Status Report - 08 Apr 15

[SMoss 2101]

Greetings Survivors,

As most of you may know, last week saw 0.55 pushed to stable branch. This build featured the initial implementation of several key systems to DayZ, and in turn their behavior is as expected very early prototype. As the Early Access of DayZ continues, more of the core systems that comprise it will be merged into the main stable branch. It goes without saying that iteration will both be required, and occur as these are merged in. For 0.55 lets take a look at what systems had their initial implementation, and how their behavior is as of this status report:

• Central Economy: The Central Economy functions as the core control over item type quantity, location, and region spawns. Moving away from the original placeholder system, and implementing this is the first step towards agile, rapid balancing of item spawns within DayZ.
  The initial implementation only defines the location of firearm spawns and types, further iteration will begin to define items past firearms - and later region control across the map.
• Infected & Animal A.I.: A well known fact for awhile now, the original prototype A.I. that was deployed with the DayZ Early Access was not robust enough to support the design of the title. A complete rewrite from scratch on how the title handled this was required. The most obvious change on stable branch is in the detection, and quantity of the infected. The new system, although clearly in need of iteration and expansion - supports proper stealth mechanics for both A.I., as well as more resource friendly sensors. 
  The design and programming teams will continue to iterate, and balance the infected across the coming months as well as address core functionality issues such as positioning during pathfinding, and proper audio alerts.
• Per-Instance-Persistence: Part and parcel with the core design of DayZ is the global persistence of items (loot) in the game space. Be it long-life persistent objects such as those used in base building, or more short term such as items dropped on the ground and spawned by the central economy. 0.55 saw this roll out to Public Hive servers, with Private Shard support soon to follow. It is important to understand that this feature, just like all of the Early Access has no guarantee of bug-free behavior. Like anything within the development builds, bugs are both possible, and almost certainly will occur. Equally as important is that those who encounter issues file proper bug reports on the Feedback Tracker (feedback.dayzgame.com)
• Diseases & Disease Transfer: Another very early implementation that made it to stable branch with 0.55 was the global spread of cholera across Chernarus. Paired with the transfer between players and objects, and thus player to player disease transfer. As iteration upon this system continues you will begin to see a more diverse catalogue of diseases and corresponding symptoms.

Moving past the 0.55 build new system implementations we hit a rather hot button topic as of late, and one I promised to speak on earlier this week.

Just how hard is DayZ supposed to be? What is the targeted experience here? How valuable should items, and thus what I carry be to me as a player?
I like to think we're pretty up front about exactly what DayZ is and is supposed to be, and as we move closer to 1.0 more and more of this will begin to take shape. 
Once, when asked how valuable tools and resources should be to a player - on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is finding everything you need without issue, and 10 is elation over finding a can of beans (I'm paraphrasing here) Dean was quoted saying an emphatic "10".

Some folks have expressed concern that the increasing difficulty in surviving and combating the environment would hurt player interaction. To which I say.. Sure, it will hurt player interaction if by player interaction you mean folks wandering up and down the coast, wearing pink dresses and chasing each other with fire extinguishers.
However I firmly believe it will -drive- and foster a different type of player interaction.

 

 

Interaction between players making their way across Chernarus, scavenging to survive. Players who enter a village and have to make a hard decision - do I use what little ammunition I have to kill and steal from the survivors already in this town? Do I instead avoid the risk of death from attacking another player, only to potentially risk death by starvation or infected as I make my way around the town? Is the cost of expending my resources in either choice too great?

Make no mistake, DayZ is and always has been intended to be an unforgiving, brutal fight for survival in a harsh post apocalyptic landscape. Obviously we still have a long ways to go to get to that point, but as we move forward more and more systems will be introduced that support that experience. Balancing and adjustment will have to occur, as the intended experience is not to ensure starvation on the coast, but instead foster the ability to spawn, gather the basic supplies required to move inland, and thus begin the real DayZ experience - your story, your struggle for survival.

 

 

And the beauty of it all? If this is not the experience you're exactly looking to have with DayZ - then another core pillar of DayZ's design will bring you exactly what you seek. Our full support for modding via the Steam Workshop.

It is going to be an exciting year survivors, and I look forward to experiencing it with all of you.

- Brian Hicks / Lead Producer

 

[Veyda 195]

Once, when asked how valuable tools and resources should be to a player - on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is finding everything you need without issue, and 10 is elation over finding a can of beans (I'm paraphrasing here) Dean was quoted saying an emphatic "10".

Some folks have expressed concern that the increasing difficulty in surviving and combating the environment would hurt player interaction. To which I say.. Sure, it will hurt player interaction if by player interaction you mean folks wandering up and down the coast, wearing pink dresses and chasing each other with fire extinguishers.

I applaud this with all of my (surprisingly, still intact) extremities.  :beans:

Looking forward to the new diseases and the upcoming stamina overhaul.  :thumbsup:

[radar1029 28]

So glad the Dev's idea of what DayZ should be is the same as mine.  The only real concern I have is how long does it take to find that balance of surviving vs. constant desperation.  I enjoy the thought of having to stock food and supplies due to scarcity but at what level of scarcity does the game still remain tough, but fun...

[Veyda 195]

..Looking forward to the new diseases..

 

Actually made me wonder if, once more diseases are in, we'll see vile Trojanesque tactics, such as sending one of your hopelessly sick campmates to the competing camp to 'negotiate' and trade some blankets and canteens.  B)

[gannon46 788]

this status report was what i needed to read thank you dev team for clearing some things up and letting me know dayz will always be a brutal survival game

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

RAWR, all my beans R belong to you, devs!!

 

So much great stuff to look forward to!

 

Dem crafting hotspots.

 

Stamina and item weight.

 

NEW PLAYER MOVEMENT SYSTEM.  :o

 

<3

[radar1029 28]

All I want to know is when will I be able to walk and eat/drink, or do so while a passenger in a vehicle.  Passengers should be able to mend, eat, drink, warm up, etc. while in a vehicle.

[RosscoMac 75]

All I want to know is when will I be able to walk and eat/drink, or do so while a passenger in a vehicle.  Passengers should be able to mend, eat, drink, warm up, etc. while in a vehicle.

 

Yeah I would really like all of this!

[xCAPx 349]

Clear statement, nice! :beans:  Keep up the amazing work guys! :wub:

[almostcomatose 11]

I feel compelled, like so many on the internet do, to rant. So here it is.

 

Thank you, Bohemia. Thank you for dealing with the constant flak from all the unappreciative alpha players, who don't understand what an alpha is.

 

You guys deal with barrages on twitter, shit storms on reddit, and general forum buggery, and you handle it all! The community for this game can be so salty, toxic and mean-spirited, and of course those that are, are the most vocal. It is so easy to type some spiteful BS because you're all butthurt over dying, or losing something, or not paying attention to progress of the game ("THIS GAME HASN'T DEVELOPED AT ALL, WAAAAAAH."), or even not understanding that a decision to add something, or that the commonness of an item might be modified later it development (I'm thinking the recent hate-on for the cowboy guns and c96 is a good example, and assume you all have long term plans, while allowing those in alpha to have some fun in the meantime.) or - well you get the point, people get angry for anything and everything.

 

I just couldn't look at all the insanity and not say something to try to offset the bile, so from all of us who love this game and where you're taking it, thank you. We many non-vocal gamers who understand creative licence, who are patient and who love you guys for taking on such a massive project and then going above and beyond to open it for us to have such amazing fun playing it. There are of course also many outspoken people who love you guys, and want to show it, so a small side thank you to everyone who doesn't completely lose their mind, and take the time to be polite and courteous.

 

Of course I, and everyone else, and probably their mothers; we all have personal ideas of what should be added, we have our own perfect vision for the game we, and we alone want to play. So do you, I'd reckon, but we all know that compromise is that golden place that leaves everyone angry, but is usually better in the long run.

 

I really hope that the emotion of some of these suggestions doesn't offset their value as feedback. It can't be easy when someone you'd clearly avoid like he's a zombie himself types some cruel criticism or review that actually has a good point, or has some valuable feedback hidden in the layers of pre-hormonal rage. Keeping a positive outlook can't be easy when that's the majority of what you see everyday, so another thank you for going through the cesspool everyday and finding the things that matter.

 

I hope this message reaches you all in good spirits, I know it's a tad over the top, but look at my competition, eh? haha

 

Hope to see you in the apocalypse,

 

HesDeadJim

Edited April 8, 2015 by almostcomatose

[Coheed_IV 381]

Devs, hope you enjoy working for BI, must be nice to have such great support from the top. They are completely comfortable walking to their own tune, and not following trends while being dedicated to PC platform.

Thanks for taking the time to do dayz right Marek! Lesser CEOs would have mucked this up. Vision and commitment will propel dayz to what we all wanted from the mod.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Coheed_IV

[ebrim 998]

Whenever I start to wonder whether or not DayZ is going in the direction I feel it should (I want it to), there's a post like this which reassures me completely. This will be a very exciting year indeed.

[thznutz 112]

Thank the buhjeebuss like a church full of cheeses...never have i been so happy to hear that you guys are sticking to the plan of the "anti-game". my first experiences with the Mod (seems so long ago) and its full on scarcity through different versions are the reason i bought DayZ. hell, until about a month ago i still had my 1.8.3 vanilla up...speaking of which i am very much looking forward to hosting my own private hive in the future...keep up the great work guys!!!

 

all the fuckin' :beans: 's in the universe :thumbsup:  

[lucianpin 80]

About player interaction, Brian Hicks you are really dreaming about this. Yes, there are players that do interact, a few YouTubers. In general, most of the players want to fire a gun. In the same time, two players with guns will not interact (again in general, most cases), they will fight. Players will interact if they don't have guns and they know that the other player can't hurt him or can't kill him in seconds. Yet, your desing team is working on more and more weapons. I don't say it's wrong, but it is against interaction. I personally like to shoot, I want guns, but when it comes to interaction : only my close friends.

 

Tips: looking at a player is important to know if he has a weapon. So when a player wants to take a weapon from his backpack he should put the backpack down and play the animation for looking into the backpack.

[radar1029 28]

About player interaction, Brian Hicks you are really dreaming about this. Yes, there are players that do interact, a few YouTubers. In general, most of the players want to fire a gun. In the same time, two players with guns will not interact (again in general, most cases), they will fight. Players will interact if they don't have guns and they know that the other player can't hurt him or can't kill him in seconds. Yet, your desing team is working on more and more weapons. I don't say it's wrong, but it is against interaction. I personally like to shoot, I want guns, but when it comes to interaction : only my close friends.

 

Tips: looking at a player is important to know if he has a weapon. So when a player wants to take a weapon from his backpack he should put the backpack down and play the animation for looking into the backpack.

I couldn't disagree more.  While there are some out there that just want to shoot, I would say there are a lot of us out there looking for interaction, and working together.  My buddies and I offer rides when we have vehicles, food, fire, whatever.  We had one night where 7 complete strangers somehow bumped into one another, no joke, in the middle of elektro.  We ended up setting up a fire and sitting around talking.  One shared his pumpkin garden to feed us all.  It was so rare we all posed for photos.

[blackberrygoo 1416]

I couldn't disagree more. While there are some out there that just want to shoot, I would say there are a lot of us out there looking for interaction, and working together. My buddies and I offer rides when we have vehicles, food, fire, whatever. We had one night where 7 complete strangers somehow bumped into one another, no joke, in the middle of elektro. We ended up setting up a fire and sitting around talking. One shared his pumpkin garden to feed us all. It was so rare we all posed for photos.

And that's why this game can't stop going in the survival direction it's in right now .. Many people want the survival elements to stop growing or at least be postponed until everyhing else is worked out and I think that would be the worst idea .. We need all these systems to be implemented ASAP (as they are being added) because after a few months of glitches and bug filing we have all these systems that push us closer together : harder zombies , less loot , more gardening , and soon to be more hunting (when fishes are fixed and more animals are added) . All these things have a chance of making us killers but the way things are with such scarce ammo as well, there's a slim chance that the majority of us will just want to PVP . Player interaction for me has been getting more and more friendly as the months go by , sure there will still be bandits killing for scarce food but there will also be more friendlies who are too afraid to lose the little gear they have for just a little more , when if you team up you could get a whole hell of a lot more .

[shane80uk 2]

when can we expect the first part of the new renderer??? any one know thanks

Edited April 9, 2015 by DAYZPLAYER80

[MAK90 8]

Sounds like they intend to go in the direction of spending most of your time scavenging, trying not to starve.

What's the purpose of tents then? Won't be enough supplies to gather for storage, mainly food.

I hope this is not they're intention because they will lose a crapload of players.

[lucianpin 80]

I couldn't disagree more.  While there are some out there that just want to shoot, I would say there are a lot of us out there looking for interaction, and working together.  My buddies and I offer rides when we have vehicles, food, fire, whatever.  We had one night where 7 complete strangers somehow bumped into one another, no joke, in the middle of elektro.  We ended up setting up a fire and sitting around talking.  One shared his pumpkin garden to feed us all.  It was so rare we all posed for photos.

 

I said the same thing: this kind of interaction is so rare (relative to 3 million users) and you say: "I couldn't disagree more."  / "It was so rare we all posed for photos" ??? What?

Edited April 10, 2015 by lucianpin

[Surviv0r1969 151]

sooner base build comes into it the better, as long as its possible to lock your base with a pin number or something

[Martin the Medic 0]

not seen fresh loot since 0.55 came out so have died from hunger 4 times and now cannot leave the coast pls fix this soon

[radar1029 28]

I said the same thing: this kind of interaction is so rare (relative to 3 million users) and you say: "I couldn't disagree more."  / "It was so rare we all posed for photos" ??? What?

I just think there are more people out there looking for interaction, but the game play never really forced it.  With the increased scarcity of ammo, and weapons, I think it will force more interaction.  That's where I disagree.

[Surviv0r1969 151]

With the increased scarcity of ammo, and weapons, I think it will force more interaction.  That's where I disagree.

 

or force more killing for your stuff (which i have seen)

[lucianpin 80]

I just think there are more people out there looking for interaction, but the game play never really forced it.  With the increased scarcity of ammo, and weapons, I think it will force more interaction.  That's where I disagree.

 

 

or force more killing for your stuff (which i have seen)

 

I personally agree with steve007.

[Ultimoses 110]

or force more killing for your stuff (which i have seen)

 

Players will think twice before attacking other players when they have a Blaze with 5 shots or a Sporter without magazine instead of their normal AUG, M4, AK with 200 cartridges in 4 ammo boxes.