Hello, GZW Community,
Our latest Dev Stream VOD is live, featuring an exclusive preview of Patch 0.3.5.0 with our CEO Mara, Tech Lead Johanny, and QA Lead Jacek.
This update brings a variety of exciting improvements, including major performance gains on low to mid-spec machines, thanks in part to the upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.5. You will also see reworked AI aiming and vulnerability, making PvE encounters feel more natural and immersive, along with many other enhancements.
🎥 Watch the full deep dive now and tell us what you are most excited about:
Stream Summary:
Performance & Stability
Gray Zone Warfare has been updated to Unreal Engine 5.5, unlocking a huge leap in performance across all systems. Improvements include:
Significantly better CPU utilization, especially on mid- and low-end rigs
2 GB RAM and 400 MB VRAM savings
Noticeably reduced hitching and stuttering
AMD FSR 4 support
Smoother gameplay and improved visuals overall
AI Aiming Rework
Enemy AI has been completely reworked to react, aim, and shoot like real combatants. AI accuracy now depends on multiple factors like distance from target and effective range, weapon type, AI skill, their suppression, health, and even weather conditions such as fog or rain. AI can now lose or switch target lock dynamically when reloading, getting hit, or losing line of sight. This change should lead to more immersive and less frustrating combat.
Health System Rework
The health system has been reworked to provide a better experience when dropping enemies. The increased projectile penetration of bones and skulls, in combination with increased blood loss upon hit, will lead to a less spongy feeling when engaging AI enemies.
Audio Improvements
We’ve refined weapon sounds for clearer directionality. Gunshots should sound appropriate to their distance. Sonic cracks now behave properly based on projectile type and distance, so gunfights finally sound the way they should according to real-life physics.
Weapon Recoil Overhaul
Shooting in Gray Zone Warfare just got a major realism boost. Recoil is now driven by real physics and energy computations, as well as the position of the lower receiver, gas factor, barrel length, and attachments like muzzle brakes or suppressors. Your stance and movement now directly affect recoil. Crouching or going prone helps control your weapon, while running and firing on the move will challenge your aim.
Reworked First-Person-View Animations
We have optimized the first-person animations in various ways. First, we minimized excessive character movement and animation blending. The result should be much smoother movement, especially in CQB. Secondly, we have redone the weapon sway to better reflect the character’s movement while aiming a weapon.
New Death Cam
Downed characters will now subtly turn towards the origin of the kill shot.
New Server Region – Mainland China
We have added a new server to provide a better experience to our Chinese players.
Hundreds of Other Fixes and Improvements
From shader caching hitches and night lighting issues to NVG borders, audio cutouts, and task hand-in bugs. Overall, there are over almost 600 tasks resolved in patch 0.3.5.0.
We appreciate everyone who joined the live stream and all of you who keep supporting Gray Zone Warfare with your testing, feedback, and bug reporting. Your contributions are an essential part of the game’s ongoing development.
Every Move Matters,
MADFINGER Games