Arma 2: Combined Ops (ARMA 2 Base game now free!) (Zombie Mod!)

[Azazel]

So this is this week's Midweek Madness on Steam in a variety of configurations. To buy everything ARMA2 a la carte will cost you $30, though or $25 if you buy the combined Ops version for $15 + the 2 DLC packs for $5 each. - so they naturally have a $30 pack that includes ARMA1 as well.

Oh, ARMA 2: Free is up on steam as well now, hidden in the ARMA II entry. I'm downloading that. If I have time, I'll check it out and decide on the other stuff. But then again, I picked up MW3 yesterday and my BF3 arrived in the post today. So it's going to be a busy time...

[climbjtree]

They've also released Project Reality for ARMA2, which is awesome.

[tgr]

One thing I wish they'd work on next, is the driving physics etc, because that's always been atrocious.

[Azazel]

Tried. It-Out. The. Awful. Stilted. Audio-Sounds. When. People. Talk. Was-Too. Much. For. Me.

Uninstalled.

[Mrbloodworth]

Well, thats... ok.

[Azazel]

The graphics looked like arse, but that's undertsandable - low-res textures for the free version, and if I upgraded I'd get the spiffy hi-rez ones. I didn't play it for long, but it just felt really ...unpolished. Like the base of something that could be great but just never got properly finished.

I dunno. Was glad I was able to give it a try, though.

[Mrbloodworth]

I did not want to make another thread for ARMA 3 so, ill just leave this here.

Arma 3 - 'Stratis Showcase' Trailer

[Kageru]

Large maps and realistic visibility just seem like they'll inevitably lead to vehicle destruction derbies and tedious K/D obsessive snipers... or are there some mechanics that actually limit that in practice?

[tgr]

Large maps and realistic visibility just seem like they'll inevitably lead to vehicle destruction derbies and tedious K/D obsessive snipers... or are there some mechanics that actually limit that in practice?

The main limiting factor against this seems to lie in the playerbase itself. I haven't played this online much, but what I've seen of it seems to have a larger portion of people who take it very seriously as a simulator, not as a game just to be K/D'ed to death.

In fact, I don't think there's much in the way of K/D registering anywhere, so if anything I think that'd be the limit you're looking for.

[NiX]

Day Z - Zombie mod for ArmA2 Combined Ops!

If these videos don't intrigue, I don't know what will.

[Azazel]

That looks awesome, I have to say..

[Ghambit]

Large maps and realistic visibility just seem like they'll inevitably lead to vehicle destruction derbies and tedious K/D obsessive snipers... or are there some mechanics that actually limit that in practice?

The main limiting factor against this seems to lie in the playerbase itself. I haven't played this online much, but what I've seen of it seems to have a larger portion of people who take it very seriously as a simulator, not as a game just to be K/D'ed to death.

In fact, I don't think there's much in the way of K/D registering anywhere, so if anything I think that'd be the limit you're looking for.

You have to be a part of an FPS community to play effectively.  Places like SimHQ, TacticalGamer, and Dyslexi's group (shack tactical).  Dyslexi's actually in the vids... nice to see him still playing. (he parlayed his fps skillz into a sweet VBS2 gig evidently, and helped with Arma2)
So yah, as you can see the community is pretty small but it'll be some of the best "gaming" you ever do.

[Malakili]

I love the idea of what I see there.  Do I actually need to pay money to get ARMA2 to the point where it can run that mod or is the F2P version enough?

[Ghambit]

You need:

Arma 2 (free or full) + ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead
or
Arma 2: Combined Operations

Be advised.  It's totally open-world sandbox survival-pvp on a persistent server (so good luck dealing with the trigger happy tweenies in town).  DayZ will hold all your stats, etc. even if you log off (unlike most arma servers) and there are leaderboards. (time survived, distance walked, etc.)  Seems very HungerGamesish, only with zeds.   

I'd play if Arrowhead was on sale, but it's $20 right now.  I dont want to play an Alpha that badly.  Some forum investigation is revealing that the mod is really seeing a good showing, and it's likely to be published in some form soon.

[tgr]

I watched all 6 of his videos and all I could think of was "this ... this is awesome."

[Mrbloodworth]

Playing this now. (Zeds)

[UnSub]

I watched all 6 of his videos and all I could think of was "this ... this is awesome."

His girlish squeals every time zombies appeared made those videos oddly compelling to watch.

[Azazel]

Agreed, his audibly being so "into it" certainly added to the atmosphere in those vids.

[Mrbloodworth]

Poop! Having issues finding a server this morning playing the newest version....

[Ghambit]

Agreed, his audibly being so "into it" certainly added to the atmosphere in those vids.

To be fair, he's a 'ShackTactical' guy, meaning he's one of Dyslecxi's crew.  Which means he's a BI fanbois pretty much.  Ultimately the object was to get more people to buy the game/expansions and Mods.

Oh, and looks like the survival record is at 40+ hrs as of yesterday.

[NiX]

To be fair, he's a 'ShackTactical' guy, meaning he's one of Dyslecxi's crew.  Which means he's a BI fanbois pretty much.  Ultimately the object was to get more people to buy the game/expansions and Mods.

Oh, and looks like the survival record is at 40+ hrs as of yesterday.

It's an amazing mod, regardless of what you think a "fanboi" is doing to generate interest. I rarely have "Just a few more minutes.." moments anymore, but this game has done it. Last night I intended to go to bed at 11... 1 AM. So addictive, especially when you start to group up with other people. Shit can go sour really quick even if you have numbers.

Video of some bandits (what you become if you kill too many players) raiding buildings with a helicopter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxbrFa3dPqk&feature=player_embedded

[Mrbloodworth]

Poop! Having issues finding a server this morning playing the newest version....

Apparently this gets updated quite often. So, user error on my part.

I wish I could host my own server. But it seems they keep that stuff to themselves and only give it out by request.


EDIT: also apparently ARMA 2 hit the top sellers list on steam due to people picking up this mod.

[NiX]

Apparently this gets updated quite often. So, user error on my part.

I wish I could host my own server. But it seems they keep that stuff to themselves and only give it out by request.


EDIT: also apparently ARMA 2 hit the top sellers list on steam due to people picking up this mod.

They're keeping it to themselves because they were just testing the idea and the servers currently require access to their main server for loading character data. Apparently it's in the plan to work on a private server option for people.

[Mrbloodworth]

Yeah, I figured.

I have played on a few servers at this point. Some start you with equipment, some do not. Some all spawn you in the one spot, some randomly on the world.

The best one I have played on so far seems to have made some of its own mission scripting using the mod. Things they added were base overruns, where zombies would infest an abandoned area or compound. I found it funny, because when this mission triggers, everyone see it. So not only do you need to contend with the zombies in the area, but other users. There was another where some "military" CDC like force was moving across the country side, killing all zombie and players alike, some sort of clean up and containment crew.

Cool stuff.

[Mrbloodworth]

Great site with some good info you may want out in the wastelands.

http://www.dayzmod.info

[Mrbloodworth]

DayZ - The Survivors

DayZ Update 1.5.7
UPDATE : 14 MAY 2012
Affected addons:
* dayz_code 1.5.7
* dayz 1.2.4
* dayz_sfx 1.1

Developer's Note:
* ITS MY BIRTHDAY. I AM 31.

Changelog:
* [NEW] Zombie Script converted to Finite State Machine for performance improvement
* [NEW] Zombie Numbers drastically increased
* [NEW] Amazing Draft Zombie sounds provided by Michael Manning (http://www.manningaudio.com)
* [NEW] Terrifying Zombie face provided by GenesisCrys (http://www.lostpoly.com)
* [NEW] Panicing sound effect
* [FIXED] Death when entering crashed heli's
* [FIXED] Hardly any zombies spawning (Lol... uh... like there is lots now)

P.S. Re: Zombie Numbers.... hahah... you're all fucked. deeply fucked. Good luck.

[rk47]

Some guy in rpgcodex printed the whole map of the world and pasted it on his wall.


Also:


High barrier of entry. Fuck it. I'm playing FPS, not a flight sim.

[tgr]

Uh. I generally use the standard fps controls to move around, zxc to control prone position, v to jump fences, b to use a binocular and alt to swivel my head. It's not such a high barrier of entry control-wise, the problem is more that you aren't invincible.

[Mrbloodworth]

High barrier of entry. Fuck it. I'm playing FPS, not a flight sim.

Umm... Like, most of that is the NPC commands and orders, not used in the mod. The rest is rather standard stuff. Also, completely mappable. The radio commands are as easy as they were in Tribes...... F1 + 1 + 8 = "Bob find cover".

I mean..Dam...



See, the difference being, Team based games require communication between others. Just saying   You didn't even GET to the aircraft controls!

Ground Vehicle Controls

It's very similar to characters.

W - Forward

E - Fast Forward

A/D or Mouse Left/Right - Turn Left/Right

S - Brake/Reverse

Left shift - Turbo
Aircraft Controls

Move Mouse Left/Right - Default Turn (Yaw or Rudder Left/Right, based on current speed) Move Mouse Up/Down - Nose Up/Down

    Q - Helicopter Increase Height
    Z - Helicopter Decrease Height
    A - Helicopter Bank (Yaw) Left
    D - Helicopter Bank (Yaw) Right
    X - Rudder Left
    C - Rudder Right
    W - Tilt Down (Forward)
    S - Tilt Up (Backward)

    2x\ - Activate Auto Hovering
    \ - Deactivate Auto Hovering

[Mrbloodworth]

Day Z interview — how zombies + Arma 2 created gaming’s best story machine - PcGamer

Day Z will be one of important things to happen in gaming this year. It’s an open-world, persistent, PvP and PvE zombie survival mod built atop a hardcore military simulator. And despite its harsh mechanics, permadeath, and absence of instruction, it’s spreading like wildfire. More than 48,000 unique players are in the alpha, and the thing you need to play it, Arma 2: Combined Operations, hovered at the top of Steam top sellers this week.

I spoke the mod’s creator, Dean “Rocket” Hall, over Skype. We chatted for an hour about player emotions, AI programming, Minecraft, and what features to expect next in Day Z—like dog companions. Hall joined Bohemia Interactive in January as a Game Designer on Arma 3.

A Chat With Rocket, Creator Of Day Z - RPS

The expanding popularity of an Arma 2 mod, Day Z, might have surprised all of us, but imagine the surprise felt by the chap who created it, Dean “Rocket” Hall. There are nearly 48,000 characters now registered in the game’s stats, when he imagined there’d be just a few hundred. His motivation to make the ultra-bleak multiplayer zombie survival mod might not surprise any of you, though, when you read his take on what games should be, and why the kinds of stories experiences like Day Z produce are so important. There were a couple of times in this interview where I hooted in agreement with what Rocket had to say. See if you can spot them.

[Yoru]

I've been playing this a bunch with a few dudes from the office. Playing together makes the game really shine; we all survived about five real-time days. Until today.

Today, during lunchtime, we met up and headed for a small town. On the outskirts of town, while doing some routine spotting to plan our route, we spotted a man sneaking through the village, occasionally popping zeds with his pistol. We closed in and stalked him from building to building until he holed up in a church. He brought in a horde and laid them out while we watched. Once he'd finished the zeds and the town had gone quiet, we encircled him and closed in. Instead of bothering to communicate, we did a coordinated (and, in retrospect, idiotic) bum-rush through the door. We cut him down with the sweet automatic weapons we'd looted from the countryside, but I and another guy were gutshot before he went down and we both bled out too fast to save.

Turns out that automatic weapons are really loud, so every zed in town headed in to feast on our remaining two companions. We were all back on the beach 5 minutes later and logged out as lunch break was ending.

Cannot wait to get more guns and do it all over again.

[Mrbloodworth]

How do you guys group up? I tried to get together with a friend, but man, the world is large and we are unfamiliar with the map.

[Yoru]

How do you guys group up? I tried to get together with a friend, but man, the world is large and we are unfamiliar with the map.

We're all pretty decent with orienteering. Look for landmarks and patterns. Places where roads meet, distinctive hills, etc. It also helps that we're physically in the same room, so if someone has no clue, we can all cluster around his monitor for a few minutes to figure it out.

Also, topographical maps help a lot.

[Mrbloodworth]

Linking for reference.

http://www.teamfackin.com/moocow/dayz/map/

Also, Patch:

Patch 1.5.8 is now live. The most notable changes are:

    An infection system has been implemented, based on your temperature (the thermometer in your UI) and exposure to other players. If you get sick, you can lose BP down to 6000 unless you find antibiotics. Standing in the rain can decrease your temperature, while standing near a fire can increase it.
    Water canteens can no longer be filled from the ocean.
    The Winchester has been nerfed. It is now louder and weaker.
    You can now interact with items directly in the inventory (G) by right-clicking them.
    Your character will be saved any time you force-quit or force-disconnect.
    Fire requires wood now.
    Ladders are (supposedly) no longer deathtraps.

[Lucas]

This is simply sandbox gaming at its finest, tech roughness included  

A couple days ago, I installed the mod after only a vague read (I've been playing ArmA 2 on and off for the last 1.5 years). I found myself stranded on a beach, at night, basically blind to everything that was surrounding me. I checked my equipment, and I noted that I got some flares; so I thought: "hell, let's shed some light into this!"   . After a minute and a half or so, I started hearing screams and the noise of quick footsteps coming at me. I turned around and suddenly I see this fuckin' zombie getting at me: I quickly took out my Makarov, shot it dead, and I immediately realized I actually had to get away from that source of light as soon as I could;  I found a road getting I don't know where, so I followed for a bit...And got disconnected  

But even for a few minutes, I can easily categorize it as one of the most intense gaming experiences I've ever had. While the novelty and the "fear factor" might soon fade, I think that with proper enhancements and support this can become a really unique experience, both as a loner, survivor group or a bandit one.

Hey, we should open a F13 server, with a password like...I don't know "schildlovessalvatore" or something?

EDIT: Aaaand..."Day Z: In Real Life"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYft9Kd8nIQ