Hunter Base Attacks!
Players are no longer invulnerable to AI threat by hiding in their bases. Once neighboring Hunter squads have partially established their bases, they will begin launching periodic strikes on player bases, in an effort to push them off the land by force.
The frequency and ferocity of these attacks will differ across easy/normal/hardcore modes. Base repairs and adequate defenses will become much more important to maintain base-security.
New AI combat mechanics:
Hunters are now trained to use grenades (and their squad-mates will react when thrown).
They can also now fire through windows, doorways, balconies, etc. Players will need to utilize cover as best as possible when in combat. They are also now better able to judge arrow-drop when using the bow at range.
Their attack patterns have also been changed, so should present more of a challenge on an initial encounter (rather than walking in a straight line towards the player before shots are fired).
Players that have become used to building hunting outposts to engage Hunters should be prepared for a difficult fight if using the same tactic.
Hunter Revenge System:
Players should think twice before engaging a hunter near their home base. Killing a hunter by their base will not be forgotten. Once regrouped, they will launch an assault on the killer’s home base the following day.
Hunters will still attack regardless, but at a much lower frequency, so make sure you’re prepared if you antagonize them. This should offer trigger-happy players more opportunity for combat, while peaceful players longer periods of rest.
New AI Navigation System:
I’ve implemented an entirely new navigation system for the AI (Hunters and animals). This was required to allow the Hunter to traverse the entire map to hunt down players. However the result of this change should impact all player-AI engagements.
Animal starting levels across difficulty modes:
Up until now, animals would have the same starting levels across all difficulties (between 1->4). This led to level 4 bears mauling players trying to start-out in easy mode. This has been balanced out so that higher difficulty modes result in higher animal levels. This will mean that easy should be easier, while hardcore will be more punishing.
Other notable changes:
- Added audio feedback when killing animals and Hunters (as well as a specific sound to indicate when the last Hunter in a squad has been killed).
- Reduced bow damage against buildables (doors, etc).
- Seeds can now be extracted from tomatoes.
- Broken legs and bleeding now save during save-games.
- Added damage skins for railings.
- Tweaked many of the footstep and weapons sounds to attenuate over distance.
- Hud notices to indicate when a player’s base is under attack.
This update has been much larger than usual (in terms of new code), so there is a greater chance of bugs and oddities that may occur (especially with Hunter squads hiking across the world). I’ll be keeping a close eye on the forums and really appreciate any reports and feedback from players testing the build. I may need to push out some hotfixes to address any nagging issues.
I’ve really appreciated the patience from the community while I worked on this one (I know it’s been longer than usual). I’m excited for how these new changes will start to evolve the game. The player feedback, criticism and discussion-threads have been incredibly useful, and I try to read it all.
Thanks for all the support! See you on the forums.