Am I the luckiest newbie player?

[MidnightReverie 0]

Just started playing the game about 3 hours ago. I started out on the docks of Chernogorsk at night time, googled the map of Chernarus and it was easy enough to pinpoint where I am exactly with the docks.

Made my way to the edge of the town, met another new player on the way, we didn't shoot at each other but he was very cautious, always have his LOS on me and always keeping a distance away from me until I'm out of sight.

Found a tent and a dead body in the yard of a small building on the edge of Chernogorsk, found 2 cans of food, but also found myself surrounded by a wave of zeds with no way to proceed forward. I climbed a ladder up a platform, shot a zombie to attract the rest of them to me and killed all 13 of them while they were standing around at the bottom of the ladder trying to get up.

As the wave is cleared I continued my way west to get out of town towards the Balota airstrip. Looted several small houses on the way, found lots of Markorov ammo, bandages and soda.

Arrived at the airstrip with no incident, I looted all four hangars and the control tower and I hit the jackpot. Found a map, watch, toolbox, 2 chemlight, more bandages, morphine injectors, and lastly an AK74 with 3 clips of ammo.

Now I have an abundant supply of food, ammo for my primary and secondary weapon, I'm not sure what to do anymore besides trying to look for a bigger bag. :-/

Overal I find the mod to be very good, its selling point is definitely its ambient atmosphere, suspenseful tension and the challenging difficulty.

I never played ARMA before and I found the inventory system to be one of the worst I have ever seen in a video game, it's just utterly counter-intuitive and absolutely awfully designed. The night was also way too dark, I was literally starring at a pitch black screen with absolutely no way to tell where I'm going because apparently I can't even see 1 feet in front of me even though the sky is littered with shining stars. It may make the game that much more challenging and scary at night, but it just isn't realistic at all. I also find it very disappointing that there are so few buildings you can actually enter. I also wish there is some kind of a central hub where players can trade and sell their items to each other. As for now I just don't feel like there is any purpose at all to find new and better weapons or items.

If the whole point of the game is to survive, I have already found enough food, a good reliable primary and secondary weapon plus a never ending supply of drinkable sea water, technically speaking I have survived the zombie apocalypse. Allowing players to sell and trade items to each other gives looting new items more meaning and give the game more direction. If anyone here has played a free zombie MMORPG called Dead Frontier, it should be like that.

Ok that's all I have to say.

[simasz 15]

For starters if you want some tense fun, head to the airfield above Vybor :) After that you can try to find and fix-up a vehicle or even a chopper :) There's always stuff to do

[landstriker 9]

Just started playing the game about 3 hours ago. I started out on the docks of Chernogorsk at night time' date=' googled the map of Chernarus and it was easy enough to pinpoint where I am exactly with the docks.

Made my way to the edge of the town, met another new player on the way, we didn't shoot at each other but he was very cautious, always have his LOS on me and always keeping a distance away from me until I'm out of sight.

Found a tent and a dead body in the yard of a small building on the edge of Chernogorsk, found 2 cans of food, but also found myself surrounded by a wave of zeds with no way to proceed forward. I climbed a ladder up a platform, shot a zombie to attract the rest of them to me and killed all 13 of them while they were standing around at the bottom of the ladder trying to get up.

As the wave is cleared I continued my way west to get out of town towards the Balota airstrip. Looted several small houses on the way, found lots of Markorov ammo, bandages and soda.

Arrived at the airstrip with no incident, I looted all four hangars and the control tower and I hit the jackpot. Found a map, watch, toolbox, 2 chemlight, more bandages, morphine injectors, and lastly an AK74 with 3 clips of ammo.

Now I have an abundant supply of food, ammo for my primary and secondary weapon, I'm not sure what to do anymore besides trying to look for a bigger bag. :-/

[/quote']

You certainly got off to a good start. With DayZ, the possibilities are endless, go on a hunt (man, zombie or wildlife), loot another town or city, try to meet up with others (but be careful, lots of bandits out there).

Get the "Alice pack" and you're good to go on bag size. :)

[BlackAlpha 12]

If you are near the coast, you have not yet survived the zombie apocalypse. If you stay near the coastline, you will soon get shot by another player because there are many bandits there that are hunting naive players like yourself, who think it's safe near the coastline. Your chances of survival near the coast are quite slim. So, if you want to survive, get away from the coastline, go inland.

Your next step would be to find better loot and join a group of people. I recommend joining a community, so that you don't have to worry about getting stabbed in the back.

Some people don't seem to realize the truth, so here it is. This is what is actually going on when you start at the coast:

[Mitritch 4]

No you are not. :)

Me, for example, managed to trap spawned bandit by being 10 meters behind him while he was connected and spawned in the game. Learnt by previous bad experience, I opened fire without hesitation and took some juicy loot. He was really well equipped (every slot in the bottom was filled with differrent tool), so I still smiling while remembering this encounter.

However, easy comes - easy goes. On the next day I lost everything to another newbie with PM who came too close to me due to my hesitation. :)

[FreedomTea 9]

[tunedbeats 0]

Just started playing the game about 3 hours ago. I started out on the docks of Chernogorsk at night time' date=' googled the map of Chernarus and it was easy enough to pinpoint where I am exactly with the docks.

Made my way to the edge of the town, met another new player on the way, we didn't shoot at each other but he was very cautious, always have his LOS on me and always keeping a distance away from me until I'm out of sight.

Found a tent and a dead body in the yard of a small building on the edge of Chernogorsk, found 2 cans of food, but also found myself surrounded by a wave of zeds with no way to proceed forward. I climbed a ladder up a platform, shot a zombie to attract the rest of them to me and killed all 13 of them while they were standing around at the bottom of the ladder trying to get up.

As the wave is cleared I continued my way west to get out of town towards the Balota airstrip. Looted several small houses on the way, found lots of Markorov ammo, bandages and soda.

Arrived at the airstrip with no incident, I looted all four hangars and the control tower and I hit the jackpot. Found a map, watch, toolbox, 2 chemlight, more bandages, morphine injectors, and lastly an AK74 with 3 clips of ammo.

Now I have an abundant supply of food, ammo for my primary and secondary weapon, I'm not sure what to do anymore besides trying to look for a bigger bag. :-/

Overal I find the mod to be very good, its selling point is definitely its ambient atmosphere, suspenseful tension and the challenging difficulty.

I never played ARMA before and I found the inventory system to be one of the worst I have ever seen in a video game, it's just utterly counter-intuitive and absolutely awfully designed. The night was also way too dark, I was literally starring at a pitch black screen with absolutely no way to tell where I'm going because apparently I can't even see 1 feet in front of me even though the sky is littered with shining stars. It may make the game that much more challenging and scary at night, but it just isn't realistic at all. I also find it very disappointing that there are so few buildings you can actually enter. I also wish there is some kind of a central hub where players can trade and sell their items to each other. As for now I just don't feel like there is any purpose at all to find new and better weapons or items.

If the whole point of the game is to survive, I have already found enough food, a good reliable primary and secondary weapon plus a never ending supply of drinkable sea water, technically speaking I have survived the zombie apocalypse. Allowing players to sell and trade items to each other gives looting new items more meaning and give the game more direction. If anyone here has played a free zombie MMORPG called Dead Frontier, it should be like that.

Ok that's all I have to say.

[/quote']

As a new player myself I found this post very short-sighted.

While I agree the night-time game-play can be a bit frustrating.

First off, no one is stopping you from trading supplies with other players? You need to approach this game more like a Sandbox MO. The same goes with your statement: 'If the whole point of the game is to survive' -- The game is what YOU make it. Go out and meet a team to play with, trade with, become a bandit, become a good Samaritan and help other (new?) players. Become a bandit hunter, etc. The possibilities are endless but you are asking for too much hand holding.

"We need a central hub" -- Why not initiate trades yourself?

The game is what YOU make it, stop asking the game to make it for you.

[MidnightReverie 0]

As a new player myself I found this post very short-sighted.

While I agree the night-time game-play can be a bit frustrating.

First off' date=' no one is stopping you from trading supplies with other players? You need to approach this game more like a Sandbox MO. The same goes with your statement: 'If the whole point of the game is to survive' -- The game is what YOU make it. Go out and meet a team to play with, trade with, become a bandit, become a good Samaritan and help other (new?) players. Become a bandit hunter, etc. The possibilities are endless but you are asking for too much hand holding.

"We need a central hub" -- Why not initiate trades yourself?

The game is what YOU make it, stop asking the game to make it for you.

[/quote']

I'm asking for a system that encourages trade between players and making the process accessible and convenient. Yes I can spam on global chat asking for a certain item, but that wouldn't be very efficient now is it? The players currently online on the server may or may not have the particular item I want, vice versa, I may or may not have the item that the other party wants in exchange (because of the lack of a currency, which should be implemented in later versions of the mod). I may have to hop on several servers just to make one trade (risking being shot and robbed by strangers). That is just downright frustrating and a waste of time.

Not to mention with the ways how this game is designed to make you not trust strangers, it discourages any kind of interaction and trading between people. A central hub/safe zone would allow the game to actually function as a social game.

I think the short-sighted one is you. You are just too afraid to see changes (albeit improvements) to the game and for it to evolve to the next level.

[tunedbeats 0]

Nah I disagree, having developers adding features like that removes the opportunity for players to create the content. Yes you won't be able to global trade, yes people might screw you over. Thats the nature of the game.

You want it to be more theme-park like, I disagree.

[BannedOpinion 14]

inventory system is fine, you're just new to the game. Arma 2 wasn't exactly intended for simplicity...

And why complain about the dark? Go to a field in the middle of no where at night with no torch. What can you see? Probably sweet f-all.

[MidnightReverie 0]

inventory system is fine' date=' you're just new to the game. Arma 2 wasn't exactly intended for simplicity...

And why complain about the dark? Go to a field in the middle of no where at night with no torch. What can you see? Probably sweet f-all.

[/quote']

A game can be complex in terms of features, mechanics and depth, but the interface should be clean, streamlined, accessible and comprehensible. The ARMA inventory system achieves none of these.

I lived in a rural village of a third world developing country for a week where at night not a single artificial light existed. You will be surprised just how much illumination the moon and the stars can emit, and just how adaptable the human eyes can be. The fact that you can't even see 1 meter in front of you in the game when the night sky is full of stars? Utterly unrealistic.

---

Nah I disagree' date=' having developers adding features like that removes the opportunity for players to create the content. Yes you won't be able to global trade, yes people might screw you over. Thats the nature of the game.

You want it to be more theme-park like, I disagree.

[/quote']

Logically, humans would eventually band together to survive as a band or tribe, living in a community where they can fend off zombies, bandits and develop subsistence living together, as well as establish a market or hub where friendly survivors can freely trade, exchange news, sell services, etc. This is the natural evolution of community in a post-apocalyptic world.

Sure players can try and create something like that, but it wouldn't work, because a hub like that would certainly be attacked by bandits, and there is no way you can have players protecting the community 24/7 because it is a video game and not real life where people can spend 24 hours in. Which is why the game needs to provide some kind of infrastructure for it to exist.

[dapperdirewolf 0]

I think the darkness is great, and most certainly terrifying. I'm always able to distinguish the sky from anything on the ground (treeline/building outlines etc.), and while everything is indeed pitch black, there are torches and flares and whatnot (to use at your own risk!). From what I've played so far, the night time is an entirely different experience to the day; one that strongly encourages teamwork with other players, and somehow always brings people together by a flare in desperation to survive. Nobody wants to be alone in the middle of a zombie infested village! My only thought is that night time perhaps lasts too long, and that rather than 24 hour clock, perhaps it could be 12, or 6. That way everyone could more easily experience the transition from day to night, and the glorious feeling it must be to see the sun rising over the horizon after a night of survival.

Damn, I haven't been on Day Z for more than 24 hours... I seriously need a fix.

[BlackAlpha 12]

inventory system is fine' date=' you're just new to the game. Arma 2 wasn't exactly intended for simplicity...

And why complain about the dark? Go to a field in the middle of no where at night with no torch. What can you see? Probably sweet f-all.

[/quote']

A game can be complex in terms of features, mechanics and depth, but the interface should be clean, streamlined, accessible and comprehensible. The ARMA inventory system achieves none of these.

I lived in a rural village of a third world developing country for a week where at night not a single artificial light existed. You will be surprised just how much illumination the moon and the stars can emit, and just how adaptable the human eyes can be. The fact that you can't even see 1 meter in front of you in the game when the night sky is full of stars? Utterly unrealistic.

---

Nah I disagree' date=' having developers adding features like that removes the opportunity for players to create the content. Yes you won't be able to global trade, yes people might screw you over. Thats the nature of the game.

You want it to be more theme-park like, I disagree.

[/quote']

Logically, humans would eventually band together to survive as a band or tribe, living in a community where they can fend off zombies, bandits and develop subsistence living together, as well as establish a market or hub where friendly survivors can freely trade, exchange news, sell services, etc. This is the natural evolution of community in a post-apocalyptic world.

Sure players can try and create something like that, but it wouldn't work, because a hub like that would certainly be attacked by bandits, and there is no way you can have players protecting the community 24/7 because it is a video game and not real life where people can spend 24 hours in. Which is why the game needs to provide some kind of infrastructure for it to exist.

There used to be one, but currently, there's no moon. Assuming all the servers follow real life dates, the moon will be back in about 10 days. Then you'll be able to see again during night.

As for the "evolution". Maybe we simply haven't gotten to that point yet. So far we've had:

1. Everyone works together to fight off the zombie apocalypse.

2. People start to attack each other. No one trusts each other. People go lone wolf.

3. People start forming small groups. They only trust people inside their group. Outsiders are greeted with hostility.

Now we have to wait and see what the next step brings. But I doubt the next step will bring us a trading infrastructure. Right now, pretty much no one practices trading. So we will first need to "invent" trading, and maybe after that we'll figure out how to create a trading infrastructure.

But that might not happen until the tents/vehicles stop disappearing with every new patch and server restart. Once that has been solved, we'll be able to properly store items. That means trading will become a feasible option, as you'll be able to store the things you buy/sell. Then the fortifications must stop disappearing, so that we'll be able to create proper bases/camps. Then we'll be able to setup safe areas, and possibly trading areas as well.

[dallas 5195]

I love/hate the bliding darkness.

The only advise I can give is to fully enjoy DayZ's beautiful sunsets, because night is comming. Suck up all that delicious and precious daylight, soon it'll be gone and you'll regret not appreciating it more.

[nexerius 0]

Ahem, the inventory is pretty good, if you just know how to use it.

Play some training or something, before you go straight ingame...

[walrus2517 27]

As a noob to the Arma franchise I don't like the inventory system either and still haven't really figured it out. I've been through a few tutorials but it certainly is not intuitive. However, I do like the pitch black nights even if it took me a bit of getting used to. It can be frustrating but I think it really adds to the suspense of this particular mod.

As for your feature requests, keep in mind this is Alpha, as in not even to Beta yet, so obviously it is not going to have all the features of a fully developed game. This was just a proof of concept that took off. Have some patience and let's see what the mod becomes.

EDIT: I'll add that my experience, roughly two hours of gameplay so far, has been 100% different than yours. I didn't last 15 minutes my first two games. Last night I finally survived more than an hour by hooking up with some other noobs and we wandered the night a bit before getting taken out by a zombie horde. I even had one game where I ran for a good 30 minutes without seeing anything, human or zombie, so I just respawned.