Generation Zero is one of those games that deserves to be called a true masterpiece. I would like to give a big thank you to the entire team at Avalanche Games for bringing Generation Zero to life.
While there is room for improvement, the game already has features that easily surpass other games similar to it. In the article below, I will describe what I loved about the game and what I would love to see in future updates as well as some suggestions on how to implement these ideas…
First of all, I like how as you progress through Generation Zero and level up, the enemies do not level with the player. Instead, you have to go to specific areas to find harder enemies but you can still go back to easier areas and fight the prototype Runners.
In my opinion, this feature causes it to surpass the entire Fallout series in terms of world generation as Fallout has the enemies at the same or higher level than you at all times. I also love how equipment does not break or wear out. Overall, the game is awesome and very satisfying (especially the explosions).
The combat is balanced, no one weapon is too OP, and the feel of the game in general is great. I was so glad to find out that it had a prone position, and the Electric Guitar Emote is one of my favorite features about the game.
The graphics are good, the Soundtrack is Amazing! Each encounter feels unique, and the fact that I can go back and find a damaged machine weeks after I shot it really adds to the realistic feeling of the game.
One of the features that I would like to see added, is actual survival mechanics such as hunger and thirst meters, as well as sleep meters. This would make the game feel a lot more realistic. Perhaps you could even learn to grow your own food through an addition to the skill tree.
You could also find food in those little cans that are everywhere. Water could be gathered from any stream or lake, but the ocean water would have to be boiled. For an added twist,there could also be the possibility of machines poisoning the water in an attempt to kill you. And for sleeping, the player could possibly pick up a tent.
They could also use one of the many mattresses dotted around the world. All players have to sleep at the same time in order to fast forward the game. When sleeping, the player could choose how long they wanted to sleep. (When one person stops sleeping, the rest wake up.)
Next up is base building. A lot of players feel limited by only being allowed to build their base in one location. I propose that in a future update, there could be multiple choices for the location of your base. While I do want to be able to build anywhere, I feel like that would cause way too many bugs and glitches and is probably asking too much of the development team.
I know that although the majority of us liked the weapon wheel, some players did not ( personally i love it ). For those who do not like it, there could be a setting to turn the inventory back to its old way and toggle the weapon wheel. Again, this would be optional, I myself love being able to swap between 8 items at a moment’s notice while at the same time not bringing up an interface that blocks my view of the battlefield.
One of the biggest points that I have is vehicles, I know many of the community want to see more means of transportation than the bike, and I also know that some players have already started their own “campaigns” for vehicles. I agree with this idea but instead of contributing to someone else’s work I wanted to include my argument on vehicles in this feedback.
Ok, here we go…
Vehicles are a necessary component of Generation Zero. What could be better in a game about guerilla warfare than zooming around in a technical with your friends and lighting up enemy positions?
Although, there are certain ways to limit players in the beginning of the game as to which vehicles they can drive. For example, most of the cars could be out of fuel or missing parts, requiring players to search the world for the missing components to get a vehicle working ( they won’t find them though as the parts have been seized by Harvesters and gas is only left at stations ).
And yes, I do think there should be a fuel meter that runs out over time. However, all is not lost if you run out of fuel, all you have to do is find a gas station that you have NOT blown up and get some gas from one of the pumps. Alternatively, you could use the fuel tanks as a way of carrying around extra fuel. Parts could be found in military bunkers.
Personally, I want to be able to drive the Swedish Main Battle Tank that you see everywhere. The MBT should probably be a $4.99 DLC as well as any other vehicles that would come with weapons. Vehicles should be able to be upgraded at the new Garage that can be built at a player’s base.
Upgrades could include armor, a mounted machine gun, and a faster engine or better handling. Each upgrade would have pros and cons that are applied to the vehicle. Super thick armor or a battering ram would mean being a lot slower and it would probably be wise to upgrade the horsepower of your engine to allow it to retain it’s speed.
APCs would also be a great addition. Vehicles would also allow players to grow large fields of crops, and could be slept in. Now we come to two new means of traversing the amazing landscape of Generation Zero. Swimming: I have always found it frustrating that whenever the character goes underwater, he is teleported back to shore and not allowed to go any further.
Swimming is something that needs to be in a future update, as well as new swimming related content. Scuba gear and an air meter could be added, and an underwater enemy would be really cool. Spear guns or a compensator that allowed your weapon to fire underwater would let the player fight underwater.
One of the last ideas that I have is taking to the skies. Air travel through the use of a plane / helicopter / glider would be amazing! There could also be the addition of an airborne enemy and new anti aircraft robots, or AA upgrades for existing robots. Once again, any aerial vehicle with weapons would be paid DLC. All aircraft could be upgraded in the garage, and the player could clear a landing pad / runway for storage of the vehicles.
New weapons such as katanas, knives, and other melee weapons could grow the weapons sandbox of the game and add to the diversity of encounters. Imagine ripping off a Hunter’s blade and going berserk with it! Upgrades such as poison, flame, and shock would make the blade of your weapon extremely deadly. Miniguns and Flamethrowers are also much desired additions. Perhaps we could see the arrival of a jetpack in a new DLC…
Assault rifles could have grenade launchers, or undermounted shottys ( idk if those things were around in 1989 but then again, killer robots weren’t either). Perhaps there could be a way ( a very hard way ) to hack a robot and make it fight for you. Maybe you could even ride it. A piggyback ride from a Wolf sounds fun.
Now, those of us that are into roleplay have found it a bit hard to do a roleplay with lots of different characters. I propose that there should be a bigger player cap per game. While this would make combat easier, it would lead to the creation of content on Youtube that would attract more players.
There could be increased numbers of enemies in the world unless the host has the difficulty set to Roleplay which could add some tools to help with roleplay. Maybe there could also be a toggled PvP setting for a roleplay with rival groups of survivors.
The final point I am going to make is wildlife. The addition of wildlife would make Generation Zero into a fully immersive environment that would feel alive. It would also add another way for players to get food. The cooking of food over campfires, burning wreckage, and stoves would be a really cool way to survive. Maybe you could cook the raw venison on your flaming katana?
In Conclusion, I would like to say thank you again to the amazing team at Avalanche Studios, and especially to the dev team that actually listens to feedback from the community!
Thank You all so much for bringing us Generation Zero, my friends and I really love the game and I would love to see all of this content added, but I know that this stuff takes time, and you have your own ideas that you want to implement into the game.
There is probably stuff that I forgot to add to this list, but I will post any future ideas here. I also encourage others to post their opinions of this list here, as well as their own ideas for the game. I will see you all in-game.
ProCaptainAJ
) Maybe you can draw your straw to the stack in those discussions.
