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DayZ switches over to DirectX 11 and reworked controls
The days of DayZ as we knew it are over; all hail the upcoming changes to everyone's favorite gankfest featuring the occasional zombie! In an interview this week, DayZ creator Dean Hall outlined six improvements that the team is working on for the standalone version of the game. Right out of the gate is the decision to add an option to toggle DirectX 11 to make everything look a lot better. "Implementing DirectX 10 or 11 will have a dramatic, instant visual difference and quite a significant performance difference," Hall said. Other changes include new 64-bit server architecture, better hunting mechanics, improved controls, a reworked loot system, and an early game experience fashioned specifically for new players.
DayZ gives zombies a hand crossing the street
Poor zombies. All they want to do is eat a little brains and earn your respect, just like anyone else, but that's hard to do when they're walking into walls and clipping badly into a dumpster. Fortunately for our undead brothers and sisters, the devs on DayZ have figured out a good solution to problematic pathfinding. "Our problem was not unique, but our situation was: our world is very big yet it requires the same precision as a small one," the devs wrote in a blog post. "The team devoted to solving this decided to use navigation meshes. The serious problem it presented, though, was how to generate these meshes. With nearly two million objects on the map, doing it by hand would not be an option. So a method was devised to split the world up into grids, and then raycast at a precise interval and generate chunks of navmesh." The result? Zombies that can figure out how to cross a street and go into a building without embarassing themselves. The team also talked about some of the livestock it's creating for the game, including carp to be fished out of ponds by survivors.
DayZ servers hacked, Bohemia says user data is safe
Bohemia recently confirmed Reddit rumors of an attack on its DayZ servers. Speaking with Rock, Paper Shotgun, the studio downplayed concerns about user data security. "We have recently detected an attack on some of our servers, the precise nature and scope of this attack is currently being extensively investigated. There were no user data on any of the servers. Current development goals and schedules for our games will not be affected by this attack. More information will follow as our investigation continues," the firm explained. Initial reports claimed that DayZ's source code was stolen, which could lead to all manner of future exploits in the post-apocalyptic zombie survival sandbox. Bohemia has neither confirmed nor denied the source code rumor.
Bohemia Interactive acquires a new team for DayZ and assembles a roadmap
Are you ready to kill your fellow survivors and take their stuff in DayZ? If so, you've got plenty of company; according to creator Dean Hall, the game has sold 1.7 million copies on Steam thus far. It's given the team good reason to expand, at that. Bohemia Interactive has acquired Cauldron Studios, now renamed Bohemia Interactive Slovakia, and will be putting that team to work developing more content and systems for the zombie sandbox experience. Hall also outlined a roadmap of the game's coming updates, stating that the end of April should see the inclusion of fireplaces, loot respawns, and crossbows. New pistols and AI pathfinding are next on the list, followed by a 64-bit upgrade and the inclusion of animals for players to hunt and cook. Whether you're looking forward to what comes next or just like the current state of beating up players and taking what they've found, if you're a fan of the game you should take a look at the full rundown.
DayZ's dev team is doubling up
DayZ may be losing creator Dean Hall toward the end of 2014, but the popular zombie sandbox project will be gaining several additional developers. "We are inducting a large number of new people to the team, effectively doubling the whole project," wrote Hall on the DayZ dev blog. GamesIndustry.biz reports that Hall also reiterated his intention to move on, but stated that he will remain "in a leadership role until at least the end of the year."
Dean Hall is leaving behind DayZ and Bohemia Interactive
Games are a bit like children. You work with other people to craft them, to help them go from little more than a twinkle in your eye to something capable of surviving without you. Dean Hall created DayZ, but he's jumping ahead to the part where he metaphorically kicks it out of the house and tells it to get a job. Or he's kicking himself out of the house... the metaphor is a bit tortured, but the important point is that he's leaving DayZ behind. Why leave a game that's still early in testing and doing well? As Hall puts it, keeping him on the project could eventually lead to his being someone who tells others how things are done rather than adapting along with a changing game and culture. Instead, he's heading to New Zealand with plans of opening a different studio. The changeover is not happening immediately but should take place before the end of the year. [Thanks to Zipzopboobidybop for the tip!]
DayZ studio hacked, encrypted passwords downloaded
DayZ developer Bohemia Interactive was struck by hackers today, resulting in the illegal download of player usernames, emails addresses, and passwords. Bohemia posted a letter stating that while the passwords were stolen, their encryption should protect players from the hackers using them. Even so, Bohemia has reset all of the passwords in its database, requiring players to register for a new password in order to access the studio's website and forums. The good news is that credit card info is safe. "We would like to reassure everyone that no other information such as credit card details is stored by us and thus was not at any risk from this illegal breach," Bohemia stated.
Standalone DayZ looks to be taking cues from EVE Online
When you actually build a simulation of the post-zombie landscape, where do you look for inspiration about what happens next? To the stars, according to DayZ's Dean Hall. In a recent interview, Hall discusses the ways that EVE Online creates a persistent world fueled primarily by player interactions and backstabbing, which he sees as the future of the standalone DayZ. Not just in the case of survivors turning on one another, but in the ability to actually create safe regions through the world carved out by player ingenuity. Hall discusses the possibility of allowing not just player-owned structures but long-term landscape changes, hollowing out bunkers and setting up security systems. The game isn't there yet, but he also mentions that watching The War Z's launch and subsequent burn in some ways helped fuel the development team's commitment to the original vision. It's an interesting look at a game that isn't out there yet, but promises to add more than simply surviving the hordes of mindless undead.
E3 2013: DayZ shows off its standalone gameplay
Do you like zombies? Wait, that's a silly question, don't answer that. They're horrible undead abominations, of course you don't like them. But do you like shooting them? If so, you'll be happy to see the brand-new footage of DayZ's standalone client just past the break, because this is a game all about shooting zombies. Also stabbing zombies, incinerating zombies, and generally making the world safe for everyone who wants to have a zombie-free living space. The video stretches for about 12 minutes, covering everything from inventory management to shooting zombies to combing houses for supplies. No word on whether or not the standalone game will include mechanics for fighting against a growing sense of survivalist paranoia or waiting things out at the Winchester, but you can still see what it's like to get your zombie-killing hat on.
Hall takes a break from DayZ, pursues dream of climbing Everest
If you're anxiously waiting for Dean "Rocket" Hall's standalone version of his ultra-popular Arma 2 mod DayZ, you'll have to wait a little bit longer. Hall is currently climbing Mount Everest as part of a two-month vacation from his development duties on Bohemia Interactive's zombie-themed post-apocalyptic sandbox. "Although the timing is poor for my sabbatical, it is not something planned on a whim and involves non-refundable costs of up to $100k," Hall writes on the DayZ website. "This is going to take as long as it needs to," he continues. "We want to release our initial alpha under the architecture it needs to avoid hacking and security issues -- this is the only remaining task stopping us from releasing the alpha."
