Skillshot City News

Geneshift now has supply drops! They will randomly appear in the map with a 30s countdown timer. Everyone in the server is alerted to this and has 30s to get to the area and then fight to be the last man standing to claim the prize. The prize is that a bunch of new ultra-rare loot will drop, including permanent max hp/mana upgrades, a +30% Damage weapon, +10 kill coins and possibly an entire new skill unlocked for free! These supply drops give you an excellent incentive to play agrgressively, and provide interesting king of the hill style battles.




Zombies have been reworked in a big way this version and play a lot better. There is now stuff to actually DO as a zombie and you are much stronger as well. For starters zombie weapons now do 100% damage instead of 50%, which no longer punishes you and lets you continue playing as normal. Resurrections are much easier because of this, and easier still as there is no 20s countdown time anymore - you can resurrect as soon as you spawn. Furthermore, zombies can now keep their gun and max hp benefits when they spawn the next round. This, combined with supply drops gives you something really meangingful to fight over once dead - a chance to start with an extra high damage weapon or more max hp.




You might have noticed in the screenshots above that the camera angle has been tilted! After 10 years Geneshift has finally upgraded from a pure birds-eye shooter into an isometric shooter! Who knows, in another 10 years this might become and FPS! Eitherway, this new camera angle looks a lot nicer on the eyes, and helps you judge the height of boxes in the map as well. It makes for a far more immersive playing experience, especially combined with the other graphical upgrades.

For example, Geneshift now supports 4X MSAA antialiasing and looks a lot smoother because of it. It also has updated player models, where they hold the weapons properly instead of like blockmen. There is even a new "gore" setting in the options menu that can significantly increase the amount of blood that comes out of baddies when you make them go splat.




A number of skills have been buffed, and a few have been buffed in a very interesting way - team buffing. Certain skills, such as Self Repair, Ignition Orb, Xray-Vision and Frenzy will now benefit nearby allies when you cast them, allowing for some really interesting new squad tactics. Other cool tweaks are the new looting system, where if you run over the same type of gun you not only grab its ammo, but can now upgrade the damage of your current gun by +2%. This little boost can really add up and makes looting as a zombie extra fun.




Geneshift is on discount. You know how this works! If you want to support the game now would be a great time to pick it up. Also, to celebrate this new version I decided to create a cybertruck with a flamethrower attached to its forehead - enjoy!

The most requested feature since Geneshift joined Early Access, controller support is finally here! It's been tested with Xbox and Playstation controllers, but should work with other types too. It turned out signficantly better than I expected, and I'd love to hear your opinions on it. All the hotkeys are rebindable in the options menu, but here is the default layout:




Even more exciting is a whole bunch of improvements to how zombies work. For starters, zombies can now buy, loot and use weapons! You're no longer forced to repetitively use the zombie pests or claws. To prevent this being being overpowered, zombies will only deal 50% as much damage when using a normal weapon, and have reduced range too.

Zombies can drive cars too! They've also been buffed up to 50hp instead of 30hp, and their pests weapons has been turned into a mini-shotgun that is far more tactical to play with. Overall being a zombie is a lot more fun this version because there is so much more you can do. But wait.. there's more.


Another big change is that zombies can once again resurrect by killing a player, and get back into the game. However there is a twist, which is that you need to be alive for at least 30s before resurrections are possible. This is shown as a progress bar down the bottom of the screen. This change adds a sense of survival to being a zombie, where the ideal strategy is to no longer brute-force you way to try kill an enemy player, but instead to stealthily survive for 30s, loot up with weapons and health kits, and go for a quality kill instead. It makes resurrections harder to pull off, but so much sweeter when you do.




Another huge change is that chemicals can be shared with allies. This adds all sorts of teamwork in Squads mode. You can place a Warp field and have your ally warp through it. You and your buddy can place Sonar Cells to provide shared vision on all entrances to the final circle. You can sell weapons into Alchemic Acid and split the profits, and of course you can use your friend's sneakily placed Base Chemicals to rebuy ammo. The teamwork options are huge and chemicals in general should get a lot more exposure now that you only have to do half the work to set them up.

• Added full controller support.
  
• Zombies can now use weapons.
  
• Zombies can now use vehicles.
  
• Zombie pests reworked into a tactical shotgun that does 40hp damage per blast.
  
• Zombies now have 50 hp and mana instead of 30.
  
• Zombie claws and knife now do 50hp damage instead of 35.
  
• Active skills now cost 20/30/40/50 mana instead of 15/20/25/30.
  
• Mana regen rate is now +5 mana/s instead of +3 mana/s,
  
• Skill points now cost $2000 each instead of $3000.
  
• Translators can now edit translations in data/translations folder and test them in-game.
  
• Allies can now use eachothers chemicals.
  
• More HUD improvements, showing weapon stats and explaining how and skills trees work.
  
• Reorganised the unlocks grid to make all the chemicals much cheaper.
  
• Updated some translations.
  

Now that controller support is added Geneshift is really getting ready for another big marketing push. And this of course means more players! I'll update the trailer first, and then start contacting the press. Until then, have fun!

Geneshift now has a party system! Perfect for playing with friends in Battle Royale squads. You can now invite your friends on Steam to join your party, which allows you to chat with eachother while still in the menu and organise what game to play. You can also follow the party leader into a game, which makes it much easier for friends to play in the same server. The game will also ensure you're all put onto the same squad if possible. The max party size is 4, as this matches the max squad size in both Battle Royale and the coop campaign.




The music has received a much needed update, making it sound more badass. The old tunes were too slow for the fast-paced gameplay. Even better, the music will now dynamically change based on the action on screen! Whenever you take damage the music will gradually become more and more intense, fading in a powerful beat and drums based on the action on screen. This effect turned out way better than I expected and really gets the heart racing in times of action. It makes you focus and play at least 30% better than you would otherwise! And that is a Geneshift guarantee.




There are some significant changes to the rules of the Battle Royale this version, which place a far greater emphasis on survival. Geneshift has always been a cross between a Battle Royale and a deathmatch, with it's series of 2 minute back-to-back rounds. But the balance was too deathmatchy, and these new changes tap into that feeling of survival that other BR's capture so well.

The main change is removing the mechanic where zombie players could come back to life by killing a player. While a novel idea, it ultimately made surviving irrelevant as you could always come back after dying. Now, death is final, and if you die you'll stay as a zombie for the rest of the round. You can still loot of course, but you won't get a chance to come back and win that round.



This is especially important because you now get a massive +20 points for winning a round, compared to the previous +5 reward. This means that you NEED to win rounds if you wanna win the game, and to do that you need to survive. There are a few other small changes that further enhance this survival vibe, such as making each round last 3 minutes instead of 2, and awarding players bonus XP over time simply for staying alive. Overall, this survival focus makes the game feel significantly more immersive, makes vehicles and chemicals far more useful as ways to stay alive, and makes round wins far more satisfying (especially when combined with the intense, new dynamic music!)




Geneshift now has a brand new logo! You might have also noticed a new header image on Steam. The HUD has also been improved, as you can see the health and mana bars are now far easier to see. The official maps have also been turned to day-time instead of night time, which is prettier and makes it easier to see enemies and game objects.

• You can now invite Steam friends to join your party.
  
• Changed all the music in the game, and gave it dynamic intensity.
  
• New logo and new brighter new in-game graphics.
  
• Zombies can no longer resurrect by killing a living player.
  
• Rounds now last 3 minutes instead of 2.
  
• Winning a round now gives +20 points instead of +5.
  
• You get +10xp every 30s that you stay alive to reward survival.
  
• Tier 1 guns only do 75% as much damage as before.
  
• Bazooka does 400hp instead of 600hp damage, making cars far more viable.
  
• You can now choose your difficulty on the loading screen, and earn more XP for higher difficulties.
  
• Players now spawn with a USP in Battle Royale mode.
  
• Changed bot behaviour to play with a survival focus and try to avoid players.
  
• Holding TAB in-game now shows daily challenges under the minimap.
  
• Improved the health and mana bars in the HUD.
  
• Tweaked how the civilian wanted level increases, making it easier to reach level 3 then escape further attention.
  
• Guards no longer turn into zombies in the campaign.
  
• You no longer need to return souls in the campaign, simply killing zombies will do.
  
• The game no longer pauses when you open the buy menu in singleplayer PvP modes, as this is inconsistent with multiplayer.
  
• Made the "Top 3 in Match" daily challenge a permanent feature in the top slot, so every day you have a reason to win a game.
  
• Made some in-game graphics sync with the music, like your character will dance to it if you idle long enough.
  
• Fixed a bunch of bugs.
  
• Updated some translations.
  

Oooohh, a discount. And oh my... it's so big! If you haven't done so yet now is a great time to pick up the game. The next things I'll focus on are making a new trailer, updating all the translations and (trying!) to add controller support. No guarantees on the controller support as it might not work well, but we'll see. Anyway, enjoy the new version and have fun!

It's been 3 months since the last version, but this one is worth the wait. This version completely reworks Geneshift's progression system, changing how you level up, how you unlock things, how XP is earned and more. It introduces a new currency called "Kill Coins" which are used to unlock items, adds the concept of "personalised difficulty", and features a new daily challenges system. Best of all, the menu has got a total makeover and now looks gorgeous! Check out this before and after pic!




The new menu system not only looks better but is significantly easier to navigate. There's a big play button which will auto-join you into the ideal server, daily challenges shown on the left, and every other page has been polished up too. Up the top left we see your current level and XP displayed, along with any kill coins you've earned (more on that later). Specific pages of the menu have been reworked too, such as the challenges page.

The challenge page shown below not only looks swish with it's new hex layout, but changes how challenges are earned too. You can now complete any challenge adjacent to one you've already completed (in the picture below the pink are completed and the blue are able to be completed). This lets you slowly work your way down the challenge grid, and move diagonally from challenge to challenge. This is a big improvement over the previous design where if you got stuck on a challenge it would completely prevent you from claiming any challenges below it.




Speaking of challenges, the main menu now shows 3 new daily challenges. These new challenges are a great way to earn extra XP and kill coins (yes yes, more on that later..). After you complete a challenge it will reset with a new randomly chosen challenge at 0 UTC each day. Also everyone will get the same challenges, which I'm hoping will result in some ridiculous days where everyone is exclusively using sniper rifles to try complete the "Get 10 sniper kills" challenge. These challenges are a lot of fun as they always give you something new to aim for each day.


The XP system has been completely reworked. First of all, you can now go all the way up to level 100. Your level is shown above your head in-game and represents how much XP other players get for killing you. It's a great way to show off your progress and make others fear you, while also valuing the high XP bounty on your head. Every time you level up you will gain +15 kill coins which can be used to unlock items. The XP you earn each day is also used to compete in the daily leaderboards, and the 20 players who earn the most XP each day will receive additional kill coins.




One fun new way to earn extra XP is by playing on a harder difficulty level. This will result in facing more difficult but also higher level bots, and these higher level bots will award more XP whenever you kill them. The cool thing about this new difficulty mechanic is that it is personallised just to you, so you can choose to play on Insane difficulty, whie someone else in the server can play on Standard. This allows veteran players to have a challenge and farm bonus XP without forcing newbies to die to aimbots.


Kill Coins are the new main currency that you can earn. They are used to unlock items which gives you the main sense of progression in the game. Items used to be unlocked with XP but this was quite confusing, as normally players don't expect to "spend" XP and see it go down. So now instead, XP makes you level up, and when you do that you gain +15 kill coins. You also gain kill coins for completing daily challenges and regular challenges. You also get them by topping the daily XP leadboards.



Items are now arranged in a hexagonal grid, and like the challenges, you can only unlock an item that is adjacent to one you've already unlocked. Players can snake their way down the list, picking and choosing which items to get. This adds an element of strategy in the way you progress your account. Do you rush vertically down the list to reach the top-tier skills and weapons? Or do you unlock the significantly cheaper items up the top first?

The previous version also had the concept of "item discovery" which has now been removed from the game. You no longer need to randomly discover an item in the map before you can unlock it (which could sometimes take forever and was frustratingly random). Now you can unlock anything as long as you've reached it in the hexagonal grid and have earned enough kill coins.


There are plenty of other changes too. I'll list some of the highlights below:

• The game automatically logs you in when you open it.
  
• The menu background is now animated with dudes shooting at cars.
  
• Added 20 new challenges, and 30 new daily challenges.
  
• Victory points have been removed from the game.
  
• You no longer require a certain amount of victory points to play on harder difficulties.
  
• Challenges no longer require a certain amount of victory points to complete.
  
• Winning a round now awards +500/300/200 XP instead of victory points.
  
• Challenges no longer need to be "claimed". You get the reward as soon as you complete the challenge.
  
• Challenges that give you items will now actually unlock the item for you, rather than simply "discover" it (as discovery concept has been removed).
  
• Synergy points have been removed from the game, streamlining the skills system.
  
• You can now increase your player's starting skill level by unlocking "skill points" in the new hexagonal unlocks grid.
  
• Made a bunch of UI improvements in the HUD and menu.
  
• Demo players no longer earn 5x less XP than DLC players, instead they can only use 20% of the kill coins they earn (but get the other 80% if they upgrade).
  
• Fixed a bunch of Steam achievements.
  
• The singleplayer campaign can now be played on any difficulty you want. You don't have to finish standard before you can attempt Hardcore or Insane.
  
• Rescaled everyone's XP to try work with the new leveling system (which is now out of 100 instead of 20).
  
• A new supporters badge will show next to the name of players who have bought the full game. This shows in leaderboards and in-game chat.
  
• Cosmetic medallions now only adjust your shoulder pads, not the icon next to your name.
  
• Made it so you can still play the game even without logging in (incase the master server crashes). Your stats and progress can't be saved doing this.
  
• Reworked the options menu, getting rid of a bunch of old obsolute advanced options.
  
• Killing civilians and zombies now awards +1xp per kill.
  
• Added a new accounts page in the menu that shows cool stats like how many daily challenges you've completed, number of vehicles destroyed and weapon accuracy.
  
• Nerfed sprintstun and allowed phase shifts to regenerate even while taking damage.
  
• Made bots generally a bit easier.
  

Wow, Geneshift is on discount just as a new version is released! Brilliant business strategy batman! Yes, you can get the game for 40% off now if you choose. Or just play the free demo and tell your friends. As always feedback is welcome!

Have fun!

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary since Geneshift first came online, this version is getting a big, immersive, GTA2 inspired makeover. We now have civilians, vehicle friendly maps, and even a 4-star wanted level. This version also introduces a new squad mode, player vs bots coop option, a new difficulty level, new BR mechanics, a more permissive free demo option, and more!



Geneshift now has civilians! They walk around the map on premade paths, cross the street at pedestrian crossings, chill out in the park or loiter near their favourite uhmmmm.. establishments.



Some of them drive cars and blast groovy beats out of the radio. If you fire a gun next to them they'll scream and run away. They really bring the map to life and make the game far more immersive. But best of all, they introduce a fun new mini-game that can be played alongside the main game...



Inspired by the wanted level system in GTA games, you now have a "civilian aggression rating". This ranges from 0 to 4 stars and increases the more civilians you kill. By default civilians will ignore you, which is important as I don't want them distracting from the main gameplay. However if you choose to go on a murderous killing spree, then your rating will start to increase.

As your rating increases, civilians will drop better and better loot, but they'll also become more aggressive towards you. At level 0 they ignore you. At level 1 they will attack with their fists. At level 2 they will fire back with pistols, while level 3 makes them use autos. Finally if you manage to reach level 4 (it's not easy to do) then they will go into an all out riot where every civilian in the map will swarm to your location to destroy you as soon as possible.

This acts as a sort of mini-game where you can try and see how long you can survive against the mob. But what's really cool is that this is an actually viable strategy in-game. If you reach this max wanted level you will earn some seriously good loot, like the new +20% DMG purple super weapons. Also, civilians award a bit of cash when you kill them, so they give you something to farm up while running around the maps.




Demo users (who use the demo linked on the right of the store page) now have far more options in-game. They can now actually unlock items! This is pretty huge, as they can now play Geneshift competitively 100% for free. Of course XP is still earned slower without the full game, but all items in the game can now be used given enough time. Furthermore, when you upgrade to the DLC you will now instantly double your XP, allowing you to get a bunch of cool new items.



Finally for the first time in 10 years Geneshift has wide maps that are actually big enough to drive vehicles in. Before now the maps were either too small or too cramped, but as requested, I have taken the time to finally expand them. And it feels great! You can now hop into a car and just cruise all over the place. New roads have been bulldozed through buildings and annoying boxes have been removed to make for a super smooth driving experience.




Battle Royale now has a new default game mode - squads! Squads support up to 5 players, allowing for some sweet 5v5v5v5 games. Even better, these squads dynamically change size based on the number of players in the server, which lets players play co-op vs the bots.

I think this will do wonders for our community and give a much better first impression to new players. Instead of joining a FFA game and getting destroyed by a veteran, they will now be placed on the same team, working together and introducing some great team play. The menu also has a new "quick play" button which will automatically place you into the best online server too, factoring in ping, players and game type.




Iteration iteration iteration. This version improves in the Battle Royale formula in a few key ways. First of all, the circle now shrinks in a more interesting way, alternating between open looting then sudden shrinking. Loot will also now drop into specific buy zone areas throughout the round as well, which encourages players to fight over key areas to gain a financial edge. The zombie's now have an updated ranged attack as well, making for interesting combat between zombies without overwhelming the remaining players.



There is a new, extremely tough, "Ultimate" difficulty setting for those wanting a challenge. This is especially fun to play with friends using the new Battle Royale squads mode. Bot difficulty itself has been tweaked, to make the bots generally more difficult, and especially smarter at winning rounds. You are no longer guaranteed to win every single round on Standard difficulty, and a lot of the previous exploits against bots no longer work. For example, bots are now smart enough to shift out of the way if you try run them over with a car.




As always there are a bunch of small balance and bug fixes. I can't write them all out but here are some highlights:

• Super weapons have been nerfed in terms of DPS and ammo.
  
• Tier1 guns now cost $2000 instead of $1000.
  
• Tier2 guns now cost $3000 instead of $2000.
  
• Superweapons now cost $3500 to refill instead of $2500.
  
• You now take 15% damage when shot at and inside a vehicle.
  
• A charged knife will now cause vehicles to instantly catch fire, forcing enemies to eject.
  
• Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Conquest and Checkpoint modes have been added to the new big official maps.
  
• Cash randomly drops into buy zones in BR.
  
• Made bots worse at knifing.
  
• Reduced the range of zombie pests, while increasing it's rate of fire.
  
• Players are now shown as green in BR, as are your squad mates.
  
• Fixed a few broken challenges and Steam achievements.
  
• You can no longer buy vehicles from base chemicals.
  
• The BR circle deals more damage the longer you stand in it.
  
• Goo Trap slow has been nerfed to 70% slow instead of 50%.
  
• Players can now keep their gun when they win a BR, but without ammo.
  
• Reduced the effects of sprint stun, allowing for faster movement speed during combat.
  
• Killing a civilan car will increase your wanted level 4x faster.
  
• Changed the behaviour of the circle to shrink down to the red zombie line, pause there briefly, and then shrink again.
  
• Gave demo users the ability to unlock weapons and cybernetic skills.
  
• Players will now double their total earned XP when they upgrade to the DLC.
  
• Player names are now shown above characters at all times.
  
• Made super bots more difficult in standard difficulty, ensuring a constant challenge.
  

Wow what a coincidence! Geneshift is on sale at the exact same time this version has comes out. It's like the stars have aligned, and fired a cosmic ray of love straight from your wallet to my bank account. Amazing! Nah in all seriousness, you can get the game cheap now if you want. Or simply play the new demo option, which has been expanded to allow the unlocking of all items anyway. As long as you tell your friends and hop on for a game I'm happy.

Have fun!