Discussion
It's buggy. When the stars align and everything works you can have some fun with your friends doing attacks on an enemy occupied town, but the sheer work that will need to go into getting to this point is enormous.
It's also boring. A vast map which looks good, but has little to reward deep exploration of the endless forest lands and soviet structures.
You start at the beach, only to spend the next hour trying to reach your friends further in the map. And reaching your friends at all is only assuming that you don't die of hunger or thirst having nothing left after you've eaten the single piece of fruit you started with, or die of exposure when the rain comes and soaks your underdressed character. Surviving this won't be enough, you'll have to hope you dont encounter a zombie that clips through a wall and grabs you when chasing you, and then hope that your character doesn't clip through the map and fall to their death when trying to escape and lose all your gear. Speaking of gear, don't put it down as you might find you can't pick it up, and that nice gun you found in the abandoned military check point could be bugged, so picking it up might render the rest of your gear unusable while you have it, and unfortunately since it's bugged, it can't be dropped. See that tower over there? Probably some cool stuff up there, but probably not worth the risk using that ladder, the ladders in this game sometimes come to life and throw you off 100m up.
These are just a few of the problems I encountered in the few weeks of playing it. I could invest 6 hours some days and get nowhere.
There are better games to spend my time on.
It's also boring. A vast map which looks good, but has little to reward deep exploration of the endless forest lands and soviet structures.
You start at the beach, only to spend the next hour trying to reach your friends further in the map. And reaching your friends at all is only assuming that you don't die of hunger or thirst having nothing left after you've eaten the single piece of fruit you started with, or die of exposure when the rain comes and soaks your underdressed character. Surviving this won't be enough, you'll have to hope you dont encounter a zombie that clips through a wall and grabs you when chasing you, and then hope that your character doesn't clip through the map and fall to their death when trying to escape and lose all your gear. Speaking of gear, don't put it down as you might find you can't pick it up, and that nice gun you found in the abandoned military check point could be bugged, so picking it up might render the rest of your gear unusable while you have it, and unfortunately since it's bugged, it can't be dropped. See that tower over there? Probably some cool stuff up there, but probably not worth the risk using that ladder, the ladders in this game sometimes come to life and throw you off 100m up.
These are just a few of the problems I encountered in the few weeks of playing it. I could invest 6 hours some days and get nowhere.
There are better games to spend my time on.
A friend with a PS5 sent me a screenshot of my 'most played' games by hours.
DayZ on the PS4 had 271 hours
It's an absolutely horrible user interface, but by now I've found it's not actually 'that' buggy, in terms of random death and glitchey stuff. Certainly any random "I can't pick that up" glitches are sorted by exiting and rejoining.
Play it with a friend though, it helps keep things a little more enjoyable.
There's just something about it, mostly the level of difficulty, that keeps it interesting. Playing on public servers is also a properly 'scary' experience, the fact you can lose everything you've managed to scrape together because someone in a ghillie suit sniped you from 1km away definitely keeps you on alert!
If you don't like the risk of being killed randomly by another player, there are plenty of PVE (player vs environment) servers available whereby people don't loot / kill each other so you can actually build up a bit of a base and survive in a sort of mini community.
Girlfriend and I have played it together for probably 200 of those hours. We're now playing Icarus which is from the same creator. It's a lot easier than DayZ in terms of pure survival, but is a much more polished game and has its own challenges.
DayZ on the PS4 had 271 hours
It's an absolutely horrible user interface, but by now I've found it's not actually 'that' buggy, in terms of random death and glitchey stuff. Certainly any random "I can't pick that up" glitches are sorted by exiting and rejoining.
Play it with a friend though, it helps keep things a little more enjoyable.
There's just something about it, mostly the level of difficulty, that keeps it interesting. Playing on public servers is also a properly 'scary' experience, the fact you can lose everything you've managed to scrape together because someone in a ghillie suit sniped you from 1km away definitely keeps you on alert!
If you don't like the risk of being killed randomly by another player, there are plenty of PVE (player vs environment) servers available whereby people don't loot / kill each other so you can actually build up a bit of a base and survive in a sort of mini community.
Girlfriend and I have played it together for probably 200 of those hours. We're now playing Icarus which is from the same creator. It's a lot easier than DayZ in terms of pure survival, but is a much more polished game and has its own challenges.
Sterillium said:
I've not encountered bugs, it's just SO unforgiving and difficult!
Yep, it's brutal isn't it?One of the many things that isn't explained in any way, there's an actual immune system / antibody mechanic in the background and avoiding illness early on can be hard work, and getting better once ill is a slow process if you haven't found any appropriate medication for whichever illness you've picked up
Loved it when I played it on Xbox then moved to pc and it felt even better.
Private servers were always a million times better than community servers.
I ended up running a one man guerilla war against an entire server after two of the admin combat logged when I caught them off guard
amazing having stashes and little tent bases instead of one large base and being able to re-arm and go back on the attack.
Private servers were always a million times better than community servers.
I ended up running a one man guerilla war against an entire server after two of the admin combat logged when I caught them off guard
amazing having stashes and little tent bases instead of one large base and being able to re-arm and go back on the attack.As a lonely old middle aged man, I play DayZ solo (Xbox). I have no issues staying alive versus the environment now and have collected cars (which are where the real bugs are) and trucks - built secret bases in the woods to stash my stuff etc.
Someone found my favourite base spot on Monday. On a cliff in the middle of nowhere surrounded by wolves on the western edge of the map. I heard him but he didn't hear me... He started opening up my car to see if it would work. Flung on my ghillie suit, ran away and took him out with my SK59/66 from distance, he never knew what hit him.
Great game, ruined by the bugs. The other main annoying bug is when you open a door and it traps you against the wall. I've died like that a few times.
I've also met a friendly duper in the past. Gave me a complete kit with everything - these are the people that really ruin the game as there are no top weapons to be had for the simple scavengers like me (unless you kill better armed players).
Someone found my favourite base spot on Monday. On a cliff in the middle of nowhere surrounded by wolves on the western edge of the map. I heard him but he didn't hear me... He started opening up my car to see if it would work. Flung on my ghillie suit, ran away and took him out with my SK59/66 from distance, he never knew what hit him.
Great game, ruined by the bugs. The other main annoying bug is when you open a door and it traps you against the wall. I've died like that a few times.
I've also met a friendly duper in the past. Gave me a complete kit with everything - these are the people that really ruin the game as there are no top weapons to be had for the simple scavengers like me (unless you kill better armed players).
SturdyHSV said:
Sterillium said:
I've not encountered bugs, it's just SO unforgiving and difficult!
Yep, it's brutal isn't it?One of the many things that isn't explained in any way, there's an actual immune system / antibody mechanic in the background and avoiding illness early on can be hard work, and getting better once ill is a slow process if you haven't found any appropriate medication for whichever illness you've picked up
My best go was about three hours long, where got several guns and kit, a military backpack and a camo hunter suit, but I still ended up starving to death in the rain because I accidentally drank dirty water.
Mushroom hunting is a massive and irritating pain.
Puggit said:
Mushroom hunting!? Get yourself on iZurvive and find fruit trees with ease.
Police stations for good clothes and starter guns. Then move inland and get to some army bases. Be warned that army zombies are much faster and tougher. Climb on to cars or barriers and kill them with ease.
I got the furthest inland I've ever gotten today (I think Police stations for good clothes and starter guns. Then move inland and get to some army bases. Be warned that army zombies are much faster and tougher. Climb on to cars or barriers and kill them with ease.
), I found a small prison and climbed up an enormous mast. Again, kitted up and with bottled water but STILL managed to somehow get sick and start vomiting everything up, which led to me risking dragging myself into a village in the hope of finding a water pump, but got eaten.Gutted, because I had a scoped rifle too!
Where is there a good quality map online?
There's a high chance that a bottle of water is poisoned. ALWAYS tip the contents away and fill up from a water pump (or any water if you use chlorine tablets to purify it).
This is where fruit is great as it has a pretty high water content. You can eat fresh fruit or dried fruit (no water) - don't eat mouldy fruit!
The best online map is izurvive at https://dayz.ginfo.gg/#c=38;-77;5 (or download the app).
One of your first stops should be to a hospital/clinic to look for tetracyclene and bandages. The drugs stop sickness and the bandages will be clean, and much quicker to apply than rags. If you find good quality clotthing, tear it up with a blade to make clean rags.
Zombies - creep up behind them and stab them (assuming you can find a blade!). Shooting them is so tiresme and loud. If you have a silencer it gets worn so quickly and then you need a gun cleaning kit - which aren't easy to find unless you're in the more dangerous zones
If you have a heavy weapon to tonk zombies with, keep moving in between swipes and generally they don't hit you. Hitting you can also give you the lurgy.
Do you need me to come and meet you at the coast and help you inland?
Feel free to DM me or ask for help in here. It is a hard game, but once you have it sussed it's so much easier.
This is where fruit is great as it has a pretty high water content. You can eat fresh fruit or dried fruit (no water) - don't eat mouldy fruit!
The best online map is izurvive at https://dayz.ginfo.gg/#c=38;-77;5 (or download the app).
One of your first stops should be to a hospital/clinic to look for tetracyclene and bandages. The drugs stop sickness and the bandages will be clean, and much quicker to apply than rags. If you find good quality clotthing, tear it up with a blade to make clean rags.
Zombies - creep up behind them and stab them (assuming you can find a blade!). Shooting them is so tiresme and loud. If you have a silencer it gets worn so quickly and then you need a gun cleaning kit - which aren't easy to find unless you're in the more dangerous zones
If you have a heavy weapon to tonk zombies with, keep moving in between swipes and generally they don't hit you. Hitting you can also give you the lurgy.
Do you need me to come and meet you at the coast and help you inland?
Feel free to DM me or ask for help in here. It is a hard game, but once you have it sussed it's so much easier.
Puggit said:
Do you need me to come and meet you at the coast and help you inland?
This would be epic, but please bear in mind that I am f
king useless, mostly staggering about hitting zombies with a stick and making enough noise to wake the dead. Imagine a massive liability that needs feeding; that's me. Sterillium said:
Can anyone tell me what happens if you find a load of good gear on one server, then exit and join a different one?
Do you start from scratch?
You start at the beach again, with the gear that you were carrying on the previous server.Do you start from scratch?
Orginally you would reappear where you were on the first server, and it was used as a way of raiding by getting inside without breaking in
Ah, phew.
Today I came across a fully working military truck, stuffed full of tools and building materials. I think a group of players were doing something with it, but I managed to sneak in (wearing a bright red rain mac and shorts) and drive off with it.
It's like driving a small building, but with a gearchange like something from 1935. I'm now quite far north and there's a helicopter buzzing around. Such an immersive game!
Puggit said:
Helicopter? That sounds like a private server and not one of the regular ones!
Can't believe you managed to drive that thing and escape without practising first.
An absolute fluke, no idea what I was doing but luckily it was pointing down a straight road. Although it seemed to take forever to actually start moving! Can't believe you managed to drive that thing and escape without practising first.
I binned it a few miles down the road and set off into the woodland in case they were coming after me. I've not seen the helicopter, but I've heard it and also heard it crash; I assumed it's real unless it's just to set the mood? Occasionally I hear a jet rocketing past and then explosions?
Sterillium said:
Puggit said:
Helicopter? That sounds like a private server and not one of the regular ones!
Can't believe you managed to drive that thing and escape without practising first.
An absolute fluke, no idea what I was doing but luckily it was pointing down a straight road. Although it seemed to take forever to actually start moving! Can't believe you managed to drive that thing and escape without practising first.
I binned it a few miles down the road and set off into the woodland in case they were coming after me. I've not seen the helicopter, but I've heard it and also heard it crash; I assumed it's real unless it's just to set the mood? Occasionally I hear a jet rocketing past and then explosions?
Jets rocketing past and explosions are the russian army sending poison gas to towns and barracks. Again, on the iZurvive map it's very clear (where you can see orange circles). Like helicopter crash sites, it moves around the map. You can see the poison gas clearly, it's very green. You need full NBC kit to enter in the event of a gas attack.
I hope you at least hid the lorry?
Aaah... that makes sense.
I parked the lorry in a wall and legged it...
I've now gotten a couple of miles north of Novy Sobor and I have a functioning night vision scope. I'm hopeful of finding some other players at night and having a pop, but I suspect it will end in painful failure.
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