Level Zero: Extraction News

[h2]Hey, Mercs & Aliens,[/h2]

First things first: On Monday, December 9th, we will release Update 0.7, which will wipe the servers and add more content like weapons, map sectors (see teasers below), contracts, and more. The expected time for the update to go live is 17:00 CET / 8 am PST / 11 am EST.

Also, our team wants to address major community concerns and (traditionally) share some work-in-progress bits with all of you in this Development Update.

[h3]1. December Content Update[/h3]
We’re seeing mentions of the December Content Update being a major one, so we want to set expectations straight. It’s more about laying groundwork than adding loads of content—it won’t be super groundbreaking.

We’ll soon introduce in-session progression for the Research Facility map and the first iteration of the Mutations upgrade system for the Alien Monster class. However, those features are still in development, untested, and far from polished. Mutations will most likely arrive later this month with an additional update, as we need more time to finish developing that mechanic properly. Plus, ongoing bugs like crashes and camera issues need fixing, so progress is steady but not instant. Development continues, and there will be plenty to adjust and improve even after the patch. A future Steam discount and influencer outreach should bring in new players.

[h3]2. Why Did We Change the Light Damage System?[/h3]
With Patch 0.6.8 from Nov 29, we changed the way Alien Monsters receive light damage. Now, only sources of UV light harm the creatures. We're seeing critiques of this adjustment, and it's about time we explained the reasoning behind it.

As we expect more new players to join the community this month, we needed to make the game's mechanics more intuitive. During internal testing, we've noticed that UV light is more understandable for players and raises fewer questions. In addition, the game seems more straightforward to balance now. Overall, this new damage system is far from being finished, and adjustments still need to be made.

With the concurrent player count dropping below expectations, we felt like we must take measures and (to an extent) revamp the game's concept. Of course, all of us at Doghowl recognized that this may lead to dissatisfaction. However, we made the decision to apply alterations. It's certainly risky, but we need to undertake initiatives to turn things around. Hopefully, it pays off.

Thank you for playing, sharing your feedback, and supporting us. Now, let's peek at what's to come in future updates.

[h3]New sectors for the Research Facility map are in the works: Medblock and Radiation Tests[/h3]

[hr][/hr][h3]A new mutant appearance for the upcoming Radiation Tests sector[/h3]

[hr][/hr][h3]The sniper rifle is in the final stage of development[/h3]
[hr][/hr][h3]A new type of grenade coming soon: UV[/h3]

[hr][/hr][h3]More UV light items on the way[/h3]

[hr][/hr][h3]? ? ?[/h3]

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[h3]Merc Changes[/h3]

• Improved weapon sway animations when turning quickly.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a random camera flick that occurred during shooting, item swapping, and item usage;
  
• Fixed mouse smoothing issue during high ping that caused visual input lag.
  
• Fixed an issue where main UV lights consumed more energy while invisible.
  

Please install the patch and restart the game so the changes take effect.

[h2]Patch 0.6.9[/h2]

[h3]General Changes[/h3]

• Added rate of fire to item properties in the weapon description tooltips;
  

[h3]Merc Changes[/h3]

• Reduced M4F1 damage against humans from 15 to 14;
  
• Increased M4F1 damage against aliens from 5 to 6;
  
• Reduced MP7S damage against humans from 12 to 10;
  
• Reduced MRX damage against humans from 13 to 12;
  
• Increased MRX damage against aliens from 4 to 5;
  
• Increased RD-704 damage against aliens from 6 to 7;
  
• Reduced Scorp-5 damage against humans from 13 to 11;
  
• Reduced LAR’s damage against humans from 16 to 15;
  
• Increased Sixty-45 damage against humans from 20 to 25;
  
• Increased SR-32 damage against humans from 16 to 25;
  
• Increased Tryzub damage against aliens from 10 to 15;
  
• Increased SR-32 damage against aliens from 6 to 14;
  
• Increased Malyuk’s damage against aliens from 5 to 6;
  
• Reduced SR-32 rate of fire by around 50%;
  
• Increased Vector’s damage against aliens from 4 to 5;
  
• Increased UV Emitter activation animation speed by 40%;
  
• Increased suit flashlight double tap’s blind duration from 1 to 1,7 seconds;
  
• Increased UV Emitter’s damage from 130 to 150;
  
• Increased Drone’s UV light damage from 30 to 35;
  
• Added new item - UV Flare, which works like a regular flare but does UV light damage to aliens and can be doused by Slime Spit;
  
• A new UV Flare has been added to the basic kit, works the same as regular UV but also does damage to aliens, and can be doused by spit;
  
• Renamed UV Glowstick’s name to UV Emitter to better reflect its electric nature;
  
• UV Emitters can be bought in the shop for 3000;
  
• UV Glowsticks (similar to blue/yellow/green) were added to the starter kit.
  

[h3]Alien Changes[/h3]

• Acid Cloud now spawns almost instantly after use;
  
• Acid Cloud movement speed reduction increased from 50% to 60%;
  
• Invisibility now changes visually depending on how far the alien is from merc’s eyes - the farther the alien is, the less visible that alien is;
  
• Increased “damage” to the energy that UV lights do to invisible aliens by around 100%, so invisibility breaks faster;
  
• Returned global cooldown for abilities (1 second).
  

[h3]Research Facility Map Changes[/h3]

• Added several new safe zones with UV lights around the map;
  
• Changed electric wire spawners to spawn evenly across different map zones.
  

[h3]Caves of Turion Map Changes[/h3]

• Added several new safe zones in the Warehouse.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue with animations that caused the game to crash occasionally;
  
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the game to crash when hovering over Alien skills in Alien UI.
  

Please install the patch and restart the game.

❗ IMPORTANT INFORMATION ❗
This patch requires testing, and all balance changes may be adjusted in future patches. We need a few days to see how the changes impact gameplay and to allow players to adapt to the update.

Known remaining issue:
We haven't yet identified the cause of the camera jitter and are still working on it. We've discovered a few issues that could be affecting the camera, but we're not confident that this will fully resolve the problem. We apologize for the inconvenience.

[h2]Patch 0.6.8[/h2]

[h3]General Changes[/h3]

• Changed the way how light damages alien monsters. Now, basic light sources do not harm the aliens; instead, only UV lights do;
  
• Updated in-game tutorials to remove unnecessary steps;
  
• Updated part of video tutorials, will update with more new videos in the upcoming patch;
  
• Blackouts should now happen a bit more often;
  
• Removed the mutant's death sound for more silent kills.
  

[h3]Merc Changes[/h3]

• Reworked sway animations for all weapons;
  
• Changed basic flashlight to a UV flashlight;
  
• Changed Flashtrap from flashing lights to a constant source of UV light;
  
• Changed Flashtrap’s battery to 150 seconds;
  
• Changed headshot multiplier from x2 to x3;
  
• Rebalanced the weight of weapons and modules, reducing them across the board;
  
• Increased weight limit that causes to start lowering stamina from 20 to 25, and overweight from 25 to 30;
  
• Added a new item - an Electric UV glowstick. It can be turned off by EMP;
  
• Reworked recoil for all automatic firearms;
  
• Changed the weapon flashlight battery to 10 minutes, removed additional battery usage when turning it off, no longer does damage to aliens;
  
• Fall damage height increased to 5 meters;
  
• Reduced Drone’s flashlight effect distance from 10 to 6 meters;
  
• Reworked rendering of optical sights;
  
• Increased LAR’s damage from 14 to 16;
  
• Increased Tryzub’s damage from 33 to 34;
  
• Reduced Machete’s damage from 45 to 30;
  
• Reduced MP-1’s damage capsule damage from 40 to 25;
  
• Reduced penetration’s bolt damage to aliens from 50 to 35;
  
• Increased duration of poison capsule from 8 to 10 seconds;
  
• Updated tooltip of poison capsule to display 4 damage per second correctly;
  
• Reduced SCAR-R price to 50,000;
  
• Removed flares and glowsticks from starter kit;
  
• Added UV Glowsticks to starter kit (2 for trios, 3 for duos, 5 for solos);
  
• UV Glowsticks in inventory are now destroyed upon death;
  
• Changed starter kit’s weapon to G-17;
  
• Increased starter kit 9mm ammo count from 60 to 100;
  
• Double-tapping “T” now causes a UV flash that deals low damage and blinds the alien;
  
• Removed NVG device from Ghost character skins;
  
• Reduced price of SR-32 from 600,000 to 400,000;
  
• Reduced price of LAR from 850,000 to 600,000;
  
• Reduced price of Scorp-5 from 90,000 to 60,000;
  
• Reduced price of Maliuk from 750,000 to 650,000;
  
• Reduced price of M4F1 from 450,000 to 350,000;
  
• Reduced price of Double-12 from 150,000 to 120,000;
  
• Reduced price of Tryzub from 1,000,000 to 800,000;
  
• Reduced suppressor prices according to new weapon prices.
  

[h3]Alien Changes[/h3]

• Aliens no longer take damage from basic light sources, only from UV light;
• Changed the camera settings of aliens to bring it closer to human vision;
  
• Aliens will now see UV lights clearer;
  
• UV Lights drain energy while invisible.
  

[h3]Drone Changes[/h3]

• Drones can now use a UV flashlight by pressing the LMB;
  
• Increased visibility in darkness for the Drone's POV;
  
• Reworked the Drone's render.
  

[h3]Research Facility Map Changes[/h3]

• Changed lights slightly, adding some UV zones;
  
• Fixed some light leaks in the ice corridor.
  

[h3]Caves of Turion Map Changes[/h3]

• Changed lights slightly, adding some UV zones;
  
• Alien Cave's protective goo can now be damaged only with UV lights;
  
• Fixed collisions in hallways on Caves of Turion that caused you to hit invisible collisions in a gunfight;
  
• Fixed the sound (that everyone on the map would hear) of a falling metal platform in the server room;
  
• Optimized textures for the default character model for Caves of Turion.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where the alien took increased damage when being kicked out of invisibility (which caused the alien to be instantly killed by the penetration bolt);
  
• Fixed draw distance of doors, causing some doors not to be shown at long distances.
  

Please install the patch and restart the game. Don't hesitate to share your feedback regarding the light damage change—we'd love to hear your thoughts. Have a great weekend.

Event end date/time: Monday, December 3rd, 10:00 CET / 1 am PST / 4 am EST.

[h3]EVENT DETAILS[/h3]

🦃 Turkey Hunt Challenge
Across every map, there are 12 turkey figurines. These statues (24 in total) are cleverly concealed, so keep your eyes peeled.

💰 REP Boost & Money for Mercenaries
Mercenaries can collect these figurines and sell them to traders for reputation (to boost it before the next wipe) and cash.

✨XP Boost for Alien Monsters
If you play as an Alien Monster, you receive a 25% XP boost during the event (until December 3rd, 10:00 CET / 1 am PST / 4 am EST.)

[h2]TURKEY FIGURINE LOCATIONS: HINTS[/h2]

RESEARCH FACILITY

CAVES OF TURION


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🔔Reminder: Level Zero: Extraction and DLC are on sale until December 4th: 35% off:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1456940/Level_Zero_Extraction/


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