Zero Caliber VR News

Hey everyone,

Long time no see, huh.
Those who follow us on Twitter might have seen our recent "PCVR bulletin" tweet - it's time to share it with y'all here as well.

We're quite behind on updating you all on what's going on with Zero Caliber's original PC version here on Steam.
We understand that seeing the birth and ascension of the game's standalone version coupled with the lack of PC updates might give the impression that we have abandoned the original game. Well, it's 100% not the case, we love all versions equally!
To keep you in the loop, this is what happened in the past few months:
We underestimated how much work and resources it'd take to properly port Zero Caliber to standalone headsets. We had to fix a lot of QoL issues the PC version suffered (well, suffers) from, and also had to rethink how the game works under the hood.
After overcoming countless unforeseen obstacles, we were ready to launch it in that other store with the intention of implementing all the optimization, improvements and features back into the PC version alongside the PvP right away, but...

...but we weren't happy with the port's state at release. We had to fix and improve things so we could say: "Yeah, this is a Zero Caliber version worthy of the name."
So we started doing just that as you can tell by the number of standalone updates.

Now, we have a standalone version we're happy with with all the benefits the porting process brought and a PC version in dire need of an update.
We decided it's time to finally smash all of that together as we originally intended to do.

And that's where we are at right now with the PCVR version. We're:

• upgrading from UE 4.24 to 4.27 to keep core mechanics and plugins up to date (and to leave a few unpleasant engine bugs behind)
  
• moving all the optimized code and features from the standalone version back to the PC version
  
• upgrading some of the standalone version's new maps to PCVR standards so we can finish the story
  
• fixing all the things we break while updating the engine and migrating the goodies from the standalone version
  

As you can imagine, the game's backend is currently in ruins - piecing everything back together is a painfully long process, but rather than having to downgrade the PCVR version we're plowing through the difficulties no matter what.

We're working hard to bring you an update as soon as possible, and we hope all parties involved will be satisfied at the end.
I'll also be going through the Steam Community Hub next week to get back to y'all.

On behalf of the whole XREAL Games Team, Daniel Nyirfa Head of Communications

Hey everyone,

It’s been a hot minute since we released an update, or a devblog for that matter - we apologize for that!
There’s been a lot happening around and inside XREAL Games in the past few months. (I'll probably write a blog post about everything that's going on on our website for those who are interested.) Let's see what's going on with Zero Caliber VR!

Our current goal is to provide you all with the best, coolest Zero Caliber experience ever. Analyzing all the feedback you sent us both during the closed PvP beta and in general over the years made it clear that the only way we can achieve that is if we rework the game's core mechanics.

The code currently used in the PCVR version of the game has become super intricate over the years (one might think our code looks like spaghetti), which made rolling out updates extremely complicated and risky. It’s no exaggeration to say that we spent more time hotfixing an update than developing the update itself, which is not sustainable.
Reacting to community feedback quickly has always been our thing, but in these circumstances it became cumbersome, so we decided to make substantial changes under the hood while being fully aware that this might hurt our players in the short run.
We had to rewrite so many things in the past few months in order to have a manageable source code that it feels like we’ve been working on a completely new game.
(That isn’t the case of course, we’re still talking about Zero Caliber here.)

We definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel though, great improvements are on the way!
Here’s a few examples of what’s coming:

[h3]DEDICATED SERVERS | PVP [/h3]

Yes! We finally got them working!
We now have hundreds and hundreds of players using dedicated servers daily on other platforms, so when we roll out the PC update they’ll be super smooth.
Currently we have servers in three regions: NA, EU and SEA. They will provide an excellent Co-op (and PvP) experience without having to rely on peer-to-peer connections. (Yes, PvP is coming back!)

[h3]VOICE CHAT[/h3]

Besides dedicated servers, our voice chat implementation proved to be working flawlessly as well.
It will come in handy in both Co-op and PvP!

[h3]HANDS | WEAPON HANDLING[/h3]

We know it’s not perfect in the current version, so we completely reworked it and introduced a so-called weapon priority system. This system tries to predict what you want to grab or interact with on your weapon, and it does that efficiently.
No more “clunky” controls y’all!

(Whether we’ll keep using the current body IK or turn it off and have hands only is TBD.)



[h3]NEW MAPS[/h3]

Even though we are mainly focusing on backend systems and code improvements, you can expect new content as well. The story is soon coming to an end!



[h3]MELEE[/h3]

Smack those Tlalokii up!
Melee is making its debut - you’ll be able to punch your way through the Tlalokii hordes. Currently it's weapon (or grenade) only, we don’t have knives or bayonets (yet?).



[h3]ACCESSIBILITY | CLIMBING | WEAPON HOLSTERS[/h3]

We’re introducing a few extra accessibility features like the crouching (and jumping) button for those who don’t want to physically crouch - using covers will be much easier.
Climbing won’t be as cumbersome as it is now, and we’ll likely implement different holster placements and an option to set them manually.

And much more… but I’ll keep those for a future devblog.

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This is a slow process, we still have to piece things together. Once it's done though, Zero Caliber VR will be a much better, much smoother experience!
Once again, we're sorry for the lack of updates, but this is a necessary process we have to go through.

Please keep posting feedback in our community hub here on Steam, or on our Discord server - we see EVERYTHING, even if we don't have time to get back to everyone.

Thank you all for the continuous support and for the patience! I'll be back with another devblog post soon so stay tuned!

Cheers,
Dan & the whole XREAL Games Team

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since we posted any updates about Zero Caliber... it's not because we have nothing to say, but because we're extremely busy behind the scenes.

As you might be aware, we've conducted a successful Closed PvP Beta test in December/January. We gathered tons of community feedback and suggestions, so we could start analyzing all the data - and that's when we realized that something is off.
After deepdiving into the game's code to fix a few bugs here and there we came to the realization that it became unnecessarily complicated over the years, thus making our development workflow and the user experience less than optimal. That needs to change.

We can all agree that the PvP game mode and, well, the single player/co-op campaign can not leave Early Access without being as polished as possible, even if it's packed with content.
Since we don't plan to keep the game in Early Access forever, we have to get to the bottom of it all - and it looks like now's the time to do it before things get even more complicated under the hood.

[h3]WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?[/h3]

It means that we're now back at the drawing table, rethinking core game mechanics, optimizing the hell out of code, weapon handling, holsters, body IK, maps, combat design, enemy types, Co-op and so on.
Even though this may sound dramatic, the game won't change, it will stay as it is - except it will get better!
By "better" I mean much much better!

Working on these QoL improvements gave us room to experiment with:

• melee! - no knives though, but smacking Tlalokiis with your gun is equally satisfying
  
• diverse enemy types - rookie pistol users, shotgunners
  
• boss fights
  
• chest holster
  
• removing grenade pins with mouth
  
• more interactive elements...
  

... just to name few.
That doesn't mean any of those will 100% appear in the game, but there IS a strong possibility.
We also have 2 story maps in the works, but before we could even start thinking of finalizing them (or any other content for that matter), we have to finish all the boring QoL stuff mentioned above - which brings us to the next point:

[h3]THE DOWNSIDE OF IT ALL[/h3]

Working on optimization isn't showy. We can't really show progress until it is done. We can't really release an update until it is done.
What we can do however is keeping y'all in the loop by posting regular devblogs - I'm currently planning to post an update here every 2-3 weeks with progress photos/videos/gifs and even more rambling.
Keep an eye on those to get a glimpse of where the game is heading!

---

I know this isn't much, but trust me - the outcome will be worth it! :)
One of the upcoming devblogs will contain a Q&A video - I'll soon let y'all know when and where you can post your questions.

Until then... have fun, and stay safe!

-Dan & the XREAL Games Team-

Edit:
THE CLOSED PVP BETA TEST IS NOW OVER.
We'll soon be back with our plans for 2021.

Hey everyone,

Soooo... We just stealthily launched the Closed PvP Beta. So far so good!
We've been playing with the community almost non-stop recording issues, asking for feedback and generally pwning everyone having a good time.

Our Discord community seems to be enjoying it a lot, so we have decided to leave the servers running throughout the entire Holiday season!
We've invited over 700 players so far but fear not, if you register through the form with your correct Discord username (AND you join our server) you are in, 100% guaranteed. :)

Here's the registration form: https://forms.gle/xK9CNU4eSrvfH3dG7
Here's the Discord: https://discord.gg/JyK2gVh

[h3]WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT? [/h3]

The PvP build was intended as a test build - it has occasional hiccups, a few bugs here and there, but it is stable enough to let everyone who wants in.
Once you receive the tester role (might take a few days) on Discord, you'll be able to access the Closed PvP Beta section containing guides, FAQs and access information.
There are occasional pings going on making sure no one misses the Closed Beta. :)

Dedicated servers are performing great (EU & NA regions), and so is the voice chat.
Here's a glimpse of how the latter works:



You can download the full Closed PvP guide once you get your tester role on our Discord server.

[h3]GAME MODES[/h3]

There are 4 PvP maps in the Closed Beta with 4 game modes, one for each map.



[h3]SUMMARY[/h3]

From an originally 3-day Closed PvP Beta became a 2+ week long (potentially longer) Closed PvP Beta.
We're relieved servers can keep up, and even though the team is taking a week off we're still closely monitoring them, making sure you can enjoy some fast paced PvP against friends or random people. :)

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Thank you all for being here with us!
The whole XREAL Games team wishes y'all Happy Holidays, and a fruitful 2021.

[h3]P.S.[/h3]

We know PvP is not for everyone, and we hear you. :)
Even though we couldn't squeeze any single player content in this December, we're tirelessly working on story missions, hands, character body, cross-play with that other store we aren't supposed to name and other exciting things.
We expect a lot from dedicated servers as well - we strongly believe most Co-op related issues will cease to exist once we implement them in the live version.

To make things more clear for everyone, we'll put together a roadmap in January with everything we're planning for 2021.

Hey everyone!

We're slowly but surely approaching the Holiday season.
Originally we wanted to release a pretty nifty update in December (with voice chat, dedicated servers, cross-play & more), but it looks like that's not gonna happen this year.

What is going to happen though is the long-awaited Closed Beta test of the PvP game mode! That's right, it IS happening!

[h2]GENERAL INFORMATION[/h2]

Besides testing the new game modes, the test will serve as a pre-stress test for the dedicated servers and for the brand new voice chat feature.
We're limiting the number of participants for now, so that we can keep all the new stuff under control.

Servers will be based in the NA and EU regions for the Closed Beta period.

[h3]HOW?[/h3]

The whole thing will be managed through our Discord server, so if you'd like to participate, please join us there. :) https://discord.gg/JyK2gVh
Testers will be picked randomly from those who fill this form (and are on our Discord): https://forms.gle/xK9CNU4eSrvfH3dG7

[h3]WHEN?[/h3]

The tests will start THIS WEEK. More details will be announced on Discord.
We know it's a sudden announcement, but we wanted to make sure we have a test-ready build first.

We'd like to keep the servers up for at least 3 days, but if they're stable enough and we don't see any game breaking bugs then we'll leave them running until January.

[h3]WHAT'S IN IT?[/h3]

We have 4 maps ready for the test with a unique game mode for each:

• Death Match: up to 10 players
  
• Team Death Match: 5v5
  
• Duel: 1v1 or 2v2
  
• Siege: 5v5 (PvPvE)
  

+ The new voice chat is debuting with radio and proximity features.
+ This will be the first time we're firing up the dedicated servers for a broader audience. Fingers crossed server hamsters won't poop themselves.

[h2]WHAT'S NEXT?[/h2]

We know PvP is not for everyone, and we hear you. :)
Even though we couldn't squeeze any single player content in this December, we're tirelessly working on story missions, hands, character body, cross-play with that other store we aren't supposed to name and other exciting things.
We expect a lot from dedicated servers as well - we strongly believe most Co-op related bugs will cease to exist once we implement them in the live version.

To make things more clear for everyone, we'll put together a roadmap in January with everything we're planning for 2021.

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Alright, that's all for now.
We hope everyone is staying safe and doing well with everything going on. 2020 is almost over, 2021 will surely be better, right? Right?

Anyway, thank you all for your continuous support and as always, have fun!
-Dan and the whole XREAL Games Team-