My thoughts on DayZ

[WildGunsTomcat 78]

Hi Guys,

So some of you know who I am, and revile me.

Some of you don't, and will be given the chance to revile me. :D

I've been playing DayZ for quite a long time now, almost since the inception. And I do love the mod, I won't call it a game because it's a mod for Arma 2, and not a standalone.

I wanted to share my thoughts on what I think is good, and what I think is bad with the mod.

First, we'll start with the good.

As much as I bitch about it, the community isn't that bad. Sure, in the past there was more teamwork and you could walk up to a player and not immediately get shot in the noggin...but I've made some very good friends through DayZ.

Now it feels more deathmatch, less survival co-op. But, I think a little evolution in a mod is a healthy thing, no? With every change in the mod comes a change in the playerbase. Some guys that used to play are gone, and new guys are coming in all the time...that's a good thing. The constant change keeps the dev team alive with new ideas. This ultimately is helpful.

I know there's a lot of fur flying about "COD Noobs" and such...but those COD noobs are showing weaknesses in the premise, which will ultimately make it stronger.

I digress. Another thing I think is wonderful about this game is the sheer scale of it. I'm an Arma 2 vet, I have said this ad nauseum in the past. But before this game, I never fully realized how HUGE this map is. When you're flying in a chopper or cutting across country in an LAV...this map seems tiny. But since this mod forced me to hoof it everywhere...I've realized how finely crafted the map is...even with the bugs it is beautiful.

Now, onto the bad.

I think this mod has shown how ugly people can be.

I'm not even really talking about the shoot first, ask questions later policy that some people have...it is just a game in reality. What I mean is the constant threads of "You shot me and stole my stuff...you're the lowest scum of the low..." or "This admin did this to me, even though it was most likely a server issue...I want him blacklisted NOW!"

I've been involved in many of those threads, and I walked away with a few forum warnings under my belt because I have no tolerance for stupid sometimes, and I say what I feel. Wrong or right.

Another thing I think is wrong with this mod is the zombies themselves. Now, I realize that this is being worked on constantly, so no disrespect to the dev team. We're all at the end of the day at the mercy of the Arma 2 engine and all of its derpness. That being said, the zombies don't threaten me at all. They don't scare me, which is what I think you would want in a zombie mod. I understand the high-minded ideals that Rocket is trying to pour into this mod...that the players are more dangerous than the zombies..etc etc. But, I don't buy that. I know how to deal with people, mostly. I deal with people every day in real life. I don't deal with Zeds on a daily basis...so when I fire up this mod...I want to feel like "What the fuck am I dealing with here...oh sweet fuck I'm going to die."

I don't feel that.

Anyway, this is becoming tl;dr...and I have been thinking about this for months now but didn't want to post it because frankly I'm tired of dealing with trolls and haters. But, I figured now was as good a time as any.

I welcome conversation.