Steam News 16 February 20263mo ago

First look at some big changes and new features coming to Fargone

Update log

Full Fargone update

The complete published notes, normalized for clean reading and source attribution.

Repeated intro

Hey everyone, the next update has been coming along extremely well, so I felt it was time to lift the lid and show off some of the things you can expect to see in the next update. One important thing to note: I will not be talking about any fixes in this post, just new features. However, I have also been hard at work on reported issues, especially related to missions. Anyway, let's take a look at 0.5 — Busy Work Part 2.

Extracted changes

0 fixes5 additions0 changes0 removals

Gameplay
Performance

addedHey everyone, the next update has been coming along extremely well, so I felt it was time to lift the lid and show off some of the things you can expect to see in the next update. One important thing to note: I will not be talking about any fixes in this post, just new features. However, I have also been hard at work on reported issues, especially related to missions. Anyway, let's take a look at 0.5 — Busy Work Part 2.

addedPlains OverhaulTaking everything learned from Busy Work Part 1, the Plains is receiving the same treatment and getting fully revamped. With 0.5 this region has gone from the least detailed and interesting to the most detailed. Every POI has been enhanced or entirely rebuilt. New POIs have been added to reduce dead space between larger locations, and numerous roads, railways and paths have been connected to create a believable world instead of the disconnected feeling between each POI in the current build of the game. Here are screenshots of just a couple of the new areas.

addedRebuilt AIQuite possibly the biggest change I have ever made to the game will debut in 0.5 — AI3 (appropriately named as it's the 3rd iteration of the AI system!). AI3 is a complete rebuild from the ground up and massively improves encounter variety and behaviour. In 0.5 the undead are confirmed to be upgraded to AI3, with human NPCs likely coming in another patch shortly after. This also brings something players have been asking about for a long time: overhauled zombie animations and sounds, making them far more interesting to fight. AI3 now allows multiple attack types driven by animation. For instance husks will now launch themselves at you when within range using their new leap attack. Normal zombies may perform their regular attack or, in some cases, perform frantic swipe combos making them more dangerous at times. All of this is also far more stable and performant thanks to a new behaviour tree system powering AI3. This is one of the biggest and most exciting changes coming with this update and beyond as it continues to expand.

addedSandbox PhysicsWith this update swimming and water are getting completely overhauled. Graphically, water now uses a brand new system making it more performance friendly and much better visually. Swimming has also been reworked and now supports underwater movement using the new water physics system. This leads into the final change — water physics implementation. Dead bodies, items, grenades and even the player now use a true physics-based floating system. Dropping items while standing in water will see them realistically float back up, enemies killed will naturally bob back up to the surface and even float downstream if they are in one. This is the beginning of a major push to expand sandbox physics and make gameplay more dynamic and interesting.

addedSkill systemThe skill system is also getting a rework based on player feedback. The talent tree system is being replaced by a new per-skill tree system allowing you to gain experience and perks by performing actions related to each tree. The new system has two layers: you still gain main player levels and are granted skill points which can be used to unlock major perks within a skill tree. As well as this, progressing through each tree will automatically unlock several minor nodes allowing for constant progression as you play naturally.

Plains Overhaul

Taking everything learned from Busy Work Part 1, the Plains is receiving the same treatment and getting fully revamped. With 0.5 this region has gone from the least detailed and interesting to the most detailed. Every POI has been enhanced or entirely rebuilt. New POIs have been added to reduce dead space between larger locations, and numerous roads, railways and paths have been connected to create a believable world instead of the disconnected feeling between each POI in the current build of the game. Here are screenshots of just a couple of the new areas.

Rebuilt AI

Quite possibly the biggest change I have ever made to the game will debut in 0.5 — AI3 (appropriately named as it's the 3rd iteration of the AI system!). AI3 is a complete rebuild from the ground up and massively improves encounter variety and behaviour. In 0.5 the undead are confirmed to be upgraded to AI3, with human NPCs likely coming in another patch shortly after. This also brings something players have been asking about for a long time: overhauled zombie animations and sounds, making them far more interesting to fight. AI3 now allows multiple attack types driven by animation. For instance husks will now launch themselves at you when within range using their new leap attack. Normal zombies may perform their regular attack or, in some cases, perform frantic swipe combos making them more dangerous at times. All of this is also far more stable and performant thanks to a new behaviour tree system powering AI3. This is one of the biggest and most exciting changes coming with this update and beyond as it continues to expand.

Sandbox Physics

With this update swimming and water are getting completely overhauled. Graphically, water now uses a brand new system making it more performance friendly and much better visually. Swimming has also been reworked and now supports underwater movement using the new water physics system. This leads into the final change — water physics implementation. Dead bodies, items, grenades and even the player now use a true physics-based floating system. Dropping items while standing in water will see them realistically float back up, enemies killed will naturally bob back up to the surface and even float downstream if they are in one. This is the beginning of a major push to expand sandbox physics and make gameplay more dynamic and interesting.

Skill system

The skill system is also getting a rework based on player feedback. The talent tree system is being replaced by a new per-skill tree system allowing you to gain experience and perks by performing actions related to each tree. The new system has two layers: you still gain main player levels and are granted skill points which can be used to unlock major perks within a skill tree. As well as this, progressing through each tree will automatically unlock several minor nodes allowing for constant progression as you play naturally.

Graphics

Fargone is also getting a huge facelift with this update. The

Source

Steam News / 16 February 2026

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