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DayZ Studio 0.1.0-alpha.1 - first alpha

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@github-actions github-actions released this 21 Oct 06:26
· 21 commits to main since this release
v0.1.0-alpha.1
eb9e0e5

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

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