Status Report - 11 Oct 2016

[SMoss 2101]

 

Contents This Week

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

 

Development Board Spotlight

[/img]

More on this, here: http://trello.com/c/arctWDEz/116-cr-550

 

Dev Update/Hicks

Greetings Survivors,

I know a good deal of you are reading this hoping to see somewhere in big bold letters that 0.61 is hitting experimental/unstable branch *right now!*. Well, let me derail that train right away. We're not quite there yet. Fortunately in this Status Report I'll do my best to fill you guys in on what the dang hold up is, and our progress against getting it onto experimental/unstable branch since the last Status Report. In addition, Peter will be talking briefly about our designs for the DayZ Launcher, and Viktor will be talking about some of the animation teams work towards the implementation of the new animation system. As well, the Trello should have some new renders of the CR 550 and its magazines, as well as an updated image of the current look of the server browser.

[/img]

More on this, here: http://trello.com/c/GymMxe86/135-61-server-browser

Over the last two weeks the team has been doing almost daily all-hands multiplayer tests in an effort to isolate the remaining blocking issues getting us to experimental/unstable. Those issues specifically are fundamental to the base gameplay of DayZ. Namely server side performance, and player-to-player synchronization. I'm sure some of you are wondering why we're currently fighting new issues related to synchronization of players, as one of the milestone goals for .61 is just that - improving and reducing the chance for client/server desynchronization.
The work Miroslav, and the gameplay programming team have been doing in this area has made massive changes to the communication process between client and server for DayZ - and it has most definitely changed how a lot of the behaviour is manifested client side. While the improvements in client/server synchronization have been outstanding (and lets hold our breath until the larger testing pool gets ahold of them to be safe) they have (not unexpectedly mind you) caused new issues. Thanks to the frequent all hands MP sessions we've had over the last few weeks, we have isolated repro steps and proper bug data on all of the ones we have encountered.
As we get closer to .61 hitting experimental/unstable and look at the road beyond .61, towards massive engine and gameplay changes such as the new animation system, player controller, user actions, and so on we have to be very aware of the fact that huge changes like that are going to take time to get ready for Steam, and thus we have to make sure that the build that you'll all be playing while we work on that is as enjoyable and functional as we can make it. We're all very aware that the journey we've all taken together in Early Access has not been the easiest, and can be massively frustrating at times. However, speaking for myself I think we've opted for the harder road in the short term, but the road that leads to the best final product - and always keeps the focus on 1.0 being the best DayZ it can be, first and foremost.

Enough rambling from me though, lets dig into exactly what our blocking issues are for .61 (and keep in mind, these are Must-Fix for Stable branch, not all of these are must fix for Experimental/Unstable)

• Player SFX significantly quieter than others: (Fix for this is in testing now)
• Network: Players can become severely out of sync with each other: (Gameplay Programming team working on a fix for this currently)
• Client crash when exiting title
• Player position hitching when navigating collision
• Magazine ammo count quantity reporting incorrectly
• Items can be stuck in hands under certain cancel action situations
• Dynamic Infected spawning without player trigger
• Some infected not responding to triggers (Fix in test currently)

 
Before I sign off for this Status Report - I'd like to encourage you all to visit, and participate in our official forums. I do my best to jump into as many discussions as possible, and as we move closer to the major systems dependencies that are holding back large gameplay systems changes and updates such as soft skills, weapon customization, base building and so on I would love to see the discussion around those mechanics and systems start to open up more. If you're interested - you'll find me at forums.dayz.com
 

0.61 Milestone Goals:

• Server Login Queue
• Merge of New Audio Technology from Arma 3 Eden Update.
• Update of Weapon Sounds for New Audio Technology.
• Dynamic Spawning of Infected.
• Predators (Wolves)
• Dynamic Shadows
• Network Synchronization Improvements
• New Server Browser

- Brian Hicks / Creative Director

 

Dev Update/Peter

In the upcoming 0.61 version of DayZ you will be able to try out the brand new Server Browser which doesn't bog fps down like the old one, and it's a breeze to use with all these filter options (mind that per character filter won’t be part of 0.61 release as it's not yet fully implemented). Alongside the new server browser I hinted at the external launcher a few status reports ago, so why not uncover a bit of information about it now.

The most important function of a launcher is obviously to run modded DayZ. Without mods there would be hardly any launcher at all. Actually it's possible to have mods support even without the launcher but that will lead to unpleasant yet necessary restarts of the game as different addons should be loaded at start, unless you are launching them from command line. However, both cases aren't very user friendly. In the launcher you can easily manage installed mods and overview their current state and additional information like description, author, source and others.

Apart from the game section for mod selection, there are also two other separated sections dedicated for tools and servers with central economy including their startup parameters and launch buttons for additional value which offers easy discovery of options of DayZ as a platform to users that aren't aware of them. Last but not least, the launcher will also serve as the official DayZ communication channel aggregating news, status reports, change logs of releases, Q&A videos, WIP showcase and hands on videos, maintenance and community spotlight.

The launcher is currently being implemented with all requirements mentioned above with the aim to be well arranged and simple to use and while it might not see daylight publicly in 0.61 it will be released once DayZ is ready to be open for modding community.

See you in Chernarus folks!

- Peter Nespesny / Lead Designer

 

Dev Update/Viktor

As I have mentioned in last status report the animation team is busy with many tasks related to player character. We are doing polishing pass for unarmed and rifle locomotions. That includes work on animations and graph as well. The animations are being adjusted so they blend nicely and feel more natural which has to be on a par with the player graph where blendtimes between animations need to feel right and fluent.

There is also ongoing work on user actions. Since these are already in the player graph now we need to connect them with the designers scripts so the animations are played when some actions happen. This is a big task as it includes drinking, eating, all the medical action, as well as any item usage and even gestures.

We have some progress regarding the combat as well. We do have few prototypes now like combat stances for unarmed, one handed item and two handed item and some simple attack animations. This week we will have a meetng and more discussions about the combat itself and the animations style.

- Viktor Kostik / Lead Animator

 

Community Spotlight

Keeping in trend with highlighting some of the awesome DayZ communities, we'd really like to put focus on one of the largest community sites out there (currently +4 million hits/month.) There's a good chance have already crossed paths with this one which is simply known as: DayZTV!

DayZTV has been around basically since forever, and they have a really nice site that provides a lot of options and info for users via the many sections on their site. As an example; if you're looking for other players to team up with for a session, or a more permanent group to team up with, you should be able to find plenty via the Broadcast tab in the Forum section, and if you feel like setting up an event for yourself and others, you can do so via the Community --> Community Server selection. For this, DayZTV have also been helpful for users by setting up a Discord server where you can reach other players.

What is also relly nice about DayZTV is that via the Live section you will find a selection of live Twitch streams from users playing DayZ, and outside of that, there is a boatload of helpful info for users stowed away under other sections such as Guides for example. We can only imagine how much work and effort it must take to run and develop the site, and we really appreciate the massive support that DayZTV has provided for so long in regards to promoting DayZ as well as DayZ related news while it is in development!

As always, in case you are part of a community that you would like to see highlighted, or if you are a contect creator looking to share your stories and footage, just send us some info at support@dayz.com and we'll be happy to have a look!

Header image credit: HunterKiller

- SMoss / Community Manager

[Espa 711]

Cool new stuff! I love to hear about what is in the making.. Makes the future DayZ seem veryyyy awesome! 

Also, very interested in seeing how many Infected we can pump out in Stable! If we can hit scary numbers AND be forced to endure cold rainy weather, .61 will be the bomb.

[green_mtn_grandbob 594]

good job guys keep it up we are with you , we understand it takes time to make a new dayz standalone out of the old game.

[zemos (DayZ) 9]

Hello!

Oh iam super tired, almost no sleep last night... So i feel a bit retarded here. But what are you saying here @Hicks_206 (DayZ)? Is this list done(gonna be in 061):

Server Login Queue

Merge of New Audio Technology from Arma 3 Eden Update.

Update of Weapon Sounds for New Audio Technology.

Dynamic Spawning of Infected.

Predators (Wolves)

Dynamic Shadows

Network Synchronization Improvements

New Server Browser

??

And what does this mean: "Player position hitching when navigating collision" ? Cant wait until 061 is released, keep up the good work dev team!

 

Best Regard

Edited October 11, 2016 by zemos (DayZ)

[Five_Seven_Clown 88]

I like the new server browser, I don't see a 1PP/3PP filter but I'm sure it's not finished yet.

I like that the server population is not explicit, rather than low/mid/high pop, wouldn't it be more interesting if it showed just "not full 0-90%" / "Nearly full 91-99%" / "Full 100%". To cut down on the empty server/full server metagame?

[odin_lowe 3686]

Great Scott!! Awesome news about the new launcher, streamlining the modding process. Looking forward to this in the future!

Keep it up fellas! Slash down those last blockers! We're all with you! 

[emuthreat 2837]

Sounds like we are getting closer.  I'm Cautiously Optimistic^TM that the next status report will be about what a hit .61 exp has been.

Here's to hoping that we can all help to severely break the new server browser in short order.

[Espa 711]

As for the future of DayZ in .62, out of what category will be the most game-changing addition? The new animation system, player controller, user actions, or what? - May we have a glimpse of just what any of those changes will do for the experience of the game? Maybe an exciting example?

Also, out of soft skills, weapon customization, base building, which of these appears to be the most heavily invested in and should have players engaging with first? 

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

7 hours ago, zemos (DayZ) said:

Hello!

Oh iam super tired, almost no sleep last night... So i feel a bit retarded here. But what are you saying here @Hicks_206 (DayZ)? Is this list done(gonna be in 061):

Server Login Queue

Merge of New Audio Technology from Arma 3 Eden Update.

Update of Weapon Sounds for New Audio Technology.

Dynamic Spawning of Infected.

Predators (Wolves)

Dynamic Shadows

Network Synchronization Improvements

New Server Browser

??

And what does this mean: "Player position hitching when navigating collision" ? Cant wait until 061 is released, keep up the good work dev team!

 

Best Regard

We are functionally done, yes - no new work is being added to .61, at this time we are locked into bug bashing.

Player position hitching when navigating collision means the players position within a given structure is stuttering when encountering new collision geometry in a structure (props like tables, chairs, etc) - This is not alltogether unexpected - as the changes to player synchronization can and do have a large impact on how a lot of the network communication between client and server operate. This likely is just how this first major change to player network sync handles collision, regardless - it absolutely has to be improved. No one wants to deal with a sudden stutter or pinball effect when trying to run quickly around inside a building during high stress moments.
The good news is we have made a lot of big improvements on this issue over the last two weeks - we're not to the level in which it is ready for stable, but definitely big improvements for sure.

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

7 hours ago, Five_Seven_Clown said:

I like the new server browser, I don't see a 1PP/3PP filter but I'm sure it's not finished yet.

I like that the server population is not explicit, rather than low/mid/high pop, wouldn't it be more interesting if it showed just "not full 0-90%" / "Nearly full 91-99%" / "Full 100%". To cut down on the empty server/full server metagame?

You're definitely correct - and if I didnt mention previously that the server browser we will see in .61 is not the finished version, that is my bad!

The separation of Official from Community servers into their own tabs for example, is not there yet. There are a few filter options that will need to be added, and some cosmetic changes to the UI and UX that Peter and I have mentioned. However, at a base level you can see the direction we are going. Things like making player count not precise and instead talking population density, not giving specific time of day values and instead opting for Day/Night/etc.

Initially the server browser was not going to be a .61 thing, but Eugen made the decision mid way through work on .61 to push its arrival up in order to combat issues with client side FPS and responsiveness in the old server browser - and while I wasn't thrilled with our work going out early, it makes perfect sense and is the right call in the end.

[Espa 711]

Which of these are Must-Fix before EXP? - And IF POSSIBLE, what kind of timetable is there for such a fix, optimistically?

• Player SFX significantly quieter than others: (Fix for this is in testing now)
• Network: Players can become severely out of sync with each other: (Gameplay Programming team working on a fix for this currently)
• Client crash when exiting title
• Player position hitching when navigating collision
• Magazine ammo count quantity reporting incorrectly
• Items can be stuck in hands under certain cancel action situations
• Dynamic Infected spawning without player trigger
• Some infected not responding to triggers (Fix in test currently)

I can imagine the Desync definitely being one, but I can bet that the majority of us would love to play. . even if there were early broken versions of experimental. The wait to see wolves in action and all the other goodies is maddening! 

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

6 hours ago, Espa said:

Which of these are Must-Fix before EXP? - And IF POSSIBLE, what kind of timetable is there for such a fix, optimistically?

• Player SFX significantly quieter than others: (Fix for this is in testing now)
• Network: Players can become severely out of sync with each other: (Gameplay Programming team working on a fix for this currently)
• Client crash when exiting title
• Player position hitching when navigating collision
• Magazine ammo count quantity reporting incorrectly
• Items can be stuck in hands under certain cancel action situations
• Dynamic Infected spawning without player trigger
• Some infected not responding to triggers (Fix in test currently)

I can imagine the Desync definitely being one, but I can bet that the majority of us would love to play. . even if there were early broken versions of experimental. The wait to see wolves in action and all the other goodies is maddening! 

It looks like you're hunting for something you can hold on to as a time estimate or projection - which we do not do. That said, the primary blockers from experimental are the issues I mention in the Status Report as our current focus. Player to player synchronization, and server side performance. 

It is critical you keep in mind the fact that experimentals primary purpose is not for "goodies" and "gameplay" - it is there as an absolute critical testing phase before hitting Stable branch. This is why it is often down, this is why it has frequent character and storage wipes - and when we have the issues we currently are working on resolving (Player 2 Player sync, Server perf) the gain we might get from pushing an unready build to that branch is significantly outweighed by the potential issues with significant noise to signal ratio from bugs being filed against systems not broken themselves, but dependant upon those two areas, and maintaining two different game and servlet versions within the same branch.

I know it sucks, but patience is what is called for here. We're all working our asses off and are excited to get .61 onto experimental and stable so we can starting talking about and focusing on .62,

[GaryWalnuts 1680]

2 hours ago, Hicks_206 (DayZ) said:

experimentals primary purpose is not for "goodies" and "gameplay"

Says you!

:)

[gaweu 42]

First of all im glad that You started to use official forum more then reddit. I never could understand why You didnt do that on 1st place since begining of Standalone.

I have question about those bugs. Are programming team have any idea what is reason of those blockers? Or its more like looking for a needle in a haystack? Im asking because im curious if ETA is depeanded from amount of work they need to put in to coding or ETA is just not really known at all because there is no known reason for those bugs? Mostly im talking about those desync stuff because probably this is the most crtical one.

If its more like 2nd problem and You guys dont really wanna talk about it because people would be "they have no idea what they are doing" etc.. Maybe You should make some pre experimental branch where people would be looking for those blockers or ways to reproduce those or even to just gather some more data in shorter time etc. I know that You have Your own team of people that test and look for those but maybe if there would be 10x more people or even more and some of them are programmers etc etc they would help alot. Im not even talking about giving access to it to everybody but maybe You could like filter Your feedback tracker and chose some that are really active there or at last were posting some reports there etc.

 

 

[Espa 711]

For future updates, is it possible to implement Arma 3's physics engine for vehicles/bodies?

I was always curious as to why you guys didn't just draw from their spawning system and vehicle database - Or if it was possible now to.

[Blafirelli 39]

17 hours ago, Espa said:

For future updates, is it possible to implement Arma 3's physics engine for vehicles/bodies?

I was always curious as to why you guys didn't just draw from their spawning system and vehicle database - Or if it was possible now to.

Afaik they have already switched to Bullet library from standard RV physics used in DayZ mod and previous titles, while Arma 3 uses Physx. This means DayZ and Arma already separated their ways of dealing with vehicle physics.

[VVarhead 185]

Will be worth the wait, I'm sure.

Thanks for the update.

[Corbit 14]

On 10/12/2016 at 3:50 AM, Hicks_206 (DayZ) said:

You're definitely correct - and if I didnt mention previously that the server browser we will see in .61 is not the finished version, that is my bad!

The separation of Official from Community servers into their own tabs for example, is not there yet. There are a few filter options that will need to be added, and some cosmetic changes to the UI and UX that Peter and I have mentioned. However, at a base level you can see the direction we are going. Things like making player count not precise and instead talking population density, not giving specific time of day values and instead opting for Day/Night/etc.

Initially the server browser was not going to be a .61 thing, but Eugen made the decision mid way through work on .61 to push its arrival up in order to combat issues with client side FPS and responsiveness in the old server browser - and while I wasn't thrilled with our work going out early, it makes perfect sense and is the right call in the end.

I like the direction you are taking with the server browser, can't wait to see it in action along with the rest of 0.61.

Would you be able to go into more detail on the reasons behind no longer showing the player count please?   If not now then maybe something in the next status report would be great.

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

Thanks!

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

On 10/13/2016 at 3:12 AM, Blafirelli said:

Afaik they have already switched to Bullet library from standard RV physics used in DayZ mod and previous titles, while Arma 3 uses Physx. This means DayZ and Arma already separated their ways of dealing with vehicle physics.

True - we're not fully over onto said bullet library at the current state. Some areas of the game still use legacy physics. Trust me, I understand how frustrating it can be dealing with the issues caused by this, but it really is just a bump on the road towards a much more enjoyable experience at 1.0. :)

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

2 hours ago, Corbit said:

I like the direction you are taking with the server browser, can't wait to see it in action along with the rest of 0.61.

Would you be able to go into more detail on the reasons behind no longer showing the player count please?   If not now then maybe something in the next status report would be great.

There really is no compelling reason, besides trying to ensure you are joining an *empty* server to show the player count.

We're not looking to allow folks to meta game player count in order to ensure a reduced, or even single player experience. We *will* support an offline type mode, which we have detailed before - but the base game of DayZ should be one of risk at all times.

That said, allowing users to see the population density is a happy medium - and one a lot of larger MMO style titles use.
After discussing with Peter earlier this week, we both agree that we should at the very least allow people to see the maximum server population as we support varied player numbers.

In the end, keep in mind it is not final - and we keep an eye on feedback over on the forums. :)

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

Will every town, village, and city, be configured for dynamically spawned infected?

I feel like nearly any location with habitable human space should have a chance for less than healthy occupants (infected people).

 

*I like shooting or otherwise killing zombies.

I miss DayZ.

I miss borking DayZ.

I miss our little organic free range experimental testing group we had on Riddlers TS3.

Horde + Molotov cocktail = crowd control.

Edited October 14, 2016 by ☣BioHaze☣

[Five_Seven_Clown 88]

31 minutes ago, Hicks_206 (DayZ) said:

population density

Can you clarify what you/Peter mean by "population density" is that an average population over time? i.e. An average of 30 players over 24 hours would be "Medium". Awesome if it is!.

 

[Noctoras 409]

2 hours ago, Hicks_206 (DayZ) said:

We're not looking to allow folks to meta game player count in order to ensure a reduced, or even single player experience.

In this context, a question on the server browser: will it include a direct report/abuse button? The current way of reporting a server is not very user friendly and it also seems the number of join=kick servers is not going down.

Why is that important for 0.61 in my opinion? With the current state of affairs, I am highly likely to encounter a join=kick/ban server, unless I pick a full server. I would have preferred to tackle the server abuse thing first in some way.

With the current system, if I see a 6 player server, I can almost safely assure that this is not a server which is kicking upon joining. If it's 1 or 2, it amost definitely IS join/kick. If the server browser comes with "low/high pop", 75% of low pop will be kick servers. Especially since, trust me, there are A LOT more join=kick servers than those, who announce it. Thus I had hopes for an integrated report button in the server browser ... a high number of complaints then would indicate that something is most likely wrong ... A one off report could be discarded. But at least people would report and finally we might see a more orderly server handling.

 

Regards

Edited October 14, 2016 by Noctoras

[koffeekage 322]

It would be great for EXP servers to have gps coordinates in the top right too. With that we can issue the coordinates to bugs for more expedient correction. Just a suggestion.