DayZ Badlands Week 79 Details Dusty Vehicle Trails and an Ishapore Lee-Enfield
Bohemia Interactive's upcoming expansion will pair localized dust effects with a 10-round 7.62×54mmR rifle based on the Model No. 1 Mk. III*.
DayZ Badlands is getting dusty. Bohemia Interactive’s Week 79 development blog, also called Dev Blog 6, covers the upcoming expansion’s vehicle dust effects, indoor environmental details, and a carefully modeled Lee-Enfield rifle. The team shared the update through its latest Steam announcement.
The expansion remains in development, so the features shown can change before release. Bohemia Interactive also said the release window was a few months away and that the regular development blog schedule would continue every three weeks, with surprise recap posts appearing between the main entries. Our first DayZ Badlands recap covered rebuilding, code locks, Nasdara’s combat spaces, and the MP-18.
Dust that follows vehicles and footsteps
Cars, trucks, and the newly added motorbikes will kick up dust when they travel across surfaces marked as dust-prone. The effect has two layers. A larger cloud follows the vehicle for a while, with its size and duration tied to the vehicle’s type and artificially assigned weight. A smaller trail stays attached to each wheel to create a steadier ambient effect.
The system is not limited to Nasdara’s desert-like areas. Designers can assign dust behavior to any surface, which leaves room for changes to existing maps if the team decides that a location would benefit from the effect.
Buildings will have their own dusty surprises. Walking can produce small clouds around a survivor’s footsteps, while entering a building may cause the floor to creak and dust to fall from the ceiling. If someone is walking overhead, that sound and falling debris could give away their position to a player listening below.
How DayZ keeps the dust under control
Most of the dust simulation runs on the client, so it does not need network synchronization. The exception is ceiling dust caused by another character moving above a player. Ground particles are created only in a limited area around the player rather than across the entire map. The system also predicts movement direction and speed, then moves that active area along with the player or vehicle.
Airborne dust uses a similar trick. Particles appear upwind and drift toward the camera, creating the impression of a much larger dusty environment without simulating every particle across the map. Wind intensity affects how often ground dust appears, while wind direction controls where airborne particles begin. Time of day also influences the behavior.
The Lee-Enfield is based on the SMLE Model No. 1 Mk. III*
The rifle featured in the blog is based on the British Model No. 1 Mk. III*, commonly known as the SMLE, or Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield. The asterisk marks a design revision that changed the bridge and removed the volley sight, which had been intended for long-range fire.
The stock was thickened after reports of cracking, giving the rifle its recessed barrel band and shroud. Bohemia Interactive’s version uses lighter teak wood, which was more available in India than walnut. It also includes a cross bolt at the rear of the forewood stock, known by collectors as the Ishapore screw, along with an extra stud in front of the receiver to spread recoil through the wood.
Those details match the rifle’s “R.F.I.” marking, short for Rifle Factory Ishapore. The blog also showed the smaller changes made to the weapon, including a simplified cocking piece and other details tied to specific armories.
For gameplay purposes, the rifle uses a 10-round detachable magazine and fires 7.62×54mmR. The conversion replaces the original .303 British chambering, which the team described as difficult to source today. The process involves setting the barrel back slightly, adjusting the chamber end to restore headspace, and cutting a new chamber with a Mosin chamber-cutting reamer. The magazine accepts the cartridge, and the shared bullet diameter keeps the weapon aligned with DayZ’s ammunition economy.
More Badlands details are still on the way
Bohemia Interactive said the next blog could cover public infrastructure and possibly the highway, though neither topic has been finalized. The team also asked players to wishlist DayZ Badlands while development continues, promising more updates as the expansion moves toward release.
Dusty roads, creaky buildings, and a rifle with a very specific history give Nasdara plenty of character already. Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
DayZ
Developed by Bohemia Interactive
DayZ is a hardcore open-world survival game with only one rule: stay alive, no matter what. How long can you survive a post-apocalyptic world? A land overrun with an infected "zombie" population, where you compete with other survivors for limited resources. Will you team up with strangers and stay strong together? Or play as a lone wolf to avoid betrayal? This is DayZ, this is your story.
- Genre Shooter, Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Tactical, Adventure, Indie
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One
- Perspective First person, Third person
- Modes Multiplayer, Co-operative, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO), Battle Royale
- Release December 13, 2018
- Publisher Bohemia Interactive
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Age Rating
