I have given them some serious thought over the past month or so, and even more so with people even asking themselves, "are we dead"?...

Whether or not to let Arma 2 - Day Z division slip into the cavernous orifice that is the unsupported realm of games. Let's recap....

I joined BBF on 07-15-2012, specifically to play this very game... I had found a post on the dayzmod forums and came here seeking a group of like-minded players to enjoy the game with... that first month of roll call after resulted in 33 people at 22% of the clan players. A game commander was appointed. Wintermute, or chocolate rain, as others called him. The month following resulted in almost half that.. 16 @ 11.19%....

This was a result of various people being kicked from the game for either foul language, hacking, exploiting, or duping.. as well as a complete fall out of our "squads" and camps becoming holy ground that even fellow clan members could not step foot on... this style of play pushed people away from a clan-oriented gaming style and bred a solo play style... everyone becoming lone wolves or participating in small groups of "trusted" friends.

The next month brought 17 @ 11.56%... I believe this was my first month at the reigns for an entire solid month... I brought about changes that were drastic. I changed the difficulty of our server and made the game what I felt it should be... but not without the input of my players.. we as a division decided to take the game more seriously by upping the difficulty to a expert level... this would eventually split the division again from those who wanted easy and those who wanted hard.... the following month saw 14 @ 16.09%.

Still some held on to the game, and we still had our own server... but we changed map after map to appease the constant crying the bickering from various members.. an attempt to keep things from becoming stale.

Eventually we hit the single digits the following month 9 @ 13.64%....

We amped up recruiting efforts in an attempt to bring our numbers back up... I personally made posts on the forums advertising our server and clan and tried to assist people through the application process... we saw increases slowly but surely...

11 @ 15.49%........ 12 @ 15.00%.......

But ultimately this trend became the same as before... people would play here and there randomly... perhaps when others were not online to play with them... they viewed this as a lack of support for the game... lost interest and eventually wandered off to wherever else... we dipped back down 9 @ 13.43%......

The division continues to see a rise of a couple members followed by a dramatic drop of even more... last month showed 8 @ 11.76%...... out of this 8 that submitted roll call, I would say at most, 4 of those are active and dedicated members of this division and the game....

I've seen repeat members posting roll call for the game that I have yet to even play with.... there is a lack of overall support for the game as a whole... it seems silly to me to hold a spot open for a game that has 4 dedicated members playing here and there and rarely all at once together, even... I think it is time to say goodbye to this once great division and game until its possible revival with the standalone game when it releases.... if interest rises once again with the new release, perhaps we can get that game supported...

It is a lot of work to keep this division running for the sake of a few players... it would be best suited in the "just for fun" category in its current state... We've tried everything we can think of to bring members around to play, but ultimately, the games unique style and difficulty and unforgiving system tends to wear on people and turn off even more... it is not a game for the average gamer and does not cater to many... It makes it equally hard to recruit for, considering most people by now have found their selective groups to play with and/or their favorited servers to play on (not ours)...

I believe that our core players in this division share the same feelings I do regarding this... but feel free to discuss it here... My stance has been explained, however... as the GC of the division, I feel it is best to let the game go peacefully and with dignity and respect. Til another day comes to return it to its former glory.

Feel free to share any thoughts, memories, or stories about your times playing Day Z with BBF here as we remember this once great division.

-Lue
GC - Day Z Division

I joined the division in June of last year, and I feel that it is time to let it rest... for now. I beseech the powers that be to refuse all advances by others to "taker over the division," (If you are not Zodiac, DeSouza,Lue, or Grinch) and let it rest until the stand-alone releases- we will still be here. ( and I don't want a POG taking it over *wink*) It is hard as hell to recruit for this game, and even harder to keep new recruits. I blame this on the "unpredictable" nature of our servers/settings; when we get new recruits, somebody always wants to change the settings. I have been here with Lue almost since the beginning, and I remember him shooting Cows in Chernarus from 1 km while I was standing next to him with binocs by our camp at Pobeda Dam a year ago. I think that this division needs to be put on "Stand-By" until the stand alone is released.

I only joined BBF this past September which means I do not even have a year under my belt. I have had a lot of fun with everyone I have played with in the DayZ division. I missed out on the hay day of the division when we rolled 30 strong. When I joined the map was on it's first rotation which was Lingor Island. At the time I was still trying to decide if I really wanted to join a clan. What really got me interested in joining BBF officially was the times I got on TS and played with Lue, RpG, DeSouza, and Grinch. It was so refreshing to find people who thought like me. People who knew that there was a time to roll around like retards laughing like little kids and that there was a time when we had to be stone cold killers moving as a group to take out a target. What I have planned for when we get a official launch date for the SA alpha is to recruit like a mad man. I want to see us back at 30+ members in DayZ again. If I have anything to say about it we WILL be back in the light again.

I have had many great moments in this division. We have had some great members that make for some great entertainment (wallaby ranger, best chopper pilot NA).

I have only had great times in this division and clan and think I will continue to do so.

I think putting this game in just for fun is like a T.V show going on a season break. The viewers drop because of re runs and nothing new, however when the new season comes out the audience is record breaking. That's what I think will happen with the player base and actives of DayZ.

I do think that when standalone is announced to release on a set day. That is the day we "veterans" of the dayz division get together and decide on the play style and gameplay we want , from this we can Taylor our recruiting process to attract the players we want and hopefully that will lead to longevity of the division.

A great man once said "im a scrippter and personal trainer mate"

I will make the appropriate changes later today. This forum will be moved to jff status.

Thank you, Ariakas. Much appreciated.