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With so many games entering the free-for-all that is the open-world online zombie survival genre, DayZ resides in the very comfortable position relegated to the game that kicked off the craze. Even so, the implementation of new features has progressed at a slower rate than some gamers may like. To compensate for this development time, some new light has been shed on the game's most anticipated upcoming features.

These upcoming features come in the form of vehicles and barricades, which will add to the already-impressive scope of this early-access title. With the coming of a brand new engine for DayZ, Dean Hall intends to beef up the game's survival mechanics and give the large player-base something else to contend with outside of each other. Rather than simply dropping in these new features though, it's evident that a lot of thought is going into making them as memorable as possible.

Presented in the form of an interview between the DayZ creator and VG247, Dean Hall begins by stressing the importance of barricade implementation. To him, this will present one of the largest changes to the game. Barricades will come in the form of persistent items that the player can place throughout the world for protective and strategic reasons. Rather than blindly placing these implements into the environment, players will be able to "float" them in front of them to designate the perfect placement.

DayZ Vehicles Barricades Tank

While this presents the obvious benefits of providing cover behind which players can hide when the fighting gets tough and routing away wandering undead, barricades also represent the first step towards building shelters. This has already been seen in games like Rust and The Forest and will be an integral part of H1Z1, so it's within reason to expect it to eventually find its way into DayZ. In addition to this, barricades will surely help to offset the imposing nature of vehicles.

Hall's philosophy behind these mobile survival implements is without a doubt the most intriguing part of the video. Rather than having them prevalent throughout each of the game's servers, he wants to give them an almost mythical quality. Players will have to collect a host of different parts that they will then craft together to establish a working vehicle, whether it be a truck or a helicopter.

While some of these parts will be more common than others, he doesn't want the creation and maintenance of these vehicles to be a simple task. They will require collaboration between survivors in order to get them up and running. In an example, he talks about a group hopping between servers looking for a particular helicopter part to finish their own aerial vehicle. Upon hearing rumors of an active helicopter on a certain server, they team up to take it down and acquire the part. If this kind of teamwork is any indication, this could be the push that gamers need to more effectively band together in the game and reduce the number of wayward bandits.

DayZ Vehicles Barricades Cars

In addition to this, Hall intends for vehicle creation to further contribute to the emergent storytelling that pervades the game. While some of the vehicle parts will be internal, others will unsurprisingly be shown off visibly. Should a player attach a door to their car from a past conquest, that mismatched door will forever - or until it's destroyed - act as a representation of the story of its acquisition. For a game that thrives on these stories, it's refreshing to see the creator embracing and encouraging it further.

It no doubt came as a shock to hear that Dean Hall would be leaving developer Bohemia Interactive by the end of the year. But despite this knowledge, it's evident that he's making use of every last bit of his time left with the company to bring gamers the features they've been promised for DayZ. It's an ambitious project to be sure, but also one that has spawned a great deal of impressive competition. Even if it never truly makes its way into the realm of a final, stable release, DayZ will still be remembered for the inspiration it provided for those who followed.

Which of these two new features are you more excited about seeing implemented? What kind of survival elements would you like to see make their way into DayZ next?

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Follow Ryan on Twitter @ThatRyanB.

Source: VG247