DayZ Frostline Expansion Progress Report (Week 34)
Posted on August 23rd, 2024 07:23 AM EST
DayZ Frostline Expansion: Boats and Audio changes
Wishlist DayZ Frostline
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/Survivors! Welcome aboard our latest dev blog week 34! Here’s what’s new and noteworthy:
Boats!
We started prototyping boats late last year, and by the start of this year, the boat was selected for full development. mostly to complement the islandic nature of Sakhal, The initial implementation used in the prototype was stable enough for us to move forward, though we did take some shortcuts, such as leveraging existing simulations such as the car engine and gearbox. Early on, we realized that the complex nature of vehicles, combined with the instability of the pre-existing reconciliation system, could lead to boats bouncing and spinning uncontrollably in the ocean. To address this, we agreed that changes in networking were essential.
Buoyancy is a complex simulation designed for the possible inclusion of more realistic ocean waves in the future. It uses a shape - which the modders will know as the "Simple Geometry LOD" - to find the total displaced volume and find the buoyant force and does some additional simulation of drag.
Controlling boats in DayZ is intentionally simpler than handling cars. Boats feature three gears: Forward, Neutral, and Reverse. While there are no brakes, you can manage your speed by adjusting the throttle or shifting into reverse to slow down. Boats are primarily designed for one simple b
ut vital purpose: transporting players across large bodies of water. They don’t have any inventory space, so you won’t be able to hoard items on them. To get a boat running, you’ll only need a spark plug and some gasoline. If you find a boat on a beach or in shallow water, you can push it into deeper water to start your journey.
As demonstrated by
@iRoadie_ & @AmishZed
Each boat can carry three passengers and one operator, with unique animations for sitting, dying, switching seats, rolling out of the boat even being dragged out.
There's also the consideration of maintenance. While damage doesn’t immediately affect driving performance, it poses a risk as it accelerates the vehicle's progression toward a ruined state. You can repair the boat body by using the tire repair kit. The engine can't be repaired. Once the boat is ruined, it will start to sink slowly, giving you time to get out of the seat.
Last but not least, you have the ability to stand on the boat while it moves at a leisurely pace. However, caution is advised, as increasing the boat's speed will result in you falling off. And yes, you will be able to fish from the boat while it’s stationary, so get ready to cast your line and haul in some catches!P.S. We've rolled out an experimental update for 1.26, which includes boats! You can test it out right now on the experimental branches for PC and Xbox. We've already seen some fantastic community reactions to the boats. Check them out below:
ROBL (Rolling off the Boat, Laughing)[clips.twitch.tv] by Happybombs
Slexify's Intense Boat Fight[clips.twitch.tv]
Sound Design on Sakhal
In our work on environmental sounds for Sakhal, we've added 346 new short ambient sounds that play around the player as 3D audio. These include the sounds of vegetation, metal sounds for new harbor objects, and, of course, birds. We aimed to incorporate bird species specific to the Kamchatka region, but due to limited availability of recordings, we included some birds from other northern areas, like Alaska. These sounds complement the base 2D layers, such as wind, snowfall, and area-specific ambients. We've also introduced 19 new ambient loops that dynamically mix based on factors like area, time, wind, and snowfall.
Our goal was to create an environment that feels somewhat alive, even in low temperatures, while also emphasizing the harshness of strong winds. When the wind blows heavily, the contrast becomes apparent as all animal sounds fall silent, heightening the feeling of being overwhelmed by the elements. We control both 2D ambient loops and 3D ambient sounds with the wind factor to achieve this effect. In moments when the player is far from trees or objects where animals might be, and the wind is still, the world can feel almost eerily silent. We're proud to say we've achieved this goal, though we already have a list of improvements we plan to make in the future.
Wishlist DayZ Frostine
:https://store.steampowered.com/app/2968040/DayZ_Frostline/