15 Minor Issues/Assorted Musings

[Katana67 2907]

1. I have recently discovered the awesomeness of the "weapon in hand" concept in DayZ whilst searching for a magazine for my AK-101 and having an AKM as a primary. But I can't help but notice that it's pretty cumbersome. Can't even take a drink without barfing your weapon onto the ground.

 

What ever happened to this? It was in fairly early on and then disappeared (See the character idling with an M4A1 held vertically in his right hand). Might be a good thing to consider nowadays with players being able to lug around multiple weapons, but only really storing one or two. Obviously, there's a necessity to balance this with some kind of "weight" system, but I don't see any reason why I should be forced to drop my "in hand" weapon just to take a drink.

 

 

2. The boars, all the boars. I was really really pleased to see that the boars are very well animated, but also that they'd scurry away from me when I got close! Nice touch and glad it's finally been implemented. My skepticism about the new animal/hunting team was unfounded.

 

3. The new bandanas are excellent. Really completes the "look" of my avatar. Next up, shemagh?? I do have one critique, though. The bandanas, along with some of the newer clothing items (like the High Capacity Vest) look... off. I can't describe it, other than they just look flat. All of the other clothing items look like they belong together, no matter how mismatched they are. But the bandanas and High Capacity Vest look like they're rendered differently somehow and they stick out.

 

4. Is it me, or are the tree and grass LODs a bit wonky? I don't recall the tree LOD textures popping in so close. And some patches of grass look grey and out of place. It's almost as if it's a graphical bug or something. Might have to take a few screens.

 

 

5. The thin sliver frame around the PSO-1 scope window, when sighted in, is annoying. Definitely a known issue, and wholly acceptable for the alpha, but annoying nonetheless.

 

 

6. As others have said, and I have said before, the insta-respawning zombies are a chore. Especially when I'm now operating under the impression that doors will block zombies to some extent. I don't think this is an acceptable mechanic, zombies should be primarily persistent to the world already and should only respawn as is necessary. 

 

7. Really itching to paint the AKM, AK-101, and their respective parts. Unsure of how big an undertaking this is from an art perspective, but I think all weapons should be able to be painted eventually.

 

8. Also really wanting to get a bit more use out of the railed handguards for the AKM/AK-101 and M4A1 respectively. Eager to see the foregrip, although I do love the vanilla AK-101 handguard.

 

 

9. Has anyone come across the green version of Gorka clothing? I just found some and couldn't find any images, or articles on DayZwiki in reference to a dedicated "green" Gorka variant (I even took the liberty of editing the page after having found it). Looks neat, for sure. I'd really like to see a Gorka pattern bandana and/or boonie. The TTskO stuff doesn't really go with anything.

 

10. I love the persistent items, but can't help but notice that I just don't have a use for the concept yet in its current iteration. I can already carry so much gear, that I don't really need to stash any of it away. If you had to choose between having all items be persistent, or, having all world objects be persistent (i.e. trees, folded grass, broken fences, smashed walls, etc.), which would you choose?

 

11. Perhaps this should've gone up with the bit about zombies, but suppressors not working is getting kind of old. Sure, it's an alpha and there are other more pressing priorities. But it still irks me to just be blasting away with a suppressor attached like it's not even there. Needs to do something. That and I'd like to see suppressors for the CR527, AKM, MP5K, and AK-101 respectively (maybe even the Mosin).

 

12. Glad the SMERSH backpack (and vest) are inbound with .48, but I do think we need a large backpack that's not painted bright purple. The Hunting Pack gets a little old after a while, same with the MICH helmet. Needs other like-items and flair (i.e. camouflage treatments, modularity, etc.) to keep things fresh. I like the "fishhook in boonie" bit of modularity for clothes.

 

13. Got my first kill in a long, long, long while at NWAF today. Respawning loot and persistent items is/are clearly not stopping server hopping at all. Under ten people on most servers should be a dead giveaway that - one, there are too many servers in the first place in relation to in-game population at any given time, and two, that people are more likely to migrate to less-risky servers to farm loot.

 

14. What ever happened to volumetric clouds? I feel like the storms/clouds in DayZ are just monotone with no depth. Half of the time I think I'm just looking at a flat grey skybox. That and the sun bleeds through everything like no tomorrow, will love it when that gets remedied. I also feel like Rocket has explained the status of this before, so forgive me for not remembering exactly.

 

 

15. Can I just say, the "sit while aiming" thing that's been around for a few patches. Fucking awesome. Love it, love it, love it. Now if we can just get some shooting sticks and/or supported shooting in the game.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Katana67

[Dagwood 680]

In regards to #13... You brought up an interesting point about the ratio between servers and in online population count... What if the number of servers up at any time was contingent upon the current population. Server hosting companies would not suppport restrictions on the number of servers they can host, so maybe which servers are prioritized could be dependent on average server population for each server. Higher average population would equate to more up-time (or initialization priority).

The result would be server populations ranging from 20-40 instead of half of the online players being on nearly vacated servers.

[Katana67 2907]

In regards to #13... You brought up an interesting point about the ratio between servers and in online population count... What if the number of servers up at any time was contingent upon the current population. Server hosting companies would not suppport restrictions on the number of servers they can host, so maybe which servers are prioritized could be dependent on average server population for each server. Higher average population would equate to more up-time (or initialization priority).

The result would be server populations ranging from 20-40 instead of half of the online players being on nearly vacated servers.

 

One of my first posts when Standalone came out addressed this very issue.

 

Dynamic server number allotment based upon in-game population at any given time.

 

Meaning, rather than have a server for each player... have enough servers to accommodate every player, and no more.

 

Doesn't seem feasible given the public hive model, and server rental model, but I'd do it if I were in-charge.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Katana67

[Dagwood 680]

Doesn't seem feasible given the public hive model, and server rental model, but I'd do it if I were in-charge.

I agree. We need private hosting companies and they want as many servers up as they can. Which obviously puts their wants at odds with ours. Other than the risk of hosting a server that is never up decreasing demand for subscriptions, why wouldn't my approach be plausible? Just trying to bounce ideas, not dismissing your theory.

[Katana67 2907]

I agree. We need private hosting companies and they want as many servers up as they can. Which obviously puts their wants at odds with ours. Other than the risk of hosting a server that is never up decreasing demand for subscriptions, why wouldn't my approach be plausible? Just trying to bounce ideas, not dismissing your theory.

 

One of the flaws with both of our approaches, is inherent in how DayZ is executed. It tries to walk the proverbial tightrope between hive persistence and server persistence. So if your server falls out of favor, is marginalized, or regulated into obscurity, you lose an element (or the entirety) of your character.

 

That and people pay rent for servers, wouldn't be fair to them to dictate up-time or priority based upon something that's totally out of their control.

[Dagwood 680]

One of the flaws with both of our approaches, is inherent in how DayZ is executed. It tries to walk the proverbial tightrope between hive persistence and server persistence. So if your server falls out of favor, is marginalized, or regulated into obscurity, you lose an element (or the entirety) of your character.

That and people pay rent for servers, wouldn't be fair to them to dictate up-time or priority based upon something that's totally out of their control.

Idk if I would say it's out of their control. Advertising severs was pretty commonplace during the mod wasn't it? Admittedly those were private hives. And with private hives I would draw the same conclusion you did (characters being marginalized and disappearing altogether.)

But with the public hive structure, wouldn't the player be protected and the server host would be at risk to lose out?

[Cap'n (DayZ) 1827]

My main gripe is that what little military we do have is not only bland, but rather ambiguous. We don't have proper NATO gear, but we don't have proper CDF/Eastern gear either. Not sure if it's just the Alpha-ness, but I feel like we need more than just a few berets and UN helmet to represent the multiple factions that probably played a large role in the outbreak. Torchia confirmed the ArmA connection (what a good thread name...), so when do we get our shiny Marine, CDF, ChDKZ and Russian Ground Force gear?

 

AKA: less bland military hear.

[Katana67 2907]

Idk if I would say it's out of their control. Advertising severs was pretty commonplace during the mod wasn't it? Admittedly those were private hives. And with private hives I would draw the same conclusion you did (characters being marginalized and disappearing altogether.)

But with the public hive structure, wouldn't the player be protected and the server host would be at risk to lose out?

 

Right but demand for servers isn't based upon anything other than player demand. The providers are doing just that, providing to supply that demand. But the demand is always based upon what the renters want. You're right in saying that it's sort of up to the server hosts. But at the end of the day, if someone wants to rent a server... they're going to do so. Hell, I doubt half of the people even rent servers for them to be popular. They do it so they can have their little slice of undisturbed DayZ.

 

My main gripe is that what little military we do have is not only bland, but rather ambiguous. We don't have proper NATO gear, but we don't have proper CDF/Eastern gear either. Not sure if it's just the Alpha-ness, but I feel like we need more than just a few berets and UN helmet to represent the multiple factions that probably played a large role in the outbreak. Torchia confirmed the ArmA connection (what a good thread name...), so when do we get our shiny Marine, CDF, ChDKZ and Russian Ground Force gear?

 

AKA: less bland military hear.

 

Meh, I think we're getting there. The Gorka and SMERSH stuff is a big step. Same with the weapons like the AK-101, AKM, and M4A1. So is the potential for the Ballistic Vest. And we've got Flecktarn, DPM, and US-flagged tactical shirts.

 

It's certainly arguable as to whether DayZ should be "militarized" even if it does acknowledge the events of ARMA II. I agree that it should be, but to a point. I get where they're coming from in adding more "civilian" weaponry, and I like that approach. But we can have our cake and eat it too. With things like the "loot management system" we can actually have appropriate military gear actually be rare enough to justify the advantages it confers on the player.

 

The only "military gear" I think DayZ absolutely needs right now (vice me just wanting it out of fondness or a desire for variety) is a diverse "high-end" weapons lineup composed of LMGs/GPMGs, battle rifles/DMRs, and dedicated sniper rifles. Likewise, the typical military gear per-se like NVGs and the like. This is to create a distinct "high-end" to encourage player mobility, perhaps interaction, and give use to the persistent storage pieces being implemented.

 

I agree that I'd like to see more stuff like you say, US gear, CDF and/or Russian gear, and other international gear. But I don't think it's for lack of trying or lack of imagination that we don't have this stuff yet. They can only do so much for each patch, and what they do add is pretty substantial (even from just an items/art perspective).

Edited August 2, 2014 by Katana67

[Katana67 2907]

This is what I mean about the grey grass thing...

 

[trev186 389]

"13. Got my first kill in a long, long, long while at NWAF today. Respawning loot and persistent items is/are clearly not stopping server hopping at all. Under ten people on most servers should be a dead giveaway that - one, there are too many servers in the first place in relation to in-game population at any given time, and two, that people are more likely to migrate to less-risky servers to farm loot."

 

In regards to the above I have been playing on experimental .48 where the loot respawns are much slower and more gradual/cannot be exploited.

 

Here is the "server hopping" trend i have noticed. With only a few experimental servers  which are all starting at 1500 and then restarting 4 hours later at 1900 which then resets them back to 1500

 

I have been on a server at 1900 right as it restarts and the NWAF/Vybor area is picked totally clean. There will maybe be 3-4 of us on the server. As soon as the server restarts wihtin 15 mins there will be 20-30 people on. Still no loot since it does not magically respawn on restart anymore. People will then play until nightfall hits again and then the server empties back down to 3-5 people. 

 

It seems server hopping on experimental with the new Loot respawn mechanic is mainly being driven by night vs day not loot vs no loot cause practically none of the servers have any loot. You may find 3-5 pieces of worthwhile gear in an entire NWAF run of stuff which respawned but that is about it.

 

So based on the above i believe loot respawns will prove to make server hopping for loot futile. This may of course change if there is a much larger server pool like there is on stable but at the same time stable has a much larger player pool so hard to say. 

 

Sadly no one wants to play at night which is my favorite time for hunting :( 

 

I also think low pop servers are ok and just because there are less than 10 people on does not mean they are server hoppers. I like to play at night and can rarely find a server with more than 10 on at night with decent ping. Also until patch .48 you would die just for entering buildings often due to server lag when there were more than 20 people online. Oftentimes my play choices were limited to: play on a server with high pop but avoid going upstairs or play on a low pop server and be able to go upstairs...

[Katana67 2907]

"13. Got my first kill in a long, long, long while at NWAF today. Respawning loot and persistent items is/are clearly not stopping server hopping at all. Under ten people on most servers should be a dead giveaway that - one, there are too many servers in the first place in relation to in-game population at any given time, and two, that people are more likely to migrate to less-risky servers to farm loot."

 

In regards to the above I have been playing on experimental .48 where the loot respawns are much slower and more gradual/cannot be exploited.

 

I mean, slower loot respawns only make server hopping more attractive. It's even more expedient to just swap to an empty server than wait for stuff to respawn. This is an issue now, but it would be even worse if the respawns were slower.

 

The only remedy to server hopping, in my opinion, is to disallow it in the first place. Or, somewhat less preferably, reset character positions when swapping servers.

[trev186 389]

I mean, slower loot respawns only make server hopping more attractive. It's even more expedient to just swap to an empty server than wait for stuff to respawn. This is an issue now, but it would be even worse if the respawns were slower.

 

The only remedy to server hopping, in my opinion, is to disallow it in the first place. Or, somewhat less preferably, reset character positions when swapping servers.

 

right but that will never happen with a public hive.

 

On the experimental servers you can hop all you want there is no loot and it does not respawn quickly. I would say you have better odds hunting players down for loot as opposed to hopping. i cleared all of NWAF and vybor on my own on a near empty server and then came back over an hour later and all I got was a weapon flashlight out of the whole thing. 

 

But who knows what they have in store with respawns.

 

As long as a public hive exists there will be server hopping now way around it. Not saying I think it is a good thing it is just one of the side effects. Just like giving admins too much control in the old mod resulted in free loots for everybody servers 

[Katana67 2907]

Experimental is different, there are seldom empty servers on experimental.

 

With public hive, there are massive swathes of unlooted low-population servers to hop to.

 

Again, the issue isn't loot... it's cross-server persistence. Which is why I believe we need to lock the avatars/characters to a specific server and be done with hives dictating things like cross-server persistence and instead have the hives be managing loot.

 

Further underscoring the issue of having a FPS-style server architecture as the smallest delineation, in combination with an attempted "traditional MMO" persistence approach.

[serb 54]

You are not right about clouds, you maybe dont play on very high settings so you cant notice, but clouds for me looks same from the start, volumetric, moving...i dont know, they look amazing on any weather. Gona post you few images, maybe even video if you really want to compare

[Katana67 2907]

You are not right about clouds, you maybe dont play on very high settings so you cant notice, but clouds for me looks same from the start, volumetric, moving...i dont know, they look amazing on any weather.

 

No I play on very high.

 

The skyboxes/clouds are bland and formless. Especially when it starts storming.

 

Edited August 2, 2014 by Katana67

[serb 54]

No I play on very high.

 

The skyboxes are bland and formless. Especially when it starts storming.

 

Didnt noticed, i got my game maxed when i just play and i really like them, dont know really..

[Katana67 2907]

16. Still no native controller support /grumbles
 

Edited August 2, 2014 by Katana67