Veteran Player's Feedback (18 Hours Deep)

[5P4RK4 (DayZ) 50]

I thought I would share some thoughts I've had from the SA so far. I've been playing the Mod for a long time now so its great to get into SA finally. Its further along than I expected actually. 

 

There are a couple of things that new players seem to hate that I actually really like so I hope they aren't "casualled" too hard due to feedback. 

 

- Status indicators

 

I actually really like the subtlety of the text base status indicators. Having icons in your inventory is a good middle ground, but I really don't want to get to the point where an indicator can tell me EXACTLY how I'm doing like in the mod. Survivors in 99% of cases are not doctors. The variety of different statuses and trying to figure out how they work has been really cool. Obviously the messaging needs to be tuned so its not super annoying. But the general sense of "I feel faint" and don't know exactly why is right in the spirit of the game and I hope it can be expanded a lot.  Its like a stream of conciousness for my tune, which adds a cool atmosphere I think.

 

Starting a fresh spawn basically starving and thirsty is great. I think the main thing here is players misinformed about how it works, but having your thirst quenched and being well hydrated are two intuitively different things. Imagine being holed up in a house for 2 weeks while shit goes down, when you come out you might drink some water and snack and be "quenched" but you are still super dehydrated / essentially starving etc. A big chow down / drink session would be priority one. Diminishing the value of a new spawn beyond gear is really important to making a long living character even more valuable. When exhaustion comes back, I think there can be a lot of nuance to the current system, different sicknesses requiring different cures but not knowing specifically which, thirst/sickness/hunger affecting exhaustion etc. etc. there is a lot that can be done here and its really interesting so far. 

 

 

-Map and Loot Spawns

 

I actually also really like loot only spawning on server restart. Seeing what has been looted through by open doors, and finding the things other players leave behind is great. At the end of the day, you can always hop to a low pop server if you need anything. Going all the way up to NWAF and seeing all the doors open and just knowing it was already ransacked is actually awesome in my view. This makes the little towns and non-coastal areas much more interesting. 

 

I think the server restarts could cause a little bit of a feeding frenzy each time, especially on busy servers. This is actually kind of fun, and having everyone bomb into Cherno trying to get the fresh gear would cause a bit of a riot, in a good way. Its punishing for new players, but in a sense it should be. I like having the coast essentially barren, as it would be if a lot of people suddenly entered a town like this. Players should be encouraged to get off the coast and explore ASAP, and the current system is a great way to do this. Also a bit of a dice roll on whether a new spawn is going to be able to get setup is a good thing in my view. Right now anyone who knows where to go can get geared quickly, I'd like to see luck be a real factor in getting a new spawn off the beach for everyone. 

 

My only real input into the map is that right now the West Side of the map is super OP. I haven't really found much on the east half worth going to, NEAF is okay, Berez is good for meds. Thats about all. On the west side, Kamenka through Belota are by far the best spawns right now IMO. Balota -> Military Base -> Zelenogorsk -> Green Mountain -> Military Base -> NWAF is a crazy bountiful run and doesn't even take too long. On the east half there are little towns and not much else, it would be good to spread things out a bit. 

 

- Equipment

The quality of the equipment and items is great. Can't wait to see what happens with this and how it will affect the tunes. I had full gear and after some zombie chomps I noticed my shirt was ripped in the back and checked and it was RUINED! NOES! I don't think this really matters yet, but this kind of real time change in gear is sick. I hope this has huge effects on characters later on, as it will really make constantly looting valuable as your gear degrades, rather than loot-> stash/hoard -> go kill bambies every single time like in the mod. 

 

Obviously there are bugs and glitches. I just really hope the main new things I've seen in the mod like the text updates, and low refresh timing on loot can remain a part of the game. There is a ton of room for nuance, expansion, and immersion hidden in these things, and I hope they are expanded to their potential rather than eliminated because new players are new. This game is really punishing and hard to figure out, but it should be. My first hours in the alpha have been full of exploration, system testing, trying to figure out the world. And thats how I think it should be. 

Edited December 18, 2013 by 5P4RK4

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

Agree with most of what you've said here. Ironic now that the Kamenka spawn is arguably the best one to get. :p

[weparo 613]

Obviously there are bugs and glitches. I just really hope the main new things I've seen in the mod like the text updates, and low refresh timing on loot can remain a part of the game. There is a ton of room for nuance, expansion, and immersion hidden in these things, and I hope they are expanded to their potential rather than eliminated because new players are new. This game is really punishing and hard to figure out, but it should be. My first hours in the alpha have been full of exploration, system testing, trying to figure out the world. And thats how I think it should be. 

 

Finally someone who likes the texts system! Brother!

[ShokeR (DayZ) 29]

I think they should put a respawn loot system, all the servers are full and most of the towns already looted, It feels kinda wrong when you go into a town with a super market and houses and everything and you can't find a can of beans and all you find is jeans and t shirts

[kevinwebb94@gmail.com 12]

Loot only spawning on server restart can go either way.

 

If its operating on a 12 hour restart, that can be a problem, but a 2-4 hour restart, then no big deal.

 

Obviously you don't want people loot cycling/recycling, but some middle ground would be nice as opposed to only finding tin cans.

[Target Practice (DayZ) 1335]

I think they should put a respawn loot system, all the servers are full and most of the towns already looted, It feels kinda wrong when you go into a town with a super market and houses and everything and you can't find a can of beans and all you find is jeans and t shirts

 

Try a different town. There's plenty of them. If a supermarket is empty, it's because someone's emptied it.

[Richard III in Leicester 200]

I completely agree and I'm glad to see a post like this. I was about to write something very similar myself. The text is just like Fallout 3 with the realism mods downloaded, FWE, realistic needs and whatnot. Please don't change it devs. I thought a bit in the diary that keeps a track of the current health & status could be a compromise, or the inventory icons like mentioned above.

Or maybe there could be Recruit > Regular > Veteran servers like in the mod that have more HUD going on for the 'easier' servers to the non HUD-basic text we have at the moment in the Vet servers?

I know where I'd be.

Anyway I love everything about the standalone so far. Good work fellas.

[n33mz 0]

i agree 5p4rk4, good job

[5P4RK4 (DayZ) 50]

I think they should put a respawn loot system, all the servers are full and most of the towns already looted, It feels kinda wrong when you go into a town with a super market and houses and everything and you can't find a can of beans and all you find is jeans and t shirts

 

 

The jeans and t-shirts are from people who have gotten there before. Most of the towns are 100% not looted on the servers I've played on. Most of the buildings that people used to get loot in, in towns that everyone goes to are looted. Everything else is pretty much untouched in my experience. 

 

Balota = Shit Show. Cherno = Shitshow. Elektro = Shitshow. NWAF = Shitshow.  Go new places. Explore a bit. Towns I have never even looked at in the mod (because there was no point) are where I am getting my loot to start off a new character. Usually as soon as you see a town you can see if all the doors are open, and you can make the call if its worth looking or just move to the next town and have better luck. I like this, I think it adds depth and realism to looting. 

Edited December 18, 2013 by 5P4RK4

[Shaolin (DayZ) 4]

Must hate people like me who close doors behind me lol. Luring people into a sense of 'oh it hasnt been looted yet.' But no... ive been lol.

I joined quite a popular server and a lot had already gone but ive found looting dead bodies is very rewarding.

[weparo 613]

Must hate people like me who close doors behind me lol. Luring people into a sense of 'oh it hasnt been looted yet.' But no... ive been lol.

I joined quite a popular server and a lot had already gone but ive found looting dead bodies is very rewarding.

 

I too am guilty of this :D

[5P4RK4 (DayZ) 50]

I only close the door when I'm still inside. Come in kiddies the loot is waiting for you :)