Hunters!

First and foremost, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your patience. It's been some time since our last major content drop, and your enduring support has been invaluable (although we do hope you are having fun with those little demons we added during Halloween). As we approach the release of Patch 0.40, featuring "Gunplay 2.0," among other major features, we're not just introducing an update – we're transforming our core gameplay to elevate your combat experience to new heights. This significant upgrade is a testament to our commitment to your immersive experience and tactical prowess in ZERO Sievert. Your feedback has been instrumental in shaping this patch, and we genuinely hope it resonates with your expectations. As always, we're listening and ready to act on your insights.

Elevating Combat to New Heights

Introducing Grenades

We're infusing new layers of strategy with the addition of grenades, offering you novel ways to engage in combat and control the battlefield. This update introduces a variety of grenades, including:

Variety of explosive grenades
Flashbangs
Mines

All of which will add unprecedented tactical depth to combat. These new tools allow for diverse strategies, giving you more control over the battlefield and enhancing the realism of engagements.

These valuable items are not just powerful, but also rare commodities. You can find them through looting or purchase them from specific vendors. Be aware that these sought-after items may require patience as you might need to wait for vendors to restock. Cherish these assets, as they can turn the tide of any encounter.

Shooting System Overhaul (Gunplay 2.0)

It represents a fundamental shift in our combat mechanics, marking a significant evolution in player engagement in battles. The introduction of a glancing system and redefined weapon effective ranges means each weapon type now has a distinct role, tailored for specific situations and encounters. This nuanced approach, coupled with the emphasis on strategic crosshair placement, ensures a more immersive experience and encourages players to thoughtfully consider their loadout and run choices based on the challenges they'll face. These changes are designed to enhance skirmish realism and foster more tactical and varied combat strategies, making the game more challenging yet less punishing, and more complex yet more rewarding. Also, keep in mind that some changes are tied to future features we have been cooking. We will share more information once we have something solid.

Keep reading for a detailed exploration of these changes as we delve into Gunplay 2.0 later in this article.

AI Enhancement

Certain aspects of enemy AI have been refined to reward tactical movement and positioning. NPCs now also react to you aiming at them.

Flanking & Enemy Response: Players will benefit from a revised flanking system that allows for more strategic engagements. Quick repositioning after an attack can catch enemies off-guard, as they now react more slowly to being flanked, especially from behind or at a distance. Conversely, enemies will respond promptly if you attempt to re-engage from the last known position, incentivising varied tactics over repetitive peeks.
Tactics: Enemy AI has been fine-tuned for more realistic engagements. Now, enemies will move into the effective range of their weapons before opening fire, and their vertical view distance has been reduced. This adjustment means enemies won't shoot at or show aggression towards players from off-screen, demanding more strategic positioning and awareness from both AIs and players in every encounter.

Introducing New Enemy Tiers

In 0.40, we're introducing a new dimension to combat encounters with the new Enemy Tiers system. Now, the difficulty level of each enemy is visually discernible, as different AI tiers are distinguished by their unique armour, and yes, of course you can loot their armours. On top of that, “Armour drop” option is on by default for all difficulty levels now.

The more experience players have, the tougher enemies they'll encounter. Each AI tier also comes with a distinct weapon drop pool, adding further variety to your engagements. This change not only adds a visual variety to the adversaries but also enhances strategic decision-making in combat. Players can now quickly assess the challenge level of each enemy and adjust their tactics accordingly. This tier-based system enriches the depth and complexity of encounters, ensuring that each skirmish in Zakov remains engaging and unpredictable.

New End Game Faction

Prepare to face a formidable new faction that will invariably be hostile towards players. This faction, emerging as a pivotal end-game challenge, is designed to test your survival skills to the fullest. Notably, there are no opportunities for alliance with this faction. They will become a part of your adventure once you unlock the mall area, setting the stage for intense and thrilling encounters.

Other major additions and improvements

Loadout Changes: Loadouts have all received a bit of love, each now coming with a sidearm, as well as a bottle of vodka [strike]for tackling early game radiation[/strike]. We also swapped out a loadout for a tactical operator loadout that comes with flashbangs. All loadouts have been thoughtfully revamped to align more closely with various playstyles, ensuring that each one offers a unique and sensible approach to your adventures in Zakov. Expect further changes in future patches!
New Calibre: Experience the impact of an entirely new calibre added to our ammunition options.
New Weapons: Discover six exciting new weapons to enhance your arsenal.
New Armours: Gear up with a range of new armours, each offering unique protection and style.
New Experience Level: Push your skills further with a new experience level cap beyond “Master.”
New Loading Screens for Each Map: Delve into each map with a unique visual introduction. Our update brings a new loading screen for every map, enhancing your journey into Zakov with distinct and immersive visuals. Here is a sneak peek at the loading screen of your favourite forest! Big shoutout to Roman Stevens for the amazing artwork!
Improved Map Generation Time: Enjoy faster loading times, getting you into the action quicker than ever.
Gameplay: [list]
Changed default view distance.
Scopes now increase the maximum view distance.
Repair kits no longer need gunsmith skill levels in order to be crafted.

[*] Balance

Difficulty settings have been adjusted to create parity between “survivor” and “hunter”, with “hunter” difficulty now essentially being almost the same, but with the effect of losing your gear when you die.
All player needs refill values from bunker NPCs have had their costs drastically reduced from 4000 roubles (from empty to full replenishment) to 500 roubles to better accommodate early game play.

[*] Emission Changes: This update offers a reprieve between waves, allowing players to freely move across the map.

[/list]

Insights into the Shooting System Overhaul

Weapon Effectiveness

We've introduced an 'effective range' for each weapon type, influencing damage based on your cursor placement. This aims to distinguish weapons better and tailor them to specific combat scenarios.

Hit Outcomes

Shots can result in three types of hits:

Full Hits (100% damage): Achieved when engaging within a weapon's effective distance with accurate
Glancing Hits (50% damage): Occur within a weapon's overall range but without precise cursor tracking, or when a weapon is used at suboptimal distances.
Null Hits (0% damage): Happen when attempting to engage outside a weapon's total range, indicated by an 'X' on the crosshair.

Visual Feedback

An enemy's outline will change colour upon being hit – white signifies a full hit, while red indicates a glancing hit. Remember, penetrating enemy armour is still a prerequisite for inflicting damage.

Crosshair Dynamics

The crosshair now provides a visual guide for weapon range effectiveness:

White: Indicates within effective range, where precise cursor placement will result in full hits.
Red: Indicates within an ineffective range[strike], guaranteeing only glancing hits.[/strike]
Pink: Marks the edge of effective range. Glancing hits are more likely here, indicating you should adjust your position to return to full effective range.
Correction: Red & Pink Crosshair: A red/pink crosshair indicates a narrower angle for full hits but doesn't solely guarantee glancing hits. Precise shooting can still achieve full hits. What this means is that in close-range combat with weapons that are not specialised for such range, such as Assault Rifles, you can still achieve a full hit so long as you shoot more accurately. More explanation Here
X Mark: Beyond effective range, resulting in null hits.

Cursor Placement

Crosshair placement is now paramount. More precise weapons require better crosshair placement for full hits. Imprecise weapons, like Shotguns and SMGs are generally more forgiving. Familiarise yourself with each weapon's characteristics for the best combat advantage. That said, placing the crosshair directly on your enemy should always be your goal, you’d better not continue to aim behind an enemy and expect to deal full damage. (We of course still love you!❤️)

Below screenshots demonstrate how your cursor is able to tell you that the F90 is more suited for close-range combat than an EC 74U.

With the F90, your crosshair turns white at close range, indicating it is within its effective range.

With the EC 74U, your crosshair turns red at close range, indicating it is outside its effective range.

Recoil Mechanics

A new recoil system has been added, increasing gun kick but allowing players to counteract this by pulling back towards their character.

Gun Rebalancing

All firearms have been adjusted to fit within the new system. Prepare to reacquaint yourselves with your arsenal!

Change in Weapon Attachments Mechanic

Weapon attachments now affect the weapon's stats by a flat amount, not by a percentage. This adjustment provides a clearer and more predictable impact on weapon performance, aiding players in strategising their equipment choices.

Coming Next

As the frosty winds of Christmas approach the rugged landscapes of Zakov, we're gearing up for a festive seasonal event. Your favourite holiday-themed surprises will be back to enhance your survival experience!

Beyond the horizon of Patch 0.40, our journey through Zakov continues to evolve. We're working on integrating full controller support and UI Functionality Changes to enrich your exploration and combat experience. These updates ensure that every Hunter has the best tools at their disposal, setting the stage for the arrival of our next major patch, where even more gameplay features will be introduced. Our aim is to ensure that each major update not only enriches your adventure in ZERO Sievert but also brings forth novel challenges and opportunities.

A Note on Localisation

As one of the most requested features by hunters from all over the world, we understand how important localisation is to our community and want to assure you that it is a key part of our roadmap and will be addressed during the period leading up to our 1.0 release. As a small team, we are working diligently to ensure every aspect of the game meets your expectations. We kindly ask for your patience as we navigate through this process. We appreciate your understanding and support.

Special Note

A sincere thank you to all our closed beta testers for your invaluable contributions to ZERO Sievert. Your feedback, insights, and dedication have played a crucial role in shaping the game's development. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by our entire team.

For those interested in participating in future closed beta testing, we welcome your enthusiasm and invite you to reach out to me on Discord (@ericd). Your involvement could be pivotal in helping us refine and perfect future updates.

Thank you once again for being an essential part of our community's journey.

Final Words

Join us for our upcoming preview stream on our Twitch channel on Monday the 4th at 2pm GMT where we'll offer an exclusive sneak peek into the upcoming Patch 0.40. This is your chance to see all the new features and updates in action before they go live. Keep an eye on your favourite content creators too. They'll be diving into the patch, providing their unique takes and insights, further enriching your understanding and anticipation for what's ahead in Zakov. These combined previews are sure to prepare you for the exciting new changes!

So, Hunters, gear up and stay alert! The wilds of Zakov are set to offer new thrills, challenges, and adventures that will test your survival skills and keep you on the edge of your seat.

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