Chernobylite Complete Edition News

[h3]Hello stalkers![/h3]
We know it’s 2020 AND Friday the 13th. But nonetheless, we’ve got something interesting for you! And let’s just agree that the last few weeks have been extremely exciting, both for us and (we hope) for you. Two weeks ago, we released the Mega Patch with loads of new content and fixes. By the way, thank you for being on our streams & streaming yourselves after the release of “The Woman in the Red Dress”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUwMsc7zhpM

In addition, not so long ago we’ve announced that Chernobylite will appear on current and next-gen consoles! That’s a huge step for us, but we're not slowing down! Here's what we have prepared for you this time.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2937997018931496466
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2935744583752568383
[h3]Another version of the interface[/h3]
If you follow our reports and/or played after the recent Mega Patch, you’ve probably seen the changes we’ve made in User Interface (UI). Right now it’s more readable, especially after we’ve redesigned how it looks, not only how it works.



We know that having a limited space in a backpack and trying to manage space in your base can be a challenge. Learning additional skills on how to properly pack your gear can be helpful, but you’ll also need the necessary skill points to train with your comrades.

That’s why we are thinking about how to allow you to manage your equipment better. On the screenshot below you can see an important element that you asked for - the possibility to split the stacks.


[h3]A new, better indicator[/h3]
Not much, but also a very important change that you asked for. We are working on a new visibility indicator (or more specifically, “threat meter”). If you’ve played after recent changes, you may recognize the question & exclamation marks that tell you the enemy is either alarmed (yellow question mark sign) or aware of your presence (red exclamation mark sign).

But you have also suggested that the current indicator (this yellow / red curved line above the enemy’s head) can be improved. After the changes, it will be adapted to your needs more, the effects of which can be seen in the gif below. You can see that it looks more dynamic and draws attention even better.


[h3]Mud![/h3]
Another thing we are very proud of. We are constantly improving the environment's appearance and trying to create it in the most realistic way possible. All this to make the game fun to play, but also to make it pleasing to the eye. You can find an example of our work on the screenshots below. They clearly show how the light behaves when it hits an uneven surface such as mud on the ground.



Of course, please remember that these are only work-in-progress screenshots and the final effects can be very different!
[h3]New faces[/h3]
If you haven’t seen the recent Reports, we wanted to tell you a bit about our models. We have recently taken some pictures for the avatars of the various characters you will meet in the game (you may already see them in the game).



In those screenshots below you can see Wojtek, our Creative Director, who lent his face, which we scanned in the studio using our technology. 3D scans have been lightly processed and then converted into in-game models (as we made more than just one). We have done similar sessions at the Farm before but we thought it’s something you can be interested in!



By the way, here’re photos from our 3D scanning space, where all the magic happens. These’re old photos, taken over a year ago, but we still use the same technology (though improved, of course). Thanks to it, we were able to accurately photograph the Zona, and then reproduce the appearance of the area with the accuracy of individual blades of grass. You can already admire the final effects in Chernobylite.


[h3]That’s all for today[/h3]
Take care, stalkers!

Usually we try to name people who helped us find and solve given problems. This time, however, you were flooding us with various bugs - on steam, on discord, even in private messages. It would be really hard to name all of you, so we'd like to thank the whole community instead. You make the game better! Now let's move on to fixes:

General:

• Fixed a bug that caused a modified weapon to disappear from the quickuse menu
  
• Fixed a bug where weapons found sometimes had upgrades that should not be available yet. You will get a thermal sight and an automatic shotgun system, but not yet ;)
  
• Attachments found with new weapons are now properly unlocked for the entire archetype. So you can easily move the sight from the newly found shotgun to the one we use.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused characters on the timeline to appear poorer in "ultra" settings than in "medium"
  
• One of the rifles was broken and did not appear correctly in inventory. After the number of reports I have the impression that everyone found it ;) We fixed it.
  
• Sometimes a door closed with a lockpick had ... A second door locked with a lockpick. We fixed it.
  
• On some computers there could be a problem with the sharpeing that greatly degraded the graphics quality. We have fixed it, or at least limited it.
  
• Problems with physical materials meant that soldiers were sometimes able to shoot through tires or sandbags. We fixed it.
  
• Fixed a rare bug where soldiers would start firing at the player instead of starting a conversation with them.
  
• Fixed a bug where soldiers killed with silenced weapons would not interrupt their custom animations.
  
• Fixed an issue where one of the crystals on Fractal Timeline remained red and blocked the passage.
  

Item management:

• Fixed issue with item duplication if half stack was once swapped with full stack and player tabbed out of inventory.
  
• Fixed issue with item disappearing if its grabbed and player tabbed out of inventory when there is no more room for it (it should drop on the ground now).
  
• Fixed issue with disappearing upgrades from weapons when its swapped with different item.
  
• Fixed issue with disappearing upgrades if item was grabbed but player tabbed out of inventory.
  
• When you held a weapon in your hand and then threw it out of the inventory or disassembled it, it still remained in the hand. We fixed it.
  
• 
  

Base:

• Fixed a rare softblock that was triggered by trying to harvest vegetables
  
• Fixed a bug that allows you to get infinite resources by interrupting the Recycler work
  
• Fixed a rare bug that blocked progression when you accidentally trigger the build system while sleeping.
  

[h3]Hello stalkers![/h3]
So, we’ve got an intense week behind us, right? New Mega Patch, which introduced many new features, tweaks & improvements, but also something REALLY BIG! We mean consoles. Finally, we were able to officially announce that Chernobylite will appear on the current generation and the next-gen!

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2935744583752568383
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2935744583749181154

So, what has been going with our work lately?


[h3]Working with a publisher[/h3]
What does it mean for us? And more importantly, what does it mean for you?

We are an indie studio, based in Poland. Our Chernobylite team consists of around 30 people, so though we are not a tiny team, we are still quite a small group. This means we have to plan really carefully our steps during the development process, as many studios in the history of game dev overcalculated their workflow potential and stuck with more than could handle or even ditched the project.

That’s not going to happen with us, as we may be small, but we definitely have the necessary experience. That’s why you sometimes hear from us words like “to be confirmed” or “we’re not sure yet”. If we know we can make something happen (like the co-op mode), we would definitely tell you that. We have to be really careful not to promise you any feature we can’t deliver.

On the other hand, if you have followed our work for a longer period of time, you probably see that we’re adding much more to the game than previously promised. This is the outcome of two things: your feedback, which is extremely important to us, and our own ideas which we found possible to realise during the development process of Chernobylite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUwMsc7zhpM

So for you to know - our goal is not only to deliver what we have promised but to make the game as good as possible, even if that will mean more work. Sometimes it just takes more time!

After this long “intro”, let’s talk about the publisher. All in! Games will help us with several things. The most important one is the console versions of Chernobylite. We will definitely use their help to deliver our game into as many consoles, as we can. Of course, right now we’ve only promised the current generation and the next-gen, but we don’t want to cut off other possibilities. It’s just a matter of “can we do it right?” and “can we do it now?”

As for your questions that will probably arise: no, we don’t have any dates yet (we’re working on a timetable right now), but we do know it will be 2021, as soon as possible. No, we didn’t determine any pricing yet, that kind of detail needs a lot of attention and more time. We also don't specify which consoles will be included and which won't. Never say never, we just don’t have anything to say about other possible versions yet.



Okay, but here we are, talking to you via Steam about console versions of Chernobylite. Seems weird, right? Not exactly, as one of the outcomes of our cooperation with All in! Games will be bigger opportunities regarding the localizations. So most probably, our game will be translated into more languages than we have previously aimed for. This includes Italian, Japanese, Chinese (simplified) and Portuguese (Brazilian). We got a lot of questions about those languages, so we’re happy to meet your expectations!
[h3]Have you tried our new weapons?[/h3]
With the last Mega Patch number 7, called “The Woman in the Red Dress”, the weapon arsenal was extended. Now you will be able to create a new gun and a flare.

This gun is Big Fu… oh, wait, no. That’s Chernobylite Blaster! If you’ll get your hand on that one, you’ll definitely feel the power of science! At least that sort of science which is focused on destruction. Let’s just say Igor is really happy about it and we hope you are too!

Remember the Blaster takes time to charge, the projectile moves kind of slowly, so think carefully when and how will you use this powerful weapon

The second one is a tricky weapon. It’s throwable and can be used to get access to new areas around the Zone. Anti-Chernobylite Burner won’t be easy to craft, but it’ll open multiple new opportunities for your character to both find some goodies during his missions, but also to just have more fun of exploration!

One way is to throw the flare on the obstacle...

And other is to just press “use” button when close to the obstacle

[h3]Thank you for your support![/h3]
We couldn’t stay indifferent to your recent positive reviews. Thanks so much! Of course, we understand & respect all your feedback, even that negative, but we want to assure you that the game will only get better. And we’ve already said multiple times that we are in the final stage of the development process.



But if you enjoyed the game so far, we want to ask for your support - please write the review or update your previous one, especially if you wrote it months ago (the game has really changed for the better since then). We welcome all feedback, all opinions.. Really, every one of them matters to us!

[h3]That’s all for today[/h3]
Take care, stalkers!

General:

• We fixed a camera control issue that was showing up when quitting crafting tables with esc. Thanks @vannPL and @leroxik from Discord for finding this.
  
• The "A few things from an old hideout" task when ordered by Sashko (instead of Tarakan) did not end correctly. We fixed it.
  
• When we failed Olivier's training too many times (takedown or shadow), Olivier started shooting at us. We haven't laughed that much in a long time, but it was absolutely not our intention. We fixed it.
  

Hello, Stalkers!

We are only a few steps away from the most important day for Chernobylite - the premiere. Although the time is short, we are still working intensively to bring you new content and improvements to the game, while hunting bugs and glitches detected (a lot of them by you). All this so that you can have as much fun as possible.

Speaking of which, we have no choice but to present you another Mega Patch, this time number 7. New stuff, new improvements, and new fixes. See for yourself what we have prepared for you this time, but first let us sum up almost a year of development. We wanted to show you how the game was and is changing, especially some of you may remember the older versions. We’re really proud how we’ve managed to make Chernobylite better. But, of course, this definitely doesn’t mean there won’t be any new changes in the nearest future!

Let’s get started, this will be a really big and important Report for us!



[h3]New trailer[/h3]
First of all, take a look at our newest trailer. We consider it a showcase not only for our current players, but also for new ones.

https://youtu.be/xUwMsc7zhpM

You may see the name of the trailer, so… yes! We are officially announcing the console versions. This generation and the next-gen! Hope you’re as happy with this as we are!

And remember that’s the last time before the premiere you can get a discount. It’s now -30% on Steam!

[h3]Over a year of development[/h3]
In the last 12 months, we were working on the game without any stop. So far, we’re bringing every piece of content as we promised you, but also expanding it. Do you remember the map called Lenin Square we were talking about what locations will be in the game?

1: One of the first & oldest test versions of the Pripyat Center map
2: How the Pripyat Central map looks now

3: Again, one of the oldest test versions of Pripyat Center map
4: How the Pripyat Central map looks now

If you do, you probably can’t see it in the game right now. Why? Because we joined it with another one, expanded and gave you an even bigger map than those previous concepts would be together. And now it’s called Pripyat Center.

The screenshots above are examples of how we managed to get to the current version almost from a scratch. And we would lie if we said that we’re not very proud of our work. But we would also lie if we said that we don’t see how we can improve it even more. So yes, if you still see something that can be done better, we are probably working on it for weeks now - it’s just tough sometimes to fix or improve something fast. First we have to make sure that these changes won’t break anything else. And that’s a real challenge!

5: one of the first versions of the iconic Ferris Wheel
6: current looks of the same place - it looks differently, right?

Not only the maps are changing, but the possibilities too! We’ve incredibly increased the number of objects that can be crafted both inside the base (furniture, workstations, other stuff) and during missions.

Some of the ideas were welcomed by you in a better way than we expected (mines, yay!) while some were considered not so interesting (e.g. building covers while on mission). We’ve changed a lot of mechanics during this last year not only because we wanted to improve them, but also because we’re listening to your insight, your reviews, ideas & feedback.



We know that you’re looking forward to having a great crafting system, so we’re happy that we’re delivering more and more content, which impacts the gameplay, not only visuals. For example, creating one of the new stations allows you to make yourself an armour. The more you upgrade your base, the better equipment you can have.



Same goes for personal protection, as there are 3 types or armour right now. Also improving weapons were brought to a higher level, as we added new possible modifications. The looks of the workstations and how they work was changed too!

10: how the pistol calibration tools looked like looong time ago
11: how it looks now

One of the recent examples is crafting in the base, which was expanded again - you’ll be able to create another new stuff for your in-game homes! We had really huge fun finally adding two new statistics to the overall “base experience”, like air quality and radiation security.

12: some of the stuff you can create using gathered chernobylite
13: one of the winning photos from our basebuilding contest

This will have an impact on your gameplay and will require you to plan what to build next more carefully. Most of the stuff you can create is NOT necessary, but will help you to face the dangers of the Zone easier. Like constructing armour, modifying your weapons, taking care of your companions’ needs for them to be more successful during their own missions.

We’ve also “cleared” another level of the base, so if you remember that flooded space… it is no more. We understand that having this much to craft will need more places to do so.



Another example of changes are our NPCs, like Black Stalker. He hasn’t changed THAT much, especially you could’ve not noticed that we worked on really small details. Actually most of the models were improved. Meaning not only visually, but also technically (to use less resources while looking better at the same time).

15: working on new NPC models
16: improving masks models
17: one of the first models of Black Stalker’s mask

Some of the NPCs were introduced recently, some a long time ago. But even those fairly new weren’t left alone. We’re still improving how they look, how they act, how they move or talk. Here’s how Major Kozlov, who you can meet during selected missions, looked as a first-gen model and how he looks now:



Even having in mind that we are working a lot on our own scans of the buildings and objects from the Zone, one of the most challenging improvements are not only models. We’re testing a lot of new mechanics, assembling piece by piece what we’ve designed a long time ago. This includes e.g. AI of the enemies. NAR soldiers, of course, but also monsters and how they interact together.

But these changes don’t limit only to NAR - we know that the fight with Black Stalker was quite “not enough”. So we’ve made it a lot tougher! Also, we tweaked the enemy drops, so after killing one of them, you can expect more diverse and interesting loot.

20: NAR soldiers taking cover after being shot at
21: Chernohosts attack a group of NAR soldiers

During the course of these last 12 months you could experience new enemies. The Chernohost mentioned before is one of them. You probably encountered Chernobylite Monster (this skinny thing with long arms and legs), but they were originally meant to be found in particular places - inside the buildings, narrow corridors. So outside the buildings they kind of kept place for other adversaries: Chernohost and Duster.

22: one of the first full models of Chernohost
23: Duster’s concept art
24: Duster attacking the player

Did we limit ourselves solely to the new monsters? Nope. We also introduced a new NAR enemy, who is especially tough and creates situations which need a totally different approach. Armored Soldier is, well, armoured pretty heavily, but he’s also able to aim at you properly to deal significant damage.

Doesn’t sound too scary? Maybe if he’s alone, but if you’ll meet him when he’s assisted by regular soldiers… that can mean the death of Igor. Imagine trying to fight him while being shot at by three or four other soldiers, hiding behind some covers and surrounding you.



Would it be enough? Not at all. Making models look great is one thing, but then you have to think about animations and how they will perform while being in motion. One of the examples is a ghost you’ve probably encountered at least once if you played Chernobylite more than an hour.

He and his similar looking friends are disappearing if you come too close to them. So we worked on this dissolve effect a lot:



Other old effects are always constantly looked into to see if they need to be improved. A great example is lightning, which also has changed. Not only itself, but also what it’s leaving after the strike (so this greenish flames).



UI is improving too. We know how important it is to have a readable and easily understandable interface. That’s why we have made changes on how it looks and works. A while ago we added a new effect which will show when you use a first aid kit, for example. But then again, some of the mechanics also work differently and that’s connected to how we plan the balance of the gameplay. Like e.g. using a first aid kit now requires a few seconds to have an effect, but on the other hand you can assign it to one of the quick menu buttons.

30: changes in the UI
31: changes in the UI

Last but not least, we’re still working hard on the final mission, which will introduce a whole new area - the Power Plant. You’ve seen a part of it, but in The Heist there will be much more of that.



Of course, these are only some selected examples. If you haven’t played Chernobylite for a few months, we can say that there’s a very high probability that you’ll find our game totally different (in a good way).

So now let’s talk about the most recent changes - Mega Patch number 7, “The Woman in the Red Dress”.
[h3]New missions and characters![/h3]
We have added two new missions, Hard Truth and Black Stalker, thanks to which you will be able to learn more about the story of two key characters and discover some deeply buried secrets.



And while speaking about characters, we've introduced three new ones to the game: Konstanty, Locksmith, and Semyon. Well, actually that’s not their debut in Chernobylite, but definitely the first time they have their own models.

The new additions are also levels, which will have a great impact on how you will understand the whole plot and what you will choose in the future. These are “Stealing Ariadna’s technology” and “The Woman in the Red Dress”.



Ariadna is a technology that allows Igor to conclude the investigations. These are terribly important for you to understand what happened to Tatiana and (maybe) choose a different option while you’ll decide about Igor’s future.

So we can say that the new Fractal World, which is possible to access after gathering enough intelligence (clues, notes, etc.), is inevitably connected to this technology. And the new Fractal is exactly a conclusion of the new investigation called “The Woman in the Red Dress”. If you played enough, you surely know that the woman is Tatiana (don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler).


[h3]New weapons and spots![/h3]
If you thought that the weapons arsenal in Chernobylite could not be expanded anymore, we have a message for you: it is possible and we even did. The Chernobylite Blaster and Anti-Chernobylite Burner have joined the set of weapons that players will be able to use. See for yourself what they can do.



Because we’re adding more not only on the new maps, but also on the ones you already know, we’ve planned to make some of them inaccessible. Okay, maybe not inaccessible - they will just require you to have something to unlock them.

Sometimes it’s a completely new room that has been locked - and you can now create lockpicks since one of the previous Mega Patches - while other times it’s chernobylite blocking the way. How to deal with that, you may ask? Not so simple as it may look, as it will require you to upgrade your base and thus to be able to create an Anti-Chernobylite Burner.



It looks like an ordinary flare, but it’s not - it is used exactly how the name suggests, so to clear some space from chernobylite.
[h3]Changes, changes[/h3]
In addition to the new content, we've also made some requested improvements to make your life easier while playing Chernobylite. One of them is the ability to load the game save from the last checkpoint during a pause from the menu. Thanks to this solution, you will be able to avoid any unpleasantness during the game...

In line with your suggestions, we've added the ability to disable both the entire interface and its individual elements. Of course, we will continue to improve this feature.

In Mega Patch, we also managed to completely rebuild the looting system (what the opponents leave behind has more value and is better suited to the current game), enlarge the map available at a later stage of the game with an area that was previously flooded, and balance opponents' view range and the way how they react to the sounds made by the player (now stealth should be more difficult, but more honest).



Read more about the changes here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1016800/announcements/detail/2935744583749181154
[h3]That’s it for today![/h3]
We hope you had a really good time reading this over-a-year summary of our work and also a conclusion of what the new Mega Patch brings to the game.
Remember to join our streams, we’re planning to have some contests in which you may win additional keys for Chernobylite and digital versions of our artbook, but maybe also some physical goodies!

Take care, stalkers!
See ya next week!