The War Z Discussion Thread - Topic

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Aug 4 2012 10:14am

Extended FAQ for the game.

General Information

What is The War Z?

[COLOR="#FF0000"]The War Z[/COLOR] is an Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) featuring full support for FPS (First Person Shooter) and TPS (Third Person Shooter) perspectives in an epic-scale Sandbox world currently featuring a playing field of over 400 square kilometers of Colorado (More locations to come such as New York, Los Angeles and Paris) where as five years ago, a viral outbreak decimated over 95% of the human population. Most of civilization have been either destroyed or overgrown with vegetation while harboring countless amounts of the walking dead. In order to stay alive, you will need to scavenge the terrain for food, weapons, and other vital supplies as you either avoid or neutralize the lingering threat of zombies.

You mentioned MMORPG - Should I be worried?

Not at all! [COLOR="#FF0000"]The War Z[/COLOR] features no subscriptions and all future content that's being released will be for free while at the same time delivering AAA-quality graphics so flexible that even several years old laptops can handle the game with no issues making the game easily available to everyone for a one-time fee of 30$ USD with the possibility of free trial periods and demos to come. (more on that as we get closer to release)

How does your game handle character progression?

Our game will feature no classes, no levels and no unrealistic stats in effort to create the best unique survival experience possible in the post-apocalyptic nightmare while still always offering ways to improve your character, be it exercising to reach the next physical peak or practice yourself to be a better shot. One may compare this system to be similar to other MMO's but we have gone our way to ensure that none of it will have any impact on the game's realism nor give huge advantages over less experienced players.

Will I have to kill a certain number of wolves before I can get a better weapon?

Certainly not! You can dive right into the most dangerous parts of the game minutes after creating your character for phat loot but beware, hordes of zombies, greedy bandits and other dangers awaits.

How is the economy handled? Are the developers keeping all the goodies for themselves?

The economy (Dollars) in [COLOR="#FF0000"]The War Z[/COLOR] is completely player-controlled with the option to invest in "Gold Coins" which one may purchase supplies for convenience such as the cure for the zombie infection and vanity items in one of the many player/npc driven settlements that has to be found across the wastes. However, you cannot buy anything for gold coins that would give a hard advantage over others in the game, Pay 2 Winners beware!

How much will this game cost?

We are currently aiming for it to cost [COLOR="#008000"]30.00$[/COLOR] with potential discounts for pre-purchase.

Technical Information

When is this game getting released?

We are currently aiming for a release this fall, 2012. This is subject to change however.

What are the required specifications?

As of right now, you require a minimum of 2048 MB of RAM (2GB) and a video-card that supports Shader Model 3.0

Can I play this game on a Mac?

Right now, the game does not support Mac machines. One can however, install windows on an Mac product and the game should work fine. Support for Mac may be added at a later date.

What is the earliest possible chance that I may sink my teeth into the game?

That would be the upcoming closed beta currently scheduled for late this summer. (Latest date would be September 21, 2012)

You may participate in it by pre-purchasing the game, signing up for it or participating in upcoming events which will be hosted on our official Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/warzmmo and at our Twitter https://twitter.com/The_War_Z

May I host my own server?

Yes and no. While we do not allow you to physically host an official server, fully supporting our game, we do give you the option to rent one of our servers to use at your own will. The pricing of this will vary but it is currently starting at around 15.00$ per 70 players server for 30 days. Discounts are given if if purchased with 60-90-120 days rent. The price will climb accordingly if you want the server to support more players.

We are currently evaluating smaller instances with 30 players for roughly 8.00$ - 10.00$ per month.

How many of my buddies can I squeeze in on my server?

The current limit we have put on servers are 250 players while the minimum remains around 30 to 70 players. We feel that this is an adequate amount of stress to put on both our in-game engine and networking capabilities per server unit.

Specific Questions

How many guns can I have on me, ready for action?

You currently have two "Hot spots". The first spot may hold an assault rifle, grenade launcher, sniper rifle, crossbow and other weapons considered to be "main" while the secondary slot may include handguns, (Uzi's?) revolvers and melee weapons. You may also have your inventory filled with other weapons, ready to replace your current hot spots with other arsenal.

I heard you're making this game in only a year, Isn't that a very short period of time for the scale you're building?

Normally MMORPG's can take over 5 years to create but not to worry! We have been preparing the creation of [COLOR="#FF0000"]The War Z[/COLOR] for years and we are using an pre-existing game-engine called Eclipse which is being modified to suit this game better and it has been previously tested by millions of players worldwide with satisfying results. The majority of work we had to execute includes characters, art, animations, territory and other "second-category" subjects which is not all that time-consuming compared to starting with an game engine from scratch.

Which came first, Day Z or The War Z?

[COLOR="#FF0000"]The War Z[/COLOR] has been in preparation for a very long time involving us at Hammerpoint tossing around ideas regarding the concept of an zombie MMORPG. But undoubtedly, the success of Day Z was an immense sign to us that an post-apocalyptic zombie MMORPG was the right way to go.

What happens if I get infected and don't get a cure? Do I get to play as a zombie?

No. Your character will simply die.

What happens if I die?

[COLOR="#FF0000"]The War Z[/COLOR] offers two separate "Difficulties" if you will. One is named Hardcore, where if your character dies, he/she dies forever.

The other is called Normal which only locks out your character and his/her gear if he/she manages to die for around 24-48 hours. You may continue on the same character (presumably) instantly if you buy a revive item from the gold store or create new adventures with other characters as you wait as they will not be locked out until they die as well. This can be accomplished either on the same account or a different one with a limit to 5 characters per account.

Will there be vehicles and can I put them in my backpack?

Yes and no. Currently, there is only confirmations of cars and that you cannot transfer vehicles between servers

Where are all the game-play / trailer videos?!

Patience. The game is currently in alpha which means any aspect could change at any time which makes game-play footage rather obsolete.

Does this game have VoIP?

Right now It's unclear and pointing towards a no but It's definitely a feature many users wants to see.

Can I run inside any building I want?

As of now, no. However, much points to that a majority of them can be explored and Hammerpoint have stated that this number will expand in time.

When can I pre-order?

When the construction of the website is complete.

Are zombies fast like in Day Z?

No, They are described as classical "Slow" zombies and they go from roaming to limping as they try to run.

How do zombies detect you?

According to an interview, they can both hear, smell and see you.

How is Day & Night handled in the game?

The day and night cycle is greatly increased in speed so players can experience both day and night without having to break their normal routines.

I want to be a bad guy! What consequences will this have?

For starters, most players will shoot you on sight as you achieve the Bandit status and certain settlements will not let you in, some might even be hostile towards you which means a much tougher experience.

Can I run across the map non-stop like in Day Z?

No. There will be cooldown systems in place to prevent this. You can train yourself better physically and run longer but not to that extent.

What gun-controls can be expected from the game?

The closest comparison we have right now is a mix of War Inc and Battlefield 3.

Can I buy this game game on Steam?

We would like to see our product on Steam but there are no guarantees of that happening right now.

[CENTER]Why should I play this game instead of Day Z?

This is a very common yet difficult question. I will try to explain the odds and ends to the best of my knowledge in this segment of text accompanied with the things I've already typed above/below.

First of, Day Z is built upon a military simulator from Arma 2 which most of you are aware of. Not a bad choice but the current Arma engine has next to no support for AI while packing huge performance issues to the point that servers are causing FPS restrictions. Sure, this may be overlooked with a vast amount of expensive servers and super gaming-computers but In the end, the mod will never really see an completely working release due to the limits with the engine because it was not built for this kind of game-play and modders simply cannot modify it from ground up.

The creators of Day Z themselves have already foreseen this which is why they've expressed concerns for Day Z's future in various interviews and started making plans for a stand-alone game (Like The War Z has been doing for years) with no funding because Bohemia Interactive has cut them off from all profit that Day Z made with Arma 2 purchases. Even if they were to get some kind of funding, it could easily mean over 3-5 years of development building a physics-engine from scratch along with a complicated AI to support zombie-traits and epic-scale maps while staying up-to-date with the industry's latest graphics. Sure, they could take short-cuts like use existing engines but it would still take years with no guarantees that the engine would even fit the game-play experience they're trying to achieve.

At best, Day Z will be ported to Arma 3 (may take some extensive time as well, maybe even have the need to re-work the entire mod) as the modders are hired by Bohemia Interactive and hope that Arma 3's improved engine will support their ideals better.

Do I get to be a knight in shining kevlar?

There will be protective gear for your character to wear if you manage to find some. They are considered to be relatively rare as the marketplace only sells low-quality pieces and the current things you can expect at release are vests, helmets and hats which will reduce the amount of beating your health-bar gets.

May I dress up my characters in pretty outfits and smear them with make-up?

Character customization has been confirmed to be in the game in the form of pre-existing faces you can choose from along with a variety of different clothing pieces. More sophisticated, customizable facial features will be added at a later date.

May I accompany all this by creating a kick-ass doll-house for me and my friends?

According to Sergey, yes you may. This can be done in a variety of ways, including taking over existing towns/settlements and even build your very own from scratch. Details how this is performed is yet to be revealed.

Can I create a female character just to stare at her boobs?

Yes, you may. But The War Z will not (officially) feature any nudity. Perhaps in the future.

What does the HUD look like?

There will be a health-points meter along with indications to your visibility (Smell, sound and sight, SSS for short) and most likely a stamina meter as well which will indicate how much you can run (And how much you can swing a melee weapon, unconfirmed)

Will it be possible for me to butcher wild animals and grow crops for food?

This has been confirmed to not be at release, but it is very likely to be added later.

Can I shoot a zombie in the foot a couple of times for him to die?

No. To ultimately kill a zombie, you must destroy the head. This can be done several ways, mainly riddling it with bullets and bashing it in with melee weapons but explosions are expected to work as well.

Will there be any kind of randomness in the game?

Ultimately, anything can happen in The War Z because it is a player-driven game but Hammerpoint have prepared a few random events such as sudden plane-crashes which is to be expected in a post-apocalyptic world. These may lead to unique quests and loot.

Can I catch some bullets with my teeth, duck behind cover for a few seconds and go back right into the action, all fine and dandy?

No. The War Z will not feature any kind of auto-regeneration for your health. If you sustain damage (either from other players or zombies), you will need to apply medical attention to the injuries you sustained in order to get back in shape. This medical system is currently being expanded to simulate the experience from Metal Gear Solid 3, which means several different kinds of injuries and tools to mend your body with, all having heavy aspects on realism.

Will this game be coming on a console anytime soon?

The option of having The War Z on other platforms is still being explored, however, it is not a current development focus as the game already supports Xbox 360 controllers.

Is it possible to pick up a nearby M249 and put holes in everything that moves for hours?

While it is a possibility, ammo is extremely rare to the point that you will find more weapons than bullets so it is not an advisable course of action, although you still may do so.

How may I talk with others?

Currently, there are 4 different text-based channels you may communicate through. These include a global chat, proximity chat, friends chat and a clan chat. More ways may be added as we come closer to release, including VoIP.

Do I get to magically have all bullets in the ammo clips I throw on the ground appear in my backpack?

No. When you reload with bullets still in the clip, the clip you dropped will be on the floor for you (or others) to pick up.

Is there anywhere I may hide and suck on my thumb for the duration I play the game in safety?

Yes and no. While there are pre-spawned safe zones that have been inhabited by NPC's with guards patrolling, you and these settlements can still be raided by enemy players/(zombies?) at any given moment leaving no real safe place to be found in The War Z. However, there will most likely be places that can only be accessed by ladders, which will technically be "zombie-free" zones since the infected cannot climb ladders, only stairs.

Will the cities still be lit-up by street lights and such?

No. The story follows that the epidemic hit over 5 years ago, which means all general utilities (such as electricity, water and gas) have been either depleted or out of service for a very long time except for the NPC/Player settlements which will be self-sufficient. Some will even feature computers, XM radios and TV. You may also expect Global Positioning Systems to function since zombies have not reached space... Yet.

How do I know if someone is friendly or not?

You'll never really know in these kind of games but you may add other players to your friend-list which will create a small icon over their head as you see them.

Is it a good idea to kill everyone I see for a prolonged period of time?

In the long-term, no. Be notorious enough and you'll end up on the "Most Wanted" list with an extremely high bounty for other players to ruthlessly hunt you down and cash in on.

You will also be restricted from entering and even approaching normal settlements to trade without being shot, (by both players and NPC's) thus severely hampering your abilities to conduct business since there will only be one bandit outpost in the entire Colorado where you'll be able to buy&sell goods.

Do I get to pick where my character spawns?

After you have created your character for the first time, you may select an area where to spawn at and go wherever you want from there. If you wish to play another server, your character will be logged out from the server you left and re-appeared in the exact same spot where your location was on the other server. This is called an uniform between servers and it will be true for all (official) ones you will find.

I had people disconnect in Day Z seconds before they died, will this be an issue in The War Z?

No. They may terminate their War Z progress, but their character will still remain inside the game for a set period of time before being automatically disconnected, much like other MMO's.

What modifications will there be for my gun?

Tons. There are accessories that change the weapon's hard stats like Foregrips which can help reduce recoil and silencers for less noise but more bullet-drop and "cosmetic" stats like tactical flashlights which will Illuminate the area where your gun is pointing. More information will be shared as we get closer to release.

How much control do I have after my death?

Quite a bit. Not only can you (presumably) instantly respawn with special gold-purchased items with a relative proximity to where you died but you can also arrange booby-traps to be placed in your backpack.

There are other choices you can make as well, such as running into an exposed area or a building full of zombies before dying to make it more tricky for your assaulter to ravage your soon-to-be corpse.

What's the risk of haxx0rz?

Like any online game, the chance will always be there but since this game is hosted exclusively on our servers, it will be next to impossible to have anything that Isn't client-side which means wall-hacks will probably be the only script-kiddie hack you'll encounter and we're taking several measures & tricks to prevent that as well.

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