Hello!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve talked with you all last and it’s been for good reason. I hope you didn’t think the project got abandoned because that will not happen! There have been substantial improvements to the foundational functionality of the game and has paved a nice road towards the future.



There were quite a few features that were built very early on in development when I had much less experience and know how compared to today. One of these things was the gunship itself. It wasn’t until I attempted to “fit” a physical model into the confines of my old gunship class that had me realize it needed to be rebuilt.

This small project to bolster the gunship class turned into a substantially bigger project because of how all the pieces were fit together. Having to rebuild one thing, required me to rebuild another, and another, and another. In the end, I basically rebuilt 90% of the game’s core functions in those past few months… something I didn’t intend to do and something that required completion before I could even think about making another release.

Nonetheless, things function substantially better on both ends and I’m excited about how it has improved the game overall. Additionally, with it feeling so polished already, far less time will need to be spent on these core features, allowing me to really focus on building out the pieces everyone is waiting for, playable content.

Although I wish I could have more content available in this release, most of my focus in the immediate future will be on building out scenarios and tools to iterate faster with them. The included scenario “CASEVAC Down” is a new take on the previous “Blackhawk Down” scenario in the Firefight mode. Scenarios going forward will be structured to last at least 10 minutes long, with plenty of opportunity to rain steel or watch friendly forces do their thing. Keep an eye out for more scenarios coming out in the next few weeks.



In addition to that, all the (previously known as Infestation Wave Mode) Zombie Rush scenarios are new and the game mode has been changed. Instead of surviving waves of zombies to unlock new weapon types, you select which gunship variant you’d like to utilize. Each gunship has set weapons and ammunition and the overall objective of the game is to defend the friendly units from zombies for as long as possible. Zombies are spawned as they are killed, and they become stronger as time progresses. Scores are calculated at the conclusion, accounting for time survived, total kills, and the difficulty selected (multiplier). Scores are then saved on a scoreboard to show your personal achievements. I’m sure there is some balance changes that need to be made for this, but I’ve found this to be a much more enjoyable game mode than what was previously implemented.

In addition to the reworked Zombie Rush game mode, the previously released “sandbox” mode is included as well. You can find this in the “Scenario” selection, named the “Training Range.”



Another important piece to point towards – a lot of new assets have been added to the game. This includes new character meshes (for both enemy and friendly forces), vehicles, buildings, foliage, etc. I tried to include all of these in the change log, but I’m sure I left something out. Additionally, I’ve reworked all the visual effects and I believe, have achieved some very realistic effects. These alone are probably one of my favorite changes as it makes firing the weapons so much more rewarding (perhaps I’m alone on this one? Haha). All in all, you should start to see visual improvements all around and I’ll continue to improve this going forward.

This is getting a bit long now, but I’d like to mention a few more things.

Training & Information: It has been clear the learning curve is a bit steep, so I was sure to create training materials to help everyone understand everything they need to be successful in game. Check out the new training menu, which documents these key features and controls.

Destruction System: Destruction has alluded us again… this is a demon I very much intend to kill. Unreal Engine’s new Chaos Destruction system is a little rougher around the edges than I had initial expected, so I haven’t been able to make a lot of headway here. I do think destruction is an important feature for the game, so I haven’t given up on this.

Gunship Variants: With the new gunship classes, there are new HUDs for each gunship variant. These will become more applicable when scenarios are released featuring them (i.e., Vietnam scenarios featuring the AC-130A, etc.). I really want to start getting into other conflicts, so this is going to be coming soon. There also isn’t a whole lot of different between the E and H variant, which possibly will change soon.

Danger: Although there are several vehicles in the game right now that will shoot at the gunship, you will not take damage. The foundation is in place, I just need to connect the dots to have it all working as you’d expect.

I believe that was everything I wanted to touch on in this update, but I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Like I had mentioned at the beginning, I’m working full time on this game and have been for the past few months. I will continue to work full time until the game is completed, and you have more than enough content for the price you paid.

I greatly appreciate all the support and feedback from everyone, I know development is slow but slow and steady wins the race! Be sure to reach out via the steam discussion forum or join our discord (see the pinned item in the steam discussion page for a link) if you’d like to ask specific questions to me or provide any feedback on new features or bugs.

Thanks again and I’ll see you in the next update!

Changelog (I’m confident I didn’t get everything in here):

• Made lots of performance optimizations to the projectiles, Infantry AI, and Vehicle AI.
  
• Fixed a bug causing the mouse to be inverted by default for new players.
  
• Changed the name of “Infestation” to “Zombie Rush.”
  
• Reworked all Zombie Rush scenarios and added a new one called “Forest.”
  
• Changed the main menu background.
  
• Improved the IR Strobe on friendly infantry to be more visible to make PID of friendly units easier.
  
• Improved the navigation system to be cleaner and simpler. This should forever kill the stall bug.
  
• Tweaked the weapon traversal limits slightly to agree with the new Gunship model.
  
• Tweaked the vehicles center of mass to prevent them from flipping too easily.
  
• Improved all vehicles with weapons to properly aim (yaw & pitch) at their targets (you’d normally see alignment issues when offset on uneven terrain).
  
• Complete overhaul of all projectiles and their associated variables.
  
• Tweaked all the impact effects.
  
• Tweaked the size of the projectiles while in flight.
  
• Tweaked all munitions to have realistic max effective ranges.
  
• Improved the 20mm and 25mm impact sound effect.
  
• Improved the RPG-7 and AT4 backblast effect.
  
• Tweaked the OPFOR Anti-Tank infantry to only be equipped with an RPG. They will engage both infantry and vehicles when in sight.
  
• Tweaked the order of which enemy units are target (Infantry, Vehicles, and the Gunship) – unit specific. For instance, a Dshk technical will target other vehicles first, then infantry, then the gunship (if in range). The ZSU-23-4 however, targets the gunship first, then vehicles, then infantry.
  
• Tweaked the Zombie material to show cold (since Zombies are already dead). After meeting their second death, they slowly fade away.
  
• Tweaked the scale of the world. Distances and speeds are more reflective of real world. This applies to both the aircraft and the projectiles.
  
• Tweaked the material on the AGM-114 Hellfire to become “hot” as it flies toward its target.
  
• Tweaked the laser material to be less visible the further the distance it travels.
  
• Tweaked the camera shakes for all weapons. Added a small shake for the AGM-114 Hellfire firing off.
  
• Changed the laser designator controls (input “L” now locks the laser to a specific point, while “Right Mouse Button” actively tracks).
  
• Updated the “Gun Ready” audio.
  
• Rebuilt the “gunship” character to be more robust and performant.
  
• Added an AC-130 gunship model to the player.
  
• Added muzzle flashes for each gunship weapon.
  
• Added residual shrapnel effects from the M1 M557 105mm HE.
  
• Added an Aiming Offset for all infantry (now they aim up/down at their targets).
  
• Added an Aiming Offset animation for the gunner on the Pickup Truck Dshk variant. The gunner’s hands stay connected to the weapon as he aims higher and lower.
  
• Added an Infrared laser to friendly units that activates when they target an enemy.
  
• Added (4) new insurgent character mesh.
  
• Added a new US military character mesh and adjusted the IR Strobe
  
• Added a ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” light armor tank.
  
• Added three new variants of the MRAP (unarmed, w/ MK19, and M240).
  
• Added an infantry transport (HMMWV) with four variants (unarmed, w/ M2, MK19, and M240)
  
• Added an LAV-25 light armor tank.
  
• Added Infrared Panels to the MRAP to help identification of friendly vehicle.
  
• Added new textures for all existing buildings and compounds.
  
• Added new compounds and objects for the environment.
  
• Added a loading screen.
  
• Added a new exit screen to honor the lost AC-130 Gunships and their crews.
  
• Added a new training menu with important game details.
  
• Added sandbox mode which allows you to spawn units as you wish. (Definitely more updates coming to this in the future)
  
• Added a new version of Zombie Rush (previously known as Wave Mode). Instead of surviving waves, the zombies endlessly spawn until the friendly units are killed. Zombies’ health and numbers increase over time. Scores are generated based upon kill count, time in mission, and difficulty selected.
  
• Removed the early access message on startup.