The Forever Winter - July 2026 QOL Gunplay Update

Here is a big one: a comprehensive overhaul of the weaponry systems focused on the issues and wants that you asked for via various communication channels such as Discord and the weapon survey we sent out a few months back. We got a TON of useful, tangible feedback and want to thank you for all of it.

As we said in a previous update, the focus on the weapon improvements were focused primarily on the following:

Recoil & Bloom. (the most common thread in the survey).

Weapon Class Identity. (Pistols, SMGs, Rifles, Shotguns, and heavier weapons having clear roles).

ADS Responsiveness & Weapon Weight. (Time to aim, Aim Consistency, etc.)

The crux of this push is to make sure weapon handling is improved, and that the weapon parts and player skills work together to make the weapons fit both their role, and improve the player experience. The goal wasn't to over-power the player scavs; it was to make sure all weapon and weapon-related-skills functioned as intended and expand on player choice.

Our other goal with this is to be able to shift to the other part of the equation and focus on improving enemy AI in the QOL push.

Full info below. See you in the wastes!

• Fundog Out

Weapons — Systems & Features

• Overhaul of all weapon systems for player handheld weaponry (accuracy, recoil, camera shake, upgrades, etc.) to focus on the specifics of the player user feedback. (Major survey-based weapons pass)

  • All handheld weapons adjusted for accuracy, recoil, and stability

  • Several improvements for accuracy (bloom) including first-shot-perfect systems for appropriate weaponry (sniper rifles, modded firearms with longer barrels, etc.)

  • Each weapon now has its own appropriate enter / exit ADS speed

    • Entering and exiting ADS is faster for the lighter weapons, slower for the big ones

  • Weapon sway overhaul

    • Heavier weapons sway more (lag in frame when looking left / right / up / down, etc.)

    • Lighter weapons sway much less (pistols). Heavier ones sway more (LMGs, HMGs)

    • Adjusted recoil and sway so shooting no longer causes the gun to climb in frame (when in ADS) and block your sight picture / target (but the recoil does cause the camera to climb unless you compensate)

  • Reload speed now scales with magazine mods

    • Larger-than-stock mags take longer to reload, smaller ones are faster

  • Complete overhaul of how the mods / customizations improve the weapon recoil, accuracy, and stability

    • Part removal adjustments: Removing critical items like the weapon’s stock will now negatively impact its performance

  • Improvement for agro related to weaponry

    • Smaller firearms draw less agro than bigger ones. Agro accrued with these smaller weapons disperses more quickly

    • HK reaction to the big guns such as the Mass is still there. So don't get cocky

  • Scav skills hooked up to the improved systems (handling of firearm classes improves with better skills)

    • Adjusted how MUCH skills impact the weapon stats. No longer linear.

    • Lower level = minor improvement. Max level = really good improvement.

  • Weapon-level reload buff — Each weapon’s level increases that weapon’s reload rate.

    • This improvement is present regardless of which scav is using the weapon.

    • This is in addition to the already-existing system that allows vendors to sell you better customization options as the weapon level increases.

  • Third person crosshairs adjusted to better approximate the weapon’s current accuracy

  • All weapons received a tuning pass (including their DPM in some cases) with this new system

  • Additional General Weapon Fixes

• Reload anim desync fixed — gun and scav reload animations no longer drift apart

• Gunhead head-weaponry improvement — Gunhead’s head weapon will always fire at center mass instead of occasionally targeting the target's feet

AI

• Fixed an issue where AI might error out if fed a goal or target that is no longer valid (rare race condition)

• “Pot shots” now have an additional fix / guard: Extra code to ensure AI no longer takes random shots at players they are not yet aware of

• Standing-corpse fix — AI dying far from a client will now now ragdoll correctly vs. occasionally remaining standing

• Fix for specific AI spawning: AI like the Opal will no longer occasionally explode the moment their landing sequence ends

• Fix for flying AI — flyers such as choppers should now no longer smash themselves into the ground occasionally

• Buddy AI command bug — interrupting a command anim (point, wave, etc.) no longer occasionally causes the player to lose functionality (such as jumping, mantling, etc.)

Multiplayer / Networking

• Networking note:

  • Networking and issues related to networking are notoriously difficult to track down due to the number of variables (distance between players, network conditions, types or routers and modems and ISPs, you-name-it). We will continue to focus on issues found here & areas that existing systems can be made better as we continue to update the game

• Network reliability pass:

  • Improvement for session joining. If a session join fails, it now fails cleanly instead of potentially hanging

  • Hosting: hosts now hold reservations (an anticipated joining player) for a longer amount of time to help with party stability

  • Client joins: An improvement was made where clients attempt to auto-reconnect on connection loss instead of instantly dissolving the party

• AddedClient skills/abilities fixa fix for several of the instances where clients would occasionally not have their skills enabled when they spawn

• Projectiles: a fix was put in to prevent projectiles from occasionally remaining still on screen for clients (making said projectiles look like they are floating in air vs. moving)

Stability / Crash Fixes

• An uncommon texture page-map crash was fixed (fixes an occasional crash that sometimes occurred when extracting back to Innards)

• A UI crash was addressed (fixes an occasional UI crash that occurred in specific, rare situations)

• A manufacturing HUB / Innards facilities fix was implemented: Innards upgrades should no longer occasionally get "lost" or eat resources only to appear much later

  • NOTE: Players who update to this new version of the game while they have a HUB / Innards upgrade is in progress:

    • These players will have the in-progress upgrade’s Credit Cost and Item Cost refunded

    • The in-progress upgrade will be canceled

    • Players who have this occur will have to buy the upgrade again (and wait the full time)

    • The improved system is different enough that this step is necessary. It is a one-time-only check to potentially refund and reset