Hi,

Please see below for the full patch notes for our April Update below.

With close to two-hundred individual changes (and those are just the ones you “see”) this update should go a long way in improving the base experience of Generation Zero. We aren’t however “done” by any means, and we have plenty of updates to come; so please do feedback to us on how your experience is post-update.

Design Notes
Many of the bug-fixes and changes in this update will affect the general game-play experience and we want to highlight a few of them in particular.

Many players have noted that the ability to self-revive for free when downed in combat removes a lot of excitement and the sense of danger when fighting machines. We wholeheartedly agree with this observation. In fact this was never the original design, but due to a bug that has now been fixed. Reviving one-self and other players now cost one adrenaline shot originally intended. We’ve also reduced the amount of adrenaline shots found throughout the world to further increase the sense of desperately fighting for survival in a hostile mid-apocalyptic world.

Another change related to combat involves machine behaviour. Community feedback has indicated that machines sometimes appear as if trying to escape from combat without any seemingly valid reason. We’ve investigated this and it turns out that it was due to a bug that made their engagement distance a lot lower than intended. This bug has now been fixed and machines should now be a lot more challenging in situations where they have an unobstructed line of sight to players.

We’ve also seen a few exploits surrounding the combat xp system and it has been redesigned to be more reliable and consistent in the way xp is awarded. The previous system took into account a lot of complicated factors such as the amount of enemies involved in an encounter and the outcome of it. The new system is less complex and now only takes into account the following actions:

  • Enemies killed (amount tied to type)
  • Damaging to enemies (amount based on enemy type and % damage dealt by each player)
  • Support actions performed in combat, such as throwing flares (fixed amount per action taken)

The new system should not only be less prone to exploits, but also easier to understand.

Finally we have made some changes to the hacking skill. It can now be used multiple times per combat instead of just once (with a cool down) and there is now a success chance based on the targeted enemy type. This means that hackers can now use the skill more frequently in combat and that more care has to be taken when selecting targets.

New Stuff

  • We’ve added several looping poses to the list of available Emotes, now you can pose like the Hero you are! Peace, The Horns, Hero, Rebel, Punk, Awkward, & Crouch
  • Stamina bar added to the HUD to indicate how long a player can sprint before slowing down into a jog


    Audio
  • Players will now hear a heart-rate sound effect based on stamina use, for example when sprinting.
  • Footstep sound levels have been adjusted to differentiate when a player is walking versus crouch-walking.


    Camera
  • Player models will no-longer shift around when a character is in a downed state and the camera is moved.


    Character
  • Character models now use the correct idle pose when holding the Sjögren shotgun and viewed in third-person.
  • The “Hi Top” hairstyle now has the correct level of detail when viewed in third-person.
  • Players can now correctly be “rag-dolled” when hit by explosions inside Church structures
  • Fixed so that character models no longer have default facial pose when using dance emotes.


    Crashfixes
  • Fixed crash that would occur when removing weapons from weapon inventory slots.
  • Fixed crash that would occur when running Generation Zero in combination with the Corsair iCue software.
  • Fixed multiple sources of crashes that would occur upon booting Generation Zero
  • Fixed crash that would occur when aiming an Object Penetration Vision-modded weapon at another player.


    General
  • Fixed multiple bugs that could occur when hosting a session after leaving a multiplayer session (issues with firing/loading/aiming, Camera clipping, blur effects sticking, teleportation issues, crashes).


    Enemies
  • Adjusted Tank machine so it is less likely to slide when moving.
  • Runner death effects now visualise correctly when destroyed at range.
  • Correctly added metal containers to rear of the “Harvester” enemy model.
  • Corrected various causes of machines becoming stuck in place.
  • Corrected issues where in some cases Tanks and Harvesters could be launched across the world when destroyed.
  • Machines will no longer be drawn out-of-bounds in the area surrounding Vesslan Bunker.
  • Machines possessing shock-wave attacks can now correctly knockdown/damage players inside buildings.
  • Machines with Tick Containers that are affected by the Hacker skill will now correctly launch friendly rather than aggressive Ticks.
  • Machines will no longer continue to damage players with their gas attack after they’ve been destroyed.
  • Tank gas attack will now not damage players through walls and safe-houses.
  • Grenade projectiles fired by Hunters now travel at their correct speed (faster).
  • Destroyed machines will no longer re-spawn at 1 health when players leave and then return to the same area.
  • It is no longer possible to keep solo enemies permanently hacked with the Hacker skill.
  • Destroyed gas containers will no longer continue to damage players.
  • Fixed XP exploit involving the radio items and large packs of machines.
  • Tanks will now correctly engage players when shot at medium to long ranges.
  • Ticks will no longer damage players through solid objects (walls, doors etc.).
  • Higher tier Hunters will no longer incorrectly create Tick spawning containers next to them.
  • Fixed causes of the Hunter sometimes stuck in an immobile state
  • Fixed collision issue with higher tier Ticks


    Environment
  • Fixed issue with Salthamn bunker being foggy/smokey.
  • Explosive barrels should no longer spontaneously detonate when moved by a player/machine.
  • Corrected out-of-place road decorations.
  • Corrected building parts from popping in and out of view.
    • It should no longer rain inside buildings
    • Fixed issues with floating wooden poles appearing in world.
    • Fixed railings from clipping ground on certain building types.
    • Fixed issue in Östervik where there were clipping gate objects.
    • Correcting missing wall in south-coast bunker.
    • Corrected floating road block at Saltholmen naval base.
    • Fixed collision on roofs of large industrial storage structures.
    • Fixed issue in Östervik basement where terrain prevented players from entering.
    • Grass will no-longer clip through the floor inside Östervik church
    • Corrected floating poster in Villa Kaseberg.
    • Fixed tear in terrain outside of Uttern bunker.
    • Fixed hole in terrain close to Hjalmars stuga.
    • Fixed faulty terrain at the Hermelinen bunker, will no-longer push players outside of the level.
    • Corrected flickering building assets (roofs, walls, doors etc.).
    • Resolved occlusion issues at military compound near Klinte.
    • Cleaned up terrain that had been clipping through bunker ceilings.
    • Fixed three floating trucks in bunker near Klinte.
    • Fixed other floating props outside bunker near Klinte.
    • Corrected overlapping road signs.
    • Fixed terrain that had been clipping into basement storage in Klinte.
    • Fixed hole in terrain Norra Saltholmen.


      Equipment
    • Sticky flare visual effects should no-longer stick on screen for a few seconds after throwing it.
    • Resolved issue with some light sources making characters look “shiny”.
    • Fixed Spotting Info skill. Player's are now correctly able to zoom in/out or cycle vision when highlighting an enemy.
    • Fixed display issue for stat-bars on attribute-enhancing clothing.
    • Player is now able to correctly toggle vision mode when aiming at an enemy with Enemy Marking or Spotting Intel skill.
    • Sound effects for fireworks will no-longer be cut too soon.
    • EMP cells and EMP grenade launcher ammo now consistently stuns machines.


      Functionality
    • Steam will now correctly show lost-connection messages when losing connection or accessing multiplayer menus.
    • Corrected issue where the game window was not maximized by default. Mouse cursor will now be correctly locked to the game on activating windowed mode.
    • Mouse will no longer in some cases stick to the middle of the screen in Fullscreen mode.
    • Corrected issues where some users could not use the mouse after launching the game.
    • Players will no-longer be kicked from the game when disconnecting from Steam.
    • Resolved issue where some players would experience the game capping out CPU usage at 100%.
    • The mouse cursor will no longer disappear if the player is rag-dolled whilst viewing menus.


      Inventory
  • DLC items (for example pre-order items) are now more-easily identifiable in game.
  • Fixed bug that allowed weaponry to be assigned to equipment quick-slots.


    Localisation
  • Corrected special characters on translations of in-game newspapers.


    Loot
  • Beds in buildings no longer have an overly large hitbox, players can now correctly loot containers underneath it.


    Map
  • Hagaboda no-longer has two city icons.
  • Fixed issue where in some areas it was not possible to add/remove waypoints.
  • Corrected map text for “Science of Deduction” mission. No-longer has a POI on the map with the incorrect text "Back on Track".
  • Skvadern bunker safehouse now correctly referenced on the map and during the relevant mission.


    Mission
  • Message from Anita’s answering machine will no-longer be received at various locations in the game.
  • Keypad is now on the correct side of the wall for mission "A Wrench in the Works"
  • 3D models correctly added to mission-log items for missions “Road Rage”, “Out Hiking”, “The Spotter”.
  • Removed incorrect waypoint when on mission "The Road to Salthamn".
  • It is now possible to complete locations "Yttervik" and "Iboholmen Church", previously missing items have been added.
  • Fixed empty pop-up on picking up Newspaper item in barn when on mission “The Farm”.
  • On mission “The Farm” the “destroy machines” objective now correctly appears.
  • Corrected floating mission item when carrying out “Flying Objects” mission.
  • When on mission “Flying Objects” picking up the key before interacting with the door will no-longer prevent the mission from progressing.
  • Artillery doors will no-longer be locked after completing “Spiking the Guns”.
  • “Strength in Numbers” can now be properly completed.
  • Players will no-longer experience all missions incorrectly unlocking at the same time.


    Multiplayer
  • Smoke grenades, flares and fireworks will no longer persist permanently when thrown.
  • When completing tutorial missions in a group, one player picking up items will no longer trigger that stage completing for all.
  • Fixed issue with mission items not appearing for either host or client player if client player picks up the mission trigger.
  • Players will no longer receive an error when accepting an invite to a new game mid session-load.
  • Fixed issue where players would not see each other in the Team menu if they had spawned far apart.


    Reviving
  • Reviving in combat is now much smoother and works as intended.
  • Adrenaline shot drop rate reduced.
  • Adrenaline shots now consumed when reviving self & others.


    Safe Houses
  • Doors that require bunker power will no longer be re-locked when revisiting after changing session.


    Skills
  • The “Make 'em count” skill now better describes its functionality. Additionally it now correctly applies to intended weapons.
  • Tooltips will now be provided on how Remote Hacking functions.
  • Steady Feet now functions correctly.
  • Armor Damage now works as intended.
  • Survivor skill description clarified.
  • Commander skill description clarified.


    Trophies/Achievements
  • Fixed “One Shot, One Kill” achievement.
  • Fixed “Elementary” achievement.
  • Fixed “Sapper” achievement.
  • Fixed “Go-Getter” achievement.


    UI
  • The revive icon will no longer be stuck as displaying when teammates are revived.
  • Corrected some issues with the “Enemy Marking” skill causing UI elements to stick on-screen.
  • Corrected some incompatibilities with the Player and Safe House menus.
  • Corrected issues where various interact prompts could get stuck on-screen.
  • The loot interaction window will no-longer stick on-screen when rag-dolled away from the loot source.
  • Improved consistency in how drag-dropping ammunition to weapons/inventory works.
  • Corrected instances where subtitles would obscure UI elements.
  • Enlarged “trigger” area for the mouse pointer when changing apparel.
  • The cycle fire mode UI element now updates correctly when rebound to a different key.
  • Map icons will no-longer disappear when quitting the game and will be present as intended when you start your next session.


    Warboard
  • Tracking missions on the Warboard no-longer requires two click interactions.
  • Fixed issue where interacting with the Warboard could make the map change to black and white.
  • The Warboard will now correctly populate with activities when interacted with for the first time.


    Weapon
  • Fixed animation for when reloading the Magnum .44, bullets now correctly appear.
  • Lowered recoil amount for the AK4 when used with a scope.
  • Fixed issue where the Granatgevär m/49 would obscure the screen when switching to it from a handgun.
  • Corrected SFX issue that would occur when burst-firing the AI-47.
  • Tweaked impact location of bullets so they correctly correlate with the sight-picture (previously they were offset in some cases).
  • Corrected animation-cancel that would allow the Granatgevär m/49 to be fired faster than intended.


    Experience
  • Support action XP is no-longer erroneously credited twice.
  • The firework distraction previously gave too much XP, corrected.


    PS4-Specific Fixes (in addition to above)
  • Fixed detail levels on bridge scaffolding
  • There is no longer a delay on the multiplayer menu opening
  • Console players should no-longer be blocked by invisible wall at bridge to Salthamn after streaming install has finished.
  • Fixed issue that would sometimes prevent console users from being able to switch weapons.


    Xbox One-Specific Fixes (in addition to above)
  • Console players should no-longer be blocked by invisible wall at bridge to Salthamn after streaming install has finished.
  • Fixed issue that would sometimes prevent console users from being able to switch weapons.
  • Fixed issue with environment details not showing correctly at Svadern bunker.
  • Fixed crash where Generation Zero would exit to Xbox Home when accepting a game invitation while matchmaking.