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Releases: ghosthex-dev/dayz-studio

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.7 - Report a bug

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@github-actions github-actions released this 22 Oct 15:07

🐞 Report a bug from inside Studio

Found something broken? You can now report it without hunting for log files. Studio gathers its logs for you and opens a GitHub issue with your report already written out - you just drag one zip in and press Submit.

🧪 Still an alpha. Every report helps - this release is here to make them easier to send.

Already on an earlier alpha? DayZ Studio will offer this update by itself when it starts (or File ▸ ⟳ Check for updates). Your projects, keys, workspace profiles and map data are kept.


What's new

🐞 File ▸ Report a bug… (also in Help). Say what happened, how to make it happen and what you expected, then press Open GitHub issue:

  1. Studio saves a zip in Documents\DayZStudio\BugReports with:
    • Studio's own log (Studio now keeps one on disk, in its data folder),
    • errors from the editor window - including ones you never saw, since the desktop app has no console,
    • the newest DayZ and DayZ Server logs, script logs and crash log (from the last 3 days),
    • system info: Windows, Studio version, whether DayZ / DayZ Tools / DayZ Server were found, your extracted maps.
  2. Your browser opens a new issue on GitHub with the bug template filled in from your answers, plus the last few real error lines from the logs.
  3. The folder with the zip opens too - drag the zip into the issue and press Submit.

🔒 Private by default. Studio uploads nothing itself - only what you submit on GitHub gets sent. Your Windows user name is replaced in every log, and your project file goes into the zip only if you tick Include my project file.

For veterans and modders: the technical details
  • Studio log: logs/studio.log in the Studio data folder, rotated to studio.log.1 above 1 MB.
  • Endpoints: POST /api/bugreport builds the zip (tools/bugreport.py); POST /api/bugreport/reveal shows it in Explorer (only files inside the BugReports folder).
  • Redaction: the home folder becomes %USERPROFILE% and the user name <user> in every file except the project.
  • Error excerpt: lines that look like errors, minus everyday vanilla noise (Central Economy, missing sound shaders, terrain placement) - Studio's and the editor's first, then a few from each game log.
  • Long reports: if the issue link would be too long, the log excerpt is dropped; if it's still too long, the report goes to the clipboard and the issue asks you to paste it.

Known issues

  • Same as alpha.6: some NPC nodes (Follow giving up, Guard, Hostile player seen, Condition, Walk to, Wait, Random, Leave) are built but not yet tried in a live game; NPCs walk in straight lines and don't path around walls; the docked game window hasn't been tested in every workspace layout; with Nahimic audio software the installer may close right after starting (run it again).

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.6 - NPCs with a life of their own

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@github-actions github-actions released this 22 Oct 13:53

NPCs with a life of their own

Until now an NPC stood on one spot and waited for players to talk to it. This alpha gives NPCs their own 👤 NPCs tab and a node graph for how they behave: they walk patrols, wander, keep a daily routine, react when you come near, say things, wave, sit by the fire, follow you, lead you somewhere - and you can script your own behaviours too.

🧪 Still an alpha. Please tell us what breaks or confuses you.

Already on an earlier alpha? DayZ Studio will offer this update by itself when it starts (or File ▸ ⟳ Check for updates). Your projects, keys, workspace profiles and map data are kept.

Your NPCs move house: NPCs you made inside quests ("Talk to NPC") are turned into NPCs of the new tab the first time you open a project. Their quests use them exactly as before - but their look, position and behaviour are now edited in the NPCs tab.

Running a server with a mod you made? Rebuild it and update it on your server to give your players the new NPCs.


What's new

👤 The NPCs tab (Alt + 5, next to Quests). Every NPC is one character with:

  • its look - face, outfit, clothes, weapon or tool in hands,
  • its place - where it stands on the map (drag it there), which way it faces,
  • its faction and trader (if it runs a store),
  • its behaviour - a node graph, built like a quest.

Quests now pick an NPC in their "Talk to NPC" node, so one character can give several quests. NPCs no quest uses still spawn and live their routine - a sentry, a wandering scavenger, a guard.

🧠 Behaviour: events start actions. Drag nodes into the graph and wire them up:

  • Events start a chain: Spawned, Player comes near, Talked to, Hostile player seen, Time of day, Condition.
  • Activities go on until something replaces them: Patrol, Wander, Stand at, Follow player, Escort to, Guard.
  • Steps run one after another: Walk to, Wait, Face player, Say, Emote, Give item, Set server variable, Leave.
  • Flow: Only if (a condition) and Random (variety).

A few things you can build in a minute:

  • A camp sentry with a schedule - Time of day 6–20 → Patrol, Time of day 20–6 → Stand at the fire (sit by the fire).
  • A friendly greeter - Player comes near → Face player → Emote: wave → Say "Welcome to the camp."
  • A guide - Talked to → Say "Follow me" → Escort to the road → Give item → Walk back → Wander.

🚶 Patrols that look right. NPCs walk straight between waypoints, wait at each one, loop or go back and forth, walk or jog, and turn to face where they're going. They stop and turn to you when you're within 3 m, so you can always talk to them - and the talk prompt, conversations and trade screen follow them wherever their route takes them.

🗨 Say lines and 👋 emotes. What an NPC says floats above its head for players nearby. 19 emotes from the game: wave, point, thumbs up, come here, nod, shake head, clap, shrug, salute, dance, sit, sit by the fire and more. An NPC sitting by the fire stands up before it waves, then sits back down.

🐾 Follow and 🧭 escort. An NPC can follow the player who talked to it (and call after them if they run off), or lead them somewhere, waiting whenever they fall behind.

🧩 Your own NPC nodes. Advanced users can write NPC steps and events in Enforce Script: right-click the graph ▸ Make your own node…. An NPC event is checked every second for each player nearby (e.g. "a player holds a flare"); an NPC step gets the NPC and the player who started the chain. Four examples to start from.

🏕 Try it in the Showcase. File ▸ Templates & examples ▸ Showcase now has four NPCs: Mirek sits by the fire and waves you over, the Bandit Boss guards the road, Vlad patrols the camp by day and sits by the fire at night, and Olga walks you to the road if you ask her.

🗺 On the map. Every NPC shows with its name; the one you're editing shows its patrol route, wander area and destinations. Click to select, drag to move, double-click to open its graph.

For veterans and modders: the technical details
  • Data: project.npcs holds the characters; a quest's Talk to NPC node points at one with npcId, and the NPC's settings are mirrored into it so exports work as before. Behaviour graphs are exported to quests.json as brains; NPCs no quest uses go into npcs.
  • Runtime: one DSBrain per character, ticked once a second - event detection (per player, with cooldowns), a step queue (every wire runs in order; Random picks one) and the current activity. A HumanCommandScript walks and turns NPCs nobody controls: the engine only turns such a character within half a circle of its last SetOrientation, so NPCs face each new leg first, and walking uses the script's own translation (the walk animation's root motion drifts).
  • Emotes: upper-body gestures via AddCommandModifier_Action over the movement command (the NPC is stood up first), full-body ones via StartCommand_Action with the emote's own stance mask. A gesture is over when its callback returns to "no state" or its action finishes - then the script hands the character back, since nothing else would start its next command.
  • Say: RPC 77430016 → a world-anchored text widget on each nearby player's screen, following the NPC by network id.
  • Custom NPC nodes: two new custom-node kinds - cnb_* (static void CNB_X(PlayerBase npc, PlayerBase player, array<string> args)) and cne_* (static bool CNE_X(PlayerBase npc, PlayerBase player, …)); DSCustom always carries RunNpcNode / CheckNpcNode.
  • Graph editor: the quest editor and the NPC editor now share one engine (js/grapheditor.js).
  • Play-test trace: the progress log lists every event and step each NPC runs, and each NPC's gesture state.

Known issues

  • Talked to works on NPCs no quest uses; an NPC that gives quests talks through its quest conversations.
  • Not yet tried in a live game: Follow giving up, the Guard node, Hostile player seen, Condition, Walk to, Wait, Random, Leave. They're built - please tell us if one misbehaves.
  • NPCs walk in straight lines and don't path around walls - put a waypoint at every corner. One that gets stuck for a few seconds is moved on to its next point.
  • Still from earlier alphas: the docked game window hasn't been tested in every workspace layout; the four views can't float in their own window yet; with Nahimic audio software the installer may close right after starting (run it again).

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.5 - a living world in the game view

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@github-actions github-actions released this 22 Oct 00:27

A living world in the game view

Until now, the game that DayZ Studio starts was an empty world: no loot in the buildings, no infected, no animals. This alpha switches on DayZ's Central Economy (the system a real server uses to spawn things), so the world you test in looks and plays like a real server.

🧪 Still an alpha. Please tell us what breaks or confuses you.

Already on an earlier alpha? DayZ Studio will offer this update by itself when it starts (or File ▸ ⟳ Check for updates). Your projects, keys, workspace profiles and map data are kept.


What's new

🎒 Loot, infected and animals in the game view. Press ▶ Launch in the Game view (or start a play-test) and the map fills up like on a real server:

  • loot in the buildings: police gear in police stations, food in shops, tools in sheds,
  • infected around you once you walk around as your character (it takes a minute or two, like on a server),
  • animals and the map's other spawns.

Every launch starts fresh, so loot you picked up or moved last time doesn't carry over.

🗺 Your loot edits in game. If you changed loot spawns in the Loot tab, or placed buildings that have loot points, the game uses your version. You can walk through your edits before putting them on a server.

☐ Turn it off. The new 🎒 Loot & infected box next to Launch is on by default. Untick it for an empty, quiet world while you build. The change applies the next time you launch.

For veterans and modders: the technical details
  • The game view's mission now runs CreateHive().InitOffline() in init.c, like DayZ's own offline missions.
  • The economy files (db/types.xml, events.xml, mapgrouppos.xml, mapgroupproto.xml, clusters, areaflags.map, env/ territories …) are unpacked from the map's worlds_<map>_ce.pbo, which every DayZ install has, so DayZ Server is not needed. They are unpacked once per map, and again only after a DayZ update.
  • The economy's storage_* folder is wiped on every launch.
  • With loot edits, Studio's exported mapgrouppos.xml and mapgroupproto.xml replace the map's own; without edits, the map's own come back.
  • Zone (areaflags.map) and types.xml edits are not carried into the game view yet.
  • The Studio viewport mod has a new link command, near, that counts the items, infected and animals within a radius (used to verify this release).

Known issues

  • Loot and infected need the Studio viewport engine. The DayZ Editor (Dabs) engine is unchanged.
  • Infected only appear while you're playing as your character. While you fly the camera around, your character is parked out of sight and can't be hurt.
  • From earlier alphas: Nasdara hasn't been tried yet with game capture, the game view or the local server; trading ten at once (Shift), custom currencies and Hostile players at a store are not yet tested in a live game; the docked game window hasn't been tested in every workspace layout; the four views can't float in their own window yet; guards' aim animation is basic; with Nahimic audio software the installer may close right after starting (run it again).

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.4 - Nasdara and every map to come

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@github-actions github-actions released this 21 Oct 23:47

Nasdara, and every map to come

DayZ Studio now finds the maps in your own DayZ install, so Nasdara shows up next to Chernarus+, Livonia and Sakhal. When Bohemia releases another DLC map, Studio finds it too, without waiting for a Studio update.

🧪 Still an alpha. Please tell us what breaks or confuses you.

Already on an earlier alpha? DayZ Studio will offer this update by itself when it starts (or File ▸ ⟳ Check for updates). Your projects, keys, workspace profiles and map data are kept.


What's new

🗺 Nasdara. Pick it in the Map list (click an empty spot on the map, then look in the right panel). Then press ⬇ Extract Nasdara imagery from DayZ and, after a few minutes, you have its satellite map, loot spawns and loot zones to work with.

🔎 Studio finds your maps. Studio used to have a fixed list of maps. Now it looks at what Steam installed:

  • the map list marks DLC maps with (DLC),
  • maps you don't have show (not installed), with a note explaining what's missing,
  • a new DLC map appears in the list as soon as Steam has downloaded it, at its correct size.

⬇ Extract one map at a time. The extract button now does only the map you picked, instead of re-doing every map. The loot and zone layers show up as soon as it's done; no restart needed.

📂 Projects from another PC. If you open a project made for a map your PC doesn't have, Studio keeps that map and its size. It tells you which map is missing, instead of quietly treating it as Chernarus.

Fixes

  • Switching to another map kept the old map's loot spawns and zones on screen (Livonia showed Chernarus's loot spilling off its edge). Each map now shows its own.
  • Testing on a local server on any map other than Chernarus+, Livonia or Sakhal quietly started Chernarus instead. It now starts the right map, or explains that DayZ Server doesn't have it yet.
  • The game view didn't start on maps outside that list.
  • Importing a file from another editor switched to its map but kept the old map size.
For veterans and modders: the technical details
  • Discovery (tools/worlds.py, served at /api/worlds): every worlds_<map>_data.pbo in DayZ\Addons and in each DLC folder's Addons (DayZ\sakhal, DayZ\nasdara …), every mpmissions\dayzOffline.<map> of DayZ Server, and any map already extracted into maps/.
  • Map size comes from the areaflags.map header (cells x, cells z, width, height): DayZ Server's copy, otherwise read straight from inside worlds_<map>_ce.pbo, otherwise from Studio's extracted copy.
  • Missions: server and game-view missions are found per map instead of from a fixed table; a map Studio doesn't know by name uses its id as the world name.
  • Command line: python tools/extract_maps.py --world nasdara extracts one map, and python tools/worlds.py prints what your PC has.

Known issues

  • Nasdara hasn't been tried yet with Capture from the game (terrain heights and objects for the 3D tab), the game view or the local server. These use the same steps that work for Sakhal; please tell us if anything goes wrong.
  • From alpha.3: trading ten at once (Shift), custom currencies and Hostile players at a store are not yet tested in a live game.
  • Still from earlier alphas: the docked game window hasn't been tested in every workspace layout; the four views can't float in their own window yet; guards' aim animation is basic; with Nahimic audio software the installer may close right after starting (run it again).

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.3 - money and traders

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@github-actions github-actions released this 21 Oct 21:28

Money and traders

DayZ has no money, so the third alpha brings some. Your quests can now pay out dollar bills, and any NPC can run a store where players buy gear with those bills or sell their loot.

🧪 Still an alpha. Please tell us what breaks or confuses you.

Already on alpha.1 or alpha.2? DayZ Studio will offer this update by itself when it starts (or File ▸ ⟳ Check for updates). Your projects, keys, workspace profiles and map data are kept.

Running a server with a mod you made? Rebuild it and update it on your server (and on the Workshop) to give your players the bills and stores.


What's new

💵 Dollar bills. Every mod you build now includes $1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills. They are real items, not a number on the screen:

  • they stack (up to 1,000 bills) and split like rags,
  • each one has its own colour, so you can tell a $5 from a $50 in your inventory,
  • players can drop them, loot them from bodies and lose them when they die.

Give them out like any other item: as a quest reward ("$20 × 5"), from a conversation reply or as a gift.

🎨 Your own banknotes. Don't like Studio's "Chernarus Reserve Notes"? Put your own pictures in Documents\DayZStudio\Assets\Currency (for example dollar_20_front.png and dollar_20_back.png) and your next build uses them.

🛒 Traders. File ▸ 🛒 Traders & money is where you set up a store. Each row of its price list has:

  • what the player pays, and what the trader pays to buy the item back,
  • how many pieces one trade covers ("5.56 rounds × 20"),
  • a stock limit, refilled when the server restarts (leave it empty for endless),
  • a category heading (Food, Medical, Ammunition…),
  • an optional 🔒 lock: any condition, such as "only for players the Survivors see as Friendly", plus the reason players see.

Then open an NPC in the Quests view and pick the store in its Trader field. Its conversation gets a "Let's trade." reply.

🖥 The trade screen in game. It has two columns: what the trader sells on the left, what it will buy from you on the right, and your money at the top.

  • Click or press Enter to trade one, or hold Shift to trade ten.
  • Use the arrow keys or the mouse to move around, and Esc to close.
  • The trader takes the biggest bills that fit and gives change back in bills.
  • Only items that aren't ruined, aren't being worn and are empty can be sold, so nobody sells their backpack with the loot still inside.

🏳 Factions matter. An NPC with a faction won't trade with players that faction sees as Hostile. Friendly tiers get their discount on everything the NPC sells, and the trade screen shows it ("Friendly: 10% off").

🪙 Your own currency. If your server uses a mod with other money (coins, bottle caps, rubles…), add it under Custom currencies. It can be a set of money items, each with its value, or a player stat used as a bank balance. Then pick it as the store's currency.

🏕 Try it in the Showcase. The Showcase template (File ▸ Templates & examples) now pays $100 for the first quest and gives Mirek a camp store: food, bandages, ammo, a few magazines, and Morphine for friends of the camp only. Mirek also buys your apples.

Also new: stackable items in rewards and gifts are now given as an amount: "Rag × 2" gives two rags, no longer two full stacks.

For veterans and modders: the technical details
  • Bills: classes DSQ_Dollar1 … DSQ_Dollar100 on DSQ_Money_Base : Inventory_Base (canBeSplit = 1, varQuantityMax = 1000), one model with a camo hidden selection and a texture per denomination. tools/money.py draws the textures, writes the MLOD in Python and converts both with DayZ Tools (ImageToPAA, binarize). The result is cached per mod, so only the first build takes about a minute longer. Your own artwork stays on your PC; only the converted textures go into your mod, so check its license before you publish.
  • Trader data is exported to profile/DZStudioQuests/trade.json and checked by the studio server before every build: traders, their price lists, conditions and custom currencies (kind: "items" with item values, or kind: "stat").
  • Server-checked trades: the client only asks for a trade (open / buy / sell with the row and amount). The server checks the distance to the NPC, the faction tier, the row's condition, the stock and the player's money, then answers with a fresh trade screen.
  • Paying: the trader takes the largest bills that fit first; if they can't add up to the exact price, it takes one larger bill and gives change, largest bills first. Sold items are counted by quantity for stackables.
  • Stock is kept in server memory, so it refills on every restart.

Known issues

  • Not yet tested in a live game: trading ten at once (Shift), a custom currency, and a Hostile player being turned away at a store. Everything else on the trade screen was tested on a local server.
  • Bills given by a trade come out as separate stacks; DayZ lets you merge them by dragging one onto another.
  • Still from earlier alphas: the docked game window hasn't been tested in every workspace layout; the four views can't float in their own window yet; guards' aim animation is basic; with Nahimic audio software the installer may close right after starting (run it again).

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.2 - your workspace

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@github-actions github-actions released this 21 Oct 10:10

Make DayZ Studio your own

The second alpha is all about your workspace. Arrange DayZ Studio the way game-engine editors let you: put every tool where you want it, look at the map and your quests at the same time, push panels onto a second monitor, and save the whole setup as a profile you can switch to - or share.

🧪 Still an alpha. Please tell us what breaks or confuses you.

Already on alpha.1? DayZ Studio will offer this update by itself when it starts (or File ▸ ⟳ Check for updates). Your projects, keys and map data are kept, and your old layout is carried over.


What's new

🧩 Put every tool where you want it. Every part of the editor is now a panel: the Map, Game, 3D and Quests views, the Inspector, Assets, Loot, Zones, Game setup, Scene, the Quest list and the Script console. Grab a panel's tab and drop it:

  • on another panel's tab bar - it becomes a tab there,
  • on the left, right, top or bottom of a panel - the area splits,
  • on the edge of the window - it docks along that side.

A blue box shows where it will land. Drag the dividers to resize.

🗺 + ⎇ Two views at once. Put the Map next to the Quest graph - or the Map next to the 3D view - and work on both. Both stay live; keyboard shortcuts go to the one you clicked last (its tab is underlined).

🖥 Second monitor. Right-click a tab ▸ Float in its own window to move the Inspector, the asset panels or the console onto another screen. It updates live, and the desktop app reopens it there next time. Close the window to dock it back.

⛶ More room when you need it. Maximize an area with □ (or Ctrl+Shift+F), collapse the outer sides to slim strips with Ctrl+B / Ctrl+Alt+B, and close panels you don't use - reopen them any time from ▦ ▸ Panels.

⭐ Profiles - save your setup. Everything above, plus your keyboard shortcuts, toolbar and interface size, can be saved as a profile: "Quest writing on the laptop", "Two screens at home"… Switch between them from the ▦ menu. Profiles are files in Documents\DayZStudio\Workspaces, so they survive updates, and you can export one as a .dzworkspace.json file to share it with your team or the community - and import theirs.

Ready-made layouts to start from: Default, Mapping, Quest writing, Map + Quests side by side, Scripting (the script console docked under the views) and Focus.

⌨ Your keys. ▦ ▸ Keyboard shortcuts… lets you change any shortcut - click it and press the new keys; Studio warns you when a key is already taken. New shortcuts: Alt+1 – Alt+4 jump to Map / Game / 3D / Quests, Ctrl+` opens the script console, Ctrl+Shift+W the workspace menu. The help (F1) always shows your keys.

🔧 Your toolbar. ▦ ▸ Customize the toolbar… hides the buttons you never use and changes the order of the groups.

Also new: the Game tab on the left is now called Game setup (that's where the capture buttons live), and the script console is a normal panel instead of a floating box.

For veterans and modders: the technical details
  • Docking engine (js/dock.js): a layout tree of splits (row / column) and tab groups, each with a size in pixels or "grow". Panel elements are created once and moved between containers, so canvases, WebGL contexts, scroll positions and listeners survive any re-arrangement.
  • Views now draw while they are visible (S.shown(view)) rather than only while focused; S.view is the focused view that shortcuts act on.
  • Floating panels use window.open and move the live panel element into the new window - same page, same state, no syncing. Views can't float yet (they rely on window-level mouse handling), and dialogs opened from a floating panel appear in the main window.
  • Profile format (.dzworkspace.json): { kind: "dzstudio-workspace", v: 2, name, layout: { root, floating }, view, keys, toolbar, scale }. keys holds only your changes to the defaults. Stored through the studio server in Documents\DayZStudio\Workspaces; without it (or in a ?nodisk tab) they live in browser storage.
  • Migration: the alpha.1 layout (fixed left / middle / right panels) and any saved alpha.1 workspaces are converted to the new format and moved to disk on first start.
  • Shortcuts are a command registry (js/keys.js); your changes are stored per user. Fixed keys: Esc, the arrow keys (nudge), Space / middle mouse (pan) and W A S D in the 3D view.

Known issues

  • The docked game window (Game view, desktop app) follows the Game panel wherever you dock it, but it hasn't been tested in every arrangement yet - tell us if it ends up in the wrong place.
  • The four views (Map, Game, 3D, Quests) can't float in their own window yet.
  • In very narrow windows, side panels shrink to their minimum width - maximize an area (□) to give it the space.
  • Still from alpha.1: guards' aim animation is basic; with Nahimic audio software the installer may close right after starting (run it again).

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.1 - first alpha

Pre-release

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@github-actions github-actions released this 21 Oct 06:26

Build your own DayZ adventures - no coding needed

DayZ is about surviving. DayZ Studio lets you give your server a story to survive in: survivor camps with people to talk to, quests that send players across the map, bandit checkpoints that open fire, and rewards worth fighting for. You build it all on the real map in a visual editor, test it on your own PC, and share it with one click.

It works on vanilla servers (the normal game, without the usual big community mods), so your players don't need to install anything else, while still being universally compatible with all other mods and frameworks if you want to!

🧪 This is the first alpha. Things will be rough in places. Please tell us what breaks or confuses you - every report helps. Studio backs up your projects automatically, but keep your own copies of anything important.


What you can create

🗣 Characters who talk. Put survivors into the world with their own clothes and gear. Players walk up, start a conversation, pick their answers, take on jobs or trade. NPCs can even speak recorded voice lines.

🗺 Quests with a story. "Clear the infected around the camp." "Find the lost supply container." "Get past the bandit checkpoint." Chain quests together, add bonus objectives, and hand out rewards - gear, XP, even a car. In game, players get a quest tracker, a journal and map markers, so they always know where to go next.

⚔ Factions that remember you. Help the Survivors and they start treating you as Friendly - and give you better prices. Kill too many of their people and they won't talk to you at all. Anger the Bandits and their guards warn you once... then raise their rifles and open fire.

📈 Progress that matters. Give players XP, reputation or skills, show them on an on-screen bar, and lock the best gear behind them: "You need 300 XP to use the M4A1." Press K in game to see your character sheet.

🔥 A world that changes. A signal fire that burns until someone answers it. Anomalies that only appear at night. A gate that opens with the right keycard. A trader who only shows up after dark. Things can even look different for each player, depending on what they've done.

🏗 Your own corner of the map. Build camps and checkpoints, remove trees, walls or whole buildings, and decide where loot spawns.

How players get it

Everything you build becomes a mod - a small add-on for DayZ. Publish it to the Steam Workshop straight from Studio. Players subscribe once (or the DayZ Launcher fetches it when they join), and your server runs the same mod. Studio writes simple install steps for server owners, too.

Getting started (about 15 minutes)

  1. Get the free tools from Steam: DayZ, and DayZ Tools (Steam ▸ Library ▸ Tools). Optional: DayZ Server from the same list, to test with a real server on your own PC.
  2. Download DayZStudio-Setup-0.1.0-alpha.1.exe below and run it. Read the license agreement and tick "I accept" to install.
    • Windows may say "Windows protected your PC", because the installer isn't signed yet. Click More info ▸ Run anyway.
  3. Set up your map once. In the Map view, press ⬇ Extract map imagery from DayZ. Then open the 🎮 Game tab and press ⬇ Capture from the game - DayZ opens for a few minutes and closes again. Studio reads everything from your own game, so nothing from DayZ is downloaded or shared.
  4. See it all in action: File ▸ Templates & examples ▸ Showcase: camp, factions & RPG drops a ready-made camp with every feature on the map. Press Test on a local server, join, and play through it. Then open the pieces to see how each one is made.

DayZ Studio updates itself: when a new version is out, it tells you what's new and installs it when you say so.

For server owners

  • Server settings without editing files: serverDZ.cfg as a simple form, with performance presets and a calculator for how long days and nights last.
  • Loot balance in seconds: "military loot ×1.5", "food −50%" - without editing types.xml line by line. You can always restore the original.
  • Performance heatmap: shows crowded areas that could cost players FPS or cause desync.
  • Build, test, publish: one signed mod with install instructions, tested on a real DayZ server on your PC, then on the Workshop in one click.
For veterans and modders: the technical details

The mod

  • Standalone Enforce Script framework - no CF, Expansion or Dabs. Studio builds @YourMod (client + server) as a PBO; the config is binarized with CfgConvert when DayZ Tools is installed.
  • Quest and faction data stay server-side as JSON in $profile:DZStudioQuests/ (quests.json, factions.json); player progress is saved per player in players/. Players can't read your quests from the mod.
  • Signed with your own key pair, created once per mod name in Documents\DayZStudio\Keys. The .bikey ships with the mod, so verifySignatures = 2 works. Back up the .biprivatekey - future versions must use the same key.
  • The generated scripts are checked before every build (brackets, quotes, reserved words like out / local, duplicate locals); errors point to the node they came from instead of a DayZ "Compile error" box. A live script.log console explains runtime errors the same way.

Systems

  • Conditions everywhere: items, quest state, health / blood / water / energy, bleeding, time of day, weather, server uptime, persistent server variables and player stats - with NOT.
  • Factions: reputation tiers with stances and trade discounts, kill rules, relations between factions, and guard NPCs that warn, aim and fire with line-of-sight checks and per-faction damage. Standings sync to the client.
  • Custom nodes: wrap your own Enforce snippets as reusable quest nodes with typed settings; shared between projects as .json.

Map and export

  • Exports vanilla cfggameplay.json object spawners, an init.c spawner, cfgeventspawns.xml / cfgeventgroups.xml and mapgrouppos.xml; Expansion .map and quests optional. Imports DayZ Editor .dze, Expansion .map and init.c.
  • 3D view with real models and terrain captured from your install; the game can be docked inside the editor.

Testing and publishing

  • Local test server: your DayZ Server install with the mod and its own mission storage; joins with BattlEye like a real server.
  • Workshop upload goes through Steamworks via DayZ's own steam_api64.dll and your logged-in Steam client (no password). Uploads addons (PBO + signature), keys and mod.cpp, tagged Mod.

The app

  • Per-user install in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\DayZ Studio with a bundled Python 3.12 - nothing else to install.
  • Extracted game data: %LOCALAPPDATA%\DayZStudio. Projects, backups, keys and custom nodes: Documents\DayZStudio. Updating or uninstalling keeps both.
  • Updates come from GitHub Releases. Alpha installs also get pre-releases. Nothing downloads without your OK.
  • Prefer the source? Clone the repo and run run_desktop.bat or run_studio.bat (needs Python 3.10+ with pillow and numpy). python tools\make_installer.py builds the installer.

Known issues

  • Guards raise their rifle and fire, but their aim animation is still basic.
  • With Nahimic audio software installed, the installer sometimes closes right after starting - just run it again.
  • Right after an update, Studio may say "Reopened your last project" - it loaded your project from disk. Nothing is lost.
  • Conversations, the HUD and factions need players to have your mod, so publish it to the Workshop before you open your server.

DayZ Studio is a free, fan-made tool and is not affiliated with Bohemia Interactive.

Full Changelog: https://github.com/ghosthex-dev/dayz-studio/commits/v0.1.0-alpha.1

Full Changelog: https://github.com/ghosthex-dev/dayz-studio/commits/v0.1.0-alpha.1