DayZ StandAlone (number 9)

DayZ StandAlone (number 9)

DayZ is a multiplayer open world survival horror video game in development by Bohemia Interactive and the stand-alone version of the award-winning mod of the same name. The game was released on 16 December 2013 on PC for Microsoft Windows via digital distribution platform Steam, and is currently in early alpha testing.

The game places the player in the fictional post-Soviet state of Chernarus, where an unknown virus has turned most of the population into violent zombies. As a survivor, the player must scavenge the world for food, water, weapons, and medicine, while killing or avoiding zombies, and killing, avoiding or co-opting other players in an effort to survive the zombie apocalypse.

DayZ began development in 2012 when the mod's creator, Dean Hall, joined Bohemia Interactive to work on it. The development has been focused on altering the engine to suit the game's needs, developing a working client-server architecture, and introducing new features like diseases and a better inventory system.

Prior to release, DayZ won the MMORPG.com award for Best Hybrid MMO and IGN's People's Choice Award of Gamescom 2013. Over 172,500 copies were sold in the first 24 hours of release.

GAMEPLAY

The goal of DayZ is to stay alive during conditions of a zombie apocalypse. The player must scavenge supplies from around the 225 km.² map in order to survive,^[1] including food, water, medicine, and clothing, which are found in locations such as houses, barns, and abandoned vehicles.^[2] Various weapons are present, allowing players to protect themselves from zombies or other players if found, largely focused on melee weapons, though some guns can be found.

The player begins on a beach and has to begin searching for items in order to keep their character alive by, for example, eating and drinking enough.^[3][4] A range of diseases are also a threat to the player, requiring them to have access to medicine if needed,^[5] with diseases including cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis, caught from sources such as dirty water and rotten food.^[6]

Players can customise their character with a range of clothing, changing things like the amount of items they can carry.^[7] If a player is shot or otherwise hurt, the items on their person may be damaged.^[8] Hundreds of public domainbooks are in the world for players to read including titles such as War of the Worlds and Moby-Dick.^[9] When players clear an area of zombies within the game, such as around a town, further zombies will not respawn within that area, though others may wander back in, providing a safer area for some time.^[10]

Planned features include being able to build bases in the world in which players can keep their items safe, with the possibility of security systems and programmable computers having been considered.^[11] The standalone game will build on the text and close range voice chat of the mod version by including a new whisper channel, which will allow players to communicate over a very short distance without players nearby hearing, as well as radios (based off the "ACRE" mod for ARMA 2), which will allow longer range communication, including the possibility of encrypted two-way radios and player run radio stations.^[3][6][12] A number of features which are not currently available but will be added in a patch some time during the alpha have been confirmed including vehicles, more zombies, animals and hunting, and cooking.^[13]