[Gowans]

Over the last week DayZ the persistent open world free zombie mod has been gaining in popularity and ARMA II has been climbing steady up the Steam charts, over the last few days it's really taken off.

Wow!

The DayZ GAF Thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=472665
DayZ Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRpPIyJDSEQ

[paperboywriter]

mods are undead.

[Arucardo]

Can't be said enough that I hope other pc devs (especially DICE) take notice and see how mod tools can affect your game sales down the road.


Also, when this mod gets ported over to Arma 3 it's going to add a sizable amount of sales to it.

[marvelharvey]

The Walking Dead devs must be kicking themselves.

[Dusk Golem]

This truly is a win fo the justification of mods. Some games for some reason are completely against the idea of a modding community, nor do they support it. But a dev who is just fine with mods and even supports it can reap the benefits easily with little effort. I bought Arma II: Combined Forces specifically for DayZ. I probably would not have bought it otherwise, and now that I have it I am now taking the time to look through the regular game and other mods. This is not the first or last time I've bought or will buy a game for mods specifically. I already had Half-Life 2 on 360 with all the episodes, as well as an old Half-Life 1 game disk, but I double dipped specifically for the mods that the games have. Same with buying Sonic Generations on Steam though I already own it on consoles. I even want to contribute to games good with their mod base, like Killing Floor. I recently got into the mod scene of that game and it's fantastic. Bought a few copies for friends and some DLC costumes just because I wanted to support them (and play with friends).

Mods make the game more fun for the player, allows creators a medium to express and release their own twists on games at, is loved by the community and is good reception for a developer to make gamers want to support them more, and turns up more sales for the developers. Everybody wins!

[subversus]

This truly is a win fo the justification of mods. Some games for some reason are completely against the idea of a modding community, nor do they support it. But a dev who is just fine with mods and even supports it can reap the benefits easily with little effort. I bought Arma II: Combined Forces specifically for DayZ. I probably would not have bought it otherwise, and now that I have it I am now taking the time to look through the regular game and other mods. This is not the first or last time I've bought or will buy a game for mods specifically. I already had Half-Life 2 on 360 with all the episodes, as well as an old Half-Life 1 game disk, but I double dipped specifically for the mods that the games have. Same with buying Sonic Generations on Steam though I already own it on consoles. I even want to contribute to games good with their mod base, like Killing Floor. I recently got into the mod scene of that game and it's fantastic. Bought a few copies for friends and some DLC costumes just because I wanted to support them (and play with friends). Mods make the game more fun for the player, allows creators a medium to express and release their own twists on games at, is loved by the community, and turns up more sales for the developers. Everybody wins!

yep.

Bethesda, Valve know what's up. DICE, Bioware used to know but forgot.

[StoppedInTracks]

DayZ is the new Left 4 Dead is the new Counter Strike.

[Vastag]

I find it strange that they are not having a sale to further cash in the mod hype.

[StoppedInTracks]

Can't be said enough that I hope other pc devs (especially DICE) take notice and see how mod tools can affect your game sales down the road.

DICE knows what's up.

EA doesn't and never, ever will. For EA one mod download = one lost DLC sale.

[subversus]

I find it strange that they are not having a sale to further cash in the mod hype.

why do they need it if people are buying it full-price anyway?

[Shawsie64]

Absolute success story, so happy for Bohemia.. Their openess with the community has payed off

[OG Kush]

Can't be said enough that I hope other pc devs (especially DICE) take notice and see how mod tools can affect your game sales down the road. Also, when this mod gets ported over to Arma 3 it's going to add a sizable amount of sales to it.

Its so sad that DICE didn't allow mods for BF3.. I can only imagine the shit they would've come up with.

[snoopeasystreet]

what was the last high profile TC/mod that saw this kind of popularity?

[raphier]

what was the last high profile TC/mod that saw this kind of popularity?

Garry's Mod. I think.

[Vastag]

why do they need it if people are buying it full-price anyway?

Because traditionally having a sale leads to gaining more money in the end? Better to sell 10 half the price than 3 full price.

[shagg_187]

It could go to number one if it goes on sale... I would so buy it!

[subversus]

Because traditionally having a sale leads to gaining more money in the end? Better to sell 10 half the price than 3 full price.

they also wrote that they are having troubles maintaining servers and are afraid that articles about the mod will start appearing on major websites. I think they will start the sale as soon as issues are ironed out. Right now they don't need MORE people.

[Arucardo]

DICE knows what's up. EA doesn't and never, ever will. For EA one mod download = one lost DLC sale.

I think if DICE really wanted to have mod tools in Battlefield they could convince EA to let them do it. I'd imagine their wishes carry some weight now after creating FB2, helping out with a bunch of other EA games and the success of BF3. The thing is I've read multiple interviews from DICE devs saying they think the FB2 engine is "too hard" for modders to modify and that they're not sure if mod tools are worth the time investment.

The argument about an engine being too hard to mod sounds like crap to me, there's always some crazy individuals willing to learn it. Hell, look at Vice City and San Andreas, a group of people modded multiplayer in to those games without any mod tools.

[StoppedInTracks]

Bohemia is hot on fire right now. When is ArmA III out? The screens released so far look absolutely amazing:







Can you imagine DayZ on the 2nd and 3rd pic? Drool.

[TheSeks]

yep. Bethesda, Valve know what's up. DICE, Bioware used to know but forgot.

DICE does know what's up. They can't release FB mod tools due to the middleware and EA tech (ANT) in there that isn't licenseable to let people use. That's it.

And given that DICE is using more and more middleware like that, expect them to never allow mod tools. Just like other devs. You want this to be fixed? Tell them to sit down, shut up, and build the tools themselves. And then watch them go under because of it and people not buying their shit because it isn't looking good or feels like Call of Duty. :/

[Vastag]

they also wrote that they are having troubles maintaining servers and are afraid that articles about the mod will start appearing on major websites. I think they will start the sale as soon as issues are ironed out. Right now they don't need MORE people.

Are the servers hosted by BI? I was under the impression that it was an independent mod (although its developer works at BI).

[StoppedInTracks]

I think if DICE really wanted to have mod tools in Battlefield they could convince EA to let them do it. I'd imagine their wishes carry some weight now after creating FB2, helping out with a bunch of other EA games and the success of BF3. The thing is I've read multiple interviews from DICE devs saying they think the FB2 engine is "too hard" for modders to modify and that they're not sure if mod tools are worth the time investment.

EA has the only and the last word in this case. EA will never allow for mod tools, period.

[Arucardo]

Are the servers hosted by BI? I was under the impression that it was an independent mod (although its developer works at BI).

No, but the main server that's connected to all the game servers is having serious trouble with the workload and that's causing a lot of the issues people are having trying to get in the game when a slot opens up on a server.

[Gowans]

they also wrote that they are having troubles maintaining servers and are afraid that articles about the mod will start appearing on major websites. I think they will start the sale as soon as issues are ironed out. Right now they don't need MORE people.

There's an effort in the GAF DayZ thread to host and find some servers for GAF. It's a mare at the mo and causing no end of issues. So much demand, so few servers.

[subversus]

Are the servers hosted by BI? I was under the impression that it was an independent mod (although its developer works at BI).

I can't find the quote (it's buried in the main thread) but this mod is maintained in MMO style and now they it's almost as complex as some MMOs out there.

[Vastag]

The screens released so far look absolutely amazing

Damn, ARMAIII is gorgeous.

I can't find the quote (it's buried in the main thread) but this mod is maintained in MMO style and now they it's almost as complex as some MMOs out there.

Well, that makes sense, their servers must be getting pounded

[Sir Fragula]

I have the EU retail boxed version of ARMA II, what do I need in order to play this mod? Do I need to buy Combined Operations or just Operation Arrowhead?

[Mafro]

This is going to be an absolute nightmare to try and play at the weekend.

[subversus]

I have the EU retail boxed version of ARMA II, what do I need in order to play this mod? Do I need to buy Combined Operations or just Operation Arrowhead?

Operation Arrowhead

[Arucardo]

I have the EU retail boxed version of ARMA II, what do I need in order to play this mod? Do I need to buy Combined Operations or just Operation Arrowhead?

Combined operations is just Arma II + Arrowhead combined. There's info on the DayZ forums on how to combine a retail and a steam version.

[Sir Fragula]

Operation Arrowhead

Cheers. Followup - can I mix and match the retail copy of the base game with the steam version of OA?

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Bohemia is hot on fire right now. When is ArmA III out? The screens released so far look absolutely amazing: Can you imagine DayZ on the 2nd and 3rd pic? Drool.

You are already undead.

To answer your question its Q4 2012 with alpha in the summer and beta later

[subversus]

Cheers. Followup - can I mix and match the retail copy of the base game with the steam version of OA?

there is some trickery to it (search for instructions on google) but it is possible. also as far as I know the price of Combined Operations = the price of Arrowhead but you should check retailers for that.

[Empty Space]

So if I wanted to play this would I need both the base game and expansion or is the base game enough?

[subversus]

So if I wanted to play this would I need both the base game and expansion or is the base game enough?

both

[Vaporak]

Well, that makes sense, their servers must be getting pounded

Something you might not realize is that DayZ is an open Alpha. The released version was designed for ~100 people max playing to test out the server code/architecture.

[Spat_triate]

nice title. iseewhatyoudidthar.gif

If any company deserves the exposure, it's BIS. I hope this translates into more sales for Arma 3.

[Haunted]

If you take care of the mod community, the mod community takes care of you.

Great little success story so far. Very cool.

[Enco]

A sale would be nice.

It's just a shame the engine is so buggy. Arma 3 will be crazy with this mod though.

[SparkTR]

It's also worth noting that former ArmA 2 mod Iron Front 1944 is releasing this month as well. Some cool stuff happening in ArmA land.

[Arucardo]

It's also worth noting that former ArmA 2 mod Iron Front 1944 is releasing this month as well. Some cool stuff happening in ArmA land.

Awesome, definitely trying this out! Maybe we can get a GAF group playing this too.

[Rygar 8 Bit]

it was number 2 for a little bit

[Fersis]

DICE knows what's up. EA doesn't and never, ever will. For EA one mod download = one lost DLC sale.

Ding ding ding we have a winner here!

[Rygar 8 Bit]

if dice made a dinosaur version of this i dont know what id do

[EVIL]

if dice made a dinosaur version of this i dont know what id do

murder?

imagine a sort of jurassic park'ish mod. survivors stranded on an island having to survive against all kinds of dinosaurs

[Enco]

if dice made a dinosaur version of this i dont know what id do

Don't say things like that!

Dreams don't come true!

:'(

[Rygar 8 Bit]

murder?

if murdering someone in the name of dice to get a survival dinosaur mod then hand me a gun

[Archie]

Hopefully Valve is savvy enough to put the game on sale and explicitly mention the mod on the front page. aka I want to play this so bad but I can't afford $30 ;_;

[MickeyKnox]

Best part is that this is a real mod, released in Alpha with tons of work yet to be done, harkening back to the glory days when mods grew with their community, instead today's standard of a mod being announced and trickle feeding screenshots and videos for years on end to pad the CVs of the people working on it.

[Ikuu]

At the moment this game can't handle the extra traffic, I saw on the forums that the central database was intended to only support a few servers. They need to upgrade that before they allow the game to go on sale and generate even more traffic.