DayZ Diary: Part 2

After more than two weeks alone in the wilderness I decided to return to civilisation. I’m sure you can guess the result. The first person I encountered, without so much as a ‘hello’ or even a wave, buried an axe in my face. Oh well.

Following this, I decided to mess about a bit on the coast, burning through several different characters quite rapidly along the way. The first died from starvation, which I think hits a little too quickly right now, at least until they get vehicles into the game. The next died to zombies. I was experimenting with different melee weapons. I discovered that shovels, bats, crowbars and wrenches are all effectively useless.

Even landing 20-30 hits directly to the head didn’t seem to do a thing. Maybe it was just the poor hit detection, but I can take down a zombie in one hit with an axe, so I doubt it’s just that. Right now, axes are the only way to go, so this is something that really needs fixing, especially if they intend to increase the zombie count. Plus, zombies are still running through walls and floors, and their senses are all over the place. Some don’t react to standing right next to them, others spot and charge at you from a mile away.

I was hoping to encounter a few friendly players on my travels but other fresh spawns just seemed to run off at the sight of me. Either that or immediately attack. I think I spoke before about the ‘unpredictable’ nature of player interaction in DayZ. But honestly, there’s nothing that unpredictable about it after all. In fact, it’s sadly all too predictable. In 90% of my encounters with other players, one of us ended up dead.

Even as a fresh spawn with nothing in my pockets, one guy came at me with a shovel, but I somehow beat him down with my fists. And so, with a new found shovel and taste for bloody murder, I began stalking people along the coast. I spotted one guy who looked pretty well geared with a gun and a backpack. I snuck up on him and bludgeoned him to death. I felt a little bad about it. Honest. What had previously taken me hours to acquire, took mere moments. I was now fully armed and equipped. Well, at least for about five minutes, when someone else got the drop on me.

But I quickly grew rather tired of this endless deathmatch. Oh, it has its moments, I’ll give it that. But it mostly felt like a rather empty and futile experience. I just didn’t really get anything out of it. I guess I’m just more interested in the survival/exploration aspect. Of course, right now, that doesn’t amount to much. It really does feel like there’s only two things you can do in DayZ right now. Stay on the coast, which increase your chances of encountering other players by 90%, but also your chances of getting shot in the face by 90%. Or head inland to other towns, where you’re unlikely to see anyone at all.

And so, I decided to head inland once again. It can get lonely out there, but at least people aren’t trying to murder me every five minutes. I’m also now trying out playing on Hardcore servers. I prefer playing in first person anyway, and playing Regular just meant I felt forced into playing in third person or I’d be at a disadvantage. We’ll see how it goes.

Now Playing: Half-Life 2 (& Episodes)

Half-Life 2 is a first person shooter originally released in 2004. It was the much anticipated sequel to the highly regarded Half-Life and despite a series of lengthy delays, it certainly did not disappoint upon its eventual release. Set roughly twenty years after the end of the first game, we rejoin our protagonist Gordon Freeman as he arrives in a world conquered by a multidimensional empire known as the Combine.

Revisiting the game recently, I was pleased to see that HL2 remains one of the best single player FPS available. The opening is nearly perfect and a fantastic example of ‘show don’t tell’ storytelling. It’s also a great example of how an engaging, interactive narrative can be presented without the need for heavy handed exposition or intrusive cut-scenes.

Without any condescending hand-holding and with very little dialogue (in fact Gordon, as in the first game, is entirely silent throughout) HL2 rapidly sets the scene. ‘Pick up that can’ - a short, simple line, but one that tells you everything you need to know about the sort of world Earth has become in your absence (whilst also serving as part of a clever controls tutorial).

 

The pacing is near perfect throughout the entire game. HL2 constantly feeds the player new weapon types, new enemy types, new environments and new challenges to face from start to finish. Just as you become familiar with one thing, the game throws something new at you, keeping you on your toes, whether it be a new enemy, or a creative new way to use an existing tool, or even entirely new gameplay mechanics – such as the antlion control or the squad command.

Graphically, HL2 still holds up well today, with a solid physics system and some nice character animations. I felt that the music was a slightly weaker area of the title, but VA is great. Enemy AI is pretty solid, although nothing special.

In terms of environments HL2 features a great deal of variety and some excellent design. Levels range from large, open areas to small, claustrophobic tunnels. The game moves seamlessly from one area to the next (aside from the irritatingly frequent loading) and the game even contains a couple of extremely enjoyable vehicle sections.

The game unfolds its story pretty much perfectly, and despite the minimal interaction and dialogue you quickly come to care about the situation and the characters you encounter as you progress. There are a lot of great scenes from beginning to end, some large and action packed, others smaller character moments. And no section ever grows too tedious as the game is always introducing new elements into the mix.

So is it perfect? Well, no. There are minor issues here and there. Some areas are less interesting than others, and the final stretch and ‘boss’ situation is a little anticlimactic in how it plays out. But overall, Half-Life 2 is a fantastic game, one of the best of its genre. It’s tightly paced, brilliantly designed, exciting and engaging to play.

9/10

Which brings us nicely to the two sequel Episodes.

Episode 1 is the slightly weaker of the two. The opening retreads similar ground to the ending of the core game, followed by an extended underground area which grows a little tedious. However, it does then feature a fantastic fight through an old hospital which was probably my favourite moment out of both episodes. The ending is a little weak, but it sets the scene nicely for Episode 2.

6/10

Episode 2 is certainly an improvement, featuring a range of new environments and new enemy types. Leaving City 17 behind, Episode 2 take place in a more rural setting, with the return of vehicle sections and more large, open areas. It also advances the overall story more, ending on a cliffhanger which, to this day, still remains unresolved. Some levels are a little long (such as the mines/antlion tunnels) and no section was quite as exciting as the hospital battle of Episode 1, but overall, this episode is a longer and more varied addition to the core game.

7/10

DayZ Diary: Part 1

This is my current (4th) character in the DayZ SA alpha. I dropped my first character from a building to clear a bug issue. The second was shot a few moments in, the third shot after a couple of hours. So with this one I decided to skip scavenging along the south east coast and instead ran north into the unknown.

 

And what did I find? Well, mostly I've just come across one completely untouched town after another. Food, supplies, ammo and even weapons in abundance. I haven't seen another (living) person for more than a week. Sometimes I have to check the player list to remind myself that I'm not totally alone in this world. But you know, I kind of like it.

Trekking across empty fields, stopping at ponds to refill my canteens and grab a bite to eat. It's actually quite peaceful and relaxing. Aside from, you know, having to axe the odd zombie in the face.
 

I don't touch a lot of the stuff I find. I prefer to travel light, just enough to see me to the next town. I've avoided using any out of game map, so everything I come across is a surprise. I just pick a direction and go for it.

Work in Progress: TSOTS

I guess it’s time for another update, although there’s not much to report. I have about 20 chapters drafted now (I say ‘about’ 20 because I’m currently restructuring) which amounts to around 50k words. If I break the story of TSOTS down into three acts, then this is the first two acts complete.

I was going to push on from here until I reach the end, but after reading through these chapters again, I realised they needed quite a bit of work. So that’s all I’ve really been doing for the last couple of weeks. Editing and revising. Chopping and changing. Just trying to get them polished up to a standard I’m happy with.

There’s an urge to rush, to just get back to the new stuff and get the first draft done, but I’m resisting that and trying to take my time, even if it means the first draft takes longer to complete than I wanted. But I think I’ll have a better book at the end of it as a result.

I’m looking at each and every line, breaking it down and trying to make it better. I always want to do better with everything I write, for every project to be better than the last. I want TSOTS to the best thing I’ve written, but for that to happen, I need to be patient and take my time. But yeah, I hope to have it done by the end of, uh, March, maybe?

Ha!

Now Playing: Shenmue

The original Shenmue was released on the Dreamcast in 2000. The game is set in 1986 Japan, when our protagonist Ryo Hazuki’s father is murdered. Ryo vows revenge and the game sees him trying to track down the killer and unravel the mystery surrounding his father’s past. Taking control of Ryo in his bedroom a few days after the murder, you are then free to investigate and explore the world of Shenmue at your own pace.

Progression (at least during the first two acts) is entirely player driven. You can follow up several clues in a single day, or you can take an entire week, depending on how you choose to spend your time. Shenmue may be the only game you can actually lose by being lazy. The game begins in late November and you’re expected to complete the main story by Spring, but if you don’t get too sidetracked, you can easily finish it before Christmas.

The world isn’t exactly massive in terms of the external environments, but there are dozens of internal locations. This is a world with a fantastic attention to detail. There are hundreds of NPCs, all of whom have daily routines. They get up and go to work. They may visit a bar in the evening. They may go jogging in the park. Many are completely irrelevant to the story, as are many of the locations you can visit. Yet all of them have been carefully crafted despite a chance the player may never even encounter them. The world has a day/night cycle and a weather system for rain and snow. As Christmas approaches you’ll see decorations being put up in the streets. It feels like a living world, far more than many modern sandbox games.

And there’s a ton of hidden stuff in the world of Shenmue. Even playing it again today I encountered scenes I’d not seen before as there are many situations triggered by date, time and location. Yet the story and your adventure grow organically out of how you choose to approach it and the time you choose to take. Graphically, Shenmue may be looking a little rough here and there these days, but there are times when the detailed textures would amusingly put some modern games to shame.

Shenmue has a fine soundtrack, but the VA work is pretty awful. It’s stilted and often (unintentionally) hilarious. They should have stuck with subtitles and the original Japanese VA as they did in Shenmue 2. You can’t help but cringe at times as Ryo speaks to people in an odd, awkward manner.

Outside of the main story there’s quite a bit to keep you busy. Collectible toys are an addictive (and expensive) way to burn through your limited cash. You can also buy music tapes you can listen to, and there are also raffles to enter to win more toys, tapes and even Sega Saturn games you can play on Ryo’s home system (presumably sent from the future). There’s also an arcade of different games to play as well as slot machines, and scrolls which you can buy to learn new attacks for the game’s combat system. And you can train and spar in certain places to ‘level up’ these attacks.

The combat system feels very similar to Virtua Fighter. It’s quite slow paced, with precise button combinations, dodges and timing being key. It has a fair degree of depth if you explore it fully, but I felt it was a system best utilised in 1v1 scenarios, and sadly there’s not too many of those in the game. Instead, you fight more often against multiple opponents, and it’s a lot easier to spam a couple of heavy attacks to win in those situations than use any sort of strategy or finesse, and this renders a lot of that depth rather redundant.

There are plenty of cinematic scenes, but none are either too long or intrusive. There are also QTE sequences for combat/chase events with multiple paths, so a single slip in most cases simply leads to a diversion, and these can add flavour to certain cinematic moments. So far, so good, right? Great graphics. Robust combat system. A mixture of free roam sandbox with player led progression and exploration. Unfortunately, the third act rather lets it all down.

Ryo is trying to track down a gang and takes a job at the docks to find them. There’s a novelty to this for the first few days but it rapidly becomes a rather tedious chore. To make matters worse, the plot is no longer player driven, so you’re really just killing time during and after work until the next story scene triggers. There’s no way to advance it through your own initiative and investigation as in the rest of the game, which is quite disappointing, because that’s where Shenmue really shines.

But despite the disappointing third act, the game does end on a high note and sets things up nicely for the sequel. It remains today a very enjoyable, engaging experience. A player driven adventure that has a remarkable attention to detail in a lovingly crafted world. Shenmue felt quite unique and revolutionary at the time of its release. There was nothing else quite like it, and in many ways, that’s still true today.

7/10

Work in Progress: TSOTS

Okay, so it’s probably time for an update. I didn’t quite hit that 50k target by the end of the year as I planned. I fell a little short. Okay, so quite a bit short. 20K short, in fact. But I got a little side tracked with another project which needed my attention. That’s done now though, so it’s back to work on TSOTS.

But I think the little break helped. I’ve said before that taking a break and coming back to look at things fresh can help. But the downside is that it’s hard to get back into the swing of things again. So you really just have to write. It doesn’t matter if it’s terrible. You just have to force yourself back into it. But I am back into it now, and it’s going fine. I’ve been working on some tricky sections which have slowed me down, but they’re now out of the way, so I hope things should speed up from here.

So yeah, what else? Well I can’t say there’s much in terms of games coming out this year that I’m interested in. And I’ve mostly cleared my backlog now too, which is good. I guess that means I get the chance to sit and play through some older titles I’ve not played in years, and some more recent titles I really just want to play again. So you can probably expect a real mix of reviews this year, including some older console titles. I doubt there will be much new stuff in there.