Greetings Survivors!
As we move forward with January's stable branch update (0.53) the focus of the gameplay programming and production teams is primarily on security. As mentioned prior in the September 15 Status Report - only so much can be done in tandem with engine and gameplay changes coming with every update (and maintain a rapid update frequency to stable branch). That said, as the primary vulnerability on the security side for DayZ right now is less on engine and/or scripting and more on modifying/accessing the process memory we have several Q1 goals we are aiming to complete.
Deployment of a new form of BattlEye
This has been delayed to allow testing/regression around any potential bugs and/or compatibility issues so as not to cause any major issues to those participating in Early Access
Server side sanity checks and protection against certain currently exploited methods
Closer work with Valve and the VAC team
This will initially be seen by allowing players to report in-game suspected cheaters and will expand from there to a program that best fits DayZ and how it operates
Expanded vigilance in reporting all known tools and methods currently used to access the DayZ process for less than honorable methods.
Beyond that, Q1 has a good deal of exciting work for DayZ. Be it work on the new infected AI, to implementation of the central economy or diseases - this should be an exciting few months.
On the note of work to come, I'd like to expand upon confusion around persistence - how it is intended to operate, and the role that weekly persistence wipes currently serve.
Persistence is a core pillar of DayZ and its design. Currently persistence functionality is tied to the incomplete economy functions. As we expand upon the systems surrounding the central economy - What is saved/How it is saved, Cleanup, Respawn, etc will be handled properly. In addition to that, the secondary cause of persistence wipes (issues with reading modifiers on saved items, improperly saved items, etc) can be addressed.
Once we have addressed these two issues, persistence can and will be moved from an "opt-in" feature, to a core function of DayZ - and something that is universal across all servers. Once this is complete, I personally look forward to truly seeing the "camp/base building" side of the title start to be more universally adopted. Be it vehicles, barricaded buildings, tents, containers, or even farms setup via horticulture.
In addition, if you have any questions surrounding this topic (or any others) - I encourage you to head over to the Developer Discussion subforums at the official DayZ forums. Eugen and myself both are accessible via the Service section.
I wish I could bundle a microphone with every copy of DayZ.
- Brian Hicks / Lead Producer
