Endgame - then, now and in future

General Discussion
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Ok, I start this as general discussion, but maybe we get some good feature requests out of here.

I don’t know much about how endgame was back in the early days of Generation Zero.
When I finished the story of the main game and the two story-dlc’s it was around the resistance update, I guess.

There were assignments, but not like now. There was no Fmtel-box. When I started, there was no weapon-dlc, but there already were experimental weapons in the game. But I had to start the pure way. Just with what you find and store. No weapons over weapons in the first plundra.

It was a continuing progression…

Some day, when I had almost every weapon in best quality and found every location and collectible I wondered why I keep playing Generation Zero.

First of all, playing with my friends and the beauty of the game were the reasons.

Then Landfall arrived, a new faction with new enemies, some new story and collectibles, great revamps. We got basebuilding… Well, not that way we wanted it, but we got it.
Assignments changed and will change in future more (according to the roadmap and infos from the weekly stream). The level-cap changed, too.

I can still stay hours over hours in the game, but the days I chose to play Generation Zero become fewer.

Why? That’s the question. And what should be done that it doesn’t become boring? Here are some ideas.

1. You have what you got.
  • You bought a weapon-/item-pack? Yeah, of course you have immediate access to everything. Right from beginning. :face_vomiting:

It should be bound to some kind of assignments, challenges or tasks you have to finish first. Like this idea I once suggested.
Feature request (optimizing the weapon packs)

  • You found every weapon and all attachments in every quality? Congratulations, you don’t need to take loot anymore… Just some consumeables… If you don’t craft them. What? It’s a loot-shooter without a need to loot from a specific point on? What the hell?

We need limits. Limited space for weapons and equipment. Or a limited durability for them. We should need to go and look for new weapons because we need them, not just for having them. Read on at No. 4 for more details.

2. You can do what you like

Yes, that’s service. I can do what I like and when I like. What? I’m at war with machines? Yeah, but just if they see me or I start shooting. For luck there is a 3rd faction now. If I like I can just lie there and watch them fight each other (as long as they don’t see me).

There should be random events that force the player to take action by supporting or defending something or someone…with rewards and penalties.

For example I built a couple of bases. I like them and I don’t want them to get destroyed. And I’m not in need of doing base defenses, because I already have all exp schematics, all experimental weapons and I have more uranium than I can spend just by leveling my character. (in earlier days you just got uranium by base defenses)

If there would be random attacks on the bases it would be great. Of course we would need a “repair/rebuild all” - option for our saved bases.

3. Live, die, repeat (or: the benefits of dying :thinking:)

Someone just suggested to introduce exosuits like in “edge of tomorrow”, which may be a good idea in some case (with some limitations/restrictions), but that’s not what I mean by chosing this headline.

In some points Generation Zero works exactly like this movie.

  • We fight a superior enemy and we become good in fighting them, even if our characters are no real soldiers.
  • We gain experience in how to beat them better and better.
  • If we fail, we may die, but who cares?
  • Yes, sometimes we even chose to let them kill us or to suicide. Why? Because we can! Penalty? None! (in most cases)
  • After a hard battle, you’re overemcumbered, don’t want to throw something away, don’t want to walk to the next plundra/recycling station, have no bike/motorbike nearby? Just die and respawn where you want.
  • You don’t want to spend your rare adrenaline shots or don’t want to retreat to restock, because you ran out of them? Just die and respawn where you want.

The fact is: there is no penalty for this descition.
At least in most cases, because the machines do remember the battles.

  • Some of them may become rivals if they kill you. Ok, one more to hunt, maybe even for better loot.
  • A disarmed or damaged machine stays in this state. Return, continue fighting and finish them.

There is just one exception:
A base assault! If you die during a base assault and respawn somewhere (not use adrenaline) the “mission” aborts, the base may get repaired or even get a new level. All the effort for nothing. A painful penalty for those who just failed (no more adrenaline, no more ammo,…), but should be ok for those, who just were “too lazy”.

Let’s discuss, what a realistic penalty may be to make it worth and challenging to survive.

  • Losing equipment (random weapon, item, ammo from inventory)?
  • losing skill points or command tokens?
  • losing ressources (uranium!)
  • losing a safehouse or control point?
  • what else? Should it depend on the characters level?
4. "Best before date exceeded? " (yes, this refers in parts to no. 1)

Some might say, Generation Zero is like a black banana. Once, it matured to a good point, was green and became yellow. But now it’s just black and untasty.
Others may say mature is still in progress.
Many games have or had an unspoken best before date. But who knows if it’s not tasty anymore, if you don’t taste it?

Well, I don’t want to talk about Generation Zeros best before date, but maybe the weapons and items could need one.

Some of us just hoard all they can find. Well, some just store the best quality items and attachments, some store one of each. And you still find or get more and more, but are not in need to use it. Ok, you may recycle them for ressources, if you’re in need of ressources and have enough space.

But finally most just use the best they found and are not in need to take loot anymore in endgame, because you always have what you got (except consumables). Many things are craftable, too.

I mentioned a limited durability. Call it best before date.

  • Weapons and attachments of 2c to 5c quality could lose quality after some time, depending on usage or just on time (they could rust or wear out). The higher the quality, the higher the durability.
  • 6c (experimental) weapons could break after some time. They are experimental. Just experimental. Strong but with a risk of breaking.

Why? Why not? This could bring back the good feeling of finding weapons in different qualities. This could bring some variety in what weapon and ammo we use.

5. Realism

That’s no complaint. The game doesn’t need much realism. It’s an alternative reality of the 80s/90s in a alternate version of sweden. It feels like sweden and the weapons and equipment give us a kind of feeling for the 80s/90s. (no gps, no smartphones/mobiles, boomboxes, no flatscreen-tvs, no too futuristic weapons)

But there are some facts I want to mention:

  • Motorbikes may break (and be repaired), bicycles not.
  • I can destroy windows, televisions, cars, gas canisters, machines and fnix bases of course, and small wooden fences. But no other fences or hedges or walls or structures. No trucks, no trees.
  • But if I ride my motorbike into a small wooden fence, not the fence, but the motorbike breaks.
6. Regions

There are 7 regions in the game. 8, if you own Alpine Unrest.

  • Each region is unique in how they look like.
  • There are enemies you find in some regions more or less frequent than in others. Soviet machines currently are just present in marshlands, northcoast and northern and eastern farmlands.
  • Each region has a command bunker/warboard where you get access to the main missions. Farmlands even has a 2nd warboard if you own FNIX rising.
  • Each region has an own region level, a threat level-score, own rivals and its own control points (except archipelago, mountain region, marshlands, northcoast at the moment. Mountain region should be next to get them.).
  • There may just be one reaper at the same time, but it may spawn in every region, if the region score is high enough.

What else is to say? At the moment nothing else.

There is no great effect on gameplay in my eyes. Rivals and the reaper are just stronger enemies, but they don’t do different things than other machines. Well, you always know where they are.

  • If you don’t want to fight them, don’t approach them. Consequences? None.
  • If you fight them, you have a chance for better loot… Which you don’t even need as much in endgame, because you still got everything. (do you see the relations to the other numbers?)
    But vice versa region score gets lower and the chance for a reaper gets lower or lost.

Rivals should be a real threat. They should hunt the players. And because of that it doesn’t make sense that we always know where they are. By this even building a base could get more use. We can go there to take cover and to have a better situation for fighting them.
Feature request - improving rivals

Currently there are just we and fnix that are able to build bases, while rivals could be soviet and swedish machines. So what is the region level and score for in detail? I don’t know. There could be all control points in farmlands owned by fnix with bases everywhere, but there could be up to 8 soviet rivals. There could even be 7 soviet rivals and a fnix reaper. If you destroy the soviet rivals, chance for a fnix reaper can get lost because the region level gets too low. :thinking:

And what are the fnix bases for? More lags, maybe. But what else?

My suggestions:

  • add the possibility of soviet bases in the regions they are present.
  • reduce the total amount of control points for each region, but add control points for the other regions which don’t already have one.
  • split the scores and region levels for soviets and fnix.
  • give us more effects for having enemy bases in a region.

Maybe it’s already planned for future.
By destroying machines of one faction they could become more aggressive. The faction specific region level rises, they build bases and finally send rivals to kill us. In this order. Additionally if soviets or fnix build a base, nearby discovered safehouses should get locked for fasttravel. The higher the bases level, the higher the radius.
The faction specific region level won’t get lower by destroying rivals anymore, just by destroying their bases.

Our own bases prevent soviets and fnix from building their own at this control point. They are a hideout and cover for us against rivals, too. So soviets and fnix should randomly start small attacks on our bases.

Of course the bases shouldn’t pop up and rise as fast as it is now. Actually after almost every greater battle a base is founded or levels up. At least for me. Sometimes I can’t even destroy them as fast as new bases are built.

By this we get real benefits of attacking and destroying the machines bases. We prevent them sending rivals against us and our bases and we secure our safehouses.

… To be continued…

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Good initiative :+1:

If you want any posts from the previous thread merged here, flag them and I’ll take care of it.

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I’ve been playing GZ a lot less lately. I had a great time taking down Firebirds after Dark Skies. Motorcycles were fun, but in the end, it didn’t really add a lot to the game when it comes to endgame.

I’ve finished the story. I don’t really care about collectibles that don’t do anything other than provide an acheivement. I’ve been doing base assault / defense. But to what end?

For me, the crown jewel of GZ is the story. Particularly parts added later with NPCs. The story adds purpose to the game. Sure, it’s still fun to get out there and smash the bezeesus out of a bunch of machines, but it really doesn’t have the same appeal nor give me the desire to play as much as when there were actual missions and a storyline, as it gave me an ultimate goal to work towards, as well as discovering the lore as I ran through the various missions.

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I’ve been an end gamer just under two years now and occupy myself with collecting and storing (documented elsewhere). That time was occasionally made more interesting with added factions and region updates but these never lasted really much more than a week or two. Recently I have just done assignments each day, even when they were sorely broken, and now the Fmtel box is just another store for resources and lvl 5 weapons.
Give me new islands and missions.
Oh and can we please have a fix for Homeward Bound so I can complete my challenges.

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I’ve tried the game every few months for the past two-and-a-half years, and I simply don’t find much joy in it any more. I had a blast back when I got it in early 2020, but the constant changes and bugs introduced since then didn’t help at all.

I ranted about this ages ago, but I miss the mystery and the feeling of being lost in a depopulated region. Back then, the landscape was sparsely dotted with points of interest, there were no NPCs and the machines were mean. I used to wander through chilly nights, avoiding patrols, looting empty villages and abandoned factories.

Now, everything is blasted to bits, soviet robots roam, flying machines glitch through the skies, and NPCs and their buildings dot the landscape. Obviously, most players seem to like the ‘new and improved’ Generation Zero, and I can’t fault them for their preferences, but it’s not for me any more.

As for the future, I can’t see how the game might win me back. I’m not a fan of base-building, crafting or gun/camo/bike DLCs, nor do I like the post-FNIX revamps. They might have hooked me again with a new island DLC in the style of ‘Alpine Unrest’, but with all the new additions, that ship has sailed…

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First off, there has always been a lot of talk and asks for what the players want added. Not much talk on fixing the crashing so often after this last update. All platforms seem to be having the same issues. Would be nice a full (small team I know) effort to correct this issue. Can’t play co-op if you are restarting the game randomly, not interested in restarting after a crash in solo play, to many other games that don’t have this problem. Got new motorbikes but the game crashes, got a flying machine that is awesome to take on, but the game crashes, ask friends to join in a co-op and take on a reaper in the arena, reply is no…it crashes to much and I lose to much when it does.

A year ago it wasn’t this bad, 1.5 years ago wasn’t this bad, 2 years ago wasn’t bad at all, 2.5 years ago, still wasn’t a problem. The more content added the worse the problem gets. It was a fun and exciting game when it was just the game and no DLCs, the two add on DLCs were exciting when they came out and looked like THAT was what DLCs should be like for this type of game. Ok, didn’t change the game at all. Reaper was part of the lore and rumors started coming from those that completed the mission from Alpine Unrest where we got a look at the reaper the first time. The unknown crater was very exciting to go look at and explore and players were alive on forums and chat groups about it and the reaper. Not to much negative talk about the game back then.

But then came the resistance update. Which wasn’t to bad and was a great way to introduce the exp ammos and first aid kits. Would have been nice if it was a DLC paid or free. It was exciting enough that if was paid it would have been bought and enjoyed. Same as the Soviet add Ons and the control points. They are NOT welcome by some players, and again nice if it was a DLC that the player could choose to add in to THIER map or not. Again, how much income would it have generated if it was a paid DLC? Buy, don’t like it, just uninstall them. All the weapon packs were paid DLCs…Even the over priced weapon design pack is a paid DLC. Why not make new machines and map control points as DLC add on. Then sell them for each region or give them away free. This is the way I would to see changes added into what at one time a great game that stood out from all the rest. But as it ages it is become more and more like a lot of other games out there. But they don’t crash as much.

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I agree in many points @gzbugs.
I can’t say that I don’t like the soviets in the game. Bases are ok, but not that many.
But I also miss what you mentioned.
Don’t know how the game looks like for a newcomer, but I guess, except maybe the fnix bases, it’s the same what we see now.

So you start in the game and already are in endgame, although your character isn’t.

The story and the storytelling should evolve with the players characters progress.

All the newer players don’t know how it is to sneak through the landscape and the towns, to search every hint on what might happened. To take the time to look for interesting locations and to search collectibles and weapons. It’s just war now.

It began with a great idea, but currently it’s just too much at once. It isn’t the game anymore that we once started to play and it will never be the same, of course. That’s good, there are many things that really got improved. But it’s lacking of storytelling and a balanced progression.

If I would start again, I would like to explore and examine everything again. One region after another. From one command bunker / warboard and their missions to the next ones. What I don’t want is to have to fight with my stupid little teenager through tons of swedish and soviet machines just to reach the next mission or objective of the original story.

Remember the day you met your first hunter, harvester, tank… Now imagine you would move on for some hours. I still know the feeling I had when I had to fight my first apocalypse tank in southcoast region. But that’s nothing compared to stumbling into a battle with multiple tanks, harvesters, wolves and firebirds in the farmlands with a character that just left archipelago region.

No bad idea, but on Playstation you’re not able to uninstall a dlc, no matter if paid or not. At least for Generation Zero.

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Space is already limited…
But lower than level 5 weapons should have a durability, like in S.T.A.L.K.E.R games where they take a while to start malfunctioning.

Random events would be awesome,i always enjoyed games where you find allies under fire, or where you find enemy convoys and you have the option to attack and defend or do nothing.

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That should even count for 6c guns, but longer lasting of course. Weapons / attachments (2c to 5c) could get a downgrade in quality after some time of usage instead.

That would make us party again if we find some better classed attachments. Of course, there is a dark side of the coin, losing the favorite weapon/attachment, but then we just would have to grab another one, use more guns and ammo-types, rethink our tactics and make the game challenging again.

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Wouldn’t that cause players to hoard weapons and attachments?

Weapons could be like Halo and you just run around picking up weapons and hope they have ammo in them. No need to loot ammo or craft it. Or like COD and you can only pick up so much ammo for the weapons you carry and limited to only 2 weapons at a time. You have to run over health kits to build health back up or your health comes back over time.

Again, ideas coming from other games to take further away the uniqueness Gen Zero once had.

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Isn’t that something many players just do now?
I know what you mean, but I think it’s a matter of balancing and fine tuning.
I just try to give useless things a sense.

I agree to disagree with the other ideas (halo, cod,…).

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This is a very long post, I don’t think my input can be as lengthy.
I have been playing pretty much since launch like many have mentioned the additions of base defends did add something to the game but in honesty I’ve not really continued to do this much after time, don’t get me wrong the fights can still be intense and fun but it’s not really how I play on the whole.
Dark Skys has somehow inspired me to start another replay on guerrilla on solo with POI turned off and no stealth indicator, I’m sticking to only weapons looted and so far it’s been fun.
I don’t know if this is yearning for the old days when it’s was a mystery, this could never last forever but doing this has reminded me why I fell in love with the game, to add also I was pretty I’ll with Covid first wave and this game was a massive help during that.
I have no idea where end game is , I hope for another island , a Gen Z two maybe, I would love the story to continue as it’s a really excellent one we forget this.
I think were all finding are own path at present but I still get the same buzz from time to time just roaming the island and convincing myself I’m in that story , I hope the story doesn’t end!
:heart::v::sweden: :uk: I am visiting Sweden again soon and the running joke between me and my girlfriend if we’re in nature is , did you see that Robot :dizzy_face:‍:dizzy: a little lame maybe but this game gets under your skin :heart:

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Thanks for your reply.

You’re right. There is much so say and even more to think about. I even added a lot more after your post, but now I polished the post and added some detail-tags to hide most of the text.

I’m going to do this, too, but didn’t find the time and lust yet to make a mule out of my primary character (move everything from plundra to inventory) and to start a new game with a new one.

I guess we all do hope that. But for how long would the new fun last? Because of that I try to suggest these major changes.

A sequel with an improved game engine would be really great. Especially with features like destructable environment and transformable terrain, better fire, next gen stuff,…

It could be called “Generation One” (the first new generation of humen after the rise of fnix, with the children of our characters as new main characters). It could take place on the swedish mainland, partially in russia and maybe in other locations, too (at least as dlc). There could be really big cities with skyscrapers for example.

(drifting off with my thoughts)

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Hey thanks for the reply just checked this, I think a sequel surely must be in consideration at least I hope !
The new game had some nice ideas, I like the destructible terrain and buildings ,the fights would be even tougher.
The point about how long the fun lasts, yeah I do get that, it’s tough to prolong this especially if you have been playing for quite a while in Gen Z.
I hope for a new engine in the sequel the possibilities are pretty massive, the core story in Gen Z would transfer easily into a sequel, and the next generation of survivors would also work, until then I still enjoy re visiting old areas, the new introduction also has added something more for new players.
:v::fire:

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About weapon degradation, I always hated it in every game that had it implemented one way or another. Ideas like these should be put into a true hardcore mode for people that feel it brings something to their gameplay, and not implemented across the board for everyone.

As for the mystery and feeling of the game most of us got when we first started to play it, that’s something that we will never get back, and that’s more due to the time we spent playing the game. I guess newcomers still get that feeling we got back then, more or less, even though I think the added npc’s sort of destroyed that feeling.

Playing since beta, I still jump in for a few weeks every now and then, most of the times when there’s been an update that caught my interest.

DLCs that only brings new weapons and vanity items are of no interest whatsoever to me, but if those brings in the money needed for the devs to keep going, so be it. The only DLC that’s been worth spending money, for me, was Alpine Unrest.

Multiplayer has been mostly destroyed by cheaters ruining the experience completly (unless you play only with friends you trust), so I have give up on that and only play solo these days.

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I agree with most of you.
The limited durability / degration for weapons and attachments just was an idea. An idea with a great effect on gameplay of course.

What else could be done to make lower class weapons more useful?

Instead of ignoring or recycling them they could be some kind of ressource. For advanced base building or supporting the resistance.

  1. There could be weapon lockers in some resistance bases (not the built ones… Those like ringfort or björntunet hotel) . Deliver found weapons to get something else (command tokens, prestige points*,…). *in the stream last week it was mentioned that they plan something for the prestige points.

  2. There could be buildable structures for our bases like the pillboxes. Or let’s take the pillboxes for this example. Imagine they would be initially unarmed. Deploy found weapons there to give them the ability to shoot at targets or to change/improve the damage outcome of them or the options to deploy ammo there.

  • up to 5 weapons per pillbox (of the same type), the more and the higher classed, the higher the damage
  • depending on the weapons deployed there, you can deploy ammo / experimental ammo

Oh, I like this 2nd one. No more being bound to 7.62 ammo for the pillboxes. Make them use shotguns for close combat, flamethrowers :star_struck: or exp KVM59 with shock ammo.

Pros:

  • Another usage for found looted weapons
  • more variety for the defence of our bases

Cons:

  • Just interesting until all pillboxes in all bases are full with highest class weapons and
  • just if you like to build bases.
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I play solo now pretty much all the time, I did play multiplayer now and then but it is a different experience, better with friends like you said.
I think npc did break that immersion and change the entire feeling of the game, I think this was intentional to build the resistance as real.
I think dropping better weapons such as exp is an individual choice, it’s just something I guess brings about some of that old game feeling, we’re all finding are own methods maybe. :v:

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The pillbox idea could be interesting and make direct use of looted weapons, I think like base building in general it would have a limited life, but I guess everything does :+1:

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