Spring cheer!
In our region, spring has already officially taken office, replacing the harsh and cold winter. The winter season was frankly stingy on updates and there were reasons for that. But! For the spring season we have really grandiose plans and the current version 0.9 is just the beginning!
На пути к версии 1.0
It's been almost 1.5 years since The Danger Zone was released in STEAM Early Access. FOUR (sorry, I couldn't resist) major updates, one global and a dozen smaller patches have somehow brought us closer to a new, important mark in the project's history - release. This version is a direct demonstration of our intentions to close some of the content gestalt and get as close to the release mark as possible. Very soon, with the release of the global spring update, The Danger Zone will leave Steam Early Access early.
Note at once, the list may be changed or different from the final version. The release version will have the following content:
- More cohesive narrative and justification for the quest component of the game. Narrators and plot summarizing directed locations.
- City locations and a third final (required for the quest) boss.
- Completed world map. The current iteration is close to the final version, but it's still not large enough.
- Achievements. Players have long asked for an extra challenge and the first iteration of Achievements will provide it in full. Along with the traditional, simple achievements, we plan to add Achievements that will require effort or even a change in the usual gameplay approach.
- New content based on player feedback and needs.
We hasten to note at once: the release of 1.0 does not in any way puts an end to the support of the video game. There is a version 2.0 and 5.0, there would be interest from the players and the general online. The price of the game will be adjusted in some regions under a more current rate.
Version 0.9 is already here!
The big update is already available for installation. Let's briefly, as far as possible, review the main innovations.
New location “Dark Forest”
A large number of plants in one frame has always hurt FPS. The new location is not only a picturesque and atmospheric addition to the map set, but also a challenge for me as a developer: to provide players with a beautiful, distinctive location with a reasonable FPS value. The location came out huge in its size and points of interest. At the moment, it's a standard rail location, but the first expansion will fix that.
Expansion of “Zalesovye” location
For a village settlement, the location was severely lacking in structures that could be explored. In the expansion, in addition to the picturesque surroundings, we added new explorable structures and introduced a new game mechanic: rooms. We will tell you about the new mechanics a little bit below. It is now the biggest and at the same time the most productive location.
Expansion of the “Destroyed Column” location
The final location was sparse on interesting, in terms of loot zones. This expansion should remedy the situation. A small hint: a new quest is directly related to the new point of interest,
Additions to the arsenal
ARM4 assault rifle with 5.56 caliber.
Western automatic modernized rifle. Used by peacekeeping contingent units.
AC80 with 9x39 caliber
Automatic rifle designed for special purpose units.
More than 10 modules for new weapons.
Artificial Intelligence v: 1.5
- AI tries to find a more favorable position during combat.
- AI began to see a little better in the dense vegetation.
- In some situations, the AI is able to give up an unfavorable position and retreat to a more favorable one.
- In some situations the AI is able to ambush you.
- AI interacts more intelligently with the vegetation in the location and arena.
- Adjusted firing accuracy depending on AI skill level.
- Depending on the level of training and skills, AI interacts with weapons more effectively: it pre-selects the most appropriate weapon and switches the firing mode depending on the current situation.
- The appearance (spavn) of an AI is now tied to its personal time cycle.
Principle of direct visual contact
Previously, the player got too much advantage: seeing opponents in blind spots. From now on, the area that is not in the main character's view is blurred and slightly darkened, and opponents disappear from view. This change should level up the AI's visibility with the player and make battles more hardcore and tactical.
New mechanics related to locations - Rooms
Gameplay on many locations was too “rail” we decided to diversify it with a familiar game solution. Exploring the location, you will meet on your way: passages to rooms and basements. It's up to you to explore or skip a branch of the location.
Персонаж
- Radiation sickness Instead of instant death, after accumulating 600 units of radiation, the player's condition instantly deteriorates. Every three seconds he loses 1-2 units of health of each vital organ.
- Low HP At low health, the protagonist is subject to strong debuffs to speed and mobility.
- Low head HP When the minimum level is reached, the camera starts spontaneous movements and the screen darkens periodically.
- New damage formula If you take damage to a limb that lacks health, the damage is transferred to the nearest limb.
Shelter
We are happy with the current version of the shelter. But we still had one outstanding item. As part of the thematic update, we didn't have time to realize the final section. It so happened that we managed to finally close the list only now.
New section in the shelter - Private room
The protagonist and his beautiful companion needed a small and cozy corner where they could pass the time and spend the night. Despite the overall minimalistic size, the new section is not lacking in functionality and contains important buildings, structures and furniture.
Other shelter changes:
- Most of the structures related to the warehouse have received construction phases (not originally built from the start of the game).
- New buildings and structures.
Time skip
An option that has been requested for a long time, but required serious technical improvements to the core game. We present the first iteration of this mechanic. In short: to “rewind” time, you need to activate a special menu with a choice of day/day phases. After selecting the desired phase, the character falls asleep and wakes up in the previously selected phase. You can activate the time skipping menu through the “Sleeping Place” (a building from a new section in the shelter) or through events on the world map.
Warehouse
- The original size of the storage in the shelter was quite large, it contained too many items. We adjusted the size of all storages and closed some for the need to build certain structures.
- Now only a certain type of items can be placed in some storages (shelves/drawers).
- Added color, text and sound indicators for vaults.
World map
- New explored area.
- The information about an unexplored location in the interaction menu is now hidden. To get a brief summary of the location, it must be explored in normal game mode.
- The unexplored location marker icon is now hidden.
Extraction
- Added crate of western weapons.
- Added caches. Buried or camouflaged zinc boxes.
- Changed contents of some crates.
- New items.
Dynamic optimization
Depending on the conditions the player is in, the system will try to increase FPS by optimizing some minor elements. For example, in forest locations, the range of shadows will be reduced. At the same time, the overall image quality and game resolution will remain unchanged.
Detail Settings
In addition to the amount of vegetation in the frame, the detail setting is now applied to some highly detailed objects.
Sound
- Added new sounds for the warehouse UI.
- New sound system and new sounds for the shelter.
- New sounds for the protagonist.
Changes and gameplay improvements
- Added the sound of the wedge-sharpness.
- It takes different time to open crates or caches. Previously there was a fixed value.
- Switching weapons and gadgets on the global map is instant.
- Opening inventory and pouch in the shelter is instant.
- Effect markers no longer overlap in the character menu.
Balance Changes
- Probability of bosses appearing: 100% > 20% + 2% * Survival Day.
- Along with general AI improvements, bosses also received additional boosts, unique features and behaviors.
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where after changing vsync, other changes in game options were not applied.
- Fixed an issue where a character would lose an item (item 0).
- Fixed a problem with incorrect ground hitbox calculation. This problem did not interfere with registration by other hitboxes, but created a heavy load on ballistics miscalculation.
- Fixed a problem with gun animation that occurred when trying to aim while moving.
- Other less significant fixes.
That's all for this week. Thank you for your attention to the update. Check out the latest news on the Steam news page or visit discussions. Chat with other players on the official server TDZ in Discord.