Watch us play Ground Zero!
[p]Report: new stream incoming, study the material and prepare for combat.[/p]
Ground Zero News
GROUND ZERO LAUNCHING APRIL 16TH
GROUND ZERO IS NEARLY HERE!
[p][/p][p]Wishlist now so that you don't miss out!
[p][/p][p]Field Intel: Guidelines for Survival in Busan.
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[/p][h3]Retro-style horror games are known for their steep learning curves and quirks. We put together this guide to help you handle the mechanics and survive the most intense moments.[/h3][h3][/h3][h3]However, if you enjoy the difficulty of going in blind, avoid this guide at all costs.[/h3][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]There’s a few abilities to help you out when using a gun, making you more likely to land your hits and down your targets.[/p][p]You’ll automatically aim at your closest target when you ready your weapon and auto-track them for a short time. To keep your aim trained on the target, hold the Lock button while aiming.[/p][p]You can also manually adjust your alignment while aiming, which allows you to go for headshots and deal extra damage.[/p][p]Quickly switch targets with the Switch Target button. You will cycle through all available targets around you, including environmental hazards like exploding barrels.[/p][p]
Finally, holding the Focus button while aiming will bring up a slider that, with the correct timing, allows you to deal a critical shot to an enemy - most basic monsters will die in one hit from this. You can also use this to open special locks, so look out for those![/p][p][/p][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]On top of ranged combat, Ground Zero also has a lot of melee mechanics. These can help keep you safe without expending all your ammo.
[/p][p]Directional dodges can get you out of trouble at the expense of Stamina - these need to be done with the Dodge button while holding any direction. When you’re out of stamina, you will hear your character panting and the screen will darken slightly. Stamina recovers naturally over time, and red serums can give you a temp boost - and using 3x red in a serum will permanently boost your stamina capacity. [/p][p][/p][p]Move while attacking - you don’t need to stand in one spot to use your knife! You can perform melee attacks while strafing to keep a little distance between you and your attacker.
Block to reduce damage if you don’t think you can get out of the way. If you perfectly time your block, it also performs a Parry - you’ll hear a distinct noise and see your character deflect your attacker. After a successful parry, press the Dodge key to do a damage-dealing Counter-Attack. Some enemies are harder to block than others, so be cautious![/p][p]
And, of course, if you see an enemy go down but not die, stand over them and Execute to kill them with your leg blade.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]Ground Zero’s safe rooms often have 2 separate stations to help you out: the Item Safes, and the Data Uplinks.[/p][p]The Item Safes can be used to store items outside of your inventory. All safes are linked together - putting an item in Safe 1 will show up in Safe 2. You’ll need to solve a puzzle to open a Safe for the first time, after which it’ll be permanently available. [/p][p]Data Uplinks, on the other hand, are where you can manually save the game. They require a Signal Modulator to unlock them, after which you can use that Uplink as much as you like to save your game. [/p][p]Signal Modulators exist as items to pick up throughout the game, usually only a small distance from an Uplink. The game will also auto-save at points, so you shouldn’t be too far away from a save if you’ve made a lot of progress.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]Safes are locked behind a small math puzzle. If those aren’t your thing, there’s a couple of tools that can bypass some of that frustration.[/p][p][/p][p]As a hint, you can only use each given number and symbol in a solution once, making it possible to brute-force. The UI tells you what your current attempt adds up to, so you can use that to help you get closer to the solution.[/p][p][/p][p]Next, we have Safe Cracking Explosives, which you can find in the world. These allow you to bypass the puzzle entirely, but it’ll cost you the bonus item reward. If you have an Explosive in your Inventory when you interact with a safe, you’ll see a prompt in the UI at the bottom to use your explosive if you like.[/p][p] Finally, if you want a helping hand with the puzzle but don’t want to sacrifice the bonus item, you can buy Ciphers from the Genome Point shop. These will reveal part of the solution without a penalty.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]Sometimes you’ll end up in situations where there’s a lot of enemies and it’s overwhelming to try to take them all on. You don’t have to face everything head-on, sometimes it’s best to just RUN AWAY! [/p][p]Leaving an area and re-entering will reset the positions of enemies, but they’ll still keep any damage you inflicted on them if you want to come back and finish the job. [/p][p]If you’re in a bad spot with a lot of enemies close behind you, resetting the area by leaving and entering can make it easier to get some more breathing room. [/p][p]Remember, you don’t have to kill everything - and sometimes, you can’t.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]If you’d like to practice your combat, the Training Room exists and can be accessed any time from the main menu. There’s 3 separate floors, each explaining different mechanics. We know that not everyone enjoys training, so it’s only optional, never mandatory - but we give you a small reward for completing it.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]![]()
[/p][p]We have some pretty big levels! If you get lost, you can use the Map to see where you are, as well as the locations of any items, locked doors, etc. that you may have passed by. If you can’t remember what your objective is, your character will have a Mental Note in the Inventory to help remind you what you were doing.[/p][p][/p][p]If you need any further guidance, join the Discord and speak to your fellow agents. [/p][p][/p][p]![]()
[/p]
Armed Combat
[p]Finally, holding the Focus button while aiming will bring up a slider that, with the correct timing, allows you to deal a critical shot to an enemy - most basic monsters will die in one hit from this. You can also use this to open special locks, so look out for those![/p][p][/p][p][/p]
Melee Combat
[p][/p][p]Directional dodges can get you out of trouble at the expense of Stamina - these need to be done with the Dodge button while holding any direction. When you’re out of stamina, you will hear your character panting and the screen will darken slightly. Stamina recovers naturally over time, and red serums can give you a temp boost - and using 3x red in a serum will permanently boost your stamina capacity. [/p][p][/p][p]Move while attacking - you don’t need to stand in one spot to use your knife! You can perform melee attacks while strafing to keep a little distance between you and your attacker.
Block to reduce damage if you don’t think you can get out of the way. If you perfectly time your block, it also performs a Parry - you’ll hear a distinct noise and see your character deflect your attacker. After a successful parry, press the Dodge key to do a damage-dealing Counter-Attack. Some enemies are harder to block than others, so be cautious![/p][p]
And, of course, if you see an enemy go down but not die, stand over them and Execute to kill them with your leg blade.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]
Safes and Save Points
[p]Safe Puzzles
[p]When You’re Outnumbered
[p]Practice/Training
[p]Getting Lost
[p]Dev Diary #7: Weapon Animations
[h3]Hello again, this is Janz. I want to talk about how I enjoy my job as a game animator, especially when working with weapon animations.[/h3]
What research do you do before you begin animating for a specific weapon, especially weapons that are based on real-life ones?
First, it will be about how the weapon works, how it functions, and how it's supposed to be used. I'll watch online videos either real life footage or a military video instruction or a 3d animation video of how the weapon is being used.
Second is, you need to observe how the person feels about the weapon and how it impacts the person. Let's say an Assault Rifle; how strong the recoil is or how the user react to the recoil, how they reload the weapon in fast or slow speed, panicking or not panicking.
Lastly, here’s the fun part: you need to re-enact or to imagine yourself as that character you’re animating, how your character will feel and act with their weapon. Either you experience it directly by having a real weapon or an imitation of the weapon or maybe just having a replica or just a branch or any object that you can use to visualize how your character will feel about the gun. You can even use yourself as a reference by recording yourself. It can also motivate you to have fun with your research.
What is your process when it comes to developing the weapon animations for each weapon? Is it different for each one or do you follow the same base process for every weapon?
It's almost the same for most weapons, but when it comes to, for example, melee weapons, let's say a standard knife, it only requires you to watch online videos of people doing a slash or a stab, flashy or straight to the point. There's no "weapon" movements but just character movements (except if the knife is a switch blade that requires a bone to draw the blade, etc.). But when it comes to guns, there are internal and external movements such as the slide of a handgun, or an AR's bolt release action or a reciprocating charging handle, which also need movements.
After watching the reference videos and enjoying the re-enactment/imagination/visualization, you need to prepare the weapon rig with these questions in mind:
After rigging, make some test animations first. On this stage, you might still need to go back and forth with your rig for adjustments and modifications.
When I'm ready for animations, I'll ask our director on how I should approach the weapon animations and what he has in mind. At this stage, you'll need to communicate every animation sequence, for example: ask how long a reload should be, or if the poses that you come up with need changing, etc.
Then of course, presenting your work can be nerve-wracking most of the time… BUT! it can also be fun and enjoyable. You can see above Seo-Yeon’s animations in third-person then it goes to first-person below. It’s enjoyable to present it that way to the team. It does not take that much time and effort to do if you’re willing but it can also be enjoyable. The extra effort to do some cool stuff rewards me with joy.
How do you balance making sure that the weapon animations look authentic while also not taking up too much time or impacting the gameplay in a negative way?
It only takes too much time when you don't test things and when you don't ask the team for their feedback. As an animator, you need to discuss with the director and with the team about the weapon. Even after implementing, you might change some animations down the line, either major or minor thing, when the director or majority of the team votes for changing and it seems that it's really needed, then you'll need to adjust and edit, recreate or remove the animation. You need to test it in-game whether it feels right or whether it needs tweaking or it needs changing.
How do you enjoy the whole process?
You need to be passionate to enjoy your work. Not only by words but by giving time and effort, as long as it doesn’t take your work hours, do it. If you can’t enjoy it, do something to enjoy it. What made it enjoyable is how I imagine or re-enact the animations that I want to do and how I present my render videos to the team. It can certainly boost your morale and the team’s morale and will affect you positively, as it was for me.
Until next time, Janz
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2340130/Ground_Zero/
[h3]Want to chat with fellow Ground Zero fans about this latest dev diary?
Then head to our Discord or follow us on social media by clicking the buttons below 👇[/h3]
What research do you do before you begin animating for a specific weapon, especially weapons that are based on real-life ones?
First, it will be about how the weapon works, how it functions, and how it's supposed to be used. I'll watch online videos either real life footage or a military video instruction or a 3d animation video of how the weapon is being used.
Second is, you need to observe how the person feels about the weapon and how it impacts the person. Let's say an Assault Rifle; how strong the recoil is or how the user react to the recoil, how they reload the weapon in fast or slow speed, panicking or not panicking.
Lastly, here’s the fun part: you need to re-enact or to imagine yourself as that character you’re animating, how your character will feel and act with their weapon. Either you experience it directly by having a real weapon or an imitation of the weapon or maybe just having a replica or just a branch or any object that you can use to visualize how your character will feel about the gun. You can even use yourself as a reference by recording yourself. It can also motivate you to have fun with your research.
What is your process when it comes to developing the weapon animations for each weapon? Is it different for each one or do you follow the same base process for every weapon?
It's almost the same for most weapons, but when it comes to, for example, melee weapons, let's say a standard knife, it only requires you to watch online videos of people doing a slash or a stab, flashy or straight to the point. There's no "weapon" movements but just character movements (except if the knife is a switch blade that requires a bone to draw the blade, etc.). But when it comes to guns, there are internal and external movements such as the slide of a handgun, or an AR's bolt release action or a reciprocating charging handle, which also need movements.
After watching the reference videos and enjoying the re-enactment/imagination/visualization, you need to prepare the weapon rig with these questions in mind:
- How the character will hold the weapon in-game, or how will it be implemented to the character?
- How the gun functions and how you will animate it: Does it need complex rigging (takes a bit of time) or does it need to be a simple rig? (faster and helpful for tight deadlines).
- How the reloads will work: Will there be a tactical reload that requires you to add another bone for the other magazine? Are there parts of the weapon that needs an appearing and disappearing effect? How will you handle gun effects? etc.
- How the rig looks like in-game: Will there be a bone or a guide where the muzzle flash or smoke effects will be placed?
After rigging, make some test animations first. On this stage, you might still need to go back and forth with your rig for adjustments and modifications.
When I'm ready for animations, I'll ask our director on how I should approach the weapon animations and what he has in mind. At this stage, you'll need to communicate every animation sequence, for example: ask how long a reload should be, or if the poses that you come up with need changing, etc.
Then of course, presenting your work can be nerve-wracking most of the time… BUT! it can also be fun and enjoyable. You can see above Seo-Yeon’s animations in third-person then it goes to first-person below. It’s enjoyable to present it that way to the team. It does not take that much time and effort to do if you’re willing but it can also be enjoyable. The extra effort to do some cool stuff rewards me with joy.
How do you balance making sure that the weapon animations look authentic while also not taking up too much time or impacting the gameplay in a negative way?
It only takes too much time when you don't test things and when you don't ask the team for their feedback. As an animator, you need to discuss with the director and with the team about the weapon. Even after implementing, you might change some animations down the line, either major or minor thing, when the director or majority of the team votes for changing and it seems that it's really needed, then you'll need to adjust and edit, recreate or remove the animation. You need to test it in-game whether it feels right or whether it needs tweaking or it needs changing.
How do you enjoy the whole process?
You need to be passionate to enjoy your work. Not only by words but by giving time and effort, as long as it doesn’t take your work hours, do it. If you can’t enjoy it, do something to enjoy it. What made it enjoyable is how I imagine or re-enact the animations that I want to do and how I present my render videos to the team. It can certainly boost your morale and the team’s morale and will affect you positively, as it was for me.
Until next time, Janz
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2340130/Ground_Zero/
[h3]Want to chat with fellow Ground Zero fans about this latest dev diary?
Then head to our Discord or follow us on social media by clicking the buttons below 👇[/h3]
Ground Zero Demo: Hotfix
[h3]Happy Halloween, everyone 🎃[/h3]
We just wanted to let you all know that, alongside the larger patch we released earlier this week, we've released a small hotfix for our demo.
Here's what is included in this hotfix:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2340130/Ground_Zero/
[h3]Thank you so much again to everyone who has taken the time to give feedback on our demo and provide bug reports!
If you have any more bug reports or feedback you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you in the Steam Forums or in our Discord![/h3]
We just wanted to let you all know that, alongside the larger patch we released earlier this week, we've released a small hotfix for our demo.
Here's what is included in this hotfix:
- Made sure the player can't accidentally scan bodies during combat
- Fixed an issue where an item safe was unsolvable
- Made sure the player can't close the inventory accidentally if you open it while holding run on controller
- Made sure you can't accidentally execute enemies on controller while trying to shoot
- To prevent players from accidentally skipping cutscenes, you now need to hold the "Interact" button to skip cutscenes, which is E on keyboard and (A) on controller
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2340130/Ground_Zero/
[h3]Thank you so much again to everyone who has taken the time to give feedback on our demo and provide bug reports!
If you have any more bug reports or feedback you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you in the Steam Forums or in our Discord![/h3]