The Forest 0.07

Another new patch dropped for the Forest this week, which is still in an Alpha state. More new features, no news on co-op. I’m sad, but apparently I’m part of the problem. It seems that if you go onto the community page via Steam you’ll see various discussions about the game and whether or not it should have co-op. The people who are against it site games like Resident Evil, which were scary and intense as single player games, but have been “dumbed down” with co-op (essentially saying anything after RE4 is crap). I can see the point, as I remember feeling more tension in the first couple of games, but I absolutely LOVED having the co-op option in RE5 & 6. Sure, the games were more action than horror, but it still had most of the hallmarks of the series. Not only that, series have to evolve otherwise gamers complain that it’s the same old shit. But, since The Evil Within’s creator is the same guy who started with Resident Evil (and TEW is going to be single player only), these co-op naysayers take it as a sign that co-op is what ruined Resident Evil. I find that hard to believe. I’ll admit, some of the posters are coming up with stupid ideas for multiplayer that would turn The Forest into a completely different game, but that’s not to say that co-op wouldn’t have a place. Besides, wouldn’t co-op be an option? That would mean people against it could avoid it completely, just like #thecalmforest allows you to avoid the scary parts of the game altogether. I guess people just need a reason to complain. If co-op never comes, I would be disappointed but I wouldn’t spend my time on a forum complaining about it. I can still enjoy the single player experience, and it keeps getting better all the time. Rant off, here’s the notes:

Version 0.07 Changelog:

• Rock holder blueprint added
• Moveable log holder blueprint added
• Mid sized cabin blueprint added
• Tree house blueprint added
• Working door added to custom build doorway
• Male version of skinny mutant added
• New animal added: Tortoise
• New animal added: Racoons!
• Animal numbers will go down over time if you kill a lot of them. Will eventually slowly repopulate
• Different animal types now stay around specific parts of world
• Weapon balancing, all weapons will be slower when holding an item in left hand (Lighter, walkman etc) faster when held with both hands. New slower axe anim in combat.
• More accurate weapon collider sizes, small axe smaller, stick bigger etc
• You can now catch rabbits and place them into the rabbit cage
• Better previous weapon switching system
• Improved blueprint placement, items will now turn red and be unplaceable if intersecting trees
• New rock attack animation, more powerful, uses more stamina
• Cave’s now only contain blue skinned enemies and distorted mutants
• Better combat theme
• Better lake theme
• Fixed peaceful mode (was accidentally broken in last update)
• Further improved enemy pacing over time, fixed bug that could cause enemies to vanish over time
• Energy now replenishes faster when sitting on bench
• More small props added
• Switching weapons whilst holding molotov will no longer cause it to drop
• Sound effects added for adding sticks/logs and rocks to storage
• Whoosh sound added when items moved around inventory
• Fixed molotov pieces bouncing around causing fire to move in strange ways
• Fire now scales with amount of fuel
• Plants now burn for longer
• Trees will tumble over if burnt now and added new burning material with embers
• Tree leaves will now burn away correctly when on fire
• Energy bar now flashes when playing music to make clear that your stamina is getting a boost
• Crafting info pages unlocked in survival book (rough, missing lots of items)
• Fixed bug where you could get infinite flares by dropping flare gun and picking it up again
• Fixed bug where day count could change when entering/exiting caves
• Fixed yellow axe mesh not visible when equipped
• Terrain texture and shape improvements
• Fires can now cook an unlimited amount of items, food will be placed at random location on fire
• Fixed bug where you could sometimes get infinite sticks/rocks in inventory
• Arrows should now work more effectively against enemies
• Visible lizard skin armour!

I like what they’re doing with the tweaking of systems, finding ways to make the game more immersive and realistic feeling (animal populations bit). It looks like the biggest addition though, comes from being able to build a treehouse and other goodies that might help you to carry supplies around. I don’t really see how much help a treehouse would be in the end though, as the cannibals climb trees rather effortlessly. I’m going to try to get in game and test this out soon, so more to come.

#theforest #patchnotes #earlyaccess