Could Day Z be a successful standalone game?

[Rek Seven 37]

I’ve been playing Day Z for a while now and my current character is about 3 weeks old. I think it’s a brilliant “experience” but I’ve started to wonder if it’s a good game...

I was watching The Walking Dead last night and wondered what i would actually do in a zombie apocalypse. I came to the conclusion that, as social beings, our main goal would be to either find a surviving civilisation or create a new one... Because without people, what is the point?

Currently, the main activities in Day z are searching for loot and killing players. You may disagree but i don’t think people would be murdering the last remaining survivors in a zombie apocalypse, without good reason.

So why is murder so rampant in Day Z? Other than the obvious “because it’s a game”, I believe it’s because zombies aren’t enough of a threat and they are not as satisfying to kill.

This all leads me to feel that Day Z, in its current form, does not provide a good enough experience to be a mass selling game with longevity.

So what would make this a successful game IMO?

1. In-game ability to find groups – Radio towers, flair guns, notes, etc.
   
2. Construction – ability to build a camp with high walls, watch towers, lighting, farm land for crops and cattle, etc
   
3. More zombies – probably not possible on the current engine but the threat from zombies should come from the number of them not the claw to the face that has a chance for breaking your legs. The AI could use some improvements to.
   

[houcksf 13]

Once they tidy up the zombie AI and animation (which they are), then they work on hackers/alt+F4ers then the game is pretty good for a release and people would stay and keep playing. It's the players that make this world, so it's up to you to make it more fun. I do this by attempting to hold up my victims rather than just shooting them.

[Ankhenaten 111]

1. Construction – ability to build a camp with high walls, watch towers, lighting, farm land for crops and cattle, etc
   

Second life with guns. As far as I know second life looks so crap as the load to let users build a ton of stuff comes with a computing bandwidth penalty. They invented prims. Moreorless just normal maps .. Mincecraft isn't the hottest looker either.

[mythTECH (DayZ) 80]

This has all been said a hundreds times over.

[alpha599 2]

I agree that there needs to be more incentive to to work with other players. Right now it is too easy to outrun the zeds which makes gameplay a little more concentrated on killing other players.

[Rudson (DayZ) 61]

Simple answer: yes of course

I remind you that this is alpha, this is a mod, there are many things rocket will change but at this point he just can´t and so on.

Befor you make a post like this, you should think how YOU could play the game more realistic more fun! Things you mentioned in your post can be done. Go out, find a group, build a tentcity, try helping other survivors, make a bigger group and add some of your own imagination to make this game an unique and special experience!

From time to time it makes me sad, that some players need a guideline to play a game. Create your own targets boy before writing some sort of concerned topic about what you are not able to do in the game and therefor it will not be a standalone success. WTF

[DieBrotmafia 79]

I thought I heard in an interview Rocket wanted to introduce the ability to build bases. Together with your points this might make the game more interesting. Maybe add a few zombie hoards that roam the world to make everything more interesting outside of the cities.

[Rek Seven 37]

Simple answer: yes of course

I remind you that this is alpha, this is a mod, there are many things rocket will change but at this point he just can´t and so on.

Befor you make a post like this, you should think how YOU could play the game more realistic more fun! Things you mentioned in your post can be done. Go out, find a group, build a tentcity, try helping other survivors, make a bigger group and add some of your own imagination to make this game an unique and special experience!

From time to time it makes me sad, that some players need a guideline to play a game. Create your own targets boy before writing some sort of concerned topic about what you are not able to do in the game and therefor it will not be a standalone success. WTF

Kind of a douchey reply but whatever.

Firstly, i've been playing eve online for a couple years so i know all about the theory of creating your own experience ;) , but this is just something developers say when they lack the resources or creativity to put cool shit in their games as ultimatly, the player will all ways be limited by the tool (or lack there of) the developers provide.

The question was, what does this game need to make it a successful stand alone game? I don't need your advice on how to play the game. It's easy to sit on your hardcore gamer pedestal and criticize others for being noobs, lacking imagination or having a life.

If you believe that day z would be a mass market success in it's current form, you are entitled to that opinion but my opinion would be that you are a fool to think so.

Perhaps i didn't make it clear initially but my main point is that the zombies need to be more of a threat. Not by increasing their damage or speed but by increasing the number of them so that we see massive zombie hordes roaming around.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Rek Seven

[core.- 28]

Kind of a douchey reply but whatever.

Firstly, i've been playing eve online for a couple years so i know all about the theory of creating your own experience ;) , but this is just something developers say when they lack the resources or creativity to put cool shit in their games as ultimatly, the player will all ways be limited by the tool (or lack there of) the developers provide.

The question was, what does this game need to make it a successful stand alone game? I don't need your advice on how to play the game. It's easy to sit on your hardcore gamer pedestal and criticize others for being noobs, lacking imagination or having a life.

If you believe that day z would be a mass market success in it's current form, you are entitled to that opinion but my opinion would be that you are a fool to think so.

I dont care about your online qualifications... learn to use the damn search button.

Team Rocket already plans to make this a standalone.

Edited August 1, 2012 by core.-

[thomas.scriven@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk 4]

Team Rocket already plans to make this a standalone.

Not in its current form.

[Andrej Dudev 50]

Yes, DayZ has the potential to become a bestseller.

[core.- 28]

Not in its current form.

-.- of course not master.

Edited August 1, 2012 by core.-

[Rek Seven 37]

Yes, DayZ has the potential to become a bestseller.

I agree that it has potential to be a best seller but lets say rockets cleared up all the bugs and released it tomorrow, do you really think the game, in it's current form, would sell over 3 million (what the industry considers a success)?

Edited August 1, 2012 by Rek Seven

[haviv[3rdid] 57]

I suppose it would bother me if a standalone dayz is released with no mod support. DayZ wouldn't have been possible without ArmA2's rich mod support, we want this to be a message to other game devs that mod support is a good thing and we end up with a completely locked down game?

[Rudson (DayZ) 61]

I agree that it has potential to be a best seller but lets say rockets cleared up all the bugs and released it tomorrow, do you really think the game, in it's current form, would sell over 3 million (what the industry considers a success)?

Pointless question don´t you think. The game is not even finished. It will be a long way to a standalone product and for a indipentend label it would be already a success if they sell "only" one million copies.

[Rek Seven 37]

Pointless question don´t you think. The game is not even finished. It will be a long way to a standalone product and for a indipentend label it would be already a success if they sell "only" one million copies.

I wouldn't say it was a pointless question. There are a lot of great suggestions out there but i want to know what you guys think are vital aditions for the game to be a mass market sucess.

[Rudson (DayZ) 61]

The suggestion section of the forum is full of ideas. But i believe that the dayz team is not trying to deliver the "mass market"

[StzA 10]

Even in its Alpha stage, this is the best game Ive played in a very long time. So yes the potential is massive for the game.

It isnt for everybody and I hope it stays that way. PC gaming is swamped with dumbed down easy games because they appeal to the mass market, It sucks.

Edited August 1, 2012 by StzA

[- Valkyrie - 89]

This has all been said a hundreds times over.

Over and over a fucking million times. I'm lately getting sick of it. Every noob starts a new thread about how this and that has to be improved else the game won't make it and fail etc etc etc etc etc ...

My eyes started bleeding every time I see a new thread like this. If you guys are all so smart, then go make a mod yourself or contact Rocket directly with the needed details, codes and fixes you managed to make. Else stop posting bullshit on the forums. Or at least before you are about to post, take those 2minutes and scroll down, and you'll see the same thread as yours, then post in it, rather then starting a new thread for this non sense.

Edited August 1, 2012 by `CaRnAgE..

[TheStoryteller01 12]

It can, if it gets all the usual stuff that commercially sucessful shooters have:

- a singleplayer offline campaign worth 10-30 hours of playing time (depending on the players skill and difficulty level)

- several maps and game modes for online PvP or teamplay

Right now dayz is online only with a single map and a single game mode. Thats a typical mod, which just happens to have 500k+ fans. If you think this mod is huge you should take a look at some of the stuff, people have made for NWN, NWN2, TES: Oblivion or Fallout 3. Compared with this, dayz is small fish.

Don't get me wrong, I like dayz as it is now and I am willing to pay for a stable bug&hackerfree version - but we are still miles away from something that earns even the DLC tag, let alone calling it a full game.

Edited August 1, 2012 by TheStoryteller01

[Aira 22]

No longtime terms for now.

The only reason to play if you have everything is to play deathmatch, loose everything and start over again.

Other sandbox games like eve have at least some kind of space the players can hold + a market you can influence in some way.

Deathmatch only with few zombies thrown in is too booring for a game in long term.

[Rudson (DayZ) 61]

It can, if it gets all the usual stuff that commercially sucessful shooters have:

- a singleplayer offline campaign worth 10-30 hours of playing time (depending on the players skill and difficulty level)

- several maps and game modes for online PvP or teamplay

it´s getting silly...

could someone just close this topic?

[Rek Seven 37]

It can, if it gets all the usual stuff that commercially sucessful shooters have:

- a singleplayer offline campaign worth 10-30 hours of playing time (depending on the players skill and difficulty level)

- several maps and game modes for online PvP or teamplay

Right now dayz is online only with a single map and a single game mode. Thats a typical mod, which just happens to have 500k+ fans. If you think this mod is huge you should take a look at some of the stuff, people have made for NWN, NWN2, TES: Oblivion or Fallout 3. Compared with this, dayz is small fish.

Don't get me wrong, I like dayz as it is now and I am willing to pay for a stable bug&hackerfree version - but we are still miles away from something that earns even the DLC tag, let alone calling it a full game.

it´s getting silly...

could someone just close this topic?

I'm afraid that threads don't get locked just because someone has a different opinion to you. This is how the adult world works. If you don't like the the subject matter, you are welcome to leave.

However, i don't agree with "Thestoryteller01". This game does not need a single player mode. There are plenty of good games out there already that provide that experience.

Player interaction is what makes this game interesting and i would like to see more tolls that enable us to group up easier and different goals for a group to accomplish.

[Andrej Dudev 50]

I agree that it has potential to be a best seller but lets say rockets cleared up all the bugs and released it tomorrow, do you really think the game, in it's current form, would sell over 3 million (what the industry considers a success)?

Clearly no, at this state DayZ is not ready for anything that is not an alpha test.

[crazyshadowdami 1]

in this game, i try to survive. in real world, i would probably kill my self with the starting soda can.