not OMGWTFRAGEQUIT.. that's never been my style. I will diligently alpha test and take the fun that I can get from the mod (which is a lot). In the mean time though I felt it was important to express my concerns on the latest set of patches.

I'll look forward to the upcoming ones and seeing the direction of the game. I know that at the end of the day this is Rocket's mod and he will do as he pleases with it.. but it's also the community that makes a game truly stand out.

If you would prefer a quick summary format of my opinions I'll list them below:

- Zombie aggro is a bit out of skew as has already been discussed.

- I feel 1.7 was spot on for zombie aggro during the day.

- It's possible that many think the zeds are too easy due to playing with friends.

- Worried that the mod is leaning too far towards group play and/or run and gun.

- Still loving the alpha

- Hoping for good feedback from this.

So how do you all feel about the general direction of the mod currently?

[Disgraced 1123]

I feel that a mountain of feedback is in, currently, and it will be heeded. Your post was interesting, but I don't think I've see a point here that hasn't been made in the thread that has been put therre specifically for feedback about the patch.

Nice post, a little redundant, remember that the mod is always changing. Next patch will be different in its own way.

[Bluegobln 0]

Too heavily favors group play, too heavily favors PKing, and too heavily punishes in-game friendliness overall.

Pretty much, unless you're Judge Dread, you should be in VOIP with a buddy or three and be out to kill everyone not in your "party".

[Murdernickle 0]

I feel that a mountain of feedback is in' date=' currently, and it will be heeded. Your post was interesting, but I don't think I've see a point here that hasn't been made in the thread that has been put therre specifically for feedback about the patch.

Nice post, a little redundant, remember that the mod is always changing. Next patch will be different in its own way.

[/quote']

Ya I can definitely see that. I guess with all the general "It's alpha, love it or get out" attitudes I was getting a little discouraged and looking for other players like myself that would rather approach change without the typical kneejerk reactions. I feel like the community here is plenty intelligent and able to do these things.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that.

[djkling 5]

I think we need to consider some people will not have VOIP and buddies that play (I'm a 34 year old physician, not too many of my friends game) so some people should be able to pair up without kill on sight... we do need to find a way to improve the need to team up

[Disgraced 1123]

I feel that a mountain of feedback is in' date=' currently, and it will be heeded. Your post was interesting, but I don't think I've see a point here that hasn't been made in the thread that has been put therre specifically for feedback about the patch.

Nice post, a little redundant, remember that the mod is always changing. Next patch will be different in its own way.

[/quote']

Ya I can definitely see that. I guess with all the general "It's alpha, love it or get out" attitudes I was getting a little discouraged and looking for other players like myself that would rather approach change without the typical kneejerk reactions. I feel like the community here is plenty intelligent and able to do these things.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that.

For myself, my main frustration is people wailing so much about the current state.

You check the forums, see that someone has elucidated the problems (as you have here, and others have), and then wait to see what the next update brings.

All of these people talking about the game being ruined. ..... It's travelling a path, not at the end of one. Patience... But they seem to have none.

They just want to denigrate those who are making this the great experience that it is and not give them a chance to work it out.

[Murdernickle 0]

I feel that a mountain of feedback is in' date=' currently, and it will be heeded. Your post was interesting, but I don't think I've see a point here that hasn't been made in the thread that has been put therre specifically for feedback about the patch.

Nice post, a little redundant, remember that the mod is always changing. Next patch will be different in its own way.

[/quote']

Ya I can definitely see that. I guess with all the general "It's alpha, love it or get out" attitudes I was getting a little discouraged and looking for other players like myself that would rather approach change without the typical kneejerk reactions. I feel like the community here is plenty intelligent and able to do these things.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that.

For myself, my main frustration is people wailing so much about the current state.

You check the forums, see that someone has elucidated the problems (as you have here, and others have), and then wait to see what the next update brings.

All of these people talking about the game being ruined. ..... It's travelling a path, not at the end of one. Patience... But they seem to have none.

They just want to denigrate those who are making this the great experience that it is and not give them a chance to work it out.

That's more of where I'm coming from as well. I won't say I've been in a ton of alpha tests because that's not true. I've been through a few betas and they're a totally different beast than this. This mod is FAR from ruined in my eyes. Discouraging in the last few iterations? Well opinions differ on that as much as DNA differs from person to person haha.

I feel like this is a very strong mod. It has the potential to go really far and I'm glad to be a part of it. I just hope cooler heads will prevail and we come out with something that is balanced allowing the lone wolf to survive in this world (or easier ways to group up) while providing challenging play for some people who do have the luxury of a consistent group.

Perhaps different zones having different mechanics? Maybe the high value loot spots are more populated with zeds while smaller towns see their spawn rates heavily decreased?

[nnuu 61]

I happen to like the changes, I find playing at night very entertaining now, at first I wasn't with the new changes preventing adjusting the gamma, and now i embraced it, I just use a lot of flares which has been helpin dealing with the Zeds because of their attraction to noise of the flares. What I am trying to get at is that you have to adapt a lot with this mod, which adds freshness to it. Come on now be honest, prior to the latest changes, did you not find the Zeds too easy to bypass? I did, and now I have to change my tactics which is playing at night and aid my stealth which worked great against the Zeds last night.

In short: you will be ok and will adapt