So we had our second DayZ event, once again run by TFP Member Reverend Browning, with assistance from some other folks. Since I was not able to be present for this event, I asked him to write up a recap for everyone interested in how it went. It’s a bit long, but a good read. As always, we encourage more folks to come to our events, they always turn out ridiculous, even when they don’t go as planned! Such as this one! Enjoy the recap folks.
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While the latest DayZ Meetup was not quite what I expected, everyone involved said they had a really good time. We ended having a full roster of 12, plus myself (which I stupidly forgot to screencap) and I was amazed that we only had a single casualty the whole night (due to friendly fire, no less).
That being said, there were many things that went wrong on Friday, and most of them were my own fault. First, while I was able to eventually get everyone’s game up and running who showed up to the event, and we are glad that everyone was able to make it, it was at the expense of everyone else who was on time, resulting in what someone lovingly dubbed “BarnCon 2012″.
Shortly after everyone was finally assembled, I began experiencing constant connection problems. Here, I really have to thank Caigan, Purplecat, and Bunnys (sorry if I got the name wrong!) for providing a measure of leadership for much of the event. By this time, everyone was rather restless from the festivities of BarnCon, and, instead of the stealth-heavy, tatical northern approach I had envisioned for the event, I suggested we instead set our sights south to Chernogorsk, the largest city in the game, and burn it to the ground. Here, my compatriots did not disappoint.
After picking the city clean of medical supplies and military hardware, we struck out for the nearby town of Balota, and it’s loot-rich airstrip and military camp. It was on the way to these that the second error I had made came to bite us: I did not clearly indicate which version of the game we would be playing, which caused much of the waiting and confusion as some people were forced to upgrade and others were forced to downgrade just to get on the same server. In our case, the server we had been using for the event shut down on our way to the airstrip to update itself to the version we weren’t playing. Another half-hour later, we finally found another server running the appropriate version and everyone regrouped around a convenient haybale. Our group set upon the airfield at last, coming out of the ordeal with naught but a few broken legs, and we turned our sights south to the tent camp. A few people changed weapons and, just for kicks, we decided to head back to Cherno (as we were now on a new server), but not before I snapped a group shot.
This time around, the city was somewhat less fruitful, and it was suggested to simply go for the grand prize: the Northwest Airfield – the most dangerous PVP area in the game, with loot second only to the elusive crashed helicopter. Sadly, my connection problems worsened around this time, and I was running behind the group for most of the rest of the night. I did manage to grab this shot of us all huddled in a barn north of Vysota, just as we’d left Chernogorsk behind.
We stopped off in Kozlovka to scavenge for food and to see if, by chance, a bus had spawned, where further tragedy befell me: a single zombie lying in wait in a garage got off a lucky hit, and I caught a infection, slowly draining me to half-health. From here on, I had to maintain a safe distance from the rest of the party, lest they catch the same disease. The group continued north at a run, with me keeping up as best I could, skirting around Green Mountain and pausing briefly at a pond northwest of Pogorevka, where I caught the last picture of us all assembled:
After a short rest to refill our collective canteens, the trek resumed. We arrived in Vybor, the town nearest the North West Airfield, and picked the grocery store there clean. From there, it was a short jog to the first of the military barracks, holding some of the best loot spawns in the game. From here, the group began systematically checking the hangars and the ATC tower, and it was here, at the end of the night, that we had our unfortunate friendly fire accident.
Undeterred by the loss, and armed with an entire airfield’s worth of hardware, someone made the bold suggestion of returning to Cherno to terrorize the Bean Coast once more, and it was here that my crappy connection could finally take no more, and I was finally forced to call it a night. I like to believe that somewhere, there is still a roving gang a dozen strong setting Chernarus on fire, and laughing all the while.
I’d like to give a huge thanks to everyone who made it: Caigan, Purplecat, Pathia, blueskydragon, Salem, Moonstruck, Ageia, Sivren, Bunnys, and whomever else I’m forgetting. The event didn’t go quite how I’d planned, but it was excellent nonetheless.
As for future events, I believe they would work better if they were smaller, but held more often, as there were several people in chat that either did not know an event was going on or showed up after the roster was capped. For me, personally, I don’t know when I’ll be able to host another event due to my horribad connection. For now, though, I just want to say that I love the community that has grown up around this game, and especially the response you lot have shown for my silly little squad nights. Until next time!
