Hey everyone, the next major update for Fargone is here and it's a big one! This update, as the name suggests, continues the work started with Busy Work Part 1 by overhauling the world. The Plains region prior to this update was one of the more empty areas of the world, and it has now received the full Busy Work treatment with overhauled POIs, brand new POIs and tons more detail added. The update also introduces a brand new AI system for undead, new and improved survival mechanics and much more.
This is a huge update so let's dive into the key points.
Existing save compatibility
Existing saves will work with patch 0.5, however there is a migration that will take place on first load. This migration will reset your character back to level 1. This is because the skill system has been completely reworked from the ground up. You will not lose any equipment or other progress, just your overall level.
AI3 system (Currently only for undead)
AI3 makes its debut with this update and is a brand new system I have been building from scratch for quite some time now. It is currently only being introduced for non-human AI to allow time to test, gather feedback and fine tune where needed before rolling out to human AI where it will likely have the biggest impact.
AI3 aims to make enemies more dynamic and intelligent whilst also running on a far more stable and performant system. Not only is The Barrens now filled with more interesting undead to fight, but they also hog far less CPU usage!
Enemies now support better animation reactions from alerts, damage and more. They also support special attacks such as Husks now lunging at you from a distance, better target detection and chasing systems as well as a whole lot more.
To go along with the new AI system, zombie audio and animations have also been overhauled making the world feel more terrifying than ever before!
Map overhaul
Continuing the work started with the first part of the Busy Work update, Part 2 introduces an overhauled Plains region, home to Liberty. Every POI has been reworked with new details, spawns, loot and more. New POIs to fill in the empty space between major POIs have also been added making travelling the region more interesting.
Some areas outside of the Plains have also received new POIs and POI overhauls as well, expect to see a few new surprises within the Grasslands and Mountains regions.
As well as this, 2 new unlockable fast travel points have been added to The Plains.
Joinable Liberty faction
You can begin your journey to join Liberty. A new mysterious stranger has appeared in the Sub-0 Bar offering those interested a test to find those worthy of following the great path! Talk to him to begin your journey.
Liberty has also received another new NPC, The Speaker, who can be found within the Liberty main HQ. Once a member of Liberty, The Speaker will offer you daily missions. This, like all dynamic missions, will be expanded in the near future.
Swimming overhaul and sandbox improvements
This update introduces a completely overhauled swimming system that is far more natural and smooth feeling whilst also fully utilising the new water system to allow for underwater swimming.
As well as this, Fargone has received a major sandbox physics update. Items, bodies and more will all float dynamically in bodies of water respecting things such as streams and waves, adding more depth and realism to the world.
Reworked skill system
Fargone's limited perk system has gone and has been replaced with skill trees. Skill trees require you to progress through them by performing actions related to the tree. Each tree has 4 minor skills and 2 major skills, all of which can now be unlocked with skill points earned from your overall level. You are no longer restricted and can unlock everything available.
To accommodate the new system, the max level has been increased to 30.
Enhanced survival and major rebalances
As mentioned in the previous post, this update deepens the survival mechanics of the game whilst also overhauling weapons, mission rewards and player progression. Lower caliber weapons now feel weaker, struggling to put down the undead, with higher end weapons packing far more of a punch. Hit detection has been overhauled as well meaning large caliber shots to the chest for instance will now deal substantial damage unlike before where headshots were the only way to secure easy kills. Be warned though, AI also receives the new weapon rebalance meaning going into situations with inadequate gear will result in quicker deaths. Take caution, prepare and plan your moves wisely! Player damage can still be adjusted in the difficulty settings should you want an easier (or even harder!) experience.
Shotguns have also been updated for both the player and AI. Shotguns now fire a true pellet spread instead of a single slug making them feel far more unique compared to other weapons in the sandbox.
Outside of combat, survival now requires more thought! Thanks to the UI improvements mentioned later in this post, managing the things you eat, drink and use now matters. Eating very poor quality food or drinking expired drinks could result in contracting food poisoning. Using medical items that are also low in quality could also result in medicinal poisoning that will negate any positive effects and begin to hurt your character's overall wellness.
It's not all negatives though! Some new features have been introduced such as the ability to rest near a campfire to gain a small positive buff, so for all the new challenges in the world, you can now sit back and rest up between your adventures to recover!
Enhanced graphics and audio
Busy Work Part 2 marks a huge leap forward in graphical fidelity and audio immersion. You will now see things such as dynamic volumetric clouds that change with the weather, a new water system including terrain reflections, and a brand new vegetation system that allows for denser foliage whilst also being much more performant and more.
Fargone has also received an ambience overhaul with this update. Brand new tracks have been created by WinterFX on Discord. These tracks are far more immersive and add a ton of depth to the world. Additionally, you will now hear dynamic ambience based on time of day such as creepier tracks that kick in as the sun goes down.
UI Improvements
The UI has seen a host of improvements related to inventory management and more. Stacked items now properly maintain their own individual condition levels, this can now be viewed by holding the ALT key while hovering over an inventory item. Stacked items can also now be dragged and dropped directly onto each other to combine stacks. Equipment slots can also now be freely dragged and dropped to unequip or swap slots around such as primary and secondary weapons quickly.
Buffs and debuffs also now show in-game as well as within the inventory system to better show the player exactly when either a positive or negative effect is applied.
Performance and engine improvements
This update also brings with it some major performance improvements. As mentioned above, AI3 utilises far less CPU usage which will help many players with performance. DLSS has also been updated to 4.5.
Unity has also been upgraded to 6.3 which brings with it tons of new features to optimise games, all of which have been fully utilised for this update in Fargone.
Even more!
Below you can find the raw patch notes listing everything included with this update and trust me, it's a lot!
Looking forward to the future, the first vehicle is likely going to be in the next patch with other major features already in development.
Thank you as always for supporting Fargone and making it such a joy to work on.
-Jordan
Raw patch notes
New Content
World & Points of Interest
- Added Liberty Science Outpost Bravo POI
- Added RockRidge Cave POI
- Added caravan park POI in the Plains
- Added train workshop POI in the Plains
- Added mountains checkpoint POI
- Added plains entrance campsite POI
- Added small settlement POI in the west Grasslands
Reworked Locations
- Reworked Trainyard POI
- Reworked Plains entrance bridge POI
- Reworked Camp Bravo POI
- Reworked Sub-0 Bar POI
- Reworked Plains factory POI
- Reworked Lins Rest POI
- Reworked Liberty Base
- Reworked Mole hideout POI
- Reworked general Plains roads and empty spaces between POIs
Fast Travel
- Added 2 new fast travel points within the Plains
- Added new discovered fast travel point system
Factions & Lore
- Added ability to join Liberty
- Added new Liberty lore throughout various important NPCs
Environment & Atmosphere
- Added nighttime-specific ambience tracks
- Added new toxic storm weather effects
Missions
Story Missions
- Added Liberty Recruiter -> Sub-0 Bar mission
- Added The Speaker mission at Liberty Base
- Added Follow the Path mission
Dynamic Missions
- Added 2 dynamic missions at The Mole in the Plains
- Added 3 dynamic missions for military members at Camp Bravo
- Added 2 dynamic missions at Sub-0 Bar
- Added 3 dynamic missions at Liberty HQ
Gameplay
Movement & Traversal
- Added underwater swimming
- Added ability to climb onto taller objects
- Overhauled and improved vaulting logic
- Reworked ladder climbing
Survival & Consumables
- Added chance for raw and low-quality consumables to cause food poisoning
- Added chance for low-quality medical items to cause medicinal poisoning
- Low-quality food now reduces overall wellness when causing food poisoning
Combat
- Increased level cap to 30 to account for the new skill system
- Shotguns now fire pellets instead of slugs
- Adjusted the view of most weapon models
- Improved weapon bob and sway effects
- Improved PIP scope image clarity
Inventory & Items
- Added new item type display to inventory tooltips
- Added new physics-based destructible glass windows
- Dropped items now float realistically in water
- AI ragdolls now float realistically in water
Graphics
- Added new grass shader
- Added snow effects to vegetation in mountain regions
- Added dried vegetation effects to the Plains region
- Added brand new water rendering system
- Added water quality option, including real-time reflections
- Added new volumetric cloud graphical option
- Added cloud shadows for volumetric clouds
- Updated DLSS to 4.5
AI Overhaul
- Introduced the brand new AI 3 system, rebuilt entirely from scratch
- Added new zombie animations
- Added new zombie sounds
- Zombies now support multiple attack varieties
- Husks now have a leap/lunge special attack
- Undead dogs now alert their pack by howling when alerted
- Undead dogs now circle around after attacking
- Undead dogs now flee and hide when injured
- Undead now spawn in greater numbers at night
- More mutants and special zombies spawn at night
Improvements
Performance & Engine
- Upgraded project to Unity 6.3
- Massively improved GPU culling system for better performance
- Reworked background rendering systems to fully utilise Unity 6.3
- Completely reworked backend open-world streaming system to fix floating-point precision issues and allow future expansion
- Reworked vegetation system for improved visuals and performance
Animation & Visuals
- Reworked FPS body animations
- Improved player body animations
- Reworked player shadows
Audio & Atmosphere
- Reworked environment sounds
- Current weather now persists when saving/loading
Systems
- Large internal rework to the mission system for improved stability
- Default FOV is now 70 and minimum FOV is now 60 to prevent visual issues
UI Improvements
- Items can now be unequipped by dragging them out of their slot
- Replacing an equipped item no longer requires additional free inventory space
- Improved sense of direction for compass markers
- Added new icons for many buffs and debuffs
- Buff and debuff icons now display in-game next to the health bar
- Stacked items now maintain individual condition levels
- Stackable items can now be dragged and dropped onto each other to quickly stack
- Tooltips can now display all stacked item conditions by holding Alt
Balancing
- Complete rebalance of player XP requirements
- Complete rebalance of mission rewards for better progression
- Completely rebalanced all weapons for better distinction and punchier combat
- Rebalanced character health and armour to better fit weapon balancing
- Zombies will no longer die from a single headshot from lower-caliber weapons by default
- Can still be adjusted in difficulty settings
- Reworked food and ingredient loot tables
- Rebalanced buffs and debuffs for consistency
Fixes
World & Gameplay
- Fixed wooden barrels using the vending machine loot table
- Fixed prepped dinner bowl giving the breakfast variant when cooked
- Fixed Liberty soldiers being unable to fire pump-action shotguns
- Fixed fast travel being available without talking to a runner after loading in
- Fixed tungsten tips not being added when salvaging ammo
- Fixed beacon achievement not unlocking
- Fixed mines not being placeable
- Fixed missing interaction prompt for plants
Weapons & Items
- Fixed shimmer/shake effect on FPS weapons
- Fixed M16 flip bug when grabbing items
- Fixed Tac M4 flip bug when grabbing items
- Fixed gun slides locking back even when ammo remained
- Fixed attachments condition resetting to 0 when removed from weapons
- Fixed item loss when moving items into quick action belt slots
UI & Inventory
- Fixed shimmer/glitch issues on the datapad
- Fixed missions showing the "This mission isn't ready" popup incorrectly
- Fixed rotated items using incorrect collision bounds
- Fixed stacked items losing data when transferred
- Fixed swapping slot items not properly exchanging stack quantities
- Fixed transferring stacked items from containers removing the wrong item
- Fixed equipped gadgets not returning previous stacks properly
- Fixed equipping items not accounting for freed grid space in full inventories
- Fixed emptying inventory containers causing an infinite loop
- Fixed incorrect grid inventory placement calculations
- Fixed crafted items sharing data across multiple quantities
Weather & Audio
- Fixed constant rain bug
- Fixed weather not updating correctly
- Fixed numerous ambient and weather audio looping issues
AI & Visuals
- Fixed several zombie model stretching bugs
- Fixed lots of visual issues with zombie models
- Fixed numerous AI issues with snapping onto objects and getting stuck
Settings
- Fixed a bug causing resolution to change when saving other settings