September Round-up: DevBlog, #DayZDaily, PAX, GDC China

[SmashT 10907]

September round-up
A collection of the most interesting/newsworthy posts by Rocket and other devs this month all in once place. I'll update the post as I find them.

 

29th September

• Realize the lack of #DayZDaily updates from me annoys some people. But I've taken a break from forums/reddit/life for the final lap. cu soon

28th September

• Late hours, major progress made by Dean these last few days. Crowding around his desk is becoming a habit. #DayZDaily 

26th September

• Delighted by the work of our new map design reinforcement. Can you guess which village he just revamped? #DayZDaily 
• Yes, it's Polana "Rearmed", nice find! :) I will post a comparison shot on Monday. #DayZDaily

 

25th September

• Another crazy day in the office. Lots of meetings, sprint planning and process refining. #DayZDaily (Hicks)

21st September

• First week back in town, mostly settled in. Next week is all about getting a feel for the state of the project. #DayZDaily (Hicks)

20th September

• Lots of multiplayer testing, baseball bat (generic item melee) implementation, and sprint planning session! #DayZDaily (Rocket)

18th September

• We took some references photos of bad-ass survivor clothing today: Gorka smocks AND slippers. :)  #DayZDaily  (Ivan)

 

17th September

• Todays cool programming fix... 'Fixed item swapping with itself' hehe. Going to be a great week! #DayZDaily (Rocket)

15th September

GDC China Talk - 'DayZ: Producing the Ultimate Accidental Project'

 

12th September

• Another big day. Work on new tenement building, police station, baseball bat melee, bayonet melee, and network bubble testing #DayZDaily (Rocket)
• Dev also continues with new zombie system, with promising progress. Also planning and development future... physics etc... #DayZDaily (Rocket)
• "You feel like eating" Eating? Nope. Looks like she feels like beating someone in the face, methinks #DayZDaily  (Rocket)

 

Q: Why a baseball bat, it seems a little out of place for the setting?

We chose the baseball bat because it was an easy starting point for us (we had the model, it was a simple shape, and it has a thick area for hands). Also, I think many Czechs would take exception to that statement. The Czech's have even had a number of players exported to the USA. I think they held the Baseball world series in Prague not so long ago. My old landlords friend spent a number of years on a baseball scholarship in the USA. It's worth noting I'm trying to design the game around being as flexible as possible, rather than designing it around the Chernarus experience solely. If the game is done right then it can translate to other areas quickly, such as the west. But yes, point is taken. [source]

 

Q: With ArmA 3 being released this week, is your team size increasing? I hope you are also hiring people from the ArmA/DayZ community.

We have engaged a number of people involved in the community, although one of the biggest barriers is that the project is of such magnitude now that it really requires onsite, full-time, people. Many in the community cannot make such a significant commitment. We inducted four new programmers officially last week, who came off the team behind Carrier Command. They have previous experience with the engine, so they aren't entirely new. I am really excited as I think they are fantastic additions to the team, I can't wait to outline to everyone what they are coming up with. We are also hiring a significant amount of other staff. We are in temporary office accommodation until our (even bigger) office is available later in the month. We also have another dedicated, fulltime, onsite designer. He is a regular reader of Reddit and in fact spent a significant portion of today pouring over the forums. I'm sure we'll be introducing him through the devblog sometime soon. [source]

 

Hi folks, I'm Peter and I'm that new +1 DayZ team horsepower as I commited to fulltime, onsite work as designer which Rocket mentioned in his post. I jumped in the project in August and was working on placing spawn proxies for loot items in buildings. Right now i'm focusing at some exciting mechanics such as diseases, their spreading, prevence and curing them. Next close thing on my to-do plan is cooking and things associated with it... so we can finaly have that yummy scrambled eggs, just beware to not undercook it ;) [source]

 

Q: Many players think DayZ/ArmA uses primitive engine, yet the same techniques are used in AAA games...

It pains me inside that people attack the netcode of ArmA. While I would be the first to highlight many of the problems with ArmA in multiplayer, many of the problems experienced are issues with implementation rather than the programming of the engine. This is largely what we have been dealing with, I have had direct access to the folks who made the engine for a year and a half - so I have been able to communicate what designers have been trying to do... and they have been communicating how it was intended. The implementation of the network bubble has largely been straightforward due to how the networkManager was written. The main issue has been removal of what was left of the AIBrain, as it was governing how many things were handled even when a player was controlling the character.

With the induction of our new programmers, I'm more confident than ever we're going to make a decent stab at doing DayZ SA justice (if more than a little late).

 

Q: Physics like ragdoll or am I reading too much into this?

Well ragdoll never got *dropped* from the list, it got moved aside by more important things at the time. so...[source]

 
11th September

• Today was more melee, survival stuff, more commits for the network bubble, new programmer inductions, and planning! #DayZDaily (Rocket)

10th September

• Big day. Inventory network fixes, zombie performance optimizations on dedicated server, melee implementation for MP, #DayZDaily (Rocket)

Q: Isn't developing these features on separate branches and then having to merge them likely to break things and cause further delays even after the network bubble is completed?
We develop on separate branches, but we regularly merge. The network bubble is actually no big deal, as it turns out. The hard part of it is actually removing/refactoring existing code around the AIBrain, which is interlinked with all sorts of weird things relating to network updates. The structure of the networkManager was very condusive to the network bubble. In my experience, "merge often, test often" is preferable to developing in separate branches for a long period of time. Especially when everything is co-dependent like we have. [source]
 
9th September

• Today moving offices for most of the team. Further on inventory usability, zombie AI, and network bubble (first code commits) #DayZDaily (Rocket)

7th September
DayZ Developer Blog 7th September 2013 (Covers usability improvements, item damage, degradation, and player restraints!)

• Urban exploration on MTB in #Brno, found some inspiration. #DayZDaily (Ivan)

 

Q: How long will it roughly take until vehicles get added to the SA since the Alpha is released?
Vehicles are being maintained in the codebase (for example, the network bubble is approaching them in a unique way). It is just we want to add the additional functionality I have planned before putting them back into active use. [source]
 
Q: Are there going to be different vest, with plates and without, and will they offer different amounts of protection to different types of ammunition?
There are many different kinds already in game. In the video you notice on the last chest shot, the vest is completely destroyed (on second shot) and the remaining damage causes the player to bleed from their chest. [source]
 
Q: Do items themselves have their own armour values or are they just toggled damage/destroyed based on the damage dealt to clothing/armour?
Everything has different armor values. items have hitpoints, but only display their general condition as text. [source]

Q: What kind of ammunition are these vests are able to stop?
Currently an object can have "blunt force" and "ballistic" protection. An example of an object with high "blunt force" but low "ballistic" protection is the infamous motorcycle helmet. Get hit in the head with a baseball bat, the motorcycle helmet will be badly damaged but it will stop you passing out. Get shot in the head wearing a kevlar helmet, you will probably not take damage to your head, but as it has no "blunt force" protection you will be knocked unconscious. Blunt force will soon be split so we have three damage types: Ballistic, Blunt, Shock [source]
 
Q: I still think it needs a bit of nerfing. A couple of shots to his shirt and everything there is fucked up...
I discovered a bug where all damage is applied to all items inside a container. This isn't how it was designed to work. What is supposed to happen is that when damaged is applied to anything, that damage is taken off the damage value caused by the round. So if you are hit with a damage of 4.2, and 2 damage is used to destroy the vest, it leaves 2.1 damage left for everything else. Say the shirt gets destroyed with 0.5 damage, it leaves 1.6 damage for the items. Take off 0.5 for the can of beans, that leaves 1.1, take off 1 for a hammer, and you have 0.1 left that might slightly damage another item in your inventory. [source]

 

Q:  Any plans for a medic/paramedic vest? 
Added to the list, thanks guys! [source]

 

Q: So if I shoot somebody in the head all his items including boots may get destroyed?
If you shoot someone in the head, the items on their head get damaged. [source]

 

Q: What will the effects be of a shirt being in a destroyed condition? Will items fall out of its pockets?
Actually that "items fall out" sounds kind of cool! [source]

 

Q: So, all incoming damage always gets split up among the hit clothing and included items before damaging the player? I can just imagine people filling their pockets with chopped wood to absorb damage.
Good point, upon reflection I will include a special armor value for items and if that's above zero it's how much damage it will absorb. Only certain items will absorb some damage, such as a can of beans or a metal container. [source]

 

Q: When a container item is damaged what are the negatives when filling it with new items?
Containers can absorb damage prior to damaging the items within them. [source]
 
Q: Do containers use less space?
I wanted to give containers a "purpose", and the design theory behind it is the container allows you to pack an item very tightly (i.e. a first aid kit). We may allow some containers to have size and/or type restrictions on them. I.e. First Aid Kits only allowing 1x1 size items. [source]
 
Q: I assume there's no containerception?
There is right now, but a weight system, container type/size limitation, and relatively rarity of containers will sort that out nicely. [source]

 

Q: I hope that a Container(first aid kit) might take up something like 4 slots, Yet you can store SIX 1x1 items inside, because its tightly packed.
that is exactly how it is now, if you watch the gamescom videos you can see it in action. [source]

 

Q: Do vests have their own inventory slots?
Some vests do, some don't. Like webbing has alot of slots, but armor plates have none. [source]
 
Q: Can we layer clothing (shirt/jacket/vest)?
Clothing can't spread over other body areas or we risk a variety of configuration and animation problems. Hence why the jacket is one of the "top only" variants. [source] The main issue is that clothing has to work with other clothing. We've already had an issue where our "down jacket" (or puffer jacket or whatever) doesn't work with a vest. We don't have any good options here really. That is why we don't have more than one layer on any body part. [source]
 
Q: Will we be able to chamber a single round into firearms manually?
Yes [source]
 
Q: Do legs/hips have a layer, toolbelt, fanny pack?
A "bum bag" (I'm a New Zealander) is a possibility, as is a tool belt. They are likely to come on board at some time in development. [source]

Q: If someone is going to be robbed of all their items, why would they surrender? Is there any difference between being a fresh spawn and getting all your items stolen?
This is currently the main design issue being dealt with. How to give a character who just lost all their items a sense of value. [source]
 
Q: What about fitness? The longer your characters survived the greater it's cardio? 
This is one of the factors we have considered, that and increasing the amount of weight you can carry and some other factors and attributes along the same vein. [source]

 

Q:  How about if feet toughen up over time? Slightly increased running speed over time or resistance to some of the effects of bad food/water over time?
This is, almost word for word, what our CEO has suggested :) [source]
 
Q: Where is the incentive to surrendering? 
Because loot no longer spawns in magazines, but in very small quantities... ammo is now much rarer. If you've seen the road, you'll have a sense of what I'm aiming for. Projectile weapons will either be a dedicated bandit device (requiring careful "collection" and "harvesting" of ammo), or a weapon of last resort. I imagine melee will be the method of choice for dispatching zombies. In short, low quantities of ammo may drive players to threatening encounters rather than bullets flying. If you can rob someone and keep 1 out of your 3 bullets, I think you will rob that person and keep your bullet for next time. [source]

Q: I feel like the game is turning into a text based adventure game with everything being confirmed through text. Also, won't these messages get muddled amongst the inevitable side chat chatter?
I enjoy text based adventures a great deal, and I loved SS13's approach to player feedback. So I think some would argue it is "evolving" into a text based adventure (I would!).
The main reason for a vast amount of text is because it can be developed instantly - freeing up the design team to try anything. Later we can begin to replace some of the text with visual/audial cues.
It also solves the problem of those who are hearing impaired. I received a large amount of email from those who are colorblind or hearing impaired who loved the mod but struggled with it. The current system has the side-effect of helping those peoples. I actually like the disorientation of it. I really recommend trying SS13, you see that it can actually add to the experience. I.e. so much going on, you don't notice that someone slipped a bomb into your inventory... [source]
 
Q: Why can't you run when handcuffed?
This decision was made from a technical and gameplay perspective. Any movement states require an entirely new animation tree for that movement. It's a huge amount of work to create and maintain an entire new animation tree. It would need to be mocap'd, hand redeveloped, configured, tested, then maintained. Somewhere in the region of 30-60 animations + transition animations. As I've said countless times, I'm not aiming for realism, I'm aiming for authenticity. There's no "reusing the animations from blaa blaa". That's just not how it works. Restraining players isn't about the physical mechanics of what happens. It's got a specific purpose in gameplay. There is a grave danger of getting too complex, and too carried away. Restraining players is about doing just that. Furthermore, it's not just about generating the animations - it's also configuring them. And then maintaining yet another animation tree, and all the links required with other trees (particularly transitions). [source]
 
Q: Maybe you should add something to restrain their feet as well.
Appears the message isn't getting through well. After careful consideration and analysis, player restraint will involve the player not being able to move. Any movement key the restrained player presses will result in their character beginning to try and break free from the restraints. People are more than welcome to debate this, but unfortunately this is one of the few things I can say with absolute clarity: for the foreseeable future players will absolutely not be able to move when they are restrained. If it ends up being a gamebreaker (which I doubt, the play testing of the restrain + struggle was worked out instantly by those unfamiliar with the game) then we could remove the player restraint system. [source]
 
Q: I just fear that it will make the whole mechanic obsolete, as there's not much you can do with a prisoner, if they're stationary. 

As I've noted, it's not simply a question of being a lot of work, it's also dangerous and player restraint is simply not important enough to warrant the entire games stability on adding yet another animation tree.
If it does make the mechanic redundant then so be it. If it breaks the game we will simply have to remove it. [source]

Q:What about a player being able to drag or carry the cuffed person? 
We are hoping to add a drag mechanic to restrained players, possibly when we do ragdoll. [source]
 
5th September

• Also work on the player melee system, got our new programmers joining the team - it's a very exciting time for us. #DayZDaily (Rocket)
• Lots happening! Swapping items MP, MP test, network bubble work, zombie AI redevelopment work. Prep to move new office for Monday #DayZDaily  (Rocket)

4th September
Late upload from Gamescom last month.

 
Videos from PAX prime ( not directly related to DayZ)
The state of PC Gaming - Evan Lahti [PC Gamer] talks with Dean Hall [bohemia Interactive Studios], Chris Roberts [star Citizen], Jon Mavor [Planetary Annihilation] , and Chris Taylor [Total Annihilation]
All You Zombies: Why The Genre Still Holds Our Attention - Chet Faliszek [Valve Software], Dean Hall [bohemia Interactive Studios], Gary Whitta [Telltale Games], Jeff Strain [undead Labs]

Social media & game development - Wonder Russell [@bellawonder], Steve Piggott [@tornbanner], Shannon Plant [@ShannonZKiller], Dean Hall [@rocket2guns], Alan Wilson [@TripwireInt], Hugh Jeremy [@hugh_jeremy]

 

3rd September

• Despite PAX work continued on feedback from Gamescom usability. Item swapping in inventory has been a key task, working in SP now #DayZDaily (Rocket)

Q: How is server hosting going to work, will there be servers in Asia?
We will be funding launch servers so people have the opportunity to try the game before they decide if they want to commit to migrating to the standalone - as the initial state will probably not suit all clans/communities/etc... These will be geographically dispersed, and will run until we feel the community has started to take over the hosting. The server files will be released to all upon launch. It is much easier to setup a dayz SA server. However, we are no longer using gamespy - which means you must setup firewall and NAT negotiation manually for the server (a trivial step for those who actually use servers). [source]

Edited October 4, 2013 by SmashT

[mzltv 2281]

Aaaaaw yiii.

[Rage VG 4033]

Never liked GameSpy.

[intensity (DayZ) 312]

What? DayZ is still in development? I thought it was canceled.

[AP_Norris 1017]

So, the dev pace will be picking up after Monday?

I hope they get the network bubble working soon! And release the game!

Or no wait its too late GTA V and Arma 3 are on the doorstep :(

[toxicsludge 406]

Thanks for the post SmashT, appreciate your work :)

[cautoad 216]

What? DayZ is still in development? I thought it was canceled.

Haha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ha

[Embroil 27]

I guess we'll hve roundups up to 2014, 2015 maybe

[Skat3rat 1633]

What? DayZ is still in development? I thought it was canceled.

 

Where did you hear that?

 

And, Smash, thanks for making the thread!

[Quanaril (DayZ) 114]

I do not have much knowledge on the servers and how they work. Can someone explain to me this?: They are/have been working on so hard to prevent any kind of hacking/cheating in Day Z Stand Alone. But can't people or atleast the server owner(s) can still hack or cheat in private servers? The answer may be "No they cannot." But I still need a reassurance on this.

 

Thanks.

[erv_za 17]

atleast the server owner(s) can still hack or cheat in private servers?

If it's their server, they would be able to run a memory editor like "Cheat Engine" to cheat on their own server even if scripts didn't work.  But since the game use steam that has cheat detection tools, those servers would get blacklisted after a while.  This would only be a deterrent until server owners can have their own private-hive.

Oh, and Aimbot and Esp hacks would still work on all clients, though steam can detect some of those as well.

Edited September 5, 2013 by Erv_za

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

[spinager 152]

Where did you hear that?

 

And, Smash, thanks for making the thread!

Its a joke. Bad one at that. 

[esnoubro 10]

good job guys.

[terrvik 2409]

EDIT: Custom built prison island? Wawwawiwa.

EDIT2: "Bohemia Interactive, 2014" hah! :)

Edited September 5, 2013 by Terrorviktor

[Hosty 647]

 

EDIT: Custom built prison island? Wawwawiwa.

 

FAT ZOMBIES FTW!

[MOS182 63]

How would you get to join the Dev team working on DayZ?

[fluxley 2228]

How would you get to join the Dev team working on DayZ?

 

Applying for a job at Bohemia Interactive would be your best bet.  http://www.bistudio.com/english/company/careers

 

Or do you mean the mod? if so contact R4ZOR49 http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/user/11955-r4z0r49/

Edited September 5, 2013 by Fluxley

[St. Jimmy 1631]

HACKER!

 

 

Sad to hear that the interviewer got banned. I just hope it's only serverside that he hasn't realized yet and not a global ban.

Good interview.

[herbster 34]

Thought I'd come back after a few months to see what's happened.  Still the same it seems; Rocket moving the goalposts and focussing on trying to push 'polished items' into an supposed alpha.  No doubt the same fanatical band of supporters are here backing up piss poor:

 

a) Communication

b) Development

c) Project Management

d) all of the above

 

I'd love DayZ standalone to be a massive hit but I have absolutely no belief that it'll happen considering the fucks so far en-route.  It'd be great to be proven wrong mind!

[sabre05 351]

Thought I'd come back after a few months to see what's happened.  Still the same it seems; Rocket moving the goalposts and focussing on trying to push 'polished items' into an supposed alpha.  No doubt the same fanatical band of supporters are here backing up piss poor:

 

a) Communication Dean has communicated quite well on his Twitter, on Reddit and on here.

B) Development Most of the development has been on the coding of the game so you don't actually SEE much progress from it.

c) Project Management I agree the management could have been done a little better, but it's by no means piss poor.

d) all of the above All of the above.

 

I'd love DayZ standalone to be a massive hit but I have absolutely no belief that it'll happen considering the fucks so far en-route.  It'd be great to be proven wrong mind!

[Jonson (DayZ) 31]

Anybody else thought about cowboys when he said "western style prison"?

[Very Ape 748]

That interviewer was... Uhhm... 

Edited September 6, 2013 by Very Ape

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

Maps for all types of fictional countries modeled after real ones?

 

The Conjoined Provinces of North 'Murica?

 

Candania?

 

New Queensland?

 

Maybe the great city of New Amsterdam? :)

 

I'm trying to be Zen... must be Zen.

 

The Alpha is coming, the Alpha is coming.

 

Edited September 6, 2013 by BioHaze

[YZ250 248]

Prison , great to see Rocket doesnt read these Forums, Posted April "SA DAYZ Prison Yes or No " http://dayzmod.com/forum/index.php?/topic/133005-sa-dayz-prison-yes-or-no/  . but he had the Idea when recently watching The Walking Dead, ya dont say.

 

 

 

 

Cool that it's coming anyway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pics used for reference only ( they do not belong to dayz )

Edited September 6, 2013 by YZ250