Welcome everyone - especially those of you just joining us for the first time!
Let’s cut right to it - we overdid it with our recent update to AI behaviour. When combined with some bugs in those changes, it resulted in gameplay that was much more difficult than we expected. We wanted Machines to be smarter and more responsive in combat, but our combination of the above created some unintended consequences. As you can imagine we’ve been digging through your feedback, looking at what feels off, as well as fixing bugs so that we can get things more in line with our original intent.
We’re also taking a pass at some QoL improvements to the inventory and crafting menus that should make things clearer when using them. Other UI updates include some adjustments to how the HUD presents information, to make it easier to understand. These tweaks were made based on your feedback and we’ll share more concrete details in the future. Not everything will be addressed, but we still want to keep improving over time.
There will be more news to share in the coming weeks, but that’s all for now. Have a great weekend!
The Generation Zero Team
April Update - Patch Notes
April Update - Patch Notes
Spring has started and for us that means a tiny bit of housecleaning. No major update this month, instead we have some bug fixes and some under-the-hood work that we’ve done. We’re working on bigger things at the moment and need to focus our efforts there in the near future. What this boils down to is that we haven’t yet been able to address some of the bigger points of feedback from March - but we’re working on it!
Tweaks
Your feedback on the Anniversary update has been heard and we’ve made some quick changes that will help smooth out player understanding of the effects of the inventory change and the addition of Crafting. While these are small in scale, they will help with clarity.
Changed the "bar" on the Profile screen to show the stat effects as a percentage to match the crafting menu
Added a "Fast Travel Disabled" message when unable to move due to being over-encumbered
Added quality levels to crafted items in the Profile screen to match how other items display quality level
When over-encumbered you will only be able to walk, no longer will you be able to jog at certain thresholds; ultimately if you carry far too much weight you will be unable to move
Increased the base carrying weight from 48 to 64
When over-encumbered, the "unable to sprint" message will now be shown all the time until freeing up weight
In this update we’ve also taken our first steps to updating the machine behavior, primarily in combat. Much of this is beneath the surface and won’t be immediately noticeable, but as you go up against the machines more you may notice a few changes to how they approach combat - specifically a new behavior for the Harvester that may surprise you!
Just like with any of our other updates, please give your feedback to this update as well as anything else in your play experience. As mentioned in our last Letter from the Devs, we’re starting to really get into the feedback from the recent Player Survey and we’ll be taking all of that into consideration as we move forward. Thank you all and take care out there!
Bug Fixes
UI
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where un-equipping and re-equipping some weapons after loading a save file from previous patch caused slots in the HUD to disappear
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where ammo was not stacking and was incorrectly shown as attached in both the HUD and inventory
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where sometimes players were unable to cycle between menu tabs using R1 and L1 on PS4
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where Machine organs would sometimes stay highlighted after exiting the tech view with binoculars
Fixed an issue where players could get caught in a soft-locked state if the menu and chat was opened at the same time
Fixed an issue where the detailed info for each Difficulty was only shown in the Settings
Fixed an issue where scopes were not displaying their quality rating
Weapons
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where the Experimental K-PIST would change firing modes after equipping a grenade or medpack
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where Binoculars and scopes reset their view mode when a weapon was changed out
Fixed an issue where no impact (sound, visuals, or damage) when shooting the last round in the ammo stack with the Granatgevär into a far away object
Fixed an issue where sometimes you could still use a weapon that had been dropped
Fixed an issue on consoles where your weapon would fire if you held down the trigger when using equipment
Fixed an issue where weapons would sometimes equip to both primary weapon slots
Fixed an issue where scopes were not staying attached to the weapon when playing the reload animation
Fixed an issue where the muzzle fire from secondary weapons were severely detached from the weapon barrel
Fixed an issue where the electricity on the Experimental KVM 59 Machine Gun would become detached from the weapon when sprinting
Machines
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where Machine corpses would sometimes despawn before players could loot them
Fixed an issue where the collision box for a Tank was sometimes not in-sync with its animations
Fixed an issue where the friendly Tick pod item would sometimes not despawn after the friendly Tick spawned
World
Fixed various floating objects so they now correctly appear on the ground
Fixed various instances of doors or grass clipping into objects they shouldn’t
Fixed an issue where a player would be pushed backwards on the stairs after fast traveling to the Björntunet Hotel
General
Fixed an issue where all of a player’s characters shared the same status of over-encumbered / not over-encumbered depending on the first character they logged in with
Fixed an issue where the fanfare music wasn’t playing when a Challenge was completed
Fixed an issue in multiplayer when an instrument would stay on screen if a player used an instrument emote and then logged out
Fixed a few text string issues
Known Issues
We’re highlighting a few issues below that we know are pain points so that you know we are investigating them. There are definitely more than are listed here that we’re looking into.
There is excessive fog in the South Coast region
All muzzle attachments, except silencers, are not visually showing up on weapons when attached, but they still function properly
In rare instances machines are visible to client players but are invisible to the host
In rare instances sprinting doesn’t seem to increase movement speed
-The Generation Zero Team
Letter from the Devs - April 24th
Hello hello! Hope everyone has been staying safe and is trying to enjoy any weather improvements that may have started to roll in - for example we’re starting to get more sun in Stockholm. A welcome change for sure.
First of all we want to thank everyone who participated in our Survey for their feedback. There is a TON for us to dig through and all of it is helpful! For us it’s always interesting to see any trends over time in our surveys as well as matching up your feedback with some data that we can see on our end. It helps paint us a better picture so we can plan and take action to address issues or expand on things that are working well. All-in-all this helps us make a better experience for everyone!
We’re aiming to have an update next week - not a major one, more of a small quality of life update. There will be some squashed bugs, some work that we’ve done under-the-hood that won’t be super visible, and some improvements based on feedback from last month’s Anniversary Update. We weren’t able to address everything, as some of your feedback requires a deeper look or more time to make, but we polished a few things that we think you will appreciate.
Until then, continue to be safe and be good to each other. Playing co-op is great for those. Cya soon!
- The Generation Zero Team
March Update - Hotfix
Today we're putting out a hotfix on PC for an urgent issue where Crafted Apparel stat bonuses were not saving when the game closed. We will be getting this out on PS4 and Xbox ASAP and will let you know when that happens.
We've also gotten reports of some players having issues equipping their main weapons. For now, a quick workaround can be to either drop the weapon(s) or place the weapon(s) in Storage, then pick them up again. This will work until we get a permanent solution in place.
/The GenerationZero team
Letter from the Devs - March 27th
Hello everyone - It’s the end of the month and we wanted to do a quick check in now that our Anniversary Update has been live for a few days.
Your feedback to all of our changes have been overwhelming and we’re still trying to dig through everything, but we’re keeping our eyes open and our ears to the ground for even more. As you can imagine with any large update, there are a lot of good things that we hear but also some areas we can improve on. So let’s talk about those quickly!
Much of the talk around the inventory has been positive with many of you really appreciating the move away from the grid and into lists with stackable items and weight. We’ve seen tons of suggestions for how to make things even more clear alongside finding some bugs that we missed in our testing. Our aim is to evaluate these suggestions and try to roll them into our future plans, the same with bug fixes - we want this to feel smooth and understandable for you!
Our first steps into Crafting has also generated a lot of buzz and excitement, which we’re happy to see! As we mentioned in our last update, this is something we want to expand on - and while we have our own ideas, it’s great to hear what you think would make improvements to your experience in the game when it comes to this aspect. We’ve unfortunately also heard about, and found, a nasty bug where Crafted stats aren’t saving for players. This is something that we’ll be hotfixing ASAP!
And of course it warms our hearts to see lots of you taking the time to explore and appreciate all the new updates to the world that we’ve made in the Archipelago Region. We really want to make the world feel more lived in and show that it too adapts to the changes we make with the game itself.
Lastly we hope some of you are having fun trying to find the Anniversary event items we’ve snuck into the world. We’re looking forward to you pulling off some interesting tactics with the fireworks (or just throwing your own celebration party!) as well as seeing what you can do if you get your hands on the shocking new gear from the Rivals!
Oh, something to keep an eye out for - we’ll be reaching out with a survey in the coming weeks to drill deeper into your feedback on the Anniversary Update and your thoughts on the future of Generation Zero. For now, enjoy your weekend and we’ll talk again soon!
The Generation Zero Team
One Year Anniversary - Your First Year in Generation Zero
March Update - Patch Notes
Happy Anniversary! It’s been a year since our journey on Generation Zero began and we’re so happy that you’re here with us for this milestone.
This major update brings with it some brand new features, that we based off of a variety of player feedback that appeared since launch. Like many of the features that get suggested from you all, we also had our own ideas for mhow we wanted to improve the game - and the great part is many of them overlapped or worked beautifully together, creating impactful changes. So, what did we add for our anniversary? Well...
Crafting Something that we’ve been wanting to add for a while, and something that many players felt would be an improvement, is the ability to craft items. With this update we’re taking our first steps into allowing you to craft things within the world! As this is only the beginning, we’re starting small but will continue to add elements to this feature as time goes on - so let us know what you’d like to see!
Specifically in this update, we’re introducing the first iteration of the Crafting system - adding bonus stats to any of your apparel. Now you can apply a bonus to your favorite outfit so you can be both stylish and combat ready! We’ve created a handful of potential bonuses for your clothing, including explosive damage resistance or a noise reduction bonus. You’ll need the schematics to learn how to craft these improvements, as well as the proper materials, which can all be found throughout the world. You’ll find them inside houses, in containers, or dropped from the machines. Recycling your old equipment is also another great way to get some crafting materials.
Inventory Update Alongside Crafting we’ve taken the opportunity to give the player inventory a bit of a facelift. There was a lot of feedback around this one in various forms and something we spent a bit of time thinking about how to approach. In the end we looked for something that would be more convenient to use, easier to understand, and less technically complicated - something that we think people will be used to and appreciate. Going forward players will now have lists of items in categories and your inventory will only be limited by item weight. No longer by number of items! Additionally we’ve done away with the stack limitations so you more easily manage all of the items you have! Just like with Crafting, this is new to you all and we’re very much open to your feedback on how it’s working.
Continued World Revamp As part of our ongoing work to make the world feel more alive we’ve taken another pass at the beginning Archipelago region and given it quite the significant update. You’ll see more named locations, more interesting “world scenes”, and more variety in the houses. This is just the start of how we want to continue to revamp parts of the world to make each region feel more distinct and play into a larger narrative. Something that we hope pulls you into the experience even more and excites you to keep exploring.
Difficulty Options We all know that there are plenty of different types of players out there, and we want to make sure we give our players options when it comes to their experience with Generation Zero. Since not everyone plays games for the same reasons, or in the same way, we decided to give players the option to choose the level of difficulty they want to face in the game. For example some players like to play for the challenge of overcoming odds that are stacked against them, but other players prefer to explore the world we’ve built and experience it without combat getting in the way of that journey. With that in mind, we created options around not only the difficulty level, but also if you want the difficulty to scale if more players join your game. We feel that more options make for a better experience for you, whether you’re going it alone or with friends!
From today you’ll see 3 difficulty options for you to choose from, with the Skirmish difficulty being the equivalent to the game’s status prior to this update. The other two difficulties will either increase the combat challenge (Guerrilla) or allow for more focus on the story over combat (Adventure). Let us know how they feel!
Anniversary As you can imagine, with any anniversary there’s a celebration - and as you can guess, we want to celebrate with you all in Generation Zero. You’ll see and hear more from us in the days leading up to our anniversary day (March 26) so no sneak peeks this time. Stay tuned to our Twitter, Facebook, & Forums to make sure you find out what’s coming!
Before we go, note that the upcoming update also contains a smaller bug fix list, as this was a major feature update for us. Most of our time was spent implementing those features, but we did find time to jump on some of the most important issues. That said, with any new features there are sometimes things we don’t catch with our testing, so if you see anything not working properly let us know so we can sort it out.
Lastly - THANK YOU! We couldn’t have done all of this without your support and feedback. We hope you continue to enjoy your time in Generation Zero as much as we enjoy improving the experience alongside you. Here’s to a great continuation of 2020!
NOTE: Due to some last minute fine-tuning and organizational challenges, we will unfortunately need to split up the patch release between PC and consoles. PC is live now and we expect the Xbox and PS4 patches to come out very soon after - by our Anniversary at the latest (March 26). Stay tuned for more info in our channels!
Bug Fixes
UI
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where the hidden glasses would not appear in your inventory when you picked them up (players that previously picked them up will see them in their inventory now)
Fixed an issue where not all instances of explodable tanks (ex. gas tank) could be looted
Fixed an issue where a lockpick would be consumed even if the player had the correct key to a locked door
Fixed an issue where the interaction trigger location on skills was inconsistent
Fixed an issue where the Worn Leather Gloves would obscure the player’s view when aiming down sights
Fixed an issue where shotgun shells could sometimes get out of sync with the reload animation
Fixed an issue where the transition between standing and crouching would be instant when aiming with iron sights
Missions
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where the Tank would not spawn in the Last Resort Side Mission
Fixed an issue where the objective marker for the Gas Run Side Mission was in the wrong place
Machines
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where machine corpses would sometimes disappear before players could loot them
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where the loot window would instantly disappear when looting machines, making it impossible to loot the machine
World
[Community Report] Toned down the number of Boomboxes that were spawning in the world
[Community Report] Fixed an issue where there was missing wall collision in the Björntunet spa
Fixed an issue where it was snowing inside the Beredskapsförråd 107 underground facility
Fixed an issue where some loot containers at Safehouses outside of a Region were not spawning loot
Fixed an issue where some loot containers were not properly able to be interacted with
Fixed a few instances of floating, untextured, or invisible objects
General
Fixed a few minor text errors
//The Generation Zero Team
Letter from the Devs - March 13th
Hej hej everyone - We’re halfway through March and it’s time for another update!
As you may have noticed a few days ago, we missed our typical Wednesday streaming session. Unfortunately we ran into some sound issues that are proving challenging to overcome at the moment. This may end up impacting upcoming streams as well, but we’ll keep you updated as to what’s happening - hopefully we’ll be back on our feet and running soon!
With that out of the way, let’s get to teasing our upcoming new content! Coming the tail end of this month, Generation Zero will hit it’s first anniversary and we’ve taken the opportunity to improve the game in a few meaningful ways that we expect both current and new players will surely appreciate. In the coming weeks you’ll start seeing more and more information from us on these newly crafted features. So stay tuned to our normal channels!
And of course no anniversary would be complete without a bit of a celebration! During our anniversary timeframe you can expect some in-game activities from us with some new limited rewards that we hope you’ll get a bang out of.
We’re currently nearing the end of wrapping all this work up so we can get it out to you, so as usual we’ll let you know when we’re closer to the exact date. But as you can guess based on the above, we’re aiming to have something in time for our anniversary later this month. Until then, keep on fighting off those Machines and we’ll speak again soon!
The Generation Zero Team
Letter from the Devs - February 28th
Happy Friday everyone, it’s time for another update from us to you!
We hope you’re all enjoying the latest additions to Generation Zero in our update that dropped a few days ago. The team had a ton of fun bringing a little taste of home to all of you out there via the Semla event, and early feedback points towards this sparking joy with all of you! And the musical instruments from the Alpine Unrest Challenges seem to be a hit as well - we’ve seen some great photos and videos so far that are making us smile for sure.
Now that the update is out there, we’re going into feedback mode where we’re watching and listening to your comments so that we know what to adjust going forward. So please, do keep that feedback coming!
As we glance into the future plans for the game, we’re looking back to some of the feedback we received a while ago. There are a lot of things that you all have suggested to us over time, including some standout areas we know we need to do something about. Some of them were fixes or features we were able to quickly jump on (ex. Storage), but others were things that would take a lot of time / effort to implement on our part. In the coming weeks, you’ll start to hear more from us about the areas we’re digging into that will help us flesh out the game even more.
These changes are exciting and took some time for us to bring together, but we think they’ll really help make a difference to the overall experience. So, with that little teaser - stay tuned for more!
The Generation Zero Team
February Update - Now Live!
Our February update, together with our limited-time event, is now live and available for download! Make sure to grab your Semla while they last! Read all about it here!
