Aug 15, 2024

DayZ Frostline Expansion Progress Report (Week 28 - 32)

DayZ - scottyb

DayZ Frostline Expansion: A Glimpse into DayZ’s Latest Thrills

Wishlist DayZ Frostline

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/

Survivors! Welcome aboard our latest dev blog series, where we delve into the Frostline Expansion, thanking you for your unwavering support and inviting you to explore the creative journey that shapes DayZ. Here’s what’s new and noteworthy:

Navigating Sakhal’s Waters:

Sakhal evolves with natural water springs and impending introductions of boats. These changes promise a new layer of exploration and survival strategy, encouraging players to interact with the environment in innovative ways.

New Wildlife Emerges:

Thrill at the sight and sound of the brown hare and the cunning fox. With enhanced animations and sound designs, spotting and hearing these creatures in their natural habitat adds depth and realism to the survival experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ZDorMCKJg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUDkmoj4W4A

Beware of Heavy Metal Poisoning:

A new survival challenge arises with Heavy Metal Poisoning, contracted from consuming contaminated snow or water. Navigating this hazard requires strategic thinking, careful consumption, and the use of specific treatments to avoid its lethal embrace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYbVmPv1jMA&t=7

Embrace the Cold with Heat Comfort Adjustments:

The Frostline expansion redefines survival in the cold. Mastering the upgraded heat comfort system is crucial as players contend with the ruthless eternal winter of Sakhal, balancing gear, environment, and actions to stay alive.

Ice Shelves and Springs:

Witness the breathtaking beauty of meticulously placed ice shelves and the contrast of dangerously tempting hot springs. These features not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of Sakhal but introduce unique survival elements in this chilling adventure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhuDR_tyOSw

This sneak peek into the development of DayZ’s Frostline Expansion offers just a taste of what’s to come. Stay tuned for more updates and

Wishlist DayZ Frostine

:https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/

Aug 6, 2024

1.26 Experimental Release

DayZ - lynn.zaw

Greetings, Survivors!
As we enter the experimental period of massive game update 1.26, we also find ourselves on the doorstep of the busiest period we’ve experienced in years. That’s because this game update is coupled with the release of the DayZ Frostline expansion. We highly recommend adding DayZ Frostline to your wishlist if you haven't already. Make sure to check it out on Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/
You can find the patch notes for 1.26 EXP on our forum here.

This is a long read, so please bear with me as I outline all the important things to look for during your experimental playthroughs.

Game update 1.26 offers changes and gameplay additions that not only support the DayZ Frostline expansion, but also impact the overall experience of our existing maps Chernarus and Livonia. As the title "Frostline" aptly suggests, we have concentrated a lot of work around the temperature systems. That was a challenge in and of itself: ensuring the game systems adapted to a simple change in global temperature.

We’ve also rebalanced the way various elements of the environment have an effect on the player character, be it from their position or the current weather. The progression of the player character’s heat comfort is now always delayed, as opposed to instant. This progression may be noticed by one or more arrows at the HUD as the character adapts to the changes in temperature.

The heat buffer, also known as the + symbol in UI when you spend enough time around a heat source, is also getting an update to help you visualize its state. This is primarily so it no longer looks like an on and off bonus, which was actually never a thing.

Edible items now have their temperatures simulated. They can freeze if the environment temperature is low enough, and will need to be thawed in order to be edible. They can be put on a fireplace grill (or a stove), warmed up, and eaten for warmth benefits. Just make sure to keep an eye on the temperature as the player character can take damage from consuming items that are too hot. In addition to that, we have changed the temperature badge in the tooltip and replaced it with a simple temperature description.

If you want to learn more about these systems, have a look at our recent dev blog post about environmental dangers.

Speaking of dangers, we have also looked at the common cold/influenza. We wanted to make sure that players who took care of their characters would not run into too many issues with it, while the ones who continue to ignore it would eventually face the consequences through the newly added stage of pneumonia. Temporal immunity has also been added to the medical system, which makes an instant re-infection impossible for diseases like the common cold. Pain suppression meds (i.e. codeine pills and morphine) have also been expanded and now have the ability to suppress symptoms of both influenza and the common cold.

A significant change has also come to large predators like bears and wolves, whose meat will be infected. Most importantly, it won’t be possible to eliminate the infection even after cooking the meat. There is still an option to eat and/or cure the disease, of course, but we wanted to make sure that predators who come to the player naturally are not an easy source of food.

Going from Livonia’s fairly warm climate to the unforgiving cold of Sakhal means that you will have to adapt the type of gear you wear (or take frequent baths in local ponds). Luckily, changes to the loot distribution will help you, as items are now distributed with the climate in mind. We’ve also taken a deeper look at the item distribution in Sakhal and applied a kind of regional theme to each map, which will mostly be noticeable through the firearms you’ll find lying around. Livonia will primarily host western-made firearms, Sakhal will mostly host eastern ones, and Chernarus will continue to offer a mixture of both.

In terms of spawning, be on the lookout for two new small animals roaming around the wilderness! If you want to spoil the surprise, you can learn more about them at our dev blog here.

A lot of work has also been done around various actions and associated features. One of the highlights is the fishing feature, which has received a long overdue update. We have changed the simple "hold until you catch a fish" system into an event-based one, where you have to keep an eye on the water and release the action button when a water splash appears. If you miss this window of opportunity, you’ll have to attach new bait and start fishing again.

We’ve also added a new entry-level wooden hook and a fishing jig, which allows you to fish without any bait. Regarding the bait, we’ve removed the crafting recipe and replaced it with a simple inventory attachment process (i.e. dragging a worm on top of the hook).

We felt they were quite underused, so a number of changes were made to the hunting traps. We’ve increased the chances of catching an animal, decreased the time it takes to catch one, and made the hunting traps more durable. There is also audio-visual feedback when the trap is triggered.

We’ve tweaked force feeding actions because we felt it was way too easy to forcibly feed somebody. Now you actually have to face the player character. Additionally, the camera movement during continuous actions has been restricted, as we didn’t want players to have an easy 360-degree look around.

You will also notice that the inventory is now missing a rough and precise indicator. That is not a bug. We have decided to remove the precise and rough skill as we weren't happy with the design, or its implementation (it caused a lot of actions to be desynced). We may revisit the topic of character skills in the future, but no hard promises on that one at this point.

A fairly substantial change to the gameplay in 1.26 comes from a large pass over the inventory cargo sizes of most clothing items. We’ve been waiting a long time to revisit this topic because we felt the inventory space of the player character was just too big. This has often resulted in players collecting whatever they find lying around without thinking too much about what they actually need at the given time. This change has impacted most jackets, pants, and vests, as well as several item sizes. Have a look at the following example of a fresh spawn and a geared survivor:

You’re probably wondering, “Where am I supposed to store all the repair kits?!” Well, we’ve also reduced the damage that clothes take from infected hits.

Apart from the gameplay additions and changes, we have also taken a deeper look at our server browser. Namely, we re-designed the server details section and added it to the console version. This also includes the addition of a server description field, where server owners can describe what their server is about. A new map column and filters were also added ahead of the introduction of a third official map.

Another thing we were finally able to implement is the official server verification system, which ensures that only official servers will be displayed in the official tab on our Steam build. This will put an end to all kinds of shady servers, which tend to confuse players who want to play on official servers.

Understanding the server names plays a big part in finding a place where you want to spend your time. That’s why we revisited the official server naming convention. We wanted to make sure the servers are easier to read and still offer the most relevant information. You can see a preview in the picture above.

When it comes to UI, PC players will be able to spot two new graphical settings - terrain and object visibility. We realized how much scenery would open up (especially with Sakhal coming), if we made these options available. These settings are client-side and independent from network bubble settings. Increasing them won’t give players any serious tactical advantage over others (i.e. you can’t see players/vehicles further away). Maximum values can also be limited by server owners, should they desire to do so.

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, check out our earlier dev blog.

The blog also details the new ways that fog can be controlled dynamically. This feature can be utilized in Sakhal, as well as in Chernarus and Livonia, where we used it to implement occasional morning fog that settles in the valleys. We hope it’ll increase your sense of immersion, as well as make the environment more visually varied and interesting as you play.

We’re sure our creative modding community will appreciate the expanded weather script API, as well as the increased vertex limit on a single model (previously 32 thousand, now 65 thousand vertices).

This has already been a massive post, and I haven’t even mentioned all the new content that’s available in update 1.26. I hope you’ll enjoy discovering the rest on your own. I also hope you’ll join this experimental update. Have fun and share your feedback. Help us test the stability of one of the most important updates DayZ has had in years.

On behalf of the DayZ team,
Adam

Jul 11, 2024

Frostline Expansion Progress Report (Week 20-26)

DayZ - lynn.zaw

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/

⚠️Disclaimer⚠️
Information shared in our development blog represents a work in progress, not the final product. The contents and features discussed are subject to change before release. We aim to provide insight and foster community engagement, but details may evolve as development continues. Thank you for joining us on this journey, and for understanding that what you see here is a glimpse into the process.

Dear Survivors, With the Frostline Expansion release on the horizon, we want to give the community a behind-the-scenes look at our development process. We've been regularly publishing Dev Blogs on our forums, and you can check them out here. This progress report serves as a summary of those Dev Blogs, and offers an extra layer of insight into our creative works, processes, and achievements.

1.26 Changes you can look forward to Before we get into the Frostline Expansion, we'd like to start with a few changes that will also impact the base game with update 1.26. Even though we're concentrating on releasing a paid DLC, that doesn't mean we aren’t implementing any changes or improvements to the base game with 1.26. Our efforts on Frostline are for the betterment of DayZ as a whole. Notably, the view distance in the game has been substantially increased, and you'll have full control over it via the settings on the client side.

We’ve also made significant efforts for us and community server owners to have more control over weather elements like wind and fog. The current fog system is tied to distance fog value and overcast, and is defined by the config, which evidently is limiting. With update 1.26, the dev team, modders, and server owners will have full dynamic control over the fog through a new script API. The fog will also affect the visibility of the sky, which is perfect for those who wish to create areas that have less visibility and a gloomier atmosphere.

More control over weather means more capabilities for us to create dynamic weather patterns and changes. Wind is one element we will have more control over. It will be a definitive factor in providing visual hints via the direction of snowfall, rain, or the direction and intensity of trees being affected by the wind. While the change in weather won’t be predetermined or occur in patterns players can predict, those who observe their surroundings and anticipate environmental challenges will have a strategic advantage. Think of the blizzards of Sakhal and the thunderstorms of Livonia.

Snow in Frostline One of the map’s main features is the snow and its integration into the environment. The snowfall particles are newly created / added to the terrain, and have been significantly improved since the last time you saw them in the official teaser. As you can see in the example below, these particles are not just white dots, but nuanced, weighted elements that enhance immersion and are even affected by light.

Moreover, the snow on the ground will gradually thaw when a fireplace is placed upon it. Cars driving over the snow, meanwhile, will leave behind distinctive tire tracks.

Thanks to the Enfusion team, we have updated super, multi, and plant shaders to allow texture projection in any defined direction. This is particularly beneficial for rocks and trees, as they no longer need to be placed or textured in a specific way. Snow will always be projected from top to bottom, ensuring a more realistic appearance. This is especially beneficial for the modding community.

Visuals of Frostline Following our successful upgrade of skyboxes for existing terrains in update 1.23, we're now focusing on creating a unique skybox tailored to Sakhal, which will enhance the map's snowy environment. This new skybox goes beyond mere compatibility; we're confident it will enrich Sakhal's atmosphere with a blend of Cirrus and Alto/Cirrocumulus clouds. Inspired by the Kamchatkan region, we conducted extensive research and utilized Google Street View for visual documentation. Additionally, we captured our own collection of winter sky photographs just outside our office, ensuring an authentic backdrop that fully immerses you in the cold, snowy world of Frostline.

Despite Sakhal being our smallest map at 83 square kilometers, we're enhancing its visual distinctiveness by introducing new objects such as roads, fences, power lines, and a variety of points of interest. Our primary goal is to ensure that every location you visit during your travels feels unique compared to other maps.

Working with essentially a blank canvas has allowed us to push the boundaries of environmental design in ways that depart from the constraints of existing maps (which had to be more consistent in general). This will ensure creative freedom and a more immersive experience. To achieve this diversity and uniqueness for Sakhal's points of interest, we've incorporated over 400 Sakhal-specific objects. These include reworked existing assets with new variants, assets ported from Arma titles (such as Arma 3 and Arma Reforger), and entirely new and unique assets created specifically for Sakhal. Here are a few examples of new residential buildings.

You may have already known that we are retexturing most of the houses to fit the region. We are also reworking a substantial number of house interiors, along with adding several intriguing hiding spots. Our goal is to imbue the houses with a sense of dilapidation and occupancy, and present interiors and decorations that have more character and history compared to previous iterations found in Livonia and Chernarus. You can see some of the house tour below.

Stay up to date with us!
We aim to provide more platform-specific rundowns every few months or so. We also publish Dev Blogs on our forum every couple of weeks. Additionally, you can follow us Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

These blog posts are meant to share our passion and document our creative journey, including the challenges and triumphs we experience along the way. As always, we owe everything to the DayZ community, whose steadfast support and creativity have been essential not just for the game's survival, but for our shared journey toward thriving.

If you liked what you’ve seen so far, make sure you hit the wishlist button, because Frostline is set to drop by the end of the fall.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/

May 27, 2024

DayZ | 1.25 Stable Redux Update - Out Now

DayZ - scottyb

Greetings, Survivors!

Time is flying for us this year and there’s tons that’s going on. Earlier this month, we announced our next big milestone: an expansion called DayZ Frostline. Today, we’re happy to announce that game update 1.25 has arrived on Steam! Today also marks the start of a new era for Livonia.

All current owners of the base game will get the DLC for free. Meanwhile, the Livonia DLC will be included with the base game from this point forward and available to all at a slightly increased price. If you’re itching to explore new places while you’re waiting for Sakhal, there’s never been a better time!

OK, back to update 1.25. What can you expect when you jump into the game?

The highlight of the update is definitely the long awaited addition of ambient music. We worked with Czech composer Dikolson to create a subtle and ambient background that increases your immersion as you walk through different areas of the game at various times of the day. There’s approximately 70 minutes of music available at the moment, with more to come in the future. We love the music so much, that we published a selection of it on Steam. If you’re interested in listening to this wonderful music outside of DayZ, you can find it on the Steam store page or within your Steam library under Soundtracks.

Note: Can take 24 hours for soundtrack to show in Library

Ambient tracks aren’t the only addition to the game’s audio. Update 1.25 also delivers the first rework of firearm sounds, including updated sounds of shotguns, the crossbow, and the grenade launcher. Our audio team has also been busy rebalancing the distance where you can still hear a player’s actions (previously, the audibility of all actions was set at 50 meters).

To prevent items disappearing from the inventory after using quick slots / certain actions, we decided to limit the use of contents in nested containers like cooking pots and protector cases through quick slots. We also reworked the way a player character’s position is synchronized with the server in order to tackle issues such as getting stuck in a doorway. Another addition in update 1.25 is a new long-range bolt-action firearm, the VS-89 with a 10-round magazine.

We’d like to highlight the fact that we’ve integrated the Enfusion crash reporter. We’d appreciate it if you’d take the time to fill in the details before sending us the full report.

That’s it for update 1.25. Our next step is update 1.26, which will be released together with DayZ Frostline later this year. Make sure to keep your eyes on our forums and socials, where more information regarding DayZ Frostline will be revealed. Exciting times are ahead, Survivors!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/

On behalf of the DayZ team,
Adam

May 21, 2024

DayZ Livonia DLC for FREE? DayZ new Soundtrack FREE?

DayZ - scottyb

Greetings, Survivors!

Get ready for May 27th, when Redux Update 1.25 brings an ambitious transformation merging DayZ with the Livonia DLC into one unified, enriched gameplay adventure.

What's Happening?

Update 1.25: This update is a pivotal moment for DayZ, combining the base game and Livonia DLC.
Effective immediately, Livonia will no longer be offered as a separate purchase. Instead, all current owners of the DayZ base game will seamlessly receive the Livonia DLC without additional costs.

Last Chance Sale: In anticipation of DayZ Redux update 1.25, we're giving newcomers a special opportunity to join our growing community.
From May 22nd to May 26th, take advantage of DayZ at its discounted original price. This is your last chance to seize DayZ and On May 27th Livonia DLC for Free!

Price Adjustment Notified: Note that with the introduction of Redux Update 1.25 on May 27th, the price will be adjusted.
This increase, however, brings value by combining the base game and DLC into one survival experience.

Update Reminder: Don't forget to update your game on May 27th to unlock Livonia.
From the densest woods to the most serene landscapes, Livonia is a testament to the unknown adventures that await.

Soundtrack Gift: Appreciation for our players knows no bounds.
As a special bonus, all who already own DayZ and Livonia before the update will receive the official soundtrack. Let the immersive tunes of survival escort your journey.

⚠️Note: it can take up to 24 hours for the soundtrack to appear in Steam library

Your Action Plan:

Mark the dates: May 22nd to May 26th for the Last Chance Sale, then gear up for the Redux Update 1.25 on May 27th.
Stay Updated: Ensure your game is refreshed on May 27th to welcome Livonia into the fold of your survival escapades.
Wishlist DayZ Frostline

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/

– The DayZ Team

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/221100/view/4196869170435940216?l=english

Apr 23, 2024

Experimental update 1.25 - New Rifle - New Sounds and more

DayZ - lynn.zaw

Greetings, Survivors!
Experimental branches of update 1.25 are now live on Steam!

Before we get to that, however, we’d like to announce a significant change. DayZ's base game, along with the Livonia DLC, will merge into a single product once update 1.25 is released on stable branches. The goal is to streamline our portfolio and simplify our offerings in anticipation of future developments. Simultaneously, we aim to elevate the player experience by enhancing accessibility to Livonia, thereby integrating the communities of both the base game and the DLC across every platform. While there will be a modest increase in price due to the new product’s expanded value, the pricing will be more economical than the current DayZ Livonia Bundle.

To clarify: the Livonia DLC will no longer be sold separately once update 1.25 is released on stable branches. Existing DayZ base game owners without Livonia will receive the DLC free of charge as a token of our appreciation. A comprehensive press release and FAQ detailing these changes will be issued on May 20th. Stay tuned for more details!
Now, let’s dive into what you should be keeping your eyes and ears on while trying out the experimental version of update 1.25.

The highlight of this update is definitely the introduction of ambient music. We’re thrilled that we were able to make this long-requested feature a reality, thanks to our cooperation with Czech composer Filip Míšek. The update features around 100 minutes of music, which plays during different times of day, as well as when you travel through various locations. We hope you’ll enjoy the music and become more immersed in your adventures. Keep in mind that the ambient music won’t be available until the second experimental build due to scheduling reasons.

Our audio team has also reworked the firearm sounds for all shotguns, as well as the sounds for the grenade launcher and crossbow. Additionally, the team has been very busy rebalancing the distance where you can still hear a player’s actions (previously, the audibility of all actions was set at 50 meters). This change doesn’t cover weapons or footsteps yet, but that is also on the team’s radar for the future.

Another thing we’ve improved is the way a player’s position is corrected between the client and the server. This only affects the character you’re playing and should prevent issues like getting stuck in a doorway.

We’ve also addressed an inventory inconsistency that was causing items in nested cargo containers to be moved around or even dropped without any notice. This has been happening since update 1.23, and forced us to limit the manipulation in such a way that you will no longer be able to assign items that are stored inside a nested cargo container to quick slots. Some of the things affected by this change include cooking pots and protector cases, as well as special actions like firearm reloads. Ammo and magazines that are stored in nested cargo containers will be ignored by the reload action.

Last but not least, we are introducing an automated game client and server crash collection system in DayZ. This will help us finally get a better idea about the overall stability of our game (particularly on PC). If you receive a prompt after your game has crashed, please provide details explaining what happened, then click “Send”.

As usual, you can check the full list of changes and additions over at our forum.

Some of you may be wondering whether there’s anything more to this update. Well, there isn't. This is mostly due to the fact that update 1.25 was built on top of 1.24. That’s because we are currently extremely busy with a very important milestone which is slated for delivery later this year. We are super excited to tell you more about it soon!

On behalf of the DayZ team,

Adam