Hi everyone! V-Day in Europe is coming, and we will have a holiday event to commemorate! Naturally, that’s not everything to come to the game soon, so read through the preview to find out what you can expect to see in Survarium Update 0.59!
V-Day Event
Gameplay wise the event will be similar to the New Year’s Faction Challenge. People supporting each of the in-game factions will receive unique rewards, including weapons and helmets with faction-specific WWII themed camouflages. The winning faction will also receive an additional reward in the next big Survarium update.
We thoroughly read your critique and suggestions regarding the New Year event and faction challenge and made corresponding changes. The fight between factions will last longer (right now we are thinking about two 10 hour-long faction battles per day) so it’s easier for you to find a time to participate in the event. Additionally, reputation requirements for the rewards will become lower – hopefully, this way more players will get the weapons they desire. However, you shouldn't assume that receiving all rewards in all four factions is going to be a walk in the park.
Finally, for the first victory in any PvP mode during the event you will receive a forage cap increasing the amount of reputation earned. One of the event rewards will be Winchester 1894 with a unique WWII camouflage. And yes, we are returning the weapon to the game!
The Return of Winchester 1894
Survarium veterans must remember a classic American XIX century rifle which was removed from the game due to technical issues. Winchester 1894, at last, makes a comeback receiving a few new unique modules in the process.
Now you can install special bullet loops (on the buttstock), silencer "Maxim" and charging handle pad. Improved version of Winchester 1894 with these modules is pictured on the screenshot below. Additionally, it's possible to install some other existing modules on the rifle.
SSR and New Weather on Vostok Radar Station
We continue to improve the new Survarium renderer and adding a new option: SSR – screen space reflections. When turned on, SSR makes all metallic and wet surfaces to reflect objects that are in camera view. This option reduced overall game performance, so it's not recommended for the low end PCs. But if you can afford to turn it on, SSR greatly increases the effect of image "depth" due to the amount of added reflections, especially on rainy versions of the locations.
In the preview Survarium Update 0.58 we introduced CNPP tower with rain, and now we want to further diversify visual part of the game by introducing a foggy/damp version of Vostok Radar Station. The changes affect only "Slaughter" modification of the map for now. We'd like to see your reaction and decide whether we should rework other locations or spend our effort elsewhere.
Survival Skill Tree
The reaction of Survarium's community to the Technical skill tree introduced in the update 0.57 has been generally positive, and we wanted to introduce the fifth skill tree for a long time, so here we go!
As with the technical skills, our aim was to design more interesting abilities than boring passive bonuses to character's stats. We didn't manage to do this with all the new abilities, but we hope the new skill tree has enough interesting mechanics allowing you make your character really unique. With five skill trees in the game you should have more than enough abilities to experiment with the builds and find the one best suited to your play style.
Please note that we plan to introduce the new skill tree in the version 0.59b which is to come after the V-Day event.
You will find a few examples of the new skills below.
Unbroken. Ability to crawl with broken legs. Speed is increased as you level up the ability (but the speed is still much lower than when walking).
Medic. Heal allies by throwing out your first aid kits and bandages. Upon picking them up an ally restores health.
Second Wind. When on low health (below 10) movement speed is increased. Leveling up the skill increases speed bonus.
Supply Pocket. You can take supplies instead of the second weapon.
Brothers in Arms. Reduced damage from allies. Leveling up the skill reduces the damage further (but does not make you immune to friendly fire).
Updated Melee Attack and Other Improvements
We continue to work on the game engine, and one of the most noticeable improvements is a new melee attack. Now you won't have to aim to kill an enemy in a melee, and when landing a blow, your character will slightly turn so the enemy is closer to the center of the screen, and the blow itself looks more natural.
These are only a part of upcoming changes and improvements. Expect to see a full list when Survarium Update 0.59 goes live. You will be able to play the new version of the game really soon, about the time for V-Day in Europe anniversary!