Why this mod is the best thing to happen to PC gaming

[jagdfalke@gmail.com 5]

Remember the feeling you got when you played your first real PC game? I'm not talking about the likes of minesweeper or solitaire - i'm talking about games like Wolf3D, Doom, Dune, C&C, heck i even remember playing Privateer on an old 486. Back then, gaming was great; magical even, but why? Gameplay was often harsh, the graphics were simple, as were the mechanics and victories were hard earned.

Since that time, many games have come and gone, but precious few have replaced that sense of magic i got playing games 15 years ago. Todays games are the same games i was playing 15 years ago. The graphics and game mechanics are vastly better to what they once were, but the gameplay is still lacking. Somewhere along the way, gameplay was set aside for better looking games and better physics. What we get now are the same games, every year. Originality is dead. Perhaps the best example of just how bad the gaming industry has become is the Call of Duty series. Every year Activision re-releases the exact same game (save for a few new weapons etc.) and laughs all the way to the bank. The Battlefield series isn't much better. Currently i have MOH Tier-1 installed on my PC, but i have never played it. I can't bring myself to even try as i know exactly what i'm in for.

I mentioned earlier that precious few games have restored that sense of magic i got when i first started gaming. Operation Flashpoint happened to be one of those games. The single player campaign in that game was incredibly immersive. Starwars Galaxies (before the CU), my first ever MMO was another. I've been somewhat numb to gaming since then. Often i find myself gaming merely for something to do. There have definitely been games that i have thoroughly enjoyed (mainly the Arma series online and the Total War series), but none i'd consider to have that 'magic'. At least until Day-Z.

But why? What makes it so special? The graphics are hardly cutting edge, the physics are appalling and the character animations are almost cringe worthy. Day-Z falls short in these areas but overcompensates with undoubtedly the most important characteristic of all: gameplay. This game has it in spades. With that fantastic gameplay comes a level of immersion that i haven't experienced since Operation Flashpoint. Playing Day-Z can be harsh and often unrewarding. Not everybody is a winner here. There is no directed gameplay and no thin storyline tacked on as an afterthought. All you have are your own choices, and their consequences. There is magic in this simplicity.

I noticed Rocket mentioned in one of the many threads on this forum, that no publisher would touch this idea for a game. I bet those publishers are watching very closely now. Day-Z has such incredible potential. To Rocket, i thank you. Thank you for restoring some of that gaming 'magic' i've so sorely missed. It feels *really* good to be excited about a game once more, and i hope your mod sees nothing but success. I do hope you continue to develop this. If you decide to charge for the finished product (and you should, you deserve it) i'll happily part with my money. Whatever the case, i'm along for the ride!

[meshcarver 154]

I agree with OP, this is the best gaming experience I've had in a long time. The tension is amazing- game play distilled down to it's raw essence.

Cheers Rocket. :D

[sleepless 22]

I suspect the publishers and pther developers are also noting the heavy problems people are having just playing the game and thinking about cashing in on the idea!

Generally though i would agree . For me its just nice to be able to walk around and explore without some developer feeling the need to fill every empty space with mobs. I hope the current crop of problems are solved soon and the developers reap the reward rather than those publishers we mentioned earlier.

[Yourself 2]

I'm glad you enjoy DayZ so much, but to say that this is the first piece of original gaming in a long time is simply wrong. Sure, the most profitable games these days are for the most part forgetable and unoriginal but there is a regular treasure trove of original games out there, albait produced with much smaller budgets mainly by independent developers.

Why aren't the big publishers lining up to invest in the kind of game DayZ represents? Because there isn't much money to be had in it, even with all the publicity generated at the moment. Sure, this mod has a lot of appeal, but only for a limited group. The FFA concept alone, where every player can kill everyone else without any repercussions, will act as a deterrent for most players interested in a survival shooter.

A publisher is a company and at the head of these companies you have people that hardly care about creating original games, but rather about how much profit the game could potentially generate. Why invest in a standalone version of DayZ and make some money when they can simply make a new Call of Duty and make much, much more? Even if you would get a publisher to invest, they would kill the developers creativity, streamline the game so much for mass appeal that what comes out at the end is not even recognizable anymore.

This is where crowd funding sites like Kickstarter come into play. I could very well see a call for funds for a standalone DayZ reaching its goal very quickly. Even then the final product won't have the same scope as the current mod-version of DayZ, since that is mostly based on the resources of an existing game (models, engine, game world), which cost a lot of money/time to make/license.

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Also Rocket won't be able to charge for this (the mod version), unless Bohemia Interactive take him and his mod under their wing, since I'm sure there are a lot of legal issues with charging for a mod that will only function with a game produced and sold by someone else.

[landstriker 9]

Great post. I feel that this mod might survive for years, but if it ends up as a standalone game, I hope it will be as good as the mod is now.

[griffinz 2816]

good read. DayZ mod will be the beginning of something new

[franko1932 0]

I like what this mod does for the simple fact that it is a realistic setting. I do not mean that zeds are realistic, but it is set in real time and I am able to connect to my player. No offense to those that like these types of games, but I get so tired of seeing these MMO games where you are an elf or some magical person fighting dragons and other magical people. Why do so many game developers miss out on making real world type games like this? I believe that this mod is so popular because it is a breath of fresh air; and not necessarily because of the zombies, but because of everything that I just mentioned. I can get more involved with my player when I could see myself a situation.

[griffinz 2816]

^ My friend has learned to navigate by stars IRL with the help of this mod

[swayzesghost 14]

Got old pretty fast to me due to the problems with the engine (can't strafe through doorways etc) and the inherent brokenness of direct chat which is why I and many other people bought the game to play this :\

[griffinz 2816]

direct chat has been fixed.

And have you tried strafing through a doorway at home with your arms stretched out infront of you holding a gun?

[Reklin 56]

Completely agree, I was talking with someone about this last night. It's the new generation of games that just encourage laziness, it's groomed younger generations of gamers to just expect stuff to be handed to them, to quote something I read in another thread "They expect a car at level 10 and a helicopter at level 20" type attitude, and the developers have then been further encouraged to be lazy and keep rehashing the same boring material and content but with different looks and new promises because people are buying into it.

OFP was probably my first "real" PC game that I loved, and till now it's seemed nothing really gave me that feeling that I was playing something that was challenging or even required any thought.

Games have basically become mindless and sloppy. But unless hundreds of thousands of XBOX teenagers stop buying games like Call of Duty, it won't change with the big developers.

I don't need to have my hand held in games. I don't need to be given shiny things every time I stab a Mutated Rat, I don't need to climb dozens of tiers of weapons and armour to feel achievement. In DayZ I like that I can get lost for an hour in woods and fields, I like that I can run for 20 minutes and not find a single animal to kill when I'm in dire need of blood, and I like that I can go through an entire village and find nothing but a tin of pasta.

[Pallidum 33]

Playing this mod reminds me a lot of when I started playing EVE Online. It's primitive, buggy, laggy - sometimes you have to wait for half an hour to log on, not dissimilar to the early EVE problems where you'd have to wait for an hour and a half to jump into a system for a big fight.

I love this mod for its simplicity, and its sandbox nature. This is probably some of the most fun I've had playing a computer game in a long time.

[dunkhan 8]

I disagree, even if you insert the word recently in that statement (I don't want to get into pong, tetris and the invention of computers in the first place). I would put Dwarf Fortress at number one if recent means the last decade, Dayz probably comes in around 6. This is only a projection though and may be subject to change. It is hard to guess what changes will result from something like this, as the results show very gradually and Dayz is very new

[oktyabr 53]

I'm an old guy and a life long gamer. There have always been revolutionary, ground breaking games and like always... they don't just pop up every day.

I remember pumping a quarter into one of the first Pong games I ever saw.

Early 80's brought me my first computer game... ATC "Air Traffic Controller". The graphics were simple text used as moving icons on the screen but the game play was complex, intense and definitely revolutionary.

Shortly after came the video game "Gauntlet" (Green Elf is about to die... ;) ) Pretty sure this was my first taste of truly co-op multiplayer gaming.

Years later I discovered MUDs. These are the grand daddies of all MMO's out there today and DayZ reminds me more of some of them than anything else... huge, persistent worlds, lots of players (several hundred are not uncommon), very sand box like, and some with brilliant PVP. Pure text, like reading a book that writes itself with you as a character. Many are still popular after all these years... Google "Realms of Despair" for a good example.

Counter Strike. This was the first team death match game that actually had a purpose beyond just racking up kills. To me, it was quite revolutionary.

Battlefield 1942. Releasing a free demo like they did was incredibly brilliant, innovative and really defined that sort of business model for the genre. Servers were popping up like weeds everywhere, much like DayZ... just to play the demo!

The ARMA series and relatives. Although I knew it defined the sand box milsim genre and had huge potential I never knew how much until later ;)

Minecraft. Who knew that a game could actually be outrageously popular without having bleeding edge graphics and a million cut scenes!?! (I did!)

And then we have DayZ!

I think a lot of the current problem is that game companies are trying to take advantage of the inexperience of the younger generations. Most of them (some of you) don't remember when a simple game could make you day dream at school/work about playing it. When real gameplay was all a game had to go on because most of the eyecandy and other sugary frosting didn't exist or was at most very primitive. Having kids myself I know that they have grown to expect different things from their games than I did when I was their age. When a game company nails something that sells they try to beat every last dollar out of it. DayZ is one of those few examples that just because a game might be a best seller or the most popular, does not that it automatically has the best game play.

[dunkhan 8]

Oh wow I remember air traffic controller, that was so great back in the day. I remember hearing it was designed as a simulation to test/train real life tin pushers but I don't know if that is true. Once again though for me Dwarf fortress is the real innovation behind minecraft, minecraft merely made it accessible to a much wider audience. Dayz is truly great, the only real zombie game ever made, I hope my pedantic post earlier didn't give the impression I feel any other way. Now all we need is a decent fantasy RPG and I will be in paradise.

[Intigo 4]

Got old pretty fast to me due to the problems with the engine (can't strafe through doorways etc) and the inherent brokenness of direct chat which is why I and many other people bought the game to play this :\

What? Why would you and your friends even be using direct chat in the first place?

Unless you're trying to group up with new people you should just be using an out of game voice chat.

You are truly derpy.

[lordsilence 1]

If there's one game DayZ reminds me of it's Ultima Online from pre-1999 .

I love it.

[naizarak 41]

you're giving the mod itself too much credit. arma 2 is to praise here - the only new thing this mod introduced was persistent stats tracking. anyone who's played any of the other countless zombie mods knows that this one isn't very different.

[vibe 26]

you're giving the mod itself too much credit. arma 2 is to praise here - the only new thing this mod introduced was persistent stats tracking. anyone who's played any of the other countless zombie mods knows that this one isn't very different.

Then we should also thank Arma 2 for all the bugs and wonkiness

[BlackAlpha 12]

you're giving the mod itself too much credit ... anyone who's played any of the other countless zombie mods knows that this one isn't very different.

Hardly. This mod is the only one that does PvP on a large scale properly. Actually, this mod is probably the only zombie mod that has such a heavy focus on PvP, adding a whole new gameplay layer to a survival game that no one has experienced before. Then there are the survival aspects, which are unique to this mod. Persistency of the player characters and ingame objects means the players can transform the ingame world. This mod has turned the game pretty much into a MMO, utilizing all the advantages of a MMO.

I haven't seen any other mod do all, if any, of the above.

[goawaii@gmail.com 0]

I completely agree with you! This is the first game where I've actually been excited over it's gameplay mechanics since... I don't know, seven years? Last time I got excited over mechanics was the raids in vanilla WoW, which got fucked up in less than three years.

Just making your own scenarios in the editor in Flashpoint would drain countless hours at LAN parties etc back in the day. I think this is the perfect game engine to make a online survival horror game with, and I'm really happy that they've captured the essence of zombie survival (making scavenging a need, and also having permadeath to make the stakes as high as possible!

I hope this goes to a stable version, and I (also many many acquaintances) would not think twice over contributing by donations. :)

[MR DELICIOUS 297]

This genre of game should really be referred to as an MMOZSRPG.

Massively multiplayer zombie survival role playing game.

Practically rolls off the tongue.

[aLmAnZo (DayZ) 21]

I agree with the general direction of this thread. A very good example is the Tomb raider series and it's decline in quality. The first few games depicted Lara as a clever, inteligent and sophisticated woman. The games was challanging, you might get stuck, and combat was used sparcely to spice things up. Then it evolved, and the new company took over Lara from Core Studios. They turned her into an action oriented man killer with big boobs, with a focus on big bangs and "cool" gadgets. The games themselves became linear as hell, with sparkling indicators on every slight challange the game deared to pose to the player. Generic and booring, while the old games had character. They even messed up her story... It's just sad.

I too, give ARMA much credit to why this mod is great. ARMA delivers where no other game today manage to deliver. Realism, unforgiveness and a clear focus towards cooperation. None of that wishy washy kill stats, gaining points for head shots and unlocking weaponry due to kill count.

The clever thing this mod has done, is to build upon that to enchance a atmosphere that really gets to you. Chernarus really feels plagued. Your weapons do exactly what you'd expect them too, and the enviroment is key for sucsess. Without ARMAs engine, with it's huge landscapes and projectile simulation, DayZ wouldn't be so intriguing. ARMAs engine opens up so many possibilities for the player, so it's really up to the player to take advantige of that. The game doesn't tell you what to do, and that's a relief today. I agree with those who have pointed out minecraft, It's the same thing.

[WaxMan (DayZ) 0]

I certainly agree with the sentiments here DayZ has leveraged the Simness of the Arma2 engine and enhanced them with grittiness, horror and suspense.

However I would go a step further and say that what really makes this mod is chernarus there is no other map in any fps, adventure or MMO game I have found that can truly give you scale and variety along with allowing your natural expectations of how things should work valleys, hedges bushes where you would expect them etc.

It adds such a huge element reality that you are completely immersed.

[swayzesghost 14]

Yes, I bent my elbows, just like these haggard zombie survivors would do. Going with the "realism" angle to protect the horrible engine isn't going to work against a logical person here, sorry.

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Got old pretty fast to me due to the problems with the engine (can't strafe through doorways etc) and the inherent brokenness of direct chat which is why I and many other people bought the game to play this :\

What? Why would you and your friends even be using direct chat in the first place?

Unless you're trying to group up with new people you should just be using an out of game voice chat.

You are truly derpy.

Some people want immersion, not external programs, which are borderline cheating. Maybe you don't view it that way, I do.