Hey Survivors!

Welcome to Dev Blog 8 (Week 86) of the DayZ Badlands expansion.

This dev blog was written by our colleagues from the art and marketing teams, with help from members of our design team. This time we’re covering the wildlife of Nasdara.
Our dev blog publishing schedule will be a little unusual in the coming weeks. We still have a few topics we’d like to cover, including terrain holes, music, and more. We also plan on continuing the dev blog series after the release if we have additional topics to share.
For now, please wishlist DayZ Badlands to stay up to date!

View game pageLet’s get into the animals.

Disclaimer: The information shared in our development blog reflects a work in progress. The details discussed are subject to change before release. We intend to share these progress updates to provide some insights into the development process and foster community trust. Thank you for joining us on the road to Nasdara!

The New Animals of Nasdara

Much like with DayZ Frostline, we’re introducing new animals that fit the region while offering different interactions and loot. Three new animals are coming to DayZ Badlands:

• The mouflon

• Dogs

• The desert monitor lizard

You may have already seen the mouflon in some of our teasers. This animal primarily inhabits the mountains and steppes of Central Asia, making it a great fit for Nasdara’s setting and environment.

Dogs are being added as a new animal type to DayZ Badlands, one that does not quite fit the mold of either predator or prey. Instead, this animal will become the first territorial animal in DayZ. Unlike wolves, which are roaming predators, these dogs are tied to specific locations where they reside. A prime example would be military zones.

There are two dog breeds, the Doberman and the German Shepherd, with multiple variations.

Just to address one question right away: you will not be able to tame these dogs or keep them as companions. That is not the design direction we chose for them, although the community will still be able to make use of these dogs however they see fit. They are still technically man's best friend, or more specifically, the infected's best friend. Deeply traumatized by the events of Day Zero, they stayed loyal to their previous owners and remained close to them, primarily in packs.

These packs of dogs will act as guards for specific locations (primarily military zones) and will attack you if you breach their territory. We have plans to design more complex behavior than just straight up attacking you, but that will come later down the line, with no ETA on the timeline for now.

Last but not least, we’re also introducing what is possibly DayZ’s first reptile: the desert monitor lizard. Those with a keen eye may have noticed that we like each terrain to have a representative animal. For example, Chernarus has the regal buck, Livonia has the brown bear, Sakhal has the white wolf, and Nasdara will have the desert monitor.

Desert monitors will mostly inhabit the Dasht-e Sarman Desert and its surrounding areas. Once they notice your presence, they’ll quickly scurry away, much like our other ambient animals. However, you may have already spotted teasers suggesting that you can hunt them for food. There are also other interesting things you can get from them, but we’ll let you discover those on your own.

You can check out the animation work for the desert monitor above. Our artist, Václav, goes into detail about how he created it in the following section.

The Making of the Desert Monitor

Research

The initial research phase was led by designer Jana Unzeitigová. BIG KUDOS to Jana, who gathered key references about the lizard’s behavior for modeling and animation. Building upon that foundation, the focus shifted primarily toward visual elements, especially in making the lizard not too thick or oversized. This was the key aspect in creating a creature/lizard with a universal and believable scale instead of breaking the world with an oversized animal. Another area we collaborated on was coloration and camouflage. We explored different camo patterns, including stripe variations and how they interact with the lizard's scaly skin.  

References
Particular attention was given to scale structure, color distribution, and how camouflage works in natural environments. 

Creation Process
Once the high poly model was completed, the most challenging phase began: creating the scales. Lizards have multiple types of scales and capturing that variation was essential. For example, the head features distinctly different scales compared to the rest of the body, thus requiring more careful sculpting.

What Was Fun
Modeling the lizard from scratch was an incredibly enjoyable process. The organic nature of the creature allowed for a lot of creative freedom, making the sculpting phase especially satisfying. 

Challenges
One of the main challenges was ensuring the lizard fit into the visual style of DayZ. Achieving believable scaly skin required a strong balance between sculpting and texturing. Another key consideration was adjusting the size of the scales. While they’re slightly larger than in real life, this was done intentionally to better suit engine limitations and improve visibility. The goal was to maintain realism while ensuring players can still easily spot the lizard in the environment. Another important challenge was staying true to a real species rather than blending features from different classes. We specifically aimed to create a desert varanus that would feel authentic and naturally suited to a desert map.

Thank you for reading!
The release of DayZ Badlands is just around the corner, and we hope you’re excited to get your hands on it!
It’s hard to say when the next dev blog will be published, as we’re in the final stretch before release and it’s all hands on deck.
In the meantime, stay tuned and wishlist DayZ Badlands. Get your friends to wishlist Badlands too! You’re going lizard hunting.

View game pageBig love,
The DayZ Team

Contributors

The New Animals of Nasdara: Özgür, Lynn, Tomáš

The Making of the Desert Monitor: Václav

Render and Screenshot Support: Václav, Lynn, Marks

Editorial Support: Tomáš, Özgür, Lynn, Tom