Status Report - 27 February 2018

[mithrawndo 166]

Love the new damage system in theory, sounds exactly like what's needed and I hope it plays as well.

I wonder if this will also be applied to AI, and if it would therefore be possible to configure the game in such a way that zombies would *require* a shot to the head, drastically increasing the threat even for experienced players without a gun, and making it more likely that a player would choose to use a gun rather than a melee weapon to deal with them?

[Dancing.Russian.Man 1631]

3 minutes ago, mithrawndo said:

Love the new damage system in theory, sounds exactly like what's needed and I hope it plays as well.

I wonder if this will also be applied to AI, and if it would therefore be possible to configure the game in such a way that zombies would *require* a shot to the head, drastically increasing the threat even for experienced players without a gun, and making it more likely that a player would choose to use a gun rather than a melee weapon to deal with them?

Yes, it should be totally possible to mod the zombies like that. I think the same collision meshes are applied to all humanoids. I wonder about animals. 

[Lexman61 78]

All due respect for the passion, patience and faith most of the dedicated players still have for DayZ.

A devotion which the official numbers of the Steam Charts unfortunately cannot express (I know, numbers can be cruel sometimes, you have my sympathies), but with an average player count of 2.134 for the last 30 days and a peak of 4.347, claiming that a bright new future lies ahead with droves of gamers just waiting to join seems just a little bit beyond wishful thinking. The downward trend is stable and continuous over time. There is no indication that proves the contrary.  

The PC player base has run dry and the great paradox is that the announced console version is really the only thing that might breathe some life back into the game (number-wise). Clearly a commercial move by Bohemia in trying to turn the tide. But, considering the undoubtedly more "casual" nature of console players (no offense meant), I fear that even an initial success on Xbox and Playstation will be short lived. DayZ will most likely end up being a niche game also on the console platform.

DayZ, a great and innovative game concept which unfortunately will satisfy only a "handful" of dedicated followers. It's a pity.

Regards

 

 

 

[DannyDog 532]

@Lexman61 Don't see how you can make that conclusion when there's obviously nothing that's going to bring players back to .62 when all the devs are working towards .63.

It would make sense that the player count would continue to drop before .63 because they'll inevitably get burnt out on .62...

???

Edited March 1, 2018 by DannyDog

[Lexman61 78]

25 minutes ago, DannyDog said:

@Lexman61 Don't see how you can make that conclusion when there's obviously nothing that's going to bring players back to .62 when all the devs are working towards .63.

It would make sense that the player count would continue to drop before .63 because they'll inevitably get burnt out on .62...

???

I realize that expectations and hopes run very high among some players regarding .63 and eventually the final version of the game. But I realistically think that too much time has passed to regain a significant amount of former and new players to DayZ.

The attention span and novelty effect for a game that's been out for more than 4 years is gone. There are no new masses of PC players to enthusiastically attract. The majority of gamers tend to move on no matter how successful a game they play is initially. Many have been disappointed over time for a number of reasons (justified or not), and are not willing or interested in giving it a second try. It's all very normal and predictable. 

Maybe DayZ in its final version will turn out to be an excellent game, but unfortunately I think it's too late to make a difference (number-wise speaking not qualitatively).

So the end result will still be a game played by relatively few which I truly think is saddening considering the great appeal and potential this game had to attract and keep a much larger and active player base.

Regards

 

 

[JBURNS489 165]

Im looking forward more to base building than any other feature. I know it's not planned to be in the first beta release, though. The biggest reason I don't play much anymore is because there just isn't much to do. After you gear up (an hour, maybe 2 hrs if you want full mil gear), the only thing left is to grow potatoes or fight. There is no end game, no sense of progression besides character loot. Base building would add some end game stuff to do. I do like the features they are coming up with, but it doesn't change the overall pattern in DayZ of gear up, die, repeat. I will logon and check out all the new stuff when they come out, but I won't be playing in earnest until there is something to do that is different than the last 300hrs ive played DayZ. 

 

[O_HellFire 33]

 

Quote

All due respect for the passion, patience and faith most of the dedicated players still have for DayZ.

A devotion which the official numbers of the Steam Charts unfortunately cannot express (I know, numbers can be cruel sometimes, you have my sympathies), but with an average player count of 2.134 for the last 30 days and a peak of 4.347, claiming that a bright new future lies ahead with droves of gamers just waiting to join seems just a little bit beyond wishful thinking. The downward trend is stable and continuous over time. There is no indication that proves the contrary.  

The PC player base has run dry and the great paradox is that the announced console version is really the only thing that might breathe some life back into the game (number-wise). Clearly a commercial move by Bohemia in trying to turn the tide. But, considering the undoubtedly more "casual" nature of console players (no offense meant), I fear that even an initial success on Xbox and Playstation will be short lived. DayZ will most likely end up being a niche game also on the console platform.

DayZ, a great and innovative game concept which unfortunately will satisfy only a "handful" of dedicated followers. It's a pity.

Regards

After being involved in setting up and running servers, the biggest worry I have for the game is simply the human element, people are fickle!

Though in saying that, the UK server "The Village" gave me some hope that there is chance for a DayZ utopia one day (couldn't play the server myself though unfortunately, due to high ping). It was more than random groups of people roaming or laying in wait for another random person or group to show up and then battling it out!

There was a coordinated effort from many random people to try and build something (using the limited mechanics of the game available at the time) and to protect it and survive against all those who wished to destroy it... sounds like the vanilla DayZ experience to me... and it was hugely popular!!!

Right up to when I last played I was always seeing and meeting new players, there's interest out there, keeping that interest is hard when you've got such a steep learning curve, and only got a partially complete game with bugs still. 

And as i said people are fickle, they'll show up or they wont... usually like sheep, they go where everyone else is and that's my biggest concern.  Bohemia needs to get the beta patch done right, then build on that and really do some marketing to draw the people in again.

Many enterprises were built on the theory that if you build it, then the people will come... we'll just have to wait and see. 

Know I'll be back for more after an extended break from DayZ.

Edited March 1, 2018 by O_HellFire

[HaseDesTodes 315]

19 hours ago, Sumrak said:

As mentioned in SR, this is still pretty much work-in-progress and we will continue tweaking it until we find the best values. It may be a bit darker than what you see on the pictures, but overall, we definitely do not plan to return to the 62 state of lighting.

 

i don't know if it's possible to have it in the game, but as you spoke of physics, i think there is not enough contrast between the parts in direct sunlight and the shadows.

to me, it looks more like there are some high cirrus clouds covering the sun and disperse the light so much, that the shadowed parts are light up.

so if it was possible, you could try to vary the contrast over the overcast value. (100% clear sky->max contrast; cloudy -> low contrast)

 

20 hours ago, Sumrak said:

It is perhaps a bit hard to see in the small before-after window, full res pics here and here. The goal is to make the night sky easier to read and use to navigation - as you can see in the "after" image, major stars are easier to see (ultimately, its best to see it in the game). 

it might only be my monitor, but to me, the night sky still looks to blue.

i think, that without dispersed light from cities you should have a much more black sky, even at full moon.

[THEGordonFreeman 664]

2 hours ago, Lexman61 said:

I realize that expectations and hopes run very high among some players regarding .63 and eventually the final version of the game. But I realistically think that too much time has passed to regain a significant amount of former and new players to DayZ.

The attention span and novelty effect for a game that's been out for more than 4 years is gone. There are no new masses of PC players to enthusiastically attract. The majority of gamers tend to move on no matter how successful a game they play is initially. Many have been disappointed over time for a number of reasons (justified or not), and are not willing or interested in giving it a second try. It's all very normal and predictable. 

Maybe DayZ in its final version will turn out to be an excellent game, but unfortunately I think it's too late to make a difference (number-wise speaking not qualitatively).

So the end result will still be a game played by relatively few which I truly think is saddening considering the great appeal and potential this game had to attract and keep a much larger and active player base.

Regards

 

 

Oh how wrong you are sir.  Look at the Steam Charts... every time a major patch has been released, many, many players returned.   And like someone pointed out earlier, ARMA players, plus DayZ SA players, PLUS MOD players will be on this game like stink on stinky pie.  When the game goes 1.0, I guarantee you more players than you will know what to do, and I'm sure it will dwindle down after awhile, but the core of DayZ, I'd guess around 100,000 (that number is probably too conservative) players will play for years and years.  PLUS with all the mods that will be available.  Communities will be looking for ways to differentiate themselves.  Like I have always said, no one should worry about player numbers, THEY ALWAYS COME BACK.

[gorvi 189]

9 hours ago, Lexman61 said:

DayZ has become

DayZ has always been

[elvisarhs 49]

"uncuepagamer" defintely stole the SR with his video "Humanity in DayZ" Concept. I absolutely loved his ideas and I believe that they must be thoroughly looked at and if something like this is not already in the works, then now is defintely the time to start brain storming possible integration of similar systems.
 What makes DayZ fun for many survivors is not just the pvp experience, but the whole character life span of your "guy/gal". The decision you made during your journey and this Humanity system concept will definetely add another level of interesing character building which can lead to more RP scenarios. Being addicted to a supplement will probably lead people to scavange different areas than their confortable ones and it might even lead to player trading.
 "2 Morphines and a pack of cigaretts for a full clip of 7.62 or 5.56 nato rounds."
Uncuepagamer's video made my mind work overtime with all the possibilties that can come from implementing his Humanity concept idea in DayZ. Absolutely lovely!

Edited March 1, 2018 by elvisarhs

[BeefBacon 1185]

14 hours ago, Lexman61 said:

I realize that expectations and hopes run very high among some players regarding .63 and eventually the final version of the game. But I realistically think that too much time has passed to regain a significant amount of former and new players to DayZ.

I disagree. I've not played DayZ in months. I'm one of a large number of players who are waiting for beta. I see this assumption that everyone has "moved on" but to what? H1Z1? One of the dozens of half-baked early access survival games? Escape from Tarkov? None of those does DayZ like DayZ does DayZ. About the closest you're going to get is an Arma 3 mod like Exile but even they are cheap imitations. The fact of the matter is that if you're looking for a game like DayZ, there is nothing else, even after all these years. Even so, DayZ has always appealed to a fairly niche market. I don't expect that it'll be competing with PUBG any time soon. Modding will certainly boost player numbers, though.

Edited March 2, 2018 by BeefBacon

[idie 57]

21 hours ago, Lexman61 said:

I realize that expectations and hopes run very high among some players regarding .63 and eventually the final version of the game. But I realistically think that too much time has passed to regain a significant amount of former and new players to DayZ.

The attention span and novelty effect for a game that's been out for more than 4 years is gone. There are no new masses of PC players to enthusiastically attract. The majority of gamers tend to move on no matter how successful a game they play is initially. Many have been disappointed over time for a number of reasons (justified or not), and are not willing or interested in giving it a second try. It's all very normal and predictable. 

Maybe DayZ in its final version will turn out to be an excellent game, but unfortunately I think it's too late to make a difference (number-wise speaking not qualitatively).

So the end result will still be a game played by relatively few which I truly think is saddening considering the great appeal and potential this game had to attract and keep a much larger and active player base.

Regards

 

 

Dude... Is it some kind of joke ? lol
Servers are going to be overcrowded when 0.63 hits experimental, I already know that I won't be able to connect to a server because of player's DDOS...

Have you played the game so far ? Every major updates was the same -> servers being overcrowded again.

And you're telling me that 0.63 will be different ? Come on dude, we're talking about the first real version of DayZ here........ Come on, give us a break lol

No offense...

Edited March 2, 2018 by Dancing.Russian.Man
Pretty tasteless metaphor

[Lexman61 78]

1 hour ago, idie said:

Dude... Is it some kind of joke ? lol
Servers are going to be overcrowded when 0.63 hits experimental, I already know that I won't be able to connect to a server because of player's DDOS...

Have you played the game so far ? Every major updates was the same -> servers being overcrowded again.

And you're telling me that 0.63 will be different ? Come on dude, we're talking about the first real version of DayZ here........ Come on, give us a break lol

No offense...

Sure, let's all hope for the best, but the overall player count will never spike back to the early glory days of DayZ. For that, it's just too late I'm afraid (for all the reasons previously mentioned).

Upward trends always happen after new updates are released only to inexorably start declining again after some time. The numbers on the Steam Chart unfortunately prove this.

The future of DayZ on PC will be a small but dedicated and passionate community of players (for better or for worse).

Bohemia's new wave of potential customers and likely profits from DayZ will necessarily have to come from the upcoming console versions. 

Better to be pleasantly surprised than gravely disappointed.

Regards

Edited March 2, 2018 by Dancing.Russian.Man
Changed the quote only, to reflect edits

[smofi 18]

is it just me or are the before images much better then the after images? did they get them mixed up?

[Nebulae3 422]

Where is the sound guy? The rain weather condition is way too loud in that 0.63 video - it need to be a much lower sounds when it`s raining. Otherwise I enjoy the Status report - hopefully it`s out before the summer since we are in March. :)

 

I also enjoyed the cartoony dayZ well done and so creative.))

Edited March 2, 2018 by Nebulae3

[gorvi 189]

2 hours ago, Lexman61 said:

Sure, let's all hope for the best, but the overall player count will never spike back to the early glory days of DayZ. For that, it's just too late I'm afraid (for all the reasons previously mentioned).

Upward trends always happen after new updates are released only to inexorably start declining again after some time. The numbers on the Steam Chart unfortunately prove this.

The future of DayZ on PC will be a small but dedicated and passionate community of players (for better or for worse).

Bohemia's new wave of potential customers and likely profits from DayZ will necessarily have to come from the upcoming console versions. 

Better to be pleasantly surprised than gravely disappointed.

Regards

A man only hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

Hounds follow those who feed them.

It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.

[liamse22 3]

1 hour ago, Nebulae3 said:

Where is the sound guy? The rain weather condition is way too loud in that 0.63 video - it need to be a much lower sounds when it`s raining. Otherwise I enjoy the Status report - hopefully it`s out before the summer since we are in March. :)

 

I also enjoyed the cartoony dayZ well done and so creative.))

I am pretty sure that the sound is beefed up so it is more noticeable for the showcase

[Lexman61 78]

3 hours ago, gorvi said:

A man only hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

Hounds follow those who feed them.

It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.

None so blind as those that cannot see.

P.S. Let's keep an eye on the Steam Charts and discuss this matter in a few months.

Regards

Edited March 2, 2018 by Lexman61

[gorvi 189]

1 hour ago, Lexman61 said:

None so blind as those that cannot see.

P.S. Let's keep an eye on the Steam Charts and discuss this matter in a few months.

Regards

I'd rather just post this considering your posts seem like a low key "DayZ is dead" echo.

The chart shows is what everyone else has been saying.  Spikes in players during major patches/updates.

Not only that, but it shows a decline in users just before the Enfusion update when the new player controller and animation system was announced.  This is for two reasons.

1.  Software engineers needed to focus on the new systems.  Attention was taken away from other areas of what would be gameplay or "gameloops" as it took higher priority to complete said loop.

2.  Users paid attention to status reports.  They understood it would take a long time and took the advice to play other games until focus could be shifted back to gameplay.

 

0.60 was a great patch for player numbers, but unfortunately DayZ was still plagued by legacy systems.  This is the main reason you see such a drastic decline in numbers compared to other updates.

 

For future reason why 0.63 is so important, please regard this.

"User actions as we know them are great as they are very robust and allow usage of anything in any way you like, which leads for such a great ArmA 2 mod as DayZ to happen. Imagine if there were only shooting and door opening - such a situation would leave you with a very limited possibility for application of your creativity as designer. On the other hand user actions are also known for their not so friendly behavior like scrolling menu, issues with precision and our underlying implementation of actions on own character and others in SQF paired with old and limited animation system led to many problematic situations, to mention some, no elegant way to cancel action, spamming actions or serious ones like duping.

New user actions and controls are designed to be modern, user friendly and of course to address all issues which we run into with the old system. Actions will be contextual, for example performing same eat action will feed yourself, or your friend when you are looking at him. They can behave as single event or can be performed continuously, think of flipping the switch by clicking the use button or drinking from a water bottle while holding it. You can perform them during other animations, so you will be able to eat while traversing countryside. Canceling continuous action can be simply done by releasing the use button. All this and more means that scrolling menu will become redundant in the end as all possible situations are covered through different usage, based on context and duration of action.

Every item can be used as melee weapon, and with redesigned controls comes a fresh breeze to melee fights as there is a difference between one click which performs quick attack and continuously charged heavy attack which is performed by releasing the melee button. This allowed us to finally use firearms as melee weapons - bayonet stabs, buttstock hits or pistol whips. Best of it all is that we removed so called aggressive stance which was mandatory to attack with melee or shoot from firearms and it felt forced as it was too static. Now readying the firearm for shooting is a continuous action so once you release use button your firearm is lowered to waist level. Prone position and bipod can make your life easier as far as keeping your firearm ready, also we would like to examine weapons resting in the future. Items can be dropped, rolled or thrown which is especially useful for grenades.

I'm convinced that with new user actions and controls coupled with new animation system and physically based character, DayZ will become a fluid, modern and pleasant experience. I'm looking forward to this day, as with these changes it will feel more like DayZ 2.0 than with any others."

-Peter Nespesny

Edited March 2, 2018 by gorvi

[Lexman61 78]

1 hour ago, gorvi said:

I'd rather just post this considering your posts seem like a low key "DayZ is dead" echo.

The chart shows is what everyone else has been saying.  Spikes in players during major patches/updates.

Not only that, but it shows a decline in users just before the Enfusion update when the new player controller and animation system was announced.  This is for two reasons.

1.  Software engineers needed to focus on the new systems.  Attention was taken away from other areas of what would be gameplay or "gameloops" as it took higher priority to complete said loop.

2.  Users paid attention to status reports.  They understood it would take a long time and took the advice to play other games until focus could be shifted back to gameplay.

0.60 was a great patch for player numbers, but unfortunately DayZ was still plagued by legacy systems.  This is the main reason you see such a drastic decline in numbers compared to other updates.

For future reason why 0.63 is so important, please regard this.

"User actions as we know them are ..................

Never said, claimed or insinuated in any way that DayZ was "dead".

But have in more than one occasion stated on this forum that, it has become a niche game for a niche group of very dedicated and passionate players. Which is, in my opinion, regrettable as a larger player base would have been better in the long run.

I have put forward my thoughts on some of the reasons why I believe the player count has been steadily declining over time and why - regardless of forthcoming 0.63 and ultimately the final version - it is too late to regain the large number of players this game once had after more than 4 years of early access.

My belief is that no substantial increase of former and new players will be achieved in spite of the best intentions of the developers and their official statements. This does not preclude in any way that 0.63 and further updates might make DayZ into a technically excellent game and greatly satisfy all the devoted and passionate players which have been enjoying it over time and are still playing it.

Ironically, for what has always been a true PC game, a successful release of the announced console version is the only possibility to once again attract a large number of gamers to DayZ and potentially regain players also on the original platform (although I have some doubts, considering the generally very casual nature of console players).

Sadly, any critical reflections about DayZ and its future is often viewed by some people on this forum as a direct personal offense and almost bordering to a "lèse-majesté" crime against the developers. This is clearly completely overreacting and often putting words in somebody's mouth by saying they have made arguments and statements they haven't actually made. But the art of rhetoric is understood by few and mastered by even fewer.

In any case, and in spite of all, I still hope and wish the best for DayZ although it is not in my nature to take die-hard stands nor "how-dare-you-doubt" knee jerk reactions.

Regards

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2018 by Lexman61

[joe_mcentire 2074]

On 28.2.2018 at 10:12 PM, Sumrak said:

snip

since you're posting here. thanks for the very interesting interview you gave recently.

also thanks for implementing a football stadium in elektro and red-light district in cherno, much appreciated :P

but on a very different note... i recently thought - again - about the addition of small environmental objects such as bee or wasp hives, anthills, molehills or cobwebs. all small additions that could enhance not only the general environment but also the objects to be used to add more variety in how to portray the abondenment of societies in villages and towns.

just food for thought.

[bingo_fuel 205]

1 hour ago, Lexman61 said:

Never said, claimed or insinuated in any way that DayZ was "dead".

But have in more than one occasion stated on this forum that, it has become a niche game for a niche group of very dedicated and passionate players. Which is, in my opinion, regrettable as a larger player base would have been better in the long run.

I have put forward my thoughts on some of the reasons why I believe the player count has been steadily declining over time and why - regardless of forthcoming 0.63 and ultimately the final version - it is too late to regain the large number of players this game once had after more than 4 years of early access.

My belief is that no substantial increase of former and new players will be achieved in spite of the best intentions of the developers and their official statements. This does not preclude in any way that 0.63 and further updates might make DayZ into a technically excellent game and greatly satisfy all the devoted and passionate players which have been enjoying it over time and are still playing it.

Ironically, for what has always been a true PC game, a successful release of the announced console version is the only possibility to once again attract a large number of gamers to DayZ and potentially regain players also on the original platform (although I have some doubts, considering the generally very casual nature of console players).

Sadly, any critical reflections about DayZ and its future is often viewed by some people on this forum as a direct personal offense and almost bordering to a "lèse-majesté" crime against the developers. This is clearly completely overreacting and often putting words in somebody's mouth by saying they have made arguments and statements they haven't actually made. But the art of rhetoric is understood by few and mastered by even fewer.

In any case, and in spite of all, I still hope and wish the best for DayZ although it is not in my nature to take die-hard stands nor "how-dare-you-doubt" knee jerk reactions.

Regards

I think that you are underestimating the importance of modding. Just take arma 3 as example and how many copies it sold because of all the mods. And with DayZ we get an even better platform for that. Maybe some teams who started to develop a standalone version of mods on other engines will return because I can imagine that DayZ will be a really great platform for modding (with the announced new tools and a new scripting language). It's hard to belive that the volatile gaming community would skip DayZ just because it took long to develop. If there is a great (hyped) mod for it the players will return.

Does that mean that the vanilla DayZ experience will attract the same amount of players? Probably not but I guess (and hope) it will bring back enough players to the "hardcore survival" modes to keep the servers populated and interesting.

[libertine 351]

I love the brighter images. I wouldn't be afraid to go even further and wash things out because i think it looks nice sometimes and realistic, but i think washed out images due to the sun being over head and very bright can actually be very creepy, probably because it plays on the human eye and makes dark areas very hard to see into. Sound effects are really great too, can't wait for those. Anything occurs all the time or you see all the time, like foot step sfx or gun animations, is really going to drag things down IMO if its not 100%.

Only thing i don't like is the removal of the stars. I think beauty should win over realism in that case.

[Nebulae3 422]

And server stability need to be a lot better, cross fingers. It kind of ruin the fun if u shadow a guy or in a gun fight - then suddenly the server crash. ))