Hello Hunters!
If you have been sat waiting for a reason to jump back into ZERO Sievert, have I got some news for you. Because everything has just changed, forever!
If you'd rather watch this breakdown instead of read, you can check out the full video here: [dynamiclink href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIcqnzIkW8w"]
Completely New Enemy AI
We just shipped a full rewrite of the enemy AI. Not a tweak. Not a balance pass. A ground-up rebuild. So it's safe to say that combat is not the same as it was last week. Far from it.
The old enemy AI was spaghetti. And instead of hanging more rules off a system that was already fighting itself, we threw the whole thing out and started again.
Every enemy behaviour got rebuilt and we added a whole set of new ones too, so enemies can now pick from a much wider range of tactics and change their mind as the fight evolves. Enemies will:
Take cover.
Hold angles.
Peek.
Flank.
Rush while you're reloading or healing.
Throw grenades that account for cover while trying not to blow up their own squad.
React to where your shots are coming from.
Be put under pressure by hits and near misses, so they'll take fewer risks.
They also work as a team with:
Nearby allies sharing sightings.
Someone covers while their mate reloads or advances.
When you break contact, they search properly.
They check the spot they lost you, then other cover you could have reached.
They remember what has already been looked at, so the whole group is not stacked on the same corner.
So yes. Combat is a little different to last week.
Factions And Bosses
Factions no longer play the same way. That all have a unique style, which if you learn will help you to defeat them in battles:
Bandits are simple and shoot first.
Green Army are disciplined and support each other.
Crimson Corporation are careful. More cover, more peeking and they wait for a real opening.
Watchers are hard to rattle and push more willingly.
Hunters are wildcards.
Everyone has a personality. They run faster, reload while sprinting, take quick peeks. And if they can tell you are hurt, bleeding, reloading or using meds nearby, they will try to press that.
Bosses have their own profiles too.
Lazar will not chase you down. He stays in the village and keeps repositioning.
Orel holds cover and peeks.
Arman does short exchanges then relocates and looks for a wide flank.
Phantom fires a few shots, retreats and fires again.
Kibba is aggressive, pursuing you with a faster sprint and frequent quick peeks.
Valentin sits at medium range while his guards push.
Rotking does short bursts and keeps relocating between nearby cover.
The Devil does short exchanges, relocates and pushes close.
And they do not give up when they are low on health, so watch out.
Awareness And The Raid
We also fixed the part that felt unfair. Enemies no longer know exactly where you are at all times. Once they lose sight of you, the trail goes cold and they have to actually find you. Shooting also needs to be on screen and they cannot light you up through walls. Remember that now, a quiet player is not spotted by sound alone.
Roaming got rebuilt as well:
Squads move around the whole map for the whole raid.
New groups can arrive from the edge as time goes on.
Unsilenced shots make noise and Hunter groups may come looking.
After a fight, groups pull together and wounded members head for an extraction point.
Every raid has a bit more character now. Some will be quieter. Some will be crowded. Some may start with an early rush. Some may start quiet and fill up later. Some might get a wildlife surge. You will not know which one you are spawning into.
And if you take someone down, their friends will come to claim the loot. Try to take it and you may get a warning shot. Keep taking it and those NPCs may turn hostile. You would not like it if someone started going through your dead mate's pockets.
Testing And What We Still Want To Hear
This was a big change, so it had to be tested properly. We ran it through internal testing, then wider private testing, then opened it to public testing on the Discord specifically to get balance notes.
A big THANK YOU to everyone who jumped in and sent us something. It really helped.
Please keep telling us how you are finding it. Faction styles. Group counts. Reaction times. How aggressive the bosses feel etc. We will keep tweaking values from what you send.
If you want to adjust the feel yourself in the meantime, the difficulty settings are still there. Dial it in.
And that's the update! Enemy AI is new and combat has evolved. Jump in, give it a try and tell your friends to play too! It really is a different experience and is worth a try. Then tell us how it felt to die to a flank you did not see coming.
Until next time, Hunters. Stay safe out there.
