While many of us are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Standalone version of DayZ, there is a way to get more out of your experience. The modding community has released several custom maps for the game, but not all of these maps are created equal...
One of the first maps to be released for DayZ, Lingor Island does a great job of staying true to core DayZ fundamentals while introducing a fantastic new environment to explore and survive.
There's a handful of DayZ applications available on the Google Play Store (formerly Android Market) but none quite so effective, in our use, as DayZ Central.
Features-wise, DayZ Central is a pretty meaty offering with the base app including a full HD map of Chernarus that features:
Plus, for an added bonus, you get a handful of guides included in the app. What I've been doing (as nerdy as it might sound), is setting up my tablet in landscape view next to my main monitor when I'm playing DayZ. Doing this, I have an always-on loot, vehicle and building location guide at my fingertips.
This is especially handy as I pretty much spend 90% of my time in DayZ being killed by bandits, so finding loot becomes something of a necessity.
In the next line of the heart rending, soft-rock ballad that is The War Z, we learned this morning that the official forums for the game have been completely taken offline as a precaution due to malicious hackers gaining access to forum and game data.
A quick visit to http://forums.playwarz.com/ can confirm that the entire forum has been taken offline, although this was done by the publisher as a safety precaution and not directly caused by an attack.
We are sorry to report that we have discovered that hackers gained access to our forum and game databases and the player data in those databases. We have launched a thorough investigation covering our entire system to determine the scope of the intrusion. This investigation is ongoing and is our top priority. As part of the remediation and security enhancement process we will be taking the game and forums down temporarily.
We are issuing this Security Alert to all Survivors as a precaution so you can take some precautionary measures on your own. We have already taken a number of steps to increase security and are continuing to work with external advisors and investigators to identify and implement measures to minimize the chance of this happening in the future.
Clearly, the biggest concern here is financial information that players may have used to purchase the game through the website that hosts the forums. Thankfully, those payments were all handled by a third party and none of that information was compromised in this security breach.
What you need to know is that the hackers now have access to your email address. While all passwords stored in the player database were encrypted, there is always the chance of this encryption being broken so you would be well advised to change your password - particularly if you use the same or similar password for other institutions. You can change your War Z password from the War Z launcher.
Stay tuned to http://forums.playwarz.com/ as they continue to update players on the situation.
"I know that people get really frustrated because they want to play, but I just think this is the best option," revealed Dean Hall to Joystiq in a recent interview. This coming after the announcement that the standalone version of DayZ would not be launching until at least June, and that is being optimistic.
At this stage in the game, Hall and his team are focusing on making the standalone version of DayZ perfect. They are ready to go live with the alpha test but the number one focus is that the client-server architecture is going to be able to support the game. 2013 has had enough day one failures for DayZ to be added to that growing list of disappointments, so we're perfectly okay with an extra few months of wait time.
Speaking of the challenges facing his team, Hall said:
We want to release the keys in chunks of what we have servers available. The idea is to very, very quickly try to release something out there, because that allows us to start capacity testing. We've got one final thing we're waiting for with the release date, which is the completion of our client-server architecture.
It's basically making the game into an MMO, and pretty much the moment that's done, we'll release.
Also mentioned, albeit briefly, was the potential for DayZ to launch a sort of Kickstarter-like initiative that would allow players to essentially pay certain amounts of money for access to the alpha version of DayZ as well as other bonuses. This would use a tiered system, much like Kickstarter uses for potential financial backers.
Would you pay to play the DayZ standalone alpha or does that seem like a stretch to you? Let us know in the replies, we're curious how well that project would go with DayZ players.
If you're playing the DayZ mod, don't forget to check out the DayZ Wiki for everything you need to know about the game. This will also be our home for the wiki for the standalone version of DayZ so bookmark it and check back in with us as we get closer to release.
Source: Joystiq
The end of 2012 was anything but kind to Hammerpoint Interactive and their zombie survival game The War Z. After a pretty dramatic few weeks, Hammerpoint was feeling the angst of the community in a fiasco that culminated in the removal of the game from Steam.
It was at that point that we decided to take a calculated step backwards from covering The War Z. Well, it's been a few months now so we decided it's high time we take a look at what Hammerpoint has been doing in 2013 when it comes to The War Z and how the game is faring after all that negative press.
The biggest news, perhaps, is the re-launching of The War Z on Steam. On February 26th, Hammerpoint re-released the game on Steam to very little fanfare. No major press releases went out and the forum announcement contained little more than a paragraph and a link to the games Steam page. Noticeably, the game had an updated information section that was more accurate to the content of the actual game than the original listing.
It seems like the major focus these past months has been anti-cheat and dealing with hackers. The War Z became a place riddled with hackers, but this is not unique to the game. Anytime a game gets a decent following, you get a group of hackers that come out of the woodwork to do their level best to ruin the game for everyone else.
There is a special circle in hell for these players.
Released this past weekend, we have here a developer blog from Dean 'Rocket' Hall and Matthew Lightfoot on the upcoming standalone version of DayZ.
The video, which you can watch above, features 20 minutes of footage from DayZ, giving us our first substantial look at the game.
The video is narrated by Rocket and Matt Lightfoot who provide some really awesome commentary over the gameplay. It's important to note in the video that the zombie animations are carried over from the DayZ mod but that will not be the case in the final game. As witnessed in a previous developer blog, zombies are getting some brand new animations and framework but that work hadn't been implemented at the time of the recording of this blog.
Check out the trailer above and for all of your DayZ needs, make sure to visit http://www.dayzwiki.com!
Earlier this month, the team working on the DayZ ArmA II mod (not the standalone version) released a patch for the game that introduced a whole slew of new models for cans in the game world. Soda cans, beer cans, beans, you name it.These new can models all had quirky, funny names dedicated to forum moderators and the community absolutely hated it to death.
These new can names were put into the game in an effort to pay homage to the folks who work tireless hours to upkeep the community and message boards, but ultimately a large portion of the community didn't appreciate the gesture.
Threads began sprouting up on popular gaming communities like Reddit and 4chan denouncing the new cans, declaring that they 'ruin the immersion and atmosphere of the game' and that this was nothing short of a grab for glory by the moderators and development team.
At the end of the day, the players' voice was heard and hotfix 1.7.6.1 removed all of the can models that had been introduced just 24 hours prior. The backlash and outpouring of hate was successful, but was it necessary?
In a game like DayZ, immersion in the game world is a crucial factor, that is not up for debate. Losing yourself in Chernarus, creeping through the overgrown foliage trying to avoid the attention of zombies and, more importantly, the eye of ruthless bandits, is what makes DayZ so special. There have been attempts to emulate this feeling that DayZ gives us but, if we're honest, nobody has nailed it down yet.
But was the immersion really 'ruined' by the inclusion of a handful of off-the-wall can names? After all, they're just cans, right?
Keep reading for more on what Dean 'Rocket' Hall is calling The Notorious Can Incident.
Check out the latest developer diary from the guys at Bohemia Interactive as they visit the motion capture studio to do capture some brand new zombie animation. This 23 minute developer blog is a must-watch for anyone who is anticipating DayZ as much as we are.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect is that Dean Hall himself dons the motion capture suit. We would be hard pressed to find another lead developer who is willing to do his own motion capture, let alone someone who puts as much of himself into the performance as Rocket does in this developer video.
All of the motion capture artists are great and we can't wait to see how this translates into some amazing new zombie animations.
DayZ is rapidly becoming one of our most anticipated games of this year, so make sure you stick with us as we continue to follow development on the game! If you're currently playing the DayZ mod, make sure you stop by the DayZ Wiki at http://www.dayzwiki.com/ for all of your DayZ needs, from full maps of the game world to loot guides and everything in between.
We missed this last week but it's better late than never when it comes to talking about DayZ, especially the standalone version. Posted on the development blog, Dean Hall delivered a pretty lengthy update on the status of DayZ Standalone development, saying that things are going well as they move closer to getting something tangible out for public consumption.
In perhaps the most telling comment in the update, Dean said:
The experience will be entirely new. There is virtually nothing that has been directly ported from the mod, everything has been redone. This wasn’t our original intention (hence the December deadline) - but it has evolved this way.
We’re all glad it has!
So, the next time you look back at that December, 2012 projected deadline and shake your fist at the sky, remember that this is not the same game we were expecting six months ago. It's not even the same game that the developers were expecting.
It also looks like weapons and attachments are getting some focus in recent weeks:
Based on feedback and development, changes continue with this area. It’s starting to operate really well. Our programmer here, Jirka, will eventually move onto the crafting system. He has been wanting to move onto this for some time, as it is a personal area of interest for him.
As part of the inventory system, we have started detailed work on the attachment system. Like the customization of characters, we want to allow maximum ability for the customization and development of a players weapons. As part of this, all weapons being introduced into DayZ are being redeveloped from scratch at extremely high detail. The work being produced so far is outstanding!
This means that, on release, there will be less weapons in the standalone - but it allows us the ability to continue each week to release content updates with new weapons and items.
Check out some brand new screenshots from the standalone version of DayZ after the break and make sure you visit http://dayzdev.tumblr.com/ to read the full blog post!
The team working on the ArmA II mod DayZ has released a pretty major update for the mod, introducing new elements into the game and fixing existing ones. The update is, of course, free of charge to anyone who owns ArmA II, the expansion Operation Arrowhead and has installed DayZ.
Today's update, 1.7.5.1, introduces some new weapons and gameplay elements. As with any good update, the patch notes are pretty lengthy but here are some standouts:
These are just a few highlights from one section of the full changelog. The entire thing can be read online at http://dayzmod.com/.
Make sure you visit the DayZ Wiki at http://www.dayzwiki.com/ for more information on DayZ!
Corridor Digital is known for their amazing work on YouTube, putting together some amazing short films including today's release; After DayZ. The short film is incredible and manages to capture the bleak atmosphere that we've come to love in DayZ.
When you step foot into Chernarus for the first time, there's nothing quite like it. The world, so vibrantly realized thanks to the ArmA engine, is stark and desolate. It won't take long for you to realize that you are well and truly alone in this world...or so it seems. Make your way to the nearest town and you'll quickly come in contact with mobs of soulless undead, shambling aimlessly across the barren streets. But in Chernarus, zombies are the least of your concern. The true threat lies in other players and whether or not you can trust them. Choose to put your faith in them and you might find yourself betrayed a mile down the road, all your weapons and loot stolen from your lifeless corpse.
You just never know, and it is this suspense and mistrust that Corridor Digital has managed to capture on film. The video is awesome, and we definitely recommend giving it a view at the top of this page. For more on DayZ, you can always visit the DayZ Wiki at http://www.dayzwiki.com/.
The closed testing for the standalone version of DayZ has officially begun! Ever since we heard that Dean Hall was doing a standalone version of DayZ, we've been looking forward to the day when the game reaches a stage where we can finally get our hands on it and it looks like we're one step closer to that goal this morning.
Hall updated his DayZ Tumblr, announcing that the closed internal testing has begun (using Steam for server browsing, no less!) and that he is working on implementing the actual game/server client so that it can be released to the public in some form. Also in the update, he talks about a ton of other updates to the standalone version of DayZ including weapon customization (attachments!), character customization and so much more.
Something that caught our attention was Hall's note about how your character will originally look and how that may change over the course of playing DayZ:
This is an area of very active development, we’re exploring all sorts of ways to make your character change in the world as you play. When you first create your character, the options will be simple. As you go along in the world, your character will change as a result of their interactions with the environment and the decisions you make, through items such as clothing choices.
Social aspects are extremely important to us, and we’ve taken a number of idea’s and participated in the discussions on reddit and the forums about what we can do in this area. Expect more on these area’s in the next tumblr update. We want to support the organic development and operation of groups within the game, through the development of their own symbology in game (tattoo’s, markings on the world, on weapons, etc…).
We feel that these redeveloped social experiences told through the game will be a compelling part of the standalone.
Check out the entire blog update at http://dayzdev.tumblr.com/ and make sure you visit the DayZ Wiki for everything you will ever need to know about DayZ!
Dean Hall, the developer who is sometimes known as Rocket and who's stellar ArmA II mod DayZ took the gaming community by storm last year, isn't very happy with Hammerpoint Interactive and The War Z.
In a post on Reddit yesterday, Hall was asked to clarify on some comments he had made in reference to The War Z. Specifically, he was asked to expound on a statement in which he said that, "I didn't do the last update because we held off on things, given the fiasco of the WarZ scenario and the intensity of the hate I received from people confusing WarZ with DayZ made me really not feel very positive."
Hall explains further:
I don't think I've ever said they weren't competition. But I have said, as I did above, that competition doesn't necessarily mean lower prices or better quality for the consumer (automatically). It can actually mean that companies get carried away competing for something that isn't important (such as perception, or marketing).
I am angry about the WarZ. I'm very angry. I'm quite hurt personally because anyone can see how similar the words are, and while the average gamer knows the difference individual people don't. I've had family members/close friends mistake the difference and confront me about what they believed was unethical behavior they thought I was making. I really don't think anyone can understand just quite how exasperated that can make you feel when you've gambled everything on something, put your whole self and reputation on the line.
So it hasn't made my life very pleasant and I disagree entirely with the conduct and how consumers have been treated.
He continues on to say that, while he is frustrated with the situation and the confusion that has sprung up around the two games, he doesn't seem to think that The War Z is a 'scam' (which it clearly isn't).
As far as we're concerned, the two games are not identical and there is more than enough room for both. But we're curious what you think; has The War Z done wrong by being similar to DayZ in both name and gameplay? Is Dean Hall overreacting here or do you think he has a legitimate reason to be concerned? Let us know in the comments, we're curious to see where you stand on the debate.
Towards the end of 2012, Dean 'Rocket' Hall - the creator and lead developer on DayZ - assured us that the standalone version of his super popular mod would be out before the end of 2012. Astute readers may notice that it is now 2013 and we are not exploring and slaying zombies in a new version of Chernarus. What gives, Dean?
Put simply, DayZ Standalone isn’t here because we had the chance to go from making a game that was just the mod improved slightly, packaged simply, and sold - to actually redeveloping the engine and making the game the way we all dreamed it could be. This blew any initial plans we had dictated to pieces.
The plan from here is straightforward. We will be releasing a closed test imminently, during which approximately 500-1000 people will assist in ensuring our architecture is correctly functioning. This closed test will be focused purely on architecture, not the game design. Once we have confirmed fixes for issues arising from the closed test, we will then reschedule an internal date for our public release.
Oh. Okay. Well, that...that's awesome!
Later on in Dean's latest blog post, he discusses some of the changes that have been made to DayZ recently. Most notably, these changes include a completely overhaul of the inventory system. If you played DayZ even one time for ten minutes, you will understand that the inventory system was a something of a pain to use. This new system allows players to forage for items in parts, rather than piles; this simple change actually paves the way for item durability to be implemented.
In other words, items will not always be invincible and everlasting, things will decay over time and need to be replaced or repaired. The example Dean gives is if a player shoots another survivor in the head, to steal their night-vision goggles, they will actually damage the goggles in doing so. This opens the door for a world of new strategies that players will need to build as they're foraging for supplies and equipment. Inventory management now utilizes 3D models rather than 2D images to move items around within your bag.
Other areas that have seen major work are the user interface, art and map design. Unfortunately, the lead map designer is still being detained in Greece on charges of espionage. It's a complicated story, and we recommend reading up on it if you aren't familiar.
Stay tuned to FPS General for more information on the standalone version of DayZ as we receive it!
Source: DayZ Tumblr
Update: The War Z has since been removed from Steam due to complaints from the community that not all of the features being listed are available. We will keep you updated as we learn more! The original story is available below.
Big news today from the Hammerpoint Interactive camp as The War Z foundation release has officially been made available on Steam! This is a step above beta testing and below final release, with a wealth of new features and tweaks.
Hammerpoint Interactive's zombie MMO already sees more than 150,000 daily players, but the Steam release is sure to increase that number exponentially. The foundation release is available now and has been described by Hammerpoint as including:
On releasing The War Z through Steam, Sergey Titov - Executive Producer at Hammerpoint - said:
“The Steam platform gives us the ability to reach a huge audience of PC gamers and working with their team has been great. Now that we’ve reached the Foundation Release milestone we will continue to work, as promised, to add features and content that will satisfy our community and keep them playing.”
Check out The War Z on Steam at http://store.steampowered.com/app/226700/, where it is currently available for $13.49 - 10% off the normal price of $14.99.
For more information on The War Z, including complete guides on the game world, weapons, zombies, characters, loot and so much more, visit The War Z Wiki at http://www.warzwiki.com/.
I've been re-learning some really good lessons lately while playing games, ways to do better; to suck less, to die less often, to have more fun. Stuff like that. Most recently, I rediscovered one really important thing in my previous play session of The War Z.
Lesson One: Be patient.
Take your time, scan your surroundings. Take it down a notch and play smart. When you don’t play patient you can easily put yourself in situations that aren't safe, and will most likely get you killed. You’ll see what I mean soon.
I find myself running from building to building and only briefly looking out through binoculars from time to time. If you truly want to survive in the War Z, it’s smart to find yourself a nice vantage point; pay attention to where people might be coming from, read chat and sit tight for a little bit. People can spend abnormally long times in buildings picking up loot and rearranging their inventory.
Taking this just a bit further, one way to get your heart pumping is to lie in wait. Stalk your prey and find the perfect opportunity to pounce. I used the Nord Military Base as my hunting ground, its a fairly popular location simply because it’s new and everyone knows military locations can drop some pretty nice loot. I got myself a nice vantage point but with only a shotgun I had to play it safe. I simply waited for some people to get close or I ignored them. No sense in running out in the open for a chance to dying.
By playing patiently I got to set the terms for our engagement, and I chose to give them very little chance to retaliate.
There had been some chatter long before I started the recording the last clip, I cut it out simply because it would have slowed the whole thing down and would have been less interesting. There were 4 or 5 in proximity chat trying to find each other, it seemed to be two groups who had spotted one another and were searching for the other. When I saw one of the guys lead with a hammer I figured it was my chance to act.
Keep reading for a visual look on how you can learn to be more patient in The War Z, helping you ultimately take your game to the next level.
We're not one for the drama here at FPS General, but when the integrity of a developer - one that we know to be passionate and dedicated to their game - is called into question, we feel it's only right to deliver the full story.
A couple weeks back, a former War Z forum moderator took to the Internet to rage a little bit about Hammerpoint Interactive. Devin Hutchinson, alias DevinH, was recently relieved of duties on The War Z forums after his account was compromised by a malicious user. Hammerpoint allegedly made the decision to remove him from moderating after his account was breached and posts on the forum were deleted and tampered with.
This didn't bode well with Devin.
He took to 4Chan and Rhinocrunch.com to share his frustrations, and air what he claimed were some little-known truths about The War Z and Hammerpoint Interactive.
Among his allegations and statements, Devin revealed that Hammerpoint Interactive was going to halt production on The War Z completely if the game did not make them enough of a profit. If players didn't start investing in virtual currency and if new users didn't start buying the game, Hammerpoint was going to throw in the towel. You can imagine that this didn't sit well with players, some of whom have invested their hard-earned money into the game and hundreds of hours playing.
The problem? All of Devin's statements were false.
The former moderator has come out on YouTube today, completely refuting his former claims and revealing that everything he said was not true in any way, shape or form. "Everything that I stated in that post," he said. "Was actually a lie. Nothing in that post was factual or had any real backing to it. I made all of that up, and the reason being is that, at the time, I felt betrayed by the company."
Devin goes on to say that he was simply seeking revenge on Hammerpoint for what he felt was a wrong done to him. He systematically was choosing things that would be feasible enough that the community wouldn't ask questions in the hopes that they would take him at his word. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened with many members of The War Z community.
None the less, Devin has come clean now and we're glad that he has cleared the air on the matter. We firmly believe that games should be judged solely upon their merits as a game. Hearsay and drama in the community has no place in whether or not a game is worth your time, so make sure you visit places like http://www.warzwiki.com/ and our own War Z news hub to see what the game is all about for yourself.
Remember stories like this before you take the word of strangers online.
Mod DB, one of the most widely used resources for community made mods, has opened up voting for their 11th annual Mod of the Year awards. The awards are voted for by the community and will be announced early next year. As usual, there are some amazing mods up for voting, including DayZ which is being voted on for the first time.
If you're not familiar with DayZ, here is what the game is about in a nutshell. Players must survive in Chernarus - a fictional city in the game world that has been completely overrun by zombies. Survivors are few and far between and consist entirely of other players. To survive in Chernarus, players will need to forage for weapons, food, water, medicine and other supplies. The game is unforgiving, though, and if you die, that's it; your gear and weapons are gone. The idea was to survive from the zombies, but the real challenge is surviving from other players.
Every time you set foot in Chernarus, you are a living, breathing target for other players. Your loot is what they want and they'll kill you to have a crack at it.
Originally released as a modification for Bohemia Interactive's ArmA II, DayZ is currently being developed as a standalone title. The team hopes to have a release available in 2012, but have stated that they will push the game back if it isn't ready before the year's end.
If you own ArmA II, you can download DayZ for free at http://dayzmod.com/. If you're unfamiliar with the game entirely, you should definitely visit http://www.dayzwiki.com/, the complete DayZ resource for information on the game, Chernarus, weapons, items, zombies and so much more.
To vote for DayZ on Mod DB, simply visit http://www.moddb.com/mods/dayz and click the button to nominate DayZ for Mod of the Year.
In just over an hour from now, we are going to be joined by Hammerpoint Interactive for some live streaming of The War Z and a little developer Q&A.
If you're unfamiliar or just getting into the genre, The War Z is a zombie survival MMO, currently in development at Hammerpoint Interactive. The game is available in closed beta right now and making rapid progress to what Hammerpoint Interactive is calling, 'Foundation Release'. Basically, Foundation Release is going to be one final iteration before the game is released in full.
In The War Z, players are tasked with surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, ravaged by the undead. But it's not just zombies that players will have to watch out for, but fellow survivors as well. If you are moving about in the game world, you are under constant threat of being taken out and having whatever goods you may have on your person looted by your killer. It's a harsh world, but that's what makes games like these so much fun.
We're going to be streaming the action live from Colorado, the game world that is, and we're bringing Hammerpoint Interactive along for the action. Join us at http://www.own3d.tv/ at 3:00PM (Pacific Time) today! Check back here at FPS General, as well, where we'll have the live stream embedded for your convenience.
See you in Colorado!
Dean 'Rocket' Hall has posted a brand new blog update, detailing the progress that the team is making on the upcoming standalone version of DayZ.
In yesterday's post, Rocket revealed that the focus right now is entirely on the tech side of things, rather than features and design. He stressed that they are focusing on providing the most stable experience and tweaking the framework so that they have the option to make customized weapons a reality when the game launches. With the focus not being on features, for the time being, there may be some worry that DayZ won't hit the 2012 mark for their release, but Rocket is confident that they will hit target date.
Let me make this very clear, our foundation release (targeted for this year), is simply the beginning. We are committed to a period of development of at least 12 months beyond that. Our aim is to make this foundation strong, and use that time to improve the mechanics not through hacks, but through sound and quality development.
Our initial build will test that this base architecture works.
...
We are still working towards a target for an initial foundation before the end of the year. But we will slip this date if needed, we will not compromise the project for the short-term gain of meeting this date. The reasons for any slippage would be publicly discussed, and would most likely represent a failure personally on my part to plan correctly.
For our money, we would much rather have a release date be pushed back than a broken game be released on schedule.
Check out the blog post at the source link below and visit the DayZ Wiki for more information on the game!
Source: DayZ Tumblr
