Night and DayZ, Session Three

Welcome back to Night and DayZ, the log of my journeys in DayZ -- entirely after nightfall. Last session, we followed our wayward survivor as he made his way from the Balota airstrip into Chernogorsk. The objective: find a bigger backpack. The result: a resounding success!

Next, our survivor is hoping to find a sidearm and possibly a silenced weapon. This search will take him out of Chernogorsk and into the wilderness. Read on to see if he is successful!

Night and DayZ, Session Two

Welcome back to Night and DayZ, the log of my journeys in DayZ -- entirely after nightfall. Last session, we followed our wayward survivor as he started out on a beach of the zombie-filled Chernarus and watched as he discovered weapons, ammunition and tools to ensure his survival. Before ending the session, I set the objective of finding a larger backpack. Read on to see if I am successful!

Night and DayZ, An Explanation and Session One

Like many other people recently, I have tried DayZ, the zombie apocalypse mode for ArmA 2, but I have never had much luck surviving. Too many griefers, too many hackers, too few people to join forces with. Admittedly, I have a few stories to tell of my past exploits: my very first attempt with the game, someone in a helicopter discovered me and offered me a ride -- shortly before crashing into the side of a mountain I was near and crushing me underneath.

This is something different, however. I have decided to start again from scratch, this time keeping track of my progress with logs that I will post here on Loading Checkpoint. (I must admit, the idea was partly inspired by Brandon Keogh over at his personal blog Critical Damage. Take a read of this touching story of his experience in DayZ. It's a great read!)

There is a twist, though: from what little experience I have with DayZ, I have discovered that I feel much safer at night. Despite the fact that nighttime in ArmA 2 is something close to pitch black -- and reduces my visibility because of this -- I feel much safer in the knowledge that other players and the zombies suffer from similar difficulties. It's like it levels the playing field: no matter how well-equipped someone is, as long as I have darkness to rely upon I feel much safer. As such, every session I play in DayZ for this log will take place in the middle of the night.

Due to the nature of nighttime in ArmA 2, screenshots will be few and far between: because the game is so dark at night, screenshots and video capture ends up being little more than a black screen. So there won't be many screenshots of my exploits. What there will be, however, is a map detailing my travels each session, with points mapped out to show where notable events occurred. I will also narrate my actions in this log, detailing everything that happened and the thoughts going through my mind at the time.

(Please note, I am also going to be referring to the DayZ DB map located here, both to help me decide where to travel and to use as a guide to track my path.)

So dig in and enjoy my tale as I try to eke out an existence (if not a living) in DayZ!