Hi scavs! Please see the unlisted link below for Q&A 9 with Miles and Jeff. Thank you for being here!
https://youtu.be/wLku9aiZSAo
1. How does Lordoss manage to smoke 15 packs in 10 seconds?
M: That’s the joy of cybernetics, right? You need way more nicotine just to get remotely close to a buzz. One cigarette’s not gonna cut it. He pretty much has to mainline that stuff.
J: I’ve got nothing else to add except, man, whoever drew these pictures makes me smile. It’s brilliant—I love it.
2. When might we get a better look at the lore of the game? Are more factions coming?
M: Definitely likely to see more factions as time goes on. One thing we want to explore is the subsets within these factions. A lot of the detachments you're seeing now are kind of the fringe groups, but we’ll be introducing more frontline heavy hitters, especially for Euruska and Eurasia. They’ve got some very scary assault units incoming for sure.
We’re also planning to push on breakaway factions, like pirate groups that’ve carved out little sections in different city sections and are exploring the conflict in their own way. Long story short—there’s going to be a lot more variety in the fight, and we’re really excited to push that forward.
J: Every time we add—or more accurately, reveal—a faction, we want it to be meaningful. It’s not just, “Hey, here’s the green faction.” There’s more thought behind it, and that’s part of the process. Plus, we’re adding more dialogue opportunities in the hub, which we’re really excited about. So, stay frosty!
3. How do you plan on addressing quest issues like Red Baron Banner drops? Any plans for long-term progression like armor or customizability for scavs?
M: Thanks for the kind words! Jeff G can dig into this one deeper, but long story short, we’re definitely looking at expanding core systems and adding new progression vectors, some of which will tie into the new meta we’ll unveil soon. It’s going to be an exciting year—we’re super pumped. The challenge has been making sure our core systems are super crispy before layering on more sci-fi weaponry, hub upgrades, and other components. That’s our main focus right now.
J: You covered the meta stuff well. For quest drop rates and rewards, it’s either bugs or tuning. Some rarity is intentional, and while we’ll adjust things, not every quest will be accessible in a single run, even if you bring enough ammo or complete all the objectives. If it’s bugged and won’t drop at all, that’s on us and we’ll fix it. But if it’s like a 1-in-100 chance, that’s often by design to encourage teamwork or repeat runs.
If you're frustrated, I recommend keeping one of your three quests as something hard or rare, and balancing it with two easier ones to keep things fun.
4. How will giants like Big Green work? Will they be static props or interactive NPCs?
M: Great question! Right now, we’re experimenting with mini-game opportunities and exploring how players can interact with larger units. Realistically, it’ll likely involve module destruction—targeting specific weak points on these giants. Some factions will also have heavy, specialized weaponry designed to take them down, and players can interfere with those tactics to shift the battle.
We don’t want these giants to just be stages where you fight inside them, and they collapse after. That’s not our style. But it’s also not at the top of our priority list—we want to make sure if we do it, it’s done right and not just window dressing.
J: On one extreme, we could make them boring hit-point sponges (no thanks), or we could create super bespoke levels that are expensive and only fun once. We’re aiming for a middle ground that’s engaging and replayable without being tedious.
5. Is water going to be a usable resource beyond hoarding?
M: You nailed it—stay tuned. This is definitely going to play a big role in the upcoming meta updates. That’s probably already too much of a spoiler, but we’re working on a highly requested community feature and some adjustments related to it. We’re also looking at ways for you to share it with your homies.
We’re pretty happy with some of the latest developments, and the idea did come from the community, which is awesome. I’ll leave the details to your imagination—Nightmare knows what I’m talking about.
6. What is Valentine’s Day like in the Forever Winter universe?
M: It’d be more like trophy sharing—something along the lines of, “Here’s a severed head I’ve had in a freezer for a while, happy birthday,” or, “I know these guys have been giving you grief, so here’s a necklace made out of human ears.” That’s definitely more in the Forever Winter spirit—that’s just how they roll.
J: You’re making me want to add a Dear John wall.
7. When are we getting new weapons and the missing Euruska vendor?
M: Thanks so much for the kind words! Funny enough, we actually have a ton of new guns modeled already. The challenge is making sure their animation sets are hooked up correctly for every character variation—like Batman’s got those long arms, while Scav Girl is smaller. That ties into the overhauls we’re doing on the weapon system in general.
It’s kind of a Jurassic Park “hold on to your butts” moment—once we flip the switch, it’s new territory. But I think you’ll dig the new stuff for sure. We even deferred releasing some firearms because we’re focusing on building a stronger foundation first. But yeah, there are all kinds of goodies in the pipeline!
8. Shoulder swap? We just need it, please!
M: It's on the list, and ideally, it's planned for this month. But hey, ask the coders!
9. How "done" is AI behavior? Can we get an AI fidelity setting for high-end PCs?
J: Yeah, that's something we've been discussing—exposing AI performance as a user option. You're right, when you see AI far off moving like an old A-ha video, it’s noticeable. We could scale that and let users adjust it if their machine can handle it. I need to check with the engineers, but I’m all for letting people max it out if they want.
M: Right now, it uses a tick throttle system to scale AI behavior. Originally, it was a full simulation, where the entire AI army was always active, and it worked amazingly on top-tier machines. I wish we could stick with that, but it’s not feasible. Still, we’re exploring options to let high-end hardware handle more.
As for how done the AI is? Not even close. Jeff G is deep into tuning the awareness system to make AI more responsive, and player feedback should be a lot clearer. There are heavy updates coming, especially for melee units. Fiona’s created some awesome new animations for these, and I’m excited for people to see them.
While the AI is functional now, I feel like game standards have dropped compared to older titles, and we want to push ours further—better CQB, flanking, grenades, and all that fun stuff. But first, we’re focused on nailing the fundamentals. AI design will never really be "done," but we’ll keep scaling things like decision frequency and available choices, especially as the game improves.
10. Could we expect comics or novels like Warhammer 40k in the future?
M: Yes, absolutely. Timeline on that? Not sure. We’re definitely looking at other ways to expand the lore for sure. Been chatting with Rael about some of that. Not sure if you’ve ever read Jeremiah, but it’s sick—he did some of the art for that. We're definitely excited about the future.
11. Will Hunter Killers (HKs) be expanded upon?
M: 150% yes. We’re definitely looking at ways to expand that, with context based on player actions. Certain things you do that negatively affect factions will trigger different results. For example, if an objective falls for one faction, they might send in a Kill Team to handle it—whether you're involved or not—and you could get caught in the middle. Definitely stuff in the works.
12. Will you add more stealth mechanics like going prone, distractions, or camouflage?
M: Yeah, we’ve got early prototypes of these tools, some more polished than others. The big thing for us is balancing. Before adding more variables, we wanted to make sure enemy awareness was consistent and functional—like having clear cause and effect in encounters. Throwing a rock to distract enemies is cute, but it’s not enough on its own. If we dig deeper into stealth, it needs to tie into other systems like character skills, the rig system, and faction relationships.
Short answer: more stealth tools are coming, but it’s not a top priority right now. We're focused on improving feedback and ensuring the core systems are solid. Internally, that's already made a big difference.
J:Also, we’ve got different stealth and awareness factors at play. It’s not Thief or Splinter Cell level stealth, but, for example, Gunhead—with a literal gun for a head—draws more aggro even when he’s not firing. Those kinds of deltas are things we want to explore. But first, the core needs to be in a good spot, and we’re getting there.
13. What do you want Forever Winter to feel like? What's your vision for the game?
M: Thank you for the kind words! That’s probably like a 45-minute answer, but I’ll give you the short version. There are tons of games that really lean into the power fantasy, but for us, it’s about something different. We’re pulling from late 80s, early 90s sci-fi—stuff like Hardware, Terminator, all that heavy, gritty science fiction where survivability was basically zero. You’re like a rat in a maze, and if you live to see the next day, that’s a blessing.
We want players to feel like scavs, really struggling to survive. Even with powerful weapons, we’re adding things like more realistic reload mechanics. You’ll have to thumb shells in, snap assemblies down—stuff that slows you down and forces tactical decisions. It’s similar to survival horror games like Resident Evil, where using a rocket launcher is great, but it leaves you super vulnerable while reloading. That risk-reward tension is something we’re leaning into.
We’re not afraid to rework systems to push that feeling even further. Once you’re fully geared, we’re looking at ways to reintroduce challenges and mistakes, keeping that tension alive. At the heart of it, the world is harsh—it doesn’t care if you live or die. But that’s what makes the victories memorable. It’s about those moments you’ll share with your friends in the wasteland, like, “Yeah, the deck was stacked against us, but we pulled through.”
J: The two big things I always say are: “misery loves company” and “choices have consequences.” We’re drawing from all sorts of dystopian influences—Children of Men, Logan’s Run, even weird old sci-fi like Screamers. It’s that mix of hopelessness and resilience, where the world’s falling apart, but you can’t look away. That’s the feeling we want to capture in Forever Winter.
14. Would you consider a "Voice of the Wasteland" radio host for in-game updates and lore?
M: I love that idea. It’s like Good Morning, Vietnam vibes, or Radec in Killzone 2 with those wild rants. A post-apocalyptic DJ would be super cool. I’ll talk to Jason about it since he’s into that too. It’s definitely something we’ve discussed—it’s just about getting it right.
J: First thing that came to mind was the DJ from The Warriors, which they even nodded to in the last John Wick movie.
M: Spec Ops did it fantastic too. So yeah, definitely!
15. Will we see a nighttime map for Frozen Swamp?
M: The short answer to that is yes. One of our homies already did the lighting pass for that, and Ludo already set up a lot of the encounters.
16. Will more characters have unique abilities like Gunhead?
J: 100% yes. We’ve talked in past chats about the skill tree and what we want that to become, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. All that stuff is definitely coming.
Gunhead’s system is similar to the side guns on the exos, just under your control. We always look for reusability so new code and content get used in interesting ways. But yeah, I really want every character to stand out with unique abilities or interactions—not just passive buffs.
M: Glad you’re enjoying Gunhead! Jeff’s old doc on him is like 30 pages long—it’s what he calls a Rolls Royce. I’m half-tempted to black out all the crazy stuff we wanted to include at some point. But yeah, short answer: we’re definitely expanding on unique character abilities. It’s going to be cool.
17. Anything else for the community?
M: Yeah, no, if anything, sorry if it felt like radio silence—that just means the team’s been grinding. But it’s only been a couple of weeks since our last drop, and we are responding heavily to a lot of feedback, focusing on improving a lot of core components.
This latest push is more quality-of-life focused. Mad shared a lot of details in the newsletter, but in case you missed it: foundational stuff got tightened up, looting saw major improvements, UI got a big upgrade, and enemy AI awareness was heavily adjusted. Spawning on top of people—yeah, that annoys me too—Ludo’s done a great job cleaning that up, but he’s just one guy.
So if you spot something, say something. There’s a new Discord channel for that. For example, when I’m in Ash running through the shanty stacks, I’d hit a squad of Eurasian mid-tier guys, and sometimes the popping was super tedious, especially when they’d spawn right next to you. A lot of that’s been cleaned up now, but the more data we get from you all, the better we can make it. So rock and roll.