Hey everyone!
We have released Zero Caliber’s latest update recently - its reception was incredible!
We received so many compliments and positive feedback, it’s unreal. Thank you!
As you might be aware, the whole team has been working remotely for the past few months due to the COVID-19 situation - unfortunately this made developing and testing a bit more complicated than expected.
This doesn’t mean we’re slowing down though, quite the contrary! We’re working harder than ever to bring you the next update as soon as possible.
Since we’re really good at meeting our deadlines (said no one ever), we’d rather not promise any exact dates just yet. One thing is for sure: you don’t have to wait another 4 months for the next update. :)
Now let’s see what we have up our sleeves!
NEW MAP - ‘NIGHT SHIFT’
We know you’re eagerly waiting for new content. Now that we’re a bit more comfortable with the game’s performance and graphics, we can focus on new missions.
In the next one, the Tlalokii are back at it once again - they’re going to get you into a rocky situation!
The bad guys are hiding somewhere in the Rocky Mountains - you’ll be tasked to infiltrate their camp and teach them some good manners.
Destroyable covers are making a debut as well!
NEW HANDS
Balloon hands. There, we said it.
The current hand model is a bit larger than optimal, so we are going to swap it to a better-looking, smaller one. Actually we’ve been wanting to change it for a long time now, hopefully we can get it done in time for the next update.
We’re going to show the new model in the next devblog, so stay tuned!
WEAPON SCALE
With smaller hands come smaller weapons.
As you may have noticed, our weapon models are upscaled compared to their real life counterparts - a lot of you wanted us to downscale them. It is now happening!
Back when we released Zero Caliber, the two most dominant VR headsets were the HTC VIVE and the Oculus Rift CV1. Their resolution was great at the time but still, without upscaling, all the little details on the weapons and attachments would’ve been lost.
Now that screen resolutions are getting better and better, there is no need for this (VIVE and Rift CV1 owners don’t have to worry, all the little details will remain the same!).
Not to mention that the new hand model would be too tiny to hold the big boys.
OPTIMIZATION
Even though we’re more comfortable with the game’s performance now, we’ll keep optimizing it more and more.
Shadows are next on our list, currently having the biggest impact on performance.
AI
We’ll improve the flanking maneuvers used by the enemy AI.
They can, and do flank right now as well, but their movement can be choppy at times - in the next update they’ll be able to flank and use covers much more effectively… in theory.
We have to manually implement this improvement to each combat situation, which takes a lot of time. We’ll see how this goes.
PvP | DEDICATED SERVERS
YES!
Just to reassure you that PvP does exist, here are a few clips stitched together from our latest test session:
Testing the PvP game mode before it’s widely available for everyone will be crucial - this is why we’re going to have a Private Beta first.
We’re still actively discussing the ‘when’s and ‘how’s internally, but one thing is for sure: participants will be selected via our Discord server, so if you don’t want to miss it come join us there! ;)
Dedicated servers are a must for a smooth PvP experience - we’re working on them as well. Hopefully Murphy will be on our side this time and everything will go smooth as butter.
We plan to have 3 maps ready for the Private Beta: 2 PvP, and 1 PvPvE map.
This isn't everything we're working on, but a sizable chunk of it. Fixes and improvements all-around are always part of every update.
We’re going to keep you in the loop, so keep an eye out for our future Steam devblogs!
As always, thank you for your continuous support and feedback!
-XREAL Games Team-