Skillshot City News

This new map is 5x larger than before. With classic GTA2 vibes, this map feels immersive and completely transforms the game. Vehicles play a critical role in transport now, and the rules of Battle Royale have been changed to work on a larger scale. Over the coming versions I want to make Geneshift more sandboxy with a focus on exploration, and this mega map is a great place to start.




To go with the mega map we now have a new day/night cycle, fog effects, lens flares, rain and thunder, and more. It's a significant upgrade to the aesthetics of the game and the weather patterns really make the new map a lot more immersive.




- Enemies now have health bars above their heads. It feels satisfying to hit people and prioritize targets based on who has the lowest health.
- You can now rebuy ammo from anywhere in the map at any time. Just press B and buy ammo.
- Whenever you fire your gun you will be revealed for 1.5s to all other players nearby. This makes it much easier to find action in the minimap.
- Phase drifting has been removed as a default ability but made into a new skill in the Physical tree.
- Weapons have a reduced range, preventing people from firing at you off-screen.
- The firing delay on active skills like Plasma Ball has been reduced from 1.0s to 0.5s.




Everything has been scaled up for the new massive map. We have more players, longer rounds and a new scoring system to keep matches between 15 to 30 minutes. Instead of first to win 3 rounds, it's first to 50 points. With this change there are many new ways to gain score like doing civilian missions, hunting for kills or winning supply drops. This also allows you to feel productive even as a zombie.




Most exciting are the new rules for zombies, making zombie gameplay far more engaging and free. A few highlights are:

- Zombies can keep respawning infinitely and aren't forced to spectate.
- Zombies can now fire guns in the red zone, but take 2x damage.
- Zombies no longer resurrect from killing a survivor, but instead killing 5 enemies in a row (zombies included).
- Zombies can now resurrect with a new special "Heart" supply drop which falls every 2 minutes.

These final 2 points completely change the zombie meta, and let you focus on exploring the map, getting quality kill streaks, and winning the super intense Heart drop. To win the heart you simply need to stand on it for 5s. But be careful, because every other zombie will try do the same and only 1 player gets to revive!




Another big addition is the new lives mechanic. Battle royale is the last man alive. By default we all start with 1 life, and if you die you become a zombie with 0 lives. But now you have the ability to earn bonus lives! Every kill gives you +0.2 lives, so if you get 5 kills in a row you'll gain a backup life. If you get another 5 kills in a row you'll have 2 backup lives.

These backup lives mean that if you die, you'll consume the life but will not become a zombie. This system provides a much needed incentive to hunt for kills instead of hiding on a roof somewhere surviving. Every kill is exciting as it gets you one step closer to that bonus life that might let you win the game.




Chemicals now come with charges making them far more useful. When you buy a Warp Field chemical, it now lets you place FOUR warp fields instead of just 1. The charges refill every 2 minutes, so you can keep on placing them. Huge buff to chemicals, as a single chemical can be used to fully prepare an area for maximum advantage. I personally like to place Trip Wires all around the incoming supply drop.




Skills have been streamlined in a few ways. Firstly, you can take a skill directly up to level 3, without the confusing requirement to get 4/9/14 skills in that tree first. Secondly, each tree now gives you a passive bonus for each skill point in the tree. Every point in the Cybernetic tree gives you a passive +2% damage. Physical skills give +0.5 health regen per skill point, and Mental skills +20% shift regen per point. The old skill queue system has been disabled by default, because it's honestly more fun to choose your own build as you play. But if you really want this you can re-enable it in the options menu.




- New map called Subvein-City 5x larger than before.

- Huge graphical improvements like fog, lens flares, bullet trails, random debris, rain and a day night cycle.

- New rules for Battle Royale to work with the big new map, such as increasing the number of players from 20 to 32.

- The rules for resurrection have changed. Instead of killing 1 survivor, you must now kill 5 enemies without dying (zombies included).

- A better way to resurrect however is to win the new "Heart" supply drop. This falls every 2 minutes and you can rez if you stand ontop of it for 5s.

- Battle Royale rounds now last 6 minutes instead of 3 minutes and scoring has been changed. Instead of first player to win 3 rounds, it is now first player to 50 score.

- Scoring system in Battle Royale is changed. You now get +1 per minute alive, +1 per kill, +2 per civilian mission, +5 per supply drop, and +20 for a round win.

- Zombies can once again respawn over and over again instead of going to spectator mode.

- Zombies can now shoot guns in the red zone. However they will take 200% damage in the red zone.

- Survival mode has been changed to only have 4 rounds instead of 12, but rounds are longer.

- Survival mode now ends the moment you actually die, you don't get to become a zombie anymore (except in coop).

- Everyone's top scores in Survival mode have been rescaled downwards, to correspond to the new reduced number of rounds.

- Conquest mode has new rules for the big map. You can now capture any point, not forced to go in order from A to B to C to D to E. The capturing cooldown has also been removed.

- There is a new "lives" mechanic in Battle Royale. If you kill 5 players without dying you'll gain +1 life, which prevents you from becoming a zombie if you die.

- Chemicals now work on a "charges" system. For example, buying a Warp Field now lets you place down 4 warp fields instead of just 1.

- Chemicals placed on the ground will now automatically expire after 360s.

- Phase Drifting (double tapping shift) has been removed as a default ability.

- Phase Drifting is now a skill in the Physical tree, and you are now able to fire your gun while drifting.

- Enemies now have health bars above their heads.

- When you fire a gun, your location will be revealed to enemies for 1.5s in the map and minimap.

- Each skill tree now has a passive benefit for each point invested in it:

- You get +2% damage for each point spent in the Cybernetic skill tree.

- You get +0.5 hp/s regen at all times for each point in the Physical skill tree.

- You regenerate shifts +20% faster for each point in the Mental skill tree.

- You can now level skills right up to level 3, without needing to get 4/9/14 skills in that tree first.

- Skill builds have been removed from the game by default. The game is funner when you get to choose your build as you play. But you can re-enable this in the advanced options if you wish.

- You can now buy ammo at any time from anywhere in the map. Simply press (B) and click the yellow "Buy Ammo" button.

- Increased the amount of cash and XP earned killing enemies, killing civiliand and doing civilian missions.

- Players are now smaller and move faster, requiring more skill to hit them.

- Reduced the firing delay on offensive skills like Plasma Ball and Venom Shot.

- Reduced the damage, bullet speed and range of all guns by about 10%.

- Big improvements to AI in all game modes.

- Minor balance tweaks to various weapons and skills.

- Streamlined some elements in the HUD.

- Plenty of bug fixes.


Geneshift is on sale this week, so like, subscribe, and smash that buy button! I hope you enjoy this crazy big new version and have a rockin Christmas.

Have fun!
bencelot

This version completely reworks all the systems of the game. There is a huge focus on in-game progression, the core gameplay loop, and giving a sense of becoming stronger and stronger within the match. You'll start with a single skill point but can now level up by killing people. Meanwhile, cash is never wasted as your weapons and chemicals are no longer lost on death. Instead, your purchases last forever allowing for key strategic decisions on how you create your build in-game.




The biggest change is to the skills system. We now start each match at level 1, with a single skill point. But as you kill enemies you will now gain xp and level up. Each level lets you invest another skill point and become more powerful. This is especially true as every skill in the game has been reworked to remove skill penalties. If you put a point into Vampirism you get free healing with absolutely no downside. Level 3 skills are objectively more powerful than level 1 skills, and every skill point is valuable.

All of the skills have been individually tweaked as well, and some completely reworked. For example, Radiate now fires a nuclear missile at your target location. Active skills have become more skillful to use too, by adding minor firing delays that require you to use the skills tactically instead of blindly firing them in combat.




Killing enemies not only gives you XP to level up your skills, but it also gives you cash. And now cash is really valuable. Why? Because the things you can buy with cash (weapons, chemicals and cars) are now all permanent. Before this version, you might save up $5000 to buy a super weapon, only to die and lose it all. This hurt a lot and removed any sense of progress you got from earning cash. But no more!

Now you get to keep your weapons and chemicals on death, meaning that the expensive weapon you bought will be yours for the rest of the match. The price of these items has been increased to compensate for this, and this creates some interesting milestones throughout the course of a match. You start by buying a tier1 gun, then saving $5000 for a tier2 gun, and then $10000 for a superweapon. Which weapon you buy (or chemical) has now become a big, important, strategic decision. But whatever you choose, you'll be growing more powerful and truly rewarded for the cash you earn in-game.




There is a new way to move around the map - phase drifting! Simply double-tap shift and you will go into a new sliding motion. This lets you move around the map faster, and you will gain in speed the longer you can travel too - but there's a catch. Your movement has momentum, like you're skating on ice. This requires a bit of skill to pull off, but once you get the hang of it you'll be Tokyo drifting around corners and ramming into supply crates. This change simply makes movement fun.

Supply crates are a new addition to the game too. The random loot scattered around the map is now bundled up into these crates, making them like fun little presents to open up. You can even use them as temporary cover to block against enemy bullets (until they explode). The main supply drop comes in a super golden grate with extra health and lots of goodies inside.




The chemical system now works in a fundamentally different way. Before, you had to choose between either holding a chemical, or placing it on the ground for different benefits. This was a tough choice and often people chose to go for the simpler option of just carrying them. But now you don't need to choose. When you buy a chemical you get both the carried version AND the placed version for free. You can pour some of your chemical onto the ground to get the placed benefits, while still holding onto it. Then after a 120s cooldown, you can place it down again in case someone destroys it.

This makes it significantly easier to set up a quick base around a key area, as you always have your passive chemicals on hand. For example, you might decide to buy 2 Sonar Cells and a Fission Mine. You go to a building, and set Sonar's on the chokepoints and a Fission Mine on the buy zone. They after you win your fight there, you can run to the next location, wait for the cooldown to expire and reposition your chemicals again. Just as with weapons, the chemicals you purchase are permanent for the rest of the match, and act as significant tech upgrades that grow you more and more powerful.

A few more chemical changes are that now everyone can destroy chemicals at any time, for free. Simply stand on an enemy chemical, hold CTRL and click Neutralize. This works now because enemy chemicals aren't permanently destroyed, but merely put on cooldown and can be replaced later (it would've been too powerful otherwise). Also, Alchemic Acid has been removed and replaced with a new chemical called Supply Beacon, which lets you call down a supply drop every 300s.




- Everyone now starts at level 1, but instead of looting for skill points, you will earn XP and level up by killing enemies.
- Skills no longer gain penalties as you level them up. Level 3 is now objectively stronger than level 1, making every level up valuable.
- Every skill in the game has been rebalanced and reworked with some big changes. EG: Radiate now fires a nuke at your target location.
- You no longer lose your weapons on death. This lets you save up for expensive guns and keep using them for the rest of the match.
- You can now double-tap shift to enter a new movement mode called 'phase drifting'. This lets you move faster but reveals you to enemies.
- You no longer lose your chemicals on death. The chemicals you buy will stick with you all match, making them great tech upgrades.
- You can now place chemicals for free based on the chemicals you're carrying. If your chemical gets destroyed, you can simply replace it.
- Some chemicals have been reworked and replaced. EG: Supply Beacon, which lets you call down a supply drop every 300 seconds.
- Everyone can now Neutralize enemy chemicals for free all the time. The Neutralizer chemical has been removed.
- You only have to buy a car once to unlock a license for it. This license lets you rebuy that car for free for the rest of the match.
- Loot is now bundled up into 15hp crates, and supply drops now come in a big shiny 150hp crate. Shoot or shift into them to open them.
- When you kill an enemy, you'll instantly gain +50 hp and mana, allowing you to keep fighting and avoid getting third partied.
- Adjusted the costs of all chemicals, weapons and vehicles, generally making them more expensive as they are now permanent upgrades.
- Accessing level 3 skills is now a bit different. You can take a single skill up to level 3 on your 5th/10th/15th point in that tree.
- Your player level (shown up the top left of the screen) is now higher, as I've changed the leveling curve so people level up more frequently.
- And much more! Balance tweaks, bug fixes, and quality of life changes based on hundreds of hours of discussion in the Discord.



Geneshift is on sale this week, so like, subscribe, and smash that buy button!

Have fun!
bencelot

The giveaway has ended and it's been a lot of fun! The servers have never been fuller and I've received some fantastic feedback from all the new players. I hope you all continue to enjoy the game as I implement this feedback over the coming weeks.



There were a few hiccups, mostly servers crashing and people not being able to log in, but those have fortunately been fixed. There was also some confusion about the nature of the giveaway, as the DLC was not included. I made sure to mention this on the Steam page and in the announcement, but understandably not everyone read this. But I'm grateful to the people who left reviews on this topic, as it's made me rethink the business model. People were mostly concerned about the progression benefits of the DLC, and as a result I have significantly toned this down.

You used to unlock items significantly faster with the DLC. This didn't give any exclusive access to items, but it did allow you to earn kill coins 5x faster, saving you time. But this was simply too different of a gaming experience for those who did and didn't have the DLC, which this giveaway made clear. So I've made big sweeping changes to fix it and greatly nerfed this DLC benefit.

Non DLC players can now progress 3 to 5x faster than before, as you now get more rewards from leaderboards, challenges, and leveling up. If you do get the DLC, you'll get a minor 2x coin boost only to the challenges and leveling up, but nothing else. For example if you top the daily leaderboards you'll now get the same +200 coin bonus whether you have the DLC or not (it used to be only 40 coins without the DLC). I've also flattened the costs to unlock new items to give a more steady sense of progression.

Anyway, I've made this fix and the game plays a lot better because of it. So thanks again to everyone who made their voices heard and letting me know! Over the next few weeks I'll continue going through all the reviews, analysing the feedback and making changes. You can follow the dev updates in the official discord at: discord.gg/geneshift






For the next 48 hours you can get the base game of Geneshift 100% free. Please keep in mind that this giveaway is only for the base game and does not include the Supporter's Edition DLC. Fortunately, the base game has 95% of the content and is all you need to play, so please tell your friends and get it while you can!

There are going to be a LOT of players online due to this giveaway, so if you want to dominate the PvP servers, or are curious about the brand new singleplayer survival game mode, now's the time to play!






Last week Geneshift released a HUGE new version with a whole new singleplayer game mode - Daily Survival Runs. You fight 12 rounds against increasingly deadly enemies and see how long you can survive. Each round the enemy grows stronger and the only way to survive is to complete these new GTA2 style missions for civilians, which give you randomly generated bonuses to your items.

These bonuses are great fun and give you crazy powers like +50% movement speed on your knife, or +200% size when you cast Radiate. You'll need to adapt your play-style based on the bonuses you get if you want to survive and top the leaderboards. These new civilian missions and their bonus rewards have been added to the PvP modes too. This game is getting more like GTA2 every version!

If you like the normal Geneshift gameplay but don't want to deal with lag or veterans kicking your ass, this is the mode for you. Even better, if you own the Supporter's Edition DLC you can play this mode in 4-player co-op with friends (and only one of you needs to own it as well).

Geneshift will be doing a free-to-keep giveaway on June 8th! You may have noticed that the game went free-to-keep a few weeks ago too. That was due to a miscommunication between Valve and I, so we're doing it again. There will be plenty of new people online, so make sure to join the fun!




This version introduces a new singleplayer mode - Daily Survival Runs! You fight 12 rounds against increasingly deadly enemies and see how long you can survive. Each round the enemy grows stronger by gaining more damage, health and skills. The final rounds are very difficult, and the only way to survive them is to grow stronger yourself, which you do by completing missions and unlocking special bonuses.

You can play this new mode once per day, and after you win (or lose) your score will be added to the new daily survival leaderboards. If you manage to survive all 12 rounds, you'll unlock Hardcore, then Insane, and finally Ultimate difficulty - where you can play endlessly to try set the highest score possible. If you like the normal Geneshift gameplay but don't want to deal with lag or veterans kicking your ass, this is the mode for you. Even better, if you own the Supporters Edition DLC you are able to play this mode in 4-player co-op!




Some civilians now have a little "HELP ME" text bubble above them. Pressing [E] on these civilians will start a mission. These missions are available in all game modes, but are especially designed for the new survival mode. They will have you doing things like driving over civilians, or taking out armed thugs, or killing enemies without taking any damage. Every mission is different, and in co-op you complete them together with your allies and all share the rewards. What rewards you ask?




When you complete a civilian mission you get a special reward that lasts for the rest of the match. For example, you might unlock +80% bullet speed on the AK47, or +50% damage on Plasma Ball. These are generated in a semi-random way, trying to buff items that you're already holding, but exactly which item is unknown. Also, in the new survival mode you'll start the match with 3 randomly generated bonuses, which are reset every 24 hours and shared by everyone.

These random bonuses encourages you to adapt, and makes every game feel different. One round you might be sniping due to the extra high damage Plasma Ball, and another you might be charging with a shotgun due to the +30% movement speed on the M3. It's a whole lot of fun trying out these OP bonuses, and a big strategy to winning the new survival mode is to get as many as you can in early rounds to try survive the later ones.




You can now carry 2 primary weapons at the same time, allowing for smart combos like a sniper & shotgun combo. However it takes longer to swap between them, and you might want to use a pistol anyway for the faster swapping. The cost of ammo has also been increased significantly, making cash a lot more valuable. The ammo cost is especially high for tier2 weapons, and even more for superweapons. This creates an interesting dynamic where you get more damage at higher tiers, but the ammo efficiency is way worse, meaning you'll need to save up cash in early rounds to sustain the ammo in later rounds when you are forced to use a higher tier gun (in survival).


Skills now only require 2 points to max out, instead of 4. Before, there was no point in leveling a skill to level 2 or 3.. it was just a waste of time clicking. Now things are clean. Your first point into the skill unlocks it, and the next point maxes it out. The new level 2 skill has the same power as the old level 4, so it's just been rescaled. But wait, there's more! Because if you spend 8 skill points within the same tree, you gain the ability to spend a third skill point on those skills within the tree, and this third point is much much stronger than anything we've seen before (the equivalent of level 6 from last version, if such a level existed).

Also, you can now freely unlock skills from any skill tree. Meaning you can combine Cybernetic, Physical and Mental skills together without having to pay any cost. This really opens up the skill builds you can create. Another change is that everyone's starting level has been drastically reduced, but there are more skill points lying around. This places an emphasis on looting for skill points and actually growing stronger throughout the round.




You can now shoot 360 degrees out the window of your car, instead of just 180 degrees to the side you're on. This makes driveby shootings much easier to do. To compensate for this the car offers less protection.

Chemicals are improved too, as you can now carry up to 3 chemicals at the same time. This not only makes it easier to pick up and put down an entire base, but it also lets you stack the chemical's passive abilities. If you carry 3 Fission Mines for example you will throw FOUR grenades at the same time for the price of one (as each one gives +1 free grenade). Is this crazy OP? Hop on to find out!


Zombies can now use their claws in the red zone, meaning they always have a chance of getting back into the game, even when the final survivors are in the final circle. However, to prevent endless zombie claw spam, if you die as a zombie you are forced to spectate for the rest of the round. This has the added benefit of making you really value your life as a zombie, as if you die you're out of the round.




- Pressing [E] on a civilian now gives you a mission, which if completed awards you special bonuses.
- In the new daily survival run, you will start with 3 randomly generated bonuses, which changes every 24 hours.
- You can now carry 2 primary weapons. Switching time is longer if doing this though.
- You can now shoot 360 degrees while driving vehicles, but they offer less protection.
- Skills now cap out after 2 points instead of 4. They're rescaled though, so the new level 2 is as strong as the old level 4.
- If you spent 8 skill points in the same tree, you are able to spend a 3rd skill point which makes it ultra powerful.
- Players now start with far fewer skill points, giving a new emphasis on looting points as you play (go for Supply Drops).
- You can now combine skills from multiple skill trees, allowing for far more interesting skill builds.
- Changed the mana cost of active skills to 20/35/50. Mana regenerates slower to compensate.
- You can now carry up to 3 chemicals at the same time, and pickup chemicals instantly.
- Renamed the Complete Edition DLC to the Supporters Edition DLC.
- Health and mana regenerate in the campaign, just like in PvP.
- Zombies can now use their claws in the red zone.
- If you die as a zombie, you must now spectate the rest of the round.
- Daily challenges can now be done against zombies (like get 6 shotgun kills).
- Killing a zombie now gives +1 score in BR, and it's first to 60 instead of 50.
- Tier1 guns are capped at +30% DMG, Tier2 guns at +50% DMG, and Superweapons at +100% DMG.
- Ammo is generally more expensive and guns have fewer bullets, making cash more valuable.
- Added a dedicated 'Buy Ammo' button.
- Added pretty new graphical animations and particle effects.
- Rearranged the position of items in the HUD.
- Rearranged some items in the hex grid.
- Fixed countless bugs.
- Added a whole new singleplayer survival mode. Go try it!

Have fun!
Bencelot.