This is the best and worst game I have ever played.

[SineDeviance 0]

Hi all!

This is my first post here, but I've played DayZ on a daily basis for nearly a month collectively and I've lurked these forums quite a lot during that time. I hope you'll all decide that I've earned my 'stripes' so to speak, and don't immediately discount this post as the rantings of 'just another new guy.' You might have also seen me in-game as DarkED sometimes. If we played together during that early time I would like to thank you, it was some of the best gaming I've had in years. This is going to be a bit of a rant and a bit long, but please bear with me. My feelings on the game are currently mixed. Of course, this is just my opinion as a player and I don't believe that you as a reader, or Rocket as a developer, abso-fucking-lutely NEED to care about what I think or I'm going to RAEG!!!111one. But, for those of you who don't mind taking the opinions of others into consideration, maybe you'll find that my opinions line up with your own. Please also consider that many of the friends I brought into the game now share my frustrations and have likewise not been playing much recently. I think I speak for them as well. Also consider the fact that this is simply our personal experiences in DayZ; your mileage may, and probably does, vary.

Let me start by saying this is the game I have been waiting for play for nearly a decade, and the first couple weeks were pure bliss. I died a lot, learned how to not die a lot, got some friends involved, and all was well and awesome. Thank you Rocket and all of your supporters for giving me the game I have been wanting to make myself for so long.

My play style in DayZ centers around the concept of simple survival. Not killing other players just because it's fun (although I have killed other players in self-defense.) Not leading zombie trains onto other players so I could sit back and laugh at their expense. Just survival. Moving from area to area, meeting and talking with interesting survivors, and grabbing whatever I deem useful along the way (it's amazing how much good stuff spawns inside supermarkets, or used to.) I try to play the game with a realistic approach, but also an ethical approach. In my opinion this is still a valid playstyle, and if you do not agree, well... sorry, but I'm not going to change it.

Which brings me to why I haven't played in over a week now.

The first issue I (we) have with the current state of DayZ is that it has largely devolved into a mass deathmatch. New players tend to be excluded from this, but only for a few days of playing it seems, until it happens to them and they become so-called converts. It's almost as if the majority of the community all got together in a room and decided to just kill everything that moves on sight. Gone are the days of "Are you friendly? We are!" ... "Yeah, come on in." over chat or direct vox. Now, almost every survivor we encounter fires at us as soon as they see us with no provocation. This is not realistic survival! In a real Zombie apocalypse (or any kind) there would undoubtedly be at least SOME pockets of humanity left in the sea of Zack (and bandits, of course) that would make some sort of ethically-calculated decision before pulling the trigger. Note that this is not a rant about losing side-chat. That was a good decision in the direction of realism in my opinion. We noticed this problem a while before side-chat went bye-bye. Anyways, my point is that we had a lot more fun when we still had the opportunity to join up with random people for the good of all. Now, we cannot realistically trust anyone unless they're already on Mumble and part of our group.

My next gripe with the game is how unbalanced night is in general. Where is moonlight? I've lived in rural areas, and even on cloudy nights the moon does generally provide enough light for you to be able to see more than two inches in front of your face. Unless you have NVG, or know how to effectively use chemlights (and even those are a huge risk,) you are walking blind or a walking sun that is visible from at least a klick away. I understand that in real combat there would be some imbalance between forces that had night vision and forces that did not, but does a flashlight really need to light you up like Times Square? Even a chemlight produces a small dot that is visible from at least a klick away with the naked eye. Also consider that without chemlights, flares, or flashlights, it is essentially impossible to play. Your only option at that point is to stumble around in the dark completely blind, or switch to a day server.

My final gripe (there are others, but they are small) is all the glitchy death we have encountered. I realize that the game is in alpha stage right now, and there are tons of unfixed bugs, but some of this stuff is just ridiculous and seems like it should be high priority. As an example, a couple weeks ago I had 12,000 blood and a lone zombie aggro'd to me. Normally this wouldn't be a problem and I would quickly drop a lone zombie, but he glitched out for a couple seconds (lag?) and then re-appeared directly next to me. He then proceeded to hit me once, which knocked me out, gave me a broken bone, and caused me to start bleeding. It was one of those 3-minute knockouts where you're dead way before you'd ever be able to get up again. It was also very much a "WTF just happened?" moment. Unfortunately, I was playing solo at the time and lost everything.

I could have killed the task and reconnected when friends were on but where's the fun and/or realism in that? As I understand it, zombies aren't supposed to be able to knock you out unless you are under 8,000 blood or some number, but we've encountered it at full health at least a few times. Add to that the rare but relevant teleporting superzombie, and it occasionally causes us to die in very annoying, monitor-punch-inducing ways :D If it wasn't for the zombie magically warping through time and space, I probably wouldn't have died that day and lost all my gear.

I know we're not supposed to become attached to our gear, but it is easy to let it happen. Especially when you've finally got those NVG you spent a week searching for.

I guess I should finish by saying that I still love DayZ, and I still want to play the game. It's quite an addiction. I just want to play it much less now. That is unfortunate, because I still believe this will be the best game in existence once it goes gold. I guess what I am really trying to say is... please don't disappoint us :D Please fix those ridiculous bugs ASAP, and maybe find a way to make the community more open to (not quite trustworthy) random grouping again. The game really was a lot more fun then, and it presents an interesting game mechanic that is not present in any other game.

If you took the time to read this post, thanks a lot for hearing me out. If not, that's okay too.

[Mars (DayZ) 6]

Its alpha, bugs will be fixed.

[TheGoldElite 0]

Thanks for the adult post. I wouldnt worry, they will fix the bugs, (incoming Alpha comments! hit the deck!), and I don't think rocket's gonna sell us out it terms of dumbing down the whole thing, I pray not anyway. I think the paranoia and intensive immersion leads people to shoot on sight, so it may be indicative of rocket doing a good job actually. bandits will be bandits, and they look the same as the rest of us, so thats just how it is im afraid

[SineDeviance 0]

Its alpha' date=' bugs will be fixed.

[/quote']

I understand. I still wish some of them were fixed :D

Thanks for the adult post. I wouldnt worry' date=' they will fix the bugs, (incoming Alpha comments! hit the deck!), and I don't think rocket's gonna sell us out it terms of dumbing down the whole thing, I pray not anyway. I think the paranoia and intensive immersion leads people to shoot on sight, so it may be indicative of rocket doing a good job actually. bandits will be bandits, and they look the same as the rest of us, so thats just how it is im afraid

[/quote']

Well, I like some of the hardcore aspects of the game and don't wish to see it dumbed-down, but I also don't want it to become much more brutal than it already is. In my opinion DayZ is currently a very mentally demanding game with a somewhat-steep learning curve. In games like this the community is what makes or breaks the experience, and I'm a bit worried that if it becomes any more hardcore than it already is, the community as a whole may suffer.

I also understand that bandits will be bandits, but it doesn't seem like every survivor I encounter should shoot first and ask questions later just because of paranoia. I'm constantly paranoid when playing, especially when solo, but I still try to give other players the benefit of the doubt when I can. It worked well for a while, but now I end up either running for my life trying not to get shot while returning fire or lying on the ground dead. I'm just saying, if this is how people are really going to act in an apocalypse then you can count me out; I'd rather go when the bombs fall :D

[Captain Speirs 9]

I'm actually starting to think it's better to just shoot ppl you see.. It seems like no matter how hard i try to team up or help ppl it doesn't work out 95% of the time due to them not responding and just running off or simply shooting me. Heck i even had one guy i was bandaging and helping, was talking to him and he responded in chat.. Then all of a sudden he just killed me with his hatchet. I wasn't rly upset, it's just amazing how low morals some people have. Yes it's just a game. That does however not change the fact that guy was an asshat.

[Lefty Guns 0]

One thing you must learn in DayZ and in your own life is not to get attached to material items. Death is inevitable in DayZ just as much as it is a part of our life now, fortunately, you can respawn in DayZ.

Psychologically, tweak your mind to experience this: The fun part of DayZ is finding the loot, not keeping it. Death will happen. Only a matter of time no matter how safe you are. Otherwise, you will fail miserably and become bitter towards the game.

I struggled with this concept for the first week and after I altered my thoughts I am a much better DayZ player for it. I can care less about loot and all I need are the basics for survival. I can kill players with any weapon and do not need a high powered weapon.

As an example, last night I killed a player sniping at me with an m24 from long range, all I had was an ak-74. Simply by being patient and outwitting the murderer. He may have been stupid but it does happen in DayZ, quite frequently.

I seem to experience my finest moments when I have less loot to worry about keeping than when i have a whole arsenal of gear. There is a huge flux of accomplishment and self worth when I do something unheard of with the very little resources I've been given at the time of my encounter. Experience it, play with it and in the end, you will thank yourself for it.

Lefty

[Dreganius (DayZ) 55]

Hi all!

This is my first post here' date=' but I've played DayZ on a daily basis for nearly a month collectively and I've lurked these forums quite a lot during that time. [/quote']

Welcome! I speak for the mature players when I say that another mature player like yourself is a good sight to see.

My play style in DayZ centers around the concept of simple survival. Not killing other players just because it's fun (although I have killed other players in self-defense.)

*snipped the rest of the paragraph*

+Respect for sticking to your guns. I do the same' date=' but at the same time I play with my friends and we tend to try and completely avoid other players for the moment, due to the Kill-On-Sight (KOS) problem.

The first issue I (we) have with the current state of DayZ is that it has largely devolved into a mass deathmatch. New players tend to be excluded from this, but only for a few days of playing it seems, until it happens to them and they become so-called converts.

I have to agree with you to a degree, but if I can't avoid them, I will shoot people who don't answer me when I type "Friendly?" in Direct chat (I don't use voicechat if I'm hidden, as it reveals my location), for reasons of survival.

My next gripe with the game is how unbalanced night is in general. Where is moonlight?

For what little it matters' date=' my own opinion falls in line with yours. There was a huge argument on ANZ8 last night, as the in-game time was bugged and set to day, yet one player named Tom was complaining at how the server should be night, and proceeded to insult all the players who were on the server as they were "Too noobish to get NVGs and play night with the big boys". This shouldn't be the mentality of our players, as there is no "big boys" in DayZ, when any of us can be killed with a few shots to the head. I feel that the moon should appear a lot more frequently and thus offer some minimal light, and some ambient occlusion.

My final gripe (there are others, but they are small) is all the glitchy death we have encountered. I realize that the game is in alpha stage right now, and there are tons of unfixed bugs, but some of this stuff is just ridiculous and seems like it should be high priority. As an example, a couple weeks ago I had 12,000 blood and a lone zombie aggro'd to me. Normally this wouldn't be a problem and I would quickly drop a lone zombie, but he glitched out for a couple seconds (lag?) and then re-appeared directly next to me. He then proceeded to hit me once, which knocked me out, gave me a broken bone, and caused me to start bleeding.

I've only had this happen to me once, but I agree that it's infuriating. A bugfix will likely come along soon for this issue, but not if we don't report it. Again, kudos to you for constructively critiquing the Mod's flaws instead of simply loudmouthing how DayZ is "total bullshit" or "a buggy piece of crap". You're the kind of player that contributes to making the game better.

I guess I should finish by saying that I still love DayZ' date=' and I still want to play the game. It's quite an addiction.[/quote']

8 hours per day over the last week for me, yeah... I'm addicted too >.<

[SineDeviance 0]

I'm actually starting to think it's better to just shoot ppl you see.. It seems like no matter how hard i try to team up or help ppl it doesn't work out 95% of the time due to them not responding and just running off or simply shooting me. Heck i even had one guy i was bandaging and helping' date=' was talking to him and he responded in chat.. Then all of a sudden he just killed me with his hatchet. I wasn't rly upset, it's just amazing how low morals some people have. Yes it's just a game. That does however not change the fact that guy was an asshat.

[/quote']

That sucks man! I'm sorry that happened to you. Fortunately, we haven't had an experience like that but if we did take the time to give someone a blood pack (which are not exactly easy to come by) and they repay us by shooting us it would definitely ruin my day :D

If that happens again, I guess just try to remember that we're not all bad and there are still decent players out there.

One thing you must learn in DayZ and in your own life is not to get attached to material items.

...

~snipped' date=' for her pleasure~

[/quote']

I'll definitely try that. I also know where you're going with the 'less is more' approach, indeed, many situations I've fared better with a Makarov PM and a Winchester 1866 compared to a DMR, M4A3 CCO backup, and Glock 17.

Welcome! I speak for the mature players when I say that another mature player like yourself is a good sight to see.

Thanks! I was really hoping I wouldn't get a flood of "LOL go play minecraft n00b." It feels good to still be surprised by a game community every once in a while' date=' especially in an age of gaming where game communities are not generally mature :D

+Respect for sticking to your guns. I do the same, but at the same time I play with my friends and we tend to try and completely avoid other players for the moment, due to the Kill-On-Sight (KOS) problem.

We do the same. We even go out of our way to avoid the key cities like Stary Sobor and Elektro because wandering into those areas is generally suicide. Still, I always feel the urge to find and talk to other players, even when playing with my regular group.

I have to agree with you to a degree' date=' but if I can't avoid them, I will shoot people who don't answer me when I type "Friendly?" in Direct chat (I don't use voicechat if I'm hidden, as it reveals my location), for reasons of survival.[/quote']

Sadly, we're going down that same road all-too-often lately. That in itself doesn't bother me, but it seems like that's all we do anymore; we're no better than common bandits.

For what little it matters' date=' my own opinion falls in line with yours. There was a huge argument on ANZ8 last night, as the in-game time was bugged and set to day, yet one player named Tom was complaining at how the server should be night, and proceeded to insult all the players who were on the server as they were "Too noobish to get NVGs and play night with the big boys". This shouldn't be the mentality of our players, as there is no "big boys" in DayZ, when any of us can be killed with a few shots to the head. I feel that the moon should appear a lot more frequently and thus offer some minimal light, and some ambient occlusion.[/quote']

This is more-or-less exactly how I feel. Whether we like it or not, Night Vision is an extremely-difficult-to-locate hot-ticket item, and my lack of it (or lack of motivation to obtain it) should not automatically make me a bad player :D

The unwarranted hostility that some players present also bugs me, but I've been dealing with that since the Unreal days so it doesn't bother me so much.

I've only had this happen to me once' date=' but I agree that it's infuriating. A bugfix will likely come along soon for this issue, but not if we don't report it. Again, kudos to you for constructively critiquing the Mod's flaws instead of simply loudmouthing how DayZ is "total bullshit" or "a buggy piece of crap". You're the kind of player that contributes to making the game better.[/quote']

No kudos needed, but I appreciate that. I know that anything worth creating takes time and there is a lot of trial-and-error, especially if it is a new idea. Albeit, you have to admit that DayZ is a buggy piece of crap at times, but that's the humor of the game. It's akin to the 'Losing is fun!' philosophy in Dwarf Fortress; the game wouldn't be as exciting if it wasn't for the fact that I can break my leg in two simply by running across an empty field :D

Although, I must admit that I won't shed a tear when that finally does get fixed.

8 hours per day over the last week for me' date=' yeah... I'm addicted too >.<

[/quote']

I feel your pain :D The first week I played, I played 8+ hours per day when I wasn't working (I'm self-employed and luckily I can set my own hours.) There was one day where I did nothing but play DayZ from early morning until 3AM. This game is the ultimate time-waster.

With all that said, I'd love to play with some new people sometime. Send me a PM if you're interested. It might do me some good to get in-game with a more mature group, and I have a couple buddies I can bring along with me. Alternatively, if you're normally solo and would like to play with our group sometime, send me a PM. I'll gladly give our group/clan, Teamspeak and Mumble info to anyone who isn't a deathmatcher (I guess this is my own little way of fighting the system :D) I'm always looking for those players that occasionally try to give other players the benefit of the doubt. This goes for the rest of you guys too.

[LastManOnEarth 14]

I try to play the game with a realistic approach' date=' but also an ethical approach.

[/quote']

Wow, good on ya! Not many of us around--in my experience anyway. :)

[SineDeviance 0]

Wow' date=' good on ya! Not many of us around--in my experience anyway. :)

[/quote']

Thanks a lot, and you're right; there doesn't seem to be too many of us these days :D

[SASQUATCH_OZ 0]

Thank you for the mature explanation for why you are taking a break.

I can understand why you are taking a break.

[SineDeviance 0]

Thank you for the mature explanation for why you are taking a break.

I can understand why you are taking a break.

Cool, and thanks! But honestly, after speaking with people in this thread and knowing that I'm not alone, I feel like I want to play again. I think I'll log back in tomorrow :D

[7-75 callaghan 43]

You sound like you would appreciate ArmA 2 proper with things like ACE mod and a good team of guys. Look into online groups that run well organised games, and generally not PvP stuff. Unless of course you ONLY want to play a zombie game, i'd say try it out. ArmA (for some of us the original Operation Flashpoint) was the game we had always been waiting for. Maybe many of the things you enjoy about this mod you will find in well organised games of ArmA. And let me just say the single player campaign + missions are nothing to go by, they are just filler so that mainstream consumers won't bitch about it being an incomplete product. ArmA is a sandbox, DayZ is just one of its expressions.

[SineDeviance 0]

You sound like you would appreciate ArmA 2 proper with things like ACE mod and a good team of guys. Look into online groups that run well organised games' date=' and generally not PvP stuff. Unless of course you ONLY want to play a zombie game, i'd say try it out. ArmA (for some of us the original Operation Flashpoint) was the game we had always been waiting for. Maybe many of the things you enjoy about this mod you will find in well organised games of ArmA. And let me just say the single player campaign + missions are nothing to go by, they are just filler so that mainstream consumers won't bitch about it being an incomplete product. ArmA is a sandbox, DayZ is just one of its expressions.

[/quote']

Maybe, but to be honest I have absolutely no interest in military sims. It just so happens that Zombie-related fiction is my favorite form of fiction. I bought ArmA II CO just to play DayZ (so practically, what I really bought was DayZ.) ArmA II seems like a good and unique experience judging from the gameplay videos I have watched, but military shooters never did hold much interest to me.