Medic here. Everyone is starving to death

[skoms 86]

I shot a boar the other day then found some apples so we had apple sauce with our boar, potatoes and courgette (zucchini)  :)

 

I would give you my beans, but i see you have enough food:P

[Jex 1104]

I would give you my beans, but i see you have enough food:P

 

LOL - I'm so stuffed right now I can't move! Who the hell is starving to death?

[stonecutter357 17]

LOL - I'm so stuffed right now I can't move! Who the hell is starving to death?

 instant gratification type of player. B) They save ammunition for players not food

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

Just a reality check on all the things needed for hunting, for example:

* firearm OR stick and rope to build bow OR crossbow

* correct ammo for the firearm OR machete to sharpen a stick and chicken feather to build arrow OR crossbow bolt

* knife to gut/fillet preys

* paper OR rags OR bandages AND sticks to create fire OR gas canister AND gas stove

* matches

AND POSSIBLY

* hatchet OR fire axe

 

All true and I admit that collecting the entire set can take some considerable time. However, it is important to bear in mind that:

 

1) you always have apples/berries to keep you going.

 

2) you have other options to consider; gun+matches+knife is a basic stuff for hunting, but you can also try fishing (I know it takes more tools, but sometimes you just find fishing gear all day), and now you have the snares, tomatoes and sardines; on persistent HC servers I find tomato seeds everywhere (apart from normal canned food) and I think this option is quite easy if still tedious.

 

All in all, learn how to take care of your stomach before you head out for military loot, learn where to find game, ponds, greenhouses, orchards and you will simply never worry about starvation again.

 

This reminds me: matches and knives can be found in 2-floor residential buildings, some have kitchens upstairs, some downstairs, both kinds are abundant in bigger cities, but also e.g. in Polana.

[skoms 86]

LOL - I'm so stuffed right now I can't move! Who the hell is starving to death?

 

It depends on where you are playing.

 

Stable? No problem at all.

 

0,51 Experimental?

Can definitely be a challenge to survive as a fresh spawn. I starved to death yesterday. There was no loot at all where i spawned. I mean nothing. Not even hats. I search for apples but found nothing. I ran towards a village nearby, and stopped in every dark red'ish bush i came across, but only found one berries in each bush. I could not hunt, grow tomato or fish because i had no gear. It also seems like you use more energy then before while running..

 

So when i came to the village i was red on hungry. First house i search i find a tomato, and i got full of hope. But i did not find anymore food loot. I did however find 7-8 apples but it did take at least 5 minutes to gather them, so the energy i got from them was all ready spent when i was finish eating them. My hunger was still red, but i had not choice. I had to start running again towards the next village. I ran through the forrest, found a few more berries and came to the next town. Here i finally found a can of beans. 

 

I opened the can with the only tool i had. A cattle prod. For some reason it was only 1% remaining after i got it open. 1% ????!!?  #@¤%

 

I guess the cattle prod was magical because i bet i could open a can of beans with TNT and still find more then 1% of the content. Shortly after that i died of hunger.

 

So it is possible to die of hunger:)

Edited December 2, 2014 by skoms

[DocWolf 146]

All true and I admit that collecting the entire set can take some considerable time. However, it is important to bear in mind that:

 

1) you always have apples/berries to keep you going

Berries in 0.50 gives you a very low amount of calories, and in 0.51 it's the same. If my character cannot leave orange "hungry" after eating a 100% can of spaghetti one (or few) berries are not going to make any kind of difference; same thing if we speak of apples. Foraging is an useful strategy only when you have a very high amount of bushes/trees around you AND are already occupied doing something more useful...trying to survive only on berries and apples is not going to work for a freshly spawned player.

 

2) you have other options to consider; gun+matches+knife is a basic stuff for hunting, but you can also try fishing (I know it takes more tools, but sometimes you just find fishing gear all day), and now you have the snares, tomatoes and sardines; on persistent HC servers I find tomato seeds everywhere (apart from normal canned food) and I think this option is quite easy if still tedious

Growing tomatoes is something you can do with tomato seeds (very common), fertilizer (very common) and a shovel or a farming hoe (uncommon, but not rare)...but you can plant the seed only in greenhouses, and that makes you extremely predictable in your movements: you're tied to one spot. Two or three if you're clever, but rarely you can afford to survive thanks to tomatoes and have multiple greenhouses in different towns. More likely you'll have one or two in the same town. Another problem with tomatoes is their extremely low calories intake: it's good, because they're a low effort food source, but they work as a complement to another food gathering strategy. In the future when (if) water-borne diseases are going to be implemented, they could be a healthy hydratation source.

Fishing in-game is easier than hunting...but sardines can be fished only in saltwater - i.e. the coast. You need a water bottle (uncommon, but not rare), a shovel/farming hoe to dig out earthworms (uncommon, but not rare) and a blade to cut the bottle in half (common). To fish in ponds and lakes you need a stick (common), a rope (uncommon, but not rare), a fishing hook (quite uncommon) a shovel/farming hoe to dig out earthworms (uncommon, but not rare)...again, it's not impossible gathering all this things. But it's very situational and you can't rely on those food gathering systems when you're already starving AND you have only few (or none) of the necessary items...that's the part keyboard bear grylls always forget when they ridicule players who manage to starve.

 

 

All in all, learn how to take care of your stomach before you head out for military loot, learn where to find game, ponds, greenhouses, orchards and you will simply never worry about starvation again.

 

This reminds me: matches and knives can be found in 2-floor residential buildings, some have kitchens upstairs, some downstairs, both kinds are abundant in bigger cities, but also e.g. in Polana.

Right in the first point. Not really sure on the second...it really depends on server population, loot history of the area, number of active players and so on.

Edited December 2, 2014 by DocWolf

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

Right in the first point. Not really sure on the second...it really depends on server population, loot history of the area, number of active players and so on.

 

I agree, and it's not like I ridicule players who are already in deep trouble, it's just there's this suspicion that they've never had a shovel in their hands, unlike us, the working and farming class of Chernarus, soil of the earth, etc. etc.

 

I know picking apples and especially berries can be super tedious, but you can get more than one apple from one apple tree, so filling your stomach is feasible on a few trees (and there is a humongous orchard near Berezino). Then you need to focus on industrial and farming buildings for proper tools. I admit, I probably could starve to death if spawned in an unknown area with literally no loot. It's just my main complaint is food being far too easy to get right now.

 

But maybe it's just me. Personally, I'd love to see you begging to trade your Mosin for a fishing hook and this is where I'd stop with food nerfing. :D

 

Which reminds me, we all forget one great option to stay alive - find other players and don't shoot them. Instead, ask them to barter, ask them what locations they've looted, if they've seen a greenhouse, this kind of stuff. Keep some spare items on you for trade. If the current changes enforce such behaviour, then by god looting is anything but broken. On the contrary, I want more of that.

[TheHermit (DayZ) 22]

I still have not figured out the risk ratio:

 

standing picking apples and increasing hunger, fingers crossed..

or just moving to next location, risk starvation and death

 

Right now I would rather die under an apple tree trying, than dying in the middle of a field right before I get to a town (get food or die trying :D) 

At least someone sees me and knew I tried!

[Evil Minion 943]

Apple tree yield is positive - though if you are really hungry and get really unlucky you might starve during a prolonged period of "found nothing" so do not just start picking when already starving to death.

 

In theory you could even keep gathering until fully engergized and hydrated but its probably better to pick apples or berries until you are well enough to travel and try your luck there. As soon as you got the right tools you should switch over to hunting, fishing or even farming. If the server does not crash/restart and wipe your stuff this marks the end of your desperate struggles for food.

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

 

standing picking apples and increasing hunger, fingers crossed..

or just moving to next location, risk starvation and death

 

You don't burn that many calories when just standing under a tree, besides the chance to find a few apples is not that small. You can eat 5-10 apples before moving on, depending on the proximity of the nearest town.

[TheHermit (DayZ) 22]

^^ Thanks guys, that is helpful :)

 

Along the lines of what I had presumed.

I think I will try one day to fill completely up (mountain pack) with apples and walk around looking for hungry folks.

[Jex 1104]

 instant gratification type of player. B) They save ammunition for players not food

 

Oh I wondered what that smell was - it's their rotting, starved-to-death corpse lol

[Jex 1104]

I agree, and it's not like I ridicule players who are already in deep trouble, it's just there's this suspicion that they've never had a shovel in their hands, unlike us, the working and farming class of Chernarus, soil of the earth, etc. etc.

 

I know picking apples and especially berries can be super tedious, but you can get more than one apple from one apple tree, so filling your stomach is feasible on a few trees (and there is a humongous orchard near Berezino). Then you need to focus on industrial and farming buildings for proper tools. I admit, I probably could starve to death if spawned in an unknown area with literally no loot. It's just my main complaint is food being far too easy to get right now.

 

But maybe it's just me. Personally, I'd love to see you begging to trade your Mosin for a fishing hook and this is where I'd stop with food nerfing. :D

 

Which reminds me, we all forget one great option to stay alive - find other players and don't shoot them. Instead, ask them to barter, ask them what locations they've looted, if they've seen a greenhouse, this kind of stuff. Keep some spare items on you for trade. If the current changes enforce such behaviour, then by god looting is anything but broken. On the contrary, I want more of that.

 

I'm pretty sure the chance to find something is a percentage and bushes or trees never "run out" of berries so you only need to search one? Anyway, not realizing this I searched a group of bushes and came away with 12 lots of berries after maybe 15 minutes of searching, if that. That was enough to get me to my destination where I started to find food.

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

I always figured that bushes and trees can provide decreasing yields and eventually "run out", but never bothered to test that. It's good to know you picked so much.

 

Also, someone earlier mentioned tomatoes and the scarcity of greenhouses. Today I run to Svetlo to fish sardines, fell into the sea, lost my gear and decided to thoroughly loot Svetlo. It turns out there are 16(!) greenhouses scattered among the town, many of them relatively safe to watch over. Also, with all those simple countryside residential buildings, your chances for a shovel (and 200 tomato seeds) are quite high. I'm not sure if you're bound to starve on the coast.

 

Also FYI, greenhouses appear on the dayzdb map as small red dots.

[nettles 396]

While I agree that starvation shouldn't be an issue for a moderately geared player, there's always the problem of almost naked newspawns and unlucky geared players too. I don't like the keyboard survivalist attitude of "dude hunt or fish and shut up, l3arn how to play!1!"...some items are actually quite difficult to find sometimes: matches, for example. Sometimes even bladed weapons: in a playing session I visited four inland towns before I was able to find some kind of implement to fillet game or gut fishes. Let's not start talking about lighting a fire: yes, you can search sticks and use books - so you don't need an hatchet or machete to start a cooking fire. But have you tried to cook a boar steak on a fire without wooden logs? I don't even think it's possible...and if it's possible it takes forever, endangering the survival of your character.

Just a reality check on all the things needed for hunting, for example:

* firearm OR stick and rope to build bow OR crossbow

* correct ammo for the firearm OR machete to sharpen a stick and chicken feather to build arrow OR crossbow bolt

* knife to gut/fillet preys

* paper OR rags OR bandages AND sticks to create fire OR gas canister AND gas stove

* matches

AND POSSIBLY

* hatchet OR fire axe

Obviously it's not impossible gathering all this things - but it's situational. If you're lucky you find all the right things and meanwhile you manage to find some decent clothes...if you're not, you have to struggle even to find a simple hoodie. All that, obviously, if you happen to trek away from the sea: if you stay on the coast and you think you can survive there your character deserve and embarassing death.

 

I don't understand. It sounds like you're saying hunting and gathering wild fruit isn't a feasible playstyle. I would agree that there should be some alternative methods to start fires, like flint-striking, magnesium stones, steel-wool, lens focus, etc-  but we're still in development and the sheer volume of lootable food in town offsets the difficulties of the current cooking system. If you think it's hard to survive on canned food now, where will you be in the full release?

 

Anyway, never underestimate the quality of tools and weapons that can be found in buildings that are often overlooked by other survivors. You can be sure the piano houses in berezino are looted, but what about the single-story houses? The apartment complexes?  There's more to this game than sprinting between popular loot spots.

 

About the 'situational' remark, I don't believe that's the case.  You don't have to be lucky to find everything you need.  You just have to want your character to survive.  Apples and lakes can keep you alive.  Most kids are just too lazy to accept that as a solution though and opt to sprint into town to find a tacticool gun and some canned tuna. 

[Kirov (DayZ) 585]

Just an update to DocWolf's reality check above, based on my today's gameplay:

 

- as I found out, a hacksaw can be used both to make a fish trap and to prepare fish. So for sardines you only need either of the knife/machete/hacksaw and of course a bottle;

 

- a decent campfire doesn't need chopped firewood; you can search for stones in the sea and cook fish in no time.

 

I came to Svetlo geared with survival issue (more ropes than ammo, etc.), lost it all in the sea due to a stupid slip, then on a persistent server, within just two hours (ok, I was well-fed already) I gained access to enough food to literally feed an army for days. And I really don't want to brag about eating here. ;) What I want to say is, find (a knife or similar + 1 bottle + matches) and/or (tomato seeds + hoe or shovel) and you can get 'stuffed' several times over. Just eat some apples and give a thorough loot to sheds, smaller residential buildings and apartments, like nettles said above. You should be golden in relatively short time.

[TheHermit (DayZ) 22]

I don't understand. It sounds like you're saying hunting and gathering wild fruit isn't a feasible playstyle. I would agree that there should be some alternative methods to start fires, like flint-striking, magnesium stones, steel-wool, lens focus, etc-  but we're still in development and the sheer volume of lootable food in town offsets the difficulties of the current cooking system. If you think it's hard to survive on canned food now, where will you be in the full release?

 

 

He's referring to my comment, on experimental branch, where in some cases there is absolutely NO processed food whatsoever.

 

In my own experience, standing under trees and next to bushes for hours on end, isn't really that entertaining, whilst having options for hunting would deepen the experience.

To me, no matter what, it has to be fun, that's where I draw the line on realism.

[CJ_14 105]

OK I was being sarcastic but what I meant was that somewhere close by, there is a pond. They're all over the place. Killing someone for water is hilarious though given it's abundance.

Not where I got lost...there was only grass and trees. Not even zombies, anyway...I died from dehidration later on

[Whyherro123 2283]

He's referring to my comment, on experimental branch, where in some cases there is absolutely NO processed food whatsoever.

 

In my own experience, standing under trees and next to bushes for hours on end, isn't really that entertaining, whilst having options for hunting would deepen the experience.

To me, no matter what, it has to be fun, that's where I draw the line on realism.

No processed food? Good.

 

"Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception." Carl Sagan.

 

It.....really isn't all that difficult to find the materials necessary to hunt. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I found all the materials I needed to make a bow and improvised backpack (axe, ashwood stick, knife, 2 pieces of rope, and a burlap sack) in Solnichny, 3 hours after the server restart. It is there, you just have to actually look for it. Most of the small "backyard buildings" spawn literally everything you need for survival. Check some buildings other than the "good loot spawns", and you will be surprised at what people leave behind.

 

Survival isn't a right. Survival is a privilege. You actually have to earn it through hard work.

 

Protip: not everyone finds foraging boring. I love it, and hope they add actual realistic levels of 'foragables", so I can go all hunter-gatherer while you guys bicker and starve over canned food because you never bothered to learn anything different.

 

Thing is, foraging for wild plants and animals takes effort and know-how. Eat the wrong plant, or the wrong part of the right plant, and you will die. Animals, surprisingly enough, don't want to be eaten, so trapping them is often difficult. Maybe the Devs could include "plant guides", showing and describing edible plants, and expand on tracking and trapping small and large game.

[Caboose187 (DayZ) 3036]

Protip: not everyone finds foraging boring. I love it, and hope they add actual realistic levels of 'foragables", so I can go all hunter-gatherer while you guys bicker and starve over canned food because you never bothered to learn anything different.

 

Thing is, foraging for wild plants and animals takes effort and know-how. Eat the wrong plant, or the wrong part of the right plant, and you will die. Animals, surprisingly enough, don't want to be eaten, so trapping them is often difficult. Maybe the Devs could include "plant guides", showing and describing edible plants, and expand on tracking and trapping small and large game.

Here's the issue.  There's too many who think that the survival is just a playstyle and not an actual aspect of the game.  They treat it like PvP vs PvE where the two shouldn't mingle.  They want to PvP and not be hindered by PvE.

[BadAsh (DayZ) 1513]

- as I found out, a hacksaw can be used both to make a fish trap and to prepare fish. So for sardines you only need either of the knife/machete/hacksaw and of course a bottle;

Unfortunately it seems that bottles grew more rare as soon as they introduced this feature (probably because it is a more sought after item for players). I have actually only found a bottle once since they introduced the fish trap a long time ago, and that one time I didn't have anything to cut it with.

[nettles 396]

Here's the issue.  There's too many who think that the survival is just a playstyle and not an actual aspect of the game.  They treat it like PvP vs PvE where the two shouldn't mingle.  They want to PvP and not be hindered by PvE.

 

Then those people should stick to Coll af Dooty, because Dean explained this game as a survival sim anti-game.  And I'm all about that.  There's not enough games like this out there. I like the way you worded your comment.  Haha, these people want to kill each other without being hindered by basic human needs like eating and regulating body temperature.  

(also, nice sig.)

[Whyherro123 2283]

Here's the issue.  There's too many who think that the survival is just a playstyle and not an actual aspect of the game.  They treat it like PvP vs PvE where the two shouldn't mingle.  They want to PvP and not be hindered by PvE.

Yes, unfortunately.

 

I actually think slapping labels on different playstyles is part of the problem. When I build a fire so I don't get hypothermia, and to cook some food, I am not "playing Day Z PvE." When I pull out my revolver to defend my well-earned venison from that guy trying to rob me of it, I am not "engaging in some Day Z PvP."

 

I am SURVIVING. Literally everything you do in this game is aimed at surviving as long as you can, with the exception of gratuitous and unnecessary PvP. Note: I find a difference in "necessary" and "unnecessary" PvP. Necessary PvP includes defending oneself, fighting to defend a resource, etc, while unnecessary PvP includes camping in Berezino, hunting people down for shits and giggles, etc. Which is why allowing player-driven industries (farming, trading, actual industries (lumberyards, factories churning out equipment and ammunition, etc), would lead to a burst of "Necessary PvP, as people would band together to both defend these locations, or to take and control/rob them.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Whyherro123

[rickyriot 1009]

I am loving the lack of food. Now to be fair, it's more that the loot (re)spawn if rooked so it'll place next to nothing in one town then a shit-ton in a hunting shelter. Still, having the survival element ramped up in a survival game is no bad thing.

One thing that did catch me out yesterday was the inability to light a fire. I had an axe and matches with lots of clothing but no rags or bandages. Lying all over the place were all sorts of clothing but nothing that I can make a fireplace from which seems pretty unrealistic. Anyone who has ever put a lit cigarette to a pair of tracksuit bottoms they'll know how bloody flammable they are!

[Judopunch 523]

Before a couple of days ago I hadn't played DayZ in months. Found huge amounts of food. Spawned in Svetlojarsk. 

 

Is it possible that you're going through areas that have already been looted?

Even if he was he only needs one pack of tomato seeds or to go hunting and will have an abundance of food. Especially if he has any kit to start with.