DayZ (Mod for ARMA II: OAH) Clubhouse

A bit about the game. You must buy the stand alone title ARMA II: Operation Arrowhead. The game is $19.99 from the publisher or Steam.

You will need either the full ARMA II game fully updated or the free demo version along with OAH to play DayZ. The full ARMA II game is better because it has better textures than the free version. The guide I posted above I found on another forum but it will tell you exactly what you need to do to play and how to set everything up. I did the non steam version.

The game itself is in Alpha but is fun as all hell. You start off at a random spot on the coast line with limited supplies.
Some water, some food, some bandages, a pistol and a handful of clips. The map you are on is huge. HUGE. It is infested with zombies and other survivors. You have to scrounge all your supplies by killing zombies to see if they have anything on them (or to defend yourself) finding gear in buildings, in vehicles, in camps, shacks in the woods, towns, cities, etc...or by killing other survivors/bandits.

You can't use your fists for fighting. Just weapons. In my 4+ hours first play I had found several dead survivors which I looted. I also found some useful loot by looking through buildings. At one point I found a nice crossbow with two bolts.

You have to eat, and drink. If you get hurt you have to stop the bleeding. If you need a blood transfusion you can't do it yourself. You need to find another survivor that is willing to help you.

All in all its about surviving. If you make a lot of noise other survivors and or zombies can hear you. staying out of sight helps keep you out of their visibility. There are meters for noise, sight, bood, water, food...so you will know when you must drink and or eat...when you are bleeding out, making too much noise or being very visible.

Time is real time. meaning day and night cycle is realistic. A little more on that later.


So far I can say this is an awesome mod; with a drawback or two. Not bad at all considering it's in alpha stage. Also I really can't stress enough how much easier this game is if you work with a team.

I love the idea of surviving. I love having to scrounge up everything I need. Every building I see could have something useful inside...or could have nothing. In my first couple hours of play I've had no choice but to kill 10 zombies. I've only seen one other living survivor and I had no idea if he was going to shoot at me or not. That alone adds some crazy tension to the game. The not knowing how other survivors will react to me. I would prefer to play this game as I would in RL and that’s to work together with other survivors; But there are a **** load of bandits wanting to take what you have. (Bandits= survivors that prey on other survivors to take what you have.) Oh and when you die; you die. You have to start completely over as a new survivor. Now if you know where you died and no-one has taken your gear you can get it back. Also no matter what server you play on the game remembers what you have and where you are. You can hide gear in the woods and go back a week later and if no-one found your stash it will still be there. Very cool.

My only complaint right now is the real time night cycle. I think its way cool but since it's real time and I work 8 hours a day; I will be stuck playing at night time in game most of the time which will suck. As a new survivor I have no map (except I can look online) no flashlights or night vision, only flares. I can't seem to figure out if its possible to light and hold a flare so right now I can just toss them down on the ground. They put off a lot of light and last for 15-20 minutes or so but that doesn't help much.


Day one:
When I landed on the beach I didn't know where to go, who to trust. I saw a city off to my left and a smaller town to my right. I opted for the smaller town in hopes of finding some gear that might help me. Within an hour I was hungry, thirsty and still not at that town. Going to a town is risky because I can clearly see that there are more zombies in towns. I tried sneaking in but at every turn I'd see a zombie walking around, crawling on the ground or just standing there. I came across no less than 3 dead survivors which confirmed just how dangerous this area was. I found a shed and sat down inside. My back to the wall I ate some food, drank some water and could tell that my character was moving better. Feeling fresh I ventured out and looked through the gear that the dead survivors left behind. Found some canned beans and more water. No ammo though. I decided to check out a few more buildings when I heard the moaning of a zombie close by. Before I knew what was going on it made a god awful noise and came after me. it didn't just run at me...it zigged and zagged...It took three shots before I brought it down. But those three shots attracted the attention of other zombies.

I was on the run now...leaving the city and its treasures behind. Three zombies giving chase. After running as fast as I could I stopped, turned and crouched down. My breathing was erratic and my aim off but I took all three zombies down. I went through several clips of valuable ammo though. I sat for awhile after going through their clothing for any gear. Not much but one had some food. I decided to stay clear of the towns for now and head off into the woods. At one point I heard some gun shots and got low…waited but I never saw anyone or anything. The sun was low on the horizon by this point but I could see a couple of house and a barn off in the distance. When I arrived there were two zombies hanging out. I got as close as I could and had to make a decision to either ignore the buildings and the gear I might find and move on or kill the zombies spending valuable ammo for gear that might not be there at all. Hungry, thirsty and one clip of ammo left I decided to kill them. Once they were dead I looked through the house…canned beans, some soda, 1 clip of ammo for my pistol. I moved to the barn and found a tire for a truck but I didn’t have room in my pack for that. Nothing else useful Just when I almost gave up I saw a outhouse. When I approached I hit the mother load! 12 guage ammo, two crossbow bolts, a crossbow, water and food. Someone might have stashed this kit here but I didn’t see a name so finders keepers.

Later while following a road I heard a noise in the bushes. I stopped and another survivor peeked out. We watched each other closely before turning our weapons away and moving down the street together. We kept each other company for awhile till a pack of 10 or more zombies came out of no-where. We split up and I used all my ammo killing the ones running me down. I never did see that other survivor again. I could only hope he made it out alive.

By this time it was getting dark. I mean DARK. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I was in the woods with no map, no light, and no night vision. I had some flares and tossed one on the ground. It felt better being able to see again but I knew if there was anyone or anything nearby that they would see this light. So I moved on. From a safe distance I watch my flare for 20 minutes before it winked out and blackness took hold again.

I’ll be honest and say I was worried and little scared too. I couldn’t see anything! After awhile I noticed that I could see through the tree tops at the skyline and there was a wide opening with what looked like power lines running off into the distance. I guessed that they might follow a road so I started walking. Eventually I could make out roof tops in the skyline but no lights. I wasn’t sure what to do. I just wanted to find a safe place to hide. That’s when I heard the zombie. He was right on top of me. I jumped up to run and then heard more…and more….and more! I ran but couldn’t see anything. The sounds of them chasing me and the groaning they made was damn near driving me mad! I had 2 bolts for my crossbow and a few rounds in my gun. They were on me. They were hitting me from every direction. I emptied my clip into the blackness. Each muzzle-flash showed me the zombies in front of me. Ammo depleted…..I tossed down a flare. All hope gave out when I realized I had run into a dead end alley and there were a dozen zombies around me. As they broke my arms and I fell to the ground I could only ask why me? I didn’t think it would end this way.
That was my first experience with DayZ.