lose the flashlight

[zyryx 14]

Why can't we spawn with something useful like a compass instead of the flashlight? I have never used the flashlight, and I am still wandering the map looking for a god damn compass. Questions: Do servers sometimes misrepresent the time? Twice now morning servers have turned out to be evening servers. Does campfire smoke and our characters breath follow wind patterns (blowing from west to east)? Finally found my way back to Electro and then spent hours server hopping outside the fire station, found all sorts of loot but still no compass. Is there a way to tell which NON hardcore servers are going to spawn you as a bambie ignoring your saved character? Is it the fragnet servers I should avoid?

[quantum2k6 348]

sry..  u need to serverjump in elektro for a compass :huh: .. dude... then better avoid the whole game. :lol:

 

the map is bigger than elektro...

 

- stars

- moon

- sun

 

2 hours of exploring the map is more educational than the damn serverjumping.. u can run 2 times across the map in the same time!

 

so - no compass necessary. play the game.

Edited July 19, 2014 by quantum2k6

[doctorbadsign 645]

Server hopping for a compass  :lol: that is new. I find at least 3 lying around with each char. Look around the map. Also you can navigate without a compass anyway.

[glemmar 88]

Why can't we spawn with something useful like a compass instead of the flashlight? I have never used the flashlight, and I am still wandering the map looking for a god damn compass.

The flashlight is pretty useful if you play on night servers, which many people don't do, but I still think spawning in with just the flashlight is just perfect. Back in the day when I played the mod (and its sub-mods like Namalsk, Breaking Point, Epoch...) many servers were [CUSTOM STARTING LOADOUT] [HIGH LOOT SERVER] [MAX VEHICLES] and so on, which I personally considered game ruining since half the fun in DayZ is taken away if you spawn in with the most basic equipment (Food, compass, map, etc.) Hell, technically you already spawn in with a map if you use online loot maps, which should be more than enough for you to find your way around. Ofcourse if you use loot maps, then there is really no point in getting the in-game map.

 

Compasses can spawn pretty much everywhere, but so far I've had most luck with the brown wooden barns.

 

Do servers sometimes misrepresent the time? Twice now morning servers have turned out to be evening servers.

They might have time acceleration on, I think that was implemented sometime ago. I haven't experienced time misrepresentation on any of the servers that I've played on.

 

Does campfire smoke and our characters breath follow wind patterns (blowing from west to east)?

Don't know, interesting idea though. Also how do you know that is blowing from west to east? I know that in the mod clouds always moved from west to east so it was a bit of metagamey way to find directions, but it worked most of the time.

 

Finally found my way back to Electro and then spent hours server hopping outside the fire station, found all sorts of loot but still no compass.

Loot doesn't respawn at the time so you can't use the old DayZ mod loot farming method where you would empty all the loot piles into a one separate pile, run +200 m from the building, waited for ~10 minutes and then came back for fresh loot. Or do you mean you actually server hopped from server to server in hopes of finding fresh/better loot?

 

Is there a way to tell which NON hardcore servers are going to spawn you as a bambie ignoring your saved character? Is it the fragnet servers I should avoid?

I think this might be a bug, and if it is, the server should warn (with a rather small red text) you that your character is not being loaded from the hive and you should abort your connecting if you don't wish to override your old character. In the 0.45 version they had a bug where your new character would not be saved if you disconnected right after your previous death. Ofcourse if you disconnect in bad place (fire station, barrack and so on) you might be killed by other players and/or zombies because your character doesn't disappears immidietly after you disconnect. Also disconnecting while unconscious causes your character to be reset. Anyway, I've had no problem with the character saving in this build and I've been playing on fragnet servers.

[zyryx 14]

I am playing the game, my way. I'm not running for the closest weapon then dashing down the road for a little PvP at Berenzino or the NWA. I'm playing lonewolf survivor living off the land, and I need a god damn compass. Like I said, twice now I have spawned into what said it was a morning server only to later discover it was actually a evening server, and dead reckoning with the sun went it the opposite direction I wanted to go. Without a watch it can take awhile to figure this out. And now I'm always wondering. Plus I'm not using roads to travel, I will occasionally approach a town to see the town sign and confirm my bearings (and maybe find some food/fill up my canteens), but I stick to the forests. I'm trying to explore the whole map and without a compass trying to triangulate your position using landmarks and topographical features is almost impossible (and they added this ability/feature to the game for a reason). I don't think there is a single road the runs n-s or e-w on the whole map, If I knew that my breath would always blow towards the east, or campfire smoke blows east (when there are no clouds moving in the sky), this would make determining east in the absence of knowing the time of day much easier. Or infinitely fucking easier, spawning with a compass instead of the flashlight which I immediately throw away because it's useless.

[quantum2k6 348]

1-2 weeks exploring and you know the entire map without any compass or map at night or daytime...

 

play more and explore more the best map is your brain ;)

 

this is alpha... they are still work on the light system.

 

currently u dont need your flashlight, but this version is not the final one.

Edited July 19, 2014 by quantum2k6

[Red_Ensign 990]

Why can't we spawn with something useful like a compass instead of the flashlight? I have never used the flashlight, and I am still wandering the map looking for a god damn compass. Questions: Do servers sometimes misrepresent the time? Twice now morning servers have turned out to be evening servers. Does campfire smoke and our characters breath follow wind patterns (blowing from west to east)? Finally found my way back to Electro and then spent hours server hopping outside the fire station, found all sorts of loot but still no compass. Is there a way to tell which NON hardcore servers are going to spawn you as a bambie ignoring your saved character? Is it the fragnet servers I should avoid?

 

there've been lots of times '24/7 daylight' labelled servers spawned me into pitch blackness.  but since I started looking only at server time on the list I haven't had a problem.

[zyryx 14]

I'm sure I will eventually know the map by heart and have zero need for a compass, or watch. But as  noob I am finding it very frustrating that I can't use this strategy (and why put it in the game?), and that it will eventually become unnecessary. Doesn't that strengthen my point? A noob needs a compass while a more experienced player doesn't. A flashlight... a sure way to give away your position and get yourself killed.

[LeeVanSpliff 156]

A noob needs a compass while a more experienced player doesn't. A flashlight... a sure way to give away your position and get yourself killed.

 

A n00b also needs food, backpack, weapons, water and medical supplies.

 

I think the flashlight is really useful. The game might even have gone a little soft on the players by giving them one at start, but the reason for that is that looting without one at night is close to impossible.

 

Night time is a valid part of the game, even if lots of servers are running daylight 24/7. Very paranoia-inducing, giving away your position like that but I find it very fun.

 

Anyhow, I wouldn't worry too much - I usually run into more compasses than I can use. They can be hard to spot though - small brownish item, often on a table or bookshelf. Easy to miss.

[zyryx 14]

A n00b also needs food, backpack, weapons, water and medical supplies.

 

I think the flashlight is really useful. The game might even have gone a little soft on the players by giving them one at start, but the reason for that is that looting without one at night is close to impossible.

 

Night time is a valid part of the game, even if lots of servers are running daylight 24/7. Very paranoia-inducing, giving away your position like that but I find it very fun.

 

Anyhow, I wouldn't worry too much - I usually run into more compasses than I can use. They can be hard to spot though - small brownish item, often on a table or bookshelf. Easy to miss.

I'm sure I will find one, probably when I'm no longer in need of it. I found couple when I first started playing but now that I actually want it can't find one to save my life.

 

At least with the current build, food, water, basic clothing and basic weapons are very, very easy to find (I would suggest maybe too easy). The compass is a very specific item, maybe a little too rare given it's limited use in PvE (your skills will quickly outgrow it's need), and complete uselessness in PvP (I can see no advantage it would give the PvP squad players). So maybe it shouldn't be quite so rare (It been fairly rare for me)

 

I've never used the flashlight. While I do carry a head lamp (never used it), and I do not avoid playing at night. I get what I need done before the sun goes down and avoid civilization after dark (it occurs to me that a compass is even more needed for night navigation). There is just no safe way to use a light at night, doing so just puts a huge kill me sign on you. I don't even use campfires or portable stoves after dark. I do see a use for flares and the upcoming chem light (in experimental) to use as diversions when you need to loot or move throught a dangersous area.

Edited July 19, 2014 by zyryx

[doctajones 123]

I always find several compasses at fire stations.  You can find 2 near elektro, 1 in Cernaya Polana, 1 at the NWAF, among others perhaps.

[LeeVanSpliff 156]

I'm sure I will find one, probably when I'm no longer in need of it.

 

Hehe yeah that's how it usually goes. Anyhow, I've played standalone and the mod for hundreds of hours and I still sometimes need to check my compass.

 

And yes I agree, some supplies (food in particular imo) seems way too plentiful at the moment. I guess they won't spend time tweaking it till the loot spawning is implemented. Which hopefully will cut down on these server restarts and let the cycle continue into night more often (and make the flashlight as useful as it should be). Only on two or three occasions have I seen night time without actively joining a night time server.

[Red_Ensign 990]

I disagree.  not everyone (esp new players) knows the map by memory and not everyone uses that gamma exploit.  the flashlight can be useful.

[Tsek 2]

... complete uselessness in PvP (I can see no advantage it would give the PvP squad players).

In a squad fight, when the squad comes under fire and one player pinpoints the location of the shots, using compass directions is the easiest, quickest and most accurate way to communicate that information.

[DeatHTaX 1217]

With 2 hour resets on most servers, and most servers not even getting close to night time, the flashlight is a bit pointless. I'm all for changing the starting items, but I wouldn't expect that to ever happen. 

[doctajones 123]

I honestly don't even know why a flashlight is the starting item.  I think it would be cool to have a wallet with your ID in it, which could also carry paper for notes/pieces of paper.  Then whenever you kill someone, you could have the option to take their ID and see if they wrote any death notes/backstory for themselves.  Or, you could see how many people that person killed with all their confiscated IDs.

[Mullraugh 1151]

I'm playing lonewolf survivor living off the land

 

It helps when said land you're living off of is imprinted in your brain like a nuclear blast shadow on a wall.

[nl 986]

I hope one day we will spawn with a (analog) watch on our wrists, that can help you determine south and help you keep track of server time (sunset, sunrise, cooking time and so on).

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-an-Analog-Watch-as-a-Compass

[Red_Ensign 990]

I honestly don't even know why a flashlight is the starting item.  I think it would be cool to have a wallet with your ID in it, which could also carry paper for notes/pieces of paper.  Then whenever you kill someone, you could have the option to take their ID and see if they wrote any death notes/backstory for themselves.  Or, you could see how many people that person killed with all their confiscated IDs.

 

...or a necklace of ears would work :-)

[odin_lowe 3686]

I honestly don't even know why a flashlight is the starting item. 

I think it's probably because of the starting idea. When  I first started playing DayZ mod when it came out, we use to spawn on the coast with a flashlight, painkillers, and a bandage. (Not always, since a lot of servers used custom settings, but the mostly on the "official" servers.)

 

Painkillers don't have a function right now, but when I spawn the first thing I do is take off my t-shirt and tear it to make rags, so basically I have a flashlight and bandages, just like we use to. It's prone to change eventually there's no doubt.

 

On a side note, I don't use the starting flashlight, but I love the pistol or rifle flashlight!

[zyryx 14]

In a squad fight, when the squad comes under fire and one player pinpoints the location of the shots, using compass directions is the easiest, quickest and most accurate way to communicate that information.

true, using cardinal points is the best way to communicate directions to squad mates occupying the same location (eye on target moving to the south), but nobody is going to pull out a compass, take a bearing, and say "SKS fire coming from 231 degrees". Good players will keep cardinal directions in their head at all times. They will know which direction they are facing, heading, and directions their mates are in, Better players will be able to reverse the directions for issuing command (Billy is south of me so:"Billy I am to your north"). But mostly it seems players always hunt in the same area and name the features then orient themselves with those features (target at ATC moving towards the hangers)

[Zombie Milkman 167]

On flashlights, I may have found a use for them.

 

I had gotten trapped up a radio tower on a coastal hill with a zed at the base of the ladder.  It was dusk, and getting darker, and while I had a gun/ammo and an axe I did not have a sightline on the zombie.  So I could risk a slow descent and get whacked at the bottom, or could a risk a 99% certain death by jumping.  Or stay there until the thing got bored which I don't think it would, and I am not going to log in and out, period.  After trying many things, like throwing items, I turned on my flashlight and pointed the beam at the ground out away from the tower, in front of where said Z was looking.  Yes, it chased the glowing disc of light on the ground.

 

Unfortunately, there is a point at which it stops following, the runs back to the base of the ladder.

 

If you can use this to your advantage let me know.  I never tried throwing the lit flashlight... maybe it would act like a flare and attract them?

Edited July 21, 2014 by Zombie Milkman

[Lithium1056 45]

The compass is handy however at times difficult to see, as they wear down the also seen to become off set, to date I've found one "pristine" compass set to true north. I've also ha the same issues as you "day" servers still cycle time sunrise to sunset so odds are you entered a server during the cycle, I do use IZurvive as a map but I tend to turn all the "map markers" besides ones you find on the ingame map off so I still retain that difficulty.

So the way I obtain my location for dead reckoning is find the nearest road sign, locate the town on the map and go from there I try to plan my route using roads as land marks rather than paths, traverse woodland only poking out in the open to locate a road and match it up to my location/intended path

[zyryx 14]

The compass is handy however at times difficult to see, as they wear down the also seen to become off set, to date I've found one "pristine" compass set to true north. I've also ha the same issues as you "day" servers still cycle time sunrise to sunset so odds are you entered a server during the cycle, I do use IZurvive as a map but I tend to turn all the "map markers" besides ones you find on the ingame map off so I still retain that difficulty.

So the way I obtain my location for dead reckoning is find the nearest road sign, locate the town on the map and go from there I try to plan my route using roads as land marks rather than paths, traverse woodland only poking out in the open to locate a road and match it up to my location/intended path

I finally found a compass last night, saw it on a shelf in the school building at the end of the railroad track on the west side of the map. Only to have the red chain/server reset countdown before I could grab it. Of course. I did finally combine maps to have a complete in game map. so there is that (I refuse to tab out to check an online map, I had been trying to navigate from memory) Having a complete in game map now makes navigating from road signs much easier. Plus the ingame map has the best topographical info.

[TheShine299 1]

You'll never know the map if you refuse to even try to explore it. But if you want to keep server hopping, go for it.