Worst day in History to Start?

[semipr0 402]

So guys I've been clanning with for the last decade or so have been raving about DayZ as if its the second coming of the great mod's of yore, like Team Fortress and Weapons Factory and Counterstrike and all that jazz.

So I watched a bunch of videos and decided, hey this looks pretty badass, so DayZ sells me a copy of Arma II Combined Operations, cause...yanno I'd have never bought one otherwise, and off I go.

So right out of the gate I notice something is awry. After dragging myself through the rather onerous installation process (The Six Installer side of things was easy, but the 94444 beta patch stuff is not so easy and doesn't play nicely with direct Steam launches) I finally get on to a US server and...its night time....oookay.

So I hit G to check my gear and I have a flashlight, some painkillers and....a bandage. Which just seems wrong cause everyone in the videos I've watched starts with a basic pistol....but no apparently that was too easy so 1.7.2 basically starts you out with nothing but the ability to crouch and belly crawl.

So after hopping servers to find some daylight, I end up attempting to sneak my way around to finding some very basic supplies....I don't really care what they are, a gun would be great but at this point I'll take a 2x4 with a nail in it, long as I can defend myself.

So five hours after install I've died like 20 times, because anywhere there might be something I could use to defend myself...there are things that I'd need to defend myself against, simply to be able to get to the gear.

So in that five hours, I literally got a sore wrist from double jamming the W key and running freaking marathons trying to lose zombies....who are, overall, too dumb to get bored.

Eventually I log out, close the game and wonder what I just wasted 30 dollars and six hours of my life on. I'm all for hardcore environments....but without an intimate knowledge of the game, starting survivors have almost no chance at all. I'm in an environment full of sticks and rocks and I can't even whack a zombie with a stick to try to stay alive...all I can do is not get noticed, or....run...and run...and run, forever.

On the one life I did find a gun, I also found some road flares and the game decided to immediately throw the road flare the minute I exited my gear screen....attracting every zombie in the area and wasting the 15 rounds of shotgun slugs I found immediately...til I had to run...again, with a useless gun in my hands that I couldn't even flip around and use as a melee weapon to try to survive.

So...yeah, nice mod, seems like it was better before today. And now it looks like the entire game's design premise has been designed around this statistic:

[Remix (DayZ) 14]

but without an intimate knowledge of the game, starting survivors have almost no chance at all.

This is correct.

All the "issues" you experienced existed long before 1.7.2.

I suggest coming back when the mod is past Alpha state, and you will be able to test the Beta build.

Cheers.

[zipper 69]

The mod can be rough for new players. I would team up with your friends who got you into the game in the first place. They can show you the basics of getting around the towns and whatnot. I'd also play through the basic training tutorial offered in Arma 2. It will get you used to most of the things you need to be familiar with in DayZ. I know it is rough, but it is supposed to be hard. It requires you to think before you act, which is lost by a lot of people who are used to playing almost any other FPS on the market. But, in due time, you will get the hang of it. It takes some getting used to, and there are players, zombies, trees, rocks, doors, gates and buildings that will all kill you. Still doesn't take away from the fun. :)

[Nightice 4]

Grab your mates, and get them to explain things to you as you go :) It is incredibly daunting to start with but it becomes a lot easier once youve got the hang of the basics.

1.7.2 also wasn't the best time to start playing due to a whole range of changes and the overtuned state of Zombies at the moment.

[semipr0 402]

This is correct.

All the "issues" you experienced existed long before 1.7.2.

I suggest coming back when the mod is past Alpha state, and you will be able to test the Beta build.

Cheers.

Eh I'm stubborn and to be honest I can see how I might enjoy this game even in its alpha state and Arma's wonky controls (key config files are apparently TEH DEVIL to this game), not really complaining about its alpha state I'm just not sure why it seems developmentally sound to take a mod that is getting so much player influx and media support right now and turn around and literally make starting out the highest potential failure curve of the experience.

I'm all for death due to my own stupidity or even death because someone was simply faster/smarter/more accurate than me....got no problem with either. But this is all mostly death due to a complete inability to do anything BUT be zombie chow. And its not even like I couldn't sneak around zombies and get into buildings...I could, just 90% of the buildings I could get into were housing empty tin cans, piles of wood and the occasional bandage or bit of ammo but no guns.

And then its all just down to the one mistake of getting noticed by a zombie and all you can do is run. Someone described this as a running simulator in one of their game videos and I laughed but wow, thats definitely what I was doing today.

[Nightice 4]

Because they need to test things....

(And we gave you constructive criticism so look up some guides -> and... wait for it.... Practice surviving.)

Rocket didn't ask for 400K players to rock up and start playing all of a sudden, they just did. The mod doesn't actually need any more unique players to test things, it just needs time to test them and then flatten out any bugs so that it can slowly get to a readily playable stage.

[idunc 62]

This is correct.

All the "issues" you experienced existed long before 1.7.2.

I suggest coming back when the mod is past Alpha state, and you will be able to test the Beta build.

Cheers.

That's not a very helpful suggestion. Instead of learning how to play and bettering yourself for future developments of the game, you suggest that he just abandon the game entirely so he can come back and be in the same circumstance, still with no knowledge on how to play?

Before 1.7.2, it was actually possible to navigate a village/town without aggroing every zombie even when crouch-walking. The zombie behavior needs to be corrected asap. Spawning without a gun was implemented a while ago. You were probably watching videos from March or April.

[Nightice 4]

Before 1.7.2, it was actually possible to navigate a village/town without aggroing every zombie even when crouch-walking.

What have you been doing, sprinting through towns?

It still is possible, just use some common sense and pick your path through them from a distance.

[Tureilim 3]

Eh. I had a decent time beginning. I came after the basic gun removal was removed, but I quickly learned the things I needed to learn. My first question beyond the controls and any basic tips was "What's a deerstand look like?" so I had an idea of what to look for.

Now here I am. In essentially the same position. Sometimes I go for marathon runs to Cherno with Elektro zombies on my tail. I swear our characters should be fuckin' olympic athletes.

[semipr0 402]

That's not a very helpful suggestion. Instead of learning how to play and bettering yourself for future developments of the game, you suggest that he just abandon the game entirely so he can come back and be in the same circumstance, still with no knowledge on how to play?

Before 1.7.2, it was actually possible to navigate a village/town without aggroing every zombie even when crouch-walking. The zombie behavior needs to be corrected asap. Spawning without a gun was implemented a while ago. You were probably watching videos from March or April.

Ahh I thought that was a recent change, and yeah the videos were from March or April as I remember it.

Yeah I mean even in the current situation I could slowly make my way to gear, but never anything that gave me a fighting chance but once and even that didn't last very long.

I'm not asking a survival game to hand me anything, and I was even working out how to sneak around zombies....but man theres just no room for a mistake at all. Unless you have a weapon, if you get noticed at all, its game over...you might as well not even run cause you're just going to die tired.

[Alphie(SN) 32]

semipr0 your post is hilarious and exactly how I felt at the beginning. WTF! no gun? Not even a baseball bat? I at least would try to use my mitts to beat a zombie off me while screaming like a little girl, but alas no fisticuffs either. Just stand there and let them eat me without a fight.

I am managing to live longer now, but only because I have completely read the wiki and watched every youtube the vets of this game have put together. I have even started using the online goodie drop map so I dont waste my time running thru forests like some damn bunny rabbit.

I can understand a game being hard core and Im all for that, but to do all the things I've done outside the game in order to survive a little longer feels like cheating. The game can still be hardcore and at least let you know where you are in the world. I mean did I just drop from Mars? Was I mugged and hit over the head, so I dont even know the area around where I supposedly live? Its pretty rediculus not even getting a map and a rudementary melee weapon. Hell even a sharp stick would be better than nothing.

[semipr0 402]

Eh. I had a decent time beginning. I came after the basic gun removal was removed, but I quickly learned the things I needed to learn. My first question beyond the controls and any basic tips was "What's a deerstand look like?" so I had an idea of what to look for.

Now here I am. In essentially the same position. Sometimes I go for marathon runs to Cherno with Elektro zombies on my tail. I swear our characters should be fuckin' olympic athletes.

I actually went looking for a deer stand but, since I really don't have any idea where I am and I have no map...I might live longer but I'm far less apt to find anything.

[wok 25]

This would be a alot easier if there was a competent way to run the Steam Overlay for ArmaOA while using the 94444 beta. I've found some instructions on how to do it on the wiki but they don't seem to be as well explained as they could be. So mostly I'm using the Six Launcher to get into the game.Now even then, you hand me a map of the area, I still don't have a clue where I am. I can't read Russian, I know we start on the coast line...but is it the south or east coast? I don't know, I can barely see the sun even when it is daylight so I've got no idea what direction is what....its just...left...or right...oh look a sign that says 4EPORGKAK....whatever that freaking means, I guess that means 4EPORGKAK is in this direction...I guess I'll head that way.I did find Cherno once, I had to run up a building ladder to try to get away from the zombies there, only to be cracked in the head with an axe by another survivor who was up there that I was naive enough to believe wasn't a threat.

I also bought ArmaCO just for Dayz yesterday (but also played arma without mods and it's amazing). I didn't used the steam version, and installing everything, arma2, armaco, sixupdater, 1.6 path and beta 94444 was pretty simple in my opinion, i just downloaded the files and executed them.

I paid 25USD not 30, and I think it's worth that and more in my opinion, with different game modes and free mods I know I can get tons of hours of entertainment from this game.

DayZ seems incredible hard when you start, but after playing for some hours i am learning from my mistakes and it gets better everytime, you shouldnt get attached to your gear, you will it sooner or later.

Also I played on 1.7.1.5 and 1.7.2, and I was able to go into small towns avoiding zombies without problem, sometimes crawling just a few meters away from them.

I think people expect to run into towns killing everything on sight, but dayz is not the usual fps game. Some people don't like it but to make it easier you can check at which town you spawn, and then use one of the chernarus maps available online to find a reference point, then you can go anywhere without losing time running without direction.

Edited July 11, 2012 by sebastian.w

[Tureilim 3]

I'm not asking a survival game to hand me anything, and I was even working out how to sneak around zombies....but man theres just no room for a mistake at all. Unless you have a weapon, if you get noticed at all, its game over...you might as well not even run cause you're just going to die tired.

Unless/until its been fixed, you can "trick" the zombies. Run indoors, or zigzag up a steep hill to lose them easily. On flat ground, you're pretty much running nonstop unless you can break their line of sight long enough to get 300m or so away. But thats part of the game's charm. And even toughens you up quickly. Just gotta be aware of your surroundings, and use some of your Naked spawns to dick around and re-acquaint yourself after patches.

[Tureilim 3]

I actually went looking for a deer stand but, since I really don't have any idea where I am and I have no map...I might live longer but I'm far less apt to find anything.

http://dayzdb.com/map#6.039.092 . Look in the bottom right corner of the game when you spawn. It'll tell you what landmark is closest. It's up to you to find out what side of whatever city you're on, but initial travels always been simple to me. "Need to head west. Kay. Keep the ocean on my left." and so on. Just go sprinting down the road, cuz i have nothing to lose and couldn't care less if I die. I may even respawn *closer* to the objective!

[semipr0 402]

I think people expect to run into towns killing everything on sight, but dayz is not the usual fps game. Some people don't like it but to make it easier you can check at which town you spawn, and then use one of the chernarus maps available online to find a reference point, then you can go anywhere without losing time running without direction.

This would be a alot easier if there was a competent way to run the Steam Overlay for ArmaOA while using the 94444 beta. I've found some instructions on how to do it on the wiki but they don't seem to be as well explained as they could be. So mostly I'm using the Six Launcher to get into the game.Now even then, you hand me a map of the area, I still don't have a clue where I am. I can't read Russian, I know we start on the coast line...but is it the south or east coast? I don't know, I can barely see the sun even when it is daylight so I've got no idea what direction is what....its just...left...or right...oh look a sign that says 4EPORGKAK....whatever that freaking means, I guess that means 4EPORGKAK is in this direction...I guess I'll head that way.I did find Cherno once, I had to run up a building ladder to try to get away from the zombies there, only to be cracked in the head with an axe by another survivor who was up there that I was naive enough to believe wasn't a threat. Edited July 11, 2012 by semipr0

[Tureilim 3]

Yeah, you need to quickly learn to see "Harflegfdhas" russian and its connection to its english form.

You're always on the South coast. It's a matter of putting the ocean to your left, right, or back, and running.

[DemonGroover 8836]

I can understand new players would find it extremely tough at the moment but perservere. You will find the right way to go about things through trial and error and when you find your first big stash of good loot you will feel a million dollars.

You can lose Zeds by getting them to lose their line of sight, I had a train of about 15 on me and by running through buildings and around walls i lost all but two. Of course you still need a weapon, but once you find one (anyone at first will do) you will be OK.

Until you get sniped from 800m.

[wok 25]

This would be a alot easier if there was a competent way to run the Steam Overlay for ArmaOA while using the 94444 beta. I've found some instructions on how to do it on the wiki but they don't seem to be as well explained as they could be. So mostly I'm using the Six Launcher to get into the game.Now even then, you hand me a map of the area, I still don't have a clue where I am. I can't read Russian, I know we start on the coast line...but is it the south or east coast? I don't know, I can barely see the sun even when it is daylight so I've got no idea what direction is what....its just...left...or right...oh look a sign that says 4EPORGKAK....whatever that freaking means, I guess that means 4EPORGKAK is in this direction...I guess I'll head that way.I did find Cherno once, I had to run up a building ladder to try to get away from the zombies there, only to be cracked in the head with an axe by another survivor who was up there that I was naive enough to believe wasn't a threat.

You dont need to know whats south or easth, just check the town name at the bottom right when you start, then identify that town on the map, put your back facing the sea, and you know that at your left it will be X city and at your right Y city, you can pick where to go and you will surely find a point of reference that will tell you exactly where you are at the map, making it easier to find buildings and place for looting.

[DerekTen 1]

I know exactly what you mean, I just got it today as well. I have been playing for about 5-6 hours now and have yet to find a weapon. And every server with decent ping for me seems to be in night. -__-

[moriak 35]

when you enter the game you get an approximate location in the bottom right corner in latin alphabet (you can put the location to google translate to get cyrillic writing).. with that and an online map you should be able to figure out where you are and which way you wanna go

you can run steam overlay with any beta, check out this post

Edited July 11, 2012 by tomo

[slez@comcast.net 6]

It's in a pretty rough state at the moment seeing as it was just patched and has issues.. I highly recommend sticking with it and giving it a chance.

I started last week and once you get past the learning stage it gets really fun. You just need to learn where to go for loot. I did fairly well frequenting barns and deer stands. Deer stands are a bit risky since a fair amount seem to be in the middle of a field. I'd stick to good ping low pop servers to start, but that's your call.

[Sanku 2]

I like that i must survive with only painkillers, a bandage and flashlight.

Thats the fact because nobody wont die and this starting equipt change your mind 2 other survivers. Kill them first or get killed~

[resident_leeonheart@yahoo.com 32]

So I watched a bunch of videos and decided, hey this looks pretty badass, so DayZ sells me a copy of Arma II Combined Operations, cause...yanno I'd have never bought one otherwise, and off I go.

So after hopping servers to find some daylight, I end up attempting to sneak my way around to finding some very basic supplies....I don't really care what they are, a gun would be great but at this point I'll take a 2x4 with a nail in it, long as I can defend myself.

So in that five hours, I literally got a sore wrist from double jamming the W key and running freaking marathons trying to lose zombies....who are, overall, too dumb to get bored.

Eventually I log out, close the game and wonder what I just wasted 30 dollars and six hours of my life on. I'm all for hardcore environments....but without an intimate knowledge of the game, starting survivors have almost no chance at all. I'm in an environment full of sticks and rocks and I can't even whack a zombie with a stick to try to stay alive...all I can do is not get noticed, or....run...and run...and run, forever.

On the one life I did find a gun, I also found some road flares and the game decided to immediately throw the road flare the minute I exited my gear screen....attracting every zombie in the area and wasting the 15 rounds of shotgun slugs I found immediately...til I had to run...again, with a useless gun in my hands that I couldn't even flip around and use as a melee weapon to try to survive.

Sounds just like my experience but i eventually learn the map( through google search) and tips in the forum for best supply looting spots. It's not the kind of game you will enjoy if you don't have the time or patience plus don't get too attached to your character or it will emotionally drain you when your character dies and you WILL die a lot! Even learn a new lesson last night: don't be too greedy and play safe, an infected might just surprise you from behind and kick you unconcious and munch on you even when you're fully armed and equipped. Shit happens. If you have all the supply you need for the next few days, get away from the cities!

Only down side, I still have to hold down the W key for a long time to reach a city after each fresh start. With over 200km and no transport, it can be a real drag. :P

Edited July 11, 2012 by leeo38

[TheLoneRanger (DayZ) 22]

I picked this up yesterday on Steam and am encountering many of the same pains yall are. Sometimes i find a weapon right off the bat, other times i go 4 hours and get everything BUT a weapon. One thing thats bugging me though, every time I day I'm forced to repick my gender. Is this normal or do i need to reinstall it?

I've had good success with barns and loot, but not much else. I guess ill take a look around for a deer stand, maybe that will help. Well, I'm excited to see this Mod this good in Alpha, and I cant wait for it to be further improved upon and go into Beta!