Author Topic: Nightcrawler's Day Z Adventures (Read 71864 times)

Nightcrawler · « **on:** January 01, 2014, 05:25:54 pm »

I decided that I'm going to bore you with the details of my video gaming. In my Day Z Standalone Thread, I began posting pictures of crap that happened to me. So this will be a sporadically updated updated photo journal of my adventures in zombie-infested Chernarus.

I got off to a rough start.

But it's a new day, and a new year, so we'll see where it goes.

WeTheArmed.com

Gunnguy · « **Reply #1 on:** January 01, 2014, 05:45:07 pm »

You, Sir, are a tempter.
I'm banned from new games until I get rid of old ones.
*Sigh*.

Khorne · « **Reply #2 on:** January 01, 2014, 06:57:58 pm »

Please continue to bore me. I love this kind of stuff. I'm a guy who watches battle reports for Warhammer and this is far more cinematic.

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #3 on:** January 01, 2014, 09:02:55 pm »

DayZ is a game for the patient. It's pretty much the opposite of Modern Warfare and similar. You can walk for an hour and not see another player. It does feel lonely.

Or, you can turn the corner in town, completely unarmed, and find three players with bats standing there. After a deer in the headlights moment where we stared each other down, they raised their bats and came after me, so I ran. I escaped by jumping off the pier and going for a swim in the ocean.

But that's what I like about the game. It tells its own stories.

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2014, 10:47:41 pm »

Here I am exploring a wrecked freighter. It's a treasure trove of loot if you get there before anyone else.

As you can see, I made out like a bandit there. Full camo gear, a goofy blue PRESS vest, a Mosin, and even my coveted Python.

So what happened? I slipped, and fell to my death, again.

LJS14 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2014, 12:56:57 am »

Quote from: Nightcrawler on January 01, 2014, 10:47:41 pm

Here I am exploring a wrecked freighter. It's a treasure trove of loot if you get there before anyone else.

As you can see, I made out like a bandit there. Full camo gear, a goofy blue PRESS vest, a Mosin, and even my coveted Python.

So what happened? I slipped, and fell to my death, again.

Reminds me of when I play Halo multiplayer. Get a killing spree only to jump off the ledge.

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2014, 03:26:29 am »

Well, son of a b____. I was doing well. Then I died.

I started off alone, unarmed, and thirsty in Elektrozavodsk. There were a lot of people there, I heard gunfire, had to get some water and then get the hell out of the city.

"OMFG."

I also saw a couple of dead men laying in the street. I was able to roll their bodies really quick, and got my first weapon off of one. A damaged baseball bat.

"Enticing."

At a rail yard east of the city, I climbed a fuel tank to get my bearings.

"Uhhh...."

The bat didn't do so well. The first zombie I encountered slapped the s___ out of me. But I prevailed and moved on.

"That's what you get! Yeah!"

Nearby, I found this.

"Huh. Well, dam."

So I went for a swim.

After this, I needed to figure out where I was going to go. I was still inadequately armed, had precious little supplies, and needed to avoid other people. It took me a while to get my bearings.

"Uhhh....huh."

I made my way through several deserted villages, even finding some that hadn't been looted already. My equipment improved as I scavenged.

I found a pristine fire axe, which is about the best melee weapon available. It drops zombies with a single hit.

"I wish this car worked. I'm tired of walking."

I decided to go to Black Mountain, where there is a castle ruin infested with zombies.

"I did this in Germany! Except the part where I axe zombies. I didn't do that in Germany."

I cleared out the zombies, made my way to the top, and showed the world what I think of it. You can see Krasnostav in the distance.

"I hope you can see this. I'm doing it as hard as I can!"

Near the mountain was the town of Krasnostav. Beyond that, an airfield. Why go to an airfield? Guns. Military bases have guns. They're also extremely dangerous, because everybody makes a beeline for them. This one is well inland, so it wasn't as likely to be overrun with teams of players, but it was dangerous.

But there was nothing for it, so I made my way there.

After clearing the first building, and finding little of value, I headed toward the hangars. But another guy was running around, and he was armed, so I hid and let him pass.

"Oh s___ oh s___ oh s___ oh s___..."

He made a beeline for the building I'd just been in. I thought he had a rifle, but it was slung. If I got the drop on him indoors...yes. Fortune favors the bold. So I snuck back into the building and got the drop on him. I murdered the crap out of him with my axe, Gimli style.

"How do you like me now??"

Then I looted his corpse, and low and behold...my beloved Python.

"It feels as if my arm is complete again. Thanks, bro."

I then made my way to the control tower. This is especially dangerous. It has good loot, but it's exposed, and I have noone to watch my back. I looted a corpse at the base of the building, finding a ton of M16 magazines, so I'd be all set when I found an M4. But I went into the tower. This proved to be a mistake.

There was nothing of value at the top, and as I was going to leave, another player was coming up. He turned and ran, as I had my Python out and menacing, but there was another dude, better armed and better equipped. A standoff ensued.

"Poke your head out. I dare you."

I was waiting for him at the top of the stairs, and he was waiting for me below. There was a ladder off the top of the building, but that's risky. You're very exposed.

Before I could decide, however, somebody, don't know who or where from, shot me in the head and that was all she wrote.

Circle of life and all that.

Khorne · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2014, 06:49:35 am »

Loved it! Keep it coming.

Grant · « **Reply #8 on:** January 02, 2014, 08:24:00 am »

Lol, I'm liking the AAR.

Almost makes me wanna join...however I'm easily frustrated and not very experienced with FPS type games.

huey148 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 02, 2014, 08:36:11 am »

Wonder if they will make an X box version?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

HMPlatinum · « **Reply #10 on:** January 02, 2014, 12:17:45 pm »

You're making me want this...

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #11 on:** January 02, 2014, 03:55:59 pm »

There has been talk of developing a console port of this game by the dev team. The 360 simply doesn't have the horses to run the game's engine well, though. My computer is a beast, and even I crank down the graphics settings (preferring high frame rates over pretty scenery). Check out the DayZ Standalone thread I linked at the beginning of the thread.

This is not a casual game. It's not like Black Ops, where you throw it in, play a few rounds of zombies, and call it good. It needs a decent machine to even run it. It requires patience and caution, not unlike a real survival scenario. Sometimes it's boring. You walk for an hour and hardly see anything, then you get the crap scared out of you when a zombie jumps you. It's not the kind of game a AAA publisher would put out, normally. The only reason the devs picked it up is because the original mod for ARMA 2 did so well, they sold more copies of their game than ever before.

That said, it'd be much for fun (and safer) with a team of friends. The game encourages teamwork. If you axe somebody to death, half his gear is going to be ruined. If you're knocked unconscious, a friend can revive you, but you're helpless by yourself.

Also remember that the game is far from finished. It's an early-access alpha. It's still fun, but it's buggy and incomplete. Eventually there will be more weapons, possibly NPCs, vehicles, you name it.

http://dayzgame.com/

http://dayzdev.tumblr.com/

You can get the Alpha on Steam. It's like thirty bucks, which is half the price of a new Xbox game.

Info from the creator:

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/156129-confirmed-upcoming-features-for-dayz/

Quote

There is a great deal of topics dealing with this, so I thought I would confirm what we will definately be doing, and give some background why they are not in yet. List not exhaustive and will be added too as time allows.

More Zombies

Target delivery: Ongoing

We absolutely plan to have more zombies. To cope with the current total dynamic entity count of over 10000 we have had to make a great deal of optimizations. If loot is completely removed, we can easily run 4000 zombies in our debug builds. In the new year we will be optimizing the way we handle dynamic objects (such as loot) a great deal more which should give us significant savings - but the change was considered too risky to be done prior to alpha launch. If we had problems, we would have delayed the project further by months.

Multithreaded Server

Target delivery: Early 2014 & Ongoing

To assist with increasing player and zombie numbers, we will be parallelizing the server architecture. Currently RV does offload some extra threads off to other cores, but this is for rendering and file handling - neither of which are issues for the dedicated server which uses no rendering and has a greatly reduced file footprint. This should provide some very, very dramatic improvement in performance where additional cores are available. Note, however, that this will increase the complexity of hosting DayZ - it may mean that we see a greater dispersion in the capacities of DayZ servers.

Respawning Zombies & Loot

Target Delivery: Early 2014

Currently to have the server check if something needs respawning can cause an issue with performance. We did not want to go with a "scripted" solution for respawning, and it is expensive on server performance. Player spawning on the coast is conducted by the engine, and we are going to employ a similar process for managing zombie and loot spawn (possibly parallelized). This is a high priority task and zombie respawn at least is very close to being implemented.

Server Management Options

Target Delivery: Ongoing

Additional options for those hosting servers will be rolled out as soon as we can. We want to encourage a "hardcore" mode that will operate on a separate database, featuring things like first person only, no hide body, etc... In addition, we also want to provide passworded servers that will operate on their own shard of the database. This shard could be grouped, so that a group of passworded servers could operate on their own database. Eventually, we would like to see these different communities on their own db running their own variations of DayZ to meet specific communities needs.

Animals & Hunting

Target Delivery: Early 2014

The AI for animals is based on the new AI for zombies (some will notice the old local ambient animals making zombie noises and acting aggressively!). We have a cutdown version of this we will be using for hosting animals, including those from ArmA2 as well as new animals such as a deer. We already have the meat models made, and we have the basics of cooking. So this functionality is quite close. It does have an impact on the server, and at the moment we could only run about 300 animals per server without seriously impacting performance (until we have started additional server optimization).

Additional Anti-hack and Security

Target Delivery: Late 2013

We are working on additional anti-hack to supplement the implementation of VAC. We have been working closely with Valve for VAC as well as our other anti-hack partner. Details of this will be released shortly. The most important thing to remember is that anti-hack is really the secondary defense - the primary defense should be good architecture. We have already identified (and fixed) several key vulnerabilities in the three days since launch. There are more we know about and I am sure more we don't. The purpose of this early phase of alpha is to identify and fix those. As our architecture now relies on the server controlling and adjudicating everything, we can close off locally controlled functions and back doors - which is what we have been doing.

Cooking & Gathering Resources

Target Delivery: Early 2014

This is a system that was not completed prior to the alpha launch so is half-done. Additional work will be done and pushed when we can. This will include gas cookers (already ingame) and the creation of fireplaces. We will be allowing players to gather resources from the world, such as firewood, stones, etc... This will then be utilized by the existing crafting system.

Grant · « **Reply #12 on:** January 02, 2014, 04:45:33 pm »

WTA Day Z team.........

I wonder how well it'd even work, I'm on semi-high-speed internet (360 quality youtube can't load as fast as it plays, I have to downgrade to 240 quality), as far as my computer stats.....it's "eh" in most regards, only a year old or so but it's not a high-power gaming computer.

RoninJoseph338 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 02, 2014, 07:39:30 pm »

I need a better computer for gaming.

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #14 on:** January 02, 2014, 08:24:08 pm »

Once in again into the fray. I live and die this day.

I started off alone, thirsty, and unarmed, as usual. Moving into the nearest town, the houses had been cleaned out. I found a dead body that had been stripped to his underwear. This place was dangerous, but there was a water spout nearby where I could get a drink.

"At least they left his shoes."

Several zombies chased me around the village as I tried to get to the water. I found a crowbar with which to defend myself. It took a while, and I got a beating, but I was able to put one down.

I drank up and moved on. I was hungry, too, but I found a box of cereal on the floor of a cafe. I ate it greedily.

Part of a balanced breakfast.

Moving on, I explored villages and farms, trying to find supplies as I made my way to the wreck of the Rify, where there's always loot to be had.

Filling up a canteen.

I came around a corner and was surprised by another person. Oddly, the encounter didn't in violence. We quietly went our separate ways, like two ships passing in the night.

"Werd."

The rest of the trip was uneventful as I made my way to the Rify.

Inside, I found my beloved Python and some new clothes. Also an M4, though I have no ammo for it.

"I missed you, baby. Maybe I'll get to use you before I die this time."

"My heart will go on."

This time I actually made it off the shipwreck alive. Not a moment too soon, either, as the server timed out and I got booted out of the world.

Desert Rat · « **Reply #15 on:** January 02, 2014, 09:40:41 pm »

I don't know why these pictorial AAR's are so amusing, but they are. Carry on.

Musashi · « **Reply #16 on:** January 02, 2014, 10:06:24 pm »

I'm loving this! Keep it going.

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #17 on:** January 02, 2014, 10:23:30 pm »

ARGHGHGH!!!!!!

I tried to log back in. The game glitched out and restarted me on the beach. I've lost all my loot, including my Python.

It IS an early-access alpha, after all.

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #18 on:** January 02, 2014, 10:46:45 pm »

Now I got beat to death by an invisible zombie. Glitchy glitchy glitchy.

LJS14 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 02, 2014, 11:13:53 pm »

What would you say the minimum computer requirements would be to play this game?

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #20 on:** January 02, 2014, 11:25:29 pm »

http://www.game-debate.com/news/?news=10489&game=DayZ%20Standalone&title=DayZ%20Standalone%20System%20Requirements

Quote

DayZ Minimum System Requirements

OS: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 SP1

CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.5 GHz

RAM: 2GB System Memory

GPU RAM: 512MB Graphics Memory

GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB or AMD Radeon HD 3830

DX: DirectX 9.0c

HDD: 10 GB Free Hard Drive Space

DayZ Recommended System Requirements

OS: Windows 7 SP1

CPU: 2.8 GHz Quad Core Intel Core i5-2300 or 3GHz AMD Phenom II X4 940

RAM: 4 GB System Memory

GPU RAM: 1 GB Graphics Memory

GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 or AMD Radeon HD 7750

HDD: 14 GB Free Hard Drive Space

The minimum requirements on DayZ look to be very reasonable for a game on this scale. Anyone who met the recommended requirements for the original DayZ mod should be comfortable playing this game.

The minimum requirements for DayZ standalone require the classic Nvidia GeForce 8800GT and upwards, as well as a dual-core processor clocked at at least 2.4GHz. It's worth bearing in mind that the more chaotic things get in DayZ the more your system's going to struggle. Those of you with PCs neared the minimum requirements will be fine during the slower-paced parts of the game but once it heats up may struggle to keep pace.

The recommended settings are a bitof step up, with the extra hard drive space evidently going to higher resolution textures which will be more demanding on systems. DayZ is fairly CPU dependent so having a higher-tier processor could also make a huge difference. Joining those larger servers it's probably best to have more than the minimum 2GB of RAM but overall this game isn't overly demanding for what it is, with the Arma II engine the game is based upon now over four years old.

Remember, you can always check out how well your PC can run the DayZ Standalone System Requirements here, where you can check benchmarking and performance from other users.

http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=4843&game=DayZ

Okay then, what do you think of these system requirements?

Have you already had a play, how does it run on your rig?

Khorne · « **Reply #21 on:** January 03, 2014, 04:24:44 am »

Invisible zombie? Dang, that'd suck worse than a "Red Eye" from Uprising.
Keep the mission debriefings coming!
(Maybe make up a narative as you go? Like a dark-comedy on line comic?)

Coronach · « **Reply #22 on:** January 03, 2014, 10:45:29 am »

I suppose it is very, very good that I have such slow internet service that multi-player FPS games are a non-starter. If I had cable again, I might never get any work done on the house.

Mike

Nightcrawler · « **Reply #23 on:** January 04, 2014, 03:57:00 am »

I logged in again. Adventure Time happened.

I met a friendly fellow traveler on the beach. We ran together for a bit, but a server glitch kicked me out (it IS an alpha build.)

Back online, I made my way from town to town as usual. The priorities are: get water, get a weapon, get out of town before you get shot. I got lucky and found both a backpack and an axe early on. I was wounded by a zombie and had to rip up my shirt for rags to bandage myself with.

"It's right behind me! Serpentine!"

"I'm cold now."

I found a new shirt and a lot of zombies.

"Come get some, b____!"

She ended up smacking me around some before I put her down.

"Man, it's a good thing I've got my Obamacare. AMIRIGHT?"

I proceeded inland and north, on a fairly deserted server. There were many zombies but almost no players. This was good, as it allowed me to explore and find better gear.

All the ladies come runnin'.

The Cosmic Computer, by H. Beam Piper. I have this book on my iPhone.

There's only so much gear you're going to get checking houses. I had to go to an airfield or a military base, but that's where everybody goes. It's a good place to get killed. Nonetheless, I needed to find a gun, so off I went at a brisk jog.

"Rule 1: Cardio."

There wasn't much at the airfield, but I found a Python. I had all of five rounds for it.

I left the airfield behind and high-tailed it north. Hardly anyone goes up there.

"This is what I think of you, zombie apocalypse."

"And this is what I think of you, zombie!"

"Long wait for a train don't come."

I moved even further north and...well, you get immersed in it if you let yourself. It felt very lonely, very end-of-the-world. Bleak, cold, and uncaring.

"This is as good a place to sit as any. No one around to care."

Silent streets.

Stopping for a quick drink. I found a new hat and a shirt with more pockets.

The wilds of Chernarus.

Bored, and on a new server, I ventured back south and hit the airfield again. I found quite a bit of gear there, including a .45, more ammo, and an M4 carbine. I even had a red dot for the M4.

Carefully clearing the buildings. It's easy to get complacent and get shot in the face.

"I feel better now."

I made two trips in and out of the airport alive. When I logged off, this is how I was looking.

Loaded for bear, because bears are scary.

Of course, the next day, when I tried to log back in, a server glitch put me fresh on the beach, with no gear.

Alas.

seanp · « **Reply #24 on:** January 04, 2014, 04:21:40 am »

Why are you wearing your mask? You will use up the lifetime of your filter, won't you?