DayZ an Arma II mod you have to try!

[kregoth]

I wish I had the expansion for Arma II because after reading this article http://t.co/kVNHHbLl I seriously wish I had money to buy it so I could play this mod! It's a zombie survival game where everyone is told to survive however they can, all taking place in real time on a 225 KM large island with 50 players on at once! Anyone want to donate me ARMAII AO? hahaha :P

http://dayzmod.com



the mod is still early alpha, but still very playable I can't wait to see where this mod goes :)

[FlowerChild]

Oh man, that looks totally sweet. I'm halfway through the 3rd episode of the videos you linked, and I'm itching to play this :)

[kregoth]

Same here the videos help sell it even more then RTS's article, I am itching to play too.You can get the original game and expansion here http://store.steampowered.com/sub/4638/. I had a feeling you would like this though FlowerChild due to the fact this game basically a HUGE Anarchy server where there are no rules but those set by others who want to survive :P

The only thing I am missing for this mod is Operation Arrowhead (expansion) I love Arma II it the only FPS i actually enjoy. This mod is making me want to get back into the fray, Now if I only had the $20 for the damned expansion It be a done story lol :P although the running zombies look a little annoying, I prefer shambling zombies where only head shots can kill them.

EDIT: Just found 3 page interview of the dev http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/05/16/day-z ... y-machine/, had no idea it was a pet project from one of the Arma II devs, that awesome that a company lets there employees do things like that. I think all large dev companies should do that :)

[FlowerChild]

Despite being a big zombie movie fan, I really don't mind fast zombies. The remake of Dawn Of The Dead is actually my favorite zombie flic of all time, although I know the fast movers turned a lot of people off.

I'm ashamed to admit that I never really heard of Arma II before today, although as a big fan of the original Operation Flashpoint, looking it up gave me immediate respect.

Interesting to hear an actual dev is involved in it, and a little weird too. I'm pretty sure I heard sounds I recognized from Left 4 Dead in those vids, and I doubt that's something a commercial studio would let one of its devs get away with (unless the player who recorded the vids installed his own sounds or something).

And yeah, this kind of thing is right up my alley. Total anarchy MP...zombies...all it's missing is player created structures and I'd be in heaven :)

[kregoth]

Despite being a big zombie movie fan, I really don't mind fast zombies. The remake of Dawn Of The Dead is actually my favorite zombie flic of all time, although I know the fast movers turned a lot of people off.

I'm ashamed to admit that I never really heard of Arma II before today, although as a big fan of the original Operation Flashpoint, looking it up gave me immediate respect.

Interesting to hear an actual dev is involved in it, and a little weird too. I'm pretty sure I heard sounds I recognized from Left 4 Dead in those vids, and I doubt that's something a commercial studio would let one of its devs get away with (unless the player who recorded the vids installed his own sounds or something).

And yeah, this kind of thing is right up my alley. Total anarchy MP...zombies...all it's missing is player created structures and I'd be in heaven :)

I can get past the running zombies, but them zig zagging is a no-no. But for what it worth at least they go down fast, dispite the video showing noobs doing nobby things lol, sound plays an important role in the mod and they never once walked which would have saved them many times lol.

As for Arma II I love the game, but I think that mostly because it more of a sandbox war sim, at least the servers I played on. It really doesn't have many game like stuff in it, it is just a giant realistic bullet physics system with free form play. I guess I enjoy it more because there are no restrictive mechanics that tell you what you can and can't do, which is why I played on servers that had no goals, just anarchy and self reliant game play.

I believe the L4D sounds are place holders for now and they are adding their own sounds and even mo-capped animations, and it's not funded or even advertised by BI (the company behind Arma II) it's just a hobby one of the devs did. He is also planning on adding the ability to set up camp sites! I don't think the engine as of now can handle player made structures other then tents and sleeping bag type things, I believe sleeping will be something you have to contend with down the road as well not positive though. Over all I think it got a lot of potential of being the kind of game I will always want to come back to and play again.

[FlowerChild]

Downloading. I just couldn't resist something like this :)

Kregoth: you're definitely great for my gaming, but horrible for my wallet ;)

One thing I have to say though: 15 gig download?!!!!! Holy fuck.

[tedium]

wow, that does look pretty epic. but i'd hate to be playing with the guy in that video, or worse in a real life zombie apocalypse with him. panic is a zombies best friend :)

[FlowerChild]

wow, that does look pretty epic. but i'd hate to be playing with the guy in that video, or worse in a real life zombie apocalypse with him. panic is a zombies best friend :)

He gets a lot calmer as the series progresses. I get the impression he was just hamming it up at the start :)

[FlowerChild]

I just realized this is the first time I've ever bought a game specifically to play a mod :)

A lot of the articles I'm reading as I wait for my 4 hour download to complete (15 gigs!!!!!) seem to echo my thoughts about MC anarchy play: relationships with other players are far more gratifying when you realize the choice to not fuck you over is player-made, and not determined by the rules of the game.

I'm not a PK by nature, so I generally don't play anarchy to hunt other players down. I play it more because I enjoy the nerve-wracking experience of knowing that other players are a potential threat, and because I find it a much more gratifying experience overall.

One of my first MMO experiences was with Ultima Online, which might be why this kind of gameplay appeals to me so much. I eventually became a PK-hunter in that, but that choice being my own made the game much deeper for me.

[Sarudak]

my thoughts about MC anarchy play: relationships with other players are far more gratifying when you realize the choice to not fuck you over is player-made, and not determined by the rules of the game.

I'm not a PK by nature, so I generally don't play anarchy to hunt other players down. I play it more because I enjoy the nerve-wracking experience of knowing that other players are a potential threat, and because I find it a much more gratifying experience overall.

I think I would find anarchy MC much more interesting if the game itself was actually dangerous such that you had to worry about it as much or more than the other players and banding together was vital for survival...

[FlowerChild]

I think I would find anarchy MC much more interesting if the game itself was actually dangerous such that you had to worry about it as much or more than the other players and banding together was vital for survival...

Yup, I definitely hear that, and am already planning for it ;)

[Andellmere]

I just realized this is the first time I've ever bought a game specifically to play a mod :)

A lot of the articles I'm reading as I wait for my 4 hour download to complete (15 gigs!!!!!) seem to echo my thoughts about MC anarchy play: relationships with other players are far more gratifying when you realize the choice to not fuck you over is player-made, and not determined by the rules of the game.

I'm not a PK by nature, so I generally don't play anarchy to hunt other players down. I play it more because I enjoy the nerve-wracking experience of knowing that other players are a potential threat, and because I find it a much more gratifying experience overall.

One of my first MMO experiences was with Ultima Online, which might be why this kind of gameplay appeals to me so much. I eventually became a PK-hunter in that, but that choice being my own made the game much deeper for me.

Gotta admit, wish I had the money to buy Arma 2 if only to get to play with FlowerChild and get demolished a lot. Sounds like my kind of fun!

...As for being a PK-hunter, I was one for awhile (Though the term used ingame was Bounty Hunter) in Red Dead Redemption. I know it's not quite the same thing, but the feeling of knowing that by going out of my way and hunting down that murderous scumbag plaguing some poor small town and killing the new guys as they spawn in? Glorious! Because it was my decision.
Unfortunately, I can't relate on the nerve-racking experience of players who might be/might not be threats. Everyone in RDR is a threat. Even that guy you just saved. Oh, occasionally you get a neutral soul who'll look the other way even if you're not in his posse, or even the super rare good soul who'll invite to join him at a campfire and then help you hunt down scum. But for the most part? Bastards. Towns became graveyards rapidly when Bounty Hunters showed up because we just killed every player we found so they couldn't shoot us in the back.

...Sorry for the wall-o-text. It's just that nobody I know plays multiplayer like this. It's always straight up shooters. Only on single player do they make choices like this.

I really need a job so I can try this out.

[Sarudak]

Oh, occasionally you get a neutral soul who'll look the other way even if you're not in his posse, or even the super rare good soul who'll invite to join him at a campfire and then help you hunt down scum. But for the most part? Bastards. Towns became graveyards rapidly when Bounty Hunters showed up because we just killed every player we found so they couldn't shoot us in the back.

Wait... I'm confused... Who were the bastards again?

[Andellmere]

Oh, occasionally you get a neutral soul who'll look the other way even if you're not in his posse, or even the super rare good soul who'll invite to join him at a campfire and then help you hunt down scum. But for the most part? Bastards. Towns became graveyards rapidly when Bounty Hunters showed up because we just killed every player we found so they couldn't shoot us in the back.

Wait... I'm confused... Who were the bastards again?

Everyone that doesn't fall into the neutral/good area. Nothing like picking herbs/hunting/riding your horse only to be picked off by some guy a hundred yards away with his sniper rifle.
Sorry 'bout that. Could've been more clear there.

EDIT: As for killing players in towns, it's very simple. I shoot the bounty in the face for killing dozens of newly spawned characters. Newb #12 shoots me in the back of the head because I killed his buddy while they were slaughtering people(The other people who are the bounty's allies almost never have bounties themselves). After about the third repetition of getting lead to the head as a reward for saving people, you start shooting first and only trusting others as far as you can throw them. Hence the graveyard thing.

[FlowerChild]

I actually played a lot of Red Dead multiplayer a couple of years ago (and loved it), so I can definitely relate.

The thing is though, player death lacked any real consequences, which was what Ultima Online PvP was really all about (at least in the early days...I have no idea what it eventually became).

In that game, you dropped *everything* you were carrying into the environment upon death. So when players ganked you, it was for everything you had.

You could store items safely in banks located in cities though, so there was always a risk aspect associated with taking your most powerful gear with you when you left town, as you could lose it at any time.

What this resulted in was that PKs would almost exclusively wear bone armor, because it offered the best protection to cost ratio. On the other hand, my anti-PK character used to go hunting them in full plate, which offered the best protection, but meant that I would lose a fortune if I died.

This was extremely intimidating towards the PKs as not only did it offer better protection than what they were wearing, it was basically like hanging a "go ahead and try to kill me" sign on my head and immediately labeled me as not being afraid of dying. After awhile, most ran like hell when they saw me coming.

It really was a hell of a lot of fun, and some of my most memorable gaming experiences resulted from it. Of course most modern MMO's have next to no cost associated with dying (which again I think is a matter of pandering to the "why I lose everything?!!!!" masses), which I find is a rather sad evolution as to my mind they've eliminated some of the most interesting aspects of playing with real people and the very real emotional responses that can occur as a result. The first time I was PKed in UO and lost everything I owned (because I was still a dumb noob and carrying it all around), I was sincerely pissed off (so pissed in fact that I insta-rezzed at a permanent cost to my character stats just to get a few swipes at him with my bare hands before he killed me again), and me swearing revenge on the bastard that did it basically guided the rest of my gameplay experience over the next few hundred hours.

On the topic of Rockstar games though: I really hope they focus on multiplayer more in their future games. I absolutely *love* what they did with it in both GTA IV and RDR, but it still feels rather "tacked on" rather than being a full featured part of the game. With GTA IV in particular, there were two game modes that were absolutely two of my favorite multiplayer games I've ever played. One was "GTA Race" which is the closest I've ever come to a video-game version of the "Car Wars" table-top game, and the other was a game-mode in the Lost and the Damned expansion that had one team playing the cops and escorting a prison bus, while the motorcycle-gang team tried to kill the "witnesses" being transported on that bus. Absolutely awesome MP gameplay in both of those, and I've never seen anything like it elsewhere.

[kregoth]

Downloading. I just couldn't resist something like this :)

Kregoth: you're definitely great for my gaming, but horrible for my wallet ;)

One thing I have to say though: 15 gig download?!!!!! Holy fuck.

I think you and me have very similar taste in games, and we tend to agree on the same basis of what tends to give us the most enjoyment. I love getting thrown into a world where my own actions are the sole cause of my circumstances. I hate playing anything that tries to structure itself to much and tends to offset player "choice" from player "responsibility".

And I am jealous now because I so want to play with you :P grrrr I hate being broke :(

[FlowerChild]

I think you and me have very similar taste in games, and we tend to agree on the same basis of what tends to give us the most enjoyment. I love getting thrown into a world where my own actions are the sole cause of my circumstances. I hate playing anything that tries to structure itself to much and tends to offset player "choice" from player "responsibility".

Yeah, I agree. Sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I always used to say "if I'm going to play a game that recreates the battle of the Death Star, I want to be some nameless pilot...not Luke Skywalker", which is along the same lines as what you're saying above.

If I blow up the Death Star, I want that to be the result of my own actions and skill, not the result of some preordained gaming destiny. Basically the ability to carve out my own path from the possibilities the game provides, rather than a scripted role. This is probably part of my opposition to the whole concept of story in games, as to me, story in antithetical to interaction and choice. Player interaction is what gaming is all about as a medium IMO. Any design decisions that then acts counter to that are therefore suspect. When I work with designers that start obsessing about story, or hear about projects that focus on "story driven gameplay" (looking at you Space Marine), I start losing respect for them.

Some of the first computer games I truly fell in love with were Elite, and the original Red Baron. These games were all about freedom and choice.

And on the subject of Star Wars, I've also always wanted some kind of multiplayer co-operative Millenium Falcon sim :)

[kregoth]

I think you and me have very similar taste in games, and we tend to agree on the same basis of what tends to give us the most enjoyment. I love getting thrown into a world where my own actions are the sole cause of my circumstances. I hate playing anything that tries to structure itself to much and tends to offset player "choice" from player "responsibility".

Yeah, I agree. Sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I always used to say "if I'm going to play a game that recreates the battle of the Death Star, I want to be some nameless pilot...not Luke Skywalker", which is along the same lines as what you're saying above.

If I blow up the Death Star, I want that to be the result of my own actions and skill, not the result of some preordained gaming destiny. Basically the ability to carve out my own path from the possibilities the game provides, rather than a scripted role. This is probably part of my opposition to the whole concept of story in games, as to me, story in antithetical to interaction and choice. Player interaction is what gaming is all about as a medium IMO. Any design decisions that then acts counter to that are therefore suspect. When I work with designers that start obsessing about story, or hear about projects that focus on "story driven gameplay" (looking at you Space Marine), I start losing respect for them.

Some of the first computer games I truly fell in love with were Elite, and the original Red Baron. These games were all about freedom and choice.

And on the subject of Star Wars, I've also always wanted some kind of multiplayer co-operative Millenium Falcon sim :)

I agree I prefer to come out of game with my own story to tell and experience, games need to get away from trying to structure the player down some premade path, and instead just give them some simple goal and let them figure out how to get there.

I am a long time on and off player of Eve Online it's the only MMO out there that make me take responsibility for the choices I make. I am not some super bad ass hero, I am a person with my own goals just like everyone else, but how I accomplish those goals is up to me. It's the only game where I have lost several hundred hours of hard work simply because I made a bad decision, and even in loosing over 500 million (YES Millions) in assets, I enjoyed ever minute of it :)

and OMG I loved Elite, I really hope that someday we can see a space sim that does what Elite did for me in the old days :)

As for a Star Wars sim, I think I would prefer a multiplayer Death Star sim more so then the Millennium Falcon :P

[FlowerChild]

and OMG I loved Elite, I really hope that someday we can see a space sim that does what Elite did for me in the old days :)

Hehe...between Elite and the Ultima series, I probably spent more time of those games than I did in high-school classes :)

I couldn't play either now, but yes, I know what you mean about regenerating that sensation.

As for a Star Wars sim, I think I would prefer a multiplayer Death Star sim more so then the Millennium Falcon :P

Bah. Playing some poor unionized schmuck cleaning the lavatory when the terrorists lob one in the ejector port might be going a bit far ;)

[Flesh_Engine]

yeah, i've noticed the articles on RPS & pcgamer and was reading up on it.

Seems like a blast but the ARMA2 engine seems a tad dodgy & ARMA3 is announced for the end of this year.
Modders already mentioned that they're going to migrate to the newest game so i'm unsure if it's a good idea to buy ARMA2 for this alone.

It is the second most sold game on steam now though ;)

[FlowerChild]

It is the second most sold game on steam now though ;)

Yeah, I find it absolutely awesome that a mod could have that kind of impact on sales. Honestly, about a decade ago I thought the PC was all but dead to the consoles as a viable gaming platform. So glad that independent development and modders have proved me to be wrong on that point.

[FlowerChild]

OMG OMG! The Arma expansion has finished downloading, and Arma itself is 3 minutes away!

See you guys in a couple of weeks :)

[DaWhiskers]

Time to re-download ARMA II then I think... this really looks like something I will enjoy.

I also understand some of the sentiments in this tread regarding some of the older titles mentioned.

Elite, and some of its sequels consumed so much of my life (Frontier 2 being the one that held me for the longest).

As an Ultima Online player, risking the PK'ers to get out there lumber jacking/mining for a living (before that god awful Fellicia/Trammel split) was what kept my in game income so high... and also funded my spells of PKK'ing.

Perhaps we could gather a few of us together and try some survival :)

[Flesh_Engine]

If memory serves; something akin happend to Crysis with Mechwarrior Living Legends :)

I'll give it some more time to mature & try arma2 then.

[kregoth]

OMG OMG! The Arma expansion has finished downloading, and Arma itself is 3 minutes away!

See you guys in a couple of weeks :)

You know I think I can say this, if there is a reason you haven't said anything for a few days, it's because I mentioned a new game :P I seem to cause you a lot of distractions!