The survival MMO Population Zero had a rocky start in Early Access on Steam. Technical issues and missing features led to many negative reviews. However, the problems are set to be addressed, as the new roadmap reveals.
What are the problems with the game? Population Zero was released on May 5 in Early Access on Steam. The new title actually aimed to bring fresh wind to survival MMOs, focusing on game cycles of 7 days, various modes, and the ability to become a super alien.
Yet despite all these features being present, there was much criticism – also due to the lack of features like:
- Options in the settings (e.g. no custom key bindings)
- factions
- the ability to form groups
- the selection of servers to play with friends.
In addition, there were technical problems, a lot of grind, and a rather weak tutorial that did not adequately explain the different game modes.
All of this together led to Population Zero reaching 64% negative reviews at one point.
All areas of the game will be adjusted in May
What has changed since release? On May 6 and May 8, small patches were released with the following changes:
- Through the Steam interface, players can now join friends on their server, even if the actual server limit has been reached or they are at different levels.
- Some tutorial quests have been expanded.
- Adjustments have been made to the UI.
- Numerous bugs have been fixed.
- The German localization has been adjusted.
In addition, a roadmap for May has been published. It provides insight into changes that will follow in the next 3 weeks.
What changes are still planned for May? Throughout the month, the developers of Enplex plan adjustments to almost every area of the game:
- Optimizations for frame rate will be implemented in each upcoming update.
- Adjustments to the progression system, crafting system, movement system, and tech trees are planned.
- The behavior and difficulty of mobs will be adjusted.
- The missing key mappings are set to be added on May 21.
- The animations of player characters are to be improved.
- The update on May 28 will introduce an interface for playing with friends.
Are these adjustments enough? The planned changes to Population Zero address the areas that are currently heavily criticized on Steam. If the developers implement all planned adjustments, Population Zero could be in a significantly better state by the end of May.
Additionally, the roadmap for June with further adjustments is expected to be released shortly. Afterwards, an overview of the plans for the entire year 2020 will follow.
Shortly before Population Zero, the survival MMO Last Oasis was released in March – also in Early Access. We took a look at where the game stands one month after release and what has changed so far.
