After a few days of troubleshooting trying to get this mod to work - I finally got it working.

Here is what happened.

I spawn in and it is super dark. It's so dark I can't see anything until I look up and see the stars. I decide to just run blindly forward and I seem to be running up a hill because the stars disappear and I have to look straight up to see stars.

I'm thinking this is ridiculous just running around not being able to see a thing so I look in my pack and find a flare. Now I have a flare to see where the heck I'm going.

I pick a direction and just start running with this flare and I come to a road.



I run down this road until I come to this cabin. I heard stories about the zombies and I wasnt going to take any chances so I scoped out the surrounding area as much as I could using mostly my hearing for any type of noise. I didnt hear anything but the strange horror background music that plays throughout the game. I then approach the cabin and enter. I go to the dining room and there is something on the floor I go to investigate and all of a sudden my flare goes out.

I am back in pitch black again and this time I'm surrounded by walls I cannot see. I spin around I catch a glimpse of a few stars - it must be a window. I walk up to the window and slowly move to my left when a "close door" icon appears on my screen. I walk through and then I'm outside again - I can see the full night sky, but still when you turn your head to look forward you cannot see a thing (I hope they fix this so at least you can make out the ground or see by moon light.)

Just as I was about to look in my pack for another flare I hear a moaning sound. I hesitate (I shouldn't have.) Something in my head told me to start running. I started a full sprint the opposite direction of the moaning. As I was running the sound started getting louder and then it hit me. I couldn't run anymore - I was being chewed on. I swung around and started firing blindly. During the flashes of gun fire I could see the zombie ... finally I got a head shot and the thing fell to the ground. Just when I had time to catch my breath and open my pack to find some bandages I heard moaning again. I was hit again only this time I heard one crunch and that was the last thing I heard...

Nice AAR, yeah the periods between 10pm-midnight server time are pitch black especially if you are away from the coast, normally I avoid travelling during that time if anywhere near zombie areas.

After midnight the moon starts to come out and you will be able to start seeing a bit more each few minutes, the nice thing is the Zeds have even less eyesight than you so when it is night you can crouch+walk sneak past them pretty close (look at your eye icon and you will see you are not visible)

Hope you try it again outside that 10pm-12am time slot so you can see a bit more.

Rest in pieces Wedge

The moon does appear when the cloud cover goes but as it's dynamic weather there is no way to tell if this could happen. If you find some chemlights they last an hour.

Thanks for the advice. I will attempt another go at it tonight. Hopefully the servers will be up and running smoother - there were a lot of issues last night just trying to get in game due to some type of main server problem. Everyone was pretty upset about it.

yeah, everyone has a good reason to be upset about an alpha version having glitches

If you're having trouble seeing in the dark then adjust your brightness/gamma settings

I've heard that you can see better if you set your HDR to max for nighttime.

When I was playing, I actually preferred playing at night. I just turned the in-game gamma, brightness and HDR all the way up. It was still dark, but I could see well enough to play.

I logged back in last night...

2nd experience of DayZ:

I spawned in a forest - I guess this is where I left off from the previous night when I was trying to log in with all the server craziness.

Again, it was night, but I could see a little better than the night before - the moon was out and I could make out the horizon. I had no clue where I was so I started running towards the moon light. I ran up a hill then down a hill, up a hill and then down another hill. My water and food icons were starting to get red by this time so I stopped to eat and drink.

After the meal I continued on towards the moon light. After 20 minutes of running (starting to get bored) I came to a big open field - I still couldn't see much and it seemed to be getting darker so I pulled out a flare. I ran some more through this field (thinking about going to bed - this is getting monotonousness just running and running and more running) then at the edge of my sight from the red glow from my flare I see a white goat!

I think to myself is this a sign of civilization or is it just a wild goat out in this huge field? (I saw a youtube video yesterday of some dude killing a cow and harvesting the meat to eat later.) I figured I will kill this goat and do the same - harvest the meat.

The goat started to move so I did not hesitate, I dropped my flare, I did not move a step further - I pointed my pistol at the goat which was still a good 20 or so yards away and put a couple of rounds into it. It fell into the tall grass. I thought I kept a good eye on the goat noting where it died.

I ran to the area where I thought the goat was - I saw no goat. I ran all around looking for the dang goat. I went back to the flare and picked it up to get some better light - still no goat. After about 10min of searching I gave up and started walking. Then 10 yards from where I shot this goat I came upon a paved road!

As soon as I hit the road I started running and then just after about 1-2 minutes of running I see a huge red glow up ahead which is illuminating a couple of houses! I immediately extinguish my flare and approach cautiously. I get to the outer edge of the area just within the shadows and search the perimeter. There are a couple of flares within the group of houses which is providing light to the houses, road and yards - there is no one in sight, no movement, nothing.

I enter a small storage shed and find a full water bottle and some canned pasta! I needed water - what a find! Right after drinking the water the flares go out and now it is pitch black just like it was the night before. I see the "close door" icon from the shed I was in I walk towards it and see the stars in the sky. All of a sudden I hear bones cracking and I'm losing blood, my vision is blurry, and I can't move - my screen has a red tint to it now! What the ???? am I being attacked by a zombie? I dont hear any moaning? I have no idea what just happened. The cracking has stopped.

I am able to take some pain killers and use the bandages. I am able to move now and the bleeding has stopped. I eat the rest of my food to regain some blood now I am able to move a little faster and the screen has cleared up, but still not at 100%. I pull out another flare and look around there is nothing no movement nothing. I look around where I was and see nothing that could have caused this type of injury to me - was it a booby trap or just a bug in the game due to it being still in alpha stage? Anyway I move to the road and see a disabled Hummer.

I search the vehicle and there is nothing. I then move across the street and into a house I find a soda can and drink it - my screen clears up just a bit more. I then move to another room and find a magazine for my pistol and some bandages just then my flare goes out and I figure this is a good place to stop for the night and I log off.

Might this mod be a tad overrated? I've only played for about an hour, so I cannot say or sure. It it seems very very rough around the edges. And the Internet seems to be having a love affair with zombies, to the point that making anything zombie related tends to make the Internet obsessed with it. What's next, an arma 2 mod about bacon, Betty white, cats, unicorns, or chuck Norris?

It's an alpha release.

Pepper it's still being worked on, but I like how it is open ended and you dont know what is going to happen to you. Right now my main goal is to find a good food and water source so I can establish a "base camp" of sorts and then move on from there. I can see where if you were to get 3-4 guys working together this would be a blast.

I would totally play the Arma2 Betty White mod. An old lady? With a potty-mouth?! Hilarious!

If the internetz has its way, you will eventually.

Just letting you know that you can't eat any animals without first having a hunting knife. You'll then need wood and matches to cook it.

I really think it a good idea to play during daylight to get a feel for what's going on.

Be sure to adjust your gamma and brightness settings in the game. Crank them up. It should make things a tad lighter at night. It's difficult travelling after dark, but it makes it hard for the bandits to find you too. Unless they have NVGs. It can be entertaining just to sit back and observe what other players do in this game from a vantage point where you can't be seen. I heard some shots last night and looked up the beach near the coast. Here comes a guy running down the beach with a flare in his hand trailed by 4 zombies. Eventually they got to him and knocked him down. He tried to crawl away, but the Zed made a happy meal out of him. I watched it all while laying on a pier nearby.

Me last night...


I'm up in the hills behind Elektro atm. I started off on the coast near Kamyshovo, just on sunrise, wandered onto the outskirts of town and could not see any zeds. The game kept freezing and i shot all of my ammo into the air in game rage, bad move because when i respawned i was empty Walked up to the bustop and i could hear flies so i looked around and found two dead guys.Looted and got some extra beans, an empty bottle and ammo..yes. Lucky.

One of those hopping zeds took interest in me so i backpedalled slowly and took him out, fat gut zed then came at me so i downed him, then blackshirt zed ran around the corner so i popped him. Man im outta here, i headed up into the hills (three valleys) my plan being to work my way up into Sobor as i have only ventured along the coast and a bit inland so far. I followed the road Northy up to Msta keeping on the edge of the forest line and just ducking into the barns to replenish my ammo.

The zeds seem more alert now too as they seem to be on to me easier than they were before, i ended up with a trail of four hopping freaks that would not go away even after putting more than a kilometre between them and me. I stumbled across a deer hut about 3/4's of the way to Msta in the forest and clambered up, took a swig of water , ate some beans and waited. Sure enough a minute or two later and they came grunting out of the forest.I capped them one by one and then headed on my journey again.

Now somewhere here i backtracked and got lost, the only map i have is the hires Dayz map i run on a second screen, but still i managed to end up lost and had no clue where i was.Sun was up now for about an hour so was loving the daylight. Headed into the forest and skirted a little bunch of huts, 6 zeds around so kept my distance, went back towards the forest, i heard grunting and scuffling really close and stopped, looked around but could not see jack..getting closer..WHERE THE HECK! closer..stuff this..i up and bolted flat biscuit down the side of the mountain, not looking back, noisy as Deliverance! and just as panicky. Reeeeeeeeee reeeeeee!

After 30 seconds i stopped and looked around, nothing.I calmed down and then straght in front of me..a small dam, sweet. Went down and filled my bottles and rewarded myself with some more beans.Yum.I love beans.Looking at my map i was guessing i was now Southwest of Msta and facing roughly Elektro. Giving up on my bush expedition i decided to head to Elektro and grab some hardware.

25-30 odd minutes of bushwalking and hill climbing and i was looking down on the outskirts of Elektro. I headed in from the eastern side , first hut and i scored a crossbow and some bolts. Heard a Mak going off and some running outside, got ready for a confrontation but no-one appeared. Crusing outside i made it to a three story building and grabbed a knife and some food, lovely.Outside again i moved to the shops and grabbed another empty water bottle a heatpack and some ammo for the shottie..hoping to find one soon. Ok time to check the church.

Gunshots.Rifle shots snd pistol shots..Effin shootout at the OK Corral! Waited on the corner just outside the shops , alert. Approached by one survivor so i layed down and kept him sighted, he said he was friendly and i saluted, not taking my sights of him i watched him crouch away into the shops. As soon as he was inside i darted over the road and headed for the church, no plans on hooking up after my last few experiences. Few zeds around but none close, i walked into the church and saw my first ghillie suit dude, splayed out on the floor, winchester in hand.Thankyou! Mine. Left my crossbow in his hand. He looks like a right tool here in the city dressed like a mobile hedge. Checked his gear..Alice pack,tent,binocs,hatchet plus general items.Much better. Two more guys dead in church , this must have been the shootout, not hanging around as the Sniper dude has probably already respawned and would be heading back in.

I have enough supplies now to last a good day so i head to the Northern side of Elektro and fill up my 4 bottles at the small pond.Here i take out 3 or 4 more Zeds and grab some wood from a hut. Just as i head up into the forest i see a guy moving slowly too my left..i hit him up and ask if he is friendly..no reply.I am backing away, winnie trained on him , then i see another guy up on the forest line to my right moving slowly..damn, they are flanking me ! I turn and sprint for the forest keeping the flanker on my left and the other guy behind. Crack! A bullet goes close too me , bastids! I angle to my right and hit the forest at full tilt, run up the hill for about 30 seconds in a straight line then dart to my right keeping bushes behind me.Another 30 seconds and i drop under a big tree, turn and have my winnie up and ready. I lay prone here for about ten minutes just listening, not breaking cover. Hearing nothing i decide here is as good a spot as anywhere to leave my guy and continue the adventure later.

All up i was in for about 3 hours and have decided i am going full loner.Have not killed anyone yet and do not intend to but i just do not trust anyone anymore. There was one guy in town on top of a building who would ask for help, say he was wounded or out of water and ammo.Someone would go and find him to help..then bam, lights out.

Tonight i want to see if i can stack up a bit more , get some antibiotics, some matches, go get myself some live game.Im over these beans. Then i am going to make the journey inland and have a poke around the areas i have not been too. My plan is to walk a bit then make a tent supply stash for myself about an hour out of Elektro so i dont have to go all the way back for gear.

Server Dallas29.

Nice AAR Ajay, sounds like a great session and I really enjoyed hearing about it.

I myself have been playing a pacifist loner character for a while (a few ingame days) and have started to miss human interaction which I find pretty cool as that may be possible real life reaction I would have, even knowing the risks

I haven't played since the new skins features and look forward to checking that out this week.

Great read Ajay!

Mooooooore braaaaaaains AAR!

Have to say i am loving the AAR's. Have only briefly attempted to get ont he servers but its total gridlock at the moment so looking forward to continued development of the project. Seems very likely this will evolve into a boxed product at some point...

I dont want to steal Wedges topic so i will make my own with a continuing tale of survival.

Forgive me for treating this like a DayZ AAR thread ...

Day One, 05/27/2012.

I don't know how but I ended my trek to the Bor deer stands holed up on the top loft of a barn in the dead of night, orange with the glow of a flare and a trail of a zombie corpses leading from the barn door to the steps beneath me.

Actually I do know how. I began the day in mid afternoon on the beach west of Kamenka. Once I figured this out I headed due north, up a slope and into the woods, deciding to buck tradition and journey AWAY from Chernogorsk for a change. Someone had told me about Bor, about deer stands and mad loot, and a barn with a water pump by a road 2km SSW of Bor. With the coast at my back to sort east from west I safely made the hike to the barn. "Meet us there" this someone told me. "We have weapons and food. There are four of us."

They weren't to be found when I arrived, offline for the day I gather, so I set out to find these deer stands myself. I'd seen a map he'd sent (a message I hadn't bothered to save). I had a sense of where to go. So I went.

Finding the first stand wasn't too difficult. Three zombies loitered beneath. I waited among the trees for a break, then crept up the ladder. Mad loot? No such luck: empty tin cans, chem lights, flares, Coke and Pepsi. I took it all, found the second stand empty, then spied zombies in camo. "They must have something good," I thought. Not wanting to risk a zombie swarm, I decided it was time to use my crossbow and three bolts. I'd found these in the barn half an hour earlier and vowed to save them for a special occasion. A camo zed seemed special. Slowly I stalked the zombie as it lumbered north away from the deer stands and into the forest. I took a shot and missed. I notched the second and moved in closer for another shot. A miss. With one bolt left I decided to close the distance to just a few meters, practically within melee range. As I took aim the zombie disappeared into a bush. Damn! I followed it into the bush and heard a groan. Backing out, I saw the zombie reappear, face first, inches away! It struck. I began to bleed. I drew my Mak, fired and dropped the zed. A zombie rush seemed inevitable after all those shots, but it never came. I guess I'd strayed too far from the deer stand for the others to notice. I bandaged myself, headed back toward the woods, dropped prone and hid among the trees until nightfall.

The stands were still empty. And now it was dark, with no moon, no stars and a cold wind blowing (it sounded cold, anyway). I wasn't about to spend a night in the elements, not willing to risk the new body temperature mechanic, so I headed back to the barn with only the dimmest of gray shapes beneath the horizon to guide me.

As I neared the barn I heard zombies. Many zombies. Unable to see them, I crawled across the road, past a stack of logs and froze beside them when the breathing closed within inches.

Trusting the darkness (and accepting likely death) I rose to a crouch and darted through the barn doors. I'd alerted the zombies. Likely I had only seconds. In the dark I found the base of the steps, climbed one set and then another to the highest loft, where I turned to face the doors and face the rush.

Nothing. No zombies came. Forcing their hand, I threw a chem light. Nothing. Then a flare. Nothing. Impatient, I fired a single shot in the air.

Zombie count: 17.

Nice I find the deer stands tend to have sfa in the way of anything good. My best hauls have tended to come from Barns, they are one of the only places i hate to pass up on my travels. Directly North of Bor in either Drozhino or Zeleno there is a water pump on the eastern side of the town near a long cow shed but if you are following your map there is enough ponds to make water not a worry. Just make sure you are carrying at least two bottles, i carry three, if need be i can ditch one for matches..if i ever find any!