Can the Standalone not be persuaded by EPOCH's bad features?

[ChristmasLunch 52]

I recently bought ARMA II and OA in the Steam sale a few weeks ago, and have installed EPOCH. I was told this was like the like DayZ Mod on steroids, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how good it really is, and how much more it has to offer!

It's really good to come from only playing the standalone and then migrating to this fully fleshed out orgy of guns and base building.

I recommend you re-visit the mod (or visit it for the first time) if you are getting a little bored by the (understandable) lack of content or things to do in the Standalone at the moment. 

 

Basically, I've run into a few things so far that I hope do not get added to the Standalone and I thought I would post them here to see others' opinions on these things. For the most part, I think DayZ Epoch is amazing and should almost be ported to a full game in its' own right; a mix between DayZ and Rust.

 

*DISCLAIMER* I have only owned EPOCH for ~2 weeks now, so I am not 100% educated on the full mechanics of the game. That also being said, I have only joined about 4 servers during this time, and am basing my EPOCH experience off those. Issues mentioned here may not be present on other servers and I apologize if I have stated false information.

 

Things about Epoch that I don't like and hope do NOT get added to the Standalone.

• ​Indestructible items: I think everything should be able to be destroyed one way or another. The fact that you can put all your assets into a safe and then have guaranteed protection makes base raiding boring, as almost everybody has completely abandoned tents and all seem to have safes. Other things like concrete barriers seem a bit OP. I mean, what concrete are you using that wouldn't be destroyed by a satchel charge?!
• Choosing where to spawn: Why was this even a thing? Why would you rather spawn in, say, Kamyshovo and run 5 minutes to Elektro if you can already spawn in Elektro in the first place. Servers that have spawn points at Balota are kidding themselves too. I think the random spawn mechanic that will hopefully be implemented into the Standalone where you are thrust into a random house at a random village would be so much better. I thought you were supposed to feel lost when spawning in DayZ. Choosing where to spawn is literally the opposite of that.
• Custom spawn inventories: As much as a like spawning with a gun and just having a full on deathmatch in Elektro, I really don't want the Standalone to veer in that direction. I want the standalone to be much more like a survival game with other players, kind of like how the mod used to be. If you don't have a gun in EPOCH, you're at a serious disadvantage because literally EVERYBODY else does. 
• Friendly system: Being able to 'tag somebody as friendly' removes the whole communication side of things. Whenever my friends and I get into a heated battle in the Standalone, it's a constant conversation of "Okay, I'm moving out the front of the police station now," "Oh dude is that you! Wiggle!" "Dude that's not me" "Should I shoot?" "yeah shoot!", and I think that is one of the most amazing parts about DayZ. You could potentially shoot your own friend without knowing it, and It would be like that in the real world. In Epoch, you tag somebody as friendly, and then if you see anybody else you kill 'em.
• Locking cars: A lot of you will disagree with me on this one, but EVERY SINGLE car I see on EPOCH has been locked and I am unable to loot it. The way I see it, you should have to HIDE your cars or lock them in your base. If I break into your base, I should be able to steal your car - but as it stands at the moment, I can almost do nothing. Everything is in your safe and your cars are locked. The most I can do is sabotage it.

 

Things about Epoch that I do like and hope get added to the Standalone.

• Economy: I like the concept of having a universal economy, as apposed to barter (or, I'll 'ave yor rotten' banana for a rotte'n apple) however I think it was WAAY to complex. One form of payment would be better, as apposed to Tin, Gold, 2oz gold, 10oz gold, briefcase... you know... it's very overwhelming to new players and It didn't have to be that complicated. A simple gold currency would work, with a simple car costing around 200 gold or something like that. I also like how this economy is not JUST A NUMBER. It is a REAL item to carry around, and becomes much more important. You have to make room in your inventory to carry your money, and you are able to actually STEAL other peoples' money if you kill them with it.
• Base Building: This goes without saying. If the standalone doesn't have this, it's seriously missing out on an awesome opportunity. Simply barricading doors and windows isn't EXCITING enough and doesn't feel like you're adding your own footprint to the world around you. Having to rely on houses that have already been built seems lame as the majority of good houses reside inside towns - a popular zone - and so disadvantages the player who wants to live in a remote area. 
• The Log Out Timer: Having to physically stay on that menu (and be rendered un-movable) was quite simply THE BEST method. Screw this instant log out but have your character stay on the server for a minute afterwards. This way I can physically see my player as I am logging out, and if somebody was to start shooting at me, I would be able to move out the way. 

So there is my list of things I hope do, and don't get added to the Standalone from Epoch. HOPEFULLY, somebody in the development team see's this and will hopefully agree with some of the things I've said, and the same goes for the other DayZ players on this forum. Let me know what you think!

 

Thanks.

 

EDIT: Due to people not liking the economy, I've put a strike through the heading, and we can now disregard that. Future comments should avoid saying "Agree accept for economy" or something along those lines.

Edited April 24, 2014 by ChristmasLunch

[kingbritain 63]

Good compilation. I agree with you, I hope the standalone incorporates only SOME of the things Epoch has. Saying this, I LOVE Epoch.

Edited April 24, 2014 by KingBritain

[Zedertone 378]

Yes but most of this stuff is so unrealistic.

base building for example, I could MAYBE cope with wooden buildings, but in the apocalypse, who's gonna spend years building a concrete house, when there are already built structures, that are better that you can just use the barricading feature (that they've already confirmed) to hole yourself up?

The reason the player sits in the game for a bit after is to punish combat loggers. It's easy to go to log out but be able to shoot back if you're combat logging in Epoch, in the Standalone, if you try to combat log, you're likely to die, and I love this sytem of log out.

 

As for economy and trade posts, no. Who the hell is going to stand in a concrete building 24/7 taking items, and paying you for them. In a real apocalypse, people wouldn't be worried about economy, they'd be worried about surviving, and who needs an economy in that type of world?

[muddyraccoon 176]

No economy.  Not my opinion, just the way it is.  DayZ will be a barter system.  It's a new, unique barter system called "Quid Pro Kill."  I'll give you something, then kill you while you are trying to give me something, and take all your stuff I want.

[BeefBacon 1185]

I agree with everything except the economy system. I don't want an economy system in DayZ. If you want to trade then you do so at your own risk.

[raynor009 204]

Yeah I don't agree with the economy either. But the base building is a great idea and the log out timer would be better than the system we have now.

[ChristmasLunch 52]

base building for example, I could MAYBE cope with wooden buildings, but in the apocalypse, who's gonna spend years building a concrete house, when there are already built structures, that are better that you can just use the barricading feature (that they've already confirmed) to hole yourself up?

Yeah okay I agree with you on that point.  Capping at wooden structures would be wise, or just make concrete structures take a LONG time to place (maybe?)

[BadAsh (DayZ) 1513]

I don't want any of the things you suggest as good things to implement. 

 

I am not particularly interested in base building, as I think the ability to do that takes the game into Sims/Minecraft territory, which is completely opposite the survival anti-game aim that I interpret as being the intentions of Dean.

 

There should be no economy other than the one created by players interacting with each other, which would at most be a barter economy (this is already fully functioning in the game).

 

Having the log out timer stop and regaining control of your character if it is being shot at I think is counterproductive to the reason it is implemented, which is mainly to prevent combat-logging.

[ChristmasLunch 52]

Having the log out timer stop and regaining control of your character if it is being shot at I think is counterproductive to the reason it is implemented, which is mainly to prevent combat-logging.

I'm not sure if you played Epoch, but if you didn't I'll explain the system in more detail.

 

Basically, whenever you wanted to log off, you had to press escape and watch the timer count down from 10 in that menu (the time could always be expanded on for the standalone to, say, 30 seconds). if you clicked off the menu (if you needed to move or anything) the timer would reset, and next time you went into the escape menu it would start again.

 

It also disallowed you to log off if there was a player in your vicinity.

Personally, I think it's great, as you sometimes get killed by zombies while you're sitting down (in the standalone) that you hadn't seen prior to logging off, and since they can agro from miles away, I think it's a bit unfair.

Being able to PHYSICALLY see your character as you log off kind of gives you that sense of security.

[blackberrygoo 1416]

In my opinion I would love to see locks on both houses and cars , but it shouldn't be so unrealistic like epoch .. in epich you legit can't lockpick things , in standalone I'm sure they would realize that some survivors know how to break locks , and furthermore some survivors would just break the windows of the car and hot wire it which I'm sure will be a feature when advanced vehicles are in ..

[gaerteuth 19]

The reason the stay in the menu timer doesn't work is because you can more easily use alt F4.

[TheSushi 28]

• Locking cars: A lot of you will disagree with me on this one, but EVERY SINGLE car I see on EPOCH has been locked and I am unable to loot it. The way I see it, you should have to HIDE your cars or lock them in your base. If I break into your base, I should be able to steal your car - but as it stands at the moment, I can almost do nothing. Everything is in your safe and your cars are locked. The most I can do is sabotage it.

That doesn't seem particularly realistic to me, having never played Epoch. While it takes some know how, all you really have to do with most older cars (like ones found in Soviet client states) is smash out a window, use a slimjim or pick the lock, then basically dismantle the ignition assembly. Locking works in modern, first-world countries. It doesn't do anything in places with war or very violent crime, and it shouldn't in Day Z. But locking in itself seems a logical feature to me.

[Jex 1104]

So Epoch is good because you can store all your gear away safely and not have to worry about it? Sounds like Warz.

[shuriken39@hotmail.com 8]

I recently bought ARMA II and OA in the Steam sale a few weeks ago, and have installed EPOCH. I was told this was like the like DayZ Mod on steroids, and I have been pleasantly surprised at how good it really is, and how much more it has to offer!

It's really good to come from only playing the standalone and then migrating to this fully fleshed out orgy of guns and base building.

I recommend you re-visit the mod (or visit it for the first time) if you are getting a little bored by the (understandable) lack of content or things to do in the Standalone at the moment. 

 

Basically, I've run into a few things so far that I hope do not get added to the Standalone and I thought I would post them here to see others' opinions on these things. For the most part, I think DayZ Epoch is amazing and should almost be ported to a full game in its' own right; a mix between DayZ and Rust.

 

*DISCLAIMER* I have only owned EPOCH for ~2 weeks now, so I am not 100% educated on the full mechanics of the game. That also being said, I have only joined about 4 servers during this time, and am basing my EPOCH experience off those. Issues mentioned here may not be present on other servers and I apologize if I have stated false information.

 

Things about Epoch that I don't like and hope do NOT get added to the Standalone.

• ​Indestructible items: I think everything should be able to be destroyed one way or another. The fact that you can put all your assets into a safe and then have guaranteed protection makes base raiding boring, as almost everybody has completely abandoned tents and all seem to have safes. Other things like concrete barriers seem a bit OP. I mean, what concrete are you using that wouldn't be destroyed by a satchel charge?!
• Choosing where to spawn: Why was this even a thing? Why would you rather spawn in, say, Kamyshovo and run 5 minutes to Elektro if you can already spawn in Elektro in the first place. Servers that have spawn points at Balota are kidding themselves too. I think the random spawn mechanic that will hopefully be implemented into the Standalone where you are thrust into a random house at a random village would be so much better. I thought you were supposed to feel lost when spawning in DayZ. Choosing where to spawn is literally the opposite of that.
• Custom spawn inventories: As much as a like spawning with a gun and just having a full on deathmatch in Elektro, I really don't want the Standalone to veer in that direction. I want the standalone to be much more like a survival game with other players, kind of like how the mod used to be. If you don't have a gun in EPOCH, you're at a serious disadvantage because literally EVERYBODY else does. 
• Friendly system: Being able to 'tag somebody as friendly' removes the whole communication side of things. Whenever my friends and I get into a heated battle in the Standalone, it's a constant conversation of "Okay, I'm moving out the front of the police station now," "Oh dude is that you! Wiggle!" "Dude that's not me" "Should I shoot?" "yeah shoot!", and I think that is one of the most amazing parts about DayZ. You could potentially shoot your own friend without knowing it, and It would be like that in the real world. In Epoch, you tag somebody as friendly, and then if you see anybody else you kill 'em.
• Locking cars: A lot of you will disagree with me on this one, but EVERY SINGLE car I see on EPOCH has been locked and I am unable to loot it. The way I see it, you should have to HIDE your cars or lock them in your base. If I break into your base, I should be able to steal your car - but as it stands at the moment, I can almost do nothing. Everything is in your safe and your cars are locked. The most I can do is sabotage it.

 

Things about Epoch that I do like and hope get added to the Standalone.

• Economy: I like the concept of having a universal economy, as apposed to barter (or, I'll 'ave yor rotten' banana for a rotte'n apple) however I think it was WAAY to complex. One form of payment would be better, as apposed to Tin, Gold, 2oz gold, 10oz gold, briefcase... you know... it's very overwhelming to new players and It didn't have to be that complicated. A simple gold currency would work, with a simple car costing around 200 gold or something like that. I also like how this economy is not JUST A NUMBER. It is a REAL item to carry around, and becomes much more important. You have to make room in your inventory to carry your money, and you are able to actually STEAL other peoples' money if you kill them with it.
• Base Building: This goes without saying. If the standalone doesn't have this, it's seriously missing out on an awesome opportunity. Simply barricading doors and windows isn't EXCITING enough and doesn't feel like you're adding your own footprint to the world around you. Having to rely on houses that have already been built seems lame as the majority of good houses reside inside towns - a popular zone - and so disadvantages the player who wants to live in a remote area. 
• The Log Out Timer: Having to physically stay on that menu (and be rendered un-movable) was quite simply THE BEST method. Screw this instant log out but have your character stay on the server for a minute afterwards. This way I can physically see my player as I am logging out, and if somebody was to start shooting at me, I would be able to move out the way. 

So there is my list of things I hope do, and don't get added to the Standalone from Epoch. HOPEFULLY, somebody in the development team see's this and will hopefully agree with some of the things I've said, and the same goes for the other DayZ players on this forum. Let me know what you think!

 

Thanks.

 

EDIT: Due to people not liking the economy, I've put a strike through the heading, and we can now disregard that. Future comments should avoid saying "Agree accept for economy" or something along those lines.

 

I find myself agreeing with you on most of these suggestions, but the economy part I am not so sure about it.  I have to agree with most people who say it would be unrealistic in an apocalyptic scenario where survival takes priority over everything else.  Further more like with any MMO that has an economy I can see it being inflated by morons and it makes it also possible for gold farmers to plague this game and spam their crap.

 

 

No economy.  Not my opinion, just the way it is.  DayZ will be a barter system.  It's a new, unique barter system called "Quid Pro Kill."  I'll give you something, then kill you while you are trying to give me something, and take all your stuff I want.

 

Hehehe that is why I have several sniper friends hiding somewhere that have a nice clear view of the trade location so that things like this don't happen. :P

Edited April 27, 2014 by Izzoroth

[audax 207]

I wonder why, people hate the building feature that much... Is the base of an RP.

 

 

You are a bandit, you rob/kill people taking all of theyr stuff, where do you will store these things? You build a horrible shack with something to defend it like walls (of course if you have this the walls etc, needs to be destructible, or able to be opened with lockpick's etc)

 

you are the "omg i hate kos people so much i hate them i want all the people of the server being friendly" you can build  a safe base where everyone can trade (with barter of course) and you will guard that place, and use it as base to launch your attacks to the people you hate.

 

etc etc etc etc