Letter to Developers

[noentry45 4]

So, I'm a long time consumer and follower of DayZ and I feel the need to voice out. This is potentially a long one (?), so thank you for reading whoever you are.

Amidst the new waves of people and attention, I think that this is the critical time of DayZ development as the Devs receive more feedback than ever. This is where and when a game could deviate from what was promised and envisioned. Personally, in my opinion, DayZ at its core and shines in its Immersive Environment, Player Interaction, and PvP. DayZ is about your journey with limitless options and possibilities in an open world apocalyptic set adventure.

Surviving in DayZ is harsh, but manageable, which is a good thing. The current system which forces player to look after health, blood, shock, bone, energy, hydration, and temperature, plus stamina (which I'm a fan of, it adds layers into PvP and inventory management, it just needs a tweak) now is enough to keep player busy. Dumbing it down harms the game from being a survival genre. On the other hand, over-adding surviving elements and going over too realistic could potentially hinder DayZ players from interacting with each other and versus. I've seen a couple of suggestions like comfort, nutrient, happiness etc, while I think it adds dynamic to the gameplay, the game just become a character management simulator. Although, If somehow it got added, I think it needs to be a hidden stats, it should not punish the player, but it should reward player for taking care of it, now that's cool. What I think the game lacks in its system is rewarding player for surviving, besides gear. Which brings me to my next point about Soft Skill.

Soft Skill finally here and it's exciting. I think there's massive potential for filling that 'reward' gap. However, as pointed out by Solopopo, the meter dances around mend & stitch and craft & build. It also locks when it reaches to one of the end. Basically, it forces you to assume a role. I think it's against what DayZ stood for, options. Furthermore, surviving is about practicality, and flip flopping between these two is to be expected. They should separate these attributes and rewards it accordingly. Say, you've done bandages for quite a lot, you get quicker time and health boost (?) or you crafted a lot, you require less materials AND maybe, Soft Skill for STAMINA, where your stamina increases as you ran a lot. There should be a cap, in my opinion, so a character can't get too overpowered. 

To close the loop about survival aspect, I would like to say thank you developers for the variety of options and gear in surviving, such as improvised backpack, improvised rope, human meat and armband, and more! I think this is one of strengths of DayZ, and it should be embraced and encouraged more in the future. Anyway, I will write more tomorrow on other aspects, but what did you guys think and want about the surviving aspect of the game going forward?

Edited May 28, 2018 by noentry45

[ImpulZ 2491]

First of all thank you for taking the time for writing your thoughts down. But there is a lot of unnecessary worrying among the community right now, because everyone is discussing their doubts and fears about every single thing on the Stress Tests.

Please be aware that the Stress Tests do NOT resemble the final state of the game in any form. An example is discussing the first implementation of soft skills right now on our build. This iteration you are seeing right now is by no means final and therefore any discussion about it is completely unnecessary at this point in time. There is still so much missing to the complete DayZ experience that features can't be seen in their entirety by now.

So while we appreciate your patience and passion to send us your feedback, please don't have unnecessary worries that what is now in the Stress test will stay forever.

Edited May 28, 2018 by ImpulZ

[noentry45 4]

@ImpulZ Well for me personally, the unnecessary worries come from huge surge of attention to DayZ from outside the community, in which they don't know exactly what DayZ is all about, why is it paced slow, what's the importance of hard loot, why you don't spawn with friends etc. Call me inclusive, but it is a concern when there's a chance DayZ could went and cater these audiences. I think it's fine, we all want the game to grow, with more people and interaction, as long as it doesn't rip core elements of DayZ. Some of the concerns also come from the fact that 0.63 is one of the big update and hugely anticipated. Although it's been great so far, with the movement, the zombies, animations and general feel of the game, it is missing its key feature which is the gun mechanic. In addition, we've waited the game for quite amount of time so there's that attachment. In conclusion, I think it's justified and IMO reassuring is needed in status reports on the direction of the game.  

And with that reply, I think I rest my case. The 0.63 is great as I mentioned above and I appreciate the immersive environment quality. The map doesn't feel generic and the small details such as the addition of ambient sound, different sound when in indoor or outdoor, blood in hands, texture etc are great. It felt relaxing at times when I'm in this game. I hope DayZ will continue to double down on these (especially the rain effect, its lackluster in 1st person). The zombies also react and acts as a threat which adds to the immersion, but I think they need to improve on it as it is a zombie game after all. Player Interaction is to be judged, well the microphone is okay so far and I think the PA system will be a blast. Even though these items are not always used such as the existing tape player, walkie-talkie, potentially guitar (I've seen development reports) and other player interaction type items, it creates memorable moments. I think these items should be encouraged, as in spawn more. Laslty, the PvP and gunplay, which is the major drawback from this update. No weapon dispersion is a little bit disheartening as mentioned in countless threads about this build but I hope they don't dumb it down too hard to the point it doesn't feel 'DayZ' authentic and more arcady BR games. 

Thank you for reading.

Edited May 28, 2018 by noentry45

[Espa 711]

Just putting my 2 cents in, also. 

First of all, it's deeply refreshing to see a member of the DayZ Team interacting in threads in these mysterious BETA times. So, good on you, @ImpulZ for being there for us :) 

As for the worries of players - I, myself, am actually leaning the other way. Every new update they include on the .63 Stress Tests shows more and more of that Fabled Final Version we have all fantasized and desired for years is slowly coming into focus. My worries are lessening by the great work of the Devs, even if a selfish part of me wishes I could wake up one day and it all be done with (I am sure they feel the same). For a short while I was really thinking that the community was turning the page and abandoning the project, but most of those fears have been alleviated by the mass of Test Players, as well as Console-Streamers starting to get an itch to get a hold of this game on their FunBoxes. Along with that, if the Devs somehow implement PC/Console Cross-Gaming Servers, then the numbers will swell far more than we have ever seen.

Just reading from the OP, @noentry45, but their words seem to echo most of ours. We're grateful to see a survival game fantasy come into full reality with a Dev Team that has stuck out the worst of their times to finally arrive here with the game feeling like 2.0.

And because impatience doesn't help anything, I won't get into how badly I just want vehicles to show up in the new .63 already. . . 

. . But I do want that. . 

Cheers, friends.

[ImpulZ 2491]

@noentry45 Rest assured that we are aware of the current focus of attention, which is again why we use every opportunity - such as this one - to explain that the Stress Tests are in no way representing the final game. DayZ is of course not meant to be excluding towards new players, but we aren't trying to appeal to "mainstream audiences" either. You find reassurances on our course of game design in practically each and every Status Report.

@Espa thank you for your kind words and trust, even if we don't reply directly we try to read as much of your feedback as possible.

[Gobbokirk 546]

1 hour ago, noentry45 said:

No weapon dispersion is a little bit disheartening as mentioned in countless threads about this build but I hope they don't dumb it down too hard to the point it doesn't feel 'DayZ' authentic and more arcady BR games.

I can say with decent confidence that they have heard our thoughts on that, authentic is the keyword for me as well :)
If it will change or not is up to Peter and the crew I guess, but you can be sure they know what has been said.

[green_mtn_grandbob 594]

15 hours ago, ImpulZ said:

First of all thank you for taking the time for writing your thoughts down. But there is a lot of unnecessary worrying among the community right now, because everyone is discussing their doubts and fears about every single thing on the Stress Tests.

Please be aware that the Stress Tests do NOT resemble the final state of the game in any form. An example is discussing the first implementation of soft skills right now on our build. This iteration you are seeing right now is by no means final and therefore any discussion about it is completely unnecessary at this point in time. There is still so much missing to the complete DayZ experience that features can't be seen in their entirety by now.

So while we appreciate your patience and passion to send us your feedback, please don't have unnecessary worries that what is now in the Stress test will stay forever.

this is a must read , as some are still have unfounded worries.

[Solopopo 330]

On 5/28/2018 at 8:27 AM, noentry45 said:

@ImpulZ Well for me personally, the unnecessary worries come from huge surge of attention to DayZ from outside the community, in which they don't know exactly what DayZ is all about, why is it paced slow, what's the importance of hard loot, why you don't spawn with friends etc.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The surge isn't here yet, but it's coming. Most of the people discussing the issues here are veteran players, even the critics. But soon these forums will be booming again like they were in 2014. The concerns voiced on the forums at the moment echo very loudly because hardly anyone is speaking. Don't fret. The devs have been waiting to implement their game designs for years. They won't change them over the opinions of a few bambies.