Hello, Survivors!
We’re releasing update 1.24 today - our first stable update of 2024!
Similar to other updates we’ve released early in the year, this one features a thorough tidying up. Basically, we went through a bunch of pending tasks for quality-of-life improvements and addressed an array of outstanding issues. While it may be rather humble in nature, update 1.24 will serve as a solid foundation to build upon and lead us to our major update which will be featured in the autumn.
Those who were involved in the update’s experimental phase will already be familiar with our brand new Vikhr rifle, which features a new 30 round 9x39mm magazine that’s compatible with all 9x39mm rifles.
In addition to the new rifle and magazine, update 1.24 also offers new camouflage variants of the ballistic helmet. These will help enrich the variety of your player character, and protect your head during the exciting journey DayZ will embark on this year.
Here are some more notable improvements we're particularly fond of:
- Smoother weapon handling when you make contact with obstacles
- Increased damage output of blunt melee weapons against infected and animals
- Optimized gun particle effects for better client performance
- Refined collision geometry of foliage that improves performance and overall fluidity of movement (both player and vehicle)
- Rebalanced recoil patterns for automatic rifles
- Official release of the Linux version for the DayZ server slated for the stable branch
To get the complete scope of everything available in update 1.24—including an array of new sounds and animations—we encourage you to drop by our official forums and peruse the comprehensive update notes available here.
DayZ in 2024
While we're thrilled to start the year with update 1.24, we're equally eager to offer you a glimpse into what we have planned for the remainder of 2024.
This year represents a significant departure from our typical update delivery model. Nevertheless, we want to be clear that DayZ will continue to receive robust support throughout 2024 and beyond.
As we indicated last year (DayZ in 2023 & DayZ 10 Year Anniversary Q&A), our focus has been on expanding the scope of the DayZ brand. Significant resources have been allocated to this endeavor, and we’re poised to showcase the initial outcomes later on this year – it's a colossal milestone and an exhilarating moment you won't want to miss! We’re still working out all the details, but I am pleased to share our strategic areas of focus for 2024.
One of the things we’ll be continuing is our dedication to new character cosmetics which are a core aspect of the DayZ experience. We’re also planning to unveil a rather exotic long-range rifle.
Our recently reinforced audio team has already begun the major task of reworking the sounds of firearms. Other parts of the game’s audio are also being concentrated on, including the addition of new action sounds, coupled with a substantial balancing of the audio that’s tied to player actions. Another audio angle we’re committed to is the introduction of nuanced ambient music, which will increase the game environment’s depth and tension.
Other areas of focus include introducing a richer variety of wildlife, improving our terrain tools (Terrain Builder primarily) to make the lives of our modding community easier, and elevating survival mechanics—from extreme conditions to medical challenges—that will test your mettle and encourage players to adapt their survival strategies and manage their nutrition through an extended variety of sustenance options.
As you can see, we are fully committed to delivering a fresh and challenging survival experience to DayZ.
Stay tuned for more info!
Events
As of this writing, we bid a fond farewell to our Valentine’s event, which introduced Cupid’s bolts to the Experimental release and was available via community servers. Don’t worry if you missed out, though, because this year will include our usual special occasions like the Walpurgis Event, the Halloween event, and Christmas celebrations—all of which will be carefully designed to enhance your gaming experience. We’re also looking into the possibility of hosting new events in collaboration with other games. Legacy DayZ players may have an idea of what we’re talking about.
That concludes DayZ in 2024. We’re enthusiastically anticipating a year filled with remarkable journeys, and we sincerely hope that you will join us in experiencing the continued evolution of DayZ.
On behalf of the DayZ team,
Scotty