Status Report - July 2019
Dear Survivors!
DayZ is now out on all the major platforms – PC, Xbox, and PS4.
You've probably seen team changes on social networks and are wondering: what's next? Of course, that's only natural, and today we would like to talk about the current issues, the expectations set by both the DayZ Mod and 0.62, and the future of the game.
Consoles
The console updates will always happen after the PC updates – within 3 to 4 weeks of each other. The main reason for this lies with the specifics related to the console submission and review process. It takes 3-7 days for a submitted game to go through review. If it is decided that the build is good to publish, it takes 3 more days to roll the update out to the public. However, if there are any issues flagged as a must-fix by Sony or Microsoft (even ones that could be fixed in an hour), the whole process has to start again.
Because this review process can take so long, we use the readily available PC platform to try new versions early – to check if there are any significant issues we missed (as you know, it happens). This PC testing lets us deliver the console update in a more reliable state and minimizes the chance of re-sending builds for review.
A quick 1.04 update: we will carry out a complete server and character wipe, and will introduce private servers. Also, this update will address some of the current most troublesome issues in the game – duping, server hopping, and frame rates.
Past, Present, and Future
Parity with 0.62 and the DayZ Mod – full parity isn't possible because of the engine specifics. While features from 5 years ago are exciting, we want to remind you: most of the features didn't really work properly back then, and this is why it wasn't a final game.
You might question the necessity of a new engine, but for those who took a long break from the game, it's plain to see just how much of a difference it has made. DayZ runs a lot smoother on the new engine. Although it might be hard to notice the change when you play daily, taking a step back should help to highlight many of the improvements that have been made during development. And these improvements are strengthening the game every day. We see it through the steadily increasing player count (even on PC) since March 2019 (public data is here). We see it in Twitch statistics – with more channels streaming the game and more people watching (link to Twitch stats). It might be a far cry away from the numbers of 2013, but for an almost 6-year-old game, it's pretty good! Of course, we will continue to work on DayZ to make everyone's experience better.
Let's take a more detailed look at the game and its future:
Advanced health system – We improved it in 1.04 and will continue the balancing. However, at this time we will not commit to implementing complex medical/injury gameplay – while this is desired by many hardcore players, we are still struggling to fully explain the complexity of the existing system to the majority of players. Moving forward, we are working on a nice balance between authenticity and accessibility.
New content (guns, cars, etc.) – As you know, we have already added some of these. More will follow, but keep in mind that it will depend on how quickly we can achieve this year's goals.
Modding support – We will improve the user experience for both modders and players. For example, we will soon bring animation tool support.
Stable base building – A large part of this is the matter of balancing, and it's one of our key objectives for the year.
Our focus for DayZ for the rest of 2019 will be: bug fixing, stabilizing, balancing, and modding support.
We also plan to release an official DLC this year (keep your eyes open, and follow us on social media for updates). Additionally, we are currently experimenting with Survivor GameZ (a mod and popular tournament from the past), and will possibly bring this to DayZ as an additional game mode.
About people
It's normal – especially in this industry – to move on after working on a particular project for several years. And after major releases are done is the most likely time to do so. With DayZ, it's no different, and after releasing 1.0 on PC and console, some people are moving onto other projects internally, or leaving the company. It should go without saying that no matter what, these people will always be in the hearts of the DayZ team.
While these are by no means the only team changes, we wanted to at least address the public faces of the game who are leaving:
Peter, Lead Designer, who led the design direction of DayZ through many tough years.
Eugen, Project Lead, will always be loved for his honesty and open ears to both players and developers.
Martin, Brand Manager, is in our hearts for his effort to finally bring DayZ successfully to players on Xbox and PlayStation.
Baty, Community Manager, loved for all the personal care for our community and interactions with our player base.
Everyone who worked on DayZ not only has a great line in their portfolio, but the tremendous support of both us and the community behind them, and we wish them all the success in the world. Press F to pay respects.
In light of the responses to our recent Status Report, we would like to clarify some details we didn't make clear, and answer some of the most apparent concerns from the community.
We don't intend to reopen past topics nor debate what was said (and promised) over the years, but rather focus on the future of DayZ and highlight a few facts. Of course, the trajectory of the project has been adjusted several times over the years, and our communication didn't reflect these changes. For this, we sincerely apologize. Q: Why not announce the upcoming features?
A: The current development cycle doesn't allow us to communicate too far ahead of an update as we keep our schedule flexible, because anything can – and does – happen, and we need to be able to effectively deal with any unforeseen developments. For example, the duping and other database-related issues have taken up a lot of our time. We keep exploring and experimenting with what features and content we can revive in this post-release period, however, sometimes these ventures are unsuccessful. While some features won't come back this year, we want to assure you that feature development hasn't stopped. For example, we are currently working on the comeback of vaulting, together with the introduction of climbing. Q: What are the gains and consequences of the new engine?
A: The two core issues we faced at the start of development were security and performance – highlighted by both us and the community as the focus of our efforts moving forward. Those issues were never going to be fixed using the previous technology (RV). The decision to move to a new engine was mainly based on these two limitations, and this effort led to the creation of Enfusion (and its future iterations). It's very easy to forget just how broken the game really was back then, with this being a major factor behind delays. To break free from the chains of these technological limitations, we had to replace the script language and its engine to massively improve the performance and security of the game, as well as the renderer, which was a large contributor to the poor performance. However, we underestimated the amount of effort needed and thus dug a hole too deep to get out of. This meant we had to rewrite almost all of the gameplay elements from scratch, losing features and variation along the way. It's important to remember that there was no real way to iterate and improve in these areas on the old technology. Therefore, we were left with basically two choices: live with performance/security issues, and slightly improve them while expanding the gameplay, or go back to the drawing board and figure out the new baseline, but lose stuff in the process. We chose the latter... Was this the right choice? The new engine has dramatically improved the game (performance, authoritative server, persistence, etc.) and paved the way for our future developments. Q: Feature parity with pre- and post-beta?
A: While we all wanted to get there, it is clear that it isn't possible due to the above changes. The pre-beta was an elaborate and extended alpha of the game, but we had to cut it down to a manageable piece for its release, ergo many features have been relayed to the post-release backlog. Q: Will the rest of the year be only about fixing?
A: Bug-fixing will be our main priority – to stabilize the game for new content and mechanics. However, we are also working on new content for the core game; we're just not yet ready to specify any details. Q: Incoming DLC, paid content, and features?
A: The paid DLC mentioned in the Status Report isn't Survivor GameZ. And as Tim wrote, no previously promised features will be hidden behind a paywall*. If anything, they will be released as part of the supporting update of the game.
While we aren't ready to share details and specifics, as hinted on Twitter, the central piece is a new terrain, and it isn't Namalsk. Q: Team changes, new leadership, etc.?
A: Yes, some key project people have left the team to venture new territories, but all their roles are covered – mostly by people who have worked on DayZ for years. It's just that not everyone likes being as public as Eugen or Peter have been. Q: What about the limited communication over the past months?
A: With the release of DayZ, we decided to focus the communication on facts, and avoid any over-promising. It resulted in a smaller volume of information – more open to speculation but more accurate – and left out things which weren't yet ready (yes, issues might've occurred since the release). Our communication will keep evolving and improving this year and beyond. Q: Private servers for consoles?
A: We are preparing them in close cooperation with our partners and will communicate more as soon as we solidify the specifics. Feel free to share your questions here; we will include them in the FAQ we're currently putting together. *Changed for clarification
We don't intend to reopen past topics nor debate what was said (and promised) over the years, but rather focus on the future of DayZ and highlight a few facts. Of course, the trajectory of the project has been adjusted several times over the years, and our communication didn't reflect these changes. For this, we sincerely apologize. Q: Why not announce the upcoming features?
A: The current development cycle doesn't allow us to communicate too far ahead of an update as we keep our schedule flexible, because anything can – and does – happen, and we need to be able to effectively deal with any unforeseen developments. For example, the duping and other database-related issues have taken up a lot of our time. We keep exploring and experimenting with what features and content we can revive in this post-release period, however, sometimes these ventures are unsuccessful. While some features won't come back this year, we want to assure you that feature development hasn't stopped. For example, we are currently working on the comeback of vaulting, together with the introduction of climbing. Q: What are the gains and consequences of the new engine?
A: The two core issues we faced at the start of development were security and performance – highlighted by both us and the community as the focus of our efforts moving forward. Those issues were never going to be fixed using the previous technology (RV). The decision to move to a new engine was mainly based on these two limitations, and this effort led to the creation of Enfusion (and its future iterations). It's very easy to forget just how broken the game really was back then, with this being a major factor behind delays. To break free from the chains of these technological limitations, we had to replace the script language and its engine to massively improve the performance and security of the game, as well as the renderer, which was a large contributor to the poor performance. However, we underestimated the amount of effort needed and thus dug a hole too deep to get out of. This meant we had to rewrite almost all of the gameplay elements from scratch, losing features and variation along the way. It's important to remember that there was no real way to iterate and improve in these areas on the old technology. Therefore, we were left with basically two choices: live with performance/security issues, and slightly improve them while expanding the gameplay, or go back to the drawing board and figure out the new baseline, but lose stuff in the process. We chose the latter... Was this the right choice? The new engine has dramatically improved the game (performance, authoritative server, persistence, etc.) and paved the way for our future developments. Q: Feature parity with pre- and post-beta?
A: While we all wanted to get there, it is clear that it isn't possible due to the above changes. The pre-beta was an elaborate and extended alpha of the game, but we had to cut it down to a manageable piece for its release, ergo many features have been relayed to the post-release backlog. Q: Will the rest of the year be only about fixing?
A: Bug-fixing will be our main priority – to stabilize the game for new content and mechanics. However, we are also working on new content for the core game; we're just not yet ready to specify any details. Q: Incoming DLC, paid content, and features?
A: The paid DLC mentioned in the Status Report isn't Survivor GameZ. And as Tim wrote, no previously promised features will be hidden behind a paywall*. If anything, they will be released as part of the supporting update of the game.
While we aren't ready to share details and specifics, as hinted on Twitter, the central piece is a new terrain, and it isn't Namalsk. Q: Team changes, new leadership, etc.?
A: Yes, some key project people have left the team to venture new territories, but all their roles are covered – mostly by people who have worked on DayZ for years. It's just that not everyone likes being as public as Eugen or Peter have been. Q: What about the limited communication over the past months?
A: With the release of DayZ, we decided to focus the communication on facts, and avoid any over-promising. It resulted in a smaller volume of information – more open to speculation but more accurate – and left out things which weren't yet ready (yes, issues might've occurred since the release). Our communication will keep evolving and improving this year and beyond. Q: Private servers for consoles?
A: We are preparing them in close cooperation with our partners and will communicate more as soon as we solidify the specifics. Feel free to share your questions here; we will include them in the FAQ we're currently putting together. *Changed for clarification
