Anyone else think DayZ should switch engines?

[SomeCallMeNomad (DayZ) 89]

The title says it all. As I read more and more about all the restrictions it has, and how difficult it makes everything for the most part, it gets increasingly annoying. I believe Dean said that they might change the engine later on. I for one really hope they do.

 

EDIT:

    Yes, I am completely aware engines take a long time to transition to/make. I simply asked for opinions on what could be considered a problem on DayZ. Yes, the engine of course has many advantages, but there are also a lot of problems. I'm just going off what Dean said on a video I watched somewhere that they might switch engines down the line.

Edited May 14, 2014 by SomeCallMeNomad

[blacklabel79 949]

Nein. You dident think this through...

[onty 109]

Well, you'd be b**ching even more, cus it would take much longer to do all the stuff again. Not to mention that all the devs would have to learn a lot.

[horrorview 56]

They've modified the Take On Helicopters engine, added some middleware engines (ie; physics SDK, and are planning on adding more for ragdoll etc), plan to add a new renderer, etc. By the time the game hits Beta, it'll essentially BE a new engine that adapts to needs of the game rather than game having to adapt to an existing engine that doesn't meet their criteria. 

[Karmaterror 982]

What restrictions are you reffering to?

 

I always thought this engine was one of the most open and easily modable ones iv ever seen :)

[Element47 2480]

we had quite a lot of discussions on this topic here. bottom line is: yes, the engine is horrible, it is outdated and flawed, but its their own, and they know it inside out. porting the game to a modern engine or coding a new one is beyond the scope of the project. it doesnt mean that the game is doomed though. i just hope that they get rid of most of the legacy code ported from arma. the recent announcement that they will replace the renderer is the best news this year.

 

and Titanfall, which was build on the Portal2 vesion of the antiquated Source engine, showed that if you're dedicated enough you can work wonders with old code.

[SomeCallMeNomad (DayZ) 89]

Well, you'd be b**ching even more, cus it would take much longer to do all the stuff again. Not to mention that all the devs would have to learn a lot.

I am clearly aware it would takea a lot of time to switch engines, and I'm not "bitching", I'm simply asking everyone else's opinion on the state of the engine :P

Edited May 13, 2014 by SomeCallMeNomad

[Gobbokirk 546]

I am clearly aware it would takea a lot of time to switch engines, and I'm not "bitching", I'm simply asking everyone else's opinion on the state of the engine :P

At this point it's way to late to even consider.

And they would probably have to hire new developers since the current Bohemia devs are use to this engine.

[FrostDMG 398]

Sigh... Yes the engine sucks, but to be honest, what other engine would you suggest? One that supports a massive map, random lootspawns, vehicle physics, aircraft physics, AI, etc etc.

Edited May 13, 2014 by FrostDMG

[pilgrim* 3514]

I think often when 'many/most' players talk about the engine of a game, they are really thinking of how amazing the glittery graphics are, and maybe about how the camera works in the game... it's popular for the developers to go on about their fabulous engine, because its a nice buzzword everyone can use, without risking too many people knowing what they're talking about.. but easy to remember and reapeat..

 

from the outside, just playing a game, its difficult to judge what the engine is doing, except by seeing how fast the glitz goes past, unless you are an insider (I make no claim). It's a bit like watching cars compete, maybe? Or watching wrestling on tv?

[Katana67 2907]

Yeah, I do.

 

The RV/VBS engine is great, and it has potential... but that potential hasn't really been exploited efficiently... ever. It's one thing to toss around a bunch of BIS Youtube videos of the VBS3 engine on a tech demo (which don't look all that great nowadays by comparison). But it's another to actually incorporate half of the things demonstrated in that tech demo. Which hasn't really been done.

 

Do I think they should've gone with a different engine for SA? Meh, probably not. They're familiar with what they've got, and so far it's working with an acceptable amount of success.

 

Do I think they'll need to go for a different engine eventually to actually improve on DayZ? Probably.

 

Things like procedural terrain generation, ever larger maps, optimization, and an exponential increase in fidelity (to keep it competitive) do not seem feasible with the current engine. These things, in my opinion, are essential for continuing the success of DayZ in the long term.

 

There are other engines which are capable of doing what RV/VBS does, don't kid yourself into thinking otherwise. I certainly don't fault the developers for going with RV this time around, but eventually (and it is, arguably, already doing so) it's going to show its age.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Katana67

[timedance 120]

yes, right, they have false engine.

 This engine can not handle right...

x zombies

x melee combat

x physics

[BlindOldMan 10]

Sigh... Yes the engine sucks, but to be honest, what other engine would you suggest? One that supports a massive map, random lootspawns, vehicle physics, aircraft physics, AI, etc etc.

 

AI????? Which AI do you mean? The Zeds? LOL!

Walking through every wall, too stupid to walk up some stairs, seeing you miles away?

The truth is, there is no AI atm for the most important thing in a Zombie survival game :-(

 

And btw: Dean knew the problems before starting the SA. But they just wanted to make most money by getting a big piece of the cake from the zombie hype. They never wanted to make a good game....

Edited May 13, 2014 by BlindOldMan

[AlcApwn (DayZ) 28]

At this point it's way to late to even consider.

And they would probably have to hire new developers since the current Bohemia devs are use to this engine.

 

luckily it is not.

average software lifetime is ~9years, and gaming systems are in a (in comparison to other software projects - like winrar) harsh environment, so you would expect (at most) 5years. coding style changes by time, but deducing from deans interviews he now has heard of such brandnew (aka last century) concepts like OOP!

 

 

BI's engine does not meet todays requirements, so sooner or later they will hopefully change it and buy a serious engine. having great ideas for gameplay and content does not make you able to design a MMO-engine, client and server. i guess thats why we had to wait for the alpha that long, since the current content is quite disastrous compared to the invested time.

[FrostDMG 398]

AI????? Which AI do you mean? The Zeds? LOL!

Walking through every wall, too stupid to walk up some stairs, seeing you miles away?

The truth is, there is no AI atm for the most important thing in a Zombie survival game :-(

 

And btw: Dean knew the problems before starting the SA. But they just wanted to make most money by getting a big piece of the cake from the zombie hype. They never wanted to make a good game....

 

The AI wasn't that bad in the mod, and even though it seems unimpressive to you, consider how many zombies are on a server.

 

 

Again, I tell me an engine that would be better suited for DayZ. I see everyone bitching but nobody coming up with any other ideas...

[pilgrim* 3514]

AI????? Which AI do you mean? The Zeds? LOL!

Walking through every wall, too stupid to walk up some stairs, seeing you miles away?

The truth is, there is no AI atm for the most important thing in a Zombie survival game :-(

 

And btw: Dean knew the problems before starting the SA. But they just wanted to make most money by getting a big piece of the cake from the zombie hype. They never wanted to make a good game....

 

As well as giving people BEANZ in this forum

there should also be an option

To put a BURLAP SACK over their head

 

xx pilgrim

 

[sweetness and light]

[captainvette2112 84]

They should have just build their own engine to begin with..... 

 

It wouldn't have been the first time a small studio built an engine in-house for a mmo....

 

World War II Online

Darkfall

Eve. 

[OrLoK 16185]

AI????? Which AI do you mean? The Zeds? LOL!

Walking through every wall, too stupid to walk up some stairs, seeing you miles away?

The truth is, there is no AI atm for the most important thing in a Zombie survival game :-(

 

And btw: Dean knew the problems before starting the SA. But they just wanted to make most money by getting a big piece of the cake from the zombie hype. They never wanted to make a good game....

Hello there

 

Sometimes the name does seem to fit the user.

 

Rgds

 

LoK

[okami (DayZ) 129]

What imho most people don`t understand is that dayz was not successful ALTHOUGH it used the rv3 engine but BECAUSE it used the rv3 engine. It has its problems, i think everyone can agree on this. But what made dayz unique was the massive map, the most realistic landscape i have ever seen in a game, the exact simulation of the players body (instead of beiing a stick with a gun mounted to the chin like in other fps/tps), the tactical element made possible by realistic (slow) movement and a huge view distance, and so on.

 

So in my eyes improving the engine and not switching to another engine is key to dayz sas success.

Edited May 13, 2014 by okami

[OrLoK 16185]

They should have just build their own engine to begin with..... 

 

It wouldn't have been the first time a small studio built an engine in-house for a mmo....

 

World War II Online

Darkfall

Eve. 

Hello there

 

They have, its the RV engine. Thats why they are using a fork of it.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Virtuality_(game_engine)

 

rgds

 

LoK

[captainvette2112 84]

Hello there

 

They have, its the RV engine. Thats why they are using a fork of it.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Virtuality_(game_engine)

 

rgds

 

LoK

 

Im talking about building an engine specific for DayZ not Bohemia and Arma...

 

As I said, other games have done it instead of trying to mold an engine around their game. Darkfall and World War II online are probably the best examples of this. 

 

WWII online's map is unrivaled in gaming.  It has 1 continual map of Europe and everyone plays on 1 server 

Edited May 13, 2014 by captainvette2112

[OrLoK 16185]

 

Im talking about building an engine specific for DayZ not Bohemia 

 

 

Hello there

 

But again they are.

 

The version of the RV engine is nothing like ToH or IFL's now and further alterations are planned.

 

Why reinvent the wheel?

 

Rgds

 

LoK

[FrostDMG 398]

They should have just build their own engine to begin with..... 

 

It wouldn't have been the first time a small studio built an engine in-house for a mmo....

 

World War II Online

Darkfall

Eve. 

 

Yeah... It's their engine alright. Think how many YEARS it would take them to develop their own engine with zero foundation... YEARS. Then they would have to develop the game.

 

It's far better that they stick to what they know, even though the engine can be a bit clunky as we've seen with the mod and SA development.

[hombrecz 832]

I believe Dean said that they might change the engine later on.

 

You would need to quote it, because I've read majority of what Rocket wrote and he always defended their engine.

Also to change engine now, would mean waiting like 2 more years....who would endure that?

 

Plus if they succeed in replacing renderer (looking good so far), fix zombie pathing (also looks promising) is there really a need for engine switch?

 

I am for engine switching....for DayZ sequel, if that ever happens.

[Element47 2480]

yes, right, they have false engine.

 This engine can not handle right...

x zombies

x melee combat

x physics

 

none of the things is depending on the engine, but can be implemented as custom code or imported as third-party middleware.