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The WarZ is billed as the first Zombie Survival MMO game. The premise of the game is to survive as long as you can by scavenging for food, avoiding being eaten by zombies, joining up with friends or a clan, or becoming a bandit and killing other players for their loot etc... it is an open world sandbox environment letting you choose how to play. Currently the game is in early Beta and there are many features that are not added, however I wanted to give you my first impressions of what is in the current build and what you may can expect later down the road. You can play in 3rd or 1st person, all the images are in 3rd person for screenshots.
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You begin in Colorado where you can find a couple main cities and smaller towns for you to explore and scavenge including an airport. As of right now, the entire map is not open for beta, however they are continuing to open new areas as the beta progresses. The developers have stated that they will be adding other maps from around the world including Paris etc.. After you create your survivor you can either quick join or select from servers based in the EU or US. Currently there are over 100 servers in each area. I did not find any problems with joining a server nor with ping time. When I did join a server I usually selected the one with the least players playing on it. Once the server is selected you will random spawn onto the map with only a backpack to store items (if you use a previous survivor, you will re-spawn at the area where you disconnected previously).
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First priority when you spawn in is to begin searching for food and drink, weapons are a plus but the system runs off of your health, hunger and thirst level. As you walk and do things your hunger and thirst levels will begin to steadily drop, if you get into a situation where you are running from zombies for long distances, it will drop faster.
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My first couple of survivors I created and played with were very fun. There is an Global Inventory system where you can store items you collect for all of your created survivors to use at marked Safe Zones on the map. I never used this as I want it to be a new experience for each person and I felt like it takes away from the atmosphere. I started out going to smaller towns to scavenge for items and avoiding the zombies as much as possible. The developers adjusted and readjusted the zombies to make them harder and then easier again so it made it an challenge each time I ran into them. There are some odd things currently about Zombies. If you shot a gun the zombies in the area will not react to it, which I find odd. Also, when they chase you they will form up in a single file line allowing you to take them out in turn if you have a hammer or other object. I have also found that jumping on a car gave me a large advantage as I could repeatedly bash them on the head without any recourse from the zombie.
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As you move around the map there is always the fear of bandits which I did encounter a group of three and was subsequently shot on site as I did not have a weapon to defend myself. Developers have a system half in place to identify them and will eventually there could be a reward system for killing them. They are not allowed in the safe zones and they are marked on the screen to view who is currently on the server. They are a real threat in the game so it adds to the tension of knowing who is in front of you, or who may be sneaking up behind you.
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All of the zombies are congregated in the towns and cities and I did not run into any while traveling between them. As it stands, I don't feel very threatened by them overall. I think if they had a more variety and maybe packs of them roaming the map, that would be more interesting and threatening. I also believing making them swarm you when they are in a group instead of single file would be very dangerous and add in the being able to either attack you or knock you off an car or object when in reach range would be better. The reaction to sound and when you are bleeding would be a plus as well, and balancing the the number of weapons and ammo spawns.
I payed $19.99 for beta access and I believe once released the game will cost $29.99. I have had fun playing the game up until now, however there is simply not enough presently to keep me interested for more than the occasional play. I also feel like they are at a crossroads from making it a very enjoyable experience or just another a forgettable one. There have been many complaints of people hacking the game, I have not personally seen this but I know they are there. I will say they have been rolling out updates almost daily so the game is progressing, however the zombies need a lot of work and the game feels a little like a PvP game with zombies thrown in. We will have to wait and see where it progresses from here.. but I am hopeful they can add enough features to the game and bring balance to the experience to make it successful...
This is just a brief overview and initial impressions of the game and I will report back as things progress. If you have questions, just let me know as I know I have omitted a lot about the game.
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Does it still have those annoying death penalties (1-24 hour long lock on using a killed character, losing ALL carried equipment and items, including ones bought with real money, etc...).
And have they finally decided to have some PvE servers that don't sport open PvP and thereby an inordinate amount of PKing?
Quote from: Tpek on November 05, 2012, 01:13:40 PM
Does it still have those annoying death penalties (1-24 hour long lock on using a killed character, losing ALL carried equipment and items, including ones bought with real money, etc...).
And have they finally decided to have some PvE servers that don't sport open PvP and thereby an inordinate amount of PKing?
You are now only locked out for 1 hr.
There was a survey being done for PvE and PvP. I believe as it stands now, there will not be any PvE servers, you will have to rent your own server to make it play the way you want. There have been many to ask for PvP and PvE servers including myself, but it remains to be seen. The real issue now is the hacking, there are many complaints about this although I have not seen it myself and the zombies are still being balanced out. Bandits seem less an issue to me the last couple of times I have played as many people call them out on the global chat and several have looked for them to kill them.
PE
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-war-z-goes-live-on-steam-without-stating-the-game-is-not-even-finished
Apparently the War Z launch is controversial...
Yeah, I didn't post a "WarZ is out!" thread because the forums on Steam are going insane.
I know that we're not supposed to put too much credit into those forums, but ddaaaaammmmnnnnnn are they going negatively nuts on this game...
Seems too similar to DayZ. Wonder which one is better.
Quote from: eyebiter on December 17, 2012, 10:57:49 PM
Apparently the War Z launch is controversial...
They're just shooting themselves in the foot if they don't plaster
Unfinished Alpha Stage all over the product page.
As we see, now, people are expecting the feature list to be there and are becoming enraged because they felt misled. If it's a free-to-play, then they've only lost some time investigating the thing. However, if they're charging money for "starter packs", as I suppose is the case, then they're not helping their own future, flushing customer trust.
I was wondering why they suddenly appeared on Steam and without a "Beta" label, despite still being in beta-testing stage.
Also, have they finally bothered to implement PvE servers?
Have not played this in a while, however I really think the devs are shooting themselves in the foot without the beta disclosure on the Steam release. The community has been toxic and I have regretted my purchase, however I am waiting until release for my full judgement. Some of what you are seeing is the DayZ fan base writing comments on a game they have never played. The notion of a money grab is laughable, because of the content that has been delivered from the dev team, however they are a long way from getting there.
With so many other games that deserve my time more, I have not looked back at this game. I think the development has been handled poorly at this stage, however the community by large has really turned me off to the game.
Be interested to see how this one comes out in the end and for now, I am not happy I payed $19.99.... which may or may not be a major mistake.
PE
It really pisses me off that Valve allow this thing on Steam despite refusing other, fully complete and polished indie games. Apparently if they refuse to carry your game you don't even get a reason. I am not Valve's number one fan.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 18, 2012, 01:41:55 PM
It really pisses me off that Valve allow this thing on Steam despite refusing other, fully complete and polished indie games. Apparently if they refuse to carry your game you don't even get a reason. I am not Valve's number one fan.
I agree there.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 18, 2012, 01:41:55 PM
It really pisses me off that Valve allow this thing on Steam despite refusing other, fully complete and polished indie games. Apparently if they refuse to carry your game you don't even get a reason. I am not Valve's number one fan.
This is the very why they implemented Greenlight.
Frankly, these days, people don't really deserve to complain.
Most games reach Steam and those that don't immediately, get their chance via the Greenlight option.
Quote from: Tpek on December 18, 2012, 02:58:30 PM
Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 18, 2012, 01:41:55 PM
It really pisses me off that Valve allow this thing on Steam despite refusing other, fully complete and polished indie games. Apparently if they refuse to carry your game you don't even get a reason. I am not Valve's number one fan.
This is the very why they implemented Greenlight.
Frankly, these days, people don't really deserve to complain.
Most games reach Steam and those that don't immediately, get their chance via the Greenlight option.
And I've actually been fairly impressed with the range of games that have made it through the Greenlight process. It certainly hasn't been just the mass of same-y second rate shooters that some were fearing.
just play the Zmod for ARMA2.
The ever-pondersome The War Z has managed yet another controversy, yesterday being forced to apologise to Steam users after advertising features the game simply doesn't have. Or as Hammerpoint Interactive put it, what was "imagined" by those who "misread" the Steam page.
It seems that the description put on Steam was a touch... exaggerated, perhaps listing what the game is eventually planned to include, rather than what's in there right now. And it didn't even mention that the game is not yet beyond beta. Claiming to feature "areas between 100 to 400 square kilometers", the game in fact currently only has one map, and it's 72 square kilometers. It listed itself as having private servers, which it does not. And it sold itself as having skills to buy with experience points, despite the game having no skills at all.
An imaginary "hardcore mode" was listed, and it claimed the complete rubbish that 100 players could join a server when the limit is 50. So, well, a pack of lies? No, says executive producer Sergey Titov, it was in fact "presented in a way that could have allowed for multiple interpretations." He continues,
"We've taken steps to correct this and format information presented on our Steam Store page in a way so it provides more clear information about game features that are present in the Foundation Release and what to expect in the coming weeks.
We also want to extend our apologies to all players who misread infromation about game features."
It could be a translation thing, of course, but I'm not sure that reading the words on the screen quite counts as "misreading". I think he meant that they "miswrote". Incredibly, Titov's lack of contrition goes a lot further. Yesterday GameSpy spoke to the man about the incident, and amazingly he laid the blame with the customers once more. When GameSpy persist in pointing out that they had simply listed features as included when they weren't, Titov replied,
"I'm sure there'll be people who will look into small details and will say "no I was mislead," where in fact they imagined something to themselves without checking details first."
Buh. See if you can imagine the following to yourself too!
He then goes on to say that if people feel they've been misled, they can just apply to Steam for a refund. Oh, okay! Because that's always a smooth and relaxing process. His dismissive attitude throughout the interview is astonishing.
So there it is. Hammerpoint seem determined to suggest that the fault remains with customers, despite their hollow apology. And if you read that GameSpy interview, you'll see that Titov really cannot understand what is wrong with making misleading claims about the game. Which all rather suggests you may want to think carefully before handing over money. Thanks Eurogamer.
Source - http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/19/the-war-z-apologises-after-misleading-steam-customers/
wow is all i can say. unfortunately just by appearing on steam they have made tons of money. disappointed steam would put this on sale but they have lots of other crap on there as well so i guess they were adding to the collection.
Thanks, Cpt.
I'm thinking that guy got his customer service training at the Stalin Institute of Customer Service.
Wow.
What was that about developers sometimes believing in their own separate reality? That may apply in this case. Heh.
Quote from: CptHowdy on December 19, 2012, 07:50:49 AM
disappointed steam would put this on sale but they have lots of other crap on there as well so i guess they were adding to the collection.
Yep. Some people seem to be losing sight of the fact that Valve are just as culpable in this instance. They clearly didn't vet the game at all. I hope they refund anyone who asks for it.
Rumors that the game will get pulled from Steam?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/12/19/allegations-of-false-advertising-hound-the-war-z-release-on-steam/
They need to label crap that comes off of Green Light with a big old "THIS IS A GREENLIGHT PROJECT!!! GAMES ARE STILL IN DEVELOPMENT!!!"
oops:-
"From time to time a mistake can be made and one was made by prematurely issuing a copy of War Z for sale via Steam. We apologize for this and have temporary removed the sale offering of the title until we have time to work with the developer and have confidence in a new build. Those who purchase the game and wish to continue playing it via Steam may do so. Those who purchased the title via Steam and are unhappy with what they received may seek a refund by creating a ticket at our support site here.
Again, we apologize any inconvenience."
Quote from: Bison on December 19, 2012, 03:33:03 PM
They need to label crap that comes off of Green Light with a big old "THIS IS A GREENLIGHT PROJECT!!! GAMES ARE STILL IN DEVELOPMENT!!!"
It was never in Greenlight though. That's what I was talking about when I complained that Valve just lets crap like this in whilst refusing perfectly good indie games without giving reason.
I was literally going to buy this last night and then held off. I think it was the whole "coin" concept. I hate pay to win games and the notion that every server was pvp just really turned me off.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on December 19, 2012, 03:51:31 PM
Quote from: Bison on December 19, 2012, 03:33:03 PM
They need to label crap that comes off of Green Light with a big old "THIS IS A GREENLIGHT PROJECT!!! GAMES ARE STILL IN DEVELOPMENT!!!"
It was never in Greenlight though. That's what I was talking about when I complained that Valve just lets crap like this in whilst refusing perfectly good indie games without giving reason.
The reason more than likely is : We don't think this will make money. Clearly, The War Z DID until it turned out the devs were a pack of morons.