DayZ Standalone

[bsmaff]

Cover:

Spoiler

Platforms: PC/PS4/Xbox One
Release Date: 16Dec2013

Developer: Bohemia Interactive
Genre: Survival/Action/Adventure

Description:

Spoiler

After a zombie apocalypse destroys most of society, players must survive in a zombie infested Soviet Island, where people can be more dangerous than the infected.

It is finally here, after 18 months in development the Alpha has appeared on Steam for £19.99.

I purchased it first thing this morning and will no doubt give it a proper play tonight.

About the Game
WARNING: THIS GAME IS EARLY ACCESS ALPHA. PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE IT UNLESS YOU WANT TO ACTIVELY SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME AND ARE PREPARED TO HANDLE WITH SERIOUS ISSUES AND POSSIBLE INTERRUPTIONS OF GAME FUNCTIONING.

Welcome to the world of DayZ, hit by a new and presently unknown infection which has wiped out most of the world's population. You are one of the few that have survived and now you must search this new wasteland in order to fight for your life against what is left of the indigenous population now infected with the disease. Go solo, team up with friends or take on the world, as you choose your path in this brutal and chilling landscape using whatever means you stumble upon to survive.
This is DayZ, this is your story.

DayZ is a gritty, authentic, open-world survival horror hybrid-MMO game, in which players follow a single goal: to survive in the harsh post-apocalyptic landscape as long as they can. Players can experience powerful events and emotions arising from the ever-evolving emergent gameplay. There are no superficial tips, waypoints, built in tutorials or help given to players. Every decision matters, there are no save games, no extra lives, every mistake can be lethal. If you fail, you lose everything and you need to play again from the beginning with nothing but your wits, and your two hands. Fight the hostile environment, where every other player can be friend or foe and nothing can be taken for granted.
KEY FEATURES IN ALPHA

◾Chernarus - 230 sq. km chunk of post soviet state, featuring deep forests, cities, villages, abandoned military bases, and more..

◾Up to 40 players per server - Rich server / client architecture developed from scratch.

◾Persistent player profile - Key player data is persistent across all servers.

◾Inventory – Combine various clothing items, equipment and carry all of the items that you will need to survive the harsh new environment in the open and intuitive inventory system developed to answer the needs of crafting and character customization.

◾Crafting - In the apocalyptic world of DayZ, resources are sparse and every useful bit should be utilized. Items or equipment can be improved, turned into something else or fixed using the new crafting mechanisms.

◾Weapon customization – Use customizable firearms with authentic ballistics and weapon characteristics as well as melee weapons to protect yourself against all the dangers a survivor may face.

◾Customizable clothing – Customize your survivor with a multitude of new clothing items that can be scavenged from the remnants of civilization, which provide various degree of protection against the elements, infected, and other survivors.
DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

DayZ is currently in early alpha and we see a lot of work ahead of us in order to make it the true authentic multiplayer experience we want it to be. Current version is including only small subset of game mechanics and serves mostly as test bed with core technology that should serve as basis for future additions and improvements. Currently planned key future features are:

◾Playable vehicles

◾Wide variety of native animal life

◾Player created constructions in the environment

◾Extensive interactions with the environment and crafting options

◾Streamlined user actions and interface

◾Upgraded graphics and physics engine (including ragdoll, etc.)

◾Control and animations expanded and improved for fluidity

◾Support of user mods

We estimate that reaching Beta version with all key features present will take more than one year from current stage. All features and plans listed here are subject to change, we may add or remove features as seen fit during development process.

 

[bsmaff]

Personally I feel Rocket has completely missed the boat on this and it should of been released along time ago.

Epoch is a superb mod and although I will play this tonight and probably over Christmas period, as soon as Epoch for Arma 3 is released it will be a massive good bye to DayZ.

But after a brief game, I got my first kill at Bolota Airfield and now starting the long run through the hills to Chero.
The general performance so far on my laptop is shocking, but the main problems I have encountered is 'Where are the Zeds' I ran past 3 at Bolota but they just ran past me I turned around to see if they were chasing and they disappeared. Personally I thought the game had been worked on for 15-18 months and would of thought it would be much further than this is the development stage.

 

[proxi]

The current state of the game is better than upon release now, though of course there's still loads to add on and then fix. Interesting how you mentioned Epoch. Since Epoch went past the 1.0.1 patch I've been a huge fan of it. I worked with a friend on modifying his server which became really busy, then more servers were made, more scripts were added like AI foot & heli patrols and it became great fun.

But it became so detached from the old DayZ mod and I only fully realised this after playing 15-20 hours now of the standalone. Traders being there to buy the items you'd originally go looting for, sell garbage to repeatedly to get yourself something great. Often in a safezone, as they became popular. Indestructible bases that made the endgame feeling arrive too quick. Touching upon loot again, there was too much of it by default, prices were low on so many items and then many server owners would add 800 vehicles or map edits adding 30 barracks or whatever. People also whining on side chat about bugs or losing items, not realising it's a mod of a mod. Looking back now, Epoch is too much like being wrapped up in cotton wool. I just couldn't play it now. The only thing I miss was the crafting system.

Standalone isn't an "ARGH I NEED TO PLAY IT!!!" experience for me right now but when I've tried it out with a few mates, it's a great prospect and is very tense. The new version of Chernarus, the inventory system and the raw survival aspect that has now returned have made it feel a bit fresher for me. I don't particular care for vehicles anymore. When they arrive, I'm happy for there to just be one or at most two on the map at any one time. It increases the fear and tension when you then hear one in the distance. A crafting system leading to storage and / or bases would be good but it needs to be limited or time-consuming. Boarding up existing structures, digging holes in the floor and setting up camp in the woods would be enough for me.

PS: Follow the FPS guides at the DayzGame forums. I got a massive boost.

 

[Emroth]

I was searching through PS Store and this popped out. Is it this Dayz? The Dayz I heard about coming to Playstation elfteen years ago? I just had to try it!

The Game doesnt help you much. Tutorials are basically few screenshots of your controller. And then you pick your server and off you go..

So there I was, washed out on the shore. I did my research before purchase, I knew there were bugs and glitches. But despite bugs - people were praising the game as something completely different on Playstation.
I also downloaded the map App on my phone. Absolutely brilliant. Didnt help me at all, but looks deadly!

Anyway - attempt number 1.
I saw a farm. Farm - food, tools and animals! Lets go there. Oh, btw - first attempt was a night time. Could barely see a thing. I had a glow stick, but i thought that it might do more harm than good and expose me. I was right. Shortly after I saw few lights and a group of 3 people searching the farm. They saw someone like me - lost, with no equipment. Killed him on the spot. I sat in the bushes. Didnt find a single useful thing on the farm, so i headed into a forest, where I starved to death.

Attempt 2:
Went the other way. Along the coast. This time I had more luck. At least equipment-wise. Found pickaxe, fishing rod, binoculars, backpack.. with pickaxe i dug out some worms. Went fishing. Couldnt figure out how to attach the worm onto the hook, couldnt figure out how to fish. Found a bloke, who started following me. Told him I have no idea where I was and what Im doing. Dont know if he heard/understood me. We killed few zombies, I gave him my pickaxe and starved to death.

Attempt 3.
I realised food and drink is very hard to find and that should be priority no1 during first stage. I went inland and started being more observant. Found some mushrooms in the forest. Ate them. Puked. I've read there are apple, plum and pear trees around. Didnt find any. Same goes to animals. Apparently there is a lot of them too and you can hunt them. Didnt see any.

The map app - i dont know where i am on the map, as all names in game are in russian.
Dont know where to get a knife or matches. I often see people sneaking through the bushes. They rarely trying to kill me. Everyone seems equally lost and desperate. Only high level players with all the gear are a threat, coz they kill you out of boredom.

So during my first few hours, i am nowhere near to create some sustainable character. Nowhere near surviving for longer period of time. I have seen sick people, their characters were coughing and sneezing. Saw bleeding people. People with broken legs.

I have no idea what im doing... and I cant wait to play it again! Its unforgiving, its hardcore, its hopeless. But its also intriguing, addictive and fun.

Perma-death is adding another layer of threat and excitement. The feeling of being lost is overwhelming, but also fun. There are websites which have all the names translated to english, but i wasnt pushed to check it. Finding a farm, or a town, or a hospital on the other side of the hill is exciting and i like it this way.

Its not a game for everyone. Its slow paced, dark and very difficult. But its also fun as hell for anyone who likes survival games.

 

[Dennis_87]

We killed few zombies, I gave him my pickaxe and starved to death.

Lol this shit sounds funny.

 

[Emroth]

Lol this shit sounds funny.

It has a real funny moments and Im getting better. Last night logging off I was still alive!

Attempt previous to the last one was going exceptionally well. Had a shovel, plenty of food, improvised knife, pick axe and I even found and killed a chicken. Was about to craft my first fire, have a proper meal and head inland, when I saw some other bloke on the horizon. Dont know whats up with most of people - they are more psychotic than zombies. I waved to show I am not a hostile and he charged at me with crowbar. I quickly reached for pick axe and we started bashing each other. I killed him, but everything started to go grey. Blood was pumping from my body like a fountain. I started applying bandage, but didnt make it. Died there and then, next to his mashed corpses. What a stupid way to go..

So, new tips
- 80% of people are psychos and remaining 20% will assume you are a psycho, so they will kill you out of fear, as a precaution. Steer clear from others, unless its your mate.
- fruits are not growing on trees. I mean - they do, but you wont find them hanging from branches. They are on the ground, at the bottom of the trees. Took me two days to figure out I should stop looking up and start looking down.
- two stones will make an improvised knife and knife is absolutely essential for your survival. I am yet to find a god damn stones tho. Im walking along the beach, or train tracks, I see stones everywhere, but I cant pick any. The one knife I crafted I got from mining a big boulder with a pick axe and getting small stones this way.

Im having great craic..

 

[Emroth]

I will keep that thread going for a while, coz that game is hilarious!

So as it stands - I still dont know where I am and Im spending most of my time in short attempts of surviving.

I decided to head inland. Again. Had not succeeded to venture too far yet. Found a house in the middle of nowhere. Went inside, found few bits. Didnt have any weapons, just a baseball bat. While upstairs - I heard howling. Pack of wolves came from the forest and surrounded the house. I could see them through the window. Feckers werent going anywhere, just circling around the house and checking perimeter. I was stuck there for ages. Eventually decided to make a run for it. Waited till they went to the back, while I sneaked out the front. Thought I was safe when I saw the whole pack chasing me. I got one or two of them with my desperate swings of a bat and then was eaten alive.

During the next playthrough, I found a body of a survivor. He had a rifle, but no ammo. I took the rifle and carried on. In the next village I found matching ammo rounds. Loaded a gun and thought to myself - "now we are getting somewhere!"
Shortly after that my characted caught some Covid and now Im coughing, sneezing and my temperature is all over the place. Despite finally having a loaded gun - I dont think Im gonna get far this time either...

 

[Emroth]

Shortly after that my characted caught some Covid and now Im coughing, sneezing and my temperature is all over the place. Despite finally having a loaded gun - I dont think Im gonna get far this time either...

Quoting myself since im late to the party and nobody seems to play it.

Surprise surprise! The worst possible start turned out to be the best run so far. 3 dayz later and Im still alive and c̶o̶u̶g̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ kicking!

Found machete, killed a cow, got good few guns, food... life is good!

My two main issues now are
1. Cant find a water bottle/container/pot/can. I have chlorine tablets but cant clean the water, coz I have nothing to store it in. And I cant drink from the river, coz ill get some worms.. there is no wells around since im in the middle of nowhere. Which brings me to my second problem..
2. Still have no fucking clue where am I. I downloaded the map app, Im checking every little town, road signs, getting my head around my location.....and then getting lost again. Its still funny rather than annoying, so im not mad. Yet..

My main mission now is to find a bigger city and a hospital/pharmacy to get rid of that sickness. This coughing and sneezing is driving me up the wall. Have to run around with motorbike helmet on, coz it makes it bit more quiet. Downside is - no one can fucking understand me with the helmet on, coz it changes your voice into quiet mumbling, which is hilarious on its own..


Deadly game!

 

[Emroth]

Sad and surprise ending to my few days long journey, in search for the cure to my sickness.

Found a compass. Finally I was able to pin point exact direction after checking the town I was in on the map. Headed north-west, towards big city with a hospital. Long journey, but I was well prepared.

[Sidestory:
As a child, in real life, I got lost in a big forest. Bit traumatizing, I found a road after couple of hours, stopped a car and asked some guy to bring me back home.

Anyway - this compass made me realise how easy is to get lost in the forest. I was heading North/West. After 5 mins I checked the compass again, just to confirm that Im still on the right track.
I was going South! Unreal..]

Many miles further, more or less half way to the city, I stumbled upon a military base! In the middle of the forest! And inside I found a military field hospital..
What are the chances!
I run inside and started checking all the rooms. Unfortunately - there was no medicine inside. Morphine, bandages, gowns, gloves, but no medicine.. and place was full of zombies.

I decided to check other tents and buildings in hope of finding some night vision googles for the dark nights.

Thats when it started. I heard growling outside. It was a huge pack of wolves. But this time - I had weapons. I shot few of them, but completely miscalculated the outcome. All the zombies from the base came and now I had wolves and zombies to deal with. Needless to say - I did not have enough ammo..

Back to square one.

 

[Emroth]

I dont usually watch streamers, twitchers, youtubers and such, but Sour is an absolute gem. His clips are like movies. This one is brilliant and shows a lot of good stuff from the game.

 

[jaygrim]

I really want to get into this but you need to spend hours and hours on it and my internet husband (@Chris Davies ) has deserted me. And he hates it.

 

[Emroth]

I really want to get into this but you need to spend hours and hours on it and my internet husband (@Chris Davies ) has deserted me. And he hates it.

Ah, bollox! I only play on my Dayz off, late evenings, 2/3 hours and having great fun!
Currently trying to get to the other side of the map where some friendly peeps (who invited me to their domain) have a base. Im 3/4 way through, travelling bit by bit every time.
Even when I self isolate in a shed, in the middle of the night, with a fire and dried pear - im still having great craic!
Of course - I probably wont ever have a Walking Dead base built in there, but I can always have an little adventure!

 

[Emroth]

So.. my first big adventure came to an end. And the end would be embarrassing, if it wasnt so funny..

It all started when I had a little rant on youtube that most people on console kill you on sights, which is a shame, coz there is so much more to this game than shooting each other..
Some fella reached out and invited me to their server. Said its more balanced and there is a lot more mature people there.
So I did. The fella has a group of people and they told me where is their base located, so I could come visit and they would give me some equipment to get me started on building my own little corner of the world.

I figured out where I was, checked where they are and... fucking hell... if I tried, I couldnt be any further from their base!
But that only meant one thing:

Spoiler

I only play few hours on evenings that im off, so I knew it will take me couple of days to get there. I gathered all the food I could find, some water, and off I went.
My journey was more or less this:

Spoiler

I was replenishing my supplies in smaller villages, doing little detours to military checkpoints, hunting animals and camping through the dark and cold nights

Spoiler

Last night I got to about 5km from their base, when it started pissing raining. It was also getting dark and temperature started dropping. One of the guys decided to came over to meet me and lead the rest of the way. This is it, I thought, I made it!

We ran to their base. I was drenched, cold and exhausted. He gathered some supplies, fixed few walls, started a fire... and I died!
Froze to death before I had a chance to sit by the fire. This last, rushed 5km push, turned out to be my end. Poor fella didnt know what happend!
I was pissing myself laughing..
I knew I was getting bad, but I thought once I sit by the fire it will be grand..

I learned a lot during that trip and looking forward to more!

 

[Emroth]

Update:

Month later and im balls deep in that game now and I have to say - its brilliant.

Yes, its laggy and buggy at times, but it doesnt spoil my fun whatsoever.
I've discovered Community servers with some strict rules that weed out dickheads and keep you engaged.
There are settlements, traders, factions, danger zones, custom missions and whatnot.
Some of the servers are going a bit overboard with Role Play and turning the game into Sims, but if you look around - you will find one that suits you.
For me its a nice middle ground between fear and thrill of being killed from official servers and also people who want to engage with you, build with you and create something bigger.
Some servers are slightly modded and have zombie hordes, custom buildings, adjusted loot and night/day cycle changed.

I got few lads from work involved and now we grew to over 10 members, who run, fight, hunt and build together.

Some of the encounters and adventures we have are absolutely hilarious and its one of a few things that helps me relax and keep me sane throughout lockdown and madness around.

We built a car and drove across the whole map just to crash near the base and get trapped inside by zombie horde that surrounded us..

I had died from starvation after giving my dying friend all the food, going into the woods and missing the deer 3 times...

We got lost, nearly died and got saved by some crazy farmer, who was just growing tomatoes in the middle of nowhere...

And last night we were hunting a deer, scoping it, ready to shoot, just to see the deer being spooked by something and running of.. For a second we were wondering what happened, just to see a member of our team suddenly jumping out from the bushes and chasing it with a shovel...

Moral of the story - if you have mates to play with - this is, IMO, one of the best games out there.
Also - dont hunt a deer with a shovel.

 

[bsmaff]

If anyone is interested in this game still.

At very very long last - Namalsk is back

 

[jaygrim]

If anyone is interested in this game still.

At very very long last - Namalsk is back

I'd really love to get into it but I play on xbox.

 

[rockstrongo]

Fucking brutal game,I just keep dying,once I got killed because my shoes sucked (my feet got ripped by thorns and I bled out)
The only time I had some succes,the server shut down
But I keep coming back.
Advices from other players are welcome

 

[Emroth]

@rockstrongo

Spoiler

With the recent updates game has become more challenging in some areas, but at the same time easier in others.

Weather, for example, is affecting you much harder now. You cant really see it, but if you are cold - your hunger and thirst will be going down much faster.

You have to be patient. If you are starting off and its raining - you should get inside and wait for the weather to clear.
Trees around you will spawn fruits. But it will take about 10 minutes before they appear, as fruits/mushrooms spawn depending on player proximity.

Back in the day your first priority was to find knife. Without it - you were bolloxed. Now you can skin animals with any sharp tool.

Your first priority should be water. Get to a well and drink until you are full. This will keep you going for a while. Then slowly go from town to town, living on fruits and snacks. They wont keep you going for long but you'll survive.

Its a good idea to stop at some house from time to time, start a small fire and warm yourself up.

Your goal should be finding sharp tool and hunting an animal. Once you can hunt and have animal meat - you're sorted.

Dont rush and dont forget to wash your hands every time you skin an animal, until you find gloves.
And dont drink from half full bottles and canteens. Empty them and fill with fresh water at the well.

If you find shoes at the start - keep a spare pair on you until you find good shoes or something to fix them with.

 

[rockstrongo]

@rockstrongo

Spoiler

With the recent updates game has become more challenging in some areas, but at the same time easier in others.

Weather, for example, is affecting you much harder now. You cant really see it, but if you are cold - your hunger and thirst will be going down much faster.

You have to be patient. If you are starting off and its raining - you should get inside and wait for the weather to clear.
Trees around you will spawn fruits. But it will take about 10 minutes before they appear, as fruits/mushrooms spawn depending on player proximity.

Back in the day your first priority was to find knife. Without it - you were bolloxed. Now you can skin animals with any sharp tool.

Your first priority should be water. Get to a well and drink until you are full. This will keep you going for a while. Then slowly go from town to town, living on fruits and snacks. They wont keep you going for long but you'll survive.

Its a good idea to stop at some house from time to time, start a small fire and warm yourself up.

Your goal should be finding sharp tool and hunting an animal. Once you can hunt and have animal meat - you're sorted.

Dont rush and dont forget to wash your hands every time you skin an animal, until you find gloves.
And dont drink from half full bottles and canteens. Empty them and fill with fresh water at the well.

If you find shoes at the start - keep a spare pair on you until you find good shoes or something to fix them with.

Man,really good tips Marty.
A million thanks buddy

 

[Emroth]

Anytime, pal. There's plenty more, but I didnt want to scare you...

 

[rockstrongo]

Anytime, pal. There's plenty more, but I didnt want to scare you...

Ha ha,yeah i can Imagine.
Probably the most hardcore game I've played,not much explanation exactly,but that's the charm.

 

[rockstrongo]

Survived for three days this time until I died from starvation.
But started a new one again which is now saved,got a few good items already.

For absolute newbies a good tip is to set the server you play on as "favourite",then you can exit the game and pick it up again from the same spot,if you choose a different server your progress is lost.
Though,if you die,you stay dead regardless.

 

[Emroth]

Id also start on Low Populated servers. You'll have more than enough things to worry about, without psychos killing you on the spot, or worse..

Most of my time I was playing on community servers. There are some really good ones out there, with customised loot, increased amount of animals and zombies (altho with recent update, which made zombies stronger - they might have tuned down on this one)
But more importantly - a lot of community servers have specific rules, like no KOS (unless in military area), clans, wars, shops, events. It certainly makes the game more interesting.
Downside - a lot of community servers are big into roleplay, which is fine if they dont over do it.
I, personally, had a lot of difficulties in taking some of them guys seriously.
There are some proper nutjobs in there.
If you want to try it - get yourself discord and google "dayz xbox rp server". Im sure you'd find few good ones.

 

[rockstrongo]

Id also start on Low Populated servers. You'll have more than enough things to worry about, without psychos killing you on the spot, or worse..

Most of my time I was playing on community servers. There are some really good ones out there, with customised loot, increased amount of animals and zombies (altho with recent update, which made zombies stronger - they might have tuned down on this one)
But more importantly - a lot of community servers have specific rules, like no KOS (unless in military area), clans, wars, shops, events. It certainly makes the game more interesting.
Downside - a lot of community servers are big into roleplay, which is fine if they dont over do it.
I, personally, had a lot of difficulties in taking some of them guys seriously.
There are some proper nutjobs in there.
If you want to try it - get yourself discord and google "dayz xbox rp server". Im sure you'd find few good ones.

Sweet!
Yeah Ive played on the same low populated server all along,kinda need to get hang of it all first.

Been YTbing a lot of Day Z stuff,and there's certainly all sorts of people on.

I'm kinda good just sneaking around in a vanilla server.
You playing anything nowadays?

 

[Emroth]

Making my way through Andromeda, which im planning to follow up with Mass Effect Legendary edition.

I'll be back to Dayz once they bring bows and arrows back. It pisses me off how in post-apocalyptic game I cant craft primitive weapons. They did have bows, arrows and spears in the past.
From the chat I had with them - they are planning to bring them back at some stage.

There was a time, when I was on Dayz constantly and it just got stale a bit.
But when they bring primitive weapons back - ill be a wildling, living in the forest, doing loot runs into town, scaring villagers..

Pity you're on Xbox, as the game is much more fun with someone.
If I remember correctly - @jaygrim is on Xbox and loved Dayz. You could possibly grab him.😁

 

[rockstrongo]

Making my way through Andromeda, which im planning to follow up with Mass Effect Legendary edition.

I'll be back to Dayz once they bring bows and arrows back. It pisses me off how in post-apocalyptic game I cant craft primitive weapons. They did have bows, arrows and spears in the past.
From the chat I had with them - they are planning to bring them back at some stage.

There was a time, when I was on Dayz constantly and it just got stale a bit.
But when they bring primitive weapons back - ill be a wildling, living in the forest, doing loot runs into town, scaring villagers..

Pity you're on Xbox, as the game is much more fun with someone.
If I remember correctly - @jaygrim is on Xbox and loved Dayz. You could possibly grab him.😁

Yeah,that sucks.
Hoping that they could make a fresh take on it with better crafting,wouldn't mind a better look for it either.
Yeah that's cool,see if I can lure @jaygrim in

 

[rockstrongo]

Dont know if this proper hunting ,but I punched a chicken to death
Dinner sorted.

 

[Emroth]

Take it with you and skin it near a source of water, so you can wash your hands afterwards. If you dont - and eat anything in the meantime - you'll get a nice dose of salmonella.

 

[rockstrongo]

Take it with you and skin it near a source of water, so you can wash your hands afterwards. If you dont - and eat anything in the meantime - you'll get a nice dose of salmonella.

Yeah couldn't start a fire (no matches)
Thing is ,i was pretty close to you ,in a village called Pusta (Nycta) ,but got killed by some dude tricking me ,after I helped him too

 

[Emroth]

Yeah couldn't start a fire (no matches)
Thing is ,i was pretty close to you ,in a village called Pusta (Nycta) ,but got killed by some dude tricking me ,after I helped him too

Dickhead. You should try to avoid others. If you have any sharp tool - you can scrape bark of the tree. Together with a short stick you can make hand drill to start a fire.