Some thoughts from a new player

[spittle8 0]

After playing all weekend, I have some thoughts.

 

- Searching buildings for loot is incredibly repetitive and dull. Considering that >95% of my time was spent either searching for loot or moving to a new location to search for loot, this needs a major overhaul before 1.0.

 

- Zombies were pretty sparse in the cities, despite playing on servers with an average of 5-10 players at any given time. I would want as much as 100% more zombies in population if not for the fact that a strike from a zombie has the magical capacity to destroy as much as ~200 assorted rounds of different calibers placed on different parts of your body, while failing to deal a mortal wound to you. Which brings me to...

- Damage modelling to items you carry is novel and exciting, but unimaginably broken. I know - this is Alpha - but has this system progressed over the last year of development? Are the devs aware that it is broken? A five-foot, linear fall should not result in 'ruined' trousers, unless you defecated in your pants.

 

- The realism seems to be applied arbitrarily and can be confusing. Your character is an unbelievable endurance athlete capable of unimaginable endurance while running with a ruck and combat load, but he can starve in less than a day after the first hunger pang, or die of thirst in incredible time.

 

- KoS is certainly frustrating, but I don't think it should be 'fixed'. If anything, good karma for people who do good deeds by other players, such as preferential spawning and/or spawning with loot.

 

I kept a character alive all weekend, finding myself finally in Novodmitrovsk after extensive looting in other areas up the coast and into the NE interior. I was well-armed with pristine weaponry - a CZ75 with light, 91/30, and a ton of ammo for a variety of weapons I hoped to upgrade to. I had very good kit in pristine condition, and had hit a long-running high of being healthy, hydrated, and energized. I dispatched a multitude of zombies in melee and got the drop on a human player who I let go. I was readying myself for a push to the NW airfield after loading up on rice when two separate zombie melee battles left my kit utterly ruined. 3/4 of my ammo was ruined, my trousers, coat, and pack, and much of my gear. Bad luck to get hit by a zombie in melee, extraordinarily absurd luck to have these minor flesh wounds result in the destruction of the majority of my kit - kit that is largely hardier than a human body!

 

Instead of rage quitting and declaring the game broken, I made out to look for some basic kit before my push to the NW, when I ran off of a three or four-foot embankment.

Bam. Both legs fractured. No hope of rescue.

 

I've jumped out of seven-tons with over 100lbs of battle rattle - a greater drop than my in-game mistake - and I've been fine. This is not only absurdly unrealistic, it is maddeningly game-breaking, infinitely more frustrating than KoS jerks, because it is a game limitation rather than a human limitation. I understand the game is in alpha, but I'm severely disappointed in how little progress there has been in over a year of development since I last checked in on this game.

 

[Deathlove 2286]

All i can say is since your new the game is not a complete product so things can and will change throughout the next few years before you should really judge it based off of the meat of what it currently has. But i can say that characters will not be as athletic as they currently are now. Weight system and other factors are being set in latter for the game as well as balancing out food and drink lvls.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Deathlove

[spittle8 0]

Yeah, I gave it a spin about a year ago and figured it was time to see where it was developmentally.

[dayzzsyd 9]

Put your ammo at bottom of backpack to avoid it getting ruined. Same for bandages / anything of value. Jackets / Pants loot gets ruined 1st with Zombies.

 

Now that you can actually get infected id recommended only taking on zombies with a fire axe, or effective 2 hit weapon.

 

Also finding servers with 20 or so players on are much more fun to play on as they run better than full pops and not everyone is a KOS dickhead.

[roguetrooper 201]

Sir, no offence, you certainly have the most disgusting avatar picture ever.

[too-easy 56]

You can sort out the ruined bullets from a stack/group of bullets. Usually not all of them are ruined. Right click the stack.

Always carry a splint or morphine in your backpack.

Splints are easily made (if not bugged).

We already got the first implementation of weight. Doesn't effect gameplay yet.

What I want to say is that we need to be patient and wait for updates.

I (only) got 200 hours in this game and I still love it.

That's pretty good for a game I bought for 29 bucks.

I started playing almost at release of the alpha (don't have much time to play) and saw a lot of improvement.

[pilgrim* 3514]

..//..

 Are the devs aware that it is broken?.

..//.

I kept a character alive all weekend, finding myself finally in Novodmitrovsk after extensive looting in other areas up the coast and into the NE interior. I was well-armed with pristine weaponry - a CZ75 with light, 91/30, and a ton of ammo for a variety of weapons I hoped to upgrade to. I had very good kit in pristine condition, and had hit a long-running high of being healthy, hydrated, and energized. I dispatched a multitude of zombies in melee and got the drop on a human player who I let go. I was readying myself for a push to the NW airfield after loading up on rice when two separate zombie melee battles left my kit utterly ruined. 3/4 of my ammo was ruined, my trousers, coat, and pack, and much of my gear. Bad luck to get hit by a zombie in melee, extraordinarily absurd luck to have these minor flesh wounds result in the destruction of the majority of my kit - kit that is largely hardier than a human body!

..//..

Instead of rage quitting and declaring the game broken ...

..//..

I'm severely disappointed in how little progress there has been in over a year of development since I last checked in on this game.

..

 

So let me get this straight:

 

- You have not played for one year

- You then play for one weekend

- You sound like an expert explaining exactly how well you kitted up with cool gear, where you did it, how you planned it,  and you know the map by heart.. you go through the routine like an old timer who's played 500/1000+ hours

- But in fact you played just one weekend in the whole year and it was 'incredibly boring' (that's a total of how many hours play per year?... 16 hours? 10 hours or less?). So I guess you must be an 'old timer' with 20 or 30 hours on the clock since the game started...

- You don't like searching for loot.  ... [ ??? ??? !!! ]

- Sounds - to ME -  like you had a bloody good weekend play .. what went wrong? - you kitted up like a full battle dude.. you went into action and .. some zombies ripped you apart? AND you broke a leg?...

 

in this DayZ game that kind of thing HAPPENS, friend.. it's like the point of the game - if you were an old timer (or a beginner with maybe 60 hours a year) .you'd know how to deal with that.. most probably..

 

.. then the rhetoric  "has this system progressed over the last year of development ? "

My answer: Yes, damned straight it's progressed - but I guess you can answer that question yourself, instead of asking?  You're the guy who played one weekend last year, one this year, so you should see the difference, right?

 

And (sorry, but this made me laugh)

 

Are the devs aware that it is broken?

 

(lol) - that's such a deep question ..

 

*

 

If you really don't like the game - there are games where you start out fully equipped (so it's not boring), where the AIs and the landscape cause exactly predictable damage so you never have to feel nervous., and If you decide  "the realism is applied arbitrarily" - wow, you should try Grand Theft Auto...

 

But - no hard feelings I hope, You seem to dislike the game, even though you don't play it much, but then you put so much time and effort into detailing how bad it is. there must be hundreds of games you don't like (I have many I don't like..) .. hope you don't waste your life complaining about them all. that would be  ... strange..

 

- you should know DayZ is a bad mean UNFAIR game and it's meant to be like that... once you get that idea, then it's all fun..

 

The thing that finally baffled me is you saying:  "I've jumped out of seven-tons with over 100lbs of battle rattle"

So you seem to claim some military background, right? 

My question is.. Sir, in your real-life experience, have you never ever heard of anyone getting HURT doing stuff like that?

 

xx

 

IMO sounds like you had a good weekend - but I LIKE the game, so i don't see where "unimaginably broken" fits in ?

But thanks for not rage quitting - that's noble. IMO don't be so worried about gearing up, and look out for zombies, some players bare fist fight them and never get a scratch, but they can rip your clothes to shreds and with one hit they CAN ruin a gun right in your hand..they is BAD zombies ..also, find out how to make a splint.

 

- I've known people IRL who fell over on slightly lumpy ground without ANY battle rattle and broke a leg. but that's in real life, not in the game. Also I've jumped out of aircraft carrying gear, and not hurt myself.. but ...dude, you CAN hurt yourself doing that stuff, ya know... hmmm?

 

Sorry mate - I like the game and I hope it never gets smooth, slick, predictable, "fair", and perfect. If/when that happens I'll stop playing.  But I guess that's when you'll start?

I wonder if the devs know their game is " unimaginably broken ", heh ? Let's ask them ?

 

[edited] xx

Edited March 19, 2015 by pilgrim

[Sula 1205]

The guy's expressing his frustration but he's doing it in a reasoned way.  He hasn't ranted, sworn and gone nuts.  And most but the last reply seemed equally reasonable too.  

 

As long as you're not killing each other in real life, or provoking a war on the forums, it all seems reasonable enough to me, though other mods might disagree, so I suggest we keep it calm and reasoned so the thread stays open.  :thumbsup:

[pilgrim* 3514]

I apologize spittle8 if my reply is offensive. It is not intended to be.

I understand that a first-weekend beginner could find the game "unimaginably broken"

but it is not.

 

xx pilgrim

 

Also I apologize to DayZ for saying it is "a bad mean unfair game" please think of this as a couple giving each other little love-bites. I enjoy it when DayZ treats me rough.

[spittle8 0]

* I had not played for roughly a year, yes.

 

 

You sound like an expert explaining exactly how well you kitted up with cool gear, where you did it, how you planned it,  and you know the map by heart.. you go through the routine like an old timer who's played 500/1000+ hours

 

I don't understand through the layers of condescension - are you questioning my experience level, or suggesting that I'm full of it? I played Arma2 before DayZ, so I'm basically familiar with Chernarus. I read the forums when I reinstalled. Anyways, you are blatantly exaggerating.

But in fact you played just one weekend in the whole year and it was 'incredibly boring' (that's a total of how many hours play per year?... 16 hours? 10 hours or less?). So I guess you must be an 'old timer' with 20 or 30 hours on the clock since the game started...

- You don't like searching for loot.  ... [ ??? ??? !!! ]

 

Where did I say it was incredibly boring? I said that searching one of the ~five (exaggeration) building layouts for random loot is repetitive and dull - it absolutely is! If it was numbingly boring, I wouldn't have played so much - I ended up very well kitted out afterall. That said, I can't imagine doing this routine over-and-over over multiple player lives without getting tired of it.

 

There are games where you start out fully equipped (so it's not boring), where the AIs cause exactly predictable damage so you never have to feel nervous., and If you decide  "the realism is applied arbitrarily" - wow, you should try Grand Theft Auto...

 

Ad hominem. I explained my concerns, and this does not address any of them.

 

You seem to dislike the game, even though you don't play it much, but then you put so much time and effort into detailing how bad it is.

 

You don't have to eat a pound of broccoli to know you don't like it. I posted a thread because the game is very disappointing to me, especially because I invested $30 in an alpha that, a year later, is still very rough despite apparently being one of the best sellers on Steam.

The thing that finally baffled me is you saying:  "I've jumped out of seven-tons with over 100lbs of battle rattle"

So you seem to claim to have some military background, right? 

My question is.. Sir, in your real-life experience, have you never ever heard of anyone getting HURT doing stuff like that?

 

I've rolled an ankle and still completed a series of hikes, no zombies. Breaking both legs so badly that you won't move from threat of zombie is pretty extraordinary. It would be remarkable to suffer such an injury jumping from four feet, and not repeatable.

 

I'm all for a challenge, but as I elucidated in my OP, my issue is with the lack of realism that is so frustrating.

[pilgrim* 3514]

..//..

Ad hominem.

..//.

I'm all for a challenge, but as I elucidated in my OP, my issue is with the lack of realism that is so frustrating.

 

 

Yes its certainly true in DayZ you have to be careful about running off the edge of anything at all.

 

I have broken a leg in the past (in DayZ), running down the school front steps. This hasn't happened for a while - I don't know if its because the damage levels have been adjusted or if its because with experience you get used to the dynamic - what you can do/what you cant do.

 

Ive noticed that if you run a long way your boots wear out.

 

To replace "looting" what are your thoughts on any alternative ways to collect equipment and food to stay alive in the game?  (I always found looting to be fairly exciting and dangerous, unless you are alone on a server or in a team - hence all the 100s of posts about 'hoppers' etc..) Can there be a survival game without 'boredom'? - my Real Life survival manuals tell me that boredom kills ... 'lack of concentration, routine, carelessness, repetition = error = death'. What do you suggest to replace "looting"?

 

What do you think about the combat dynamics and the available techniques for player interaction in the game, the hunting, use of meat, intestines, bones (including human) etc, and the many varied crafting aspects that have been integrated since last year? I'm not keen on the newly introduced vehicles (myself) but that's a move in the game structure towards long-term survival, instead of "just" survival.

 

(saying "Grand theft Auto" was a joke about realism in games)

 

Are there games you can list or recommend, that you find more realistic or more pleasing than DayZ; or that you play often ?

 

xx pilgrim

Edited March 17, 2015 by pilgrim

[8bit_Survivor 93]

A few things to help you out spittle8. ..

Many people find door to door looting very repetitive, which leads many to PvP. I suggest find a more populated server as player interactions are key to breaking that monotony.

You can garden? Hunting for food is also an option and can be rewarding.Although I have logged about 5 hours hunting far from major cities always creeping and haven't seen a single animal yet. Most do, I just have terrible luck.

The zombies recently got an overhaul and can be a bit buggy. Avoid if possible, melee can be dangerous even for experienced survivors.

To be honest you have come back at a seemingly exciting time. The future updates, like .55, will be changing and adding much needed core features. Stick around for another update or two. Then decide, good luck.