Fear the Wolves Early Access update brings fresh content, gameplay tweaks and performance optimization

We are deploying today a new update for their Battle Royale FPS Fear the Wolves, now available in Steam Early Access. Fear the Wolves drops players, in squads or as lone wolves, into the oppressive environments of a radiation-ravaged Chernobyl. The classic Battle Royale mode forces them to fight to be the last man standing.

From the launch of the early access, Vostok Games has been looking after the feedback from the community which has allowed the team to roll out multiple updates and improvements - but that was only a start, as dev team continues improving their game on a regular basis along the Early Access period. Today’s update is first dedicated to performance optimization – many players should see a significant improvement during their gameplay sessions, while the developers continue working hard to make sure Fear the Wolves runs smoothly and reaches higher performance on all configs as the Early Access goes on.

Maps have also received significant care, with more landmarks and topography tweaks, not only strengthening even more the immersion into the dark Chernobyl atmosphere, but also bringing more intensity and challenge during the entire gameplay session, as well as offering a better overall balancing (loot repartition, weapons…) - either games are launched with high or lower number of players.

More additions like new languages available, queuing for new game while being in spectator mode, improved visuals, and more content will complete this new update.
Full list and details about this update are available below

Change Log:

Optimization
We've been condensing our models and creating new LODs to improve performance. Optimization is the top priority, and this will always be worked on throughout Early Access and even post-launch.

New Customization Sets – Unlock the Edge and the Gangster sets

In-Game Feats
Kill-hungry players will be pleased to know that player and wolf kills are added to the rewards at the end of each match. More difficult kills likeheadshots, vehicle kills, grenade kills, and melee kills are also rewarded with bonus points.

Spectator Matchmaking – You can queue for the next game while spectating

10 Additional Languages – French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Hungarian and Turkish

You can now change these directly in game.

Improved visuals – Updated anomaly effects, weather effects, and a variety of new shooting VFX

Map Updates
Several new points of interests have been added to the map, including complex industrial and urban settings. These dense and complex multi-storied buildings have loot on all levels so be careful and thorough!

• Several parts of the map’s topography have been changed, as below:
  
  • Gas Storage
    
  • Old Dam
    
  • Renaissance
    
  • Concrete Plant
    
  • Coolers
• Points of Interest
  
  • Security Checkpoint
    
  • RLS Vostok
    
  • RLS Duga
    
  • Kopachi

Bug fixes

• Wolves will no longer spawn in the air or in the ground.
  
• Players will no longer fall through the ground when getting out of a vehicle that has been parked on a hill.
  
• The Fort 17 pistol will now always have a magazine present inside the gun when seen in 3rd person.
  
• Grass should no longer be growing in the air.
  
• Various other tweaks and fixes.

Quality of life

• Toggle for movement keys - ADS, Crouch, Walk, Sprint, Hold Breathe
  
• Ammo is removed for dropped weapon.
  
• Increased map precision.
  
• Compass – By popular demand!
  
• Evacuation messages were removed, to cause players to pay more attention to when the chopper was arriving.

And much more – Additional sound effects, improved screen effects, fixed overlap between likes and FPS/Ping when turned on, Squad radiation status display

More information will be revealed in the incoming months, so stay tuned for more! Enter the battle for Chernobyl, as Fear the Wolves is available now on Steam Early Access. The launch of the full game is planned for 2019.

Hello everyone,

We’re happy to see a lot of positive feedback after this week’s update and we’re committed to keep working hard on bug fixes, performance optimizations and gameplay improvement.

Here, we would like to share with you some highlights of next week’s patch. Please find below several main points of this upcoming update patchlog!

• Map optimization to increase client performances and improve FPS stability.
  
• New landmarks on the map for a deeper immersion into the radioactive lands of Chernobyl.
  
• The Reward system will be refined to give more credits for skilled in-game actions.
  
• You’ll now be able to queue for a new game while spectating another one.
  
• 10 new languages will be available for the interface:
  
  • French
    
  • Spanish (LATAM)
    
  • Portuguese- Brasil
    
  • German
    
  • Italiano
    
  • Traditional Chinese
    
  • Polish
    
  • Hungarian
    
  • Czech
    
  • Turkish
• Many quality of life improvements:
  
  • Toggle options
    
  • ADS logic
    
  • Inventory use
    
  • Matchmaking flow
• Additional sounds and sound effects.
  
• Bug fixing.

See you next week for the deployment of this new update - we’re currently aiming at the middle of next week!

The Fear The Wolves Team

Hi everyone,

We’d like to thank you for all your feedback over Fear The Wolves’ first week in Early Access. We’re listening, and our team continues to work hard on bugfixes, optimization and gameplay balance.

Today, we have some sizeable patch notes to share with you! This update focuses on getting players into games faster with smaller scale scenarios with faster pace during low population hours, a reworking of the parachute system for more options of where to drop, as well as balance changes to weapons, items and loot tables and three more languages (Simplified Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian). More languages will arrive soon!

To change your language, you have to right click on the game in your Steam library, then go to Properties > Languages and pick your language.



Thanks again for your continued support! Read the full notes below.




1. Changed vertical and horizontal speed for Gliding and Parachuting during deployment to make possible to get further
2. Added possibility to start match with reduced map to 4x4 and 3x3. These scenarios will be turned on when there will be not enough players in matchmaking queue.
3. Three new languages are available: Simplified Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian.
4. Weapons and items rebalance

Damage Modifier rebalance changes:

• Head 1.75->2
  
• Legs 0.75->0.8

Weapons and equipment re-balance:

Firearm Protection changes:

• Biker Helmet 0.1->0.15
  
• Medium Helmet 0.2->0.25
  
• Hazmat MK1 0.05->0.1
  
• Light Armor 0.15->0.2

Weapon re-balance:

• RPM changes:
  
  • APS RPM 725->750
    
  • Beretta 93R RPM 1100->1000
    
  • CZ75b RPM 350->400
    
  • Fort17 RPM 400->450
    
  • Remington870 RPM 100->200
    
  • TOZ34 RPM 100->400
    
  • Vepr12 RPM 100->400

• DAMAGE changes:
  
  • A545 29->34
    
  • AK74n 29->34
    
  • APS 19->20
    
  • Beretta93R 20->19
    
  • CZ75b 24->25
    
  • Fort17 23->25
    
  • Vector 23->25
    
  • M4 27->30
    
  • Groza 30->37
    
  • Remington870 115->125
    
  • RPD 24->35
    
  • SVU-AS 44->50
    
  • UMP45 23->29
    
  • UZI 24->25
    
  • Vepr12 100->125
    
  • VHS2 27->34
    
  • Vintorez 32->37

• Damage reducing over distance tweaks for all weapons.
  
  • ARs, SMGs and SRs now start losing damage earlier.
    
  • Pistols minimum damage distance was slightly increased. (Now pistols a bit more efficient over distance)
    
  • Shotguns maximum damage distance increased, Minimum damage distance reduced.

• Significantly reduced ADS spread for all weapons.
  
• Significantly reduced HIP spread for Shotguns.
  
• Slightly increased HIP spread for pistols.
  
• Slightly reduced HIP spread for all other weapons.

5. Loot spawn re-balance:

Chances to find more valuable loot was increased for all zones.
Detailed loot change log:

• Small Villages (small grey circles on map):
  
  • Spawn chances increased for Remington870, TOZ34, AEK919 and UZI
• Medium Villages (medium grey circles):
  
  • Spawn chances increased for Vepr12, Vector, UMP45, Hazmat Armor MK2, Medium Armor, Medium Helmet, Medium Pants and Oxygen Tank MK2.
• Medium City (medium grey angled shapes):
  
  • Spawn chances increased for AK74 and M4A1
• Large City (big grey angled shapes):
  
  • Spawn chances increased for VHS, A545, Military Respirator, Oxygen Tank MK3, Heavy Pants, Heavy Helmet, Heavy Armor and Hazmat Armor MK3
• Military Zones (orange angled shapes):
  
  • AR Groza now could be found in Orange Zones instead of Air Drops
• Air Drop:
  
  • Vintorez with PSO1 Scope now could be found in Air Drops and couldn`t be found nowhere else

Hi everyone,

Fear The Wolves released two days ago in Early Access on Steam and many of you have parachuted straight into the ruin of Chernobyl!

We'd like to thank all of you who showed your support so far - we're committed to make Fear The Wolves the best game it can be!

We've worked hard on your feedback and are happy to release a first update today. It mainly features optimization and bug fixes, but also long-awaited features such as 21:9 support. You can learn more about our plans for future update in our roadmap here.

• Added Ultrawide support for 21:9 monitors.
  
• Rebalanced the mouse sensitivites allowing players to better manipulate their settings.
  
• Client performance improvements resulting in more stable FPS in most areas fo the map.
  
• Added an alert when attempting to open an empty lootbox or air drop.
  
• Made it so that players will always move horizontally when holding the MOVE FORWARD key.
  
• Add an Auto-Settings feature when launching the game for the first time.
  
• Several client crash fixes.
  
• Laid the groundwork to add languages quickly in the near future

See you in game,
Fear The Wolves Team

Hi everyone,

Fear The Wolves released a few hours ago in Early Access on Steam and many of you are already battling to be the last survivor in the ruin of Chernobyl!

We wanted first to thank all of you who showed your support today - we're committed to make Fear The Wolves the best game it can be with good communication and long term support!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHAKwgWmyT4
As we're working on your feedback and reports to deliver a first update very quickly, current goal is to have a first patch ready before the end of the week, we'd like to give you an update on several points that have seen a lot of questions.

Aside from fixes and adjustments based on your recent feedback, we have other improvements and a lot of additional features planned, as presented in our roadmap earlier today.

Client Optimization

We've received some feedback about the optimization of the game and it's absolutely something the team is still working on, although a lot of progress have been made since the Beta thanks for the feedback gathered in this testing phase. We plan to continue working on optimization, especially the rendering for all graphics cards.

Autosettings will be added as well, which should help a lot of players have better performance by selecting adjusted default settings.

Lag that you may encounter right now is mostly from the client side, especially during the helicopter phase at the beginning. It's related to the way certain zones are streamed. The team is focused on that to offer a smooth experience to everyone.

Disconnection issues

Some of you have reported issues with reloading or not being able to pick up items. It only happens when you've been disconnected from the server. We have worked on new server side tools that will greatly help us to monitor these disconnections. We are monitoring theses issue and its symptoms with great attention.

Localization

As presented in our Early Access Launch announcement, we have a lot of languages coming very soon to the game. We have currently 14 languages planned, including French, German, Spanish, Russian or Chinese.

Balancing

We've read some reports about the balancing of the game. That's an on-going process that will spread over the Early Access period. We'll be tuning the damage of the weapons, the amno and everything we feel would need adjustments. Your feedback are more than welcome in this area.

For example, some of you complained about the lack of ammo or efficiency of weapons. We'll check your reports and change this if many of you feel that it's not as good as it could be.

Ping issues for Chinese and Australian players

We're closely monitoring the servers in Asia to improve the ping as much as possible. If you experience high latency in Asia, make sure to check that you're in the proper region. We know that some players are using VPNs, and it might mislead the region detection from the game.

We're also taking a close look at the server data we receive from the OCE region. We'll update you this week about this specific issue as we need more info from our server provider.

See you soon for a new update about all these points and more.

Good luck in Chernobyl!
The Fear The Wolves Team

We are excited to launch Fear the Wolves into Steam Early Access today!

The game introduces intense player-versus-environment elements to the Battle Royale formula, including deadly radiation hazards, roaming mutants, dynamic weather and a unique endgame extraction system, all within the atmospheric environments of a decaying Chernobyl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHAKwgWmyT4
To secure the top spot out of 100, you must worry about more than just survival. While it’s possible to win a game through simply being the last alive, the helicopter extraction adds a whole new dimension to endgame strategy. In the final stages, all remaining players will be alerted to the arrival of the helicopter, which will hover over a fixed area before dropping a rope – and there’s only room for one. Will you rush to be the first to attempt an escape in the hope no one else is there yet?

How will you deal with the oncoming assault of not only players, but mutant wolves, anomalies and radiation? How will your squad ensure a teammate survives the intense haul up to the chopper? We’ve seen an incredible range of creative strategies for this endgame, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with over the coming months.



Fear the Wolves has already seen tens of thousands of players battling across Chernobyl during the beta period, which has allowed us to roll out multiple updates and improvements in preparation for the Early Access launch.

We're incredibly grateful to all of you who parachuted into Chernobyl in the last weeks to help us iron out the game as much as possible. We know it's been a bumpy road and that some of you encountered technical issues and the focus for the last few weeks has been on ironing out the performance and bug fixes. It's only a first step and we'll keep improving and tuning the performance of the game and servers based on your feedback.

To thank you for your support throughout the Beta phase, we worked on in-game t-shirts for Alpha and Beta testers! Just launch the game and pick the t-shirt in the brand new customization menu. Here is a quick look at the models:





We're happy to unveil today a first content roadmap to give insight on the exciting (and game-changing) new features still to come!




Right after Early Access Release

We plan to add localization for more languages as we head towards release. This is currently aimed at 16 languages, including French, German, Russian and Chinese.

Update #1 - First additional content
3rd week of September

• New landmarks: We will add new landmark buildings, oddities, and other unique elements to the map.
  
• A new 2 seater vehicle.
  
• Weapon Customization: a brand-new customization system to make every weapon your own.
  
• The ability to auto-matchmake after death or defeat.
  
• Nvidia Highlights: Learn from your mistakes or relive your finest kills and your smoothest extractions.

Update #2 - Improved BR mechanics
End of October

• More Movement Options: Vault over obstacles to quickly navigate the environment.
  
• New Melee Mechanics: Break open locked doors, backstab enemies, and throw weapons.
  
• An in-game event system.
  
• A spectator mode UI update.
  
• Customization: even more customization sets!

You may have noticed some differences compared to the initial list of planned features and it's because we reorganized our priorities based on your feedback from the Beta. We're commited to open communication with you throughout this Early Access period and it also means being flexible and attentive to your requests.

Note that additionally to these major updates, we'll release regularly smaller updates and hotfixes for hot fixes and balancing.



We have a lot more content and ideas for the future, but we're not ready to give you all the details about them. We will release a new roadmap this fall for the next updates, but here are some of the ideas we’re exploring for future updates:

• Anomalous Storm: A new weather type that unleashes hell across the battlefield.
  
• Dedicated wounded player animations.
  
• More customization items: Cosmetics will continue to be added, letting you create your perfect character, including a progression system with unlockable items.
  
• Night gameplay: Currently in a prototype stage, we intend to bring the terrors of the pitch black to Fear The Wolves. Don’t forget, wolves are nocturnal hunters.
  
• Additional mutants: Wolves aren’t the only creatures to be affected by the radiation still present in The Zone.
  
• Additional mutant mechanics. The Zone is ever evolving, and with it, the creatures within.
  
• Additional anomaly mechanics. Anomalies are dangerous, but brave them, and you may uncover something worth the risk.
  
• Livestream integration: The spectator weather-voting system will be available to Twitch and Mixer viewers.
  
• A better Chernobyl: The map will be polished to add additional biomes and village diversity.
  
• More weapons and items: New guns, melee weapons, attachments.

We hope to see you in Chernobyl very soon to hear your feedback about the current version of the game and shape Fear The Wolves together!

See you in-game,
Fear The Wolves team

We are excited to announce that Battle Royale FPS Fear the Wolves will enter Steam Early Access on August 28.

Combining traditional last-man-standing gameplay with PVE elements and unique radiation, weather, and endgame extraction mechanics, Fear the Wolves guarantees an intense, atmospheric experience in the decaying ruins of Chernobyl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p334pVfNcL8
Fear the Wolves enters Early Access with an additional six weeks of testing in closed beta weekends, after initially being scheduled for release in mid-July. With server stability, game performance, and balance now refined, it’s time for Fear the Wolves to be enjoyed by an even wider audience on Steam.



Fear the Wolves’ unique gameplay features are being showcased in a series of social media featurettes, and eager players are encouraged to check them out in the run up to launch.

We are keen to receive further feedback and improve the game alongside a growing community of players interested in the next evolution of Battle Royale. The first Early Access version already features the core gameplay and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. vibe, and there is much more already in development.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyMukHJWHQ&list=PLjbma_6dYNT2aZNF3Pdei-jLHxAE-hTZQ
A new map and mode, more weapons, items, mutants, and weather – we promise regular, large content patches, with a full plan of the update timeline available on the Steam page throughout development. The community will also play their part, with feedback welcome on everything from weapon balance to new ideas for Fear the Wolves’ unique weather and PvE systems. Further work on server and game stability will also continue for as long as needed.

We’re greatly looking forward to experiencing the game with the wider PC audience and getting to work adding to the Early Access version ahead of a full release in 2019.

Fear the Wolves comes to PC on Steam Early Access, August 28. Consoles and full PC release in 2019.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/819500/Fear_The_Wolves/

Hi everyone,

Edit: This week's Closed Beta is now closed.

It will close Monday 20th of August. Exat hour to be announced.

If you haven't received a key, don't worry as we send more regularly. Make sure you're registered for the Beta here to receive your key.


The team continues to work on your feedback from previous Beta sessions. We know that many of you experience issues with the matchmaking system, and we're doing our best to bring more players in the Beta. We've sent 15k new keys at the start of the test session to reduce queuing time as much as possible.

We're still working on improving the servers, and fixing as many technical issues as possible. A lot of issues are tied to having only the EU servers open in the Beta to reduce the queuing time as much as possible. You'll definitely have servers for more regions at release. We currently plan to have servers for EU, NA and Asia/OCE.

Please find below this week's changelog:

Highlights

• Added a swinging motion to the evacuation rope.
  
  • This will make it more difficult to shoot down the player attached to the rope.
• Improvements to the wolves' behavior:
  
  • Now wolves will use close range attacks in narrow places.
    
  • Wolves will no longer leap while indoors.
    
  • Other fixes and improvements.
• Added an FOV slider.
  
• Added the option to show Ping and FPS counters in game.

Additional fixes

• Made it possible to interact with objects on the ground while looking through lootboxes or supply drops.
  
• Bug fixes for items stacking with other items in the player's hands.
  
• Camera rotation limits for Parachute and Vehicles.
  
• Fixed damage for F1 and RGO grenades.
  
• Fixed a bug where players were able to spectate enemy squads.
  
• Armor will now reduce damage from wolves
  
• Added a notification when entering a zone that will soon become infected with radiation.
  
  • The notification will include the exact time until the infection begins.
• Removed collision from wolf corpses.
  
• Melee attacks now deal damage to wolves.

Quick reminder that the this Beta isn't covered by a NDA, meaning you can share videos, images and info about the game this week. Keep in mind that it's a work-in-progress version of the game, and players may encounter bugs or crashes, that may lower the quality of the in-game experience.

We’d love your help in identifying these bugs, so that we can make the Early Access release version of Fear The Wolves the best that it can be.

Please join the Fear The Wolves official Discord to synchronize with the team and testers.




Please report technical issues and general feedback on the Fear The Wolves official Forums. Before submitting feedback on the forums please check if there is an existing thread about the topic, or if it is listed in our known issues log.

When providing feedback please try to be as informative as possible, providing information on where and when the issue occurred.

We look forward to seeing you on the servers!

Fear The Wolves Team