DayZ‘s standalone version continues to be shrouded in real life’s most potent zombie fog – aka, mystery – but Rocket’s not the type to intentionally keep people in the dark. So he’s been trickling out details where he has them, and now we know that a closed test is “imminent.” But how exactly will it work? And what lies beyond – for instance, once players start flooding into nebulous “endgame” territory or. further, when ArmA III reawakens the ancient modder kraken currently sleeping in Rocket’s soul? Thanks to Reddit‘s eternally inquisitive hivemind, we now have answers.

First, the most potentially shocking bit: Rocket doesn’t have any current plans to port DayZ over to ArmA III. Instead, he’d like to pass the torch on to fans and use Bohemia’s shiny new engine for another original project. That said, he does want to see “the next DayZ” emerge from ArmA III. But he means in spirit, not in carbon-copied flesh.

“My real hope is that the next ‘DayZ’ comes out and gets its big break in ArmA3. I made a space mod for ArmA2 that I never released, maybe I might make that for ArmA3! I guess someone will mod DayZ for ArmA3 and it will probably be great for it. That’s the awesome thing about this community.”

The status of DayZ’s standalone, meanwhile, is quite variable, which is why a concrete date’s yet to see the light of day. In short, the closed test is even more imminent than it was before – because, you know, that’s how time works – but the underlying tech’s success (or “ugly” failure) will determine how quickly everyone else gets to dive in. “It’s a tech test,” Rocket added. “Any game design that makes it into that will be a bonus.”

There are some plans for further down the line, though. Among other things, Rocket teased unannounced surprises for the rest of the year and “probably beyond that,” as well as noting that a vehicle construction system will be the first endgame-y thing to liven up DayZ’s stagnant final moments. Player-made bases are also on the list, though they probably won’t surface until the end of the year.

There’s a wealth of tidbits in the AMA, so definitely give it a read if you’re into DayZ, daisies, disease, or words that sound like other words.