noentry45

Hello, Devs! Just some curious question... will Zombies be improved? I've seen no mention on the subject at status reports, or at roadmap for post 1.0 and it is marked as ready. Although, I would assume ready is meant for Experimental Ready not Release Ready. I do appreciate the improvement and the hordes availability now than before but I think there's still room to improve. For a game which sell itself as a zombie survival game, I believe it should be focused on along with content update otherwise DayZ just be considered as 'survival game' which defeats the title meanings, purposes and initial foundation. In addition, DayZ always value immersion and the zombie quality is average, which hurt the immersion itself imo and if you compared to the newly release game we all know. After analyzing and making a comparison between the two games, I do think the problem lies heavily on the Zombie animation. There's a noticeable delay between each Zombie actions or pathfinding and the way they transition say from standing stance to crouch running stance or from one chain attack to another. There's degree of stiffness unlike the newly animated player character which is great. Here's what I'm talmbout from SepticFalcon's video at 0:00 to 0:12: You can see the delay after Zombie executed three chain attack. Now granted maybe the delay is inevitable due to technology issue or whatever, but it can be compounded with proper transition animation. Right now after the chain attack, the Zombie goes to jarringly default animation. Maybe have the Zombie slowly stepped back for another attack or make an infinite chain attack to a standing/cornered player condition but lesser damage and slower speed attack applied. I figure the delay could be because Zombies physics are turned off so it got confused when it literally inside the player for performance tradeoff? Now, this brings me to my next point Zombie pathfinding. Often you see when Zombie tries to turn into another direction, again it uses the jarringly default animation to turn and it skidded across the ground like a true ghost. Again it's missing transition animation before an action. I think that's the major issue for Zombie is that it doesn't have enough animation to justify its existence. I believe it should be ironed out at least at 1.0 or immediate post 1.0 because new people or player will judge the game on based on what they can see. Even if you have a complex zombie and really cool mechanic, people won't notice that after several hours of game, which where the older and loyal player will be looking at, the mechanic depth. Thank you for reading everyone! (And the sound)

Yes, it's at sad state right now. Regardless whether the Devs reply or not, I do hope they put some importance into Zombies in their hidden roadmap because quite frankly, my mate wouldn't buy the game because of its jankiness. It's being in the sideline for a long time for a game which emphasis on Zombies. I feel I don't get the full experience out of the price tag because of it....

So, I'm a long time consumer and follower of DayZ and I feel the need to voice out. This is potentially a long one (?), so thank you for reading whoever you are. Amidst the new waves of people and attention, I think that this is the critical time of DayZ development as the Devs receive more feedback than ever. This is where and when a game could deviate from what was promised and envisioned. Personally, in my opinion, DayZ at its core and shines in its Immersive Environment, Player Interaction, and PvP. DayZ is about your journey with limitless options and possibilities in an open world apocalyptic set adventure. Surviving in DayZ is harsh, but manageable, which is a good thing. The current system which forces player to look after health, blood, shock, bone, energy, hydration, and temperature, plus stamina (which I'm a fan of, it adds layers into PvP and inventory management, it just needs a tweak) now is enough to keep player busy. Dumbing it down harms the game from being a survival genre. On the other hand, over-adding surviving elements and going over too realistic could potentially hinder DayZ players from interacting with each other and versus. I've seen a couple of suggestions like comfort, nutrient, happiness etc, while I think it adds dynamic to the gameplay, the game just become a character management simulator. Although, If somehow it got added, I think it needs to be a hidden stats, it should not punish the player, but it should reward player for taking care of it, now that's cool. What I think the game lacks in its system is rewarding player for surviving, besides gear. Which brings me to my next point about Soft Skill. Soft Skill finally here and it's exciting. I think there's massive potential for filling that 'reward' gap. However, as pointed out by Solopopo, the meter dances around mend & stitch and craft & build. It also locks when it reaches to one of the end. Basically, it forces you to assume a role. I think it's against what DayZ stood for, options. Furthermore, surviving is about practicality, and flip flopping between these two is to be expected. They should separate these attributes and rewards it accordingly. Say, you've done bandages for quite a lot, you get quicker time and health boost (?) or you crafted a lot, you require less materials AND maybe, Soft Skill for STAMINA, where your stamina increases as you ran a lot. There should be a cap, in my opinion, so a character can't get too overpowered. To close the loop about survival aspect, I would like to say thank you developers for the variety of options and gear in surviving, such as improvised backpack, improvised rope, human meat and armband, and more! I think this is one of strengths of DayZ, and it should be embraced and encouraged more in the future. Anyway, I will write more tomorrow on other aspects, but what did you guys think and want about the surviving aspect of the game going forward?

@ImpulZ Well for me personally, the unnecessary worries come from huge surge of attention to DayZ from outside the community, in which they don't know exactly what DayZ is all about, why is it paced slow, what's the importance of hard loot, why you don't spawn with friends etc. Call me inclusive, but it is a concern when there's a chance DayZ could went and cater these audiences. I think it's fine, we all want the game to grow, with more people and interaction, as long as it doesn't rip core elements of DayZ. Some of the concerns also come from the fact that 0.63 is one of the big update and hugely anticipated. Although it's been great so far, with the movement, the zombies, animations and general feel of the game, it is missing its key feature which is the gun mechanic. In addition, we've waited the game for quite amount of time so there's that attachment. In conclusion, I think it's justified and IMO reassuring is needed in status reports on the direction of the game. And with that reply, I think I rest my case. The 0.63 is great as I mentioned above and I appreciate the immersive environment quality. The map doesn't feel generic and the small details such as the addition of ambient sound, different sound when in indoor or outdoor, blood in hands, texture etc are great. It felt relaxing at times when I'm in this game. I hope DayZ will continue to double down on these (especially the rain effect, its lackluster in 1st person). The zombies also react and acts as a threat which adds to the immersion, but I think they need to improve on it as it is a zombie game after all. Player Interaction is to be judged, well the microphone is okay so far and I think the PA system will be a blast. Even though these items are not always used such as the existing tape player, walkie-talkie, potentially guitar (I've seen development reports) and other player interaction type items, it creates memorable moments. I think these items should be encouraged, as in spawn more. Laslty, the PvP and gunplay, which is the major drawback from this update. No weapon dispersion is a little bit disheartening as mentioned in countless threads about this build but I hope they don't dumb it down too hard to the point it doesn't feel 'DayZ' authentic and more arcady BR games. Thank you for reading.