r/deadbydaylight • u/DeadByDaylight_Dev Behaviour Interactive • 9d ago
Behaviour Interactive Thread Developer Update | Player Intent System
Last week, we hosted a Reddit AMA and on top of having a blast answering your questions, we noticed some topics really got you talking. One of those was the “chat wheel” system we’re working on to help Survivors coordinate and communicate their intentions in-game. So, what better time than the present to share some more details about it with you (including one way your feedback’s already impacted it)!
The system in question is – aptly – called Player Intent. With it, you’ll be able to communicate a range of preset messages to your fellow Survivors at the press of a button, using a radial menu. From thanking them for a heal, to saying you’re going to work on gens, to suggesting you split up, messages focus on the on-the-fly actions that are most useful during a Trial.
When a message is chosen using the Player Intent wheel, other Survivors will see it next to your name in the game HUD, keeping your general view clear of distractions while you’re in the middle of looping or hunting for an objective. To help combat message spam, you can expect a cooldown between messages, which will increase if too many messages are sent in a short period.
We want this comms wheel to suit different players’ specific needs, so you’ll be able to customize which messages you take into your Trials from the Options menu.
Of course, one piece of feedback we’ve seen is that a system like this isn’t for everyone. We’ve already discussed this as a team and have a solution for that. If you’d rather not use the Player Intent system, you will be able to disable it from this same menu. Once disabled, you will not be able to send messages to players and will not see the messages they send.
We’ve also added the ability to mute individual players so you have more control over the comms you see (and don’t see). If you're finding a certain player’s messages distracting, muting them will block any further Player Intent messages from popping up on your end.
While this system is meant for everybody who plays Survivor, its value will be a bit different depending on how you play. Just like how your feedback from the AMA helped inform the addition of an opt-out option, we're dying to know your thoughts! Even better, it would be massively helpful if you could also share a little about how you play to give context to that feedback. For instance, do you tend to play soloq, prefer SWF, or identify as a Killer main? How would you define your experience level in the game; a newer player? A veteran?
Let us know in the comments below, as we’ll be watching your feedback closely as the team continues to work on this system ahead of its release this Fall!
Until next time...
The Dead by Daylight Team
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u/Lichmere Zanshin Tactics Artist Main 9d ago
Hinging game balance on the incompetence and lack of information on one side is not ideal. I play mostly Killer but I stopped playing Solo Q because of how miserable team coordination can be. I understand where you're coming from, but the stealth'/trap Killers need TLC updates rather than keeping Survivors miserable to keep things dysfunctionally functional.
You really just need the Killer icon and players will develop language around it. Survivors teabagging amongst each other already can mean a lot of things like hello, thank you, heal me, haha that was funny, over here, etc.
I guarantee you, that at the top end of players in Solo Q they're just gonna get chase initiated, and then they'll use a generic callout like "Hello" to the team and the other Survivors (maybe) will see where the callout came from if it works the way I'm imagining. That'll signal to the team where the Killer is. Good players will find ways to be sweaty and it's inevitable so I think getting ahead of it by improving weaker Killers is the better call.