Pre Alpha Patchnotes (v.0.7.0.0)7 min read

Posted on | by Community Management

Our new pre-alpha update (v.0.7.0.0) includes our Safehouse update, combat improvement, content, balance, and sound changes, as well as several bugfixes. Read the full patchnotes below:

Pre-Alpha Patchnotes v.0.7.0.0

Content Changes

  • Expanded, populated, and adjusted multiple areas in and around Ashwater.
  • Redesigned the Safehouse user interface and experience.
  • Reworked the Auction House interface to make it easier to use and navigate.

Reputation System Rework

Read more in our recent [developer blog] (https://www.persist.online/en/blog/reputation-reworked-favor-faction-gear/).
 
Summary of changes:
  • Updated the Faction Reputation trust levels and their rewards.
  • Added a new Faction currency: Favor.
  • Added new Favor Shop NPCs to all Faction strongholds.
  • Added a visual effect when a character reaches a higher Reputation level.
  • Removed “Raiders” and “The Black Hand” from the Factions tab in the Character Menu.
Developer Comments: Due to the rework, we decided to wipe the reputation progress for all Pre-Alpha characters with this update.

New Factions

Added four new Factions, including introductory questlines, Faction War quests, and daily Faction Quests:
  • The 404s vs Forum Transcendum
  • The Marrow Family vs Cerberus Corps

Action Bar Rework

Default dual action bar improvements:
  • The upper row is always static.
  • The lower row is always weapon-slot-specific.
    • This behavior is permanently enabled. As a result, the old “Weapon Slot Specific” toggle has been removed from the Interface settings.
    • A weapon icon indicates which weapon type the current action bar belongs to.
New second dual action bar on the right:
  • Disabled by default; can be activated in the Interface settings.
  • Both additional action bars are static and do not change when switching weapons.
  • Only assigned slots are shown in the UI.
Assigning Skills and Items: When mouse mode is activated (Tab):
  • Left-clicking an empty action bar slot or right-clicking an assigned slot opens the assignment menu, which displays all available skills in the same order as the Character Menu.
  • Left-clicking an assigned slot uses the corresponding skill or item.

Additional Changes

  • Amnesia Pills can now also refund previously invested Badges in the selected skill tree in addition to resetting it.
  • Added a “Recycler” interactable to Faction strongholds, allowing player characters to recycle junk items without entering the Safehouse.
  • Added an icon for Faction Quest NPCs who receive materials from delivery missions.
  • Faction Quest NPCs in the open world are now ignored by all enemy creatures.
  • Added a death effect for Warden NPCs in Faction strongholds.
Loot-blocking mechanic:
  • Loot dropped by creatures is now reserved for 30 seconds for the player who dealt the most damage. After the time expires or once looting has been completed, the loot becomes available to everyone.
  • This change does not affect PvP.
Further additions and improvements:
  • Added two new zombie models for the southern areas of the world.
  • Added new Nodes in Ring 4 areas and higher.
  • All Quest Items are now family-bound.
  • Implemented several UI optimizations for the Sectors tab in the Character Menu.
  • Added a Quick Info notification for player characters when an item was left in an unsent in-game mail or the Auction House sell window.

Reworked Safehouse

  • Fully redesigned the Safehouse UI and UX.
  • Missions can no longer refund resources.
  • Training missions no longer give any resources.
  • All higher perks now have a room level restriction.

Balance, Combat & Weapon Changes

Combat Changes

General Changes:
  • Updated hit colliders for all enemy types, particularly around their heads, to better match their visual models. PvP hit colliders remain unchanged.
  • Introduced a bucket system for damage calculation. Damage values are additive inside a bucket and multiplicative between buckets. Damage values from any source (e.g. perks, skills, mods, cooking) are now sorted into buckets depending on the keyword (weapon damage, critical damage, headshot damage, etc.).
Ranged Combat:
  • Added a new crosshair for each weapon type.
  • Added a new visual hit marker to the crosshair UI.
Developer Comments: The hit marker is also displayed for melee hits.
  • Improved the remaining ammunition display.
  • Improved and adjusted the size and position of floating combat text.
  • Added a new bullet trail system.
  • Added a camera shake effect when firing a weapon.
Developer Comments: This effect can be disabled in the advanced graphics settings.
  • Added a new spray-pattern system for each weapon type.
  • Removed the “Recoil” stat from the game.
Developer Comments: With the new spray-pattern system, the old Recoil stat has been removed from skills, mods, and survival perks. Instead, “Accuracy” now affects both random spread and camera recoil.
  • Decreased muzzle flash size for all rapid-fire weapon types, including Assault Rifles, SMGs, and Machine Guns.

Melee Combat

  • Increased movement speed during combat.
  • Increased enemy hitboxes for melee skills.
  • Added a weapon trail rendering system.
  • Improved combat sounds.
  • Added new combat animations for every melee weapon type.
Developer Comments: Please note that combat changes are still a work in progress. We will continue to make more adjustments and changes in the future.

Weapon Changes

Model 1883:
  • Reduced base damage: 110 → 75
  • Increased attack rate: 1.5 → 0.8
  • Reduced reload time: 2 → 1.6
SVD:
  • Increased its general attack range.
  • Changed its scope: 4x → 3x
Mk 14:
  • Increased its general attack range.
  • Changed its scope: 3x → 2x
Katana:
  • Increased attack speed: 1.0 → 1.25 attacks per second
  • Reduced base damage: 60 → 48
Assault Rifles:
  • Removed the “burst-fire” firing mode as a weapon identity.
Developer Comments: We plan to add a new weapon identity (ability) in a future update.

Balancing Changes

  • Damage-over-time effects, such as Bleeding, Fire, and Poison, now ignore shields.
  • Overseer immunity is now active even before they have been hit by a player character.
  • Reduced the strength and duration of Overseer mutant buffs by 50%.
  • Adjusted the damage, health points, and experience gained from animal creatures.
  • Adjusted Guild Quest objectives and rewards.
  • Adjusted and improved all rewards from Faction Quests.
  • Rebalanced and optimized junk loot drops.
  • Increased raw material costs in the Safehouse to bring them in line with the new junk drop chances.
  • Increased task time in the Safehouse for end-level tasks.
  • Increased the drop rate of Amnesia Pills.
  • Increased the amount of Character XP required to reach subsequent levels, starting at Level 20.
  • Increased Character XP gained from harvesting by 15%.
  • Increased time and raw material costs in the Safehouse for upgrading an item level.
  • Reduced the chance to get a refund in the Safehouse.
  • Standardized the wording and formatting of skill descriptions to make their effects easier to understand.
  • Reduced the chance to craft or loot improvable items (the ones with an arrow).

PvP Changes

  • Reworked the Beginner Protection Zone in Rings 0–2 into a full PvP Protection Zone.
    • Players inside the zone can no longer deal or receive PvP damage, regardless of their Aggressor Mode (switched with P).
    • Players already in the Aggressor State can still be attacked and damaged inside the PvP Protection Zone.

Karma Changes

  • New characters now start with 2,500 Karma points instead of 5,000.
  • Increased Karma lost for killing another player character.
  • Increased the Karma gained per zombie kill while at negative Karma: 3 → 10 points.
Developer Comments: These changes should ensure that players who kill others at random receive penalties more quickly, providing better protection for the rest of the community.

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bug where previously entered chat messages were displayed incorrectly when pressing the Up Arrow key.
  • Fixed a bug where in-game chat messages could be lost when entering or leaving the Safehouse.
  • Fixed a bug with unnatural combat pathing for enemy creatures.
  • Fixed a bug with the “Way of the Scavenger” perk in the Thievery skill tree.
  • Fixed a bug where zombies could walk through harvestable concrete slabs and cars.
  • Fixed a bug where the combat logout warning could still appear after a character’s death and respawn.
  • Fixed a bug where item rewards from Faction Quests could be lost if there was insufficient space in the character’s backpack.
  • Fixed a bug where enemy creatures could push player characters through objects and walls while disarmed.
  • Fixed a bug with radial menu selection.
  • Fixed a bug where Emergency Dash covered a shorter distance when used from a stationary position.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause players to become unattackable during Sector fights.
  • Fixed a bug where enemy creatures could not reach player characters because of high curbs.
  • Fixed a bug with the automatic healing effect while sitting.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause game servers to freeze.
  • Fixed several bugs where enemy creatures could clip through the ground and still attack player characters.
  • Fixed a bug where player characters could fall through the ground when respawning after death.
  • Fixed a bug with incorrect enemy difficulty in the “Caldren Station” area.
  • Fixed an incorrect zone difficulty overlay in the “Cobblers Row” area.
  • Fixed a bug with the quest marker for “Keep the Exit Open.”
  • Fixed a bug that caused some plants in the swamp to move incorrectly during strong winds.
  • Fixed a bug with the Elite “Runner” in the Ashwater Airfield zone.
  • Fixed several bugs in the Junkyard Sector.
  • Fixed several audio-related bugs.
  • Fixed several typos and incorrect localized texts.