DayZ Standalone Alpha Review

[tommyboy937 4]

*Disclaimer; I understand it is Alpha and the feedback below is intended to be helpful criticism*

 

Greetings,

 

I purchased the alpha of DayZ Standalone from steam a few days ago and would like to share my initial impressions. I am not a ARMA 2 player, and have never played the mod "DayZ". I am 29 years old and have been gaming for about 10 years regularly. I have played a myriad of games from the Call of Duty franchise to World of Warcraft and many other games between.

 

From an outside point of view the game DayZ is appealing because I too am a hobbyist "prep'er" and can relate to the fantasy of surviving when the world has gone to sh** and we have to survive on our own.

 

My first impressions when I first logged in was an overwhelming amount of confusion. I knew the point of the game would be to survive by gathering food and tools as well as avoiding/fighting zombies and other players. Unfortunately I had no idea how to function in the game, "WASD" and mouse are pretty self-explanatory but the utilization of the "F" key with mouse scroll wheel was something that took me about 20 minutes to figure out while reviewing the function hot key list and testing things.

 

I promptly died about 3 or 4 times over the next few hours as I was starting out. The first death was due to attempting to kill a zombie with my bare hands (I wasn't overly surprised or disappointed there). My second death was due to starvation/dehydration because I ran for about 30 minutes straight in a field never to see a house of any type or any sign of life (I was infuriated with the severe waste of time, and frustrated that I spawned in a location that could be so barren). My third death was forced because I had fallen and broke my leg, at night, so I spent about an hour belly crawling until I finally starved to death (likely the most frustrating thing to happen in a game, being forced to sit and wait to die in the pitch black with no mobility). All deaths since have been due to zombie attacks, horde and non-horde.

 

Once I clearly understood the need to have a plan when you spawn into a game I started to have more fun. Last night I was able to make it about 2 hours inland off the coast, I collected a nice backpack and plenty of food/clothes. I even had a screwdriver to save my precious sardines from spilling! The adventure of exploring barren towns and having to fight off the meth-addict-like-zombies was really a blast because I wasn’t getting destroyed and I was finding things I needed and even making some things by combining items!

 

Group play is a bit of a challenge but topography identification along with online maps makes it possible to meet up though a challenge in itself (which makes it rewarding when you can). I did run across another player when I freshly spawned and he was very friendly and even gave me a bag and coat, which was greatly appreciated.

 

One thing that is difficult to me is losing 100% of the items I find. I truly wish there was a way to keep one or two items on death so you don’t have to get lucky to find a nice canteen again or something like that. The other part of the game that is a bit frustrating is there is no reward system, maybe you should have a player item that changes based on hours played, times spawned, time spent alive, etc. In most games players like to show off what they have accomplished like total time alive (colored beanies that have various color based on rank, then once you spend enough time alive you get a jacket (but no beanie) upon spawn, again with colors/designs based on rank)

 

I am sure I will have more feedback as I continue to play and learn about the game.

 

Thanks,

 

Tommy

 

TL:DR;

I hated the game for the first few game hours because I was bad at it. Once I learned how to play I started to enjoy it. I would appreciate if the developers could incorporate a way to make death not as big of a letdown, let me pick one item (4 slot) limit to keep upon death or graphically different rank based items (visual difference only)

 

04-28-15

I logged in about 2100 hours EST last night to a fresh spawn on the north east coast. I promptly looked around for zombies and players and headed to the nearest road. I headed north (directions at this point were determined by sun location) on the railroad until I reached a town. From the outskirts of the town I evaluated to see if there were zombies or players lurking about within the town. All looked clear so I went in to scavenge for food and clothes. I found a canteen, bomber jacket, cargo pants and a burlap sack + rope within about 30 minutes of combing through houses. Once I had my hunger, thirst and warmth sorted I decided to figure out where I was. I was in the town of Svetlojarsk and had a meeting point set up to the southwest about halfway across the map. I started making my way southwest and explored the northeast airstrip, I found a pristine 1911 as well as a pristine .22 takedown rifle and 50 .22 rounds. Once I started making my way back on the path to my meeting point, I got to the edge of Dubrovka. Here I paused to review my surroundings and I saw a lone zombie in front of a house behind a fence. I decided to test out my .22, first thing I noticed, I couldn't use iron sites. I am a Master at Arms vet and I prefer iron sites on all weapon systems I use(personal preference). I don't really get what the purpose of making a .22 so inaccurate is, they are famous plinkers and always fun for target shooting. Anyways I got the zombie down even though it hit me a couple of times, I used a rag to bandage and another zombie apparently had been attracted to the sound and arrived on my back while I was plugging my bleeding skin. At this point I swapped to my axe and attempted to chop its head off, only to be knocked unconscious. "You are dead" was soon to follow. I learned my lesson last night, using guns are not worth it, I can usually kill a zombie with an axe in just a few hits and barely get hurt myself.

Edited April 28, 2015 by tommyboy937

[Whyherro123 2283]

-snip-

1) firstly, welcome!

 

2) I am willing to bet you are exaggerating a little bit. You can run across the entire map in about 30 minutes. (I've done it). Also, when you spawn in, look for apple trees and berry bushes (look them up on the Day Z wiki). You get small amount of food and "hydration" for each one. Knowing what these trees look like, and where the wells are, essentially prevent starving/dehydration-related deaths. Everyone who complains about starving/dehydrating is either new to the game, or "too good" to pick said fruits.

 

3) No, I disagree. Death is supposed to be painful, and losing all of your items when you die is a part of that (THE major part, actually). If you know where you died, you can actually run back to your body and loot yourself, if you get there fast enough, or have friends strip the gear so it will stay there until server restart. Many players find that cheap, however.

 

4) If you have any bladed weapon (with the exception of the Stone Knife), AKA any single-hand tool that you can open cans with, you can commit suicide with it by pressing F11 then Mouse1. 

[tommyboy937 4]

1) firstly, welcome!

 

2) I am willing to bet you are exaggerating a little bit. You can run across the entire map in about 30 minutes. (I've done it). Also, when you spawn in, look for apple trees and berry bushes (look them up on the Day Z wiki). You get small amount of food and "hydration" for each one. Knowing what these trees look like, and where the wells are, essentially prevent starving/dehydration-related deaths. Everyone who complains about starving/dehydrating is either new to the game, or "too good" to pick said fruits.

 

3) No, I disagree. Death is supposed to be painful, and losing all of your items when you die is a part of that (THE major part, actually). If you know where you died, you can actually run back to your body and loot yourself, if you get there fast enough, or have friends strip the gear so it will stay there until server restart. Many players find that cheap, however.

 

4) If you have any bladed weapon (with the exception of the Stone Knife), AKA any single-hand tool that you can open cans with, you can commit suicide with it by pressing F11 then Mouse1. 

 

Thank you for the welcome and the feedback on my post.

[MadWookie 573]

4) If you have any bladed weapon (with the exception of the Stone Knife), AKA any single-hand tool that you can open cans with, you can commit suicide with it by pressing F11 then Mouse1. 

Even a pen will work... lol

[creature 1189]

Nice!

 

I'll be awaiting the post you make 2 years from now after you're fully geared with all the best stuff and spent 18 hours getting your first heli repaired and off the ground only to eject by accident without a chute. :D

 

Good times!

[mercules 1290]

It is good to hear you didn't give up. The game is supposed to be frustrating and you should really get a sense of accomplishment when you survive for longer and longer. Then the fear will set in. At some point you will be minding your own business doing one thing or another and you will hear another player nearby. At that point you will think about all you have accomplished in that life and a small jolt of adrenaline might pop into your system as the nervousness sets in.

 

"Was that a player I heard? I haven't heard anything since. Are they just waiting for me to move or are they repositioning to get a shot because they heard me clomping around in this house?" 

That or  you will be quietly working your way through a field when a bullet will crack past your head. You will have no idea where the shot came from and if you are like me you will be quietly saying, "SHIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii*****!" outloud as sprint away dodging and weaving and hoping they are not too good or lucky. 

 

 

This is why losing everything is really important, because it builds that, "I don't want to die." feeling in most people. In most games you are like, "Eh... I'll just respawn and go on." I think they need something besides gear you can lose as well like maybe soft skills that don't affect game play much more than giving you higher success rates at lighting fires or crafting or finding food. 

Edited April 27, 2015 by Mercules

[DemonGroover 8836]

Losing everything is what makes the game so tense....you are literally one bullet away from virtual death...there shouldn't be any magical way of retaining equipment..the only thing you retain is knowledge and experience as you try and survive that little bit longer every spawn.

[HarryPotter (DayZ) 172]

Hi man 

 

Great to see a new player on hear not moaning about how hard it is to find all the big guns!!

 

Im pretty new to the game as well and still die to stupid mistakes (mostly when I encounter other players)... I too had the leg brake-crawl for an hour-wait to die thing the first time I played. You live and learn.

 

You can keep items after you die but you need a tent to make a camp and store your stuff....

 

And the reward?? Well, just living is the reward mate. 

 

Good luck in the wasteland ;)

[BleedoutBill 1636]

Welcome to the apocalypse!

 

As you have discovered, the apocalypse does not come with an instruction manual and neither does this game. It would be pointless as things are changing too quickly. Besides, as you mention, figuring things out is half of the satisfaction.

 

I am glad to hear that you didn't give up. You will find, that even though everything doesn't work properly yet, there is a lot of depth to this game. Sometimes this can be frustrating. Here are a few tips to get you started:

NEVER trust anyone,

Don't fight a zed unless you have to - use stealth,

Don't get attached to your gear - when you die, you start with a clean sheet of paper.

You are going to die ... a lot. Try to learn something from each death.

If you are fascinated with the mechanics of the game, as I am, you may wish to check out the WOBO youtube channel.

[Grimey Rick 3417]

TD;DR.

(too dark, didn't read)

I'll never understand why people feel the need to change the default text color. Meh. Welcome to the forums, I guess.

[Schweinsteiger 107]

Welcome to DayZ,

 

It is possible to run for 30 minutes and see nothing (if you're in the wastelands on the edge of the map). Please, no colored beanies or anything like that! DayZ is supposed to be the anti-game game, so to speak. Minimal UI, permadeath, etc. so the game is as immersive as possible. Once you learn the map things will be a bit easier.

[tux (DayZ) 325]

That or  you will be quietly working your way through a field when a bullet will crack past your head. You will have no idea where the shot came from and if you are like me you will be quietly saying, "SHIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii*****!" outloud as sprint away dodging and weaving and hoping they are not too good or lucky. 

 

The fact that my heart rate goes up and I start to panic every time things like this happen makes me realize how truly great this game really is.

[Nicko2580 398]

If you can find any sort of axe then your leg break problem goes away. 

With an axe (hand axe is useful) you can chop sticks from bushes or cut firewood into sticks. Sticks + Rag = Split = no more broken leg! :)

[pillock 850]

 Meh. Welcome to the forums, I guess.

 

That is the friendliest, most polite thing I have ever seen Grimey Rick post on this forum.

 

Congrats to the OP.

[tommyboy937 4]

TD;DR.

(too dark, didn't read)

I'll never understand why people feel the need to change the default text color. Meh. Welcome to the forums, I guess.

fixed that, I pasted from Word, since it was my first post I didn't realize that "auto color" for font would choose something illegible.

[tommyboy937 4]

The fact that my heart rate goes up and I start to panic every time things like this happen makes me realize how truly great this game really is.

I get that for the pvp aspect but one minute I can wreck a zombie with a screw driver the next I get two shot. I am learning to just avoid everything but I hope that isn't the intent of the game in the end!

[tommyboy937 4]

Losing everything is what makes the game so tense....you are literally one bullet away from virtual death...there shouldn't be any magical way of retaining equipment..the only thing you retain is knowledge and experience as you try and survive that little bit longer every spawn.

 

I do agree that is an aspect I can appreciate, my mention is more to the concept of not feeling like its a complete waste. In other words, I like to see achievement. Though I feel happy when i have all the things I need to make journeys from town to town a small symbol that represents the time I put into the game would be nice. We all play games for different reasons and one of mine in a lot of games is being a collector of hard to earn things, achievements or items.

[sachad 1016]

If you can find any sort of axe then your leg break problem goes away. 

With an axe (hand axe is useful) you can chop sticks from bushes or cut firewood into sticks. Sticks + Rag = Split = no more broken leg! :)

 

You don't even need an axe these days. Just go to a wooded area and search the ground for sticks. As long as you have some rags or bandages available, you can craft a splint.

[tux (DayZ) 325]

I get that for the pvp aspect but one minute I can wreck a zombie with a screw driver the next I get two shot. I am learning to just avoid everything but I hope that isn't the intent of the game in the end!

 

Honestly, I've been caught off guard by zombies way more often than by other players. Generally, if you see a person or they see you, there is still some distance between you and the other person and you have a pretty good chance of taking cover or reacting otherwise to the threat.

 

With zombies, however, they always seem to pop up right behind me the instant I think that I've cleared/outrun the 100 that I've already encountered. That 101st zombie is always the one to ruin everything and break my limbs. Let's just say that my character isn't the only one changing his pants after those interactions.

 

And fortunately (maybe unfortunately for you) the zombies are only going to get harder (less buggy, maybe, but for sure harder to avoid), and the value of your character's life higher. I think this is what makes the game worth coming back to play again and again.

Edited April 28, 2015 by tux

[narchy 63]

fixed that, I pasted from Word, since it was my first post I didn't realize that "auto color" for font would choose something illegible.

 

Can you just remove the colour formatting completely? A lot of mobile browsers use a white background for this forum - so your text is now completely unreadable on mobile.

[PlasticAssasin8 (DayZ) 78]

across the map in 30? the flash lives...

 

Good first impressions of the game.

Two days back i lost some great stuff that id been lusting after for a while, made a mistake and all gone and started again. Just remember to plan ahead.

[SMoss 2101]

I do agree that is an aspect I can appreciate, my mention is more to the concept of not feeling like its a complete waste. In other words, I like to see achievement. Though I feel happy when i have all the things I need to make journeys from town to town a small symbol that represents the time I put into the game would be nice. We all play games for different reasons and one of mine in a lot of games is being a collector of hard to earn things, achievements or items.

I don't think that the designers would allow items to persist through death or provide stat based items upon spawning. In regards to the zombies; they are still wip, so there will be continuous review of behavior, damage output and such.

[tommyboy937 4]

I don't think that the designers would allow items to persist through death or provide stat based items upon spawning. In regards to the zombies; they are still wip, so there will be continuous review of behavior, damage output and such.

 

Thanks for the response, good to know the zombies will continue to be looked at, right now I have 100+ms latency and they can be quite the challenge when they jump all over my screen.

 

In regards to item persistence or stat based items; Ultimately what would keep me playing this game long term would be having an indicator of some type, for my efforts. For example, a sewing kit would change based on how many hours you have survived total in the game. For myself I have only completed up to about 8-10 hours so I would only get the standard sewing kit. For an experienced and patient player with 40+ hours of live time when they pick up a sewing kit it includes a patch than can be attached to any upper body garment. Maybe with 400+ hours the sewing kit includes a color selector and you can change the color of an upper body garment. The point is, there is SOMETHING to play for long term vs. each life and in the moment. Obviously the 30 seconds I took to type this post didn't yield the best specific example, just evaluate the concept. Additionally; a sewing kit with patches in it is realistic I had them in the Navy, and a dye kit to be in the sewing kit isn't that out of the ordinary either, you would just need water and a plastic bag to combine everything in.

 

http://www.dorkly.com/post/50754/8-things-gamers-want

 

If you review the article above ^ you will find that it is obvious that we all want different things for different reasons. I would prefer this game were WAY different than it is, but I appreciate its current design and think if it can reward dedicated players a larger fan base may stick around, and lets face it even for those of you who say "colored beanies have no place in DayZ" you have to admit, it would be a small price to pay to ensure we have more players on the servers.

[emuthreat 2837]

http://www.dorkly.com/post/50754/8-things-gamers-want

 

If you review the article above ^ you will find that it is obvious that we all want different things for different reasons. I would prefer this game were WAY different than it is, but I appreciate its current design and think if it can reward dedicated players a larger fan base may stick around, and lets face it even for those of you who say "colored beanies have no place in DayZ" you have to admit, it would be a small price to pay to ensure we have more players on the servers.

Hello, and welcome.  That linked article was a joke.  Didn't you notice that the first three pairs were exact opposites, and that the last pair was games wishing to be recognized as art, paired with a contrasting factoid about the DOA titty mechanics?  It doesn't make your point any less valid about the differences in the community, but it was dripping in satire.

 

It would be best to think of DayZ like a survival simulator that takes a bit of artistic/practical license from time to time.  The so-called "gamey" features are likely to be kept to a minimum, as part of the core concept of this game.  The Anti-Game is a better representation of the concept.  I don't ever want to see a kill counter in the game, let alone rankings, but it looks like that too, might eventually be happening.  Lets hope they can keep it about the experience, rather than the stats.  There are already so many games like that, yet few others like this.

[tommyboy937 4]

Hello, and welcome.  That linked article was a joke.  Didn't you notice that the first three pairs were exact opposites, and that the last pair was games wishing to be recognized as art, paired with a contrasting factoid about the DOA titty mechanics?  It doesn't make your point any less valid about the differences in the community, but it was dripping in satire.

 

It would be best to think of DayZ like a survival simulator that takes a bit of artistic/practical license from time to time.  The so-called "gamey" features are likely to be kept to a minimum, as part of the core concept of this game.  The Anti-Game is a better representation of the concept.  I don't ever want to see a kill counter in the game, let alone rankings, but it looks like that too, might eventually be happening.  Lets hope they can keep it about the experience, rather than the stats.  There are already so many games like that, yet few others like this.

I posted the link intentionally due to the nature of it. The point remains equally valid :) some of us that like this game would like it even more if it had some "gamey" features. The new HUD display option will be awesome and definitely in my opinion a step in the right direction (https://trello.com/c/K6oCxbIr/41-new-user-interface-technology). Did the developers/designers ever say this game was to be the "anti-game"?

 

My post doesn't request that you become more powerful in time, or gain overpowered items because you have played since day one. I wasn't even talking about kill counters or direct stats, my only point was that because you have 1000 hours played you should have the ability to do something fun aesthetically to your character if you choose. Ultimately it would be an option you wouldn't need to participate in and gives 0 actual bonus in game. Just an idea though, I think others should come up with ways we can implement something to appease the mass market without giving away the whole game.