Status Report - 9 October 2018

[Baty Alquawen 3688]

Survivors, has it been two weeks already? We had the first internal multiplayer play-test of vehicles, Eugen is going to tell you more about it. He also talks about the hit registration issue, which is one of our priorities right now. Adam wants to introduce some changes related to gamma abuse, and Boris shows you how to prolong the burning time of torches. 

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• Dev Update/Eugen
• Dev Update/Adam
• Dev Update/Boris

 

Dev Update/Eugen

Dear survivors. Let’s start with something that definitely needs addressing. While I’m happy we've released the PC server files, in regards to the both the PC and Xbox versions, there are some serious flaws that we need to look into.

Priority Issues

For one, hit registration has been quite a problem recently, and I want to talk about what we know so far. While for most you, it seems like your bullets are not registering when hitting players around you, there might be (and probably are) multiple causes to this behavior. From magazines spawning and having ghost bullets (server and client think there is a different amount), through network messages not being sent, to maybe the armor system working incorrectly on specific items and configurations.

We’re looking into different angles. So far, with the use of bots, we are able to reproduce the issue when there are multiple corpses around. It seems like a network issue, so we’re starting with this to eliminate the possible low level cause first. It is also the first course of action because if we can confirm some network messages are not being sent in certain cases, it probably causes much more than incorrect hit registration.

We’re still in the process of debugging when exactly it happens and how. But having a sure way to see it in game helps us a lot. So if by any chance you know how you get your character/weapon/magazine/bullets in desynchronized state, please do report that through the Feedback Tracker.

The second thing I want to mention today is the inventory implementation on Xbox. We know it needs to get our love and attention. We will soon be reaching out to you and we'll be interested in your feedback.

Other than that, we are preparing a patch for the PC Experimental branch, ideally containing the fixes to the hit registration issue, as well as other smaller changes based on your feedback. From log upgrades to the ability to set a Steam query port for ease of DDOS setup when hosting a server, and some more.

Progress towards Experimental BETA

We've recently had our first multiplayer playtest of vehicles on the new implementation and the first results are promising. Once we have more to share about the patch, we will do so, both here and other channels. But the current state leaves us with two major, risky features in terms of overall update stability: vehicles and base building. The rest are going through rounds of intense QA testing to make sure we’re not missing something game-breaking.

So let’s get back to work and see you in game once we're ready for further Stress Test.

- Eugen Harton / Lead Producer

 

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Dev Update/Adam

Nighttime in DayZ should be dark and terrifying. It should force you into using any light source you have available. Having an ability to light up your surroundings should be just as vital as having enough water and food. Shutting off your light should only be required in case of an emergency. Also, when night vision goggles make their way into the game (which is something we still want to do in the future, but not in BETA), they should be a rare, powerful thing that can turn their owners into potential predators, not a laughing stock for people avoiding night-time by turning the night into a day by cranking up a gamma slider (be it through drivers or display settings).

The removal of the in-game gamma slider was but a first step towards making the very frequent gamma abuse more complicated to do. In today's status report, I'm going to present another step towards making the night-time a en equal playing field for everyone (at least as much as we're actually able to do that).

A survivor scouting Myshkino military camp using flashlight mounted on his AKM, unaware of a danger hidden in a shadow.

Please keep in mind that this is still very much experimental feature and we will be tweaking it based on your feedback (once it hits public branches). We have also taken a look on the global light config again (adjusting some dusk and dawn values), boosted up brightness of all available light sources and we will be taking a closer look at the CE setup to make sure there is always enough light sources within the game world.

-  Adam Franců / Map Designer

 

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Dev Update/Boris

Greetings survivors! Lately, there has been some effort invested into improving night gameplay across multiple departments (Adam will share more on that as well). So I'd like to report on one of the contributions I did in this regards, which is a refactor of the craftable torch.

Firstly, the torch now contains an attachment slot for rags, which allows players to prolong its burning time by adding more than one rag on it. You can also refill its stock while it's burning, which means you don't have to craft a new torch after running out of fuel for the current one. The latest Experimental branch on Steam already contains this change so you can try this out for yourself.

Additionally, in BETA, refueling will be possible to do through a crafting user action without the need to open inventory. As usual, this will be done through a quick bar or an interaction with a relevant item on the ground.

Refueling of a torch 1

Secondly, you'll be able to even further prolong the burning time by coating the torch with animal lard. Such upgrade is mainly useful for base builders, as it allows them to craft a long-lasting source of light that can be placed anywhere without the need of frequent refueling. 
Using gasoline as fuel is being considered, but currently, it's not implemented yet.

Refueling of a torch 2

Lastly, the amount of fuel on the torch will be represented by its quantity bar, so you will always know how much time you have left before it goes cold.

With these changes, this basic item is more interesting to use while giving it some connections to other activities like hunting, base building and collecting clothes or rags.

- Boris Vacula / Scripter

Header image by Sp1kerZ.

 

Edited October 9, 2018 by Baty Alquawen

[Demetrius Russyn 6]

Great stuff guys!! Thanks for the update!! hope to be playing with this stuff soon!!

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

Thanks devs/all!

Good luck with the hit registration bug, it sounds like a nasty one.

12 weeks to January 1st!  D:

Much excite, very anticipate.

*Also saw this movie title and thought you might get a chuckle out of it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5950092/

It's a 1.8 on imdb, lol

 

 

Edited October 9, 2018 by ☣BioHaze☣

[Private Evans 1303]

What is the state of the medical and health systems ?  Beside hunger, thirst and stamina these are the most important main basic mechanics ...Would be nice to get some info on that stuff as well.

 

cheers

 

[nl 986]

About carrying light sources, please make it so you can keep it away from your face and blinding yourself, for example by keeping it above your head which would probably also enlarge the lighted area around you.

[philbur 476]

3 hours ago, nl said:

About carrying light sources, please make it so you can keep it away from your face and blinding yourself, for example by keeping it above your head which would probably also enlarge the lighted area around you.

Yeah....That's gotta be a no-brainer for the Devs.

Torch is in front of you for general illumination around you....then hit your "raise weapon" key and BAM!...torch gets raised above you and glare is dramatically reduced!

This has to be a common sense thing for them....just has to be.

[LordBlackwolf 656]

Being able to carry a one handed weapon (knife, pistol, etc.) while holding a torch would allow players to be able to defend themselves at night if they run into anything that may try to kill them.

[liquidcactus 719]

1 hour ago, LordBlackwolf said:

Being able to carry a one handed weapon (knife, pistol, etc.) while holding a torch would allow players to be able to defend themselves at night if they run into anything that may try to kill them.

Oh yes indeed, we may see that feature in 2 years time wolf but it would be very handy. I'm so in love with the fact that the gamma slider has been gone for a while now thats just fantastic. Looking forward to the future of dayz as always. 

[emuthreat 2837]

On 10/9/2018 at 4:57 PM, philbur said:

Yeah....That's gotta be a no-brainer for the Devs.

Torch is in front of you for general illumination around you....then hit your "raise weapon" key and BAM!...torch gets raised above you and glare is dramatically reduced!

This has to be a common sense thing for them....just has to be.

This is a great idea and very much common sense, at least to hold the torch off to the side out of direct FOV.
But realistically, it would require an entirely new class of item animations, in which hold RMB makes the player lift their arm up like the Statue of Liberty or hold their hand to the side parallel with shoulder line with elbow bent at ~135 deg.  The latter being an uncomfortable posture to maintain for extended lengths of time
 

While I'm on the subject, I understand the reason for the devs' choice of making us hold RMB to keep weapons raised, as they seem to have found disdain at groups of players running around in constant ready weapon position.  But functionally, it is fatiguing, and probably adds unnecessary wear and tear on the mouse button.
And it's not just the weapon readiness.  I mean, I'm perfectly fine with only being able to ready a weapon while holding RMB; but perhaps objects that have a primary use that is not a weapon should have a toggle; maybe hold RMB and then scroll mouse wheel up to lock the position.   It seems like a no-brainer to exclude guns from this and keep the HOLD RMB as the only way to keep a gun raised.  But what is the harm in being able to do so with a torch or flashlight or even a stick with a rag tied to it? (flags, anyone?)

This scroll-wheel lock on RMB position would also be helpful for long duration LMB functions such as cooking or filling pots.  I know what they are going for with having to actively press a button to perform tasks, but anything more than eating a can of food gets seriously tedious to do, especially in repetition.  IRL, when filling a container, I position the container and start the water, then brace myself against the container and water spout and just kinda lean there and wait until its full. The current implementation makes it feel like you are a muppet with a sub-70 IQ, just holding your arms at full extension for a minute.  How many people cook a sausage over a fire by holding their arms out like it is a fishing rod?

Lastly, I'd like to comment on the gamma fix.  Normal seemed way too dark, which I guess is good for realism; but I'm not sure how much having the light attachment turned on spoiled the player's simulated natural darkness adaptation (Rhodopsin depletion in brightness, vs. regeneration in prolonged darkness).
In any case, the normal example pic seemed to be too dark even in the cone of light, while the gamma abuse clearly had the floor of the tent too bright for contrast, and the adjusted version looked grainy and lacked any light spillage through the tent windows.

Honestly, the gamma comparison had one glaring thing that I noticed, and that was the ground seeming to give off light of its own, or reflect way too much ambient light without regard for obstructions.  The background was sufficiently dark, but the ground and tent floor were much brighter than the surroundings; the tent wall in uncorrected gamma abuse example even seemed to be reflecting way too much ambient light.

[Sqeezorz 839]

33 minutes ago, emuthreat said:

.....

While I'm on the subject, I understand the reason for the devs' choice of making us hold RMB to keep weapons raised, as they seem to have found disdain at groups of players running around in constant ready weapon position.  But functionally, it is fatiguing, and probably adds unnecessary wear and tear on the mouse button.
And it's not just the weapon readiness.  I mean, I'm perfectly fine with only being able to ready a weapon while holding RMB; but perhaps objects that have a primary use that is not a weapon should have a toggle; maybe hold RMB and then scroll mouse wheel up to lock the position.   It seems like a no-brainer to exclude guns from this and keep the HOLD RMB as the only way to keep a gun raised.  But what is the harm in being able to do so with a torch or flashlight or even a stick with a rag tied to it? (flags, anyone?)

This scroll-wheel lock on RMB position would also be helpful for long duration LMB functions such as cooking or filling pots.  I know what they are going for with having to actively press a button to perform tasks, but anything more than eating a can of food gets seriously tedious to do, especially in repetition.  IRL, when filling a container, I position the container and start the water, then brace myself against the container and water spout and just kinda lean there and wait until its full. The current implementation makes it feel like you are a muppet with a sub-70 IQ, just holding your arms at full extension for a minute.  How many people cook a sausage over a fire by holding their arms out like it is a fishing rod?

...

Very good description, with full sense to reality/gametech and balance.

[ImpulZ 2491]

On 10/9/2018 at 10:10 PM, nl said:

About carrying light sources, please make it so you can keep it away from your face and blinding yourself, for example by keeping it above your head which would probably also enlarge the lighted area around you.

 

On 10/11/2018 at 6:55 AM, emuthreat said:

  It seems like a no-brainer to exclude guns from this and keep the HOLD RMB as the only way to keep a gun raised.  But what is the harm in being able to do so with a torch or flashlight or even a stick with a rag tied to it? (flags, anyone?)

Just to clarify on that a bit, we've shown gifs of the new Flashlight animation in our Status Report from September. This is the regular way light sources are carried without having to raise your hands. This is also important so that a raised light source is not confused with an aggressive stance.

[nl 986]

8 hours ago, ImpulZ said:

 

Just to clarify on that a bit, we've shown gifs of the new Flashlight animation in our Status Report from September. This is the regular way light sources are carried without having to raise your hands. This is also important so that a raised light source is not confused with an aggressive stance.

Thanks and yes that is an improvement. However, a flare or torch has an open light source (not shielded on the back side like a flashlight) so in that animation you would still be blinded. In real life you would never carry a light source shining back directly in your eyes, messing with your night vision.

 

[emuthreat 2837]

^^^This

I ran around with a torch the other night and it was constantly inside my FOV unless I was sprinting or walking slow with hands raised.  Omni-directional light sources need to be held out of players' FOV to avoid washing out the darkness adaptation.

Easy way to check this is to go into a dark room and use a Bic lighter as a light source.  While holding it directly in front, it severely compromises one's ability to see anything beyond arm's reach. 
Even putting a hand between your eyes and the flame will greatly increase the ability to see what is in the room without the direct light burning out your rods.  This is why traditional flame-based light sources such as candle box lanterns and portable oil lamps often had a baffle/reflector on the side facing the person holding it.
 

13 hours ago, ImpulZ said:

Just to clarify on that a bit, we've shown gifs of the new Flashlight animation in our Status Report from September. This is the regular way light sources are carried without having to raise your hands. This is also important so that a raised light source is not confused with an aggressive stance.

The new flashlight animations are cool; not sure how this would look on a weapon mounted flashlight though. But directional lightsources aren't the issue.  For a torch, flare, or glowstick, the player should hold these items overhead to avoid blinding oneself.

I'm not sure how feasible it would be to have adjustable animations for such things; where the player could use the scroll wheel to adjust the height of the equipped hand position; but it would definitely be a welcome QOL and functionality improvement.
Not to mention the machinima and RP implications of an angry mob being able to hoist torches up into the air as part of a rallying cry. But I'm sure at this point in development, makework suggestions like these are likely to fall by the wayside.