One week into H1Z1’s Early Access, here are my thoughts

Exactly one week ago, Sony Online Entertainment launched Early Access for H1Z1, their new post-apocalyptic, survival MMO. You’ll notice there was no mention of zombies in the description because, as I pointed out in my initial impressions piece, there isn’t really any threat of zombies — yet.

SOE has already stated they are working to add not only more zombies, but smarter zombies. And really, that should just serve as an example of how SOE is committed to delivering a polished game that carefully balances their vision and the desires of the H1Z1 player base. That is what Early Access is about, after all. It’s important to remember that when playing the game in its current stage. Having said that, I think it’s fair to critique the game based on what it currently offers for the price of $20, or $40 if you opt for the Premium Edition. Note: H1Z1 will be completely free-to-play when it officially releases.

Starting off…

It took me a bit of getting used to, but I think I’m finally starting to understand the idea of H1Z1. When starting off on a new server, you create a character that spawns at a random location on the map. From there, it’s up to you to survive — by any means necessary.

H1Z1 does little to introduce you to the world. There’s no tutorial, no explanation, and you have no tools. Sure, it’s possible to look up community-made guides and tutorials, but I actually enjoy the challenge of figuring things out on my own. Sure, it took me a few deaths, but eventually I met a guy who showed me the ropes. As I previously wrote, he showed me blackberry bushes to refill my energy and hydration. He taught me how to craft a bow from just a stick and scrap of cloth. We eventually got split up, but it was enough to get me on my feet. And that’s when I realized what H1Z1 is all about.

Exploration and trial and error

As I mentioned, it took me a few lives to figure out what I was doing in H1Z1. I learned — and am still learning — on a trial-by-error basis. And that’s okay. I may lose all my materials and gear upon death, but the recipes I’ve learned stick with me (there are also servers that cause you to lose all your recipes upon death). The goal, it seems, is to survive and explore this post-apocalyptic world. There’s no story, other than the one you create for yourself. Survive for as long as possible. And if you die, restart.

A barren world

Unfortunately, in its current stage, exploring the world is kind of, well, boring. The environment SOE has created is intriguing, but there’s just nothing going on in it right now. At times, I’ve spent thirty-or-so minutes just running through the wilderness trying to find any sign of civilization. I wouldn’t mind this as much if there was some sense of danger, but in most cases, specifically in the forest, there’s nothing. It’d be cool to encounter a horde of zombies or something. To SOE’s credit, they did say they are working on adding more zombies, so we’ll see how that works.

But… the rare encounters are intense!

With all that being said, when you do meet another survivor things can get pretty intense. I’ll admit, my first few experiences meeting other survivors didn’t go so well. Most of them turned out to be obnoxious little punks shouting obscenities as they ran towards me flailing their arms. Recently though, the players I’ve met have been much better.

There’s still a threat that they might try and kill me for my supplies, as many of the players in H1Z1 have a shoot first mentality. I can’t say that I blame them either. I found though, that a peaceful approach usually works best. In most cases, players are just trying to kill you first to protect themselves. Like me, they’ve probably encountered a few a**holes. So just talking to them and saying you mean no trouble usually settles things and you both can go about your business.

I’ve only had a few encounters with zombies, but so far none have been that life-threatening. I recall one encounter in which me and two other survivors took out a swarm of them, and that was pretty cool, but for the most part my journey in H1Z1 have revolved around other human players.

As a fan of The Walking Dead, and other zombie flicks, I went into H1Z1 with hopes that I could live out my zombie-apocalypse fantasy. The environment and ambience is certainly there. When players aren't all actin' a fool, it can be a really immersive experience. Now all I need are the zombies.

The loot, or lack thereof

The loot system is improving. Thanks to a recent patch, loot now spawns in containers. This makes stopping to search houses important again. But the system is still pretty stingy. I’ve searched countless cars and have found nothing inside of them. Houses are typically bare of supplies, though I have gotten lucky a few times. I find that most of the items I find aren’t necessarily inside of containers or cabinets, but rather on shelves hidden within the environment. Some items, like wood planks, are obtained by breaking boxes, something I only learned recently.

Pay-to-win?

There were some concerns early on, especially when airdrops were discovered, that H1Z1 would be pay-to-win. It’s a legitimate fear since that’s how many free-to-play games make their money.

The original argument was that players could purchase airdrops with real money and have survival items, gear, and sometimes weapons drop for them. Obviously that’d be a bit unfair to those who don’t spend money. Another problem stemmed from miscommunication, as SOE originally said airdrops would only contain things like recipes and cosmetics.

In response to the complaints, SOE defended that airdrops are server events in which players can fight over the crate. Because there’s a chance the person who paid for the drop might not get any of the items in the crate, it’s not technically pay-to-win, they said. Airdrops are also meant to be more than just survival gear; they are designed to encourage to gather around and slaughter each other for supplies, Hunger Games-style.

In the end, thanks to some balance tweaks and a better explanation by the devs, the concerns about airdrops are largely a thing of the past. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to participate in an airdrop so I can’t really comment on the fun of  it.

Overall Impressions?

The foundation has been laid, and now SOE needs to build upon it. H1Z1 certainly has its moments, but there’s just not a whole lot going on right now. That could change once SOE adds more zombies, but right now a lot of what I’m doing is running through abandoned houses and searching for supplies. In the forest, it becomes more of a running simulator than a survival game. That being said, H1Z1 does show signs of promise. When I do meet other people or encounter zombies, it’s a fun experience; but, these experiences are few and far between right now.

Again, it’s only been a week in Early Access. I’m impressed at the speed in which patches have been deployed. If SOE continues to listen to feedback and build upon this base, I see no reason why H1Z1 won’t become the go-to post-apocalyptic survival game we’re all hoping it will be.