The Current State Of Development - DayZ - Understanding the Development Process

[Kefa 19]

 

Well, if you scroll to the bottom of this page http://dayzgame.com/ you can clearly see the logo for BI.

 

And for what it's worth, my guess as to why there is no DayZ forum on the official BI forums is that the one we are reading happens to be that forum. Going out on a limb here in guessing that you don't use the BI forums at all, otherwise you would know that many of the mods HERE are also mods over THERE.

 

And if I recall, the VERY FIRST thing you see when you start DayZ SA is a splash screen of the Bohemia Interactive logo. I mean, what else is there that you need to see in order to accept that BI is backing the development of this game?

So Day Z SA is like a side project that they don't really care about?

 

[Irish. 4886]

I see how people can get all defensive about a game they enjoy. They're more apt to forgive things. I just have one question.

How long does this game have to stay in "Early Access Alpha" before even you start to question what's going on?

They already said the Beta stage would not happen anytime this year.. 

 

So that is what I expect. Beta sometime around 1st Quarter next year. 

 

 

 

p.s. How did this thread get over 6,800 views while I was sleeping? holy hell batman.  :huh:

Edited May 15, 2014 by lrish

[pilgrim* 3513]

  Exactly my points. Isn't it strange that Dean Hall is working for Bohemia but Bohemia doesn't want to be affiliated with Day Z SA? So have they given up on the project or just give it minimal resources?

The point of my post to hopefully get someone informed to lay down the facts. Not to attract pubescent kids that want to have an argument about truths and untruths.

 

Is this a conspiracy theory?

 

ok - leaving aside the truth and just sticking to the facts

Dean (Zetan) Hall is an alien known as a 'Gray' who escaped from Roswell

There is a big spaceship buried under Bohemia Interactive HQ  - this is what Electronic Arts and Crytec were warning us about in Crysis II

Everything you read about BI and DH on the web is written in special html script that Bends Your Mind while you read, so you think you have read something else

This is why no one knows anything.

 

xx  welcome to the forum

[xalienax 621]

There are only 2 things I would wish for:

 

1. Hire a fucking community manager. Or two. WTF? Rocket and Hicks interact with the community all the time but it is fairly simple to tell they don't know what the fuck they are doing. Some of the statements (and promises) they make just piss a lot of people off. A community manager, generally, knows how to interact with the community in a positive way while giving steady updates on the current status of a game.
2. Give us a real roadmap and update us as often as possible on the current progress of DayZ development. Something like "Server network architecture (50%), Server memory optimizations (90%)". Numbers.

 

Couldnt agree more with this. As it is right now, bits of info combed from twitter, redit, and devblogs. its really annoying. thier should be one and only one uniform definitive source of official information and that should be a PAGE on the game's official webiste (dayzgame.com). All updates, roadmaps, and change logs should be there in an easy to search and find fashion. if they want to also have this info re-posted to social media for more publicity that's all fine but there should be someone archiving and keeping it neat and tidey in one easy to read and digest location so everyone can go to one place to find the official word on this or that.

[Dr. Goner 661]

They already said the Beta stage would not happen anytime this year.. 

 

So that is what I expect. Beta sometime around 1st Quarter next year. 

 

 

 

p.s. How did this thread get over 6,800 views while I was sleeping? holy hell batman.  :huh:

 

Is this right? I thought I remembered them saying that the goal was to be in beta after six months and the game wouldn't release until the one year mark. 

[Irish. 4886]

Is this right?

 

Yes, it is correct. 

 

In fact, it goes deeper than that even.

 

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/193291-reddit-hicks-206-on-early-access-games-and-discounts-in-the-light-of-recent-abandoned-towns-game/?hl=beta

 

To be fair, the scope of DayZ easily puts it closer to a full 3 year development cycle. We're four and a half months in from the initial Early Access offering, the project has made several large leaps forward on the infrastructure side. (These might be things that don't jump out at people as super visible, but they are core systems that will enable us to support a rich feature set in beta, and release) I feel perfectly comfortable with the estimated 1.5 year Alpha/Beta/Release candidate phase we've discussed publicly with the consumers, and while sure it can get distracting dealing with people insisting they get their favorite up-coming feature "now, now, now", I tend to just focus on the work at hand and look forward to playing the released title with that type of passionate user in the future.

Edited May 15, 2014 by lrish

[MagneticToast 102]

People say that Oh art devs stick to art, well then what gives? models like clothing should have many variants, and should be constantly be worked on. You going to tell me it takes a month to make a police uniform? The whole process is slow, not just features but content. Do the art people sit around and do nothing while the model makers are designing weapons/models? Why not pretty up some textures, or something? I understand development can take a long time, but IMO when something is ready, it should be put into the game immediately. Oh, done with a new hat? throw it in. Done with that weapon? throw it in. That way when something breaks again, you can go back and see when it broke...instead of going through the entire changelog trying to figure out why/how something broke somewhere.

To me the problem with this Alpha other than the lack of community manager is that it gets updates like its a post alpha game.

Of course I want DayZ to succeed, I loved the mod and enjoy the SA. But like mentioned in other posts in this thread...there are free mods that offer more content than DayZ and at the rate it APPEARS to be going (because of lack of communication and slow updates) that SA will not match those games...even if it has made so much money that this really shouldn't be an issue to begin with...

Edited May 15, 2014 by MagneticToast

[pilgrim* 3513]

..//..

1. Hire a fucking community manager. Or two. WTF? Rocket and Hicks interact with the community all the time but it is fairly simple to tell they don't know what the fuck they are doing. Some of the statements (and promises) they make just piss a lot of people off. A community manager, generally, knows how to interact with the community in a positive way while giving steady updates on the current status of a game.
2. Give us a real roadmap and update us as often as possible on the current progress of DayZ development. Something like "Server network architecture (50%), Server memory optimizations (90%)". Numbers.

..//..

 

I guess what you're looking for is the Disney Interactive approach.

Instead of the employer allowing real people to talk about what is happening in an open and casual way

you want:

an American diversified multinational mass media corporation public relations Spindoctor, to talk 100% official crap on video

you need something with PR authority you can (believe in?)

 

here's one to keep you going..

 

Edited May 15, 2014 by pilgrim

[Kefa 19]

 

Is this a conspiracy theory?

 

ok - leaving aside the truth and just sticking to the facts

Dean (Zetan) Hall is an alien known as a 'Gray' who escaped from Roswell

There is a big spaceship buried under Bohemia Interactive HQ  - this is what Electronic Arts and Crytec were warning us about in Crysis II

Everything you read about BI and DH on the web is written in special html script that Bends Your Mind while you read, so you think you have read something else

This is why no one knows anything.

 

xx  welcome to the forum

Yes, no one seems to know anything. So your theory is as good as any I guess. Although I doubt "special HTML scripts" are needed to bend a mind in your case. ;)

[de4dcert 246]

Before you add hunting, before you add fireplaces, before you add whatever thing you think DayZ should have. Could you please fix fps drops, server lagg and most of all the ability to change my weapon with one key press!

[Deathlove 2280]

I see how people can get all defensive about a game they enjoy. They're more apt to forgive things. I just have one question.

How long does this game have to stay in "Early Access Alpha" before even you start to question what's going on?

Its "ok" you can buy the early access alpha game on sale right now in steam.......

 

XD

[pilgrim* 3513]

 

Yes, no one seems to know anything. So your theory is as good as any I guess. Although I doubt "special HTML scripts" are needed to bend a mind in your case. ;)

 

Thanks friend, for myself I have no need of a reality check at the moment

........................................................................or in the foreseeable future

Edited May 15, 2014 by pilgrim

[scriptfactory 620]

I guess what you're looking for is the Disney Interactive approach.

Instead of the employer allowing real people to talk about what is happening in an open and casual way

you want:

an American diversified multinational mass media corporation public relations Spindoctor, to talk 100% official crap on video

you need something with PR authority you can (believe in?)

 

here's one to keep you going..

 

There is a reason the industry standard is to hire people to handle communication with customers. If people purchase a product they want company support and updates. Community management is related to marketing but it isn't the same thing.

[pilgrim* 3513]

There is a reason the industry standard is to hire people to handle communication with customers.  ..//..

 

Yes and < industry standard > is what we all want, isn't it ? That's why we like this game.

Because it has industry standard 'infinite possibilities and endless fun'

 

 

[sweetness and light]

[Irish. 4886]

This thread is taking a bit of a turn..

 

[blazinone 72]

Yes, great job Irish. B)

 

You do realise wikis for relativley unknown persons and profit-driven companies are usually made by the person/company in question?

While there may be one small grain of truth to what you say, for the most part, anything on Wikipedia can be relied upon (supplemented with verification of sources) thanks to a huge team of devoted volunteer editors.

 

Back on topic..

 

The unfortunate truth is that the subset of this community who will actually read your post are also more likely to possess patience, and likely have a vested interest in a sustainable/un-rushed final product.

Yes, exactly. The same group of people who won't even bother to form a complete sentence in their rage "post-and-run" about zombies walking through walls that should be reading this and won't. But...let's keep in mind that if it weren't for their wallets we might not be here. So take the good with the bad I guess.

 

 

It just sucks that Arma 3 had such a swift and precise develoment and DayZ is exactly the opposite.

 

I purchased the DayZ alpha thinking it would develop at the speed of Arma 3 (my fault I know).

 

There's no way this game will be beta at six months let alone fully released like Arma 3.

You can't compare Kiwis to Oranges. Arma III is simply a progression in a series while DayZ is a brand new concept built on a "borrowed" engine and it's an MMO to boot which creates a variety of new challenges. One huge time suck for the dev team so far has been re-writing large chunks of the engine to improve/correct networking. Once we're over that hump, the updates should flow through regularly.

[Irish. 4886]

One huge time suck for the dev team so far has been re-writing large chunks of the engine to improve/correct networking. Once we're over that hump, the updates should flow through regularly.

 

THIS. ^

 

..and thank you  :)

[Caboose187 (DayZ) 3036]

A very well written post, Irish.  It's unfortunate that the forum trolls and ragers won't read this and if they do, won't be able to comprehend this. 

[Irish. 4886]

A very well written post, Irish.  It's unfortunate that the forum trolls and ragers won't read this and if they do, won't be able to comprehend this. 

Ty.. and the funny thing is there is a Reddit for this post and many have commented that same thing..

 

an excerpt here of one of them, bottom post. 

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/dayz/comments/25m0v7/the_current_state_of_development_dayz/chipiiz

Edited May 15, 2014 by lrish

[xX_fr0st-w0lf_Xx (DayZ) 343]

People are mad at the slow development, but they are also mad at the lack of info. That road map that everyone loves linking has some stuff that was due for the end of April. It has come and gone...and I didn't hear any news about it.

 

With Arma 3, you knew what you would get and when you would get it and if you didn't you would know why and when the new release date will be. I was extremely satisfied with the alpha/beta procedure and while I felt that the final game lacked some content I feel that Bis is making up for it. 

 

"It's an Alpha" may be an excuse to almost everything, but it is not an excuse for the lack of info. 

[Irish. 4886]

"It's an Alpha" may be an excuse to almost everything, but it is not an excuse for the lack of info. 

 

That is a very valid point. BIS was very lacking in info, and have made some moves recently to rectify that. Hopefully the work they have done on communication continues to grow, as its one of the keys to keeping your test audiences attention throughout the course of a long development period (1.5 years is their hope). If the devs just had a community manager to turn to for all forms of communication and rarely hit the forums/Reddit themselves, two things should happen: They have more time to focus on working, and the communication between the community and the development team should be more streamlined and straightforward. Its a very simple fix, they need to find someone who can handle the task.. and Im sure they already know internally that its not a small one. Its fairly insurmountable to be honest. 

[dallas 5195]

-Sure I remember a young Rocket trying to appease the raging demand for weekly updates and caving in.

-I also remember it was argued that sometimes, there weren't anything new and news worthy every Friday.

-I also remember that it wasn't important to some, as they said "I'm still working on DayZ" would be sufficient.

-I remember thinking WTF kind of hand-holding is this, shouldn't we simply assume they are still working on it?

 

Anyways the kind of access we have gotten straight inside the mind of the lead dev, who's an absolute joy to hear in interviews and in half hour lectures at expos, it's really close to being unheard of. I can't remember anyone, who's been quite as open, accessible and honest about development and mistakes. 

 

 

That is a very valid point. BIS was very lacking in info, and have made some moves recently to rectify that. Hopefully the work they have done on communication continues to grow, as its one of the keys to keeping your test audiences attention throughout the course of a long development period (1.5 years is their hope). If the devs just had a community manager to turn to for all forms of communication and rarely hit the forums/Reddit themselves, two things should happen: They have more time to focus on working, and the communication between the community and the development team should be more streamlined and straightforward. Its a very simple fix, they need to find someone who can handle the task.. and Im sure they already know internally that its not a small one. Its fairly insurmountable to be honest. 

 

I have to disagree, it think it's refreshing that we get info unfiltered from the mouth of the man, himself. 

 

He's also said over and over, he'd have to spend time briefing the community manager anyways and that he find it important to communicate with the community himself. I really don't want some kind of public relations liaison, when Rocket draws inspiration from us and we get great insight and access.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Dallas

[Irish. 4886]

He's also said over and over, he'd have to spend time briefing the community manager anyways and that he find it important to communicate with the community himself. I really don't want some kind of public relations liaison, when Rocket draws inspiration from us and we get great insight and access.

 

..that is because Rocket himself is basically the community manager, and that is essentially the problem. He cannot do it alone. So he has help now, and we shall see how things pan out. But I have a feeling that you have a large group that gets disenfranchised because they don't understand what is happening. 

[Golden Child 73]

I nominate Irish for king of forums

[Irish. 4886]

I nominate Irish for king of forums

 

That honor belongs to the one and only Fraggle.

 

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/user/44910-fraggle/

 

..in this forum at least. ;)

Edited May 16, 2014 by lrish