MEDIA STORM #5

THE BIGGEST GERDDAMN MEDIA STORM WE EVER DID DONE

CHAPTER 5

Experience all out WAR in Chapter 5 and take the fight to the rebel's doorstep.

Chapter 5 is called 'Apprehension'.

As you can imagine, Chapter 5 is full of spoilers so information here will be limited. Screenshots though; we got plenty of those. The whole place is lousy with screenshots.

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After a journey through the arctic wasteland, players will arrive at another Arbeit facility. Northern Arbeit is actually split into two sprawling bases, simply named Arbeit #2 and #3 respectively.

The rebels are determined to defend these facilities - and for good reason. The rebels have their backs against the wall here. You'll get to experience the full might of the Combine come crashing down on them, as you tear a

path through Arbeit #2 and ransack Arbeit #3.

Arbeit #2 is comprised of old communications buildings, laboratories, warehouses and employee quarters. It also grants access to the many excavations in the area.

Arbeit #3 houses the satellite communications relay. It's a crucial resource for the rebels, and taking it will not be easy.

Now for the screenshots!

We've managed to choreograph some truly amazing moments in chapter 5. We hope you'll love it as much as we do!

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Development stuff

I'm aware that it's been a pretty long time since we gave you any news regarding our development and the status of production. When I set out with EZ1 I was pretty transparent about my movements, but because of the nature of EZ2 I haven't been as open. I've had a lot of questions over the last two months regarding our progress. We have been extremely busy. Here's a summary of this year so far:

January was dedicated to tackling bugs across the board. From February we began focusing on Chapter 5 and were successful in bringing it up to the standards of the rest of the game by the end of March.

Also, at some point between January and March we straight up made another chapter. Chapter Zero.

For April and May, we are in the process of implementing Wilson's full interactivity throughout the game. This includes dialogue (which the guys have already recorded; they have crushed it) map design specifics to allow Wilson to progress with the player and / or map sticking points where progression with Wilson is difficult. On top of that we are making some great changes to Chapters 4, 5 and 6 to accommodate for Wilson. It's super important to us that, if players decide to take Wilson with them they'll get an experience worthy of that feat.

We've also been playing with NVG as you may have noticed above. The subtler red looks great in game with a look that can be likened to that of infrared rather than direct, cornea scorching scarlet. My sight melons were nearly destroyed in the process of refining this feature.

We're playing with the prospect of rebel jeeps currently. We are also looking to implement Animal Crates which contain living surprises.

If we can stay on target beyond May, we will be making some tweaks to the finale and making sure our narrative remains coherent. We'll need to fix bugs and conduct more testing. We'll need to make sure all of our lines are recorded and implemented. We'll need to de-bloat our development build. We'll need to finalize our weapon models and animations. We'll need to begin looking at Steam stuff. Beyond that lies beta territory.

As you can see, we have a bit of a way to go. But hopefully this should give you some idea as to where we are!

That's it for now. Thanks for your support!

Release estimations?

A wise, great (and probably insane) man once said, "These things, they take time." Whoever that guy was he had like, a point or something.

Over the last month or so, I've been receiving a lot of messages regarding a release date for EZ2. This probably has to do with us recently streaming some new gameplay, and releasing some new media. I suspect it also has to do with the fact that EZ2 has now been in development for 3~ years! (technically 4 if you count the initial writing process) So where are we? And how soon can we expect news regarding a release date?

We reached a development milestone in August, when EZ2 became playable start to finish. Around that time we launched directly into private alpha testing. Since then we have been conducting private tests and handling the feedback. This has involved a ton of work. We've done some re-writing in places to make the narrative more coherent. We've added a brand new chapter into the mix - Chapter 0. Several areas of the game have been re-detailed. We've been squashing bugs, implementing new sounds and music and overall, have continued to polish the experience. And we're still doing that.

EZ2 is no longer a three map per-chapter, four chaptered mod. It's a seven chapter long game with a heavily choreographed narrative. Seeing as we are still continuing to alpha test and build on that feedback, it would be hard for me to quantify a release window, let alone a date itself. The TL;DR is that we simply cannot say. Not out of secrecy - we literally don't know when the game will be ready. We can make projections and estimations but none of that really helps anybody. Making those sorts of predictions at this stage doesn't cross items off our lists.

It's done when it's done and after spending three years on this awesome project, we aren't planning on rushing it out the door.

EZ2 is worked on pretty much 24/7 now by a highly skilled and dedicated team. We meet every month to discuss our progress and plan our next leaps. We are currently moving across development stepping stones towards beta. Each month we make a new leap. Each week we get a little closer.

Be patient - We will deliver Entropy : Zero 2 - when it is done.

Until then, keep an eye on Twitter for updates and other bits! Cast your eyes over Moddb occasionally as we're refreshing that page with more media there soon, and consider joining us on Discord!

MEDIA STORM #4

CHAPTER 4

We're doing this ChrOnOlOgIcAL!

Chapter 4 is REALLY BIG and has been split into two parts, Chapters 4 and 4a.

These sections are called 'Venture Ghost' and 'Exhumation Zone'. Without spoiling too much, let's dive in!

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"Finally. The surface!" Bad Cop exclaims, as he arrives back at Arbeit #1's ground floor. Time has passed since we stumbled into the depths below Arbeit and the Combine are eager to continue their assault.

In Bad Cop's absence, they have taken the first Arbeit facility for themselves and have began setting up a base of operations. The Combine Advisory (noticing Bad Cop's absence) are quick to reprimand him for his unannounced disappearance.

After a mental slapping by his superiors, Bad Cop takes point and hits the road in a bid to penetrate rebel defences, and find Judith Mossman.

To brave the arctic roads, you'll need some wheels. Bad Cop can lead the charge in a Combine APC (complete with roof storage for Wilson or supply crates!). The APC comes equipped with a fast-firing Combine cannon, a homing rocket launcher and a large headlight. Perfect for a night drive through rebel territory.

The APC also features a convenient targeting system, highlighting your enemies for homing missile attacks.

Reaching Arbeit #2 will not be easy. The rebels have a sophisticated network of checkpoints along the way. These serve to bolster the rebel's grip on the region. They will try their hardest to prevent the Combine from taking their ground. Luckily for you though, you'll have the might of the Combine right behind you.

And if you're bringing Wilson along for the ride, he'll be able to assist you by opening Arbeit doors whilst providing some insights into all things Arbeit.

But rebels aren't the only things standing in your way. As you move closer to the heart of Arbeit, you'll cross a threshold; past which, things get weird...

The region beyond appears to be under the influence of... something... As such, strange and spooky occurrences abound. The high strangeness of these areas are underlined by the eerily quiet and forgotten areas of Arbeit's infrastructure facilities.

As Bad Cop will discover, the region is littered with excavations. New horrors await Bad Cop in these temporal tombs. I'll share one such horror: Zombigaunts.

Zombigaunts are desperate, vampiric abominations. It would seem that the headcrabs controlling them have no issues with channelling some of the Vort's energetic abilities. Kill them quickly before they siphon all of your health - and try not to get too close! They won't hesitate to blast everything around them with a dangerous electrical burst.

As the sun begins to rise, Bad Cop will continue on and arrive at a cosy log cabin. Bad Cop and his Combine buddies are quick to renovate said cabin, during a rebel ambush.

This final stretch of Chapter 4 takes Bad Cop through the 'Xentarium'. Beneath the surface, it would seem Xen life forms have become comfortable under the icy surface.

Within these icy caves you'll find nothing but trouble. A plethora of xen fauna awaits. The minty pools have healing properties. Just... be sure to avoid disturbing the eggs!

These alien caves serve as the final stretch of Bad Cop's journey to Arbeit #2.

Chapter 4 is huge. There are so many moments and elements that deserve focus, that I've found it difficult to quantify what actually deserves a mention here. Rather than giving it all away, I think I'll finish this media storm by simply sharing a collection of random shots without explanation.

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LISTEN UP FOLKS

If you haven't already, go and vote for us on Moddb for Mod of the Year! We've already made it into the top 100! Vote for us now!

Finally something to get everybody excited about:

We will be doing our traditional FESTIVE STREAM HOLY FRICK! and you will not want to miss it! This year we have some brand new gameplay to show off and you can catch up on our silence over the last few months. Q&A included. Keep your eyes on Twitter and catch us when we stream!

That's it for now! Thanks for your support!

BUUHHYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE