A Few Thoughts on.. Bugfixing, Priorities, and Beta

[Hicks_206 (DayZ) 4297]

I see a lot of folks getting upset that bugs in legacy stuff isn’t getting addressed at the speed they would like, isn’t getting prioritized right now, or in general the move to Beta isn’t moving at the speed they would like (or in some cases – systems they are waiting for are not in game just yet). I’m sure for some of you this post will be a rehash of things I’ve said before (and I commend you for keeping up to date and informed on development ;) ) but for those that may have missed some of this stuff, I’d like to go back over it.

 

With .61 we’re a bit backed against the wall, as obviously the lion’s share of the team are focused on the work needed for Beta. Add into that the fact that a good deal of the work and investigation needed to resolve issues on .61 is work that is thrown into the ether so to speak – work that won’t specifically benefit or apply to the Beta milestone and the systems impacted by that version. For example, folks have been vocal about issues such as duping, well spam, apple spam, and so on – the old adage of “a bandaid on a broken leg” can be applied here. Small fixes can be applied, with time and resources – but the root issue is how the old user actions and animation system *allow* for this type of abuse or issues to be present. Part and parcel with the entire impetus behind the new user actions, animation system, and so on. While as we’ve said – we *are* working on the critical issues present such as server performance, FPS drops and so on – our resources and focus absolutely have to be on the proper goal. Getting DayZ to Beta, and 1.0 (again – build version numbers do not equal a linear step by step path to 1.0 – we do not need to hit every number between 0.61 and 1.0 – it is for versioning, not an indication of the progress towards departure from Early Access)

 

When it comes to mechanics and systems not yet in the game – I know I’ve spoken on this in the forums before (and by no means does Beta mean every pending system – but we are all working our tushes off to get the best and most critical in for Beta). A good deal of the foundation and spine of large changes to DayZ are directly tied into the technology that the Beta milestone is dependent upon. Infact – let me try and embed the original post I made here on the forums a bit ago:
 

The spine of how you as players interact with the world is being removed, replaced, and improved – not only does this mean large changes to how DayZ feels – but it (the Beta milestone) means a large change in our focus from new technology implementation and prototyping, to bug fixing and content additions. By no means does Beta mean a “bug free” experience – but it does represent the largest technology change DayZ has seen since the new renderer – and arguably a much, much larger one.

I, and we all know how frustrating it can be to be playing on the Steam branches of DayZ – as legacy bugs, and limitations of builds that are a good distance sometimes behind the internal development – but we hope that you hang in there, and continue to go along with us for the ride.

[Rustycaddy 14]

Well done Hicks, I think you remember me meeting you above nagornoe? I was shooting at night and hunting animals and you came with your buddy to my fireplace, I also mentioned my friend Sumrak (guy who created Namalsk) and you knew him. One of the best moments in DayZ...

[virgiltracy 34]

Good read Hicks.

[NickNasty6 21]

Most just don't care and choose to ignore the fact that this is a major undertaking that will make DayZ the game that they want and wouldn't get out of the Legacy engine.  

Edited February 17, 2017 by NickNasty6

[ChicagoMikey 13]

2 hours ago, Hicks_206 (DayZ) said:

I, and we all know how frustrating it can be to be playing on the Steam branches of DayZ – as legacy bugs, and limitations of builds that are a good distance sometimes behind the internal development – but we hope that you hang in there, and continue to go along with us for the ride.

Hey, I have over 1500 hours of game play. At times it can get frustrating, but I am still having fun. Its fun watching this game develop into something amazing. I have never experienced any type of video game like DayZ. You guys put in a lot of hard work. Take your time, before you push out a major enforce update to prevent the whiners from vocalizing all over social media.

[Mad Scientist 73]

I have to say well done to the Dev team for the work they have done on this patch - this is the first time DayZ has felt like a zombie (infected) survival game!!!

Keep up the good work and with everything changing over to the new scripting with the added features - i cant wait!!!!

[sanguine00 168]

Thanks Hicks.  Don't work your tushes too hard.

[IMT 3190]

Thank you for putting things into perspective for us. Keep it up the good work and eventually we'll hit 1.0, together.

[Chuuckles 3]

Thanks for all the hard work. I can just imagine all the headaches the legacy system has put you guys through, but it will be over soon and we can all move on. I'm super excited for the future of this new tech for dayz and arma!

[Skullyrprz 1]

With over 1300 hrs in I find dayz to be a great game Ive had some good laughs and meet some of the coolest ppl out there. You guys keep up the GREAT work.....We stand behind you

[Gobbokirk 546]

The truth is always worth repeating, we'll get there :)

And everyone warm up your feedback tracker skills for when Beta gets there :)

[[Gen]Adzic 241]

Scrap running and looking after 2-3 versions of the game and focus on just one, maybe that will speed things up. Stable/Exp.. is probably slowing you guys down.

[emuthreat 2837]

Thank you for all the hard work of keeping the masses placated along the way.  We know what an extra heap of work it makes keeping "the patient" ready for primetime while performing so many concurrent  major surgeries.  

I do have one question, though, about the process.  In this post, you hinted that the beta milestone might not include all systems/content intended to make-up the finished product. Specifically, you said "by no means does beta mean every pending system."  This statement confuses me a bit, because of the much repeated mantra of 'alpha is for adding, beta is for bugfixing.'

Does this mean that the beta milestone is more of a soft beta, with only the necessary core systems of Enfusion in place, with more to be added later.  In terms of core engine functionality regarding planned 1.0 features, what percentage of completeness should we expect the beta milestone to represent?

Edited February 18, 2017 by emuthreat

[scriptfactory 620]

On 2/17/2017 at 1:00 AM, Hicks_206 (DayZ) said:

When it comes to mechanics and systems not yet in the game – I know I’ve spoken on this in the forums before (and by no means does Beta mean every pending system – but we are all working our tushes off to get the best and most critical in for Beta).

Does this mean the "beta roadmap" features won't be implemented before the beta release? Will the game stay in Early Access until the promised scope is complete?

[hugin_q3 8]

On 17.2.2017 at 2:58 PM, [Gen]Adzic said:

Scrap running and looking after 2-3 versions of the game and focus on just one, maybe that will speed things up. Stable/Exp.. is probably slowing you guys down.

See, that's what they are doing, and what you and many others don't see, they are only working on one version and that is Exp.

The Stable version is just for us to run and why we actually have a EA game to play with, before Beta or even a 1.0 version. Icing on the cake while we are waiting for Beta and Final so to say.

(And what players really do not see, they only see what they want to see, from random Steam posters, or to Twitch streamers crying their eyes out of silly bugs etc...)

That is in fact what Hicks has tried to tell you in his post above, but that I think you actually did not get the point of at all.

A EA game requires that they stay behind their promises, to deliver a game, working fairly well to those who have invested in in the game before it is launched as a 1.0 game.

 

If by chance I have misunderstood you, take my apology as an honest one please, but from what you wrote, I think I am pretty spot on with my comments toward your opinion on what they should have done instead.

Thing is, they can't continue to fix a "code" that will be replaced later on (Beta Milestone) just to please the masses forever, they have to push on and make ready for Beta at some point.

So for does do cry, let them and let the Devs move in the right direction they have, and are gong too do.

Edited February 21, 2017 by hugin_q3

[Skadefr0en 61]

Quote

(And what players really do not see, they only see what they want to see, from random Steam posters, or to Twitch streamers crying their eyes out of silly bugs etc...)

If it was'nt for those people playing and promoting the game, nobody would probably play or show an interest in bugfixing the DayZ we are all waiting for.

Bugs and issues vary with each version, making it a zig-zag run between patches to keep up with information on whatever life-threatening issues and bugs that will kill your character for no reason "at the moment".

If you are currently playing the game, you probably also know what issues are fixed and what new issues to be aware of, like they chopped off Medusa's head and another one came out.

It has been frustrating for both players and developers but its nice to see we are getting there :)

Edited February 25, 2017 by Skadefr0en

[kostik856 0]

Здравствуйте !хотелось бы подметить что много людей а в частности геймеров не против выхода патча на бета тест,лично я потратил в среднем 4 т часов на dayz играл каждый ваш патч от и до ,но увы так случилось что в патче 61 собраны все ошибки предидуших патчей ,я понимаю и уважаю ваше сторание стремление к выходу бетты .достаточно было исправить в 60 краш сервера копирование лута и убрать немного тумана как то распределить его по времени на сервере а не так что он круглые сутки .а в 61 остается мне только плюватся

 

[kostik856 0]

когда вы выпускаете новый патч вы утверждаете что все исправили но увы все не так вам не стыдно обещать игрокам все тоже самое на мою память звуки вы фиксили 4 патча невидимые зомби по сей день есть просто скажите вам сколько нужно продать копий чтоб заработать денег и бросить проект 

 

[liquidcactus 719]

I really think that alot of people dont realize just how damn huge the dayz map is compared to all the other survival games out there that the haters compare dayz "snail paced" development too. Most other survival games are maybe half the size of the dayz map or smaller. Making the world as good and consistent as we want it on this (dayz) scale would always take time but i think most people think if they sold 3 million copies @ $30 bucks a pop theres alot of money earned = faster development which i suppose isnt entirely true