“I got one of them,” said James. “Please don’t die.”
May 21, 2012 2:59 PM Subscribe
Day Z is the best thing I’ve played so far this year.
On my first go, I bled to death in the dark, alone on a forest trail.
Day Z (pronounced "daisy") is a free roaming, persistent world zombie apocalypse simulator built in the Arma 2 engine by Dean "Rocket" Hall, an employee of the game's developer. It is a wonky, brutal, and compulsively immersive generator of dreadful stories.
Then, after a couple of minutes, we encountered another survivor. A newbie from the beach. He turned to look at us.
We looked at him.
“Let’s take him out.” A snap decision, but a horrifying one. We murdered him under a tree. He tumbled down, flopping backwards in the grass. The corpse twitched and shuddered. “This is hideous.” A pause to look at what we’d done. “Just get his stuff.”
To play it, you need Arma 2 and its expansion and the mod itself.
Day Z (pronounced "daisy") is a free roaming, persistent world zombie apocalypse simulator built in the Arma 2 engine by Dean "Rocket" Hall, an employee of the game's developer. It is a wonky, brutal, and compulsively immersive generator of dreadful stories.
Then, after a couple of minutes, we encountered another survivor. A newbie from the beach. He turned to look at us.
We looked at him.
“Let’s take him out.” A snap decision, but a horrifying one. We murdered him under a tree. He tumbled down, flopping backwards in the grass. The corpse twitched and shuddered. “This is hideous.” A pause to look at what we’d done. “Just get his stuff.”
To play it, you need Arma 2 and its expansion and the mod itself.
Error 37.
posted by Fizz at 3:04 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 3:04 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
Loved that write-up, and I almost went out and bought Arma 2 that very moment. Then I remembered, and I think this needs to be stressed: these kinds of games are good precisely because of well written "let's play" narratives. If you've a mind that leads to that sort of thing you'll probably have a rockin' time. If not, you may find it boring. See also: Dwarf Fortress stories vs. Dwarf Fortress the game.
posted by Doleful Creature at 3:07 PM on May 21, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Doleful Creature at 3:07 PM on May 21, 2012 [4 favorites]
The mod installation is pathetic and reminds me of L4D's. How about a Steam market place and one click installers, Valve?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:15 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:15 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
On my first go, I bled to death in the dark, alone on a forest trail.
I respawned on the beach.
Somebody ought to make a Riverworld RPG.
I was going to say Minecraft.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:16 PM on May 21, 2012
I respawned on the beach.
Somebody ought to make a Riverworld RPG.
I was going to say Minecraft.
posted by Celsius1414 at 3:16 PM on May 21, 2012
YouTube video of a group foraging session.
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:21 PM on May 21, 2012 [12 favorites]
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:21 PM on May 21, 2012 [12 favorites]
While this isn't my kind of game, I would love to just analyze the data and observe how people play -- I imagine you get a pretty raw sense of the human psyche. People are ruthless in this game, from what I understand, and it encourages the right mix of tribal mentality and paranoia.
It's pretty damned fascinating.
posted by spiderskull at 3:32 PM on May 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
It's pretty damned fascinating.
posted by spiderskull at 3:32 PM on May 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
Then I remembered, and I think this needs to be stressed: these kinds of games are good precisely because of well written "let's play" narratives. If you've a mind that leads to that sort of thing you'll probably have a rockin' time. If not, you may find it boring.
What do you mean?
posted by eugenen at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2012
What do you mean?
posted by eugenen at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2012
People are ruthless in this game, from what I understand, and it encourages the right mix of tribal mentality and paranoia.
As long as you realize your data is colored by the fact that there are no real* consequences for any of your actions, which is a pretty important thing when you're looking at human behavior.
* putting aside any "this is possibly fucking you up by acting this way, even in pretend" psych consequences, which is hotly debated
posted by curious nu at 3:47 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
As long as you realize your data is colored by the fact that there are no real* consequences for any of your actions, which is a pretty important thing when you're looking at human behavior.
* putting aside any "this is possibly fucking you up by acting this way, even in pretend" psych consequences, which is hotly debated
posted by curious nu at 3:47 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I bought Arma 2 on the strength of this mod (and also this guy's videos). It's a really remarkable game in a lot of ways - both the Arma engine and the specific mod, and in a few days of playing it's imprinted more vivid, terrifying, elating memories than I'd normally get from a year of gaming. But it definitely requires a certain mindset to persevere with it, because the game itself is brutally unforgiving, and getting it to work in the first place is also a pretty huge hassle. Also, because it's still in alpha, and because the servers are barely able to cope with all the new people starting, and... many other reasons.
But it's worth persevering with, because it gives an experience you don't get anywhere else: you're free to roam across 220km2 of (more or less) real eastern-european countryside, where things are placed not by the whims of level designers, but by... them actually being there. Combined with the incredibly gloomy, sparse, spartan atmosphere, this makes for a completely unique environment, save perhaps for the exclusion zone seen in STALKER - but if anything, Day Z has a much stronger sense of place, and that place has an evil genius locii that will swat you in a moment if you don't pay attention to it. You start with no map, compass, or even a watch, meaning you have to orienteer and navigate your way on your own wits, until you can find these items and start to tame the place.
There are no quests, no bosses, no points. You are responsible for your own survival - it isn't handed to you on a plate. You always have to be aware that there are people out there who would gladly shoot you - meaning you *die*, and have to start again at a random point on the coast with a pistol and a bare minimum of supplies - just for a tin of beans and a little ammo. The zombies are brutal, faster than you, with more endurance than you, but will never quite catch you as long as you keep running. This means any tiny slip-up will quickly land you in a world of shit. Even something as simple as your inventory is different: it's fiddly, constrained and confusing, but versatile and realistic. You can't pick things up by just walking on them - you have to make the decision to stop, get down and sort through it and mess with your pack, knowing how much easier it makes for zombies and bandits to creep up on you.
Meeting other people is always incredibly tense, as even if you don't fight eachother, you could each spell doom or salvation for the other depending on how you act. The politics and interaction between players is on a different level than the eternally-repeating deathmatches of most other games. More than any other game, it's tested my principles and my reactions to others in truly stressful situations. All the bandits out there are just survivors like you who've made the all-too-easy decision, sometimes in the desperate throes of starvation or the heart-pounding terror of an unplanned confrontation, that have pushed them over the line, made them enemies to all who are not their direct partners... and even then, you never know when your buddy's going to get tired or scared or jealous of you and put a bullet in the back of your head, unless you can build a tentative, quivering relationship with them in the midst of danger and deprivation.
And just the mechanics of the game bear mention. First, simply the game-changing knowledge that wherever you are, it's surrounded by miles of wilderness and other places to run to, makes you constantly question whether you should be where you are, and whether the next corner you turn will grant you precious scraps of supplies, or a terrifying trap. Moving into the heavily contested areas - the big towns, and military bases - requires forethought, tactics and a wire-taut awareness of what you're doing that I've really never seen before seen before - even in MilSims.
Also, you're not just a 'floating fridge' like in most other games. Your movement is tied directly to that of your character model, which lends it a weight and a certain clumsiness that makes it feel much more real. The movement and aiming of your gun is painfully realistic, and trying to circlestrafe, snap-turn, run and gun or spray and pray will be about as effective as they would be in real life, i.e. very, very hard to pull off in a way that actually gives you an advantage. Even at the boiling point of a confrontation, you have to be deliberate and smart in your movements or you won't survive. At the same time, the array of postures you can move in and the ability to look around independently of your aim-point goes an amazingly long way to putting you there in the world, rather than feeling like you're remote-piloting a drone.
I don't know, I could go on and on. Playing this game is just completely unique, and even if nothing happens in your first few minutes of life, the initial reaction to the world, and the decisions you make and the fears you feel all have a weight and a realness to them that has never (IMO) been captured by any studio trying to cinematize and script your experience.
posted by Drexen at 3:48 PM on May 21, 2012 [50 favorites]
But it's worth persevering with, because it gives an experience you don't get anywhere else: you're free to roam across 220km2 of (more or less) real eastern-european countryside, where things are placed not by the whims of level designers, but by... them actually being there. Combined with the incredibly gloomy, sparse, spartan atmosphere, this makes for a completely unique environment, save perhaps for the exclusion zone seen in STALKER - but if anything, Day Z has a much stronger sense of place, and that place has an evil genius locii that will swat you in a moment if you don't pay attention to it. You start with no map, compass, or even a watch, meaning you have to orienteer and navigate your way on your own wits, until you can find these items and start to tame the place.
There are no quests, no bosses, no points. You are responsible for your own survival - it isn't handed to you on a plate. You always have to be aware that there are people out there who would gladly shoot you - meaning you *die*, and have to start again at a random point on the coast with a pistol and a bare minimum of supplies - just for a tin of beans and a little ammo. The zombies are brutal, faster than you, with more endurance than you, but will never quite catch you as long as you keep running. This means any tiny slip-up will quickly land you in a world of shit. Even something as simple as your inventory is different: it's fiddly, constrained and confusing, but versatile and realistic. You can't pick things up by just walking on them - you have to make the decision to stop, get down and sort through it and mess with your pack, knowing how much easier it makes for zombies and bandits to creep up on you.
Meeting other people is always incredibly tense, as even if you don't fight eachother, you could each spell doom or salvation for the other depending on how you act. The politics and interaction between players is on a different level than the eternally-repeating deathmatches of most other games. More than any other game, it's tested my principles and my reactions to others in truly stressful situations. All the bandits out there are just survivors like you who've made the all-too-easy decision, sometimes in the desperate throes of starvation or the heart-pounding terror of an unplanned confrontation, that have pushed them over the line, made them enemies to all who are not their direct partners... and even then, you never know when your buddy's going to get tired or scared or jealous of you and put a bullet in the back of your head, unless you can build a tentative, quivering relationship with them in the midst of danger and deprivation.
And just the mechanics of the game bear mention. First, simply the game-changing knowledge that wherever you are, it's surrounded by miles of wilderness and other places to run to, makes you constantly question whether you should be where you are, and whether the next corner you turn will grant you precious scraps of supplies, or a terrifying trap. Moving into the heavily contested areas - the big towns, and military bases - requires forethought, tactics and a wire-taut awareness of what you're doing that I've really never seen before seen before - even in MilSims.
Also, you're not just a 'floating fridge' like in most other games. Your movement is tied directly to that of your character model, which lends it a weight and a certain clumsiness that makes it feel much more real. The movement and aiming of your gun is painfully realistic, and trying to circlestrafe, snap-turn, run and gun or spray and pray will be about as effective as they would be in real life, i.e. very, very hard to pull off in a way that actually gives you an advantage. Even at the boiling point of a confrontation, you have to be deliberate and smart in your movements or you won't survive. At the same time, the array of postures you can move in and the ability to look around independently of your aim-point goes an amazingly long way to putting you there in the world, rather than feeling like you're remote-piloting a drone.
I don't know, I could go on and on. Playing this game is just completely unique, and even if nothing happens in your first few minutes of life, the initial reaction to the world, and the decisions you make and the fears you feel all have a weight and a realness to them that has never (IMO) been captured by any studio trying to cinematize and script your experience.
posted by Drexen at 3:48 PM on May 21, 2012 [50 favorites]
We've been talking about this over on MeFightclub. I've resisted thus far but it's only a matter of time.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:50 PM on May 21, 2012
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:50 PM on May 21, 2012
I ended up watching two hours of youtube videos of this game last weekend. I've been secretly dreaming of this exact game since I saw a friend playing Ultima Online back in the 90's. I've wanted a very realistic, zombie game with no real rules. This game is a DREAMBOAT, and I can't wait.
Once this gets out of Alpha, I will be purchasing a legit copy of windows, just to run it on.
posted by furnace.heart at 3:52 PM on May 21, 2012
Once this gets out of Alpha, I will be purchasing a legit copy of windows, just to run it on.
posted by furnace.heart at 3:52 PM on May 21, 2012
The first time I tried this was on a server full of friendlies. I stood on the beach figuring out my controls, setting up the voice chat channels, figuring out how to throw flares. Wandered around, didn't see anyone. Got bored, logged off.
Last night, I logged on in the pitch dark. Walking blind through unknown terrain, I followed a flare light towards some industrial buildings. Suddenly there is an outline against the red light - three zombies walking towards me. I went prone, they walked right past me, shuffling and mumbling, as I lay there in a cold sweat. Several more zombies show up. Adrenaline pumping, I took out about six zombies before my bullets ran out. Hurt and bleeding, chased by zombies, I shambled into a building. There I was woozily rifling through a dead person's pockets, desperately looking for ammo and bandages, when a bandit found me and put me out of my misery with one bullet to the head.
The round of Realism VS on L4D2 later on felt downright homely and easy in comparison... I'm SO playing this again tonight!
posted by gemmy at 3:56 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
Last night, I logged on in the pitch dark. Walking blind through unknown terrain, I followed a flare light towards some industrial buildings. Suddenly there is an outline against the red light - three zombies walking towards me. I went prone, they walked right past me, shuffling and mumbling, as I lay there in a cold sweat. Several more zombies show up. Adrenaline pumping, I took out about six zombies before my bullets ran out. Hurt and bleeding, chased by zombies, I shambled into a building. There I was woozily rifling through a dead person's pockets, desperately looking for ammo and bandages, when a bandit found me and put me out of my misery with one bullet to the head.
The round of Realism VS on L4D2 later on felt downright homely and easy in comparison... I'm SO playing this again tonight!
posted by gemmy at 3:56 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, Kid Charlemange, that reminds me - a few of us over at the MeFi-centric gaming group/forum MeFightClub have picked this up and we'll soon hopefully hit critical mass and be able to get together in-game. Playing in a group of trusted people (as you see in most YT vids) is very different from trying to survive on your own.
Here's a little story that I posted there. :)
Here's a little story that I posted there. :)
Snrk. So I spawn on one of the islands near Kamyshovo just as the sun is setting. I make land and pick my way through the black woods (nights in this game are DARK) to the tiny village of Dolina, set in a wooded valley out in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, I alert a stray zombie just as I'm finishing up a rather fruitless looting spree there. With no time to stop and light a new flare (stopping is death), I stumble across a road - its white markings are the only thing I can see other than the stars. Unfortunately, sprinting for your life along the middle of a road is loud, and before long I have a horde of 20 or so zombies screaming along at my heels, only dimly visible behind me by the flashes of their pallid hands swinging in the dark.posted by Drexen at 3:58 PM on May 21, 2012 [12 favorites]
I sprint for a good long while, wondering what the hell to do, when suddenly a dim red light springs up in the distance. Someone just lit a road flare. And they're inside a house. Houses are hard for zombies to navigate, and rushing into one can give you the time you need to take out your gun, bring it to bear, aim, and shoot - and in my case reload, as I only have 3 rounds left in the 8-round clip of this crappy Makarov pistol - all of which is almost impossible if you're being swarmed by zombies at full speed. Of course, that's the kind of party my unsuspecting host up ahead is probably not really planning for - but needs must. Sorry, whoever you are, but I'm crashing at your place.
I'm sure he heard me approaching. When I got to the house, the bandit was crouched in the doorway aiming a pistol at me. Evidently, he'd only just arrived too. What he probably wasn't expecting was for me to sprint past him, straight through the house and out the other side, screaming all the way. Nor was he expecting to be suddenly surrounded by this new town's entire population of zombies, plus the ones I'd brought with me. Sadly for him, the next thing I came across was a confusing jumble of railway tracks, and I had no choice but to double round and run back into the house.
I found him in one of the rooms, staring into space as he typed into chat: FUCK OFF FUCK OFF. He looked at me. BANG BANG BANG CLICK CLICK CLICK. I emptied my three bullets into his face and he slumped over. With zombies walking down the corridor I looked in his pack. Nothing useful. Shit. I reloaded, backed into a corner, and filled the house with bodies before finally being dogpiled by about 50 of the bastards.
YOU ARE DEAD.
I'm on the beach again. This time, I don't even have the setting sun to guide me.
God I love this game.
where things are placed not by the whims of level designers, but by... them actually being there
sorry, what do you mean by this?
posted by neuromodulator at 4:11 PM on May 21, 2012
sorry, what do you mean by this?
posted by neuromodulator at 4:11 PM on May 21, 2012
Oh, and the guy I linked to above - CHKilroy - also did a great "let's play" type series called The Days Ahead which starts here. He has a lot of people with him to start with, which somewhat mitigates the sheer oppression and loneliness that is the real hallmark of the game - but... well, let's just say the intial plan they make together on the road goes horribly wrong hilariously quickly. It's a lot of fun to watch. Also, his video made in a non-DayZ, but still zombie-featuring mission in Arma 2 - Man's Best Fiend - is a real gem.
One other thing I mention to no particular end - the day/night cycle in this game is 24 hours long. Nights are nights. Days are days. It makes me realise how much it niggles at the back of my mind when you can see the sun tracking from rise to set in a few minutes or an hour, as in other games.
posted by Drexen at 4:14 PM on May 21, 2012
One other thing I mention to no particular end - the day/night cycle in this game is 24 hours long. Nights are nights. Days are days. It makes me realise how much it niggles at the back of my mind when you can see the sun tracking from rise to set in a few minutes or an hour, as in other games.
posted by Drexen at 4:14 PM on May 21, 2012
Smart Dalek, the video you posted is cracking me up. Holy shit.
"WHAAA!! Help! Help! Oh, God! Help!" that dude is freaked out. I think he's actually crying at one point.
posted by Pecinpah at 4:19 PM on May 21, 2012
"WHAAA!! Help! Help! Oh, God! Help!" that dude is freaked out. I think he's actually crying at one point.
posted by Pecinpah at 4:19 PM on May 21, 2012
I have tried this mod a few times this week, and it is damned compelling.
I'm still shooting my gun when I mean to open a door, at other times used the muzzle flash to see what the hell's going on in the dark, and generally forget to crouch. I've met only friendlies, but expect nothing but bandits.
I prefer to endure a higher lag in sunlight on the Norway1 server than have no lag but being effectively blind in NYC, but the desire to connect/collaborate with a friendly gamer is powerful.
Your experiences will undoubtedly vary.
posted by Busithoth at 4:20 PM on May 21, 2012
I'm still shooting my gun when I mean to open a door, at other times used the muzzle flash to see what the hell's going on in the dark, and generally forget to crouch. I've met only friendlies, but expect nothing but bandits.
I prefer to endure a higher lag in sunlight on the Norway1 server than have no lag but being effectively blind in NYC, but the desire to connect/collaborate with a friendly gamer is powerful.
Your experiences will undoubtedly vary.
posted by Busithoth at 4:20 PM on May 21, 2012
where things are placed not by the whims of level designers, but by... them actually being there
sorry, what do you mean by this?
posted by neuromodulator at 12:11 AM on May 22
Yeah, sorry, that's not too clear. What I mean is that the map - Chernarus - is (as far as I understand) modelled very closely on an actual place, or at most an amalgalm of a few places, in (I believe) Czechoslovakia. Everything about the geography, the layout of buildings, facilities, roads, environment etc - is (indirectly) made by people who weren't making a game map - they were just living and building and leaving behind the history of their presence there. In most games, the locations are... pastiches, imaginings, constructed in ways that guide and constrain you and present you with the visions of the game designers, intentionally or not.
It's kind of hard to explain the difference it makes, but it means that... I don't know. The way that things present themselves to you as you approach a town - black shapes looming out of the blackness, or the silhouettes of telegraph poles and power substations, factories and farms - evoke very effectively the real-life experience of going to a place and seeing it approach, because that view you're seeing wasn't constructed and framed for you - it's just the way the place is.
I dunno, I'm not explaining it well. I guess in short, it's like the difference between a war film, and helmet-cam footage from a war. Something like that! :)
posted by Drexen at 4:25 PM on May 21, 2012 [8 favorites]
sorry, what do you mean by this?
posted by neuromodulator at 12:11 AM on May 22
Yeah, sorry, that's not too clear. What I mean is that the map - Chernarus - is (as far as I understand) modelled very closely on an actual place, or at most an amalgalm of a few places, in (I believe) Czechoslovakia. Everything about the geography, the layout of buildings, facilities, roads, environment etc - is (indirectly) made by people who weren't making a game map - they were just living and building and leaving behind the history of their presence there. In most games, the locations are... pastiches, imaginings, constructed in ways that guide and constrain you and present you with the visions of the game designers, intentionally or not.
It's kind of hard to explain the difference it makes, but it means that... I don't know. The way that things present themselves to you as you approach a town - black shapes looming out of the blackness, or the silhouettes of telegraph poles and power substations, factories and farms - evoke very effectively the real-life experience of going to a place and seeing it approach, because that view you're seeing wasn't constructed and framed for you - it's just the way the place is.
I dunno, I'm not explaining it well. I guess in short, it's like the difference between a war film, and helmet-cam footage from a war. Something like that! :)
posted by Drexen at 4:25 PM on May 21, 2012 [8 favorites]
(Oh, derp - The Days Ahead was already posted by Smart Dalek!)
posted by Drexen at 4:26 PM on May 21, 2012
posted by Drexen at 4:26 PM on May 21, 2012
I'll always love the D & D game Morrow Project above any apocolaypse video game, but I played with a ruthless bunch AI couldn't match.
posted by Mblue at 4:32 PM on May 21, 2012
posted by Mblue at 4:32 PM on May 21, 2012
in (I believe) Czechoslovakia.
There’s over 200km2 out there for characters to roam around in, and it has some of the most realistic forests you’ll ever encounter in a game. They’re actually based on real terrain in the Czech Republic. That means nothing is really the whim of a designer (although buildings and so on repeat) because things are where actual forests, villages, and roads are placed in the real world. As virtual tourism goes, there nothing more accurate in gaming.
posted by zamboni at 4:32 PM on May 21, 2012
There’s over 200km2 out there for characters to roam around in, and it has some of the most realistic forests you’ll ever encounter in a game. They’re actually based on real terrain in the Czech Republic. That means nothing is really the whim of a designer (although buildings and so on repeat) because things are where actual forests, villages, and roads are placed in the real world. As virtual tourism goes, there nothing more accurate in gaming.
posted by zamboni at 4:32 PM on May 21, 2012
i've been watching livestreams of this game on twitch.tv the last couple of days.
a rolling update is in effect at the moment, so you might not be able to see much action until all that's sorted out.
once it is, though, it can make for entertaining viewing (tianity & mercer's stream has been my go to for laughs juvenile to sublime).
posted by clarenceism at 4:34 PM on May 21, 2012
a rolling update is in effect at the moment, so you might not be able to see much action until all that's sorted out.
once it is, though, it can make for entertaining viewing (tianity & mercer's stream has been my go to for laughs juvenile to sublime).
posted by clarenceism at 4:34 PM on May 21, 2012
It turns out Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to play a little Day Z himself...
posted by quosimosaur at 4:44 PM on May 21, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by quosimosaur at 4:44 PM on May 21, 2012 [4 favorites]
is there a game that exists that renders the idea of "let's play" impossible
i.e. a game which makes perfect sense from the player's perspective but from a spectator's perspective is incoherent/renders the idea of consumption via proxy moot
someone needs to make that
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 4:51 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
i.e. a game which makes perfect sense from the player's perspective but from a spectator's perspective is incoherent/renders the idea of consumption via proxy moot
someone needs to make that
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 4:51 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
This, of course, alludes to you: Yes, there is! I forget the name, but there was a great little indie game where you played an invisible monster razing a city. At one point, you have to traverse a platforming segment. The developer talked about how players would look at the screen with the most intense expression as they guided their invisible protagonist between pits of death... but to everyone else it was just a still picture with nothing going on.
And to make up for being off topic I'll say everyone I know who's played Day Z is absolutely in love with it.
posted by subject_verb_remainder at 5:08 PM on May 21, 2012
And to make up for being off topic I'll say everyone I know who's played Day Z is absolutely in love with it.
posted by subject_verb_remainder at 5:08 PM on May 21, 2012
A couple of features make this game really awesome for me: being able to eavesdrop on players (in-game voice chat is audible to everyone within a certain proximity) and the ability to navigate by the stars.
In one of CHKilroy's videos he and a buddy, in the pitch dark of night, crawl into a compound through a gap in the fence. Their plan is to eavesdrop on a couple of guys who they've already arranged to meet at this safe area. Kilroy and co. want to be absolutely certain that these guys are friendly. They're wary because there have been rumours about the lengths these other guys have gone to in order to survive.
Not a single shot is fired and luckily there's not a zombie in sight but it's still one of the most intense video game experiences. And I wasn't even playing myself!
posted by quosimosaur at 5:28 PM on May 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
In one of CHKilroy's videos he and a buddy, in the pitch dark of night, crawl into a compound through a gap in the fence. Their plan is to eavesdrop on a couple of guys who they've already arranged to meet at this safe area. Kilroy and co. want to be absolutely certain that these guys are friendly. They're wary because there have been rumours about the lengths these other guys have gone to in order to survive.
Not a single shot is fired and luckily there's not a zombie in sight but it's still one of the most intense video game experiences. And I wasn't even playing myself!
posted by quosimosaur at 5:28 PM on May 21, 2012 [3 favorites]
Oh, fun fact: a few days ago, the average survival time was about 4 hours. It's currently... 28 minutes. Surviving more than a few days is rare, even if you know what you're doing.
posted by Drexen at 5:41 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Drexen at 5:41 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
I hate anything to do with zombies and strongly dislike fighting games but if I had a group of pals like Kilroy and company I'd totally play this game.
posted by Danila at 6:05 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Danila at 6:05 PM on May 21, 2012 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I normally hate zombie games and most modern FPS games, too, but this one looks like a winner.
Hell, it looks like a winner just as a first person shooter done right. Extreme ammo and supply scarcity, long reload times, a large range of values between simply "wounded" and "instantly dead", almost zero enhanced situational awareness, voice chat only when in proximity, real in-game consequences to death (like losing contact with groups), the benefits of teamwork, and how fast people turn on each other while under stress and threat of death and so on.
All while being simultaneously terrifying and yet still fun to play. There's a scene in part 3 of The Days Ahead where the person playing/filming is losing blood, out of ammo and being chased by an entire horde of zombies following his blood trail. He basically has to run and keep running until his wound clots, and he's slowing down the entire time, the zombies are getting closer and closer. You're even slower going up hill and faster downhill.
I've been watching the videos for The Days Ahead and my only complaint would be the doofy zombie noises that don't seem to accurately identify themselves with regards to direction and sound like a drunken Taz cartoon, but they can be ignored and they just seem to add to the terror and confusion since the gameplay is inherently so good.
posted by loquacious at 6:35 PM on May 21, 2012 [5 favorites]
Hell, it looks like a winner just as a first person shooter done right. Extreme ammo and supply scarcity, long reload times, a large range of values between simply "wounded" and "instantly dead", almost zero enhanced situational awareness, voice chat only when in proximity, real in-game consequences to death (like losing contact with groups), the benefits of teamwork, and how fast people turn on each other while under stress and threat of death and so on.
All while being simultaneously terrifying and yet still fun to play. There's a scene in part 3 of The Days Ahead where the person playing/filming is losing blood, out of ammo and being chased by an entire horde of zombies following his blood trail. He basically has to run and keep running until his wound clots, and he's slowing down the entire time, the zombies are getting closer and closer. You're even slower going up hill and faster downhill.
I've been watching the videos for The Days Ahead and my only complaint would be the doofy zombie noises that don't seem to accurately identify themselves with regards to direction and sound like a drunken Taz cartoon, but they can be ignored and they just seem to add to the terror and confusion since the gameplay is inherently so good.
posted by loquacious at 6:35 PM on May 21, 2012 [5 favorites]
Yeah...Riverworld. Good book, lousy movie.
I dunno. I'm still having trouble accepting paintball.
Too far into fogeyhood I guess...I got them "been there and got a T-shirt blues." Well, I used the T-shirt to clean my M-16.
More power to you guys, I guess, but....jeez.
posted by mule98J at 7:12 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
I dunno. I'm still having trouble accepting paintball.
Too far into fogeyhood I guess...I got them "been there and got a T-shirt blues." Well, I used the T-shirt to clean my M-16.
More power to you guys, I guess, but....jeez.
posted by mule98J at 7:12 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
loquacious, I think at that point they were still using zombie sounds ripped from Left 4 Dead 2 -- they've now updated them with custom sounds that work a lot better. :)
posted by Drexen at 7:24 PM on May 21, 2012
posted by Drexen at 7:24 PM on May 21, 2012
I've raved about ARMA here before.
The people of Bohemia Interactive Studios get gaming - the develop a huge and highly dedicated community of modders and designers and devotees that generate some of the best gaming available. This wouldn't be possible without BIS actively encouraging and supporting these efforts.
If you've got ARMA (not 2), pick up Cold War Assault - the campaign from the original game Operation Flashpoint. It was very highly regarded, and the mod community has been diligently recreating that campaign for every new version of the engine.
I won't lie - the ARMA series is a hard game to love; it's rough around the edges, frustratingly incomprehensible and just plain obtuse sometimes. This game expects you to think.
But the benefits are there - a huge sandbox type game with an active mod community and dedicated developer supporting it.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:27 PM on May 21, 2012
All while being simultaneously terrifying and yet still fun to play. There's a scene in part 3 of The Days Ahead where the person playing/filming is losing blood, out of ammo and being chased by an entire horde of zombies following his blood trail. He basically has to run and keep running until his wound clots, and he's slowing down the entire time, the zombies are getting closer and closer. You're even slower going up hill and faster downhill.
My favorite part is when three of them are running from a horde and two of them are out pacing the third, and all of a sudden, the realize that they don't need to lose the zombies, they need to lose their friend that the zombies are chasing, so they run through a barn and take a sudden turn through a side door and keep going. Just beautiful.
I think if you add just a few quest-like things scattered around the map, it would make it absolutely perfect. Just anything to motivate some hunting and gathering point a to point b travel beyond just staying alive.
I think that playing at night looks really unfun, also, and the probably need to do something to motivate more people to play at night. I've heard daytime servers are slammed with people now.
posted by empath at 7:59 PM on May 21, 2012
My favorite part is when three of them are running from a horde and two of them are out pacing the third, and all of a sudden, the realize that they don't need to lose the zombies, they need to lose their friend that the zombies are chasing, so they run through a barn and take a sudden turn through a side door and keep going. Just beautiful.
I think if you add just a few quest-like things scattered around the map, it would make it absolutely perfect. Just anything to motivate some hunting and gathering point a to point b travel beyond just staying alive.
I think that playing at night looks really unfun, also, and the probably need to do something to motivate more people to play at night. I've heard daytime servers are slammed with people now.
posted by empath at 7:59 PM on May 21, 2012
Do these servers remember where stuff is left behind? Could people leave caches for themselves?
posted by joannemerriam at 8:24 PM on May 21, 2012
posted by joannemerriam at 8:24 PM on May 21, 2012
Pogo_Fuzzybutt: "I've raved about ARMA here before.
If you've got ARMA (not 2), pick up Cold War Assault - the campaign from the original game Operation Flashpoint. It was very highly regarded, and the mod community has been diligently recreating that campaign for every new version of the engine.
...But the benefits are there - a huge sandbox type game with an active mod community and dedicated developer supporting it."
I've raved about Operation Flashpoint here as well. I've had the game since it was released and the amount of mods, maps, add-ons is still staggering. I still fire it up and have a go once and awhile. Even if you play the commercially released game (which is the Cold War Assault mentioned above), it is a very good taste of Day Z.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:31 PM on May 21, 2012
If you've got ARMA (not 2), pick up Cold War Assault - the campaign from the original game Operation Flashpoint. It was very highly regarded, and the mod community has been diligently recreating that campaign for every new version of the engine.
...But the benefits are there - a huge sandbox type game with an active mod community and dedicated developer supporting it."
I've raved about Operation Flashpoint here as well. I've had the game since it was released and the amount of mods, maps, add-ons is still staggering. I still fire it up and have a go once and awhile. Even if you play the commercially released game (which is the Cold War Assault mentioned above), it is a very good taste of Day Z.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 8:31 PM on May 21, 2012
Do these servers remember where stuff is left behind? Could people leave caches for themselves?
posted by joannemerriam at 5:24 PM on May 21 [+] [!]
Yep. Though someone else might find it first.
posted by Sebmojo at 8:34 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by joannemerriam at 5:24 PM on May 21 [+] [!]
Yep. Though someone else might find it first.
posted by Sebmojo at 8:34 PM on May 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
Video game nerd trivia: Guess what game the zombie groans were ripped from?
(hint: best game ever. best zombie noises ever.)
posted by dunkadunc at 9:15 PM on May 21, 2012
(hint: best game ever. best zombie noises ever.)
posted by dunkadunc at 9:15 PM on May 21, 2012
This sounds awesome, and been meaning to try out Arma2 for a while anyway. Thanks
/Kills two bird with one stone
/Is promptly ganked by a bandit
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 12:59 AM on May 22, 2012
/Kills two bird with one stone
/Is promptly ganked by a bandit
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 12:59 AM on May 22, 2012
Yeah I just want to say thanks for this. I don't know when I'll get to try it but it will fill the gaping hole of disappointment in me left by Dead Island. Having watched about 4 videos now I can't see how I wouldn't like it.
At least Urban Dead never left me unfulfilled. Did we ever have a MeFi contingent for that?
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 1:34 AM on May 22, 2012
At least Urban Dead never left me unfulfilled. Did we ever have a MeFi contingent for that?
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 1:34 AM on May 22, 2012
I'm with Simon Pegg: zombies don't run!
It's necessary in this game to create a reasonable sense of danger. Given the vastness of the map, servers would not cope with the number of slow moving zombies required to create the same threat level generated with fewer but faster moving undead.
Running, shooting and general situational awareness are much easier to handle in a videogame so it's only fair that zombies get an upgrade.
posted by quosimosaur at 5:43 AM on May 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
It's necessary in this game to create a reasonable sense of danger. Given the vastness of the map, servers would not cope with the number of slow moving zombies required to create the same threat level generated with fewer but faster moving undead.
Running, shooting and general situational awareness are much easier to handle in a videogame so it's only fair that zombies get an upgrade.
posted by quosimosaur at 5:43 AM on May 22, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yeah, Kid Charlemange, that reminds me - a few of us over at the MeFi-centric gaming group/forum MeFightClub have picked this up and we'll soon hopefully hit critical mass and be able to get together in-game. Playing in a group of trusted people (as you see in most YT vids) is very different from trying to survive on your own.My impression of the game from the discussion here is that it's largely an anti-social game, where you have to survive by being more amoral than your competition, ala all those post-apocalyptic survivalist fantasies from the eighties, correct?
It would be interesting if you can get a good sized group together to see if you can actually play not as a Mad Max fantasy but as a group of normal, decent people trying to rebuild civilisation, in so far as that is possible given the constraints of the game.
posted by MartinWisse at 6:47 AM on May 22, 2012
From watching the videos linked, it seems like it's not entirely amoral, I don't think they run into bandits the entire time they played, and picked up at least 2 random players into their group at various times.
I don't think 'rebuilding civilization' is in the cards, but its at least possible to get some cars working.
I think a fun thing to add would be radios that let you use the broadcast tower....
posted by empath at 7:33 AM on May 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
I don't think 'rebuilding civilization' is in the cards, but its at least possible to get some cars working.
I think a fun thing to add would be radios that let you use the broadcast tower....
posted by empath at 7:33 AM on May 22, 2012 [2 favorites]
Looks like a new patch came out adding sickness and temperature.
posted by empath at 7:54 AM on May 22, 2012
posted by empath at 7:54 AM on May 22, 2012
And tanking the framerate, going on my experiences last night. So there might be another one coming to fix that soon.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:17 PM on May 22, 2012
posted by Sebmojo at 2:17 PM on May 22, 2012
dunkadunc: "Video game nerd trivia: Guess what game the zombie groans were ripped from?
(hint: best game ever. best zombie noises ever.)"
Wow, nobody recognized it? The groans are from Thief: The Dark Project.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:20 PM on May 22, 2012
(hint: best game ever. best zombie noises ever.)"
Wow, nobody recognized it? The groans are from Thief: The Dark Project.
posted by dunkadunc at 2:20 PM on May 22, 2012
YouTube video of a group foraging session.How the fuck nobody capped the shrieking whiny arsehole in that video is less believable than the zombies.
"Arrrggghhh there's a zombie!" *runs to Sweden*
posted by fullerine at 3:30 PM on May 22, 2012
Left 4 dead, not thief, but I think they've been replaced now, anyway.
posted by empath at 3:47 PM on May 22, 2012
posted by empath at 3:47 PM on May 22, 2012
empath: "Left 4 dead, not thief, but I think they've been replaced now, anyway."
The zombies in this video were definitely from Thief.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:32 PM on May 22, 2012
The zombies in this video were definitely from Thief.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:32 PM on May 22, 2012
Umm... I was wrong. Apparently there is more than one DOTA II Zombie Apocalypse addon.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:35 PM on May 22, 2012
posted by dunkadunc at 8:35 PM on May 22, 2012
ok, does anyone have more information on who precisely dr kimble is? because that voice is UNCANNY.
posted by shmegegge at 12:55 PM on May 23, 2012
posted by shmegegge at 12:55 PM on May 23, 2012
I've been watching videos of people playing Day Z for the past days and wow is this amazing.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 10:10 AM on May 25, 2012
posted by Foci for Analysis at 10:10 AM on May 25, 2012
The linked updates almost get you there now. There is an additional beta patch you need to apply to connect to the game servers.
posted by chambers at 8:54 PM on June 8, 2012
posted by chambers at 8:54 PM on June 8, 2012
Bohemia Interactive should put the Day Z team on staff or give them some royalties for the sales boost from their mod.
posted by the_artificer at 12:55 PM on June 13, 2012
posted by the_artificer at 12:55 PM on June 13, 2012
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I respawned on the beach.
Somebody ought to make a Riverworld RPG.
posted by KokuRyu at 3:04 PM on May 21, 2012 [12 favorites]