People are horrible.

[dcam0326 1]

Yeah, I've experienced friends who will act friendly, gain the person's trust then execute them later when they see an opportunity to benefit. When it comes down to the right circumstances, anyone will play the role of bandit. It's just a question of the price.

Trust no one, work alone, stay out of sight.

[Mattimeo78 0]

Right? I was rather excited when I first discovered DayZ, thinking I'd finally found that one real Z-Survival game I'd been hoping for. Literally minutes into my first life, ambushed by bandits. Wander into a new building, shot. Run into an armed survivor with nothing in my hands, shot. Find an AKM Kobra, feel awesome, walk ten feet, sniped. In fact, the only "life" I enjoyed was when I got hit by a zombie and killed a city worth of them as I bled out. Went through a CSZ, AKM, Winchester, Glock 17, and Makarov (kept finding guns while I ran house to house).

I fail to understand why I have been shot by every single player I have come across, when one can simply walk into a city and find all the things they killed me for. I play other shooters for PvP, I naturally assumed DayZ was about surviving a zombie scenario, not a rampant-serial-killers one.

As for the "trust nobody" explanation people seem content to throw out, what's the point in joining a server with dozens of players on it just to play alone? I strongly doubt this deathmatch with zombie gimmick is what the devs had in mind.

My point is, the average player spends quite a bit of his limited time on this earth scavenging supplies and gear to survive the ZOMBIE pandemic, only to be murdered by the PLAYER one, and if you say that doesn't bother you, you're missing the point or a liar.

I'll go back to following Project Zomboid.

[Psychobob 155]

1. Trust Nobody - Unless you know them in real life, they are a threat. Even if you help them, do not EVER trust them. Last night I was in a 2 story building and there was a guy on the 2nd floor. I asked if he was friendly and if he needed any blood(I always carry 2 bloodpacks) He said he was and that he did, he was at -4,000 so I gave him blood. I told him where a weapon was that I had seen before entering the building, I asked him to please sit in a room while I made my way to the exit. I left without an incident.

1.5. NEVER give anyone a weapon - Either tell them where one can be found or do nothing, even if they are unarmed(In this case you could help them search for one and leave before they acquire it).

2. Never Take Chances - Taking the long way in cover is always better than chancing the short run in an open field or street. Think before every action you make. It's saved my life plenty of times. I realize that helping another player is always taking a chance, which is why I created rule #4.

3. Patience - If you're trapped, wait them out. They will leave or try to rush you(which gives you the advantage) I once sat in a house with the closed door and windows within my view for 20 minutes after being shot at, the guy finally came to the window for a peek and I killed him. I was trying to communicate with voice and text the entire time and he said nothing. If a person or group is raiding an area, come back later. If you're in immediate danger(Bleeding out, Starving, dying of thist) Use rules #5 and make your supply run as quick as possible, Don't do anything to alert the other players.

4. Create the Advantage. - If you know another player is nearby, wait for them to be inside a building before attempting contact. If there is very little or no cover, refer to rule #2.

5. Always Be Situationally Aware - Listen for Distant Gunshots, Be aware of dead Zombies, Scout locations before you approach, Periodically check you six. Know where the buildings exits are. Check tall structures for players.

6. If they don't use Voice/Text Chat - Assume an immediate threat. I killed a player today who was in a barracks. I asked him plenty of times with voice and chat if he needed anything. He said nothing. I then proceeded to use rule #4. He came outside and had no cover, I was around the corner, again I said "I'm friendly, Do you need anything, I have bloodpacks" I peeked and didn't fire, he fired, I fired, he died. I didn't want to attempt moving away as there was very little cover and he wasn't communicating.(Rule #2 again)

7. Avoid Traveling in Open Areas - Never run directly on the streets when traveling anywhere, outside of town, use the treeline or bushes. In town, run corner to corner. Always go around fields, never through them. Crouch/Prone when on rooftops.

I've created these as I've played DayZ (I got it a few days days ago). My current save has been alive for 2 days now because of following them and i have no friends currently playing.

The guy in the story broke rule 1 and it got him killed. I'm not gonna be a shitty murderer but I'm not going to be a victim to one either. I will always avoid other players unless I know I have the advantage and I will always create an advantage where there isn't one.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Psychobob

[EnermaX 59]

There's a huge difference between killing to survive - desperately needing food/water, weapons etc, and killing 'for teh lulz'.

It's a shame that they can't make the game age-verified only. I know people could get around it but many wouldn't.

>18 = less pvp and less annoying turds on direct chat too.

This.

[Psychobob 155]

As for the "trust nobody" explanation people seem content to throw out, what's the point in joining a server with dozens of players on it just to play alone?

I am a lone wolf and I choose a large server because the paranoia of other humans is part of the experience. I will probably never trust anyone I don't know enough to team up with them. Other players are a much higher level of difficulty and challenge to my survival as well, which also adds to the overall fun I have.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Psychobob

[bennyandthejets 12]

I couldn't even believe it when I saw it. Who honestly does that? I know you want a gun and all, but killing the guy that just saved your life? I don't care how mentally messed up you are even in the situation of a zombie apocalypse, your mind would be able to register that someone just -saved- you.

Totally agree with you OP. The sad fact is, this game attracts alot of people with anger/mental issues. Some of the posts I see on these forums just makes me sick. I honestly believe there are people out there who stalk people for hours only to cut them down with a hatchet & beat off IRL while standing over their corpse. They justify their actions by saying "This is how it would go down in a real zombie apocalypse" when really..no this is not how it would go down at all. Want to know why? There would be ALOT more zombies. They wouldn't be isolated to just towns, you wouldn't be able to run into barns so they slow down for you etc

You would have to work with others to survive. PERIOD. Until Rocket fixes humanity the game will remain a griefers wet dream instead of a survival horror game.

Edited July 18, 2012 by bennyandthejets

[derailed000 20]

There will never be a reward/punishment system.

In real life, you get reward and punishment from society and the State. If you commit a murder, the police asks questions to witnesses, find your DNA, try to find you... and throw you in jail.

In DayZ, there are only ~50 humans left in a big country, there are no more cops, no law, no State and often no witnesses.

Realisticly the only reward you can get from not killing people is that 1) you can make friends (but you take a big risk if they decide to kill you) and form a clan, and 2) you won't get shot at if you run away from everyone. The punishment for killing people are non-existent, except if you get killed yourself.

Any other system will completely breaks the immersion in the game. The game is full-pvp, it's a lawless non-society simulator, where small groups of players struggle to survive by any mean necessary. You're not supposed to get punished for trying to survive.

+1

[ALICE666 0]

They should revise the humanity system. The more you help players, you get rewards like increased loot, etc and at max level you get free hugs from zombies. Kill people and you get negative humanity, and you get sick faster, hear voices in your heads, and when you max that out, you spawn Rocket himself to kick you in the nuts.

Seriously though hhaha I like the way everything is right now. :P

[pieflavor 38]

I am a lone wolf and I choose a large server because the paranoia of other humans is part of the experience. I will probably never trust anyone I don't know enough to team up with them. Other players are a much higher level of difficulty and challenge to my survival as well, which also adds to the overall fun I have.

all your posts appear as a blank for me due to you needing to use white color and me browing on the mobile version of the forums... there's a reason there's a default color ...

[goldfingeratb 0]

I've been on the game for a few days now and have swiftly learned to avoid most other players unless I'm with friends. If we approach anybody, then they tend to stay out of our way. I'm not one to kill players without thinking, but sometimes it's got to be done. One question though, how do you speak p2p in game? Is it CAPSLOCK X2? I'm guessing it just figures the nearest person to you and communicates with them?

Thanks in advance!

[kander 80]

Right, I'm coming straight out and saying that I have yet to play this game. That said, I have read a lot about it while I wait for it to download on Steam, and have a couple of suggestions for making the rampant PvP more manageable.

1.) The humanity system.

I don't know if this is in place still or exactly how it works, but perhaps a good way to model this is to think about why people would (we're all assuming) be much less likely to cap someone over a can of beans in real life than in-game, given the same lawless, post-apocalyptic circumstances. Basically, it comes down to, MOST people would not do it because it would make them feel awful about themselves if they knew it was unprovoked and unnecessary. They would have a crisis of conscience and morality, it would affect their mood and mind and I think, and make them feel incredibly guilty. I'm not talking about the 50:50 chances where you run into someone who you know has murdered and would do again, or if you surprise a sniper in a nest where you know that he can't be after zombies, or if you simply return fire on someone who has fired first, but cold blooded murder - perhaps sniping someone who has not seen you, or is most obviously unarmed.

I propose that the morality system be used to make a player show signs of guilt and personal crisis the more murders he commits. This could include phantom sounds (gunshots, zombies, footsteps), and hallucinations (zombies, fake player models etc). The more guilt the worse these effects become. Also, the worse the crime the quicker the effect. It would be quite simple to code 'bad crimes', eg shooting an unarmed player, killing a player when the game 'detects' that the killer fired first. The punishment for killing an armed player or one who shot at you first is much less. The only way to alleviate your state is to help other players occasionally - give them supplies, transfusions etc. Essentially, the same way the game forces you to behave in a shocked and jumpy manner during/after combat, no matter what you think you might do IRL, the game should force some form of guilt and paranoia on you.

2.) Stats and rankings

I know nothing about how the game handles these, so feel free to shoot this down in flames, but if no player stats are visible to anyone else, no survival times, rankings etc,, it becomes far more of an RPG rather than a 'top the table by any means necessary' fest. Perhaps the only stat available to players should be time currently spent alive. If players want to boast about their 'skillz' they have to do so on forums like these where they spend more time around the community and can hopefully learn a bit more actual humanity by engaging with other people in a way that isn't pulling the trigger from 800m away.

EDITED to avoid emotive terminology.

Edited July 18, 2012 by kander

[duddbudda 33]

Like this if you cry every time

itt chumps

truth hurts

your name is velociRAPEtor numbnuts

I propose that the morality system be used to make a player show signs of mental breakdown the more murders he commits

this is a horrible idea and gets proposed all the dang time

I'm gonna link to two posts on the subject, I suggest you read them

http://dayzmod.com/f..._40#entry326280

http://dayzmod.com/f...th/#entry238619

Edited July 18, 2012 by Sandy

[MorninAfterKill 147]

i wish more people would try to co operate, it would be awesome to see groups of 10 hanging out and sharing resources for the greater good of survival. not everyone in a zombie apocalypse will be dangerous to you, strength in numbers seems like a valid tactic :D

[kander 80]

itt chumps

your name is velociRAPEtor numbnuts

this is a horrible idea and gets proposed all the dang time

I'm gonna link to two posts on the subject, I suggest you read them

http://dayzmod.com/f..._40#entry326280

http://dayzmod.com/f...th/#entry238619

I must apologise for rehashing what is clearly an old idea. I have read your threads now. Thank you.

I do think you are oversimplfying however. I too have lost close friends through mental illness, and have many more who suffer from it. That does not detract from the fact that I believe that the emotional burden of murder would be enough in many cases to cause the onset of manifestations of mental distress. In fact I would say this is a fairly commonly held view, even a majority one. To say that anyone who raises mental health issues in relation to murder is insinuating a reverse correlation between the two is, if I might say, rather crass.

By all means I am happy to avoid the terminology however. Perhaps it could be considered a 'guit' system, or similar.

EDIT: And I have edited my original post to avoid causing offence

Edited July 18, 2012 by kander

[Kiro (DayZ) 57]

The humanity system.

No. Why would my character becomes crazy when I myself is having a load of fun? It'd be completely illogical that your character starts having "remorse" and feel emotions that I, as a player, don't feel.

Stats and rankings

There's already a ranking, press i in-game.

[kander 80]

No. Why would my character becomes crazy when I myself is having a load of fun? It'd be completely illogical that your character starts having "remorse" and feel emotions that I, as a player, don't feel.

But would you IRL? If you would feel no remorse for murder IRL then, sure, this system is irrelevant. Otherwise this is just an (albeit crude) attempt to model these feelings.

There's already a ranking, press i in-game.

Exactly, my proposal would be to remove all rankings - it discourages players pursuing anything other than a personal survival experience.

Edited July 18, 2012 by kander

[duddbudda 33]

this is a fairly commonly held view, even a majority one

the majority can be wrong

To say that anyone who raises mental health issues in relation to murder is insinuating a reverse correlation between the two is, if I might say, rather crass

not nearly so crass as a system wherein the only insane people are murderers who aught be killed to make oneself more sane

[kander 80]

the majority can be wrong

not nearly so crass as a system wherein the only insane people are murderers who aught be killed to make oneself more sane

I do get the feeling we're arguing at cross purposes here.. respectfully disengaging. :)

[Kiro (DayZ) 57]

Exactly, my proposal would be to remove all rankings - it discourages players pursuing anything other than a personal survival experience.

Ok, I agree then.

But it's a server settings thing, I believe there's no ranking on Expert difficulty servers.

[Dickhat 99]

Most of the people on here who act like idiots are older than 18, so don't blame just the kiddies.

Most of the people here are "lolsobadass bandits" that KoS everything.

I'm trying to like this game but there are days were I think I'm playing some kind of CoD with zombies game instead of a zombie apocalypse survival simulator.

Dont you realize the more you bitch the sweeter your tears are?

Oh man you sure showed him.

Are you sure you are 40? Have you been bullied in school and now you have to take it on anonymous people on the internet?

Grow up, pal.

PvP is a nice element of the game as is the tension created by it. However people are, just like this guy, killing people "for teh lulz xDDD" instead of having a reason. This just frustrates other players and drives them to the same path turning the game into a "CoD with inventory and zombies" sort of game.

Yeah in a real life situation we would have deranged psychos that would KoS everyone just "for teh lulz" but this is a mechanic that isn't fun to most people in a game.

Another thing I think is really important to think about is that the human being is a social animal. We don't feel bad about killing people in game because we still got people to talk irl, therefore we don't feel alone in game. If we actually could only talk to other survivors we would think twice about killing them because you would feel alone.

In my opinion things like blood transfusions are the way to go to solve this problem in dayZ. Items/actions/equipments that are really good but require more than one player to be used. Maybe instanced housing where the players could fix their house and for that you would need large amounts of material and work so you could go lone wolf and finish your house in 3 months or team up with 2 other survivors and fix it in a third of the time.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Dickhat

[DeltaElite121 16]

I'm actually surprised Rocket didn't allow some "fix house" mechanism... considering you have to fix everything else that's out there worth a crap. At least in that regard you'de have a reason to use the barbwire rolls.

[NightRipper 284]

Until people stop shooting at me, I'm going to shoot you first. Seriously, I've been gunned down too many times minding my own business. Plus, you never know if the noob with the axe is on the server with a couple of heavily-armed friends the next town over. If I'm feeling charitable, I'll shoot you in the kneecap and disappear into the trees. Taking chances is a great way to get killed in this game.

[Fishmitts 65]

Most of the people here are "lolsobadass bandits" that KoS everything.

I'm trying to like this game but there are days were I think I'm playing some kind of CoD with zombies game instead of a zombie apocalypse survival simulator.

Oh man you sure showed him.

Are you sure you are 40? Have you been bullied in school and now you have to take it on anonymous people on the internet?

Grow up, pal.

First off I'm not your pal, buddy.

Second, My friend and clanmate Zolfo and I, offered our teamspeak to help out new players frustrated with the game and have helped 40+ so far and counting. Btw, calling me a nerd that got bullied is not only un-original, it's fucking stupid. That, and bringing up CoD is also just as brain dead. I'm thinking you need new material. So I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say i've done more for this community in a positive sence than you have just posting yer psychobabble bullshit. See you in Cherno. us 454.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Fishmitts

[Ramboness (DayZ) 15]

>that feel when hunting down good geared people sniping in cherno, elecktro with your trusty lee enfield.

Brings good loot to the table, instead of hunting the airstrips for gear.

[gutzdorf 29]

My gosh. Seriously? I'm 16; I like to play DayZ. So your saying because I lie within a certain age demographic, I shouldn't be able to play? Because when you turn 18, you automatically become a mature person? Nope. I've seen plenty of idiots that are 20-30 that act like 12 year olds in game.

Well yeah you shouldn't be able to play, seeing as the game is rated 18....

And obviously there are dicks of all ages, but the fact remains, if you have 12 year olds running around - the chances are, they will be annoying.

Edited July 18, 2012 by gutzdorf