Dayz "Buzz" has come full circle by getting back to basics :)

[drewsta 74]

The best part about Dayz is the ability to make it your own, including getting back to basics and just good old fashion surviving. I truly enjoy treating the original Dayz (now 1.8) as realistic and true to life as possible. My character is me and I only have that one life! I need to survive and make decisions constantly based on what's going on around me at anyone time. I forgot just how much fun something so simple can be. Moving at normal walking pace for a better vantage then taking a knee and getting out binoculars to have a really good look around all the time can be very interesting. I was actually surprised on a server with 50 players on how often you come across others. Concealed well and looking around very carefully before making my next move I had 5 survivors over 15 minutes transiting around me away from cities, two of which practically ran over the top of me. You would be surprised how many people you pass and never see by running around flat out just to get somewhere quick or trying for that rare loot etc. Stop and think for a moment and be true to yourself, if it was real.......really happening, including the KOS crazies running around, would you just tear ass off across that open paddock or hide and use cover at every turn?

 

For those that would reply that it's just a game or they have limited time to play and taking forever to cross a short distance is not high on their priority list, I say excellent! Make Dayz your own and maximize your gameplay for the time you are on but not to misunderstand my point. I am in no hurry to go anywhere, I am just moving to survive and resupply when needed. To do that knowing that there is probably someone closer than I think willing to blow my head off for cheap thrills because that's how they roll, makes my survival exciting. Navigating the zombies which are quite relentless now I found can be tricky at times, you can manage them quite easily still but you do have to watch yourself if other players are around.

 

You bored with Dayz? Challenge and discipline yourself to treat dayz as real as possible if you haven't yet. How long can you keep that one character alive moving around and scavenging in different areas? Think your next move carefully and really survey the area before moving in. Perhaps you have been infected and badly need medical supplies and time is no longer on your side? Can you still stay in real life survival mode and get what you need without dying, or just run like mad because "who cares I'll just respawn"? You get the idea...

 

This is nothing new and many players have been doing this from day 1 and will claim months of activity on the one character without dying. This is just for those who never really thought about approaching the game with such a realistic approach. This really only works best when there are other players online for the most part. Getting back to basics for me has brought back the "BUZZ" that I first felt when the mod first realeased.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Drewsta

[DemonGroover 8836]

It sounds like you will enjoy the Standalone then.

[Korsbaek 1778]

Everyone but the kiddies will enjoy Standalone...

[Merc13 11]

That reminds me of my first couple of weeks in the game. I never thought I would have so much fun basically just wandering around in the woods and sneaking into cities and villages. It's such a contrast to games like BF3 with it's incessant explosions and direct action(still fun too). The first time I had a standoff with three guys and their friends in the chopper though was pretty exciting too, so Dayz for me has become a bit of everything. 

[Gwraspe 318]

i haven't played much lately, but i think my public hive character is over 400 days old now, and inb4omg420lootyologuys - no i haven't spent all of the time logged off somewhere in a forest, i just haven't played much for the last month or so

[Tmerc44 17]

This is exactly how I play.  I love the feeling of sneaking through cities not drawings much attention, watching snipers on buildings looking for the survivors who aren't careful while unbeknown to them being watched by me.  When I get good gear I feel accomplished because usually it has taken a while and I have survived what many have not.  I love weighing the psotivies and negatives of going into a market, or building, or apartment, or open field.  I have usually seen everybody before they have seen me, which feels good.  I have snuck up on many survivors and held them up, judged if they were friendlies or not, and either told them to run the other way for a minute or team up.  Usually they obey which is nice too, but if its a bandit and he runs he will get two slugs to the back. 

 

Its a eerie feeling hearing gunfire exchanges in cities, or running into an area that isn't usually populated and hearing single shots, or zombie attacks, or footsteps!  Amazing game!  If it wasn't for all the deathmatch kids it would be nearly flawless.   Luckily I have not died many times by banditry, mostly by me being sloppy around zombies.

[Siberian (DayZ) 527]

welcome to the club..

 

i've always played Dayz as if i were the character on screen..

 

if you just wanna run around and faceroll other players there are soooo many other games that do FPS combat better then arma..

[machiavelli 38]

OP talks about those who don't have the time to invest in a play session. Those are the COD dm kids. Spawn in cherno and have an ak at a fire station in 5 mins. DM for 20 mins and get killed. Rinse and repeat.

Hopefully the SA can wipe that situation out completely. As a simulator, Dayz requires that time investment. If that's not your thing, you are playing the wrong game.

[enforcer1975 1111]

It's such a contrast to games like BF3 with it's incessant explosions and direct action(still fun too). The first time I had a standoff with three guys and their friends in the chopper though was pretty exciting too, so Dayz for me has become a bit of everything. 

 

Oh yeah because flying a chopper and doing some flybys on other survivors is the top priority in a zombie survival...

 

if you just wanna run around and faceroll other players there are soooo many other games that do FPS combat better then arma..

 

It became a TPS action game in the meantime...

[OrLoK 16185]

Hello there

 

Folk are so used to being led that they have forgotten the thrill of independent action and unexpected feelings.

 

Most commercial game and film releases rely on an estimated profit and the way to reach that is through the lowest common denominator.

 

The thing that games like DAYZ do is take away the safety net, which is confusing and scary for many people (especially investors)

 

Back to the film analogy, how many true timeless classics have been released in recent times? Now compare that number to the amount of popular Hollywood Blockbusters that have been released. The true classics are often avant garde and not easily accessible.

 

What R is doing is not necessarily new but it has hit the mainstream consciousness at the right time, which luckily for us means he can get the support to run with it.

 

Ive been lucky enough to have a few chats with him, once you get past the machine code he often normally speaks, and IMHO he's got his head screwed on and is taking the game in his own direction.

 

SA will be a bit of a milestone in Gaming History, I do hope that gamers realise that it will be a departure from the norm.

 

Rgds

 

LoK

[Merc13 11]

Oh yeah because flying a chopper and doing some flybys on other survivors is the top priority in a zombie survival...

 

 

It became a TPS action game in the meantime...

Actually it was me in a tower, 3 guys outside and their friends in the chopper. Don't be so touchy. I might not have been clear as to which side I was on though. 

[drewsta 74]

Ahhh yes now I remember why I left. Was just out enjoying everything I posted about not 30 mins ago and was killed by a hacker, I know it and he knows it. This was an interesting one though, that sound when you swing your axe was right behind me but no one there. So I ran...fast and that sound was still there on either side of me, then I saw it. A flash of a figure then gone ...then 20 meters away he flashed and disappeared again..then that axe sound. I tried to log but you stand still and wait for the timer ..then crack..I was unconscious. I logged back in but bled out before I could selfblood. It's such a shame and frustrating to have to restart a character because of some bored child.

[xX_fr0st-w0lf_Xx (DayZ) 343]

OP talks about those who don't have the time to invest in a play session. Those are the COD dm kids. Spawn in cherno and have an ak at a fire station in 5 mins. DM for 20 mins and get killed. Rinse and repeat.

Hopefully the SA can wipe that situation out completely. As a simulator, Dayz requires that time investment. If that's not your thing, you are playing the wrong game.

 

OP talks about those who don't have the time to invest in play session. Those are the ones with lives

 

You can't blame people for not wanting to run 34 minutes just for the survival aspect can you?

 

And dayz in it's first month was amazing, why because all were foolish, all didn't know what was going, all were willing to make friends. Fast forward a month and you know where to find that ak, or where that ural spawns or the best kill places. Its not the games fault and its not the communities fault. 

[machiavelli 38]

OP talks about those who don't have the time to invest in play session. Those are the ones with lives

You can't blame people for not wanting to run 34 minutes just for the survival aspect can you?

Everyone else is cool with so many facebook friends and awesome activities outside of games. Jesus...we are talking about playing a game. There is an assumption one has the time. Get over the "high school cooler than you" garbage.

Yes, I can blame them. If they don't want the survival aspect, they should play something else. Other games, hell, other arma mods/missions do it so much better.

[Jex 1104]

For those that would reply that it's just a game or they have limited time to play and taking forever to cross a short distance is not high on their priority list, I say excellent! Make Dayz your own and maximize your gameplay for the time you are on but not to misunderstand my point. I am in no hurry to go anywhere, I am just moving to survive and resupply when needed. To do that knowing that there is probably someone closer than I think willing to blow my head off for cheap thrills because that's how they roll, makes my survival exciting. Navigating the zombies which are quite relentless now I found can be tricky at times, you can manage them quite easily still but you do have to watch yourself if other players are around.

 

A lot of the time I too walk around rather than run. It will also give you a faster run (you sprint faster initially then slow down to a running pace) and you weapon is steady all the time. I play with friends and we run everywhere but sometimes I'd prefer to walk - we talk anyway, just like you would in RL and sometimes we stop when we see a nice view.

 

Thing is - dayz is a never ending game so there is literally no point in rushing around everywhere. Does it matter if it takes you 10 minutes or 30 to get from this point to that point when you have forever to do it in. If you did make yourself walk everywhere you'd notice things a shit load more too as well as the tactical advantages it gives you (the slower moving you are the less noticeable you are).

[AP_Norris 1018]

From fresh on my first spawn I was probably sprinting around.

As I do a bit of orienteering I know the value of taking my time and observing surroundings, when you do that in the bush convinced you're heading the right way without observing the signs around you, you can become very lost quickly, at first you might realise you've ran awful far and not seen this bush road junction or something... Then you realise what a long way back to wherever you went wrong will be.

A map is a valuable tool often people in the Wilderness only have their memories, I liked it back when I was a noob and I'd ask my friends where they were, they'd go... A forest :) and I'd say WTF ITS ALL FOREST! The first person I saw (when I wasn't confused by random hacker gear spawning on me) was a unarmed guy in a barn that spawned right next to me, id just spawned in too and I tried to rob him, he said all he had was painkillers so we ran to Elektro where he ditched me because I found a new Hatchet that wasn't out of ammo ;) I wasn't gonna kill him, but it made me aware of how careful people were about not dying.

[mercules 1290]

OP talks about those who don't have the time to invest in play session. Those are the ones with lives

 

You can't blame people for not wanting to run 34 minutes just for the survival aspect can you?

 

Yes, because there are literally hundreds of games better suited to a "I only have an hour to play." lifestyle. I don't sit down to play DayZ unless I am sure I have about 2 hours of uninterrupted play or I have one simple task in mind and it should only take me X. Even so I try to avoid something as simple as, "I am going to run from where I logged out outside Berinzino to near Grishino where my friends are so tomorrow when we log in we will all be near each other." because I know that at any given moment that can go horribly wrong, that someone running from Stary to Devil's Castle or their hidden base up that way crosses my path, I die and I will want to see if they left anything on my body. Heck, I could get zombie agro passing by, not notice it, get hit in the head when I went into my map and die and then I will be trying to get back to my body which could take an hour. 

[xX_fr0st-w0lf_Xx (DayZ) 343]

Yes there is literally thousands of games that are better oriented for that matter, I agree 100%. However it is doable in the current dayz. How long does it take to find a weapon? 10 minutes, 20 if your on a wheel chair? Then you stop by cherno and electro and there you have it. The reason why epoch is so popular is because it appeals to the masses. Loot everywhere, quick encounters, safe gear, trade zones.

 

On this fourm saying you like epoch with get you crucified. Saying you don't like spending 8 hours running from point a to b gets you crucified. Saying that KOS is ineveitible and it isin't going anywhere gets you crucified. 

 

You are the loud minority, I speak for the silent majority.

 

If that wasn't true you wouldn't see 1000000k vehicle servers, spawn with dmr servers, or epoch in general. How hard is it to find a good private hive vanilla server that all of you so desperately seek?  

 

For the record I agree with many things mentioned, however if i don't play devils advocate, who will? 

[mercules 1290]

Yes there is literally thousands of games that are better oriented for that matter, I agree 100%. However it is doable in the current dayz. How long does it take to find a weapon? 10 minutes, 20 if your on a wheel chair? Then you stop by cherno and electro and there you have it. The reason why epoch is so popular is because it appeals to the masses. Loot everywhere, quick encounters, safe gear, trade zones.

 

On this fourm saying you like epoch with get you crucified. Saying you don't like spending 8 hours running from point a to b gets you crucified. Saying that KOS is ineveitible and it isin't going anywhere gets you crucified. 

 

You are the loud minority, I speak for the silent majority.

 

If that wasn't true you wouldn't see 1000000k vehicle servers, spawn with dmr servers, or epoch in general. How hard is it to find a good private hive vanilla server that all of you so desperately seek?  

 

For the record I agree with many things mentioned, however if i don't play devils advocate, who will? 

So... instead of logically playing the thousands of games that exist out there that better meet the needs of the "I've got a half hour to an hour to play" crowd... let's take one of the unique games and make it just like the others? Um..... 

Remember, just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. We CAN make DayZ just like all the other games but at that point we could have just played any of those other games. Which is simpler? 

[xalienax 621]

It sounds like you will enjoy the Standalone then.

im still "cautiously optimistic" about standalone. I want dayZ to be harsh, brutal world where dieing SUCKS and getting back to your previous situation with all that nice gear takes days or even weeks. But with all of that said, I do fear arbitrary "features" and "mechanics" put in to make it harder purely for the sake of making it harder. I like the simulation style feel of dayZ and have no problem with over-coming realistic challenges that add to the immersion and fear of death- Just don't want to see annoying limitations/restrictions imposed on things that would work IRL for the sake of balance or increasing difficulty.

 

@OP agree 100% after months of overwatch and dayZero ive grown sick of the spawn, kill, die, repeat playstyle and actually enjoy valuing my life now.

[xX_fr0st-w0lf_Xx (DayZ) 343]

So... instead of logically playing the thousands of games that exist out there that better meet the needs of the "I've got a half hour to an hour to play" crowd... let's take one of the unique games and make it just like the others? Um..... 

Remember, just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. We CAN make DayZ just like all the other games but at that point we could have just played any of those other games. Which is simpler? 

No the unique game will stay unique and should not be made to played like any other games. The community itself will decide if dayz will be a 30 minute DM, and if it's even remotely possible people would do it.

 

Why? because of the uniqueness and the adrenalin rush acquired after every kill. Something unacheivable in any other game. 

[mercules 1290]

Why? because of the uniqueness and the adrenalin rush acquired after every kill. Something unacheivable in any other game. 

 

You need to figure out where that adrenalin rush comes from. After all people don't get that from BF3/COD where you shoot people. Why does it come in DayZ and not in other games? Because DayZ ISN'T a 30 Minute DM game. You only get that rush when you were actually at risk of losing all you worked for. I know I don't get that rush when I newly spawn and haven't found anything other than a revolver. On my character with E-Tool, GPS, solid backpack, DMR, M14, and basically everything I need to survive I get nervous when a zombie hits me and I start bleeding. Gun shots get my heart pounding... but didn't before I spent weeks finding all that. 

So by removing the things we work for and the investment you also remove the thing that cant' be achieved in other games. That 34 minute run IS part of the survival aspect. You wouldn't believe how shocked and amazed I was the first time I realized how big the map was and how much empty space there was between cities. It made the game into a wilderness and influenced my game play. Remove that unique experience and you have removed much of what gives that adrenalin rush. 

[xX_fr0st-w0lf_Xx (DayZ) 343]

You need to figure out where that adrenalin rush comes from. After all people don't get that from BF3/COD where you shoot people. Why does it come in DayZ and not in other games? Because DayZ ISN'T a 30 Minute DM game. You only get that rush when you were actually at risk of losing all you worked for. I know I don't get that rush when I newly spawn and haven't found anything other than a revolver. On my character with E-Tool, GPS, solid backpack, DMR, M14, and basically everything I need to survive I get nervous when a zombie hits me and I start bleeding. Gun shots get my heart pounding... but didn't before I spent weeks finding all that. 

So by removing the things we work for and the investment you also remove the thing that cant' be achieved in other games. That 34 minute run IS part of the survival aspect. You wouldn't believe how shocked and amazed I was the first time I realized how big the map was and how much empty space there was between cities. It made the game into a wilderness and influenced my game play. Remove that unique experience and you have removed much of what gives that adrenalin rush. 

Yes I agree fully 100%, and in reality that how dayz is meant to be played. But right now that's not how dayz works and that run is, for the majority of players, a nuisance. That's why ever server begins with 100k vehicles. That's why admins place intermediate loot areas between major cities.

 

While I don't enjoy those runs, and while i don't always have 4 hours on my time to play. That's what dayz is supposed to be, and for a good 8 months I have satisfied my gaming experience by playing other games best suited for my play style. But others simply shaped dayz into something more action packed, with more things to do. Hence the birth of epoch origins, overwatch....

 

The majority enjoys this shortcuts and added content

The minority perfers the old fashion  dayz

 

Rocket (if he does the right thing) will appeal to the minority and create a harsh surviving experience. But one must not confuse hard and challenging with long and boring. 

[mercules 1290]

Yes I agree fully 100%, and in reality that how dayz is meant to be played. But right now that's not how dayz works and that run is, for the majority of players, a nuisance. 

 

Rocket (if he does the right thing) will appeal to the minority and create a harsh surviving experience. But one must not confuse hard and challenging with long and boring. 

 

These two statements are an issue in my mind. Let me explain why. 

Some of the hard and challenging comes from having to worry about logistics and paths. The OP made a post about moving slower and looking around and he has a perfect point. He was stating that he has started to not just run to the next "area" but has started to slow down and move through the areas he is in more carefully. Pause and catch your breath and look around, stick to cover, sometimes even ~walk~ and he has been surprised by the number of players he has ended up noticing. Now he isn't the sort to just gun down random people so those players never even know he is around.

This makes me wonder how many people we pass by when we decide to run from Elektro to Stary and just put our heads down and start going in a straight line. I mean most of us stick to trees, but we still pretty much run and just do quick sweeps so we don't run into anything too blindly. If we slowed down a bit and looked around how many opportunities would we have to engage these people who are still running flat out?

So at that point the movement between city A and city B because a major survival experience and could be challenging. I think it isn't because even I am guilty of, "I want to go to X so I'll head along these trees to this ridge and then over to here and run down to that point there" and then just start running on the path I laid out only pausing occasionally. I do so more in Epoch because of the fatigue/weight system.

Now, Dean stated he would like to put a fatigue/weight system into this game, just after alpha. That means no more marathon runs you will need to take breaks. My hope is that those breaks are going to lead to you looking around and seeing someone else moving about and firefights outside the cities. Removing that time between cities means removing the chance of running into others. 

There were a few mods for Skyrim that made the game more interesting from a survival aspect. One added in frostbite and other weather effects on the body, another limited fast travel to things like wagons between cities. So now you had to actually travel across the countryside and with it have all the encounters between the two points AND you had to deal with the weather the whole time. You could create fires and had other ways to up your body temperature but you ended up having to plan your long trips and avoid certain areas like mountain passes unless you were geared up. Certain gear was warmer than other gear and so you sometimes had to decide between armor or warmth. 

Traveling is a very real danger and part of that danger is that it often leads you to go into automatic mode, even in real life. Wandering through a back trail where you don't believe there are any hostiles you tend to just plod along and that is why ambushes work. Cities are focal points but it looks like there will also be a few things out in the woods we wouldn't be expecting before and remember, zombies can now literally be anywhere on the map, not just around cities, removing the time and effort of moving from one city to another also removes some of the risk of moving from one city to another. That time is enough that you could become very complacent in your run.

For those it bothers there is always BF3/COD/Planetside 2 and dozens of other games where the action is limited in area or you can get a newly spawned vehicle every so often to get you to the next area of interest. 

 

[machiavelli 38]

Playing on 1st person only servers is a great means to slow your role. Because you can't see over walls or even the grass in front of you, the player has to be more careful and aware. It's really made dayz, for me, much more enjoyable.

It's great to know that I'm not being watched by a player behind a wall, who's likely just looking for the 360 no scope to brag about to his 1337 squad and 5 youtube subscribers.