Update: DayZ standalone is now available.
Original article: Dean “Rocket” Hall released an eight minute gameplay video of the pre-alpha (or in “Rocket” speak, pre-alpher) of DayZ's upcoming standalone release. The video doesn't show us anything we didn't already know about, but it does finally show the open-world gameplay running in real-time on the new client/server multiplayer network.
While this, for many people, seems like a simple video of no significant importance, it's actually quite the opposite. You see, DayZ's standalone release is one of the most highly anticipated gaming events of the year, and previously there were all sorts of sketchy details about when the game would arrive and what the release window would be. Previously, we were all clueless... using guesswork and vague statements from “Rocket” as a measure of possibilities.
With this new gameplay video showing the game's biggest hurdle conquered (viz., the multiplayer server architecture) and the game running as intended, it brings a whole new level of hope for an imminent release of the standalone. Why? Because recently Dean and the team at Bohemia have updated and added DayZ's standalone app to Steam's Early Access in the Steam database application.
In simple terms, this means that an update in the Steam Early Access program plus a new gameplay video showcasing a working multiplayer server setup means that we could be loading up the standalone of DayZ a heck of a lot sooner than we think.
Of course, we still don't actually have a stable release date on the updated standalone of one of the most popular indie zombie-survival games ever made. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say sometime before 2014 hits.
I'm pretty excited about the standalone of DayZ as it's one of the few games out there that's all about uncompromising survival gameplay with deep elements of horror, (dis)trust and permadeath that keeps gamers from playing and interacting in the world the way they do in other titles.
I'm also really digging the new customization features. This game will definitely be very interesting once it gets out there.
For those of you completely unfamiliar with DayZ, it's basically a game where you get dropped into a large open-world and the whole objective is to survive as long as you can. While it sounds like a simple task, for many months after the original mod released most people could only survive for a max of 35 minutes. The difficulty isn't just with the zombies, but with the harsh environment as well; the standalone also adds additional obstacles to overcome such as sickness, cold, disease and item degradation. That's not to mention that cautious players will still have to deal with the looters, bandits, murderers and ravagers.
DayZ's standalone is set for release whenever it releases. So keep your eyes peeled and your hand on the holster... it's going to be good times ahead.
You can't really learn more over on the official website but you can go there anyway if you want to.
