I've been busily working on a bit of new content in the lead up to v1.0. The following week I will mainly be working on bugfixes so this is the last bit of content before the big 1.0 update.
The additions include a new location on Chimera called Old Iron Lookout which can be found in the extreme north near Drosden military base. It is in a tier 5 loot position which means you can score the best loot there. It's also called Old Iron for a reason, the new spot sits atop a tall hill covered in exposed rocks containing iron ore. It is now the largest deposit of iron in Chimera and will provide an almost endless supply if you can survive long enough to mine it all.
I have also re-worked the loot tables for the entire map. Previously, high tier loot had been far too easy to obtain being able to find AR's and such in southern regions of the map. As of now, the loot progression is spread out across the entire map meaning you'll have to venture to the north in order to find high level items. It's important to note however, secret stash's are not affected by the loot tables meaning they can drop completely random items of any tier no matter where they are located on the map.
Lastly, I have added 5 new hair styles to the character customisation options. Previously there was only the one hair style or you go bald, now there are a total of 7 styles to choose from, so you can make yourself just that little bit more unique. I have also added 5 new facial hair styles to the mix instead of having just the one beard or no beard option. Let me know what styles you like and any suggestions for additional styles, I am open to any thoughts you might have.
If you didn't already know, I am currently hosting a screenshot contest in the official game's Discord server. If you're not already a member, come and join and chat to some players, myself included. The winner of the contest will have their screenshot added as a loading screen background in the game and also be featured on the game's Steam store page. The contest will be run up until the v1.0 update, so there's a little bit of time left to get a submission or two in.
Additions
<*>Added Old Iron Lookout
<*>Added 5 new hair styles
<*>Added 5 new facial hair styles
Improvements
<*>Re-worked loot tables across the entire map
Fixes
<*>Fixed issues with salvaging cosmetic items
<*>Fixed issues with opening supply crates
<*>Fixed issues with receiving gifts
<*>Fixed main menu elements overlapping each other on smaller screen resolutions
v0.9.8.5 Minor Update
Greetings survivors,
This update is a relatively small one addressing a few issues and adding a couple new things. Bullet tracers now show after you shoot which allow you to better visualise gunshots and their trajectories. The other new addition is weapon stats which show in the inventory when you hover over a weapon. The stats currently include damage, accuracy, recoil and range. You can now easily compare various weapons to eachother as you please.
<*>Fixed an issue with the grim killing you rather than taking you to the pocket dimension
<*>Fixed an issue with certain items spawning below objects making them unreachable
<*>Fixed an issue with mutants not spawning sometimes
v0.9.8.0 Major Content Update!
Greetings survivors,
The main update for this week is indeed massive. New clothing items, new graphical elements and a brand new mutant which is vastly different than any current ones in the game. Before I get into the details of what's new, I'd like to take a moment to officially recognise the 1 year anniversary since the games initial launch on Steam. I think we can all agree, the game has changed A LOT since January 1st of 2018 when you saw it for the first time. In the short period of just 1 year I've taken in a huge amount of criticisms and suggestions from the players, some who've come and gone and some who've stuck around to see where the game has got to. There's still a long way to go, but I think in time, I'll be able to get there with the support of you guys. So, thanks to everyone who's played and got in contact with me about the game, it's really made all the difference in getting this far. I hope you continue to stick around and see the game develop further.
Anyway, enough about that, I'm sure you're eager to hear about the new improvements. I introduced the character customisation system fairly recently and up until now there's really only been a couple of styles to choose from. I've finally finished some new content I've been working on in the wardrobe department and now you should find a slightly wider assortment of clothes to choose from. No longer will you have to go out with the same old tacky, brown shirt and trousers on. I'd also like to note, there are some cosmetic clothing items which (like the weapon cosmetic inventory) can be obtained via certain achievements and such. More details about those items will be released shortly.
Now onto the main part. The new guy in town. Up until now, there's only been three mutants in the game. In case you've been lucky enough never to have seen any of them, they only surface at night and are capable of hunting down players over a short period of time. The Reaper, The Harrow and The Split each have random chances to spawn each night and they each have various abilities and stats. Both The Reaper and The Harrow have really nothing too special about them except being freaky looking and capable of killing you rather quickly if they catch you. When The Split was added, quite a long while back, it brought the first unique ability of any of the mutants, it had the ability to clone itself which made killing it significantly harder.
Well, now I would like to introduce definitely the most unique mutant in the game. The Grim. A fairly spooky fellow capable of some otherworldly abilities. The Grim cannot move by foot but rather stands still hiding in the shadows. The way it moves is by means of teleportation. Upon it's arrival in the world, it will choose a particular player to hunt down. It will spawn somewhere nearby but not too close so as to give its position away. Every minute or so he will teleport again, this time closer. If you can find him, you are able to damage him and upon taking damage he will teleport somewhere out of danger. Don't get close though, if you get within arms reach of him, he'll be able to get you. If you don't find him, he will continue to get closer and closer until time runs out and he comes right up to you.
If The Grim gets close enough to you, instead of killing you, he will drag you into what he calls, his pocket dimension. A hellish labryinth of blood covered tunnels. Upon entering the pocket dimension, you will be placed in a sealed room and will need to solve a puzzle in order to open the doors which lead to randomly generated corridors and rooms each with various things inside of them. Beware of traps and most importantly be on the look out for the portal room. It is easily identifiable by a large, blue glowing block in the center. Stepping on this block will allow you to escape the pocket dimension and return to the overworld. Upon escaping, you are safe, for now. However, if you do not find the exit within a certain time frame, the pocket dimension will begin to collapse and you will be killed inside of it, your gear will be lost, forever.
If that hasn't spooked you, go try it out for yourself and see if you can escape. By the way, if you manage to kill The Grim before he gets close to you, you will score some highly valuable loot. Though, finding a dark shadowy character in pitch black darkness in the middle of a forest is not exactly an easy task.
Additions
<*>Added The Grim
<*>Added The Pocket Dimension
<*>Added unique mutant sound effects
<*>Added 28 new cosmetic clothing items (I would list them all but that would take a very long time)
<*>Added Hockey Helmet (ID 279)
<*>Added Hard Hat (ID 280)
<*>Added Plague Doctor Mask (ID 281)
<*>Added Welding Mask (ID 282)
Fixes
<*>Fixed a bug causing a duplicate house to spawn in Ridgeworth (thanks to HamUnDo for reporting it!)
<*>Finally fixed all the 'none' items spawning (hopefully!)
<*>Fixed a bug causing the item in slot 1 to disappear upon salvaging another item
<*>Tweaked armour values for all head gear
v0.9.7.5 Content/Bugfix Update
Greetings survivors,
This weeks update is coming early with some much needed improvements and fixes. First off, swimming animations have had an upgrade which has also fixed some finger position issues. All animals now have unique realistic sounds instead of the default wolf sounds. Weaponry spawned in containers and from killing mutants will now have randomised conditions and not always be destroyed. You can move up and down in water using the spacebar and c keys respectively. Torches have also been added which can be crafted using wood and cloth, then they can be lit and held for light, warmth or to warn other predators to stay back. World settings should also be working now which will allow you to customise various things upon starting a new game.
Additions
<*>Added wooden torches (ID 278)
<*>Added vertical movement in water
<*>Dust effects appear at players feet when moving
<*>Water splash effects appear when swimming
Improvements
<*>New swimming animations
<*>New animal sound effects specific for each animal
Fixes
<*>Fixed swimming animation finger position issues
<*>Fixed weaponry spawning in containers in a destroyed state making them unusable
<*>Fixed an issue with world settings not being applied when starting a new game
v0.9.7.0 Content/Bugfix Update
Greetings survivors,
I hope you enjoyed the festive celebrations during Christmas, however unfortunately they have now come to end in Chimera. Things have gone back to normal, green grass and clear blue skies. This weeks update is a big one including some huge improvements, additions and fixes. Multiplayer vehicles have been fixed to allow them to be driven without causing collision issues. Likewise skins have also been fixed when displaying them in a multiplayer game. Stats are also now being tracked in multiplayer and VoIP has just been added. VoIP allows voice communication with other people in your server. To talk, hold down the leftALT key and a speaker icon will appear in the bottom left of your screen. Then just start speaking into a connected microphone and anyone on the server will be able to hear you. Currently there is no attenuation to the VoIP input so anyone across the entire server can hear you no matter the distance.
Vehicles will now also damage/kill any entity in front of it if you're moving fast enough making them a viable way to escape or kill any pursuing enemies. A majority of the in-game UI has had a major overhaul to a custom design of my own rather than using the default UE4 button textures. Weapons have also been given quality levels which correspond to the overall condition and usability of the weapon. Any weapon that has never been used before will appear as untouched. Immediately upon using the weapon, it will begin to degrade from being used to worn to damaged to badly damaged until finally becoming destroyed. You can repair any weapon that is not destroyed, however, should the weapon become destroyed after heavy use, it will become irrepairable and you will need to find or craft a new one. You can still however take any attachments off of it so long as you don't accidentally salvage it first.
However, by far the most influential addition is the new salvaging mechanic. Scrap metal in large quantities has been difficult to obtain early on in the game especially when you need enough to repair damaged weaponry. Now that salvaging has been added, you can salvage just about any item in the game, with a few exceptions. Most complex items can be salvaged down to their bare components. This makes resource gathering significantly easier and far more logical. A gun can be broken down into scrap metal and various other components, medical kits can be taken apart into their individual items and tubes of glue can be stripped down to plastic and chemicals. You should find just about any item so use to you now. Let me know if you think the salvaging makes it too easy to gain materials or if you like it just how it is. I would love to hear some feedback to help me refine it even more.
Various other fixes have also been implemented such as world settings not loading correctly and cardboard items appearing as 'none' in the inventory.
Additions
<*>Roadkilling with vehicles
<*>Added more realistic wind visual effects to foliage
<*>Item salvaging
<*>Item condition categories
<*>VoIP communication is now available on multiplayer servers. Initiate communication by holding down the leftALT key and speaking into your microphone
Changes
<*>Reskinned major UI elements
<*>Reverted Chimera back to normal (no more snow)
Fixes
<*>Mutants no longer t-pose upon death
<*>Collision of dead entities is now disabled upon death
<*>World settings load correctly when creating a new world or loading a previous one
<*>Cardboard item ID's have been updated
<*>Several multiplayer fixes (vehicles, stat tracking, cosmetic skins are the main ones)
Removals
<*>Removed Christmas trees from the festive update
v0.9.6.0 Christmas Update
Merry Christmas everyone!
This update is coming a little later than I had hoped for, but still just in time for Christmas day for some of you. I hope you're having an enjoyable holiday and can enjoy some snowy survival as well. An unexpected blizzard has blown in across certain regions of Chimera just in time for winter festivities. Although the Reaper doesn't particularly like it, I'm sure it won't slow him down from getting to you.
During the festive week (25th - 31st December) you will be able to find Christmas trees around Chimera, they are easily identifiable by their various glowing ornaments as seen below.
At the base of each tree you might find a few presents left behind by Santa if you're lucky enough. Nobody knows what's inside and there's no names on the wrapping paper, so I guess they're all for you? Each present contains 1 and only 1 item inside, presents will contain rarer items than you might expect including supply crates which would not normally be found so easily.
Another major addition is scopes. Previously the only sight you could use on a weapon was the red dot sight and it was rather buggy and inaccurate also. I have since fixed the red dot and have added 3 scopes to the game allowing for long range sniping. You can find 2x, 4x and 8x scopes in various locations around Chimera (best spots to look are militarised areas). 2x scopes can be fitted to any weapon just like red dots, however 4x and 8x scopes can only be fitted to appropriately sized weapons limited to certain assault rifles, shotguns and snipers.
Following the addition of hunters a few days ago, I have now also added hunter bases which can spawn around Chimera. There are three different structures, each increasing in difficulty to raid. Hunters will typically stick close by to their base if they have one so watch out. Inside you can find random loot and possibly even machinery you can operate. You will also receive the raider achievement if you get close to one and haven't received it already.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy your Christmas and have some time to explore the new snow covered map.
Additions
<*>Changed Chimera into a winter wonderland
<*>Added Christmas trees and presents
<*>Added 2x Scopes
<*>Added 4x Scopes
<*>Added 8x Scopes
<*>Added 3 types of hunter bases
Fixes
<*>Fixed red dot sight alignments
v0.9.5.5 Bugfix/Content Update
Greetings survivors,
Apologies for the lack of updates in the last couple of weeks. I've been tweaking the new dedicated servers mostly however this weeks update has some in-game bugfixes and some new content.
The main addition is AI hunters which replace the previous AI survivors which would just run around harmlessly and provide loot if you killed them. Now, hunters will put up a fight. If you are spotted and the hunter has a weapon they will shoot and attempt to kill you. However if you are able to take them out, vastly improved loot is provided. AI survivors are still around and are 100% harmless, however each survivor has a 50/50 chance to be a hunter or not. Look to see if they are holding a weapon, if so, they are a hunter and you should be careful getting too close.
If you are eligible for one of the new special skins added in this update, the next time you log in you will be prompted to accept them as a gift. The following achievements are the criteria for receiving the new skins...
- 100,000,000 survivor rating = 1 skin
- Top 10 on the survivor leaderboard = 3 skins
- 1,000 hours of survival = 1 skin
- #1 position on the leaderboard = 1 skin
- Finding and reporting an exploit in the game = 1 skin
Additions
<*>Added the ability to hide the HUD by pressing 'N'
<*>Tweaked the statbar and hotbar UI in-game
<*>Added AI hunters to the game which look like other survivors however will behave hostile towards players if provoked
<*>Randomised hunters clothing
<*>Added special skins which can be obtained via achievements in-game
Fixes
<*>Fixed a bug causing save games to perma-delete upon your characters death
<*>Fixed a bug causing items to float above the ground when spawned
<*>Fixed a bug causing issues with connecting/disconnecting from servers
<*>Fixed a bug causing time not to sync on dedicated servers
<*>Fixed a bug causing skins not to display on dedicated servers
<*>Fixed a bug causing stats not to be tracked on dedicated servers
<*>Fixed a bug causing certain trees to render incorrectly at far distances
v0.9.5.0 Major Server Fixes
Greetings survivors,
This week has been spent refining the multiplayer experience and fixing some server issues. If you haven't already, go check out the new dedicated servers which are running and available for everyone. There isn't much else to report this week I'm afraid, but stay tuned for some new content this week.
What's new?
<*>Fixed a bug causing number of players on server not to show correctly in server browser
<*>Added ability to put a password on your server to stop random people joining
<*>Added ability to assign a custom key for your server to have it displayed differently in the server browser
<*>Fixed a bug causing you to be unable to join servers if the ping is higher than 300ms
v0.9.4.0 DEDICATED SERVERS ARE HERE!
Greetings survivors,
It's been quite a busy week, well for me at least. Ever since launch I've been wanting and really needing to deploy some official dedicated servers to allow for largescale permanent multiplayer gameplay. Well, finally, I'm glad to be able to say the servers are live! It's been an unbelievable pain to get it all working, but the hard work has paid off. From the multiplayer server browser in-game you should now see a single official server up 24/7 (or as close to 24/7 as possible). I will be expanding this to a few more in the coming week depending on how heavy the load on the first server is. The servers will be down for maintenance periodically (mainly before a major update is released) but other than that they should be available at all times.
Your player data will be saved serverside so theres no need to worry about that. As for content and bugfixes this week, I'm afraid I didn't get much time to do anything else than sort the servers out. Now that that's out the way though, I can finally focus back on the games development. Let me know if you're having connection issues or can't see the servers at all. Fingers crossed, you should be able finally try out some proper multiplayer gameplay!
What's New?
<*>DEDICATED SERRRRRRVERRRRRRRS!
<*>Fixed a bug causing mutant death animations not to play
v0.9.3.0 Graphical Update #45
Greetings survivors,
Update v0.9.3.0 is bringing with it some drastic changes to game graphics along with some major new additions. Most noticable will be the new foliage and ground textures. All new 4K textures have been added to all the new foliage and ground materials. Grass has also been massively improved as you will see. I've improved the LOD's for several onjects in the game as well so you should notice foliage rendering further away with little to no additional performance impact.
Now down to the additions. Since the games initial launch I have wanted to implement a better character model as it has been a suggestion right from the start by many players. Well, I've finally done it. The poorly testured, old bearded barbarian man in underwear, bracers and boots is no longer around. He's hit the road for good. Sorry if you liked the old player model, but I'm certain you'll like the new one much more. Along with the new model and textures, you will now be able to customise your character for the first time. This means you don't have to look exactly the same as every other player in the game. There are many areas of customisation including shirts, pants, footwear, hair, eye colour and skin colour. Currently there is only a male character option however I am aiming to add a female player model within the next few updates. The areas of customisation are likely to expand in future as more content is added to game.
Backpacks have had some major adjustments in regards to carry capacity with the addition of 4 new backpacks. The new ones are all larger than the duffle bag (previously the biggest available backpack). The new ones can only be found, not crafted, and are as you might expect, quite rare. The largest of them all, the rucksack, carries a total of 25 additional inventory slots, now that's a lot of space. In terms of adjustments, the old backpacks have been significantly reduced in their capacities to account for the new ones.
The main menu screen has had some changes added to allow for the character customisation. Inspecting cosmetic items has also been improved so the model and textures are displayed at the highest quality level. A major bug stopping anyone from being able to enter the APC has also been fixed. I am aware of the high number of issues people have been having with vehicles, next update will be addressing most if not all of them.
As always, let me know your thoughts on the changes. Do you like or dislike them? If so what could be improved. Please join the official Discord server to get your opinions heard by everyone including myself.
One last thing, we're well over 17,000 registered players now which is fantastic to see. As a big thanks from me to you guys, the first 1,000 accounts made for the game will be receiving some special rewards for being here right from the very beginning. Whether you're still here or whether you came many months ago and have since stopped playing, I'd like to say a huge thank you. The only reason I'm still here continuing development for the game is because of the players. All I wanted to do from day 1 was create something people could enjoy playing, which I hope I have done.
What's New?
<*>Improved various graphical elements
<*>Added new foliage meshes
<*>Added new player model and customisation meshes
<*>Added player customisation system
<*>Added Apache (ID 262)
<*>Added Camopack (ID 263)
<*>Added Tuffpack (ID 264)
<*>Added Rucksack (ID 265)
<*>Improved item inspection area
<*>Fixed a bug causing the APC to be unusable
<*>Tweaked capacities for old backpacks
<*>Removed old player model
