rickyriot

Without wishing to sound harsh, I don't think you really grasp how development is done. You've touched on it to an extent with the "there are staff working on assets .. but given the numerous bugged out.. etc" line, but the bottom line is that the major issues with the game (certain show stopper bugs and serious improvements like loot/zombie respawn, buildings and vehicles, etc) will take much longer and will be getting worked on concurrently and not by those doing what you consider the "clutter". As I said in my previous post nobody outside the devs have a proper overview of what is being worked on, by whom and how long that will take.

See before I answer this I would need to see what the priorities actually are. Considering nobody outside the Devs and probably a close circle of friend actually know the development priorities then how are we supposed to say whether they are correct or not? It's the old Donald Rumsfeld "Known unknowns and unknown unknowns".

Out of interest could the lag spike (I've not experienced it myself) be to do with the clouds/weather system. I know there was a similar bug in previous versions and it's the reason I run with clouds disabled.

Love DayZ, but I have to admit I wouldn't recommend it to anyone until loot and zombie respawning are in place (and ideally some zombie AI/collision detection). So in that sense it's a "No". Do I still play it? On and off, I played it pretty regularly when it first came out as it was such a departure to the mod, but as there is no zombie/loot respawning I think there is a limit to the fun to be had and your enjoyment is primarily linked to how recently the server has been restarted and I have tailed off quite a bit. At least the ghosting and server hopping has been resolved to an extent. Thing is, it's all fine and well for me to say "No" because I have played it, for those who haven't the temptation will be just too great.

Good idea! It would certainly help the rest of us avoid them.. ;)

I was thinking that when they were discussing the berries and Rocket was like "the berries aren't poisonous" yet the most definitely are I've been caught out several times (when desperate for food). However on the flip side it's actually a good thing that he doesn't know all about the changes in the game as it suggests there is a proper segregation in regards to development. When it was a one man operation (Ok, SA has never been just a one man operation but you get the idea) it's more likely to have one person involved in all sorts of things even if it's not their core duties. Now with the financial situation as it is there is no need for that to happen and you can have those tasked with certain jobs not directly involved with others who may be dealing with other tasks. Say, for example, there is "Dev A" and "Dev B". Dev A's key duties are to deal with the networking and server administration while Dev B has been tasked with introducing berries to the game. In a distributed and properly delegated development process then Dev a really he shouldn't have any overview regarding the Dev B's progress. It's actually a good thing that he isn't aware of the status of that task as it's not part of their remit.

You have to laugh at just how bad Rocket is at his own game. I've written games in the past, and while yes they have been dreadful I've at least been able to play them. Rocket seems worse than your average bambi which is incredible when you think of the time the man must have racked up both in the SA and the mod (and that's before we add in Arma itself). Nice to see he mentioned zombie respawns in the chat though. If he can get those working that would a major step forward and would also suggest that loot respawning is on the horizon.

If you had spent even half the time reading about the development than you have posting requests for them you would know exactly why it will be at least several months away before any vehicle is implemented.

Edited, because I am an idiot and the OP's post was unclear.

Thing is, all these players who think they are great need to go onto a low pop server to get gear as they are just not good enough to take it off people in the high pop servers. Admitting you have to drop to a low pop one is just admitting you are a bit pants at the game... :rolleyes:

Personally I love going onto the server I almost always play on, go to anywhere that's likely to have gear and it's been raped by fucktards like the OP. Sure the loot spawning is annoying, but to try and justify your server hopping is just lame.

Now before people get moist, it doesn't mention server hopping (a real annoyance for me just now) or ghosting, but you'd expect if they don't they'll at least leave the hooks in for later. Thing is, though, Rocket has been in NZ for since NY and only just back in the office (I believe, or is just about to return, one of the two. I'm not sure as I don't stalk the poor guy), so the "delay" is just down to him having a holiday.

Guilt! I'm new to the forum so allow me to give you some background. I've been lucky enough to have started online gaming last millennia (I love saying it like that!) in the late 90's with Quake 1. I was happy killing anyone then. I moved onto MoH:AA and luck shined on me as I was part of a clan that topped the clanbase ladders, once more I had no issue about killing people. A few years further on and I migrated to CoD (the good ones, 1 and 2) and killing was second nature and once again I was in clans that were well represented across Europe. I faded a bit (actually RSI was my biggest problem) so stopped playing competitively and just dropped in and out. My game tastes changed and there was no real need for killing. DayZ though, both the mod and SA, have reignited that desire. I am older, my reflexes slower and I have less time to dedicate to the game(s) but there is another thing that has crept in. I have difficulty in killing people. Now I'm sure if it was something like CoD (which today seems a bit pants imo) I'm sure I wouldn't care, but DayZ is such a different game, it allows people to demonstrate their personality so much more, there is a genuine desire for people to advance rather than just running around a simple small map respawning that I find it difficult to kill people. Don't get me wrong, people still kill me, and damn do they kill the f*ck out of me, but time and again when it comes to pulling that trigger when I've not been attacked first I just have a problem with it. So, as I say, guilt. I was in Cherno the other day on a fairly full server. I had been shot at by numerous players who just vanished once they realised they weren't good enough to kill me and I got so bloody annoyed I decided to track down one of them as they went into the hospital. I was across the road, nicely nestled in one of the houses and I took out my pistol. I fire a few rounds to coral them into a better location (like herding sheep) and then a sorrowful voice came over the voip, "Hey, man, don't kill me". Damn... there goes my guilt. He was clearly unarmed, it was clear I had followed the wrong person but it was also the chance to reap my vengeance of my many KoS deaths. Here is was, this was the time, I was the master this time, off to the Lord you go.... and.... nope... guilt. I slunk away, feeling like a sh*t for nearly doing what everyone else had done and no doubt this little bambi will die at the hands of someone else, but those hands were not to be mine... TL;DR? Old age has made me a pussy.

Ok, guys, before everyone jumps on me and starts shouting, "alpher", I realise this. I bought the game under the full understanding that it's early access and that it will take some time, perhaps up to a year before it's solid and I am not suddenly demanding something just merely asking a question. The question is, if you haven't guessed, about client side optimisation. I realise it's a long way down the line, but I think it's a fair question as there are quite a lot of us using rigs that you would expect better performance from than we are getting. Is any client side optimisation pencilled in along the roadmap? If so, at what point would we expect to see some resources directed towards it? Or if it's not been factored in, should it be and again at what point? I have had a look through a lot of what has been discussed already and it seems like the topic, if it has been covered at all, has been just set to one side with tweaks to setups and config files the preferred solution. The vast majority of optimisation that has been discussed has been server focussed, and rightly so. I understand the need to get that side working as well as possible. It's clear that some form of client side optimisation will need to be done. So, in summary, I realise it could be a long way off, and I am happy to wait, I am merely looking to see what the consensus is between players (and early adopters) as well as the devs on what form the client optimisation may take (a move to Dx11, for example), when it's likely to happen and if this is part of the roadmap. Thank you for any replies, I hope that my question is taken in the spirit it's offered.

I take the point you are making, and allow me to reply with two separate answers (sneaky, but there you go, it's the Internet!) 1) I am a programmer, I am only too aware of how difficult it can be to get the simplest of optimisations done, especially so if you are working with legacy code and in an already well documented "awkward" engine. 2) With the best will in the World, you can't say that there is no optimisation possible on the client side. I'm not going to go like for like here, but SA is possibly one of the poorest frame rates of any title I have ever experienced. That's not meant to sound like hyperbole, nor is it intended as emotive language. It's Alpha, I accept that, it's not going to change any time soon, I equally accept that. However there is a call for optimisation. My thread isn't about demanding it is done, and done quickly, more just whether it's been factored into the roadmap and if so what forms it's likely to take. Edit: Oops, forgot to add that I completely agree with a lot of problems originating from the server side. That needs to be given priority, which I hope people realise is a given from my comments.

Honestly I would love to, but as I don't have a twitter account (yes, like the last smallpox sufferer I am Twitter-zero!) I feel I would be lost in the noise of far more involved and far better educated (on this subject) people than I. I actually feel a bit sorry for him and feel it would be invading his already limited time to tweet as it is. I once replied to a Reddit thread, with positive feedback and in general saying "good job". He never replied but the Reddit community buried the comment so quickly it's unlikely he'll have seen it. In fact the comment on Reddit was sitting at -34 the last time I looked (about 4 weeks back) and at this rate is likely to break through the mantel, work it's way through the core and arrive on the other side of the planet near his home town, in about 6 months time. Short answer, it would be lovely to get some feedback from him, but you feel he'd be too "scared" to give any time limits due to the piranha like veracity of social media.

So just to add, has client optimisation ever been mentioned for the roadmap (I say "roadmap" like it's some sort of Holy Grail) as although lots of really cool stuff have been mentioned is it just implicit that the client optimisation will be included in this? Take the hunting for example, we'd all love to take down a bird on the wing with a bow and arrow, just how possible is that with the current frame rates we all get? Again, not a complaint, just a question.

Basically it's expected any time from now until when Hell freezes over? ;) I think this is what has prompted me to post the thread, there doesn't seem to be a general consensus on what client optimisation should consist of (it's a wonderfully vague term after all) and even if that is defined then the actual implementation timescale is equally open to debate. I'm not wishing to tie down anyone to anything (well not virtually anyway!) but even if the devs or the community in general were to say, "OK, let's drop the idea of client side optimisation until August after which we will review whether we will drop it for a longer period", then I'd be happy enough with that reply. It's the not knowing that's the worst thing, that and finding endless threads of people posting their specs (8320/7770, just for completeness) with random anecdotal claims of 10FPS here and 60FPS there. I'm not stupid, in relative terms of course, and I realise the devs must see that it runs like a dog (not a complaint, just an observation, don't jump on me for it!) in comparison to other titles including the mod and Arma 2 & 3, so I am sure it won't "fall off the list" as it were. There are numerous other stuff to get right first, and considering the server side deals with so much in the game it's right that it gets optimised first, I am not suggesting otherwise.