Generation Zero® News

Greetings, Survivors!
The day has finally come: The Tactical Response Update is upon us.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Procedural Missions[/h3]
With the Procedural Missions, we’re introducing something we’re thrilled about:
A way to deliver missions to all players on a weekly basis that, through certain randomized aspects, ensures that no two players will play exactly the same mission (unless they’re playing together, of course).
It also allows us to expand on this concept and add more mission types to the mix in future updates, offering both new and experienced players a fresh mission every week.
Right now, we’re launching this new feature with three different missions, one of which will spawn anywhere in the hosting player’s world as soon as they start their game.

• Anomalous signal
  A strange signal has been picked up coming from somewhere on the island. Investigating it, players find that a malfunctioning machine is calling in beacons.
  
• Repair station removal
  An old army repair station for the machine prototype field tests has been found. Since this could still be used by the machines to repair and refuel, it’s best if it is disabled. There might even be some good stash of resources left there!
  
• FNIX outpost sabotage
  Reports have come in about new, high value FNIX outposts being spotted around the island. These outposts are great places to scavenge for resources, but more importantly, sabotaging them will help keep FNIX from taking over!
  

The individual missions take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete and of course offer a reward in the form of some sweet loot.

[h3]Building Blocks Voiceover[/h3]
The “Building Blocks” mission has been updated with voice over conversations between Pontus and Therese! While the mission remains the same, new players will get to hear new conversations and radio chatter between the two characters as they work their way through the mission.



[h3]Tactical Equipment Pack 2 [/h3]
Expand your arsenal with these five finely crafted pieces of guerrilla equipment. Used to spy, scout, distract, or destroy, the contents of this premium DLC provides players of all playstyles with something new to enhance their combat effectiveness or just to have some fun!
The Pack contains:

• Toy Car Lure
  A modified RC car with a radio strapped on top. Once placed on the ground, this car will drive away from you at top speed, with its radio at maximum volume. This lure is great for drawing enemies away from you in a sticky situation.
  
• Sensory Jammer
  The sensory jammer creates a specially tuned EM field when it is turned on. This field interferes with the senses of any machine in range, making the player practically invisible.
  
• Hacking Dart
  A lightweight lawn dart modified with a magnet (to stick to machines) and a contact hack device. The dart is built to be thrown quite far and accurately, allowing you to hit enemies with it from relative safety. Once attached, the device disrupts the friend-or-foe identification system of the machine it is attached to, causing it to attack any other machine on the battlefield. The effect lasts until the device’s battery runs out.
  
• Remote-Controlled Tick
  This modified Tick has had its navigation system overridden, allowing it to be controlled via an RC car transmitter. For good measure, a homemade pipe-bomb has also been attached to it. This allows you to directly control the Tick, sending it into the midst of unsuspecting machines to scout them out and blow them up!
  
• Portable Homing Turret
  This portable turret is a potent weapon against both ground and airborne targets alike. It fires small, guided rocket propelled grenades in salvos of 3. These guided munitions lock on to any nearby machine, meaning nothing is safe when one of these turrets is active.
  

Along with the base amount of each equipment that is added to your Storage Box, you of course also get the blueprints needed to craft more of them. What’s stopping you from unleashing an army of RC Toy Cars on the Machines? Absolutely nothing.
Are you ready to deal with the Machine threat in never before seen ways?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2334430/Generation_Zero__Tactical_Equipment_Pack_2/


[h3]Quality of Life improvements[/h3]

• The Vintovka has been added to the Wolf’s loot table as well as the Firebird’s. Also, there is now a form of Bad Luck Protection to make sure you get it after a certain amount of tries! Happy hunting.
  
• The emergency broadcast sound that some TVs make has been adjusted to a quieter sound on a different wavelength to reduce the chance of triggering tinnitus in players. Please let us know if you still experience tinnitus in any part of the game so we can continue to improve!
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

Crafting

• Materials used for crafting but stored in the Plundra used to be displayed as available for crafting, but couldn’t be used until transferred to the player’s inventory. Crafting will automatically access your Plundra storage as well.
  
• Soviet Weapons Pack ammo can now be crafted
  

Audio

• Fixed an issue where sometimes the wrong ambience or reverb would trigger indoors or underground
  
• Fixed an issue where the first shot of automatic weapons triggered twice
  
• 
  

Machines

• [Community Reported]: [Machines] - The Reaper now properly fights back against the Soviet machines
  
• [Community Reported]: Machines no longer start rapid firing when damaged while shooting. Thank you to, well, everyone! Many had this problem, no more!
  

Art

• [Base Assault] - Fixed the collision on walls with a spotlight
  

Gameplay

• [Community Reported] Tylöveden Control Point no longer resets when launching the game after updating. This will sadly not reinstate already lost bases.
  
• Fixed some Control Points having the Base Defense prompts offset slightly to the left
  
• Building Blocks - Doing the mission in multiplayer sometimes blocked the client from claiming their own base. This is no longer the case.
  
• “Building Blocks” no longer autocompletes if the player had “Good News” active before the update. Sorry speedrunners!
  
• Fixed Command Centers sometimes being invulnerable during Base Assault
  
• Fixed clients being able to start Base Defense missions in someone else’s world
  
• Reclaimed Arrows now disappear for all players in a lobby
  

Missions

• An Invitation Mission - Fixed a bug where the last objective could disappear from the host's log and the whole mission would disappear for the client.
  
• An Invitation Mission - Fixed an issue where [redacted] would not appear.
  
• An Invitation Mission - Fixed mission progress transferring incorrectly between client and host
  

UI

• [Skins] - Sometimes weapons skins preview screen could break if a gun has a non-default mag or barrel installed. They now display correctly
  
• Vesslan Warboard was missing the "Building Blocks" mission for some players when interacting with it for the first time. It’s now back!
  
• The Chat Box no longer overlaps with the Warboard UI
  
• Fixed the Crosshair reappearing when opening the weapon wheel while on a bike or bicycle
  
• The Resistance Heavy Bow charge meter is now visible again!
  
• DLC showcase now updates correctly when navigating the menu
  
• [Community reported][Tubular Vanity Pack] - "Cheer" emote no longer shows up twice in the player’s menu
  
• Another Castle - Generator button could still be interacted with after turning it on. Now we’ve got UNLIMITED POWEEER!
  

VFX

• [Tactical Equipment Pack] Molotov cocktail AoE damage no longer expires before the visual effect ends
  

World

• Players can now shoot through the windows of sheds.
  
• Fixed missing collision on part of a wall in Kaseberg
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

Playstation

• The game sometimes crashes when firing an Experimental AG4 at machines
  
• Using the Small EMP Cell can rarely break the first-person model
  

Gameplay

• [Resistance Bow] - Explosive Arrows do not deal damage to FNIX Outpost Generators
  
• Host might not see the player character of the client when the client is riding a motorbike
  
• Turrets in FNIX bases sometimes don’t play their explosion effect when being destroyed
  

Equipment and Weapons

• Some Throwables don’t last as long as they should after being thrown
  
• Reload animation for Vintovka 1891 in multiplayer is always the full reload one
  

UI

• UI screens can overlap when pressing multiple buttons at the same time
  
• Bike tutorial might play for all players in multiplayer instead of just the one triggering it
  

(image: gz_patch26-trailer-thumbnail_1920x1080_v01_update.png)

Good day, Survivors!

In the last Dev Letter, we explained why we are taking a bit longer than usual to bring out this new Update for Generation Zero. In short, we wanted to give our Dev Team more time to thoroughly test what we were working on as well as fix the issues that were found.
Now, we’re fast approaching the end of this new Quality Assurance period and are ready to lock in a release date.

Patch 26, the Tactical Response Update, will be released on all platforms on the 25th of May, 2023!

Once more, thank you for your patience while we were working towards giving this update the polish it deserves!
We see your continued support across all of our social media channels and we greatly appreciate having you at our side as we release new and exciting content for Generation Zero.

Speaking of content, let’s talk a bit about what’s in this new update!

Procedural Missions
These missions are a new way for both newer and veteran players to throw a wrench in the machines’ works and earn some sweet loot!
Once a week, a new procedural mission will be unlocked and playable for all players.
At the moment, there are three types of missions with varying difficulty levels and rewards with more types coming in later updates. They can spawn in different locations all over the map, so keep a watch out!
At release, these missions will focus on sabotaging the machines in their operations. You’ll take out integral parts of their infrastructure and steal important resources! But watch out, these key points will be well-guarded.
We’re glad to be able to give players more things to do on a regular basis!



Tactical Equipment Pack 2
After we buffed the items in the first Equipment DLC we released, players were happy with what it provided, but they had more ideas for fun and useful equipment we could put in the game, so we did!
This premium DLC will contain five new pieces of equipment to tailor your playstyle and give you even more options to approach a fight.
One of them will give you a whole new perspective in approaching a battle!
Over the next couple of days, we will reveal the items in this DLC one by one on our social media, so be sure to follow our Twitter account and join our Discord server to get all the details!

Lots of bug fixes
On top of polishing the new content released with this update, we also got around to fixing a lot of crashes, multiplayer connection issues and AI behavior. And that’s not all! Here are some of the other things we’ve fixed:
The mission “Building Blocks” has received several fixes to progress blockers that were preventing players from completing the quest.
The “Homeward Bound” challenge tree works as intended again.
Lastly, we know how much you love your Tylöveden Home Bases, so in case you haven’t started your game since before the February 2023 Update: You can do so without being afraid of losing it after this update.

As for those who have already lost their base to this bug in the last three months:
We currently have no systems in place that would allow us to reimburse the lost materials to each of you. We know you’re frustrated about the loss of your hard earned resources, so we’ll keep looking into our possibilities in adding a way to give you back at least part of what you lost, but that will take more time. Thank you for your patience.

Quality of Life
We’re also making some quality of life changes to make certain aspects of the game more fun and easy to complete.
For example, the Vintovka will get some bad luck protection as well as being added to the Wolf’s loot pool in order to make it more easily accessible to players!
Also, resources can now be pulled from the Plundra when crafting.

Coming Soon!
These are just a small assortment of the changes made in the Tactical Response Update.
You’ll be able to read the full details in the Patch Notes, which we aim to release one day ahead of the update, so you have ample time to read through them and make plans for your first session after it drops!

Of course we know that this update is rather slim in terms of new content added compared to previous releases.
This is because we put a lot of effort into “Quality over quantity” and also because we’re focusing a lot of resources on one of the coolest additions to the game since its release, a feature that will be unveiled after this update has been released!
No, it’s not a new story DLC or another island; we know that many of you have been asking for one! However, we want to focus on improving the existing game that we have on our hands.
We’re looking forward to talking more about our future plans when the time comes!

Speaking of future plans:
A new public roadmap is still very much being worked on, but since the extended development cycle with this new update is experimental, we have to be really careful when locking in dates and future trajectories. Now that the Tactical Response Update is on the doorstep, we’re hoping to finish and publish the public roadmap soon.

Until then, stay safe out there and take down some machines for us!
Cheers,
The Generation Zero Dev Team

Greetings, Survivors!

It’s been a while since we did one of these, so we thought we’d give you a small update on what we’re doing.
As surely it felt to some of you as well, we blinked and suddenly the February 2023 Patch was two months in the past. By now, we’re sure many of you are wondering when you’ll receive news about the next update. Let’s talk about it!

First of all: No, we don’t have a release date for Patch 26 yet. We will not be able to release it in April, but we are in the final stretch of development!
The reason for this is that while all the main features we want to include in it have been implemented, there are a few bugs that have popped up that we can’t ignore.

When we started working on this patch, we already had a timeline in mind that would allow for a longer Quality Assurance period than previous updates. We believe that investing more time into testing the changes we make means there will be fewer bugs that slip past us, resulting in a much better overall player experience.

What happens now?
Right now, we’re going through another round of bug fixes. These are primarily related to a new feature we’re introducing in this update which will add more things to do on a recurring basis. After that, we’ll do another round of testing and as soon as that’s done, we’ll schedule the patch and announce the release date!

When is that?
While we can’t commit to a specific date yet, we think the wait will be well worth it.
When we’ve locked in a release date for this update, we can also start working on a public roadmap for the rest of the year, but that will take more time.
In the long run, we believe that this change to our development cycle will improve the quality of each update, giving us more time to work on exciting new features.

Thank you for your support. The Resistance fights on!

- The Generation Zero Dev Team

Survivors of the Apocalypse!

For exactly four years have you survived the evil machines’ relentless onslaught.
You’ve grown from a teenager coming back from vacation to a bonafide badass and machine scrapper. You’ve acquired a fine arsenal of weapons, built a base of operations, and helped the human resistance movement grow from a few people in a basement into a serious militia that is not to be underestimated.
And most importantly: You’ve kept your spirit. For every machine that is sent after you, there’s another bullet in your magazine, another grenade in your pocket, another medkit in your hand.
Your courage, power and resilience keep the hope of retaking Östertörn alive. Thank you for never giving up!
We’ve prepared a special Dev Diary to commemorate your collective achievements, have a look!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

As Developers, we’re incredibly proud of the game Generation Zero has become during the last four years. What started out as a passion project to kick off Avalanche Studios’ self-publishing division Systemic Reaction has over the years grown into the perfect showcase for the creativity, dedication and effort our Dev Team puts into the game on a daily basis.
One of the ways this shows is in the many awesome additions we made, like new machines, new weapons, further story missions, crafting, bicycles and motorbikes, base assault and base defense.
All of these features have made Generation Zero even more enjoyable and replayable, shaping it into a powerhouse of an open world game that we enjoy coming back to as much as you do.

Another way that we show our love for our game is by working with you, our community, as we continue to push through the tough times. Of course, no project is without its challenges - every team faces hurdles during a game's lifetime. At times, we had to delay features due to schedule shifts, and occasionally annoying bugs slipped through the cracks when we released a patch. The pandemic that’s been affecting everyone on the planet for the last 2 years also threw its fair share of wrenches in the works (If you know, you know). We know exactly how frustrating events like these are. What’s important, though, is that we keep our eyes on the horizon, take in community feedback, and work towards ironing out the kinks. Since Generation Zero's release we've dedicated ourselves to improving your experience and we intend to keep it that way. There’s no rest for the weary!



Since we’re committed to continuing to bring updates with meaningful content, both free and paid, to the game, we’re now working on creating a new public roadmap for the rest of 2023. The different building blocks are still in motion as of now, so we’re not ready to share it quite yet, but we will let you in on it as soon as we can.

[h3]Celebrating in style[/h3]
As some of you may have already noticed, you are now able to get the "Resistance fighter" apparel set from rivals as well as Firework boxes from any suitable loot source in the game!
Enjoy this day in a blaze of glory and look good doing it. You have all the time you need to collect these items as they will be available to snatch up until the 10th of April.

[h3]A heartfelt thank you[/h3]

It’s impossible to celebrate four years of a game’s lifespan without dedicating a huge part of the celebration to the amazing community that kept it alive for all that time. Your continued interest and support is inspiring and means so much to us.
It is thanks to you that we can keep telling this story of machines and men that we love so much.
Nobody is better at turning machines into shooting practice than you!
Let’s have a look at the strength in numbers you displayed over the years.



We couldn’t ask for a more dedicated, fun, interactive, and attentive community. In fact, let’s prove how attentive you are right now! This letter contains references to some of the many missions that show you the world of GZ. How many of them? Let us know in the thread below!

With much love, this is the Generation Zero Dev Team. Over and out.

Greetings, Resistance Fighters!

Today, we’re bringing you an update focused on fixing some long-standing problems as well as introducing some new additions that we believe you will enjoy!

First off, let’s not make you wait for this one longer than we have to:
The mission “A Wrench in the Works” has been fixed and can now be progressed normally.
This one took us a while to fix because we wanted to make sure that no follow-up issues would be created while attempting to repair the mission flow.
Thank you for your patience while we dealt with it!

Now, before we get into any more bug fixes, let’s talk about what’s new in the February update!

[h2]New Collectables - Safe house hints[/h2]
In each safe house, you will now be able to find photographs containing hints about the location of the next safe house to travel to. These were added to help players unlock respawn points on the map and aid the natural progression through the world. Plus, they’re super pretty to look at!
Gotta collect them all.


[h2]A new introduction to base building[/h2]
In order to show off this awesome feature to new players and make sure they realize how viable and important it can be as an endgame activity, we’ve revamped the introduction mission for Base Building and Base Assault.
The new mission is called “Building Blocks” and can be picked up from the Warboard in the Vesslan Bunker. It guides players through the process of completing a Base Assault and subsequently, building their own first base.

Players who already completed the old intro mission, “Good News”, will not be able to play this new mission on the same world and will have to start a new world in order to experience it.

[h2]More free Weapon Skins![/h2]
Weapon skins were a highly requested feature and adding them enabled us to really have fun designing fresh looks for our ever growing array of guns and melee weapons.
At the same time, they allow players to express themselves through even more customization!
The feature was well received, the criticism we kept seeing the most was “There are not enough of them yet, give us more!” and we happily comply! The February update brings you 6 new free weapon skins for the Möller PP, Klaucke 17, Kpist, HK5, and the Brännboll bat!
They will automatically be added to the loot pool of your rivals, so get to clearing your map of them! Good luck on the hunt.

Here’s a look at the new skins:
[h3]Möller PP - Neon Grid Custom[/h3]


[h3]Klaucke 17 - Copper Top Custom[/h3]


[h3]M/46 “Kpist” SMG - Party Pop Dark[/h3]


[h3]HP5 - Graffiti Resistance[/h3]


[h3]Möller PP - Graffiti Resistance[/h3]


[h3]Brännboll Bat - Graffiti Resistance[/h3] (That's right, melee weapon skins are a thing now!)


[h2]More swag for your buck![/h2]
Since we released the Camo Weapon Skins Pack DLC, we’ve received a lot of feedback regarding its cost-to-content ratio. Since many of you felt like the amount of skins included in the pack didn’t justify its price, we decided to add five more skins to it!
Everyone who previously purchased the pack will see them added to their available weapon skins after downloading the update. Enjoy!

[h3]AG5 - Desert Camo[/h3]

[h3]KVM59 - Flecktarn Urban[/h3]

[h3]PVG90 - Naval Marine[/h3]

[h3]AI-76 - Digital Forest[/h3]

[h3]12G Pump-Action - Orange Venom Custom[/h3]


[h2]Main Menu Carousel revamp[/h2]
The news carousel in the Main Menu has seen a substantial change to make it more visually appealing and easier to navigate. This was done to make sure you’re always up to date on the latest news!
You can open this more focused view by interacting with the existing news tab in the game’s main menu.
This is still a work in progress, we will continue to take in feedback and improve the presentation in coming updates.



[h2]In-Game DLC Showcase[/h2]
You can now see which DLC you own and which ones you’re yet to unlock directly from this new in-game screen! New DLC will get added to it automatically.



[h2]Return of the Semla event[/h2]
Those of you who have been playing GZ for a while will remember the previous Semla collection events on the occasion of Fettisdagen, or “Fat Tuesday”! You might know this special day as “Mardi Gras”. Because Fettisdagen is celebrated by eating the national “Semla” pastry here in Sweden, we’re bringing this special little treat to the world of Generation Zero for everyone to enjoy!

From the 21st to the 28th of February 2023, you’ll be able to loot Semla pastries from some locations in the game (where are baked goods normally made in a household?). Eating it will restore some HP to your character as well as give them a nice full stomach!
If you have your Avalanche Apex Connect account all set up, you’ll also find an extraordinary assignment with an extra special reward in your FMTel Reward Trunk during this time! It’s time to show everyone how much you like this creamy goodness. We hope you enjoy and share lots of screenshots of you having a fika (coffee and cake break) with your friends!

[h2]Bug fixes and improvements
[/h2]
[h3]General[/h3]

• Missing UI section for War figurines collectables in Collectables tab in Log
  
• User is unable to synchronize saved data after logging on with the same account on the different device
  
• [Community Reported] Distributed Emotes evenly between the Schweet Vanity Pack and the Blockbuster Vanity Pack
  
• [Community Reported] Before, players could still spend Command Tokens after having reached the limit of claimed base areas. This has been addressed. No more lost Tokens! Thank you to gearhead455 for making us aware of this.
  

[h3]Assignments[/h3]

• “Perform a dance emote within a FNIX base during a Base Assault Mission.” Assignment did not complete correctly. This has been fixed! Feel free to cut loose, footloose once more.
  

[h3]Combat, Weapons & Equipment[/h3]

• The Experimental KVM89 has been adjusted as follows:
  
  • Increased the damage dealt at peak performance
    
  • Reduced the heat gain and bullet spread while at peak performance
    
  • Reduced damage falloff and recoil while aiming down sights
    
• The Experimental Magnus now deals more damage than the 5 crown Magnus with its initial projectile
  
• The Portable MG Turret has been buffed with increased lifetime and damage as well as reduced crafting cost and completely removed damage falloff!
  
• Portable Cover now has significantly increased durability
  
• Explosive Toy Lure has had its explosion damage slightly increased
  
• [Community Reported] Fixed an issue where the m/49 grenade launcher couldn’t be loaded with experimental ammo. Benox’ thread on the forums greatly helped us to resolve this!
  
• [Community Reported] The EXP .44 Magnus’ Laser sight is no longer offset when the player is irradiated. Thanks to MrVagabond for reporting this!
  
• Firing while mounting a vehicle will no longer cause the weapon to continue firing indefinitely
  

[h3]Crafting[/h3]

• [Community Reported] Fixed a bug locking level 5 apparel crafting schematics. ICShadowcat made a collection thread on the forums for this issue, thanks!
  
• The Simple First Aid Kit schematic was missing on older save files that had completed the "Sanctuary" mission. It has been re-added.
  
• Fixed a bug where crafting materials would sometimes be shown as attached to another item.
  

[h3]Crashes & Performance[/h3]

• Fixed a crash issue while fighting the Firebird
  
• Increased performance while riding motorcycles. This is an ongoing process, more improvements will be made in the future!
  

[h3]Missions[/h3]

• [Community Reported] A Wrench in the Works - Some players could not finish A Wrench in the Works after the patch 24 update. You can now progress normally, without getting a temporary hearing problem from the explosion sounds!
  Slybry70 was the first one to report this on the forums, but everyone else contributing to the discussion also deserves praise!
  

[h3]Multiplayer[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where machines would become unresponsive and invulnerable during coop sessions
  
• [Community Reported] Fixed certain machines only dropping ammo for client players in multiplayer. This one was fixed thanks to Zesiir, our beloved Forum mod!
  
• Fixed a bug where Firebird Tesla Spikes would only damage the player who initiated combat with the Firebird
  
• Exhaust fumes of other players' motorbikes are no longer invisible in multiplayer
  

[h3]UI[/h3]

• [Community Reported] Fixed a bug where selecting any other filter than “ALL” on the World map screen will hide safehouse icons when trying to respawn. Thank you, ArcAzrael!
  

[h3]World[/h3]

1. Removed a terrain obstruction inside Mården bunker. Sorry diehards, you’ll have to find other ways to glitch yourself outside of the map again!
   
2. [Community Reported] Re-added the missing Relay Beacon at Skrankebol. Thanks to draco255!
   
3. Fixed several Points of Interest not being completable because of misplaced items inside the area
   

[h2]Known Issues:[/h2]

• Lynx and Firebird sometimes get stuck in a shooting loop when getting stunned
  
• Dismounted Moped can sink it into the ground
  
• Infrequent crash on login screen
  
• Clients are sometimes invisible on motorbikes in multiplayer sessions
  
• Non-default text color settings sometimes don’t apply correctly
  
• FNIX Base Walls with spotlights have no collision
  
• Experimental Älgstudsare fires inaccurately when aiming down sights
  
• The 4C AG4 has a very high drop chance under some circumstances
  
• Vintovka drops less frequently than intended and not at all from Wolves