Hey Stalker,
It’s been a long time since we have reported in the form of a DevBlog. Which does not mean that we were idle, which in turn means that this DevBlog is a real big one. As always, we want to share the development steps with you as closely as possible, perhaps also for the reason that we find the topic so exciting that even 9 months later it still excites us as much as on the first day. A short sideinfo, before it really starts, we have a new homepage design.
But now to the really exciting topics and whoever holds out until the end will be rewarded with a video and a large pile of screenshots from the map. Let’s go!
Fake Terrain
Maybe some of you already know, but unfortunately it is not possible to make a hole in the terrain in DayZ, so that you can place a bunker under the terrain.
To add underground structures to a DayZ map, you have to take a little detour. First you have to make a deepening in the terrain, so that the underground structure fits into the deepening.
Screenshot 1: Sidorovich’s bunker and the deepening in the terrain. | Screenshot 2: The tunnel and the deepening in the railroad dam in Cordon.
In the second step, a fake terrain must be created and placed over the deepening, in the best case so that the player hardly recognizes a difference between the DayZ and the fake terrain. This illusion is not so easy to achieve, the ground texture of the fake terrain must match the actual DayZ terrain as best as possible, especially visually and in terms of scaling. Another very important point is the grass. On the DayZ terrain the grass is automatically generated according to certain rules. A fake terrain model has basically no grass and comes completely naked. Fortunately there is the possibility in Blender to create the lawn for the terrain models mostly automatically. For those who are interested in more details, GeoNodes are the magic word here.
Left: The model from the Cordon tunnel | Right: Sidorovich’s bunker with the associated fake terrain and grass.
In order to adapt our fake terrain models as good as possible to the DayZ terrain, we have done a lot of customization work and we think the result is already worth seeing – more customizations will definitely happen in the future.
The model of Sidorovich’s bunker and the tunnel with the associated fake terrain live in action.
Fences and walls
Another interesting, but again time-consuming topic, is the set-up of fences, walls, rails etc. and their relation to the actual DayZ terrain.
As you can see on the screenshot, the wall runs along the slope of the hill. Now as a map designer in DayZ you have the following options, either you adjust each piece of the wall in its rotation so that it adapts to the angle of the slope or you fall back on a DayZ feature, which ensures that the model is automatically distorted based on the DayZ terrain. This trick ensures that the map designer does not have to worry about the angle of the wall in relation to the terrain.
A. Without automatic distortion | B. With automatic distortion
In order for the models that are to adapt to the terrain to be able to use this feature, individual settings must be made for each model. If you look at the mass of fences, it should become clear why this is a time-consuming but worthwhile feature.
A small overview of a few of the fences.
Models Showcase
Hard to believe, but the countless S.T.A.L.K.E.R. models are not enough for us. We keep encountering situations in the world design process where a certain type of model is simply missing. For example, we can’t use the DayZ vanilla tracks because the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trains have a different track width than the DayZ trains. Other examples are large wall pieces that can be used individually, concrete slabs, signs, vegetation or smaller and also larger buildings, the list of ideas is still long. Here is a small overview of some of the handcrafted models.
Map
Now we come to the most exciting topic, the map itself. The last DevBlog, in which we showed the Great Swamps, was already a while ago.
Let’s summarize the current state of the map. For the most part, the following areas are finished: the Border Zone, more on that in a moment, Cordon, Meadows, the Great Swamps incl. its own large expansion, Rostok Factory (Lost Alpha Level) and Vehicle Station. Darkscape is already taking shape, but a few essential elements are still missing.
Here is an overview of the areas. Please do not be deceived by the perspective, the northern area of the map looks smaller than it is in reality.
As you can see from the screenshot, the region before the zone contains a large area. With the area in front of the zone and the actual border, we want to create a greater immersion for the players. Depending on the scenario, there is a possibility that you have to find a way into the zone first or that you can leave it again. We’ll get to the possibilities of how to break into the zone in a future DevBlog.
The entire region in front of the zone is roughly modeled after real locations in and around Chornobyl, but is otherwise a free interpretation, except for the Lost Village, a multiplayer level located just outside the large zone wall.
Showcase Map
Finally, as promised, a new video and lots of screenshots, so many new screenshots that we refer you to the Gallery.
Stay tuned for more information and good hunting S.T.A.L.K.E.R.!