Greetings Survivors,
We're rapidly approaching the experimental push of 0.56, and we've discussed over the last few weeks some of the things you can expect from this update to the Steam branch. I'd like to recap a few key points though, as we're close to this push:
- Rebalancing of Infected damage threshold
- Redistribution of existing infected spawns to high population areas
- Bugfixing on Per-Item-Quantity control (Central Economy)
- Bugfixing on Infected Alert SFX
- Bugfixing on Infected movement
- Redesigned Inventory tech (engine side)
- New firearms / long range optics attachment
- Stary Sobor evacuation camp
- Bugfixes on various known duplication vulnerabilities
Tied with the 0.56 update to Stable branch, we'll see a hive wide reset (public/private) - including local storage data (player camps, vehicles)
Development is ongoing with the hive side economy control, in addition to future bug fixing development continues on the functional side, with the next major goal being region control over item spawn types. (removing the restriction of structure types only in certain areas of the map). Internally, the programming and design teams are working hard on analyzing server side performance, player position desync, and other critical issues affecting Early Access gameplay.
In some cases, resolutions to these issues are tied to the implementation of new technology to replace the legacy systems inherited from the start of the project - all of them however will be ongoing goals for the team over the coming months.
The bulk of the workload over the last month was centered around the refactorization of the inventory system. It became clear that the existing tech behind the inventory wasn't going to be able to meet the needs of the project, and carried with it its own vulnerabilities. The redesign stripped large amounts of the system, and redesigned specifically to meet the needs of DayZ and upcoming changes to DayZ's core technology.
- Support for AI and Vehicle Inventory
- Removing limitation on "in hands" as a virtual slot (still occupying space in container)
- Dynamic changing of cargo capacity - eg: lowering when damaged, raising when repaired
- Manual item rotation
- Support for redesign of Inventory UI
- Support for EnScript (Enfusion Scripting Language)
- And much, much more..
Looking at the Central Economy side of the fence, tracking the metrics on loot spawning provides some interesting details:
- Chernarus + features 8,725 buildings (and wrecks combined)
- 1,742,796 potential item spawn points are spread across the entirety of Chernarus + (Not counting dynamic events)
- Of the 8,725 buildings/wrecks across Chernarus + 410 of them are greenhouses
With the 0.56 iteration of the central economy we gain finer control over item spawn locations, but we still have a ways to go. As each update gets pushed to steam, we'll see finer and finer control over item spawn locations and types, as well as supporting dynamic random spawns - that will ensure unique spawns of valued items across the map. Who knows, maybe someday you'll get really lucky and find an M4A1 in that barn over the hill?
As you all dive into the experimental push of 0.56 (not yet live) please keep in mind that like many things in the development of DayZ, the new systems and tech are works in progress (much like DayZ itself) and are incomplete, and more than likely contain their fair share of issues. Please make sure to report any issues found on the official feedback tracker at feedback.dayzgame.com
See you out there,
- Brian Hicks / Lead Producer