I’m writing this Resistance Report on a Thursday because I’ll be in Oslo tomorrow. Today's letter isn’t going to be super long, I don’t want to pad these with too much fluff if there isn’t something to say. Let’s get right to it:
August 2024 Update
We’ve received tons of feedback about our last update, released only on Steam so far. The majority of players are seeing increased frame rates – which is awesome! That’s what we were hoping for. However, some players have also experienced worse frame rates than before. We’re looking into this and doing our best to make sure this update is an improvement for as many people as possible.
For those on console who are wondering when they’re getting the update, worry not: The August 2024 Update is planned to go out on consoles next week! (Yes, it’ll still be called August 2024 Update. A bit silly, I know.)
You’ll be getting all the improvements in the initial release on Steam as well as those made with the subsequent hotfix. Here’s where I’ll have to set some expectations, though.
Generation Zero has been known to act a bit… erratically on consoles, especially old gen ones. Since this update is such a major overhaul of the asset rendering system in the game, it’s possible that some new issues will pop up that we weren’t able to test for. Our QA team is amazing and works extremely hard, but it’s impossible to test every single feature and possibility in an open world game after making changes to a system that affects everything in it.
I ask you to please be understanding of this in case you are one of the players who experience that side mission blocker. Report it to us on the forums or on one of our social media channels and provide as much information as possible about how and when it happened. We’ll get to fixing any new issues as soon as we can!
And for those of you reading on Steam: We're of course not only focused on consoles at the moment. We're following your reports and feedback and implementing fixes and improvements as we go along. Thanks for your patience.
Thanks for reading today’s Resistance Report. As a reward, I’ll let you know in advance that there will be a screenshot contest starting next week. We haven’t done one of those in a while and I’m looking forward to everyone’s submissions! There are some pretty nifty prizes up for grabs. Today’s Swiss word is “seckle” (sack-la). It means “to run” and I remember my kindergarten teacher HATED us saying it for some reason. I hope it’s not a bad word.
Cheers! Carni, Community Manager
Resistance Report - 2024-08-30
Greetings, Survivors!
It is a pleasure to be back and writing the Resistance Report once again. You know I try my best to prioritize them, but sometimes things get hectic all of a sudden and I have to focus on other things. Who am I kidding, things are always hectic, but sometimes more so than others. These last few weeks in particular, though, our devs and I engaged in what is known as the Great Summer Break™. This is a time each summer when we put in our vacation days and spend valuable and well-deserved time with our families and recharging before we get back into the fray.
I myself took two weeks off to spend time in nature and play Diablo IV. I even got bored once and made cookies, highly recommended! It’s super easy and worth it. Here’s what some of the devs have been up to:
Audio Designer Peter enjoys the view in Tromsø, Norway.
Lead Producer Tommy relaxes near some waterfalls in Croatia
Hard Surface Artist Joachim looks at the sunset on the way to Finland
QA Lead Calum admires the flowing waters of Dunkeld, Scotland
Something about game devs and fleeing to the forest as soon as they have some time on their hands. Anyway, now we’re all back in full force!
I’m sure you have many questions about what we’re working on now.
Thanks for playing on the PTB!
In our quest to improve performance across all platforms, we decided to release a Public Test Branch to bring our chances to a wider audience and have a faster fix time before we fully release them. Many of you decided to download this test branch and play on it, which we are immensely thankful for. Even just the backend statistics showed us many things that weren’t visible on a smaller scale and contributed to us fixing them.
A special thank you goes out to those players who played on the PTB and contacted us with in depth reports on the issues they ran into. This is going the extra mile that makes our job so much easier and improves the experience of everyone else! As the PTB is not needed at the moment, we will be changing the password to access it, which will revert everyone who is still on it back to the public branch. Of course we’ll let you know if we decide to reopen it in the future!
There are still some kinks to iron out with our latest update, the August 2024 Update. We’ve detected some crashes and other bugs that previously slipped through the cracks and are working to resolve them before releasing the update to consoles. That process is well on its way, though, and it shouldn’t be long before our fellow Survivors on PS and Xbox will be able to enjoy the improvements we’ve made including the bug fixes we’re working on right now.
What’s on the horizon
The optimizations are of course not the only thing we’re doing right now. Work on the next update has already begun and we’re making great progress. Of course, it’ll be a while before we can really talk about it, but I can tell you now that we’re cooking up some things that a lot of you have been asking forö. I can’t wait to talk about it!
We’ve also noticed that it’s been a while since we had our last community contest, so keep an eye out and join the Discord server to see when that’s happening again. Your creative muscles shall be stretched!
That’s all for today’s Resistance Report. The Swiss German word of the day is “Schläckstängel” (pronounce this with an American accent: “Shlackshtangle”). It means lollipop and as a 10 year old, this German doctor laughed at me when I asked for one.
Cheers! Carni, Community Manager
August 2024 Update - Hotfix
Greetings, Survivors!
We've just released a hotfix for the August 2024 Update. It contains various crash fixes and solves two display issues relating to the Companion. We've also read several reports that players are once again unable to remove the Companion from their storage box. It turns out the fix for this issue was accidentally reversed in the last update, so we've re-reversed it. Thanks for reporting. Enjoy!
Bug Fixes
Companion
Fixed an issue where only the Runner Module would be selectable in the Companion Station.
Prevented the Companion's texture from disappearing when switching paint jobs.
Once again allowed the Companion to be removed from the Storage box.
Performance
Several crash fixes
Stay tuned for more! The Generation Zero Dev Team
August 2024 Update - Patch Notes
Greetings, Survivors!
Today's update is focused on performance and is only for our players on Steam.
Here's what's in the patch:
Lowered main and video memory consumption.
Fix for visual glitch when browsing the vehicle station.
Crash fixes (missiles, ui, rendering, damage over network, climate system).
Harvester bio-attack effect should spawn correctly.
And while we're here, we wanna give a big thanks to everyone who helped us out by playing on the Public Test Branch!
The Generation Zero Dev Team
Skyfire Update - Hotfix 2
Greetings, Survivors!
Just now, we released a second hotfix for the Skyfire Update. In this one, we're removing an instance where players were able to see placeholder text in the base defense turret interface, as well as fixing the bug where players would have augmentations removed from their weapons.
Thanks for reporting these issues to us so we could fix them as fast as possible!
Cheers, The Generation Zero Dev Team
Skyfire Update - Hotfix
Greetings, Survivors!
After the Skyfire Update, we started seeing some increased crash rates along with a few new issues that are really annoying for players. We decided to hotfix these issues in a patch that just went live!
We are also working on a bigger update with lots of performance improvements which is up on the Public Test Branch (password qZvOkNujkd1VlKf )right now! More information on its full release will follow soon.
Here's what's in today's patch:
Fixed a bug where Shock ammo didn't produce any electric arcs
Those who couldn't remove their Companion from storage after Skyfire should be able to do so again
The Meusser Hunting Rifle no longer fires semi-automatically
Fixed several rare crash issues at startup and during combat
Thank you for your patience while we fixed these high-priority bugs. We hope you continue to enjoy fighting the Vulture!
The Generation Zero Dev Team
Up to 70% off DLCs in the Steam Summer Sale!
The Skyfire Update is out, and with it comes a new threat - the Vulture. To take on this powerful enemy, you might want to stock up on some more weapons. Well fret not, because the Steam Summer Sale is here! It brings discounts on fan-favorite equi'pment packs such as the US Weapons Pack, Tactical Equipment 2, and Eastern European Weapons!
Both story DLCs are also heavily discounted at 70% off. Venture to Himfjäll Island and help a group of survivors holed up in a familiar hotel, then travel to the South Coast to deal a decimating blow to FNIX' facilities.
And that's not everything! Check out the full sale here!
Skyfire Update - Patch Notes
Greetings, Survivors! We are so happy to celebrate the release of the Skyfire Update together with you. For this update, we wanted to do something many players were asking for. We took our time making the right decisions, refining, and polishing to make it worth the wait. Now it’s time to get into what you can expect!
Features
New Tyrant: The Vulture
A new enemy has risen among the ranks of the Soviet machines. The Vulture, an improved version of the Firebird, has been added to the pool of Tyrants you can fight for loot and glory. For those confused about the terminology: “Tyrants” is the name for boss-level machines, which currently consists of the Reaper and the Vulture. We don’t want to spoil the mechanics of the Vulture too much yet, but it will feature some terrifying new combat abilities, a refined visual and sound design, and a new Experimental that’s exclusive to its loot pool.
We’ve been wanting to add a new boss enemy to GZ for a long time and are so excited we finally got around to it! The Vulture is a major threat and will take even veteran players a while to defeat. Its loot pool will reflect this, but more on that later. All we can say for the fight is… Good luck.
Tyrant Spawning Update
The release of the Vulture was the perfect opportunity for us to overhaul the way spawning Tyrants works. We’ve heard a lot of feedback saying that spawning the Reaper felt frustrating because players would have to avoid rivals, which meant missing out on a lot of interesting fights along the way. Well, no more! From now on, you will be required to defeat your rivals in order to unlock a boss fight.
All rivals will now drop data chips called “Geologistics Cache”. The higher tier and level the rival, the more caches you’ll receive after killing it. Depending on whether the rival was a swedish or a soviet machine, you’ll receive FNIX or soviet caches respectively. In order to use these keys to triangulate the location of a tyrant, you then have to find a special hatch during a level 3 base assault. After all shield generators have been disabled, the hatch will open. Enter it to reach the tyrant terminal and choose which enemy to seek out! But watch out, the hatch takes damage like every other building during the base assault. You’ll have to exercise some caution when wielding explosives.
New Experimental Weapon: Meusser Hunting Rifle
This weapon fires a special new ammo type which produces a biochemical laser beam. The longer you charge each shot, the more damage it deals, but don’t let it charge too long, or it’ll overload and set you on fire! If you hit that sweet spot, though, the rifle will deal massive damage and punch right through armor. The experimental Meusser will only drop from the Vulture tyrant. Its ammo uses a new crafting material called “Ultracapacitor”, which is acquired by recycling batteries. To support this, the returns from recycling said batteries have been rebalanced and now requires a minimum batch of only 1.
Machine perception fixes
We’ve had many reports from players feeling like machines detect them when they’re not supposed to. To reduce confusion and irritation during gameplay, machines have had their sensors adjusted and they can no longer spot players through hedges. If the player is already in combat and hides behind hedges, the machines will reposition themselves instead of shooting through the thicket. This way, you experience combat more intuitively AND we protect a lot of greenery from unnecessary damage.
Companion Armor Kits
Many players expressed a desire to repair companion armor on-the-go to give it more survivability while out on the field. We’ve now changed the companion armor to craftable armor kits. These are still crafted at the Companion Station, but you can decide whether you want to install them immediately or take them with you into battle. You can equip these armor kits to your weapon wheel and simply throw them at your companion to get it back to full health and armor. Note: If you throw an armor kit at a companion that already has armor installed, the new armor will replace the old one.
With this change, you’ll be able to stay out longer and your companion will survive longer - provided that you look out for it, as a good dog parent does.
Updated Loot Feed and inventory UI
We’ve made significant visual improvements to the way collected loot is displayed in your HUD.
The list on the right side of your screen now not only displays the name and amount of items, but also a small preview and, if applicable, a rarity indicator. This will make it much easier to see what you just looted off that rival without spending a lot of time scrolling through its inventory.
On top of this, weapon pickups will now be displayed with a popup and a sound effect, so you’ll never miss the moment you finally get that weapon you’ve wanted!
The look that was previously only applied to the Companion’s inventory has been applied to Plundra and recycling storage as well. This makes navigation and item transfer easier.
Inventory UI now displays information about individual item stack weights and total weights to make it more apparent what’s weighing you down at any time.
New Augmentations
To reward you even more for defeating tyrants, we’ve added two new Augmentation Designs that are upgraded by doing just that. Final Round increases the damage done by the last round in each magazine for Pistols. Rapid Reload increases your reload speed temporarily after destroying a machine. We’ll consider adding this to melee weapons if you show us a video of someone reloading a melee weapon, but until then they will be excluded from using this design.
Heavy Weapons Pack
This DLC features four highly-requested weapons straight out of your favorite 80’s action movies. Their high damage outputs come with some tradeoffs, but once you channel your inner action hero, you’ll be dispatching machines almost as fast as FNIX can replace them. The Heavy Weapons Pack DLC is available now at $4.99 or applying regional price.
N144 Minigun
Usually employed as a stationary weapon on vehicles, the Minigun is a lead-spewing monster that excels at shredding machines at the cost of reduced movement speed and high ammo spend. If you have the reserves, the Minigun will be an indispensable tool of destruction. While it is not compatible with an extended magazine (belt?) or shock ammo, Augmentation works perfectly fine and will make the Minigun even more effective.
MGR-6 Grenade Launcher
A rotary barrel grenade launcher that will make the machines question their decisions to oppose you. If the first grenade does not take out a machine, the next 5 fired in rapid succession probably will. Enjoy the “flomp” sounds as you rain down explosive hell upon the machines.
Iron Condor Pistol
This heavy pistol packs a punch. Chambered in .44 ammo, it is great at stripping away armor and dealing high damage. Control its high recoil to make it a highly efficient machine killer.
RACS-12 Shotgun
The RACS-12 makes the best out of each shotgun shell, peppering machines with high-damage pellets at a high rate of fire. Get up close and personal with the machines and show them you mean business.
Thank you!
Before we get to the design changes and bug fixes, we’d like to take a moment to thank you once more. We’re so incredibly proud of how far Generation Zero has come and we’ll keep working to make it even better, taking your feedback into consideration with every update. Next, we’ll focus on another big round of performance improvements and introducing new elements to make the endgame experience more engaging. Stay tuned on our social media and our Discord Server for fun giveaways, contests, and information about upcoming updates!
Looking forward to talking to you, The Generation Zero Dev Team
Design changes
Inventory screen UI update
Improved the Tank railgun sound and visual effects as well as the impact sound where the projectile lands
Reduced the volume of shock ammo sound effects to cut down on earplug expenditure in the Resistance.
FNIX base shield generator damage effects are now less bright
Large caliber weapons have a new "large caliber" bullet impact effect set. This applies to the Iron Condor, the magnus revolver, and the PVG90.
The 40 mm grenade (N79, MGR launcher) explosion areas have been reduced to better balance the amount of damage they do.
Acidic, Scorching, Uranium Infused and Adhesive weapon augment bullet hits now have custom bullet hit effects
Bug Fixes
Multiplayer
Fixed an instance of clients not seeing the effects of throwables used by the host
Fixed several instances of clients not seeing machines and base assault buildings in multiplayer. Some instances may still remain, so please keep reporting them if they happen!
Inventory
Fixed an issue where players would lose items when quitting immediately after picking them up from storage
Vehicles
Fixed a bug where deployables jitter or become misaligned while on a flakmoped flatbed
Prevented Companions spawning in front of moving vehicles
Crashes
Fixed a crash occurring just after fast traveling
Missions
Fixed an issue where barcodes were not dropping for the Sorken bunker
Fixed a bug where a certain NPC was still present in the barn after completing “An Invitation”
Fixed a mission blocker during “The Farm” that could occur if the player had already completed the mission in multiplayer
Fixed a bug where the Procedural Mission “Resistance Radio Maintenance” would count too many repair kits being used
Machines
Fixed an instance of harvester missiles being extremely slow. Slow motion mode deactivated!
Fixed all Firebirds having a 90% hacking chance
Fixed the Tank’s Tick Pods clipping through it when shot off
UI
Fixed a display issue that would cause item previews to be too big or misaligned in the looting window
Audio
Fixed augmentation sounds looping after augmenting a weapon
Re-added a missing sound to the Storage box upgrade action
Gameplay
Resolved a bug where playing a 3rd person emote while overencumbered would get the player stuck
Known Issues
NPCs can sometimes be invisible. This is circumvented by restarting the game and we are looking into fixing it with the next update.
[Community Reported] Safehouses might get lost when logging in. This is most commonly encountered on PlayStation.
Clients can crash when riding a motorbike in a densely populated area
Skyfire Update Announcement Trailer
Watch the announcement trailer for our next major update: Skyfire!
Face off against the terrifying Vulture, a new Tyrant class enemy in the form of an evolved Firebird. Arm yourself with your best equipment and rally your allies to defeat this menacing new foe.
Save on all DLC in the Open World Survival Crafting Fest!
Get your hands on all GZ DLC at greatly reduced prices.
For example, both story DLCs are 70% off, giving you access to new lands and missions.
