Perhaps it is a bit too early to write the obituary for GZ and close the bar after all 
- it is so cool to welcome new guests and see all the activity going on in here 
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Far too early! I’m relatively new to this forum and find it very much alive. Please don’t bring me down with all this talk of death, silence, wasted potential etc!
I finally jumped into multiplayer not long ago, and it completely changed the experience for me. I’ve made some genuine lifelong friends through it, and the sense of community in GZ is something I’ve rarely found in other online games. Getting involved with all community aspects (yes Reddit and discord too!) really does change how you feel about the world. Probably stating the obvious there! 
What’s really surprised me is how much this forum has added to my enjoyment. It’s opened up all kinds of new perspectives and theories I’d never considered. I’ve already met some brilliant people here, and I genuinely look forward to checking in after work just to see what new discoveries or ideas are being shared. It’s definitely a more discerning crowd here and the responses I get more thoughtful/considered than other places.
And I get all the talk from past days, it sure sounds like I missed the golden age of GZ, when players were talking directly with the devs and looking forward to every new update together and it was more a proper horror survival game too. I wasn’t there for that, that ship has sailed, so I can only judge what’s here today. And what’s here today, I absolutely adore.
This game/forum is not dead, it’s full of life, secrets and head scratching debate. And yes, people love to talk about “wasted potential,” but you could say that about any game if you really wanted to. GZ is a brilliant experience right now. If more people took the time to get involved and join in these discussions, they’d realise just how amazing this game really is.
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The forums will stay open for as long as possible. They’re still Avalanche property and the only upkeep required is a software update every now and then. I just poke the devs when that happens. So this place is far from dead.
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That’s the spirit @Zesiir!!!I didn’t even realise Avalanche owned the forum, makes it more special knowing it’s part of the official space. Thanks for keeping it going! It’s such a great hub for ideas, theories, and just good conversations. Really glad to hear it’s here to stay! Whoop whoop!
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@TimData, please don’t let anything in here put you down 
. We are a bunch of very diverse people in this forum that has one thing in common: we like (or even love) the game and the forum. We have all sorts of opinions about what this game should be or, more precisely, should have developed into, and sometimes we almost violently disagreed on updates and changes to the direction the game took. But I believe we all agree - especially those of us still active in here - that GZ is a marvellous game. Despite that it failed to meet all our different expectations (which by the way would have been Impossible).
And I think that exchange of opinions have always been conducted in a friendly and orderly manner. In the very few exceptions, the moderators stepped in and fixed things. So as long as you respect the CoC, the worst thing that can happen to you is, that you loose your Regular status and never get it back 
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New people are still finding the forum, huh?
I just realized it’s been over 6 years since I joined this forum! Time flies! 
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I would really love to know if there still are secrets or easter eggs in the game, we didn’t find yet.
I mean, who knows… Something like the iron church… I would never have found it, if I wouldnt have read about it. It isn’t very obvious that there is a hidden entrance behind a rock that can be shot with two rockets… There is no other known rock like that.
And as long as there are these unknowns, which GZ has or at least had to offer many, there is room for discussion and speculation.
Too many players just saw a sci-fi shooter in GZ.
That’s why the game more and more became just a shooter… You know, meet the expectations… Many left early, because of technical issues… Others left later, because of the grind that truly became too much.
But those who went deeper into GZ, they are still here.
We are the creative ones. Not just the consumers.
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I couldn’t agree more, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to that tried the game and just gave up too quick to really understand the game, which is definitely a bummer but, for the people that gave it a real try it’s an absolute blast
I’ve spend hours upon hours criss-crossing the map looking for anormalies. And I would have expected something on the new island. There are some interesting caves that could hide a secret, but I didn’t discover anything. And climbing the steep slopes of the high coast (Höga Kusten) didn’t reveal anything either 
Isn’t it funny how a hidden cave can give you a rush? Exploration was one of the things I valued the most about GZ Perhaps someone with good relations to the devs (
) could one day drop a hint, if we should have missed something?
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But I also agreed, that it often could also be the games fault. Well, at least to the extent how the devs designed the evolvement of it.
Many aspects, that long time players experienced step by step by time for later players just were there from beginning.
GZs farmlands for example is a totally different one for a new player compared to how it was back then, before landfall. Not because of the landscape, but because of the soviets and the constant action in most places.
There are so many examples about what could have been done better for a consistent experience, no matter when you began or with which content (dlcs).
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I think the original dev team valued hidden secrets and easter eggs a lot more than the later dev team that took over a few years ago, so unfortunately I don’t think they implemented too many secrets on the new island. I wish they had since it was the first new area we had gotten in a while to explore. Still, the gnome tick returning was pretty cool, I do have to give them credit for that
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Wow!! Six years is a long time! It must be amazing to see how much the game and community have grown since the early days. I guess a lot of people have seen it dwindle though too:sob:. And yes, new faces are still showing up (me included)! Feels like there’s always something new to discover, even after all this time. Also, I just want to say that your Interesting Locations thread has kept me intrigued for years! It’s one of the reasons I kept digging deeper into the game’s world, trying to discover more. So thank you for originally asking for locations, it’s seriously appreciated! 
Think I’ll post something now I found interesting!
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Man, you should have been here in the early days. The forum was teeming with life back then! @Zesiir @IanForce and @0L0 remembers. 
I have stopped playing GZ at this point. I actually doubt that I’ll play it again in the future, but who knows? It’s mostly because I dislike what GZ evolved into, compared to what it was at release. The weird, illogical implementation of the soviets, and basically everything that has to do with base building and assault/defense are what made me stop playing the game.
GZ will always have a special place in my heart, though. Not to mention, my time on this forum at the height of it’s «glory days», will remain a cherished memory for decades to come. 
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I wish I had been around in those early days, sounds like it was something really special. I’ve only been part of the community more recently, but you can see really see the legacy of those times in the way people talk about the game and this forum. I’ve learnt so much going back through time with all the brill posts!
Even if you don’t end up coming back to play, it’s awesome that you’ve left such a mark here. Thanks for sharing your memories! Hopefully I’ll bump into you in Ostertorn one bright day!
If you have any old save files, you can disconnect from the web and play solo.
I don’t blame you, honestly. I’m burned out from the game ever since I finished testing for the final DLC, and I reckon I’ll be for a long while. I’m sure I’ll pick it up again though.
I think Covid-19 is mostly to blame for the direction GZ took. The team working on the game was never really that big, and Avalanche had to re-allocate resources and personnel after the pandemic was over. A new team was put in charge, with new direction. For all intents and purposes I think they did a great job. And I think the community and the testers were part of what kept support up for so long. Other games in similar situations may have fared worse.
It’s easy to see how folks in the community would have been put off by the change of direction development took. I don’t agree with all changes and additions either. At least if you’re on Steam, you can actually roll back updates if you want a nostalgia boost.
I still chat with Knivspark and Carni occasionally, they’re good folks. The former is an indie dev now, heading Kikimora Games. Carni is looking into work elsewhere here in Sweden.
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Yes indeed! And we had a lot of fun discussions @NJR87, not just about the game but (as threads got sidetracked) music, beer, food … well, you name it 
Actually, I took the boat from Copenhagen to Oslo last weekend since I couldn’t manage the craving for Guldbrandsdalen Myseost, Vestlands Lefser, Spekemat, and “pølse med lompe” any longer! OMG, Oslo is a beautiful city - I even went to Frognerseteren for a serving of “Rømmegrøt” - one of the very few dishes that taste better on the way up that on the way down 
And you can’t talk about the forum without mentioning @Bootie - my “keep to the topic” nemesis 
Honestly, I really tried to behave and be serious, but eventually Bootie would challenge me with at statement making me laugh so hard, that I simply had to take the bait 
And that always ended in @Zesiir calling us to order. Bootie, how I miss our crazy dialogs. And apparently you knew a thing or two about combat and tactics - but you knew absolutely nothing about food! Living in France and still praising British food 
And then you openly admitted playing the harp - sooo cute 
@Xogroroth (or “Xogger” as Bootie lovingly named you) - always a good brother in crime! Some unlikely friendships really came about in this forum, and you too made me laugh more than a few times
@helldiver, all you contributions to the forum also has made this a fantasitic place to be with your stories, inputs and feedbacks. Didn’t we “misfits” just have a ball ?
@Gysbert, I’ve always found your seriousness and craving for coffee extremely boring () but you insights into the game and lore, your contributions in terms of maps and pictures, and your care for anybody with a question have really kept this place alive. Good job, mate 
… 
And talking about lore and insights into the game we can not not mention @Aesyle.
@TherotcoD made it a science out of blowing thing up (giving me quite a few laughs), @Flick was sharp as a razor and just as funny (no serious, very funny indeed, but in a dry way - like Sahara on a sunny day), @Madchaser - often you describe what I mean about the game much better that I do myself - cool
0L0, dogcoffee, Vynym, knobitobi , OBiW4NSHiNOBi, Kimosabe_X, Saddletank, Simulacrum_Protogen : you too are (or were) important members in making this forum so great, and I’ve always loved your postings and exchange of ideas and opinions.
And now I have to apologize for all of you that I haven’t mentioned. Please forgive me for that, and for this sentimental walk down memory lane. But @NJR87, it is your fault as you inspired me to trawl the vast amount of old threads to do this
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Haha, wtf? Rømmegrøt is the best kind of porridge there is! 
Maybe the people in Oslo did something wrong with it…
(Yes, of course we have a east vs. west rivalry up here.)
And thanks for taking me on a trip down memory lane, @IanForce That makes me miss those times even more
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Thank you for the mention! That means the world!
I’ve definitely enjoyed sharing the opinions and theories around with you!
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Ohhhh Yes that where times back then. The lovely word battles between @IanForce and @Bootie . And yes the conversations with @Aesyle. The beautifull pictures from @NJR87 they where all really cool. And beloved @Gysbert His beautifull maps and his posts abaout the surroundings of Österturn. He made this world really alive and beside fighting, he made it a lovely place to stay there for a time and investigate things. I often rambled around on Östertörn avoided fights with robots only observe them and go to several locations. Aaaand it has me inspired to three more storys. One of it is a cruel murder story aside from fnix and all of the fights with the robots. It’s about Liv Svensson after her Partner Mikkel died. She’s hunting a cruel murder named “the Bloodman”. But it has nothing to do with Generation zero it happened only in the world of it. The second story plays twenty years later and a russian terrorist got hands over some robots and threatened the world. In a cave nearby FOA53 there where found some devastated machines and some skelletons with russian uniforms. But this is part of the third story what is the awakening of Fnix seven years after what has happened in helldivers diary. So @all keep the Forum alive.
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