Hey everyone,
It's been a while since we posted any updates about Zero Caliber... it's not because we have nothing to say, but because we're extremely busy behind the scenes.
As you might be aware, we've conducted a successful Closed PvP Beta test in December/January. We gathered tons of community feedback and suggestions, so we could start analyzing all the data - and that's when we realized that something is off.
After deepdiving into the game's code to fix a few bugs here and there we came to the realization that it became unnecessarily complicated over the years, thus making our development workflow and the user experience less than optimal. That needs to change.
We can all agree that the PvP game mode and, well, the single player/co-op campaign can not leave Early Access without being as polished as possible, even if it's packed with content.
Since we don't plan to keep the game in Early Access forever, we have to get to the bottom of it all - and it looks like now's the time to do it before things get even more complicated under the hood.
WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?
It means that we're now back at the drawing table, rethinking core game mechanics, optimizing the hell out of code, weapon handling, holsters, body IK, maps, combat design, enemy types, Co-op and so on.
Even though this may sound dramatic, the game won't change, it will stay as it is - except it will get better!
By "better" I mean much much better!
Working on these QoL improvements gave us room to experiment with:
- melee! - no knives though, but smacking Tlalokiis with your gun is equally satisfying
- diverse enemy types - rookie pistol users, shotgunners
- boss fights
- chest holster
- removing grenade pins with mouth
- more interactive elements...
... just to name few.
That doesn't mean any of those will 100% appear in the game, but there IS a strong possibility.
We also have 2 story maps in the works, but before we could even start thinking of finalizing them (or any other content for that matter), we have to finish all the boring QoL stuff mentioned above - which brings us to the next point:
THE DOWNSIDE OF IT ALL
Working on optimization isn't showy. We can't really show progress until it is done. We can't really release an update until it is done.
What we can do however is keeping y'all in the loop by posting regular devblogs - I'm currently planning to post an update here every 2-3 weeks with progress photos/videos/gifs and even more rambling.
Keep an eye on those to get a glimpse of where the game is heading!
I know this isn't much, but trust me - the outcome will be worth it! :)
One of the upcoming devblogs will contain a Q&A video - I'll soon let y'all know when and where you can post your questions.
Until then... have fun, and stay safe!
-Dan & the XREAL Games Team-