Could DayZ be done better on a different engine?

[doctorbadsign 645]

I may very well be lighting up a huge flame war here but I hope we can at least remain civil and have a good in depth discussion about the pros and cons of the Arma engine.

 

Do you think DayZ could be done better on a different engine?

 

I don't really know much about the technological side of things such as game engines however I have heard a lot of negatives about the Arma engine such as terrible optimization problems, clunkiness and inability to handle zombies that well etc. I know there are also pros such as the ballistics and map size etc. 

 

I guess the gist of what I'm saying is, do you think it is possible (or perhaps inevitable) that a larger/another game developer will create a DayZ clone using a different or new engine that will eliminate some of the problems that seem ingrained within the Arma Engine? If so will it be a better game, or will DayZ always be the best? 

 

Just to be clear I am not attempting to throw any shit on DayZ itself, I adore the game, but this question arose purely out of speculation. Personally I embrace DayZ with all the flaws that come with the engine and do so happily despite the low fps I get on a very capable pc...

[felthat 84]

answer to your question is... yes

but whats the point of this thread?

mod was made on rv and bis operate basically on enfore and rv, so it was quite natural to use it

[acekaze 9]

No flame war, they have its been asked, and they aswered that arma was the better engine for what they wanted to do, because there simply wasnt other engines that were as good as arma engine for such a massive sized map.

[SubSt8 35]

Pointless to discuss this. Not like they will simply scrap their work so far and do it again on another engine.

On topic though, no. The arma engine is extremely powerful and given enough time, this game will be gold.

[wild_man 4442]

is possible to make better engine?

 

yes :|

 

how much is cost? millions :o

 

how long is taking? years :o

 

better improve cuurent engine and improve existing map? for sure ;)

[gibonez 3633]

I am going to say no.

 

dayz as we know it is Arma its a mil sim that happens to have zombies and random loot.

 

Any other engine its just a zombie game with a large map.

[weparo 613]

I wouldn't know what engine could do everything that RV does... So I'll go with what KoS said

[Jumbaliah 113]

It's called Rust  :o

[Flight96 99]

Pointless to discuss this. 

On topic though,

*Blows own brains out*

 

 

To the OP: Not quite sure, just had to address this lmao.

[Element47 2481]

is possible to make better engine?

 

yes :|

 

how much is cost? millions :o

 

how long is taking? years :o

 

better improve cuurent engine and improve existing map? for sure ;)

 

not a better engine. a better game using a different engine.

 

 

 

yes, the game could be much better on a different engine. and it could probably be much better on the same engine if the ArmA code and assets would be completely abandoned and the game coded from scratch.

 

map size is often cited, but thats bs. look how well Just Cause 2 performs in multiplayer, with a much larger map, with much more players, using the old Avalanche Engine.

Unigine Engine for example (which powers simulation and visualisation software apart from different games) has all the modern eye candy and physics plus the streaming capabilities to create immense multiplayer worlds.

 

but DayZ started as ArmA mod, and everybody involved is used to working with RV and ArmA and using ArmA assets, so DayZ will in the end look like ArmA. im not happy about it, but i can live with it.

[Ineedscoffee 464]

It's called Rust  :o

You warcraft graphics meets call of duty meets mine craft? I'll pass

[fitzee 248]

Hi.

 

I know everyone has their own opinion on what a good game is, but have to say IMO the answer is no.

 

Why? Because if it was made in cryengine or udk or something similar it would probably just be another crappy AAA title, capable of holding my interest for about 5-15 minutes.

 

I know LOTS of people love those bunnyhopping uber leet snipe people while running and jumping games, and I respect that, but for me ever since I first tried OpF 12 or 13 years ago, just about every other shooter just seems like utter garbage.

 

Comparing games in the rv engine to most any AAA fad of the month game is kind of like comparing a racesim to some POS need for speed game. Sure the arcade racers tend to look better, but the sim is just way more engrossing.

 

Regards.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Romeo Foxtrot

[Jamz 253]

I think a military simulator engine is the best for the degree of realism it lends to the game, in terms of environment. The things which seem not to fit at the moment (zombie behaviour, melee combat etc) are simply clunky as they have never really been done like this in a military sim engine before, but I have faith they will work out... other engines could handle the size, but not make it feel so real.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jamz

[SubSt8 35]

*Blows own brains out*

 

 

To the OP: Not quite sure, just had to address this lmao.

What? It is pointless to discuss it, doesn't mean we wont discuss it. Not hard to understand.

[drayson 158]

I don't think the OP brought this discussion here in order to change Dev minds and totally blow up Dayz SA development. I don't know enough about the technical side to add much to this conversation but I'll give it a try.

 

Comparing the current engine to games like Just cause isn't a fair comparison isn't it? I thought those engines typically generate the things around you, not the whole map so even in multiplayer the majority of the map isn't using up resources. I could be horrible horrible wrong about that though.

[Rkelt 46]

Maybe...

Another engine might need a more powerfull pc to work...dont know much about engines

[Flight96 99]

What? It is pointless to discuss it, doesn't mean we wont discuss it. Not hard to understand.

No, no problems understanding it. None at all.

 

Enjoy your pointless endeavors man, I just got a good kick out of it is all. ;)

[hogscraper 328]

I think Dayz could be way better in certain ways if done in other engines but what would it lose? Using another engine isn't as easy as dropping a mod on top of it, you have to completely relearn everything about that engine. That takes time for your engineers and that costs money. You would have to re-make every asset you already have made so it was compatible then every line of code would have to be re-written. After all that time working towards your final release you then might find out this other engine can't do certain things. You would also no longer be the owner of the engine your game runs on. All reasons why they chose to build on what they already have instead of buying into someone else's regime and possibly finding out five years in that the engine is no longer supported or upgraded.

 

What most people seem to miss is that when a BIS game loads a map, it loads the whole thing. The bubble they made is allowing players a better experience by not having the client need to know where all 10,000 items plus zombies plus other players are but it still loads ALL of the geometry, and the server still has to deal with all that information at once. A game like Just Cause 2, (mentioned above), has a HUGE map around four times the land space and six times bigger overall as Chernarus, but most of that land is empty. NPC's on the ground don't exist until they come into your 'bubble' and there aren't tens of thousands of individual items and assets to keep track of. You could NEVER make a map that big for use in Dayz. The number of items and zombies in the map is what determines server load and therefore determines your experience playing lag free. Would you want a map four times bigger with the same amount of items and zombies? Eighty large cities like Elektro with the same amount of loot and zombies as one of the small villages?

 

Again, we come back to starting from scratch or building on what you already have and how much it costs either way. They could probably make a new Chernarus, that is four times bigger, with empty expanses everywhere like deserts or mountain ranges that serve no purpose but filler but would that make the game better? Even with 100 players how boring would the game get if you had to walk four hours through desert landscape with no npcs, loot or buildings to hook up with some friends? 

[PhillyT 554]

Highly questionable.  Not too many engines can run the wide open regions like the current one.

[funky_mish 75]

Some people tried. WarZ happened.

 

That's all you need to know.

[Awruk 216]

EvE online engine.

 

CryEngine.

[smiley_ie 26]

Yes, Just Cause 2 would work very well check Avalanche Engine 3.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzmEhQ-T_vc

 

JC2

Edited January 15, 2014 by Smiley_ie

[PerfectTemplar 10]

You warcraft graphics meets call of duty meets mine craft? I'll pass

They are placeholder graphics.

 

Also, yes it would have been easier for them on a different engine provided that they had the budget and time to make a game like that. Engine issues currently are more about fixing minor issues and creating huge ones which can be overcome it just makes for a frustrating alpha phase.

[PhillyT 554]

EVE engine isn't made for this kind of game.  Just Cause engine is good for outdoor things, but it isn't good at rendering a seemless outdoor/indoor setting.

 

A game like DayZ would never be green lit for AAA level costs.  Just wouldn't happen.  The only way it had a shot was a niche company with a decent engine taking a flyer on a mid level revenue stream.  Which is exactly what we are getting and we should be pleased.

[OrLoK 16190]

Hello there

 

Here's an analogy for you.

 

Imagine you are a wooden spoon maker.

 

You make spoons.

 

Out of wood.

 

One day, sadly, a long lost uncle of yours dies and bequeaths you a wooden spoon making factory.

 

In the factory there are many experts who not only make spoons (wood ones) but also hand built the factory and the whole of its wooden spoon making facilities.

 

So, the option is yours now...

 

Do you:

 

A)Make wooden spoons

 

or

 

B)Everything else.

 

R would be mental to use another engine without epic reasons.

 

For the foreseeable future, like it or not it will be a version of the RV engine.

 

Rgds

 

LoK