DayZ's latest dev blog teases lighting improvements, lootable containers and physics

The DayZ team have recently revealed some more planned improvements from their development pipeline. As the early access survival game progresses over the next few months, post-apocalyptic survivors will find themselves helped (and hindered) by adjusted lighting, lootable fridges, increased zombies, and - most terrifyingly of all - a physics system. Through the implementation of a middle-ware physics engine, players will be able to throw items and ragdoll about. I look forward to seeing how the game's community will warp these systems in the name of trolling and torment.

For lighting, torches will emit a proper light source, so that the beam will also exist during the day. The plan is that, by doing so, night-time play will also be more viable. As for containers, they're becoming full inventories, offering players the possibility of more loot in places where, contextually, it would make sense.

Also planned are bows and arrows, new buildings, hunting and cooking, and improved zombies. The team want to not just add more zombies, but also fix the existing issues, like their current ability to phase through walls. In addition, fixing server desync and improving stability remain primary targets, with the latter key to allowing persistent objects that aren't wiped during a server respawn.

For a full list of planned improvements, head over to the DayZ development blog . Alternatively, you can absorb its information through the audio-visual update below.

Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.

Latest in Survival & Crafting
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
A shirtless man rides a big fish underwater
Ark devs distance themselves from AI-generated trailer: 'we did not know that they were doing it'
Two airships fire broadsides into each other's hull in Echoes of Elysium.
In this airship-building survival game, I faced an enemy worth punching trees over: 'The hubris of man'
Lost Rift screenshot
After suspending development in 2024, People Can Fly brings Project Victoria back to life as survival-extraction shooter Lost Rift
A man examines the implant in his beefy arm
New Ark DLC gets AI-generated trailer so awful that the original developer's washing its hands of the whole thing, and fans are in uproar: 'This is disgusting and you should be ashamed'
Palworld early access
Palworld's Crossplay Update does far more than let you play with console buddies, adding photo mode, a drafting table and 'dimensional Pal Storage'
Latest in News
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
Silent Hill f is not messing around – now it's been banned in Australia
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'
assassin's creed shadows protector's armor
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits 2 million players, putting it on track to be the series' most successful game yet