Q&A with Map Designer Adam Franců

[GaryWalnuts 1680]

Hi Adam,

First, thanks for taking some questions and for your work making Chernarus what it is!

Islands have been mentioned a few times above already, but I'm not thinking along the lines of Utes or even Skalisty/Prison Islands, are there any plans for additional islands?  Maybe remote lesser islands with fewer resources?  

 

[Komalt 27]

I know there is a Woods overhaul coming, I've seen the screenshots and its an improvement, but the shrubbery doesn't seem thick enough to really meaningfully hide in. I was wondering if we ever get some more variety in woods area to hide things?

As it is now, we all know how we hide barrels or tents and such:  we look for those pine trees which provide the best cover.  Wouldn't it be nice if there was perhaps more thick bushes or shrubbery low to the ground instead of only this tree as a hiding option?  Already you get a lot higher FPS in woods than in cities, so there is room to place some more shrubbery there as far as performance goes.

Edited April 22, 2017 by Komalt

[BeefBacon 1185]

Chernarus is great, but can we expect to see any other maps? It's thought that certain maps that were popular in the mod might make a reappearance, but might we also see a completely new map some time in the future as well? If so, what sort of theme might it have? If not, what sort of maps would you like to see developed by the community?

What is your most and least favourite aspect of Chernarus?

How will the map border be addressed?

Will we ever see running water?

[Damarus95 2]

• What's going on with the creation of the contaminated zones? Are they still in plan / being worked on?
• Have you guys ever considered adding more unique places like the wrecked ship or the prison island? About the first one, don't you think it may need some kind of rework?
• Are there any plans regarding the release of a completely new official map? What about tools to make our owns?

The next one is mostly tied to the new player controller and the features it may bring us

• Will we ever see areas of the map that are only accessible through some sort of free running/parkour/jumping/climbing? (e.g. some roofs, canopies, the other half of a broken bridge, some parts of the wrecked ship)

Edited April 26, 2017 by Damarus95

[Komalt 27]

15 hours ago, BeefBacon said:

Chernarus is great, but can we expect to see any other maps? It's thought that certain maps that were popular in the mod might make a reappearance, but might we also see a completely new map some time in the future as well? If so, what sort of theme might it have? If not, what sort of maps would you like to see developed by the community?

Adam Franců is the creator of Namalsk and he recently confirmed an updated Namalsk map will be in DayZ SA, most likely as a mod.

Edited April 23, 2017 by Komalt

[Private Evans 1303]

15 hours ago, BeefBacon said:

How will the map border be addressed?

THIS !!! The transition between playable map and outer terrain is terrible immersion breaking .

Arma 2 Chernarus had this ring of forested border regions which were not meant to be used as playable areas but more

 to provide the illusion of a world beyond the campaign/mission map.

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/978/978805/arma-ii-20090501110714336.jpg

In DayZ SA this regions are entirely used as playable areas which means there is no more transition between the map and the outer terrain which looks horrible.

Would it be possible to create a border region that gives us the illusion of Chernarus being part of the world ? It has not to be very detailed, not even enterable,

having just a very limited view distance.

 

cheers :)

[Tatanko 5591]

Hi Adam!

With Chernarus being my absolute favorite part of DayZ, this is a Q&A I've been looking forward to. I'll try to keep my questions focused on your experience as a map designer.


1. As an experienced community developer of maps, how does your process differ when you are working as part of an official team versus working on personal projects? Are there any challenges unique to one or the other?

2. Do you still enjoy map design as a hobby now that you do it for a living? What are your toolsets like for DayZ in comparison to developing for ArmA?

3. How much of DayZ's map design choices are aesthetic versus functional? What are some examples of functional goals when designing or re-designing an area of the map?

[walt_ua 3]

Will THIS ever be possible?

[Sqeezorz 839]

1 hour ago, walt_ua said:

Will THIS ever be possible?

The zero point of Chernarus lies in the south / west corner. An enlargement to south or west would mean that the complete positioning system would have to be moved. The x / y is certainly not the problem .. rather the heights (z) coordinates would bring a mess (i think that i this problem read omg im not sure at which point) . Against an expansion to the north or east (islands) nothing is technically safe. However, an increase also brings loads to the server. I think there only to the CLE and the AI. Some air is certainly there still exists ... But the answer will surely have Adam in stock. The ideas of GameInTheorie are all really very good.

Edited April 24, 2017 by Sqeezorz

[Komalt 27]

4 hours ago, walt_ua said:

Will THIS ever be possible?

Of course thats possible, but no way we are getting that.  Maybe for DayZ 2

[FlimFlamm 509]

What if anything can be done do the northern and western borders of Chernarus? Can Chernarus become an Island? Can it be blended into desert terrain?

[hemtek 53]

Hello adam !

Is there any remake of the river of chernarus planned in future iterations ?

I am very disappointed about the current river in the game so it will be great to have something really better !

Thanks for enhancing our sandbox ! ;)

Bye !

[St. Jimmy 1631]

Inspired by Marek Spanel's Twitter will there be tides or are they already supported?

 

This kind of thing would likely have some effect also for map design. Having sea level lower certain times of the day/year would make swimming on some places, just a walk or a smaller swim depending on how much tide there will be.

Edited April 25, 2017 by St. Jimmy

[galvvy 0]

Hey there, amateur modder here, just got two little questions.

Will we see a map making tool as part of the toolset for DayZ? Or will DayZ simply use Terrain Builder and other tools alongside it with the same basic workflow? Second will the vegetation update for .62 be useable in custom terrains? Just curious before I start making a terrain in Arma 3 and then find out the .WRP wont be convertible for DayZ.

[sektor 0]

Will you make a realistic bridge for Prison island, bridges are not made like that.

[ThatsMyBike 1]

Will we ever see the North East Airfield return to it's former glory, but in a new, more balanced fashion, and not the sniper heaven it was previously known for?  

Edited May 2, 2017 by ThatsMyBike

[savedbygrace 3]

Thanks for your repeated contributions/ports to our community Adam.

I've seen many requests for underground terrain but I also know that it just wasn't possible with the old engine. Dean had mentioned the implementation of structures to provide an underground feel that the player would be setpositioned to while not accessible by any other means.

#1 Is that idea of Deans' still being entertained?

#2 If underground terrain is not possible, have you and the team considered adding above ground models such as hills, mountains and even haystacks that are interactive like other building models?

#3 Previous Arma titles have used the in game date system to add things like Christmas trees on December 25th; Will the date system remain and if so, will it control future easter eggs?

#4 Have you and the team considered adding varying tree/foliage models to depict seasonal changes?

There are models used in the game that break immersion; for example the stump with an unusable axe already in it, a stack of wood that is not accessible to players, a kitchen table where the table cloth is not usable, haystacks that can't be farmed for fire fuel or even interacted with for warmth, countless refuse bins and cans that can be used for placement of loot and discovered with a flip of the lid.

#5 Do you as the terrain lead, know if there are plans to change these areas to add objects that players can actually interact with?

I've read about the plans to transform the map into a more wasted appearance with things like vegetation and perhaps lighting.

#6 Have you and the team considered replacing some of that clear glass with dusty, gritty looking glass, perhaps even have random broken windows that create glass crunching foot steps below them(or cut feet for the barefoot)?

#7 Has there been any talk by the team to introduce waterfalls in the form of particles and sound (client side) to add immersion? 

#8 Are there plans to add an underwater experience such as Arma3 has?

I recall reading a report, when you first joined the team, about you building Namalsk with the Dayz tool set with the goal of creating a tutorial that will help terrain editors learn the process.

#9 Will the Dayz tool set allow more inexperienced players to get into terrain building?

#10 With the new engine using navmesh, will that allow AI to interact with elevated objects without problems?

 

[ImpulZ 2491]

Maybe not exclusively your topic, but are there plans for a stronger environmental storytelling? I'd love to find out more about Chernarus and other placeswhile wandering the landscapes. Just details like that the factory in Vybor was actually a brewery once. Of course it would be nice to get to explore the lore of DayZ, but I'd be happy with just more details in the environment, so that players can feel more connected to the cities and their history.

[zRain Denk 8]

Will be added a secret military \ secret laboratory \ underground laboratory from where the virus escaped ?

[pooface 0]

Hello,

Will we ever be able to use the beautiful new spruce object models in our own maps (via terrain builder or what may come?)  I am working on a map which these would provide the emotional level of dynamic range to bring my map based on a real world location to life (yes, digital objects provide emotion!)

 

Thank you.

[SigZag 4]

Are there any plans for officially releasing new maps for DayZ?

 

Or will any new map addition have to be implemented by the modding community?

[Destruxion 0]

Hi im one of DayZ players and in the experimental 0.62 i have seen and heard that players can't go to bushes or trees . If it's true than i think this is going to singificantly decrease your players because if this means an end for a forest fights than we don't have nothing to talk about anymore and this game is absolutely dead for me. Don't you think it's a bit poor and bad to just ruin the whole community the forest fights ?

[Five_Seven_Clown 88]

On 2017-4-21 at 1:59 PM, Five_Seven_Clown said:

I have a question that I've been trying to get an answer to for a long, long time. I see there are many "dry" stream/river beds that have been added to the map, they have rocks and reeds in them, they often link pools of still water. Will these river beds ever be given some running water textures and sounds?

Thanks

OMG you answered my question in part II, thank you. It sound's like it's not an easy task I'm sure at the moment programming effort is best used on .63.

Thanks again, I can sleep at night now...