The latest dev update from Dean "Rocket" Hall and the DayZ Standalone team takes you on a fifteen minute video tour of the game's new content and systems. There are no zombies or combat - many of the game's features have been disabled or obscured - but you do get beans, a swamp and a fashion show. So still a pretty thrilling time, all told.
There's a lot of information packed between characters twirling for the camera. Here's a bullet point list of new stuff to be gleaned:
- The front-end has been dramatically simplified from Arma 2. Players can now quick join their last visited server and the options screen seems to strike a nice balance between simplicity and flexibility.
- Clothes will have individual inventory slots. A standard pair of trousers can hold around six small items. Clothing also includes body armour and stab vests.
- New location ideas were suggested by Bohemia Interactive's Ivan Buchta while he was being held in Greece. They include a swamp.
- Utes - the small island from the original Arma 2 - has also been added. That location was suggested by 4chan, of all places.
- Loot no longer spawns in piles, but is instead scattered throughout buildings and behind objects. The aim is to make players feel like they're actually scavenging for items.
- That loot is now spawned in by the server, not the client. The hope is that this will stop hackers. Items can also be found out in the open world, hidden inside wrecked vehicles.
In the coming weeks the team plan to refine the inventory and put some major work into the game's crafting system. As for the game's switch to external beta testing, Rocket says, "There is still no timeframe for when this will happen, but we're committed to continuing with these development updates and blog posts."
