Status Report - 02 Aug 2016

[SMoss 2101]

 

Contents This Week

• Dev Update/Hicks
• Dev Update/Peter
• Dev Update/Viktor
• Community Spotlight

 

Dev Update/Hicks

Greetings Survivors,

Since the last Status Report we've been mostly focused on .61 - and getting it ready for experimental. That said, there are a few things I'd like to cover before we talk about the current status of each of the .61 milestone goals.

Over the last two weeks, Peter and I have spent a good amount of time discussing two areas of DayZ. Dynamic changes to the economy, and the external DayZ launcher. Peter will be talking about the launcher in his portion of this status report, so I'll talk a bit about the dynamic changes to the economy. 
The current iteration of the central loot economy allows for dynamic (no patch required) updating of every item that spawns in DayZ. This means it includes:

• The minimum, and nominal operating values of each item.
• The frequency it can respawn.
• The region of Chernarus it can spawn in.
• In the case of items such as magazines, and piles of ammo - it can dictate the minimum and maximum ranges for how much of that items capacity it spawns with.

The reason I bring this up is because the design team routinely will adjust these levels based upon data and behaviour observed on stable branch, and these changes can be effective within an hour of the change occurring. Over the last few weeks quite a few adjustments have been made on everything from the availability of certain ammo types, to the available quantity of non perishable canned goods. Thus, it makes it even more valuable for those observing bugs or general issues with this system to be specific in their reports on the feedback tracker. Make sure to detail exactly what you observed, when you observed it, and most important - what server it occurred on. 

To give you an example of exactly how important this data is, we've been trying internally to track down behaviour in regards to certain items spawning in piles (specifically in this case firearms) despite the fact that the restock timer should prevent such behaviour. It has been a nasty issue that has seemed to occur on the stable branch significantly easier than we have been able to reproduce it internally. That said, thanks to several dedicated feedback tracker users - we were able to isolate the issue on stable branch - and have identified the cause of it. (Much to the satisfaction of both Peter and I) We'll now be able to resolve the issue discovered with .61.

In addition to this, today the design team will be introducing changes to firearm and ammunition tiering and nominal values. Like all things, we'll need to wait and observe over the coming week to see the impact as existing availability within the economy (on players, in camps) can and will impact how this behaves. As these changes become effective in the stable branch wide economy, it is vital that if you notice an issue, you file a feedback tracker issue with as much information as possible. 

Enough about the economy though - lets take a look at where we are with .61 development goals:

0.61 Milestone Goals:

• Server Login Queue:
  • Feature implemented, system under review with internal QA teams.
• Merge of New Audio Technology from Arma 3 Eden Update:
  • Tech implemented fully into DayZ. Existing sounds and configs from legacy system functioning properly. (Backwards compatibility with legacy sound technology).
• Update of Weapon Sounds for New Audio Technology:
  • 21 weapons ready, work continues on remaining firearms. Youtube channel dev log preview upcoming!
  • SKS
  • Sporter
  • Trumpet
  • Repeater
  • AKM
  • Steyr
  • FAL
  • SVD
  • MP5K
  • 1911
  • CR75
  • Derringer
  • Flaregun
  • FNX
  • Glock 19
  • Longhorn
  • Magnum
  • Amphibia
  • P1
  • Makarov
  • Red 9
• Dynamic Spawning of Infected:
  • Feature implemented into internal branch. QA teams are doing initial passes and providing programmers with initial issues.
• Predators (Wolves)
  • The team are currently working on several key issues with predators (wolves). Specifically being addressed currently are:
    • Issues with navigation in urban / dense areas.
    • Overall physics related issues.
    • Damage application against non player targets.
    • AI Targeting priority.

It's no secret that as far as DayZ and .61 goals go, predator AI is a big addition to gameplay, and clearly the largest at risk area for milestone goal slippage. That said, we're still very confident in our progress on the feature and the pace at which it is moving forward. We'll continue to update you all as to the status of this milestone goal with Status Reports.

- Brian Hicks / Creative Director

 

Dev Update/Peter

As many parts of the game are still under active development, the main menu with such crucial parts as the server browser are no exceptions either. We all love the character presence in the environment at the main menu giving you a nice feeling and it's the point where immersion starts to kick in, but why not to take it more further and personal? Everything in DayZ is revolving around your character, and the main menu with the server browser should follow the same formula.

At the main menu you will be able to thoroughly list all your available characters across all shards. Coupled with additional information like visualization of character and his gear, name and actual stats helps you to select the character you want to play with. The selected character at the main menu then acts as a filter in the optional next step which is the server browser. The new server browser will filter out only the available servers from that shard where the selected character belongs to. This added layer of filtration eliminates the need of memorizing what character you have where, as well as any possible confusion after logging on to a server just to find out that it isn't the character you wanted to play with.

The new server browser also comes with other useful changes and functions to provide a better and uncluttered user experience. There will be only three tabs used for high level and clear differentiation between official servers, community servers and servers on LAN as other unnecessary tabs for favorites, friends, history and remote will be removed and become filters instead. Filters are now part of the server browser screen directly so they are always visible and at hand to easier check what's being filtered. Filter parameters have 3 different states - include, exclude and ignore so their setting can be handcrafted to exactly what you want to see. Columns in the server list were also reduced to a bare minimum as most of their information were doubled in server details. You can see and sort filtered servers according to their name, time of day, population and ping. Similar to filters, server details is no longer a separate pop up dialog window as every row in the server list is independently expandable to unveil additional server details like description, public/private, mode, version, IP and others so it's easy to compare two or more servers.

Above all of that, the external launcher will behave as a master filter which means that the game server browser will show only the servers related to the mod which DayZ was launched with. However, I don't want to go over the external launcher right now as it's another topic we will be talking about in the future.

Happy filtering... see you in Chernarus folks!

- Peter Nespesny / Lead Designer

 

Dev Update/Viktor

Animations usually take a lot of time but on the other hand when we finish a batch there is usually many new things. Fortunately in the past weeks there were couple of finished animation batches. So this time there is a bit more of news.

New animations and graph for drawing a bow have been added. With advantages of upcoming system drawing will be available while walking as well. The jamming/unjamming for pistols has been created and there is already ongoing work on bolt action rifles.

Not to forget about vehicles we have finished set of animations for upcoming vehicle and started on the next one. Also some more specific animations for attaching vehicle parts have been created.

Last week I was going through process of reviewing and updating poses. Since the character can put almost anything in his hands we have at the moment poses for clothes, small items, large items, firearms, weapons and many more. That makes in total over 800 animation poses. I have updated some and polished to give them more natural look.

And last but not least there is always some more polishing for the animation graph of the new player character. More about some recent changes from Adam our Technical Animator responsible for most parts of the player graph.

Adam Oresten / Technical Animator
These past weeks I have been heavily focused on making the movement system feel more natural, for such a simple term it is quite the complex task. I started reviewing the stance-system from the player's viewpoint and I think I've got a quite nice iteration for the stance changes.

For example, you're lying down in the grass near the airfield's tents and you thought you saw movement in the distance. You start to stand up but realize that it was in fact another player, and any time during that animation you can decide to go back to prone, finish standing up, or to go crouch instead and aim your weapon (at the same time). If you then realize that the bandits noticed you, you start to run (still in crouch) and stand up while moving and leg it (and ultimately get picked off by their SVDs).

While it is a small change, it has added a whole new dimension of feel, and I can't wait to put it in your hands!

 - Viktor Kostik / Lead Animator

 

Community Spotlight

Afternoon all,

Summer time is usually outdoor time (when the weather allows for it, of course), but if you still find yourself indoors, NomadFreeman has provided a bit of entertainment for you. No gear, no problem:

 

 

Also, a lot of you probably already know about Tatanko, but for those of you that don't, I highly recommend having a look at his VERY extensive galleries. Tatanko puts in a lot of effort into creating his screenshots and he keeps his galleries jam packed with quality visual goodness:

http://tatanko.imgur.com/

Be sure to use this link in order to follow Tatanko via his Twitter account for future updates (you won't be disappointed): http://twitter.com/TatankoX

 

Header image by: Sylvester

- SMoss / Community Manager

[idie 57]

Thanks for the report guys ! :)

This new sound system and the upcoming new player controller are huuuuge game changers !!

[FlimFlamm 509]

GOGO TATANKO! <3

[makmak_ 2]

Quote

Dynamic Spawning of Infected

Yes please.

Edited August 2, 2016 by makmakp

[JBURNS489 165]

Thanks for the updates guys. I am looking forward to the new audio and the new animations the most. The only questions I really have is about the audio. Is it only the gunshot sounds themselves changing, or can we expect a major overhaul in the audio department for .61?  Will the new audio for .61 have any updated "3D" sound to help with locating sound sources better? (ie zombies moaning as well as gunshots?) Also, will anything be updated or changed with the ambient sounds in .61? See ya around Chernarus!

Edited August 2, 2016 by JBURNS489

[Booter 6]

This next update should be awesome. Thanks for the hard work on this.

[Gixxer (DayZ) 0]

What about anticheat system???  Now its more and more hackers flying around, are you doing something to improve that??

[Arthur Dubrovka 376]

i miss this mood in dayz sa right now :( good ol´dayz...

It sounds like predators are a huge blocker right now and everything else seems to be more or less implemented and working. Dont let your blockers tie you up in development. Just push out the new dynamic zombie spawn system so there will be more data to push the development forward. Only 5 months to 2017 and beta... so much to do. 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2016 by imunone

[blackberrygoo 1416]

4 hours ago, imunone said:

i miss this mood in dayz sa right now :( good ol´dayz...

It sounds like predators are a huge blocker right now and everything else seems to be more or less implemented and working. Dont let your blockers tie you up in development. Just push out the new dynamic zombie spawn system so there will be more data to push the development forward. Only 5 months to 2017 and beta... so much to do. 

 

 

I agree there seems to be so much to do before beta is supposed to come out ... I'm guessing this three year development cycle is gonna be pushed to a 4 year cycle :/ .

But I couldn't even remember how dayz mod looked until I watched that video, god it was so clunky and the fps was sooo choppy , good thing people made theatrical trailers in small coop missions to make it look badass , but bad thing is people remember it with rose colored glasses because of those silly trailers . My experiences with dayz mod over two years of playing it was soo much more plain than those ridiculous theatrical trailers haha , that's why I was ecstatic when I heard stabdaloNe was coming out (and was to do everything better than the mod) but of course perfection takes a looooong time :/ .

 

when standalone is complete we won't even need to post edit it's videos to make it look appealing : it will have everything it needs to be a badass game and make a sweet trailer using everything in game online (as we all know most of the dayZ mod videos were edited with special add on mods that were played in small cooperative misson scenarios as opposed to online servers open to the public).

[Salty seadog 125]

Awesome, really looking forward to this update. Keep up the good work chaps!

[odin_lowe 3686]

Very nice! Looking forward to all these additions and changes.

That said, with the ability to change the CLE on the fly, is it possible to re-add the weapons to the helicopter crash sites? There was no problem when 0.60 was in experimental or when it hit stable at first, but it seems one hotfix screwed this up, and now no weapons spawns at crash sites, which is more than likely a bug, and from what I read, it could be fixed in an instant.

Very nice to see Tatanko on the spotlight, he truly deserves it!!

Cheers fellas, and keep up the good work!!

[Mookie (original) 799]

Would it be right to assume that the changes to the server browser (one of the worst things, among many good things, in 0.60) will just....make it faster?

It would be a serious mistake to chuck more complexity at it, when the fundamental problem is that it's almost bizarrely slow compared to its predecessor.

[Kronons 98]

22 hours ago, odin_lowe said:

Very nice! Looking forward to all these additions and changes.

That said, with the ability to change the CLE on the fly, is it possible to re-add the weapons to the helicopter crash sites? There was no problem when 0.60 was in experimental or when it hit stable at first, but it seems one hotfix screwed this up, and now no weapons spawns at crash sites, which is more than likely a bug, and from what I read, it could be fixed in an instant.

Very nice to see Tatanko on the spotlight, he truly deserves it!!

Cheers fellas, and keep up the good work!!

I remember reading from Geez on the bug tracker. Something was bugged or not working as intended for weapon spawns at crash sites. So they disabled weapon spawns until they where able to resolve the issue first. The CLE is just a database with values of spawn attributes. It does not change how things are spawned or how the spawning worked. So it can not be fixed easily. I.e. if you want to change where, how many, and let say respawn timer then it is easy you modify the database containing those values. But how the weapon spawns or how they are handle is still written in code. They have to go in and figure out the problem. Push it to experimental and test to see if the issue is resolved.

[odin_lowe 3686]

14 hours ago, Kronons said:

I remember reading from Geez on the bug tracker. Something was bugged or not working as intended for weapon spawns at crash sites. So they disabled weapon spawns until they where able to resolve the issue first. The CLE is just a database with values of spawn attributes. It does not change how things are spawned or how the spawning worked. So it can not be fixed easily. I.e. if you want to change where, how many, and let say respawn timer then it is easy you modify the database containing those values. But how the weapon spawns or how they are handle is still written in code. They have to go in and figure out the problem. Push it to experimental and test to see if the issue is resolved.

That's pretty weird, as it was working perfectly in experimental and stable 0.60 until 0.60.133811 as even in 0.60.133772 it was working fine. I wonder what wasn't working as intended...  

[KND 0]

It would be really Cool if i could actually play the game maby you should include that in the next update :-)

https://gyazo.com/345aadbc353476d900a5a29d93b0c25c

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

Looking forward to all these amazing changes, many of which I could only have dreamed of in years gone by!

Thanks for all the hard work!

Please release .61 BEFORE my vacation!

THANKS@!!

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

On 8/2/2016 at 8:44 AM, SMoss said:

• Server Login Queue:
  • Feature implemented, system under review with internal QA teams.
• Merge of New Audio Technology from Arma 3 Eden Update:
  • Tech implemented fully into DayZ. Existing sounds and configs from legacy system functioning properly. (Backwards compatibility with legacy sound technology).
• -snip-
• Dynamic Spawning of Infected:
  • Feature implemented into internal branch. QA teams are doing initial passes and providing programmers with initial issues.
• Predators (Wolves)
  • The team are currently working on several key issues with predators (wolves). Specifically being addressed currently are:
  • -snip-

Oh man.... I can almost taste it!

Edited August 6, 2016 by ☣BioHaze☣

[Erik666 0]

@Dev´s will the new dynamic spawn system of zombies bring back the good old dayz mod feeling ?! 

I have to say that at the moment the zombieaspect in dayz is the worst iv ever seen in a zombiegame! I hope something will change soon. 

[emuthreat 2837]

Sounds great.  Looking on the brighter side of the predator delays, maybe it will give enough time for full batches of animations to be completed before .61 drops.

Any idea when vehicles will stop getting worse?  I miss .55 when they at least worked consistently.

[IceTiger146 0]

I have played this game for a bit, but I still wonder when it's going to be finised with closed alpha. I got this game a looooong time ago and basically it's been stuck in alpha ever since. Every odd month I come back to check what is going on and it amazes me how they still haven't changed the topic really. I would like to start seeing some actual fixes for a while rather than new content being added. We were told this game would be in beta already 2 months ago, yet no change. I do like the game and I would love to see what it looks like when it is done, but currently not a big fan. I wanted this game, because I thought this would be like me creating my own version of the walking dead and I am sure that once the game is done this would be a lot better. Servers are quite empty and one thing I hate is some random sound that keeps popping up that I have no damn idea what it is or where it is coming from. Sounds kinda like someone laughing but in a extremely weird way.

DayZ has my back up but I would love to see some more progress. Some kickstarter projects has started much later than you guys and they are already on the edge of closed beta and release. Don't get me wrong I do understand that development and stuff takes time, but it doesn't help if we only start to see the beginning of the beta phase in 2019. I would like some feedback on this as it interests me to see what the devs have to say. I also think that maybe you guys could try and make spawning people closer together and maybe make teaming up a little easier. What if you guys add a lobby sorta thing where 4 - 6 people can group up and spawn together in one spot? I think really that would make a lot of us happier. I do admire the sound of this game greatly. It has managed to scare the living crap out of me and give me a sense of anxiety when I hear the sound of a zombie. I think it scared me even more when I heard it for the first time from a rabbit.