A noob unfriendly game.

[Hellvern 1]

Hey guys.

I managed to install DayZ today, and have been attempting to play it since installation.

When I bought Arma2 yesterday I made sure to go through the majority of bootcamp missions that would be of use, and even played the game for a little to get a hang of how things worked. Unfortunately, I can honestly say, any such prep you do at all in the main game is almost utterly useless until you establish yourself in DayZ, and none of it really emphasises how you use items within your inventory such as bandages or the flashlight.

Now I've been watching a number of DayZ vids, and it became quite clear that the removal of the Makarov, and the increased awareness of the A.I would make this game a pain, but I underestimated just how much of a pain it would be! Here is my problem or rather my experience thus far;

First Attempt: I start on a beach with a village to my right. I avoid the village and go through the forests and happen upon a barn, I check for zombies, run around the outskirts of the barn keeping to the treeline, seeing none, i go inside the barn, and find a shotgun with two slugs. Almost IMMEDIATELY on picking up the gun, I notice four zombies just spawn at the entrance of the barn. I try and sneak around them via crouching, but it doesn't work, they chase me, and after about ten minutes of running through a vast pine forest, i start suffering blood loss from a hit, i keep going, but eventually pass out (still being chased btw) when I wake up, more Zombies have spawned and I'am torn to pieces.

Second Attempt: I spawn on the outskirts of a City, and instantly a team of zombies come storming down from a mound beside me before I even get so much a chance to take my first step, I swim for it, but they swim after me, i lose connection, relog, and they're gone, swim onto a large concrete bay, fall of it into the water, go straight through the water, hit the sea floor like its all made out of thin air, break my legs and bleed to death, slowly, underwater.

Third Attempt: Just like before, only next to a village, Zombies appear pretty much straight away, I have just enough time to crouch before they rip me a new one.

My 'first impressions' thus far are bad and i'm hugely narked. I probably couldn't go and take a piss behind a tree without some slobbering mutant on the other side of the country locking on to me. I know its Alpha, sure, but the A.I awareness is a joke, the sudden and random spawning of zombies next to you is a joke (and its unfair/unrealistic anyway) and so is player spawning which certainly doesn't work with the A.I awareness. Never mind the fact that when they find you they don't seem to stop chasing you. Why would a survivor choose to be just sitting on a beach beside a zombie hive?? What was the gibbering moron doing before I took over?!

Anyway, I hope something is done to make the first few steps manageable, I wouldn't be so annoyed if we could at least have a gun, at least that way I could try and defend myself. Otherwise, i'm not going to get anywhere with this.

[SteppyZz 45]

http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/211409

[zynx33 7]

It's actually really easy, you don't sneak around the zombies, they have to walk inside of buildings so you lose them inside buildings or up steep hills. I've respawned 20+ times and it's easy to gear up and head out.

[Max Planck 7174]

http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/211409

Well he is in the new player forum.

To OP:

It sounds like you have been running, you need to crouchwalk pretty much all the time.

Also remember that the zeds have a field of vision, they can see thing in front of them from far away, but can't see anything behind themselves.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Max Planck

[Hellvern 1]

It's actually really easy, you don't sneak around the zombies, they have to walk inside of buildings so you lose them inside buildings or up steep hills. I've respawned 20+ times and it's easy to gear up and head out.

All well and good, but thats real hard to do if there are no buildings to run into (at least not without attracting more of them) or if your spawned in a large open plain. My first attempt I thought that running through the trees, and trying to restealth would help me out, but one of the infected was just all out relentless and was still after me, thats when i got hit and started to lose blood. That was a bit of a shock. But the next few times I was hugely unlucky with where I spawned and being attacked almost instantly didn't help either.

[chunkeymonkey79 86]

I'll sum it up in 2 short sentences: This is supposed to be a noob unfriendly game. Get good, deal with it.

Edited July 29, 2012 by chunkeymonkey79

[Deathunt 10]

I'm new, <insert rage>.

Well, mate, just try to find out more about exploits/bugs.

Maybe the abort->disconnect exploit. You know. The one that makes the zombies despawn around you. You know this one, right.

People might say it's "BAD AND DISGUSTING YOU RUIN DA GAEM OMG", but it's fair since you're new/ungeared.

I hope this helps

[Traios 2]

I'm a noob and compared to this I've had really good luck, i always spawn on the beach with no zeds around or in a city with no zeds around, I find a weapon and head inland for other supplies, right now I have an Enfield (risky i know but against players), a revolver (against zombies) and heat packs, a map,food and water. Epi-pen morphine and a blood bag as well as a tent! I murdered someone with an axe he seemed innocent but he probably would of stolen some of my loot. Desperate times comes for desperate measures i guess. All I can say is don't give up on the game or wait for the next patch at least. Remember it is still in Alpha, a lot will be changed!

[Hellvern 1]

I'm a noob and compared to this I've had really good luck, i always spawn on the beach with no zeds around or in a city with no zeds around, I find a weapon and head inland for other supplies, right now I have an Enfield (risky i know but against players), a revolver (against zombies) and heat packs, a map,food and water. Epi-pen morphine and a blood bag as well as a tent! I murdered someone with an axe he seemed innocent but he probably would of stolen some of my loot. Desperate times comes for desperate measures i guess. All I can say is don't give up on the game or wait for the next patch at least. Remember it is still in Alpha, a lot will be changed!

I haven't given up on it yet, that will take a while to wear me down to the point i get bored of it, but it cannot be argued otherwise that it is HUGELY annoying when you get the shit ripped out of you a few seconds into the game.

Well he is in the new player forum.

To OP:

It sounds like you have been running, you need to crouchwalk pretty much all the time.

Also remember that the zeds have a field of vision, they can see thing in front of them from far away, but can't see anything behind themselves.

I crouch and crawl most of the time, I only run when they're after me xD. I managed to stealth around a village on my first attempt, aside for the last two attempts when they are just there as soon as I start, or if they spawn beside me I don't have so much of a problem, though it'd be nice if the A.I awareness was cut down or maintained somewhat, seems they can locate you if they are on the other side of objects sometimes.

Just as an overall comment, aside from a few comments, most replies made have been utter wank. If your incapable of actually helping to advise players in an mature fashion then your clearly not much use in the new player thread and shouldn't really be participating. Being obnoxious only makes yourself look like a jerk, no one else.

[indie 0]

I don't find this game to be that hard at all. You just got to know what your doing. Wait until you go and meet another player who wants you dead.

And please, stop complaining about how "bad" the AI is. This game is only in Alpha. You should be grateful you can actually play this game, and not having to wait till it fully releases. It's called being an Alpha Tester. Your suppose to help Rocket out by reporting bugs, trying out new thing, and more.

[Shikhee 2]

You can lose zombies fairly easily. I managed to run straight through elektro and get a huge train on me then lose then by turning a few corners. If you being chased by them just run backwards and shoot them.

Some of the easiest places to gear up is deer stands. They don't spawn too many zombies and they can be avoided completely by just letting them walk away.

[bakers711 1]

what is it with noobs and complaining about they're shitty expirence I had no trouble when starting this mod for the first time and honestly i kill my player so i can respawn and start all over again. just run don't even try sneaking its not worth it. zombies after you run through a building and lay down on the side of the building they'll run right past you.

Edited July 30, 2012 by DrDounut

[Ejaculacid 19]

This games hard? The hardest thing related to this game is finding a suitable object to wedge under the E/S key to autorun ;~)

Edited July 30, 2012 by Ejaculacid

[Huntra 35]

It's not as hard as you are making out, if you're prone the zombies barely see you. If you're in an area a player hasn't visited in a while all the zombies will freshly spawn just for you so no suprises. As a noob the best way is to play very cautiously. When you spawn don't spend too much time on the coast, if you're near some buildings prone in and out fast to grab what you can and head a bit in land til you're in the treeline. Use a map like this http://dayzmap.com/ land earn to recognise your starting location from the shape of the coastline, this can be hard at first but after a while it's easy. Head a bit north and just loot some deer stands and barns and stuff, when you've got a weapon try a town for some food and medicine. Don't head directly north from cherno or elekro espesially on high population servers as you're just asking to picked off by a bandit. Once you've got food drink and medicine and some weapons you can basically go anywhere on the map. Knowing your location is a huge advantage in this game. You can plot routes that don't take you too close to hubs of activity. You can get your direction from the sun for christ sake you don't even need a compass. Find yourself on the map from landmarks and just follow the safer areas its easy.

[Chandler (DayZ) 14]

Hellvern. Watch this video. It's of a guy walking you through right after he spawns in with a fresh survivor. He begins with no gun since it's a current tutorial vid and shows you what he does to deal with the zeds while gearing up in a major city. Give it a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiz9208kRLg&feature=player_embedded

Edited July 30, 2012 by ChandlerL

[Twogainz 1]

After playing for a bit the game becomes easy, I wish dayz would become harder, it's become so easy to survive.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Juicebox

[WisdomSnork 42]

If your incapable of actually helping to advise players in an mature fashion then your clearly not much use in the new player thread and shouldn't really be participating

This is the statement of a grade A wanker.

There are dozens of videos and guides on how to make a decent start, none of them include insulting the people who are trying to help you.

Anyway, I started playing a week ago, and after just searching the forums.. without having to insult anyone, I was able to find all of the answers I needed and a few people to help me out with learning how to use my gear.

I'd be thrilled to add you to my skype and help you, as long as you promise not to waste your kill streak power ups.

Edited July 30, 2012 by WisdomSnork

[Wolfgrey666 29]

Well, mate, just try to find out more about exploits/bugs.

Maybe the abort->disconnect exploit. You know. The one that makes the zombies despawn around you. You know this one, right.

People might say it's "BAD AND DISGUSTING YOU RUIN DA GAEM OMG", but it's fair since you're new/ungeared.

I hope this helps

Hope it get's patched soon so this crap stops.

[WisdomSnork 42]

Nothing is unfair in this very early stage game. We're not playing for fun, we're playing to test the thing (even if we're having damn fun while we do it, we're not customers, we're testers). We're SUPPOSED to be breaking every rule we can so that Rocket knows what rules he has to fix or tighten up.

Have at it. Server hop, mid-fight abort, use your infinite ammo. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[Max Planck 7174]

This is the statement of a grade A wanker.

There are dozens of videos and guides on how to make a decent start, none of them include insulting the people who are trying to help you.

Anyway, I started playing a week ago, and after just searching the forums.. without having to insult anyone, I was able to find all of the answers I needed and a few people to help me out with learning how to use my gear.

I'd be thrilled to add you to my skype and help you, as long as you promise not to waste your kill streak power ups.

Pffft. OP didn't insult anyone, he posted in the new player discussion forum, and was met with this shit:

http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/211409

I think you might be the wanker here.

[renegade9x 5]

You will die alot - this is supposed to be an important aspect of the game. As others have said, do not get too attached to your possessions. From there, unfortuantely, you will learn to shoot first and ask questions later. Take all the risks early and as your age progresses a healthy dose of paranoia will keep you alive longer.

[Dumr 0]

today I died with cobra full ammo, 1911 pistol with 6 mags, alice pack, knife, matches and other stuff. After a run in Cherno ( 45 mins ), now I have, full food alice pack, drinks, AKM with 5 mags, g17 pistol with 4 mags, 4 blood bags, and other necesary tools such as compas, map, watch, only drawback is I have 3000 blood because of my stupidity, I am waiting for my buddies to come online. All this was made solo, so game isn't hard, I am playing for a week now.

[miket 92]

I'm almost certain that the increased aggro range is a bug. I come to this conclusion from seeing that on some srvers the aggro range is normal, and that the change was only present on some servers after patch 1.7.2.4 was released.

[witek26 9]

My noob experience was not finding anything and dieing a lot. About on my 3rd life I went to cherno, searched through all pubs, only finding a revolver with no ammo. Noobs in this game are unlucky I guess.

[Boomstick (DayZ) 41]

Hey guys.

I managed to install DayZ today, and have been attempting to play it since installation.

When I bought Arma2 yesterday I made sure to go through the majority of bootcamp missions that would be of use, and even played the game for a little to get a hang of how things worked. Unfortunately, I can honestly say, any such prep you do at all in the main game is almost utterly useless until you establish yourself in DayZ, and none of it really emphasises how you use items within your inventory such as bandages or the flashlight.

Now I've been watching a number of DayZ vids, and it became quite clear that the removal of the Makarov, and the increased awareness of the A.I would make this game a pain, but I underestimated just how much of a pain it would be! Here is my problem or rather my experience thus far;

First Attempt: I start on a beach with a village to my right. I avoid the village and go through the forests and happen upon a barn, I check for zombies, run around the outskirts of the barn keeping to the treeline, seeing none, i go inside the barn, and find a shotgun with two slugs. Almost IMMEDIATELY on picking up the gun, I notice four zombies just spawn at the entrance of the barn. I try and sneak around them via crouching, but it doesn't work, they chase me, and after about ten minutes of running through a vast pine forest, i start suffering blood loss from a hit, i keep going, but eventually pass out (still being chased btw) when I wake up, more Zombies have spawned and I'am torn to pieces.

Second Attempt: I spawn on the outskirts of a City, and instantly a team of zombies come storming down from a mound beside me before I even get so much a chance to take my first step, I swim for it, but they swim after me, i lose connection, relog, and they're gone, swim onto a large concrete bay, fall of it into the water, go straight through the water, hit the sea floor like its all made out of thin air, break my legs and bleed to death, slowly, underwater.

Third Attempt: Just like before, only next to a village, Zombies appear pretty much straight away, I have just enough time to crouch before they rip me a new one.

My 'first impressions' thus far are bad and i'm hugely narked. I probably couldn't go and take a piss behind a tree without some slobbering mutant on the other side of the country locking on to me. I know its Alpha, sure, but the A.I awareness is a joke, the sudden and random spawning of zombies next to you is a joke (and its unfair/unrealistic anyway) and so is player spawning which certainly doesn't work with the A.I awareness. Never mind the fact that when they find you they don't seem to stop chasing you. Why would a survivor choose to be just sitting on a beach beside a zombie hive?? What was the gibbering moron doing before I took over?!

Anyway, I hope something is done to make the first few steps manageable, I wouldn't be so annoyed if we could at least have a gun, at least that way I could try and defend myself. Otherwise, i'm not going to get anywhere with this.

You think the zombies are difficult?

Pay a visit to a populated area sometime and good luck trying to pick out the piece of metal a sniper has just embedded into your skull.

FYI, DayZ is very noob unfriendly, but any idiot can learn to play, I did. Read guides on how to lose zombies then learn very fast to kill other players on sight.