A Shift In The Development Philosophy During Alpha

[jovlon 32]

This post isn't to make a features suggestion. It is rather to suggest that the game design team shift their development philosophy during the Alpha phase. 

 

I want to first say that I understand the need to balance exciting "player" features (guns, cooking, vehicles) with core gameplay mechanics (zombies, anti-cheating, etc). By increasing the player's features you keep the players excited and happy while gaining other long-term players. That being said I think that it's time to shift the primary focus from player's features to core gameplay mechanics. 

 

Because this game has a history (DayZ Mod) I believe that players know that more exciting features such as vehicles are around the corner. This should eliminate the pressure of making it a primary focus. I would instead use Alpha and the next several updates to rework:

 

Zombies

     * The walking through walls glitch needs to be fixed

     * Combat needs to reworked as a zombie that appears to be far away from a character can still get a hit on a character

Player Glitching

     * Players often glitch through "solid" objects such as building walls or railings off of tall structures

     * Ghost running has become an issue

Anti-Cheating

     * This seems to have been taken care of but it needs to be as near to perfection as possible

     * Combat Logging falls into this category. Adding a logout timer or other fix

Character Wiping

     * Even reputable servers can wipe a character putting a player at a disadvantage 

Item Maximization 

     * Items that are already in the game should have maximum returns on their usability (i.e. sunglasses should diminish the glare of the sun)

 

There are many more examples of core gameplay mechanics that should be improved upon, stabilized, and perfected before moving towards more complex features. I'm sure that most players (and certainly the development team) are aware of these issues. Feel free to add-on your suggestions. And of course I fully expect to hear both sides of the debate. Ultimately the point is that players should be able to do these basic things without fear of repercussion. 

 

 

[RazRaz 34]

http://dayzdev.tumblr.com/

 

This are exactly the things on top of thier todo list. Rocket said a lot of times, that the "core" gameplay (stability, security, zombies, performance, etc) is top priority.

Edited January 10, 2014 by RazRaz

[Serious Stan 202]

I agree.

 

To much items already ingame not working or not working as intended. as it is now its just junk loot.

 

"ghost running" though as you call it is not exactly a glitch.

Ghosting is when someoen flanks you using another server then joins back on yours.

[IcyBlade 48]

I was thinking about this as well.

However I realized that they have a decent sized team, this means that some can work on stability while others on AI, physics and other such core features.

There still may some that can work on smaller features that add new loot or crafting options, as they are not constantly needed for development on a core feature.

 

So basically for each feature there may be avoiding a "too many chefs in the kitchen" problem. This leaves some that can work on smaller features until they are needed.