Why did you buy this game?

[TerribleTomato 15]

You probably thinking, wow another DayZ hate post. This however is just a discussion for why did people buy this game. 

 

It started with the DayZ Mod, a friend told me that a new upcoming game was extremely fun. He said that four other friends and I should all play together. We even made a group called the Fruit Ninjaz to play as a team. Everyone bought the game, however all of my friends quit within the make or break period of the first one hundred hours because it was "too hard". Funny, I've kept the name Tomato ever since as a memento to how I stumbled across this game. I made new friends, and will never forget the reason I bought the standalone: Dean Hall's DayZ mod.

 

After two years of playing the mod, the long anticipated Standalone came out in alpha. Of course, I had to buy the game because I loved the mod. Back then, I was playing on a laptop with no dedicated graphics, running an i3 at 2.1 ghz and played the mod at a solid 20 fps (i thought that was amazing at the time, lowest settings ofc). After downloading the standalone, I realized my poor laptop would probably not be able to play it. It was true, I could only get 5-10 fps with the standalone (back in the first six months) and decided I would never be able to play the standalone because my laptop would not run it. A year later, I attempted to play the standalone again, reading about how one could improve performance by changing the script (documents, dayz, scene complexity, etc) and was able to run Dayz SA at 10-20 fps. I was hooked, even at frames so bad I could hardly see (big cities, cherno, elek), I played the game. The new squad I had found and become acquainted with laughed at what poor frames I played at. I began to think, if I could just get thirty fps, I would be set and the game would be even more fun. 

 

I began researching computer components, trying to figure out how to get the most bang for my buck when I purchased a new computer. Two months ago, I built the computer I am currently using, a powerhouse with an i5 3.5 ghz processor and a gtx 970. DayZ had not only taught me how to survive in a zombie apocalypse, read compasses, maps, and tell that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, it also taught me how to build a computer from scratch (built my pc myself with the help of tomshardware and youtube). A grand and a half spent with the sole purpose of playing one video game (some may not building a computer or spending a grand and a half is impressive, but for a college student it was quite a big deal for me), Dayz. My dreams came true. Max graphical settings, 100% rendering resolution at 1080p, minimum 30 fps in cherno (processor oc to 4.2ghz helps quite a bit) I thought that I held a grand advantage now over all those suckers who were playing on computers like mine from the past. However this was not the case. In the first month of having my computer, I played about 250 hours of DayZ (I know, probably should have spent more time studying, but hey what can I say YOLO). 

 

From the day I bought the Standalone, and 600 hundred hours later, I can say without a doubt that DayZ is my favorite game. For those of you that say the mod is way better than the standalone, I whole heartedly agree that I had much more fun playing the mod. The hype it came with being a successful mod (i mean, Ive never played arma 2 once, know Ive missed out but I play a bit of arma 3 now) made the game seem larger than life. Now the standalone is out, I know even though I had more fun on the mod, I can never go back because the standalone is simply a better game, run on a better engine, made to be an improvement, a Standalone of the mod.

 

Some Q/A

-Are the two games the same? Absolutely not, there are too many differences to even mention. Would I buy this game again? After six hundred hours, I would definitely say the enjoyment Ive gotten out of this game is worth well over the 20 dollars I spent when the standalone was released. I believe the game is around 35 now, almost twice what I paid for.

-Would I recommend this game to a friend? Yes and no. Always trying to get my friends to play with me, those that do buy it usually quit because they cannot get over the fact that the game is “hard”. However, there are many bugs and problems with the game that still need fixing. I give Developers my full support and trust that they will finish what they started.

-Why did I buy this game? Because I enjoyed the Mod so thoroughly. Everything Ive done in the standalone is to replicate the experiences I had in the mod. Now that you've heard my story, riddle me this...

Why did you buy this game?

Edited May 18, 2015 by TerribleTomato

[treetop82 59]

I bought this game because of the mind twisting reviews came across online. I haven't played a game that allowed a player such freedom to kill, love, hate, explore, build since Ultima Online. Most other games since the 1996 hit have been extremely restricting in their play styles, tunneling players into certain scripted outcomes. DayZ was freedom once again. You can farm, hunt, PvP, PvM, role play.. it's as much sandbox as it is 1st/3rd person shooter.

 

If DayZ shut it's doors tomorrow, I would be contempt in knowing I had already satisfied the value of my $35.00 I spent over 1000+ game hours ago. In short speak, I've got my money out of this game, even in it's Alpha stage. It's been fun, but frustrating at the same time. I know it's Alpha, but I don't care. The game is fun as it is, I just hope the dev's don't ruin it.

 

As far as value of my $35.00 goes, I am definitely playing on the houses' money right now.

Edited May 18, 2015 by treetop82

[raBit. 79]

Frankie on pc in 1080P

=)

[Red_Ensign 990]

I bought the game to hike in the woods and hunt occasionally.

[rzarectha 4]

Got Arma 2 Complete collection only to play DayZ after watching  FRANKIEonPCin1080p, haven't played 1 minute of Arma tho :) I got the standalone and waiting for it to be done because I can see it has huge potential. So far the Mod is better in my opinion. It misses some features that the SA has, but the core gameplay is solid and it's still popular

[Deathlove 2280]

Because zombies/infected. Thats pretty much it. I was also promised tacos in game but there were none to be found........ THE INFECTED ATE THEM ALL! 8(

[Beizs 186]

I bought this game because of Roosterteeth, in all honesty.

 

I had a bunch of friends who played the mod and loved it. Most of them were super excited for standalone and I was planning on buying it as soon as it came out. They got it, told me it was terrible, and I decided not to get it. Then Gus and Burnie did a game time in it and it looked cool, though rather buggy and barren. I decided to ignore my friends and get it. Haven't regretted it once.

 

I love zombies. Films or games, the Zombie genre (and it really is its own genre) is my favorite. I like survival. I like open world games. This game is already a lot of fun, even in a nowhere-near-feature-complete-state. Despite all of its flaws, I manage to enjoy the game a lot, and I've never been able to tell quite why. I'm not keen on PvP. The zombies have always been more of an annoyance than a threat. The survival aspect isn't particularly polished. All that seems to be left is looting, and that bores the hell out of me. But the combination of all those things, for some reason, is something I can waste hours upon hours playing. It's kind of weird, but kind of awesome.

 

I'm just looking forward to the future of DayZ and, honestly, the updates and promise of more is what keeps me going, I think.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Beizs

[roguetrooper 201]

I've been playing Arma since Arma 1 (one) and also Take on Helicopters.

[rybec 339]

I bought it because I expected a fresh new feeling like when I first played the mod when it was released.

Not quite there yet.

[IkaikaKekai 1957]

Was playing the mod for a while, liked it and the promises of Standalone, not to mention the lower price point.  I'll be honest, if I said 'fuck it', uninstalled and never glanced at DayZ again I'd say I've gotten my money's worth.  Now I don't plan on doing that, just saying.

[Inception. 9443]

A friend told me about the concept waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the first few months of the mod being released and I was sold immediately. 

 

My first few months some of the greatest gaming experiences I have ever had the pleasure of having.

[robophant 102]

I bought the game for the lolz

[PlasticAssasin8 (DayZ) 78]

Frankie on pc in 1080P

=)

Yep same and Golden and it was loads cheaper than arma 3

Edited May 18, 2015 by PlasticAssasin8

[RagedDrew 209]

I didn't buy it *wink wink*

[gibonez 3633]

Bohemia Interactive made it so its a instant buy from me.

[Heatofbattle 49]

Bohemia Interactive made it so its a instant buy from me.

I did that until I got Arma 3, which crashes every 15 minutes due to a driver problem that Bohemia will probably never fix. It's a pity, because I'd love to try out all the cool mods and stuff for it.

Doesn't happen with Dayz, so the two games are more different then what meets the eye.

[SpoonsandForks 78]

Well, it all started out in the early days of the mod. That I heard about from my cousin.
We played that for just a while, but the sneaking into a village on your belly, zombies walking around. it was the bees knees.

But what got me hooked was running north of Stary, and getting shot. just like that.. dead.

I played the mod quite a bit, but then i took a break from gaming all together, until i heard that the Dayz SA was around the corner.
And i just had to check it out. Thats why.

(right now i play Dayz just to see where it goes, if it will be great, or just ok. But 600+ hours later, when it's good. it's great)

[DURRHUNTER 597]

Oh i dont know. Seemed like a good game, solid gameplay and fun bugs.

[lrp1984 199]

Someone told me it was fun, and easy to get into as no XP/leveling/grind etc, just spawn, loot, kill, die, repeat in a large open world.

 

Right now we're playing with the basic core features, and it's a fun game. The finished product has a lot of potential.

 

I think a completely urban DayZ map would be an interesting post-release expansion, based on a real life city, like London (for the 28 days later fans!), or LA/New York (for the i am legend fans) . Don't get me wrong, I like the countryside in DayZ, but a huge decaying cityscape would have a real zombie apocalypse feel to it, particularly if they had a realistic depiction of the key sites and layout of a real life city.

[Schweinsteiger 107]

Saw a Youtube video by FrankieonPC, it looked cool so I bought it. I'm a big fan of apocalptic movies, especially movies about zombies or the infected. Seemed natural to want to play a good game based off of one of my favorite genres of fiction. I'm really happy with the development of Dayz even though it has taken a little longer then expected. I'd like to see more crafting in the game, server wide events, and a good balance between PvP and survival. I hope the devs add more uses for animal hides.

[sneakydudes 278]

I bought this game because of the mind twisting reviews came across online. I haven't played a game that allowed a player such freedom to kill, love, hate, explore, build since Ultima Online. Most other games since the 1996 hit have been extremely restricting in their play styles, tunneling players into certain scripted outcomes. DayZ was freedom once again. You can farm, hunt, PvP, PvM, role play.. it's as much sandbox as it is 1st/3rd person shooter.

 

If DayZ shut it's doors tomorrow, I would be contempt in knowing I had already satisfied the value of my $35.00 I spent over 1000+ game hours ago. In short speak, I've got my money out of this game, even in it's Alpha stage. It's been fun, but frustrating at the same time. I know it's Alpha, but I don't care. The game is fun as it is, I just hope the dev's don't ruin it.

 

As far as value of my $35.00 goes, I am definitely playing on the houses' money right now.

If it shuts down tomorrow, no worries just hit me up in arma 3. I will mod it up for you :)

*winks /devs

[ebrim 998]

I started playing Rust many months ago and when Garry began working on the redo, I was pretty active on the fora for that game. One day I was suggesting a different type of inventory system based upon what somebody is wearing. Some guy responded, "Have you played DayZ? Because that sounds a lot like DayZ." So I looked up DayZ and it looked like something I very very much was interested in. I think I bought it the same day.

[hekp 223]

I was playing BI titles since ARMA1. I believe flashpoint hit the stores same month Max Payne did.

I cant complain, Max Payne was a great game for that time with a really nice comic story telling. It looked so real on my Voodoo3 3500.

 

Then there was OPF. I remember reading one of the early interviews with bohemia developers in PCgamer.

Open mil sim with enterable vehicles that you can drive, and even see counters on the drivers panel.

Balistics and sound delays, squad commands (when you see the flash it's already too late ;) )and so on.

Being a...13-14 yr old kid, i didnt even know it's possible to make such a game and when i first tried it...i loved every second of it :)

 

Injuries, broken legs, one shot kills, sway... the "realism" of this game bought me on the spot.

Singleplayer campaing was on of the best gaming experiences i ever had and even tho some might find this a bit sentimental,

no other tittle made me enjoy being a "just a soldier" in a war noone wants it.

The "Armstrong, this is Papa bear, EVAC @zulu x hrs mission be there or GG" was one of my favourites.

I was huggin trees, terrified of Armed patrools, BMPs & even some choppers patroling the area whilst you had to sneak thru was really something i strongly missed in arma2.

(i got that later with the great addons)

 

I never got that hopeless feeling of a "that's it, we're fu***". It's mostly because you don't get to play the role of the lowest ranking soldier who's everyones bi***.

Don't get me wrong it was a great game and i spent yet another thousands of hrs in it.

 

Anyway, not gonna lie, when i was a kid, i could not afford games. I could afford a PCgamer mag. (two old ones for the price of one) and try demos.

Or... do the dev:0 pirates:1 thingy. Forgive me and let's pretend i was just a very aware consumer who needed a couple of thousand hr trial :P

 

I always felt like i own BI(well, the people there) to buy the tittles i played for thousands of hrs and spend thousands of hrs in their best-ever-mission-editors.

I also wanted the friggin legit copies for the obvious MP.

 

Years passed by when I finaly bought the OPF;GOTY edition and a year later ARMA2+AO.

Just when i was about to purchase arma3 after playing alpha (Would anyone believe me, i didnt like the less-clunky arma3?)

i saw dayz. I probably saw it on reddit, i dont remember.

 

Watching dayz stream, my first thought was "OPF". Alone, helpless, just trying to survive and get thru the "war". Besides, i was always a fan of hardcore modes(MUD, Diablo, crazy ivan, etc), where you loose EVERYTHING uppon death.

 

Knowing it's a BI tittle i just said "fk it" and cashed out, because despite all the "alpha warnings" i was pretty sure what im getting myself into.

(the arma bugs just never got me  to the point of quitting. its just different if something buggs out on open world "simulator" then buggin in linear singleplayer pewpewpew game)

 

I was sure im gonna love it and i was right :P

10/10 would buy again.

 

tldr: i bought it 'cause i knew ill enjoy it.

Edited May 18, 2015 by halp

[8bit_Survivor 93]

I remember the announcement of DayZ standalone. Never played Arma but when I heard the concept of DayZ I was excited. Long time FPS (Doom Deathmatch), MMO (Ultima/EQ), and zombie genre fan.

Years went buy, had a kid, moved and forgot all about it. A few months ago I somehow stumbled across Hunting Bandits on YouTube by M1ndr. Bought into early access several days later.

Edited May 18, 2015 by 8bit_Survivor

[RagedDrew 209]

I did that until I got Arma 3, which crashes every 15 minutes due to a driver problem that Bohemia will probably never fix. It's a pity, because I'd love to try out all the cool mods and stuff for it.

Doesn't happen with Dayz, so the two games are more different then what meets the eye.

Arma does the same with me, I have to roll back my drivers to ones from 2002 for it to work lol.