DayZ as a Standalone game...?

[katipo66 94]

Something like Namalsk...

[metalcraze 290]

It will be better if BIS will just go with making it standalone with a separately developed map just for this game mode instead of keeping it as a mod. IMO none of the community-made maps for ArmA2 compares with Chernarus - especially for a zombie mod. There are either big but totally flat and barely detailed maps or well detailed and hilly but small (and Namalsk goes into the small category). DayZ needs a map the size of Chernarus with more detail than Chernarus - also forests and big cities, not small villages. Especially big cities.

Standalone game seems viable since DayZ now gets 2k unique players per day. It overlaps 45 servers atm but they still can't handle that. And it's 3 weeks old.

Combined Ops is one of the top sellers on Steam this week and try to guess why.

[krycek 349]

Emita or Taviana would be perfect places for zombillys.

[-)rStrangelove 0]

It turned into deathmatch because ppl dont really NEED to help each other. If zombies would be scripted to hunt down isolated ppl the most then getting together in groups would be far more important.

[maddogx 13]

)rStrangelove;2146981']It turned into deathmatch because ppl dont really NEED to help each other. If zombies would be scripted to hunt down isolated ppl the most then getting together in groups would be far more important.

Wouldn't make much sense though, I think. More survivors logically attract more attention.

Surely there must be some other way to promote survivor team play, and without resorting to "cheap tricks" like in Left 4 Dead (i.e. 1 med pack per person, downed people need to be helped up etc.).

One possibility would be to make healing only work properly if players heal each other and not themselves... like make the bandages only work 50% if you apply them to yourself, but 100% if another player applies it for you.

Also, some kind of simulation of fear would be interesting - if you are alone (far away from live survivors) for a while, you start suffering certain effects that simulate panic - perhaps shaky aim, blurry vision etc. It shouldn't start immediately and not be too bad or even noticable at first, but it should get progressively worse the longer you are alone. Say after half an hour alone you start getting mild shakes, after another half hour they get worse, and the longer you're alone the worse it gets. Staying close to other survivors should reverse the effect over time - the more survivors, the faster and better.

Put simply, it would be a kind of "morale meter".

[jedra 11]

It definitely needs something to drag it out of this 'free for all' spiral. I quite liked it initially, but now I don't - for two main reasons;

1. It's always dark because my 'play time' is always at the same time.

2. It's basically just free for all with no real incentive to play co-operatively or a dis-incentive to becomming a bandit. I hate 'free for all' - there are loads of games out there that do that.

Maybe over time, people will band together and form communities against the bandits (as would likely happen in real life) or (more likely I think), people will just stop playing.

I think it's great as a mod and should stay that way as for every few people that buy Arma for the zombies, one or two may start to play it for it's base game.

Anyway there is an opportunity here to make a great social game and promote the core Arma too.

[metalcraze 290]

Also, some kind of simulation of fear would be interesting - if you are alone (far away from live survivors) for a while, you start suffering certain effects that simulate panic - perhaps shaky aim, blurry vision etc. It shouldn't start immediately and not be too bad or even noticable at first, but it should get progressively worse the longer you are alone. Say after half an hour alone you start getting mild shakes, after another half hour they get worse, and the longer you're alone the worse it gets. Staying close to other survivors should reverse the effect over time - the more survivors, the faster and better.

Put simply, it would be a kind of "morale meter".

I can predict how it will go. Some player with a shaky aim will approach the group (provided they won't just shoot him for his delicious canned beans right away - since they don't suffer from low morale). He then will tug along until he suffers no longer. Then he will shoot them all and will take all of their delicious canned beans. Repeat the cycle every time low morale kicks in.

[MissileMoose 10]

Hello,

DayZ has attracted a variety of people with different playing styles from all over the world and it is my understanding that most of them haven't experienced ArmA 2 in the way it 'should be played' which is in a group using teamwork (Not saying that's how DayZ should be played). If you can add group/posse/squad management features to the game then people will be more likely to join up and stick together. People would have to make that decision to either move on their own and risk being overwhelmed by another group, or join a group and be a little more protected from others. I think it'll add more of a risk to the gameplay and since people spend hours trying to find items, it'll make them think harder about the way they want to play the game.

Certain advantages of being in a group with others may work too. I'll quickly write some up so you can all get an idea what I'm thinking.

Group Advantages:

Members: - - Advantage:

1 - 4 - - - - - Share food; Private group chat.

5 - 8 - - - - - Setup camp sites for storage and respawn.

9 - 12 - - - - - Chance to deter certain zombies if together (?); Small % more food/loot if together(?).

What do you all think?

[fraczek 4]

Just few numbers from dayzmod.com statistics. ~2000 bandits, ~30000 murders. 15 murders per bandit ON AVERAGE. Meaning there are bandits who murder 2-3 times, and there are also bandits who murder 100 times. But still, 15 on average. Just food for thought.

[maddogx 13]

I can predict how it will go. Some player with a shaky aim will approach the group...

If there are groups then yay! Mission accomplished. People will, of course, still kill each other regardless, but at least players will be encouraged not to lone wolf it and kill everyone they see. Teaming up in pairs would be minimum.

To expand upon my idea, the lowering of morale could also be predicated on the amount of zombies you encounter - meaning that facing a larger horde of zombies could lower your morale faster, and even do so if you aren't alone. The larger your group, the more "robust" your morale becomes in the face of frequent zombie horde encounters. That means a small group (2-3) could briefly venture into a town to scavenge for food, but might become panicked after a while. But a larger group (5-7) could last much longer and even hole up in a building, despite being much closer to a large number of zombies.

EDIT - BONUS IDEA: Add packs of cigarettes. Smoking a cig could temporarily reduce the effects of panic, making them a valuable commodity. I know it works for me. :D

Edited May 9, 2012 by MadDogX

[NeMeSiS 11]

I disagree with the 'shacking when alone' idea, it really breaks the immersion if my character is scared while i am not, no forced emotions please. Also, i think you should be able to be on your own if you want to.

I think that giving players larger goals which cannot be completed alone should be enough incentive to make people work in groups.

[metalcraze 290]

You can replace "the group" with "the other player". The only difference will be that whoever loses low morale effects first - shoots first.

[maddogx 13]

You can replace "the group" with "the other player". The only difference will be that whoever loses low morale effects first - shoots first.

Unless causing or witnessing the death of a person who was bolstering your morale instantly has a detrimental effect on your morale. That would be an interesting twist, I think. :D

But NeMeSiS has a point - punishing people for playing alone proably isn't the best idea. On the other hand, finding sensible "goals" that can only be accomplished by groups and are enticing enough to encourage lone wolfs to team up, instead of killing players for their stuff instead seems fairly difficult.

The carrot (rewarding team play) is generally better than the stick (punishing lone wolf behavior), but your carrot has to taste good in order to be effective.

[metalcraze 290]

So why wouldn't I want to kill the other guy after completing a quest for his part of the reward? :D

[maddogx 13]

So why wouldn't I want to kill the other guy after completing a quest for his part of the reward? :D

A valid point.

Also, you have an evil mind. :D

[jerryhopper 286]

On twitter, there is quite a buzz around dayz...

im monitoring some keywords, and added dayz - and lately its going berzerk!

So im definatly gonna try it, but 'its own game' nah.. i dont think its neccesary.

its up to the dayzmod how to promote, and the minimal arma2 requirements.

After all, it has always been like this, buy 1 game - and get a whole lot of community-variaties of that game. you gotto love bis for that.

[jblackrupert 14]

With all this talk about beans, I think a Blazing Saddles sound addon is in order.

[MissileMoose 10]

There's no need to punish players that play alone. Just give certain (balanced) benefits to the ones that take the time to form groups.

[4 IN 1 0]

Yeah, group bonus should be used instead of lone wolf nerf.

[Robster 11]

There goes the military concept of a great game just to please even more casual players just shooting at retarded life forms..... :rolleyes:

yeah! you mean coop game style against IA, right? hahaha

[NoRailgunner 0]

Oh hai Robster, you can't do anything else than spawn-kill-respawn? Hmmm.... there are games made for such simple fun/"killing time" just search for 'shooter'! DayZ can be more than just the average/boring deathmatch CQB.... ;)

[Craig_VG 20]

Now as my VGA died, I'm not playing it anymore, but what I heard about is that the players only kill each other and they are all kids, I loved the mod, but just remember that BIS is not EA. As a DLC or a mod it would be a good idea to ArmA III.

I played bobtom's DZS and DayZ, I watched the gamemode of my dreams becoming a zombie deathmatch. Thanks for forget that we play ArmA not CoD.

But, the mod is really good (:

Are you saying that DZS is like CoD? Have you seen the parameter list?

[W0lle 1050]

In this thread, only the possibility of DayZ as a standalone game is discussed. Any other DayZ discussion goes in the the release thread in Addons&Mods:Complete.

[SPC.Spets 21]

If BIS makes a ZOmbie DLC is going to be an instabuy, I know many people that dont like Arma2 and they are buying it just becasue this mod with zombies, BIS you should do it, before Walking Dead series is over

[Tonci87 163]

IMHO it would be wr0ng to suddenly turn a free mod into a DLC