Mystic Worlds

H1Z1 – Loot Update, Temp Posse, Player Griefing

I’m continuing to play/test SOE’s zombie survival sandbox MMO.  Yep, I’m calling it an MMO.  It walks like and quacks like one to me.

The absence of loot has been fixed but probably a bit too much.  While some areas are sparse, many are brimming over with duplicate loot.  I’ve still had to search for the more important items such as back packs and finding the right ammo for the right gun.  But other than that, I’m seeing what I expected to see.  Trash cans with food.  Every house has something or other left behind in it.

Hrm lots of water bottles and double axes

I’m still working toward my goal of crafting a basic shack with a door.  At the moment, player created structures are not secure enough to hold extra equipment.  They’re easily destroyed or accessed via indirect and nefarious means – unintended exploits.  If you’re trying to protect items, it’s better to mule them on a second character until that’s nerfed or hide them in the woods.  You can use a shovel to store items in a container buried in the ground.

I’m not trying to store items. I just want somewhere safe that I can AFK for a few minutes or experiment with crafting without having to look over my shoulder. Also where I place where I can put down my own rabbit traps and a campfire.

H1Z1 – Manually Editing Keyboard Controls

Being in early alpha, the interface to support customized keyboard controls aren’t available in game yet.  For people who can’t function with WASD, are left-handed or absolutely must have keybinds that make sense to them, the only way to achieve that at the moment is to modify a user configuration file.  It’s not very hard to do.  XML is written in a “human readable” language where the keyboard commands are pretty must exactly what you’d call them.  The file can be edited using Notepad or any other ASCII editing program.  However, as with anytime your modifying game files, be sure to make a copy of the original first in case you completely hose it up.

Steps to manually setting up custom keybinds AFTER you make a copy of the original:

1. Locate the configuration files.  They will be in a location similar to this
   <drive>:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\H1Z1
2. Locate the InputProfile_User.xml > Right-click > choose “Open with…” > select Notepad
3. File is now open for editing

The file is made up of different input/command sections.  Keybinds for being on foot can be different from those used when operating a vehicle.  To avoid confusion, it’s best to make them both the same but that’s certainly not required.    To modify keybinds for when you’re on foot, you’re looking for the INFANTRY section.  For motor vehicles it’s the GROUNDVEHICLE section.

When editing the file you can add your preference as secondary option (keeps the original settings intact) or replace them.

H1Z1: So Alone

I just wanted berries, man!

I’m alone, stranded miles from friends and family who may still be alive.  I was away at a business conference when the CDC officially declared the outbreak a disaster.  This was immediately followed by the President initiating a state of emergency and the FCC terminating all mass transit.  The National Guard descended. Martial Law was instituted and cities with reported outbreaks were put under quarantine.  It was too late - much too late.  Silent carriers were already spreading the H1Z1 virus throughout the general population.  Panic, chaos and violence reigned, as millions of people succumbed to H1Z1 as if overnight.

Out of state with no transportation, I made the decision to sneak out of my hotel at dawn to steal a car or make it on foot if necessary.  My first priority was to avoid the threat of other humans, who in the face of this unprecedented menace, were giving way to their baser instincts.  Conversations about weeding out the weak – "doing what was necessary to survive” were being whispered in dark corners and behind closed doors.  No thanks, I’ll take my chances alone. 

From what we saw on the news before the networks around the global went dark, zombies were attracted to areas with high population counts.  Makes sense.  Hunters gather nearer to their prey. The hungry migrate to food sources.  Humans are the hunted now.  We are the food.  Watching as on air broadcasters were attacked by infected co-workers was bone chilling.  This was no War of the Worlds hoax.  The blood and wretched screaming of the victims was all too real.

Earlier that evening, I’d gone out with a few others to find supplies before every store in the vicinity was completely looted.  The plan was to work as a team and head out the next morning.  That was before the infighting began and we started viewing each other as a potential enemy.  I kept what I’d found close at hand and when the others were sleeping, I slipped away.  Better to leave them to their collective fate and take mine into my own hands.  

For the first time in my life I was glad to be single with no children.  I can’t even imagine what parents were going through.  I was an only child and my parents were gone.  Still, I had family and friends I cared about and needed to get to. As much as I had drifted apart from a few college buddies due to a sharp divergence in lifestyle choices, I was thankful that Rob and I had remained in contact. Relenting to his persistent invitations to go hunting and camping would now serve me well. I was no expert but I could handle myself when push turned to shove.  “Good looking out bro,” I whispered to myself.

As the sun rose red on the horizon, foretelling the fate of man, I slipped into the shadows and began an 868 mile journey to home…

***

Note: Written before the Jan 26th loot patch

I’m playing H1Z1 on a PVE server and not surprisingly, there are people roleplaying their gaming experience. I’ve heard of players acting the part of peacekeepers and others trying to build small outposts.  Pace22, a PVP streamer I became familar with and often ran into in ArcheAge, is busy taking hostages who are being inducted into his army by force, after fighting another hostage to the death.  Small shanty town outposts are popping up on the medium population server I’m playing on.  For myself, I’m going to RP a young man trying to make his way home to his family and friends.

No Loot

One of the huge issues plaguing the game at the moment is a lack of loot spawns.  The logic being used to prevent players from spawn camping is actually preventing the vast majority of loot from regenerating after an items is removed the first time until the server is reset.  It’s pretty damned hard to survive when base items or necessary crafting components aren’t spawning into the game.  There have been 3 fixes for it patched into the game but it feels like it’s actually gotten worse.

One of my strategies is to skip the buildings in the big towns as they’re more likely to have people in and around them most of the time which will prevent loot that should be there from coming back.  Instead I’ll going for the smaller neighborhoods in between the big cities hoping that they see less foot traffic.  I’m also going to painstakingly OPEN EVERY CONTAINER, CABINETS, DRAWER, TRASH BIN, ETC. to increase my odds of finding something - anything useful.

Early Access: H1Z1 First Impressions

I’ve been stepping outside of my normal gaming routine lately. In my current state of mind, I’m not in the mood for following a lot of rules (quests) and pre-defined routines.  I’m winging it and playing more casually.  That is how H1Z1 has entered the line-up.

I’m not into horror, zombies or post-apocalyptic environments.  Until recently, I’d never played a straight up survival game.  However, Twitch has introduced me to two games that at least on the surface looked interesting.  First up was Don’t Starve (DS) and so far it’s been worth the price.  Both of my daughters are now playing it too.  On the heels of having liked DS/DST, my interest was piqued enough to give Sony’s new MMO title, H1Z1 a try.

Stopping to gather sticks for arrows and berries for food before venturing into the town ahead

Remember: THIS IS ALPHA

H1Z1 will be F2P, however, to have access to the game now it costs 19.99 USD.  Paying to test?  Sure, if you’d like to look at it that way. I see it as a path to play something that looks interesting to me now, and that if it were on the market today, I’d be willing to pay to play it.  I tend to be a very early adopter in MMOs.

It’s important to remember that even though you’re paying to play, THIS IS ALPHA.  No tears over broken mechanics or when the game is down.  That’s what you signed up for!  If that’s not your cup of tea, don’t buy it.  Wait for it to release for free. I enjoyed the alpha phase of ArcheAge.  In fact, I enjoyed the management of the alpha game substantially better than the nonsense that went on in live, hence my departure.  And even then, I feel like I got my monies worth from the alpha period.