DayZ’s still not been released. That makes us sad, it makes you sad, it makes the DayZ team sad. However, they have released a new devblog that, along with expressing their sadness that the alpha is not yet out in the world, shows footage from their most recent multiplayer test, and it looks pretty darn neat.
Lead designer Dean Hall also discusses the new systems that the team are working on.
At 1.50 you even get to see a player forced to kneel and strip by other players.
It’s a pain that the footage makes it look so extremely playable, particularly as the reason Hall gives for the alpha not yet being released is that “until we cover off on the very basic foundations of it, there’s just nothing there to play, nothing there to really enjoy.”
Until then it’s work, work, work.
Something the team are working on are update bubbles for each player; rather than having every object interaction happening on the server being transmitted to the player, you’ll only be updated on what it happening in your proximity – you don’t need to know that Jimmy on the other side of the map has just frisked a zombies corpse, you do need to know that Cara is hiding in the bushes ahead of you reloading her boomstick. It’ll just speed up the game.
The injury system is being expanded, too. More work’s gone into animations to reflect what hurts your player is going through. Broken legs, cut arms, swollen ears will all be visible. Except for that last one. Who gets a swollen ear in a zombie invasion? You go Van Gogh on apocalyptic ear infections.
The bulk of changes with this latest build have simply been improvements to stability.
From eight minutes on the video switches to interviews with some of the team. First up is Ivan Buchta, talking about the changes to the Chernarus map. This includes developing it into a more functional world; police stations and clinics are being placed about the map to provide players with locations more likely to contain the equipment they need. It will also mean it will be much more difficult for a single group to monopolise the resource-rich areas.
Buchta’s expecting another three month’s works on the map updates, at least. Some of the updates will be made available prior to conclusion of work on the map.