SmashT

Experimental doesn't get patch notes if that's what you are asking but if you want to stay up to date on what's happening the devtracker and weekly status reports do a reasonable job of that.

We had a topic, one which BattlEye regularly engaged in and instead of people using that opportunity constructively it led to constant attacks on the integrity, competency and ethics of the development team and BattlEye. As a result the topic was closed and you are directed to PM one of the Forum Staff if you believe you have found evidence of an unknown exploit/hack etc or have any other information which may be useful. If you believe these issues are being ignored then I suggest you read the last two devblogs as cheating was addressed in both.

This devblog will be focused on describing the progress with one of our biggest issues: Zombie Pathfinding. Development Priorities and Pace Our major focus has been on establishing the architecture, both in the team and in the game, in order to deliver best in the future. This involved us drastically increasing the size of the team working on the game. This had a severe short-term impact onour progress as our existing team had to devote time and resources to training and planning. The new zombie pathfinding is a good example of this approach beginning to produce results. Some examples of future major changes coming as a result of this new focus: Entirely new rendering system (allowing potential upgrades to DX10 or DX11, ports as well).True multithreading / multicore for servers and possibly clients.Completely new animal AI that mirrors an actual animals behaviors.Redeveloped “action” system, replacing the mouse-wheel scroll action system.Complete refactoring of the inventory system. While not a big change for users, possibly allows some more advanced systems to be implemented and better performance and less bugs.Background Zombies have proven to be one of the most difficult to develop components of the game. When we were developing the game we realized that in the time we had, we would need to work within the parameters of the AI already in the engine. In the engine, AI is calculated on a “per agent” basis, with some caching for things like targets (shared target info, etc…). In the mod, this was dropped in favor of calculating visibility and target info on a “per player” approach. This meant that zombies in the mod were simply pawns, activated by players moving around. In addition to behavior problems we also experienced problems with pathfinding and collision for the AI. We were getting the engine to do things that it was never designed to do, especially regarding interiors of buildings. We attempted to refactor these solutions to accommodate our changes but, as can be seen by playing the current build, they fell short of our expectations. In the end we decided it would be easier to develop a new approach from scratch. The Challenge There are many exciting solutions available for pathfinding, it’s fairly standard fare in the video gaming industry. Our problem was not unique, but our situation was: our world is very big yet it requires the same precision as a small one. The team devoted to solving this decided to use navigation meshes. The serious problem it presented, though, was how to generate these meshes, with nearly 2 million objects on the map doing it by hand would not be an option. So a method was devised to split the world up into grids, and then raycast at a precise interval and generate chunks of navmesh. This is all done during the packing process and “baked” out into data that can be read by the server and client. This uses the wonderful approaches outlined in the open source navmesh project Recast and Detour. The Results I spoke to Martin Slavkov, programmer behind the solution, to help me outline the result with some screenshots. Generating the Navmesh (view Imgur Gallery of generation) A small program was developed to read through the world, load all the objects, and then work its way through tracing billions of lines to calculate the ability to move. This then works out not only where outside you can walk, but inside as well. It gives great precision while still working for a very large scale world both indoor and outdoor. Having a unified solution for pathfinding makes implementation much easier. Use in-game (view Imgur Gallery of navmesh in action) The engine is then able to load the chunks in as it needs. It does use some memory (around 600mb extra, maximum), but it only loads the chunks it needs. However as we are moving to 64-bit on the server side, this reduces any potential issues with memory. Performance optimizations can be very significant. Currently the team are working on parallelizing the AI pathfinding function so it can operate on a separate core. With all new functionality we are developing in this way, unfortunately that means that it can take longer for us to develop but the results for performance can be massive. Previously two different systems were used for navigating AI. The exterior one handled navigation around static and dynamic objects, and an internal “path” system was used for building interiors. This involved artists defining paths that AI could follow. We had to drop this interior method because of the massive performance issues with large numbers of agents. In the screenshot above, you can see a path between two red points. Because the system is now unified it means that more efficient (and more natural) pathfinding solutions are available to the AI, at a fraction of the performance cost as before. Report from the Lead Artist, Chris Torchia (View Imgur Gallery of new art) I’m happy to report on the loads of content which will soon hit experimental servers. Recently the Prague and Bratislava studios had our first meet and greet so I was able to get a first hand look at all of the ongoing work by the artists and animators on our new animals. We have a basic implementation of prototype animals that will be swapped out by our Bratislava artist’s work which is looking incredible! Improvised fishing tackle and a carp were created, which players will be able to catch in ponds. We have also created some filet models which you will eventually be able to cook. This will all add up to be a literal game-changer. Speaking of animals - we also met Big - the office pet tortoise in Bratislava. Hm, that gives me an idea… Our character artist is further expanding with the addition of a new large-capacity police vest to go along with our ОMON-inspired Орёл uniform. We have also started working on EMT, Firefighter, and finalizing the Gorka uniforms. Fireplaces, Hunting, And being a lumberjack! We pulled fireplaces and hunting from the previous update in their state at the time, we felt they would hinder gameplay not enhance it. The extra time has been spent improving gameplay aspects and also identifying how we can better support it. The build to experimental will show the basic structure of how this will work. Chopping wood from trees now gives logs, and after a certain time, the trees will be “expended” and fall over. Tree cutting is done by holding an axe in your hands, and using the mouse-wheel action menu. This is a prime example of why we want to remove the mouse-wheel action system. Instead of this, we envision you simply hitting the tree with the axe and being rewarded with wood - but that is for the future. Fireplaces can be upgraded with stones, which are recovered from the ground around rocky areas or by hitting rocks with a pick-axe. Fireplaces can be crafted by making a “fireplace kit” out of items such as rags and kindling. Kindling is recovered by searching the forest floor for sticks. All these scavenging aspects need more refinement as part of a new action system, but they’re exciting changes that will pave the way for more complex systems such as horticulture. Bratislava Team Visit (view Imgur Gallery of the visit) We visited our team in Bratislava - they have a TURTLE! The next update Our current targets have us putting out builds to stable once a month, a huge inspiration for approach we aspire to is Prison Architect who do this very well. We have no set timeframe for experimental releases, these are done to assist us with preparing for stable releases. Above all else, it’s vital that people appreciate several things: Different tasks take different amounts of timePriorities for tasks are built around what is needed based on dependencies, not what is most needed to satisfy the game designScheduled builds are targets, not absolutes. We will delay and postpone builds where we are not confident in their status.Devblogs are no longer scheduled weekly, and are done as often as we can to provide background for our progress.The Final Word This is an extremely exciting time for us all as we come out of two months of very aggressive growth. We’ve expanded the team a great deal, taking a huge risk in doing so. That risk is paying off, and we’re excited to see the massive impact that the pathfinding and collision changes will have on the DayZ experience. Read on Tumblr

There is plenty of evidence suggesting servers violating the ToS do get dealt with if they are reported. Why don't you report some servers violating the rules and verify this yourself. I know I've reported servers in the past and they have either been warned or shutdown after repeated offenses. I got an abusive PM on here last time from a server admin as I use the same in-game name and was repeatedly re-joining after he kicked me until his server was shutdown by his GSP. Someone on Reddit reported 48 servers in one day a few months ago, only 6 remained up after his reports. http://www.reddit.com/r/dayz/comments/295mxw/reported_48_passworded_servers_today_now_there/

If you believe you have found evidence of an unknown hack, submit the evidence to one of the Forum Staff and it will be looked into and verified. Otherwise, please do not create topics explaining your stories on how you were the victim of hacking or witnessed a hack in action. The more attention that is brought to individual hackers, the more likely they are to just feed off the recognition and do it more, these topics do not expedite any action taken against these players and they almost always degenerate into attacks against the development team.

Merged

SQF is the scripting language the game uses. SQF is depreciated and used for prototyping. Designers get the script functions working as it is much easier to play around with a script (no need to recompile etc) then they are handed off to the programming team for engine development. FSM = Finite State Machine. Basically a model of states and transitions between them.

Currently there are 400-500 zombies per server, number will get up by a lot when the new sensors are implemented. Last time we talked about that, the aim is thousands. No promises yet. There is only so much prediction we can make for the new sensors. The problem is most of the modules that we need require 6-12 months development time. A lot of them will be getting merged in next few months. -Eugen

In case of crashes (and all other bugs of course), just submit a ticket on the feedback tracker as per their instructions in the pinned topic, and the devs will investigate the source of your crash. http://feedback.dayzgame.com/ Regarding the crashing; this might be caused by the server having persistence enabled. Server admins can turn off the persistence if that is the case, but if the server is crashing due to other causes, you can also report the server to the GSP.

Moved in that case. There's no forms to submit anymore (and haven't been for a long while), the central hive doesn't even exist anymore so you'll be connecting to your own servers database instead of being whitelisted for the public hive. Hopefully someone who has hosted DayZ mod servers can help you further.

Is this for DayZ or the ArmA II DayZ mod?, I've never heard of that GSP. These are the only GSP's that can host DayZ SA servers. Multiplay Vilayer Fragnet GamingDeluxeGameservers

You have no idea. I give you pre-alpha ladders.

No, it's also against the rules to name a server that way. http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/158966-dayz-standalone-server-hosting-rules-server-reporting/

I think that's mostly a misconception of how the versioning numbers work. 0.50 does not mean we are halfway to 1.0. It just means we have put out 50 major builds since the beginning of our versioning. The release of EA was 0.28 so we are 22 public iterations since early access. - Hicks

If your character fails to load, exit immediately and try another server. Characters do not get wiped but it will be overwritten if you stay in game after it fails to load, so if that happens leave immediately and try another server. (providing you didn't die during the 30 seconds after logout) You'll notice this a lot of you rejoin a server immediately after a server restart but some servers also have issues with connection to the central hive, see this post from Rocket here. http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/167343-servers-with-connection-issues-to-central-hive/?hl=%2Bconnection+%2Bto+%2Bcentral+%2Bhive

It was just vaulting. (although I would like a jump button personally) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xcv51C2ug#t=304

From a technical point of view... While it may be technically possible, it would involve a huge amount of work and would essentially require them to remake the map from scratch so it's not likely to happen. See SenChi's response from an interview below. Q: Will the actual size of the map ever increase?A: Unfortunately we are limited by the physical size of map that was set at the Chernarus for Arma 2 (15.360km x 15.360 km) long time ago, perhaps in the future we will find a way to extend the border, but right now talking about it too early.http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/179674-interview-with-senchi-world-designer/ Rocket did throw around some ideas early on about how they could allow players to travel between maps in-game, maybe by boat for example where you would essentially load into another server/map, dunno if that's been discussed any further though.

Fucking Bugtracker?

Check your ping filter, it's probably set to <100 or something by default. Also make sure you are on the internet tab as I know it started you on another for a while.

I don't see the need for a vehicle cleanup mechanic at all (was this actually a thing in the mod or just a bug causing it to happen, I thought only vehicles outside the map borders were cleaned up). If someone has hidden a vehicle well enough that nobody can find it, it should stay there IMO. The map isn't that large that things can go hidden for any significant amount of time if people are looking for them. I loved hunting for vehicles out in the middle of nowhere, doing border runs etc in the mod. Edit: I'm not talking about cars outside the map border, obviously they should always be cleaned up/removed.

Was discussed briefly here http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/212059-egx-london-silo-interview-with-brian-hicks-on-dayz-development/

I assume so (not poison specifically but disease) once the system is implemented. I'd love to be able to drag dead bodies into ponds to make people sick if they aren't boiling/purifying their water. http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/107637-feedback-on-status-of-infectious-diseases-in-dayz/ Q: So is there going to be an issue with contaminated water? A: Well you don't have to boil it, but it might cause you serious problems like Cholera etc if you don't. My brother was saying it could provide some really interesting research output in terms of reacting to a serious incidents and see if people organise and making sure their waste will be put in certain areas or infect all the waterways and how people will react to those players or a server with a serious outbreak of Cholera. I think this is the crux of it, it's that organic context and I think a lot of publishers go for the safe ground of making a story, packaging an experience and DayZ is going in the complete opposite direction where we build a framework and the players/streamers/youtubers/content creators build the story, the mod doesn't do anything particularly exciting with it but it's how the people interact and the context it provides that provides the power. Q: Why zombies? A: I'm not really big into zombies I just see them as a mechanism to study people, I said it before it's more palatable to look at a zombie disaster game then if it were based on peak oil or fiscal collapse or something. Talking with my brother we have always talked a lot about diseases and the impact (since that's his job) and part of that is where DayZ came from and so I'm hoping DayZ can teach people how fragile that can be, how disease spread and how to control disease and so people can gain an awareness on what happens in a disaster situation like DayZ. If you do any reading into Cholera you will realise how serious it is in disaster situations and it will be a very serious problem in DayZ. It kills within hours, you need a lot of water and finding clean water is going to be problematic in DayZ. I can see clans trying to control areas around ponds to secure the drinking water and so many other dynamics coming from this system and all of this is possible because of the inventory system being designed from the ground up. Objects actually exist now, they are effectively a vehicle it exists, it's persistent and all of it's attributes are persistent and that's a fundamental change. I hope those people who have complained that we didn't use ArmA III have been answered now, this is a new engine now, it's not ArmA II, it's not TOH, it's not ArmA III, it's DayZ. Q: Diseases, what are you thinking, what can you catch, how do they transfer etc A: Diseases will be done like they happen in real life to some extent. All diseases start of with what's called a latent reservoir which is where the disease is kept, for example they believe H5N1 (Bird Flu) started off with bats I think, bats/mice/rats/watersources etc. So we can start a virus on one server from one water source, say Cholera. Anyone who uses that water source will have a chance of being infected who can then pass it on to other water sources. They can also infect other players through bodily contact if the virus spreads that way. Even if that player uses medicine to cure it, someone else could go to that latent reservoir and still pick it up and spread it around as well.

Check the following settings in the Windows Control Panel and see if it helps resolve the issue Go to Control Panel> Hardware and Sound> Sound> Communications tab.Select Do Nothing (Refer to image) Also make sure your Mic is set to "default device" and not "default communication device" Found a few others with similar issue with ArmA + TS3 + Logitech headset. No posts with a solution though. http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Headphones-Headsets-Microphones/G430-Headset-and-Arma-II-with-TeamSpeak-3-and-A-C-R-E-plugin/td-p/1071571

Looks like fun.

Bear in mind that video is missing the majority of the Q&A, I believe it will be archived here at some point. http://www.youtube.com/egxtv