Poached : Hunt The Hunter News

Early Access Update V0.8.8.6

[p] Gameplay:
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[p] Added a new timer for Mission 4, when waiting for backup so that the waiting section of the mission will always end after 2 minutes so as not to frustrate the player. (Since the player cannot leave this location until backup arrives.)
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[p] It is now easier to pull your bakkie out of the mud/trees/rocks etc when stuck.
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[p] Added a few additional helpful tooltips to the tutorial levels.
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[p] Brought back the "Carver" enemy. A poacher that can be found in the act of carving up a large animal, while not actually that threatening due to the delay they require to get their weapon - they do pose as some kind of threat and also add to the atmosphere. They had been removed while working on the new animation system but they are back now, in limited quantities.
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[p] Bullet Proof vests now won't be carried over to the camping bonus interlude mission as it defeats the purpose.
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[p] In Mission 8, there was a radio transmission warning about rewired drones AFTER the game U.I. warns the player. This has now been synchronized.
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Bug Fixes:
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[p] Fixed a new issue causing an exploit that made the player invincible when driving a vehicle.
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[p] Fixed a recurring bug that caused Mission 4 to be incompletable for some players.
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[p] Fixed missing bullet "whiz" sounds from 90% of poachers.
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[p] Fixed issue causing Warehouse Interior level to have flashlight on by default even if the player does not yet own the flashlight.
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[p] Fixed missing advanced spine animations from the rhinos in the tutorial.
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[p] Fixed issue causing some enemies in Chapter 2 to not bleed.
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[p] Fixed issue causing animals to sometimes be found running around the reserve at full speed but while using a slow walking animation.
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[p] Fixed new issue that caused enemy weapons covered in blood (only on 'Extreme' violence setting) to play a weird animation on the blood when covering a players arms.
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[p] Fixed an enemy that would freeze upon death, that was only found in Mission 1 when playing on 'Hard'
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[p] Fixed an issue that would cause stampeding animals found outside the main reserve to be able to stampede into another animal of the same species who is currently dormant and get stuck.
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[p] Fixed some missing waypoints introduced in previous updates.
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[p] Fixed bug that made it possible to exit your vehicle in mid air, leaving it frozen suspended above the ground.
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[p] Fixed some invisible walls in Mission 5 that the B.I.R.D. scout would keep crashing into.
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Graphics:
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[p] Fixed a rare yet specific 1 frame visual glitch when entering the vehicle which would occur only after getting into the vehicle , and then switching to third person mode, then exiting the vehicle and re-entering the vehicle again.
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[p] Fixed small issue with '?' waypoint showing small corner pixels at night in the alpha edges of the image square.
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[p] Fixed missing blood decals from rhino ragdolls, a new issue that was introduced in a recent update.
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[p] Increased realistic placement reaction of some rhino ragdolls.
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[p] Fixed some ragdoll issues causing zebra ragdolls to disappear when on the edge of the screen.
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[p] Improved stormy weather wind transition.
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[p] Fixed a few issues with General Van Jaarsveld' eyelid texture when blinking in the obstacle course.
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[p] Improved goat & zebra animation transition from walking to running.
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Other Additions & Improvements:
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[p] Added subtitles back to introduction speech to match new audio.
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[p] Scorpions are no longer invincible.
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[p] Added missing button highlight in graphics and advanced graphics menus for the "back" buttons for each menu respectively.
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[p] Systematically fixed all missing references of all types in all 30+ game scenes.
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Optimizations:
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[p] Optimized nature ambience SFX sample rate memory footprint.
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[p] Limited the amount of bullet decals enemies can make.
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[p] Optimized the culling of certain permanent blood decal fixtures in the map, such as larger decals used as set pieces in poacher camps. (As opposed to dynamically created decals made with bullets)
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[p] Optimized camping interlude code.
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[p] Removed some unused enemies from various scenes that were still stored in memory.
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[p] Removed some unused coverpoint placeholders.
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[p] Improved the usage of inner reserve animal culling to disable the more intelligent animals when the player is away from home.
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Early Access Update V0.8.8.5

[p]Gameplay:
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[p] Shotgun now keeps the aiming reticle when performing A.D.S. since it doesn't function the same as a classic scope aim, allowing for much more accurate usage of the shotgun.
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[p] Larger animals such as Rhinos that are hanging out closer to the main reserve will now attempt to avoid the poachers if they get too close by relocating. This doesn't guarantee their safety in all situations, but can avoid a few mishaps and keeps things cleaner in terms of general gameplay.
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Graphics:
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[p] Improved tranquilizer dart rifle texture.
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[p] Added advanced spine rotation animation to stampeding hippo.
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[p] Fixed some grass in Hippo Mission with too low LOD threshold and thus were popping into existence too easily.
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[p] Fixed foot IK clipping issue with General Gideon when sitting on camping chair during Mission 1/2 bonus interlude camping mission.
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[p] Fixed "Lions Heart" powerup from making screen almost impossible to see anything, an issue introduced in V0.8.8.2 when switching over to linear color space.
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[p] Fixed a minor graphical issue causing waterfalls to cast shadows in a really weird way.
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[p] Fixed issue causing zebras to disappear when slightly off screen and if player is very close.
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[p] Improved appearance of main weapon scope lens when viewed from hip-fire mode.
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[p] Improved appearance of the rare Combat Shotgun weapon.
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[p] Fixed weird appearance of bulldozer window glass, as seen in Chapter 2.
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Bug Fixes:
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[p] Fixed rhino ragdoll issues in introduction scene/speech.
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[p] Fixed bug causing introduction speech to not automatically go to the next scene without player intervention when completed.
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[p] Fixed a new bug introduced in V0.8.8.2 that was causing 3 of the enemies in the hippo bonus mission to just stand still after being either killed or tranquilized.
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[p] Fixed issue causing silenced tranquilizer rifles to play the louder sniper rifle audio.
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[p] Fixed issue in hippo bonus mission causing hippo to run on the spot.
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[p] Cardboard boxes outside tavern are no longer un-destroyable. [/p]
[p] Fixed issue where exploding your vehicle could sometimes reset your radio entirely, have replaced for a randomization (in the event of this situation) to help players discover more songs than they normally would hear in a single play session.
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[p] Fixed a NavMesh issue causing some enemies to walk through building in Mission 5.
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Other Additions & Improvements:
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[p] Changed Steam store page screenshots to match the latest game version.
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[p] Improved hippo movement animation when circling a tree.
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[p] Improved audio quality of ranger stuck in tree during hippo mission.
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[p] Edited mission objective in hippo mission to be clearer about what the poachers are actually looking for, in this case not horns - but tusks.
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[p] Added an automatic checkpoint in hippo mission in case player is killed by a hippo so they don't have to start from the beginning of the level again.
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[p] Added cover points to enemy ambush in Hippo bonus mission.
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[p] Increased hippo stampede accuracy.
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[p] Added a new radio mission message for Hippo Mission Part 3.
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[p] More audio balancing on enemy voices.
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[p] Added more variation to nature ambience.
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Optimizations
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[p] Optimized hippo scene memory footprint.
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[p] Tavern location on map is now also streamed into memory when near like other locations to maximize performance when fighting inside the main reserve or anywhere other than near the tavern. [/p]
[p] Moved all remaining waterfall zones into the world streaming system, the entire world outside the main reserve is now essentially steamed in from memory when needed to lower the memory load on slower/older devices.
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[p] Some minor scene optimizations in general, related to animal locations during missions.
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Early Access Update V0.8.8.4

A standard routine update featuring various fixes, improvements and quality of life adjustments. I'll be back again in a few weeks with another content based update (focusing largely on Chapter 2 this time), in the meantime the current update change notes are as follows:

Fixed some navmesh issues near gazelle herd that caused animals and in some cases enemies to walk through a few of the rocks or huts.
Improved shotgun appearance as well as fixed a one sided normal causing a see through face by the loader grip.
Fixed an issue with water at a certain waterfall cycling between specular color maps while standing in-between 2 separate waterfall zones used for asynchronous level zone streaming.
Fixed bug with gazelles that would sometimes cause their movement and animations speeds to not be synced.
Fixed some cactuses in Delta Zone that were missing their impact damage, and some with missing colliders.
Increased amount of enemies in Mission 3 to balance out O.P. new rifle.
Rebaked all navmeshes for each level, adding special optimizations based on which areas enemies will be in that part of the game.
Improved shotgun aiming A.D.S. appearance, while also removing the traditional scope type A.D.S. for the shotgun weapon as it does not fit the model in the same way an actual scope weapon does. This also means that the shotgun, unlike other weapons - will retain the reticle while holding down the aim button.
Some more removal of trees growing in places that makes no sense.
Fixed some missing colliders on tires in various zones.
Patched up a hole in a fence that lead to a dead area.
Removed some trees that were intersecting giant rocks, some of them almost entirely engulfed by the rocks.
Removed some more invisible trees growing entirely obscured, rendered yet never seen.
Smaller animals such as wild dogs and warthogs will now remove their colliders when killed in the wild.
Fixed issue with some areas being locked out for the game demo, but also being locked in the main game - such as PC, Ostrich Racing, Garage, Shebeen, Caves.
Fixed a few LOD culling distances on some items that were far too extreme, causing for example a rock to noticeably pop into view in the distance as you are walking.
Improved rhino stampede animation when rotating and taking corners/turning.
Some small memory optimizations.
Fixed issue with testing cheat code "day length in minutes" erroneously showing in vehicle garage regardless of code status.
Increased the price of sniper rifle ammo purchased from the camp shop as a game balance.
Fixed issue causing meat to stop cooking entirely on all sides once only one side becomes burnt, based on a timeout that now leaves meat left on the fire to burn entirely.
Completing a bonus interlude such as the camping interlude mission now awards a decent amount of XP/score.
Improved lighting in caravan to not obscure in-game computer screen.
Optimized shooting range memory footprint and file size.
Metal targets in the shooting range now make a realistic target sound when shot.
Fixed visual water plane intersection glitch by fishing pond.
Improved RPG weapon material appearance.
Some visual improvements to the Mission 6 warehouse interior back walls which previously were mostly rendering as plain black patches.
Fixed navmesh issues in Mission 7 that would cause enemies to walk into rocks near the warehouse.
Added some more Easter eggs, but I obviously won't be elaborating further on that.
Fixed a (recent) bug that could cause some enraged rhino to stampede in a frozen state and thus run on the spot in an endless loop.
Fixed incorrect screen space ambient occlusion in shebeen that was causing characters to have a perceived glow outline.
Improved groundskeeper NPC character clothing and hair material.
The groundskeeper no longer wears sunglasses inside, but will when appropriate.
Groundskeeper is now appropriately labelled in the U.I. so you know exactly who I am referring to.
Improved the visual quality of the 'Fumigation' shebeen random event.

While it may seem like just another background NPC, the groundskeeper actually notices everything that happens on the reserve—and even has its own fully developed A.I. system that hasn’t been activated yet. More missions involving this character will be added once the voice acting is complete and we reach that stage of development. This character plays a much larger role in Chapter 2 and beyond, and expanding their story is a key part of the release roadmap—including new missions and narrative content, even for players who have already finished the main game.

And just a quick reminder—the game is still in development until August 26, 2026, so if you have any suggestions or feedback, there's still plenty of time to share them!

Thanks again to everyone who's provided feedback so far. I've nearly hit 2,000 copies sold—a modest milestone, but a meaningful one for a solo developer like myself, and for the talented voice actors helping bring this world to life. Your support means the world to us, and I’m genuinely thrilled that so many of you are enjoying the game as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.

And of course, a huge thank you to everyone who’s purchased the game. I hope you’ve been enjoying the updates, and I’ll keep them coming.

Speak soon.

- Rob/Twelv (Ingozi Games)

Early Access Update V0.8.8.3

[h3]Early Access Update V0.8.8.3[/h3]
Simple update fixing various user reported bugs & more.

I am currently busy with a much larger technical update that adds proper spinal and leg animations to wildlife as well as general improved animal behavior, but it's taking a lot longer than expected so I wanted to knock out a few quick necessary polishes so everybody knows I'm still alive and working hard!

A lot of progress has been made in the game in areas over the last few months that I wanted to explore, so much to the delight (or the chagrin, depending) of achievement hunters and gaming enthusiasts alike, I have added a huge heap of new achievements that include new challenges and ways to play the game never thought before, while also helping the player discover more hidden gems and secrets held within.

- On the subject of achievements, we now have a total of 68 - the plan is by final game launch to have 101 total achievements of which 100 will be regular achievements and the final achievement is awarded as a platinum trophy for achieving the other 100.

There are a few other small changes as usual, although the main focus of this update is the achievements and increasing gameplay time and quality of life through that.

The new achievements are as follows:

A Distant Cry - Take down an enemy tagged with binoculars.
Sangoma - Finish the game without first aid kits using only traditional healing.
Crowd Control - Destroy more than 5 drones in Mission 8.
Bootcamp - Complete the obstacle course.
Careful With Those Onions - Complete the bonus camping interlude mission.
Camping Enthusiast - Camp for 7 consecutive days in-game.
Untitled Game Achievement - Rescue a man from a horrible goose.
Herbology - Plant some herbs in your base.
Abundance - Harvest 20 medicinal plants.
Iron Liver - Drink more than 2 liters of hard liquor in a single sitting.
Quick Sticks - Take down more than 5 enemies within under 10 seconds.
Head Hunter - Land 10 consecutive headshots in a row.
Up Close - Finish a mission using only melee weapons.
Rampage - Take down 5 enemies while under the influence of the "Lions Heart" powerup.
Nightwatch - Take down an entire poacher squad at night without using a lantern or flashlight.
Crouching Zebra, Hidden Rhino - Take down an entire poacher squad while crouched.
Economize - Take down more than 6 enemies in a single magazine without reloading your weapon.
Trooper - Complete a mission without healing.
Untouchable - Complete any mission without taking a single hit.
Branch Manager - Collect more than 5 wooden statues in a single playthrough.

The change notes for the update are as follows:

20 new achievements.
Improved colliders of weapons dropped from enemies to prevent them from getting stuck inside rocks and other hilarious situations.
When it starts raining, the wind will now gradually increase instead of instantly appearing (which previously made the trees transition to windy animated states in a terrible way).
Changed sunrays to be a part of the default graphics settings. (Now that they have been made much more subtle in the previous update)
Improved culling and optimization system for animals in the main reserve vs poachers outside the reserve based on player location for increased performance while travelling.
Further ragdoll improvements and optimizations.

A few notes that were patched a few weeks ago after the V0.8.8.2 update but were not included in any change notes, so I'll add them here for historical purposes:

V0.8.8.2.1

Updated demo to latest version.
Fixed weird goat ragdoll issue that only occurred during the tutorial.
Fixed wrong scope texture on hip-fire main weapon view (main rifle default loadout carbine weapon).
Redesigned skin and eyes shader system for obstacle course commanding general entirely from scratch to handle direct sunlight better without getting washed out.
Reconfigured lighting for obstacle course to light the NPC better.
Fixed a few missing asset references in the asynchronous streaming load zones.
Fixed a an issue where leaving the tutorial from the obstacle course would take you into a game instead of exiting back to the main menu.

Apologies for not adding anything too exciting to this update, but I just needed to get these out of the way so that I could focus on more interesting stuff for V0.8.8.4

Lastly, I have done a substantial update of the demo. (For those who do not own the game)
I have updated the demo to the latest version, and added some new content, and I have also removed some content.
The content was not removed from the demo in any way to give less to players of the demo, but was done to increase the value of the product for users who do buy the game. It can be less rewarding if you buy the game but you've already explored the whole map. So I have now closed off certain features and locations during the demo. Players will no longer be able to enter the shebeen or go ostrich racing during the demo, and other limitations - but as a consolation I have added some new content to the demo that wasn't there before. So now after finishing Mission 1, Demo users will be able to play the camping interlude bonus mission (added in V0.8.8.2) from the radio tower in the main camp after completing the first mission. So if you don't own the game, but you do own the demo - you can play again for some new content, as well as experience all the latest improvements. And as always, the demo is fully shareware and contains no DRM so you can even copy it out of steam and share with friends on a USB I don't mind!

Thanks again for playing, and I will be back again once the new animal spine animation system for V0.8.8.4 is ready!

- Rob/Twelv [Ingozi Games]

Early Access Update V0.8.8.2

This is an simple yet exciting update covering a few key aspects.

In previous builds, the player would use the radio tower to advance missions when playing on Easy and use their bed when playing on Medium. Now - all difficulty modes use the bed for advancing missions and the radio tower now serves as a way to dispense bonus missions. Bonus missions from the tower will be played in sequence but are only available after finishing a main mission. Only one bonus mission can be activated per main mission complete. (Currently only one as stated below, but more on the way as we speak!)
Bonus mission "interludes" are similar to main missions in terms of combat, but have their own story and are checkpoint based within the mission without the ability to quicksave or save at any time like during a main mission.
Bonus mission "interludes" can't be saved during, but can be exited if the player wishes to rather play them again at a later stage. Once they have been completed then they cannot be replayed from the tower until starting a new game.
This build contains 1 new bonus mission that can be played at any time between missions through the radio tower in-between the first 4 missions of the game. This is the first of a series of bonus missions featuring General Gideon (Not to be confused with General Van Jaarsveld) and discovering the character in depth, as well as joining him on various antics.
The new mission takes full advantage of our new character system with expressive dialogue and interaction, with the characters facial expressions changing to react to the players actions.
Enemies can now only be looted once their death animation is complete, this prevents it from being far too easy to loot enemies before they've even hit the ground, considering the games generous interaction distance.
Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause shell casing ejections to be rendered through other objects.
Some minor audio balancing and weapon audio improvements on certain weapons.
Improved a few models and textures, and a few indoor lighting scenarios.
Fixed a bug that affecting the save game button in the main menu, but not the quick save or checkpoints.
Some minor ragdoll improvements.
Small performance optimizations.
A few small bug fixes.

Thanks as always to all, and a huge welcome to all the new players that have joined lately!

Happy Hunting.

- Ingozi Games