Jaws of Extinction - Electric Update -0.4.8.4a Staging
HOTFIX 0.4.8.4a - Available on staging branch
Link if wanting to watch on Youtube:
• Added craftable pressure mine at workbench • Added craftable bear/jaw traps at workbench • Added quest highlights in dialogue with Quest NPCs • New Item - craftable wind generator - place to generate electricity from wind • New Item - Electrical Cable • New Item - Electrical Switch • New Item - Wall and Post relays - used to extend cables to facilities • New Item - Multimeter, equip this item to place cables between relays, lights and generators
• Updated - Anti-Infected light now uses the new electrical system and requires power • Updated - Chandler light, Small spotlight, pully light can now be crafted at workbench and placed on the ceiling and walls of buildings • Updated - Trees now sway in the wind dependent to the wind strength of the weather • Updated - Reduced Kens dialogue for quest "Sack of Spuds" while we rework the starting quests for Driftwood Mode • Updated - Improved the shaders on trees, reducing specular strength and sub surface scattering being overbearing
• Fixed Skins not working on Sophia FootBrawler outfit • Fixed issue with nests not activating • Fixed Safes still spawning number puzzles on Lone wolf Start Scenario • Fixed not being able to cancel contract with Robert Neville for rental units - This will require a new game • Fixed wash stations at bunkers' being able to be dismantled • Fixed glowing trunks on some of the small trees • Fixed not being able to harvest some medium trees
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Steve
I mainly play Jaws of Extinction https://store.steampowered.com/ageche... http://playjoe.gg/ My next JOE Giveaway will be April 29th My channel artwork was made by Ryan from KYE thanks Dude my Starting and BRB animations made by my daughter https://www.twitch.tv/redstoneregards
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Jaws of Extinction - Happy Birthday James - Giveaways !! 12 hour stream
3 watching now Started streaming 2 hours ago its James @KYE Creations Birthday so having a long stream today
if there are enough bums on seats today i will be giving away copies of the game there are some great offers on the website go grab a bargain https://playjoe.gg/
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Steve
Alpha Version 0.4.8a Mini Update Released
Patch 0.4.8 is here! This update provides a plethora of bug fixes and quality of life improvements. Major updates are typically released every month, however, in light of the quantity of improvements available, this intermediate update is being released earlier than normal.
In addition to fixes, you will now have access to new distressed survivor events, where you can follow distant shouts of survivors in trouble to help them out. Additionally, new hunting and retrieval quests are available from friendly NPCs.
Try out the new quality of life camera improvements while aiming weapons in third-person. These adjustments are designed to make close up enemies much less awkward to engage when using long-range weapons.
Developer Comment: It would be advisable to start a fresh game as some mechanics, craftables and items may be bugged or not be available if using out of date game save files.
Added
• Added new Distressed Survivors - listen out for shouts for help from survivors across the land and rescue them if you can. • Added claimable unit at the Tree Felling Strip. • Added storage, bed and bench to claimable building at Tree Felling location • Add brass pots and cat statues as placeables • Added decorative lights around centre of Backwater Beacon Safe Zone • New Infected Antiviral can be crafted at chemistry bench or purchased from a medical trader. • Methz (methylated spirit) can now be crafted at the Chemistry Bench. • Added new JB’s "Whiskey" item. • Added new Infected Antivirals item. • Added new Antibiotics items. • Added landscape marker for Crossbridge Farm. • Added NPC quest cooldown system. This allows repeatable quests to have a timed cooldown before being available to the player again • Added NPC personal quests for Liam Orling. Currently will give you repeatable quests. • Leilani Wicks now offers quests to help increase reputation. • Added map markers for scavenger hunt quests. Shows icons for all possible loot locations. A red cross will mark a location once visited. • Enemies and animals now have their kill statistics tracked in the player's inventory. • Added Camping Stove item. Stove only requires a propane canister and one bottle will last 5x a standard campfire or hobo stove. • Cooking stoves added to locker and toolbox loot tables. • Cooking stoves can now be purchased and sold by traders • Anti-Infected spotlights can now be crafted at a workbench. • Added dialogue which explains why the player is unable to open a container if they are seen trying to steal. • George Paisley now offers hunting quests for money and reputation
Updated
• Backers can now claim packs on the website that they are eligible for. • NPCs will now prioritise hostile targets in their close vicinity. • NPCs will no longer attempt to attack while getting up after being knocked down. • Cantaloupes will no longer stack. • Streetlights now turn off at 6.30am and come on at 7.30pm • Starting time for new games is 7.30am. • Decoupled character's on fire effects from body temperature. Being on fire is no longer the result of being set to instantly hyperthermic. • Updated layout of eatery in Backwater Beacon Safe Zone • Updated Jess’ animations and position in Backwater Beacon Safe Zone • Find cover barks (e.g. “Go go go”) now have limitation cooldowns • NPCs will now only focus on close proximity targets if they have line of sight to the enemy (so NPCs do not auto target through walls) • Regular NPCs will no longer spawn in the vicinity of player built structures. • Melee weapons will now lose their condition on impact. • P90 and UMP can now use optical attachments. • Destroy item button is no longer available in the item details panel. • Quest vehicles and GoKarts can no longer be owned by the player so are unable to be sold, repaired or refilled via NPC dialogue. • Improved third person camera positions while aiming weapons. • Weapons and backpacks on character's back now fade out when the camera is too close. Useful for keeping new third-person camera positions clear. • Wash Stations can now have upgrades removed and can be put back in the inventory. • Sleep menu keyboard inputs now run when keys are pressed, instead of released, which makes interacting with the menu a smoother experience.
Fixes
• Fixed issues with dialogue where the game would not remember if the player had met the NPC before after loading a saved game. • Fixed NPC reputation statistics not saving. • Fixed NPCs being able to shoot while also reloading. • Fixed circumstances allowing NPCs to try and climb on each other. • Fixed human NPCs often not identifying Infected as threats. • Fixed issues where landscape would clip into house basements. • Fixed icons in workbenches and containers disappearing after respawning. • Fixed issue with Infected climbing up walls in abandoned beach hut. • Fixed issues causing body parts/equipment to disappear erroneously (i.e. changing perspective while swinging an axe causes the axe to disappear in third-person). • Fixed camera movement from melee attacks while attacking while swimming. • Fixed being able to punch while in dialog, using a noticeboard, lockpicking and showering. • Fixed FootBrawler outfit for Sophia Riggs using incorrect mesh • Fixed NPCs getting stuck on a previous combat target when reentering combat. • Fixed fishing rod not animating • Tentative fix for NPCs climbing through player built walls. • Fixed doors disappearing after loading a saved game if loading after having closed the game. • Fixed some dynamic NPCs spawns not spawning NPCs after saving and loading (e.g. Infected spawning at Sen's house) • Fixed player’s character being fireproof. • Fixed barrier in Hanouten missing collision • Fixed cantaloupes having infinite uses • Fixed doors on claimable building at Tree Felling location • Fixed character being stuck in First-person during Third-person dialogue • Fixed The Rogue and FootBrawler outfit clipping with camera in FP while crouched. • Fixed horses being purchasable multiple times. • Fixed trader wallets getting reset after reloading. • Fixed issues preventing NPCs dynamically spawning at supply drops. • Fixed exiting a vehicle while handbraking causing the sound and physics to get stuck on. • Fixed vehicle SFX still running after exiting the vehicle. • Fixed issue where character's body in FP could sometimes cause clipping issues with the camera when opening the inventory. • Fixed wash station item descriptions • Fixed machete not being repairable. • Fixed wash station / campfire / campfire upgrades inspect button opening a map. • Fixed axe being repaired for free. • Fixed trader's wallets resetting incorrectly. • Fixed stealth takedowns being available even when NPCs are in combat. • Fixed takedown icon getting stuck on screen after death • Fixed NPCs not breaking police tape. • Fixed UI disappearing after viewing horses in stables. • Fixed NPCs getting stuck in statue poses if playing a dying animation and de-spawning at the same time. • Fixed issues where dead NPC collisions could block interactions. • Fixed quest vehicles and GoKarts saving. • Fixed NPC Quest Cool Down system not recording NPC quests correctly. • Fixed DLC recipes causing sawing SFX when launching the game. • Fixed issue where god-mode does not unset correctly after rejoining the game. • Fixed camera motion issues when rapidly moving between characters on the character selection screen. • Fixed trace for interactable objects over the left shoulder often not working after picking up a weapon. • Fixed sleeping multiple times causing multiple drop helicopters arriving at the same location. • Fixed position of meat and utensils on the camping stove grill • Fixed VFX on infected nests not disappearing after nest is burned out • Fixed being able to shoot while the ammo selection menu is open. • Fixed asking the stable merchant if he has any work or if he can help your horse locking the character in a dialog screen • Fixed issues where the sleep menu could lose input focus, meaning that key-inputs did not affect the menu.
Optimisations
• Fixed navigation dynamically building in places where it was not necessary. • Improved optimisation for lights in the Backwater Beacon Safe Zone • Optimised various mesh assets in the Backwater Beacon Safe Zone • Improved CPU cost of sleep UI menu.
MacAttack - Thursday live Stream
Go over to YouTube to drop a like and join the chat over at Mac's stream - https://www.youtube.com/c/MacAttackYT
MacAttack will be live when todays update goes live on staging today.
If the live stream does not show here, pop over to the stream on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q64Q9jFxNhs
What’s in the Pipeline - Special Edition
A week has passed and we have received a huge amount of support from community members claiming their FREE outfits and pre-order rewards via our website. We would like to thank everyone that has also stretched out and purchased the supporters and founders packs available.
Going forward we are also going to be making the game available to purchase directly from us via the website, that will help support us more.
So let's get to the nitty gritty of the post.
Optimisations
We are fully aware of performance issues players are having and we are trying to do as much as we can to improve this with every update we release. Recent updates have seen CPU performance improve a lot as well as a significant reduction in lag spikes. Improving GPU performance has now become our top priority as it has become the main bottleneck preventing further improvements in overall frame rates.
With the release of Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 and the technologies it brings to gaming, we have decided to take the plunge earlier than initially planned to move Jaws of Extinction from Unreal Engine 4.27.2 to Unreal Engine 5.0. This has a possibility to help with GPU issues we are having, with the new Nanite and Lumin technologies in UE5.
We plan on releasing a small update during next week to fix a few issues and optimisations then we will be moving JoE over to the new engine.
This may take a little while, and we do not know what exact issues we are going to come across: code may need to be rewritten and the world may even need some TLC to make it compatible with the new world partition feature and Nanite.
We will be listing a UE5 Staging Branch in the BETA section of Steam for anyone that wishes to get involved with development and give us their feedback.
Massive Sale
In other news, April 15th and April 18th are Ryan Thirlwall’s (Lead Developer) and James Bradbeer’s (Developer) birthdays. Being the only two developers working every day on Jaws of Extinction, they wanted for everyone to celebrate with them by having one of the biggest sales we have had to date.
From 11th April 2022 till 18th April 2022, Jaws of Extinction and all website exclusives will be 50% off on Epic Games, Steam and the website.
A whole week to sink your teeth into JoE at half the price. We will also be doing random web package drops throughout the day on our Discord and any Twitch or YouTube streams we may come across during the sale week.
So make sure to jump into Discord or anyone covering the game during this time.
Alpha Version 0.4.7a Update Released
Update 0.4.7 has arrived - and so has Adrian Riggs. The fourth playable protagonist has entered the scene in this update. Play as Adrian for strong base stats in Strength and Endurance. This makes him exceptionally well suited to head-on melee confrontations. Unarmed melee combat makes a return too if you find yourself in a situation without a weapon… which might actually if you start playing in Lone Wolf mode.
Lone Wolf mode is the latest starting scenario, allowing you to start the game at a random location across the island. This traditional survival game start mode, will test players because there will be no immediate support from safe zones or NPCs to get you started.
The latest updates on optimisation includes all NPCs being transferred on to the newer (and better) system. With the new AI system fully in place and the old system removed, you can expect to see a reduction in lag spikes and general CPU improvements. Additionally, fixes to the map have made great strides in removing pesky lag spikes due to landscape loading in and out.
Looking for something a little different? Patch up a boat to have a talk with resident Treasure Hunter, Sasha, found offshore on an island. She’ll be looking for someone to help rediscover some secrets buried across the island.
Developer Comment: It would be advisable to start a fresh game as some mechanics, craftables and items may be bugged or not be available if using out of date game save files.
New Playable Protagonist: Adrian
• Adrian Riggs, the fourth playable protagonist, is now available to play. • Adrian is an expert in strength and endurance, making him the perfect candidate to excel using strong and fast melee attacks. • Combine Adrian’s high strength and endurance base statistics with the new unarmed melee punching.
AI Updates
• All stationary NPCs have been replaced with new AIV4 counterparts. Various associated performance improvements. • Implemented new AIV4 system for dynamically adding NPCs. System is now used by Hazmats guarding supply drops. • Xiles have been removed from Hanouten church and been replaced with infected. • Additional Xiles have been added to popular locations around the map. • Xiles redeveloped using the new AIV4 system. • All quests now spawn AIV4 enemies, instead of the old AIV3 ones. • AIV4 humans can now use melee weapons. • AIV4 humans can now use bows. • Improved system for handling NPC combat barks. • Arrows shot by NPCs now deal 30 damage to the player. • Human NPCs can now be given specific patrol routes. • NPCs belonging to the Xiles, Thanatos and Military are now all hostile towards the other factions. • Fixed situation causing active nests not to spawn any Infected • Fixed some vehicle impact effects with NPCs not always playing • Fixed vehicles being able to impact despawned NPCs • Fixed despawned NPCs performing vocal barks (especially if the player has driven a vehicle) • Fixed deer not treating the player as hostile. • Fixed issues preventing human NPCs from using radio towers. • Fixed reinforcement tower at Lumber Yard not being usable for new NPCs. • Fixed Eden Nadir Military soldier spawning at the lumberyard. • Safezone guards moved on to the new AI system. Guards in towers can now shoot infected trying to get into the safezone. • Fixed issues when starting dialog with NPCs causing the camera to be slightly offset. • Fixed NPC interaction prompts sometimes getting stuck on the screen. • Fixed circumstance causing NPCs to have unlimited melee range. • Fixed default speech text appearing when performing takedowns on NPCs • Fixed player's ability to stealth kill deactivated persistent NPCs who are unspawned. • Fixed issue causing human NPCs to become partially inactive if unable to find suitable cover. • Fixed any situations where it is possible to perform a stealth takedown on a non-hostile NPC. • Fixed issue often preventing NPCs moving correctly when not rendered • Fixed friendly NPCs being able to be killed. • Fixed certain fish missing valid movement targets, which could lead to unexpected behaviour. • Fixed issues preventing interactions with NPCs. • Fixed some NPC saving/loading issues. This could cause Sen to appear in the safezone erroneously. • Fixed issue with Margaret Tilly's name pop-up • Fixed Margaret Tilly trade not working, likely instigating issues preventing interactions with other NPCs • Fixed various NPC related errors occurring on start.
Added
• Added new start scenario "LoneWolf". Will spawn you at a random location around the map. • Added a new interactive character: Sasha (Treasure Hunter). Visit them to start the first treasure hunt quest. • Added Treasure Hunting system. Find all parts of the map to uncover the location of the treasure and then go dig it up. • Added map in a bottle item. This item can wash up on any sea shore and can be opened to reveal map parts. • Added new dialogue crafting recipe unlock event. This will now enable interactive NPCs to unlock crafting recipes for the player character. • Added inspection mode allowing the player to view documents stored in the inventory. • Added AI v4.0 Sharks to the oceans. Sharks are often indifferent to humans, but under the right conditions you might find yourself in trouble. Swim carefully! • Added three additional shipwreck locations. • Added church ruins back into the bayou. • Added sleepable tents at Nadir farm safe-zone. • Added random treasure map bottle spawns. Finding a bottle will give you the first part of a treasure map. • Added ocean treasure chests. • Added infected kill-zone around Liam's, preventing infected getting into the area while the player can not get their weapon out. • Rowboats added to the ocean. • Added experimental redwood tree platforms around the map. These may become craftable at a later date. • Reimplemented melee with fists. Attacking without a weapon will cause the character to punch. • Added ability to add doors to player built door frames. • Remnant outfit is now available for Trystan and Adrian. • T-Shirt & Shorts outfit is now available for Trystan and Adrian. • FootBrawler Outfit added for all characters. • Old Glory Baseball Bat added. • Old Glory "FootBrawler" Skin added. • Added new DLC outfits and crafting recipes. • Founders pack DLC outfit and weapon have been added to the game, ready for unlock. • Characters can now be unlocked via PlayJoE.gg website generated product keys. • Webstore NOW LIVE
Updated
• Integrated playjoe.gg API product activation and system checks to manage DLC. DLC package purchases and generated product keys from playjoe.gg can now be claimed from the Store section in the Menu Menu. • Embedded arrows and other pickup objects no longer block the camera. • Spawn managers for quests now save their activation state. • Various subtitle improvements. • Updated scene elements around survivor camp to James Bell being obscured by heavy shadows at dawn during dialog. • Updated start scenario selection screen • Reduced the cost of diving outfit and equipment to more realistic pricing. • Updated AO brightness to make shadows and night time lighter. • Birds can now be burnt with any kind of fire, but will not give feathers or animal fat when butchering, only meat • Exploding barrels will now cause a chain reaction with other explosives • Stamina now drains immediately from melee attacks, instead of after the melee attack animation • Weapon attacks can no longer be triggered while simultaneously looking at the STRV watch. • Rented units will not charge rent 24hours from rent start. No more being recharged at midnight. (loaded save games from previous versions will still charge at midnight). • Unarmed melee base damage reduced from 15 to 12. • Melee attack speed now affected by character's strength • Endurance now affects the amount of stamina used when swinging melee weapons (and fists). • Strength now affects the amount of damage dealt my melee weapons (and fists) • Updated collision on nests to block projectiles. This will stop situations where fire arrows can fly though the nest without hitting anything. • Updated all first person character arms meshes. • Some traders are now able to "always stock" certain items. • Can no longer drop or recycle prison outfit, which would prevent progress in the starting quest. • Slightly improved effectiveness of foliage cover for stealth. • Improved weight painting around the neck for "The Widow Maker" outfit. • Reduced clipping on "The Widow Maker" outfit. • Improved material visuals on "The Widow Maker" outfit. • Workbenches and player storage containers now display an icon when in range to use.
Fixes
• Fixed pickup arrows blocking other arrows and projectiles. Pickup items can no longer block projectiles. • Fixed quest sending player to kill Sergeant Penner in the wrong location. • Fixed fire arrows dropping to the floor before exploding, rather than on impact. • Fixed digging not recognizing sand on beaches • Fixed nests providing integrity multiple times after already being burned • Fixed inactive nests providing integrity when being burned. • Tentative fix for eyelashes on Sophia and Trystan having the incorrect materials applied on loaded save games. • Fixed being able to clip through safes in first person to take items without opening • Fixed floating tents in Nomad camp • Fixed not being able to interact with items while underwater. • Fixed the player still thinking they are swimming when mounting a horse in the water. (mounting animations are still a little funny). • Fixed situation where player can be stuck in freelook mode after dialog • Fixed player attacking when clicking on a message board while interacting with it • Fixed issue where pickup items were not running command instructions if picked up via the vicinity search. • Fixed issues with hooded outfits or hats not hiding the character’s hair in the model viewer. • Fixed issue responsible for causing certain character components to not animate. • Fixed nests not being able to be burned by Molotovs • Fixed not being able to throw grenades/Molotov's/rocks etc. • Fixed being able to trigger attacks while on a ladder • Fixed not being able to add to player buildings after dying. • Fixed hidden hair reshowing on character after changing perspective from third to first and back or after sleeping • Fixed hair not disappearing for the character render in the inventory when wearing clothes that should hide the hair • Fixed next grenade mesh missing from hand after throwing a grenade. • Fixed changing perspective to third-person while running a melee attack causing some body parts not to reappear.
Optimisations
• All AI now using the AIV4 system and old system assets have been removed. New AI are significantly more performance friendly and will not spike when spawning. • Added a new static NPC mode for some NPCs. This saves resources for NPCs who do not need to move. • Major removal of legacy AI related assets. Most of these are invisible managers which used to handle old system. • Improved performance for components relating to NPC movement. • Improved LODs on sharks. • Improved LODs on shipwrecks. • Optimised waterfalls cull distances. • Optimisations made on explosive barrels • Regenerated all landscape tile LODs. • Fixed FPS drop when turning the character in third person at specific places around the map. • Fixed occasional issue causing performance to get progressively worse under some circumstances after shooting birds. • Removal of several legacy item pools which no longer serve a purpose. • Improved cost of weapon meshes on the CPU. • Various mesh optimisations for shadows. • Improved render range for some lights in Hanouten Safe Zone. • Optimised loading of world tiles with foliage and landscape splines. • Adjusted draw on world tiles from 300k units to 150k units to reduce memory consumption.
What's in the pipeline? - Development News #2
Hello and thank you for taking the time to keep up to date with development. Here we will give a casual breakdown of some of the recent developments in Jaws of Extinction and what you can expect to see in future updates.
As always, if you enjoy reading these notes from the developers, please like and comment as we also like to hear from you as well.
Treasure Hunting
Working on the treasure system has been very enjoyable. We wanted to design a system which was both creatively unique and fun to play. So there will be multiple ways to embark on a treasure hunt.
You could find a message in a bottle on the shore You could find part of a map on somebody you loot Or you could be given the task to locate the other pieces of a map found by a member of one of the safe zones.
You will need to find all parts of a map before you can successfully get the booty, even if you think you know where it is, all parts will be required.
Maps could be divided into up to six parts and each part will give you a clue to another part. Locate the treasure and return it to the quest giver for a plentiful reward or sell the booty to the local treasure seeker that will be found at any one of the safezones.
We are starting to test this system on the Staging Branch soon and you can expect to see the treasure hunting systems go live on the Main Branch in the near future.
Wreck Diving
Explore shipwrecks to unlock clues to treasure locations, parts of maps or the booty itself. We want to make the ocean depths to be as detailed as possible and action packed as on land. So don't expect to be alone down there, with sharks that will behave like real sharks, not: “we want to eat you and attack you as soon as they see you”. They will make choices based on your location relative to them, time of day and your energy level. So be on your toes or you might just lose them.
Website Integration
We have spent the last couple of weeks working to bring the website up to date with the latest information, images and more.
One thing we have been eager to make available is a Road Map that we can now update on the fly with ease. Due to being so busy with development we needed a solution that we can use with our day to day workflow. The website now directly reads data from our Trello roadmap that will update in real time as we change it.
We also needed a system that could help players on all platforms as well as Steam to be able to activate unlockable content and DLC all in one place, so we have decided to make our own solution to this.
DLC and unlockable content, free and paid will all be managed by our own system. This enables us to offer a service for all platforms to be able to use a product key to activate / unlock content all in one place.
No Downloadable Content (DLC) will be available for purchase via Steam or any other platform and will only be available via our website and activated directly in-game.
AI Updates
The conversion to the latest version of the AI is almost complete. Most of the old systems have been removed and replaced with the new AIV4 rework.
This upgrade has been vital to remove lag-spikes caused by NPCs in older versions of the game. Additionally, it has been an excellent opportunity to stamp out some nuisance issues from the past.
In the latest staging releases, we’ve integrated a new pooling system for NPCs, which is used for spawning NPCs who do not need to persist after despawning. This is useful for circumstances such as guards spawning around air drops and pop-up spawns in quests.
Additionally, static NPCs are being moved on to the new AI system. Previously, the static NPCs around the safe-zones were completely separate from regular NPCs. Now they can co-exist on the same system. This has the benefits of allowing static NPCs to spawn and despawn using a better optimised system, as well as allowing NPCs to activate into a non-static state. In other words, this means traditionally stationary NPCs can become active and start moving seamlessly if required.
Human NPCs using the latest AI system have received some improvements too. They can now use all types of weapons like their original counterparts. This means you once again expect to see groups of Xiles using bows, melee and firearms.
What to expect in the second quarter of 2022
We have finally got round to working on multiplayer again and although performance will always be our number one priority the show must go on.
We are looking to partner with a new company soon that should give us the resource injection we need to hire additional team members in order to get content complete quicker and finally get on top of performance. This will help us to also get further into multiplayer development as well.
Don't forget to browse over our Roadmap on a regular basis as we will update it as new things happening over at https://playjoe.gg/roadmap/ and if you happen to stream or cover the game on YouTube or Twitch, grab some artwork at https://playjoe.gg/presskit/
Thanks again for all your feedback and continued support.
The JoE Development team @ KYE Creations
Version 0.4.6a Update Released
0.4.6 is live! This latest update delivers a fully new vehicle system and a massive series of optimisations aimed at improving CPU performance! Huge additions have been made to the map, as well as new human enemies on the updated AI system have been re-implemented.
The completely new vehicle system opens the floodgates for a big range of new vehicle content. Want something with storage space - you can have it. Want something fast - you can upgrade it. Want a fortress on wheels - you got it!. The new vehicle system is complete with improved UI, better vehicle interactions, a wider range of vehicles and better driving mechanics.
Improving optimization is ongoing, as always, but this patch delivers a notable milestone in improving CPU-bound performance issues. Furthermore, examination of issues this patch has helped to identify further areas of improvement which will be arriving in the future - so stay tuned for more news on performance.
In addition to the above, this update features a plethora of fixes, improvements and visual updates.
Developer Comment: It is highly recommended to start a fresh game as some mechanics, craftables and items may be bugged or not be available if using out of date game save files.
Vehicles
• Added new AVS (Advanced Vehicle System) Vehicles. • Removal of all original road vehicles. These vehicles had various performance and gameplay issues. • New refuel system. • New damage system. • Improved control and power. • Improved air time when making jumps. • Currently four vehicle types are available with more on the way. • Improved vehicle steering. • Added a new light system to vehicles. • Improved vehicle detection with AI. • Vehicles now have stand alone storage. • Implemented new vehicle HUD when inside vehicles. • The hit points of vehicles differ between vehicle types. • The fuel capacity of vehicles differs between vehicle types. • New engine management UI that can be opened and closed with [E]. • Vehicles are new refuelled by pressing [R] when next to the vehicle • Vehicles can be repaired from the engine management UI using a repair kit. • Vehicles can now be flipped the correct way up from the engine management UI. • Steering speed is now dynamically adjusted depending on the current speed of the vehicle. • Vehicles no longer get stuck on NPCs during knockdown. • Vehicle parts now reduce in condition while the car is running. • Leaving vehicle lights on when not using the vehicle will drain the battery condition. • Vehicle tuning parts can now be used to give vehicles buffs, for example, reducing fuel consumption, part wear and increasing horsepower. • EMS Tutorial screen added when first accessing the EMS (Engine Management System). • Lights now require a fully functional 12v battery to work. • Adding part upgrades now affect acceleration and horsepower. Note this does not increase top speed, just the time it takes to get there. • All vehicles have now been set up as per the Vehicle Setup Data document: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vUo9_gk0K_fNyPbem0NHPVWsHYZ0UtFEAAF9E6_KSjc • Vehicles now have a random condition including health and fuel amount. • Liam Orling will now recover, repair, refuel and purchase the new AVS Vehicles.
Optimisations and Support
• Reconstructed AIV4 management system for improved performance. • Fixed cost of some cable components constantly running. • Fixed injured characters in medical centre having a high background cost • Removed hidden flagpole asset which was invisible but had running cloth physics • Fixed oceanology lake tick always running. • Converted steamboat paddle wheel to static for performance • Removed test fire torch assets from the character causing some performance cost • Removed unneeded train assets with a cost on CPU performance. Swapped out various train assets to static versions of the same object which has an improved performance cost. • Updated fishing logic with constant cost on CPU • Improved background CPU performance cost on lake paddle boats • Improved CPU performance with new vehicle system • Fixed bee hives having a background CPU cost due to a running UI element. • Improved horse facial anims, body animations and simulated hitch cables CPU costs which now activate based on distance to player • Improved CPU costs for bird meshes. • Removed legacy assets relating to inventory model viewer when it used to show a 3D render of weapons • Fixed weapons running calculations while not equipped • Fixed an active tick constantly running on explosive eggs. • Improved CPU costs on NPC controllers. • General CPU improvements to fire pits/burning barrels. • Removed unused Ocean Sounds asset which had a small CPU cost • Swapped all particle effects in the world with a new particle object providing improved CPU performance. • CPU optimisations for NPC character movement • Stopped bird animations playing after death. • Fixed AIV4 NPCs and fish mesh’s background CPU costs. • Updated functionality of GlobalTraderManager to prevent unnecessary calculations running all the time. • Removed placeholder FP arms mesh causing a cost even though it would never be visible • Reduced resolution of volumetrics for performance • Removed idle spores particle effect around Infected. Partly a design choice but also beneficial for performance. • Improved performance for AI User Interface elements • Improved performance for pickup item UI elements. • Reduced cost of PFX attached to certain streetlights • Fixed CPU cost for NPC weapons while NPC is despawned • Improved particle cost for falling leaves from trees. • Improved performance for 'Hanging Hank' character. • Fixed error causing unnecessary ticks on NPCs. • Improved particle cost for various light fittings. • Improved skeletal mesh cost for disturbance birds. • Improved particle costs for Infected Nests. • Improved performance for waterfalls. • Fixed camera-related CPU costs on vehicle trade windows while not in use. • Fixed camera-related CPU costs on rowboats while not in use. • Improved cost for dust particles. • Improved cost for water particles on washstations. • Improved cost for particles on waterfalls. • Improved cost for dust particles attached to floodlights. • Fixed background cost of particles belonging to the Water Pump generator. • Fixed background cost of particles belonging to Infected Explosive Eggs. • Fixed background cost of particles belonging to burst water pipes. • Improved overall CPU cost for Infected Nests. • Improved overall CPU cost for Infected deterrent lights. • Performance improvements vehicle engine audio. • Various improvements to performance settings for objects across the world. • Fixed issue with AI manager causing performance to get progressively worse
Added
• Added Nadir Farm location. This will be home to the resistance and used as a safe zone once you are friendly with them. • Added a new Syno Agriculture location. • Added Steve’s Crazy Wheels GoKart race track location • Added Nadir Fishing pond location. • New location added: Tree Felling Strip. • New location added: Halfway Station. • Added ducks on lakes and rivers (part of the bird disturbance system) • Re-added the Mistress truck. • Added icon to the power systems found at boat house. • Added option to toggle wash station light on and off. • Various options have been added to ‘World Settings’. • Night time speed multiplier is now located in World Settings • New start date is the first day of Spring • Improved how character’s temperature is affected by being submerged in water • Ambient temperature is now more in line with the time of year and changes with the weather. • Characters will now start swimming when the water depth is high enough and stop swimming when low enough. • Added marshal huts and control building to Steve's Crazy Wheels race track. • Added lap time board that will keep track of 10 laps and display the fastest time at the top in red. • Added start stop light system to Steve's Crazy Wheels race track. - Position a go kart on the starting grid. Red lights will start to flash to indicate race start. - Light turns amber then green to go! - Passing through the starting position will record time and display on lap boards. - Once the race has finished after the 10th lap, the time is recorded and lights will turn red, indicating the race has finished. - After 60 seconds the starting position system will reset allowing you to do another 10 laps. Triggering the system again will reset the lap board. - Race system can now be reset by interacting with the red power box in the race control booth • Extended the train tracks to Marbough Town location. • Expanded roads through Marbough (WIP) location with flyover road system. • Added new placable battery lamps: red versions of the green ones found around the world • Added new military NPCs to the Military Base. These human NPCs have been redesigned on the AIV4 system. • Added military units added to both military base and checkpoint • Added UV lights around Nadir Farm Safe Zone • Added an additional large bunker. Can be used as a home base for a player. • Reimplemented Hazmat enemies into the world • Added new behaviour when NPCs drop from helicopters but have no immediate target • Reimplemented alarm towers and drop helicopters using new AIV4 system • Added waterfall at Syno complex • Noticeboard added to Nadir Farm Safe Zone (not active yet) • Added wash stations to Nadir Farm Safe zone. • Added additional nests around Nadir Farm area. • Added interior for Syno complex. • Added radio tower location. • First three collectable cassette recordings of Daniel Ludlow of Thanatos have been placed in the playable area. Try to uncover the lore behind the outbreak.
Updated
• Updated player inventory map and minimap UI. • Tree and plant foliage updated with new assets. • Dead birds now show an icon when looked at by the player after being killed. • Player no longer needs to be Level 5 in Scavenging to find a Crowbar from tool boxes. • Adjusted barriers along the Burchet Dam so it is not so difficult to drive a vehicle along it. • Reduced the displacement on the ocean • Updated the inventory and placement visuals for candles • Removed floating squares in the sky. • Escape and Tab can now be used to exit the door lockpicking minigame. • Increased damage to NPCs caused by fire • Large UV lights around safe areas now set Infected on fire. • Radio towers now reset their activated/destroyed status every ten minutes • Meiline has been moved from Hanouten and is now located at Nadir Farm • Added tunnel and roadways to Malbrough area • Thanatos Guards have been removed from the Decontamination Zone at the Hanouten train station. This is now an infected zone. • Updated the frost on screen effect to not be so intrusive.
Fixes
• Fixed infected alert icons getting stuck on screen if the player dies while they are visible • Fixed birds blocking/colliding with vehicles. • Fixed birds from not being able to be killed • Fixed fuel not depleting when using a vehicle. • Fixed some problem areas where player could get stuck in landscape or between cliffs • Fixed collision on wooden bridge next to the hydro station. This was causing issues with vehicles • Fixed knockback motion for infected not working correctly. • Fixed vehicles colliding with rocks on the ground. • Fixed the built in light on wash stations upgraded to level three • Fixed performance issue with candles and updated the lighting and visuals • Fixed the falling/swimming animation trying to play when near a lake or the ocean • Fixed date on ST-RV watch being incorrect and never updating • Fixed missing candle mesh • Fixed landscape gaps near Hanouten Train Station. • Fixed world pick up items being really difficult to pick up if are small like lockpicks and keycards • Fixed tool chests always giving a shovel and can opener. • Fixed candles being half the size they should be. • Fixed AIV4 NPCs not targeting anyone after being hit by a molotov • Fixed AIV4 disturbance issue where NPCs could be alerted by their own disturbances • Fixed audio attenuation for NPC reload SFX • Fixed NPCs showing looting icons even though they died without any available loot • Fixed sky getting super dark when under cloud coverage. • Fixed various NPC sounds not working. • Fixed NPCs not registering disturbances originating from the player. • Fixed animation issues and character locking up when cancelling fishing activity. • Fixed character jumping while fishing. Pressing spacebar while fishing now the character fishing. • Fixed issues which could cause Alarm Towers to be triggered multiple times • Fixed some landscape issues around the map causing issues with roads • Fixed foliage clipping in through Backwater boathouse • Fixed Liam Orling giving free vehicle repairs. • Fixed landscape clipping inside the building at the end of Burchet Dam. • Fixed being able to open the player inventory while fishing and casting. • Fixed being able to right click multiple times when casting the fishing rod • Fixed birds not despawning after harvesting allowing for unlimited harvesting.
Version 0.4.5a Update Released
Please note that we are aware there is something in this build that is killing performance and we are actively investigating, please expect a hotfix as soon as we find the problem
0.4.5 is live! This latest update adds several new big features as well as taking a significant step forwards in addressing performance issues. Chief among these is the new ocean and lakes system. As well as being a major visual and performance improvement, the ocean update comes packed with new features such as boats, fish, fishing and a brand new integrated weather system that affects the waves.
Additionally, the next iteration of the AI has arrived. Many old versions of the NPC cast have already been replaced with improved versions. These new versions have better overall performance, no lag spikes when spawning and have received many improvements from animations to AI decision making. Weapons, damage and hitpoints have been completely rebalanced along with the new NPCs.
These features are just the tip of the iceberg - the update contains heaps of new features, performance improvements, bug fixes and visual updates.
Developer Comment: It is highly recommended to start a fresh game as some mechanics, craftables and items may be bugged or not be available if using out of date game save files.
New Oceans, Lakes, Boats & Fishing
Jaws of Extinction’s original ocean system was dull, completely stationary and a remarkable drain on performance. Now take a look at the new and improved ocean system which is full of life - both aesthetically and literally.
New Oceans and Lakes
• Added a new ocean and lake system. Ocean has physically undulating waves. • Wave intensity integrated with new weather system • Added fish which swim in the ocean and lakes. The species of fish depends on its location. • Added water shore decals around the coast for an improved appearance.
Boats
• Drivable RHIB Power boat added • Added boats with an acceleration simulation depending on speed. • Added drivable rowboats • Added boat oar as a lootable item (only used for boats currently but will be used as melee weapon as well)
Fishing
• Added new feature: Fishing. • New craftable - Primitive Fishing Rod. • New craftable - Nylon Line. • New craftable - Metal Hook. • Players can now catch fish using primitive fishing rods in lakes. Trout, Bluegill and Mackerel can be caught in the ocean. Perch, Roach and Pike can be caught in rivers and lakes. • Fishing in lakes and rivers or the ocean will provide different types of fish. • Fishing zones have been added around lakes and rivers to increase the chances of higher value fish. Use a fishing rod in one of these areas if you want a chance at catching a monster. • Fishing requires bait. Find worms to use as bait in order to fish. • Dirt piles now have a chance of giving worms. • Leaf piles now give a chance of a small amount of worms, not as good as mud piles • Player can now dig into dirt with a shovel to dig up dirt piles that will give dirt and worms • Fishing Rods are placed into the Wildcard Inventory Slot (which the bow uses). Take out the fishing rod like a weapon to use it. • Some traders will purchase caught fish from the character.
AIV4
The latest update for Jaws of Extinction’s NPCs is a complete overhaul of systems aiming to irradiate persistent performance issues while also making the AI more robust and interesting. We title NPCs using the latest AI system ‘AIV4’.
• New AIV4 infected and animals. • New NPCs have significantly improved performance (no more spikes when spawning). • NPCs found around the world are more persistent, meaning that the player can leave and return to the area and still find the same NPC, or NPC’s body, where they left it. • New NPCs have stronger combat dynamics. Combat animations (such as knockbacks) are more robust. • Arrows shot into NPCs will now be added to their inventory for collection. • Arrows shot into the new NPCs can no longer block other incoming projectiles.
Rebalanced NPC Statistics
• NPCs HP and player weapon damage has been completely rebalanced. • Instant kill headshots and heartshots have been removed from Infected. Headshots deal 50% extra damage. • If an Infected dies from a headshot, their head will explode with spores. • Standard infected now have 200HP • Rebalanced HP for all animals. Any instances of 1HP deer have been fixed. • Hanouten has somewhat less infected now since it is a starting area. More infected will be found further outside.
Infected
• AIV4 Infected have replaced all original spawners on the map. Infected no longer spawn from static spawners and can roam around freely • AIV4 Nests have now replaced AIV3 versions. They function the same but more optimised • Removed some nests from Hanouten for balance reasons • Fixed issue preventing nest map-markers being re-added to the map after the first time. • AIV4 infected can be taken down from behind with a knife like previous versions. • Removed nest spawner near Sen's wreck
Animals
• AIV4 Rabbits, Deer and Hogs have now replaced their predecessors. They are generally faster and more capable. They also are much more spread out around the world.
Bear
• Improved bear collision so that the player cannot stand inside the bear and avoid taking damage. • Bears now respond to audio disturbances. Sneaking around bears is possible, just very difficult due to their very wide vision cone. • Bumping into the body of a bear if it is unaware of the character will now alert the bear. • Bears now included in kill statistics • Increased bear attack speed • Increased bear's on-the-spot turning speed so that the character cannot run around the bear in circles to prevent being hit • Bear rotations are no longer locked while attacking, which would allow every attack to be avoided. • Bears can now attack vehicles • Bears now use improved melee detection. Prevents instances where bear hits can register multiple times per claw swing. • Fixed bear idle behaviours not running • Fixed bears not retargeting player after they have entered/exited a vehicle • Improved pathfinding for bears when in difficult to navigate locations • Fixed bears not receiving melee damage (although we can hardly recommend trying it)
Old NPC Types
• Old crocodiles removed due to integration issues with new water and AIV4 system. New and improved crocodiles are on the way • Fixed Headshot and heart shot audio for human NPCs which now has proper attenuation • Old NPC system is still used for quests and human enemies. These will be phased out when possible.
Weapon Rebalance
• Headshots on humanoid enemies (i.e. Infected) deal extra 0.5% damage • 7.62 rounds now deal 49 damage • 5.56 rounds now deal 43 damage • 5.7x28 rounds now deal 35 damage • 9mm rounds now deal 46 damage • .45 rounds now deal 54 damage • .40 rounds now deal 49 damage • .22 rounds now deal 47 damage • Basic Arrows now deal 90 damage • Steel Arrows deal 120 damage • Reduced AK fire rate from 7 to 6 • Reduced MK18 fire rate from 18 to 12 • MK18 Recoil Rise increased from 1.8 to 2.8 • Baseball Bats now deal 45 damage on impact • Spiked Baseball Bats now deal 47 damage on impact • Metal Baseball Bats now deal 49 damage on impact • Wire Baseball Bats now deal 51 damage on impact • Shovels now deal 47 damage on impact • Hand Axes now deal 47 damage on impact • Improvised axes now deal 42 damage on impact • Pickaxes now deal 55 damage on impact • Improvised Pickaxes now deal 45 damage on impact • Machetes now deal 47 damage on impact • Expandable Batons now deal 38 damage on impact
Optimisations and Support
• New performance friendly ocean and water system • New AI systems for NPCs with overall improved performance and fixed lag spikes when spawning. • CPU optimisation for waterfalls • CPU optimisation for bears • CPU optimisation for train • CPU optimisation for first-person arms while not in first person • CPU optimisation for breakable tape • CPU optimisation for wind turbines • CPU optimisation for some non-dialog NPCs • CPU optimisation for security cameras • CPU optimisation for aquatic manager • CPU optimisations for HUD • CPU optimisations for particles • CPU optimisations for the inventory model viewer • CPU optimisation for the minimap • CPU optimisation for camera management • CPU optimisations for crosshair • Minor CPU optimisation for birds • World mesh render distance and LOD optimisations • Volumetric clouds have been exchanged for 2D base clouds. This improves performance and fixes the blue halo created around trees at night • Removed unused physics assets used during Halloween Event with a fair CPU saving • Performance improvements from turning off volumetric shadow on sun and moon light • Reduced the Dynamic shadow distance from 20k units to 10k units • Reduced the Shadow cascades from 3 to 2 • Made shadows occlusion tint slightly brighter. • Weather effects from landscape material removed • Tessellation replaced with Parallax bump offset effects on roads to improve GPU performance. • Weather system is disabled by default to save performance issues. It can be enabled in the options at player’s discretion. • Cleanup of various no longer used assets included in game package • Cleanup of old grenade system and HUD elements still included in game package • Cleanup of assorted content relating to old building system • Upgraded game engine - Unreal 4.26.2 > 4.27.2 • Added AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution Support • Temporarily disabled F1 Bug Reporter due to incompatibilities with UE4.27 • Remove exit save due to assorted issues.
Added
• Added new South Eden Nadir Police District • Added lockpickable police lockers containing a chance of weapons, ammo, outfits and attachments. • Police Station now has a puzzle to unlock the armoury to reveal epic loot. • Police baton now spawns in police lockers • New Dripping Donuts store. • Added new consumable donuts. • Jetty added to Survivor camp at James Bell's location • Added wet mud decals around lakes and ponds • Added cliff rocks around Hanouten lighthouse pond • New POI location added "Eden Logistics". • New POI location added "Abandoned Warehouses". • Roads now lead to the new port and military base. • New POI location Eden military port. • New location Eden military base. • New Bayou Military Base layout complete (no loot or NPCs yet) • New East Bayou safezone location (no NPCs yet) • East part of the Bayou has been developed ready for the new safe zone • New Weather System added with updated material functions, post process effects and snow deformation. For performance reasons, this is disabled by default but can be enabled by players in the options. • Added snow and puddle interaction system to characters and NPCs • Added new world and environment settings menu under options, includes enabling weather and sky mode. These settings will require the world to be reloaded to take effect. • Added new loot drop manager - this manages spawn chances to decreases the chance of items appearing that have already been found • Crowbar tool added (currently only used to open wooden crates and scavenge pallets). • Wooden crates and high tier loot containers now require a level or just a crowbar to open them • Added ten additional items to locked tool boxes and chests to reduce the chance of getting lots of the same items • Added corn to the game that can currently be found in corn fields and can only be eaten (uncooked) currently. • Corn fields added to farm near The Ridge • Added slight camera motion with melee attacks • Additional vehicle spawn locations added • Added 26 bee nests around the playable area. In the future these bee nests will appear at random. • Added new digging system. Look at the ground with a shovel and press action button [F] to dig.
Updated
• Mini-map and inventory map updated with new areas and visuals. • Updated Crossbridges church exterior and interior • Improvements for cliffs around rivers • Finished missing cliff faces around Hanouten. • Updated one of the large houses that was missing interior furnishings • Shadow darkness has been adjusted for the interiors of houses • Disabled snowmen from spawning from the Winter Event • Player can no longer do melee attacks while crouched • Military crates now randomly change locations and randomly change the required level to open • High tier loot boxes (like at the airfield) are now level locked. They will have a required level to be opened. • High tier loot items like rifles and clothing are now level locked. These items will not spawn in containers unless your scavenging level is at the required level. • Adjustments made to the item/interaction icon to stop unused information being displayed and then hiding immediately after. • Military crate manager updated to improve locked chest placement and items. • Rentable unit doors will now allow the player to exit the unit through the door if the player is locked in by the system • Rentable doors, player placed and selected doors now automatically close when the player moves away from them. • Improved road materials through Backwater Beacon safezone • Improved dirt and sand road/path materials blending with the landscape • Rebalanced vehicle HP values • Van and Skoda removed from the possible vehicle spawns • Traders now have the functionality to value items by weight. • A large chunk of the Bayou has been removed • Removed overlapping lootable containers across the map • Removed the gold glow from window barricades that was part of an old system • Improved shading on the Bayou trees so the distance tree billboards are not so out of place • Updated textures on the dam • Removed road barricades on the dam
Fixes
• Fixed kill stats not working for melee kills on infected • Fixed raised leg issue when getting in to a bed • Fixed being able to climb water volume in Sen’s basement • Fixed interior building props overlapping • Fixed static body character hair shader compiling incorrectly • Fixed duplicated beds in some houses. • Corrected missing cliff assets from ivy wall in Backwater Beacon safe-zone • Fixed glass damage volumes affected leg inverse-kinematics • Fixed cliff texture resolution being blurry • Fixed all doors, chests and workbenches which were missing from houses map wide. • Fixed issues with save data displaying the incorrect information in the game save list. • Fixed custom objects not saving slot info • Fixed custom objects not being deleted from slot • Fixed incorrect save slot sorting • Fixed 'Get Named Save Slot' function • Fixed Sen’s basement doors reference on the water pump • Fixed the same three items always spawning in tool chests • Fixed reported issue collision stopping player from entering a shed unless crouched • Fixed various errors relating to camera manager • Fixed birds floating off into the sky when being killed by the player. • Fixed horse inventory sometimes not initialising correctly when adding a saddlebag. • Fixed horse inventories not saving • Fixed issue when swimming in lakes not decreasing O2 or being able to swim up • Fixed tutorial not popping up on survivor mode. Only Nomad mode, will have no tutorials • Fixed being able to trigger stealth takedowns while already in a takedown • Fixed shader not rendering correctly on the hilltop stream near the lighthouse and Bayou • Fixed weather not being controlled by the settings menu correctly. Weather can now be turned on and off • Fixed broken vertex painting on the roads • Fixed vertex colours on road dirt • Fixed road spline positions around the radio tower • Fixed floating foliage near gas station • Fixed grenades/throwables interacting with soft foliage, often causing them to stop mid-air • Fixed the indoor buff notification stuck on screen after dying in a building. All Buffs are now cleared on death. • Fixed weapons not appearing in correct place on player's back after saving and loading • Fixed character being able to climb through objects and walls in the medical centre • Fixed incorrect collisions on destroyed jet planes
Alpha Version 0.4.4.6a Hotfix Released
HOTFIX 0.4.4.6a
• Fixed Noticeboard quest not allowing players to take a quest after the first quest being taken. • Fixed Noticeboards being empty after loading a save after taking a quest from the board.
HOTFIX 0.4.4.6.1a
• Small optimisations to bears and AI manager. • Minor improvements to Liam Orling's dialog. • Give bears meat and animal fat when they drop loot.
• Fixed not being able to select more noticeboard quests after completing, abandoning or failing quests. • Fixed quest icons not removing from the map upon updating quest or objective.
