IMPORTANT: What's actually happened.

[Gordon Freeman]

To anyone who doesn't already know, the #1 point of negativity for this game is the lack of updates on PC, and abundance of them on Quest. However, there is a number of reasons for that.

The following is taken from a dev post in the XREAL Games Discord.

Originally posted by Menyet | GD:

So this is what's happening, I hope Dan won't be mad at me
1. we underestimated the quest port, it was a huge amount of work to make it run on quest with lots of quality of life fixes and other improvements implemented. if we are already rewriting the code, why not make it better. poor pc started to suffer.
2. after we released the quest version, we had to fix a lot because it's not an early access game like the pc. poor pc (my favorite version) still not getting anything because we don't have time
3. we had a quest port with better weapon controls and finished story with much better code in the background and a pc version with better quality maps, weapons and a beta pvp implemented. we decided to smash it all together. This is the hard part we are at and to add more problems, we have to switch from Unreal Engine 4.24 to 4.26 because of engine bugs we cant avoid any longer.
4. so the solutions we are implementing are this (and already working on this):
a) Move the pvp code from pc to quest
b) Upgrade the game to UE 4.26
c) Move all of the code from quest to pc, because it's got a year of bugfixes and new features, fix all the pc maps after we broke the ai with this
d) Upgrade the campaign quest maps to pc quality
e) other unseen technical problems we'll encounter
At the end of this, we'll have one game with different assets on quest and pc. So if we implement a new feature, it'll appear on both. This takes time but we rather work longer on it, because we don't want to reduce the quality of zc pc.

tldr: pc will be much better with the quest fixes and then we can update both much easier

EDIT: As of 9/27/2021, we've recieved another update on this matter in the Discord.

Originally posted by Dan.|CM-PR:

Hey @everyone,

So, about that Zero Caliber PCVR statement. It's... probably not the announcement you expected, but an announcement nevertheless.

We're hard at work bringing you the next update as soon as possible, but in the meantime we wanted to share a "what's going on" kind of bulletin with y'all (see the attached pic).

TL;DR: We'd like to assure everyone that we love all Zero Cal versions equally, and none of them will be left in the dust
It just takes a loooot of time to get everything right.

P.S: it's past midnight here so I'm off, but I'll answer any question you may have tomorrow.

P.P.S: please consider grabbing yourself a role in role-assignment so I can @ y'all separately.

P.P.P.S: PSVR stuff coming tomorrow!

Here's the attached message for that:

Originally posted by Dan.|CM-PR:

Hey everyone,

We're quite behind on updating you all on what's going on with Zero Caliber's original PC version (both on Steam and Rift store).
We understand that seeing the birth and ascension of Zero Caliber: Reloaded on Quest coupled with the lack of PC updates might give the impression that we have abandoned the original game.
Well, it's not the case, we love both versions equally! <3
To keep you in the loop, this is what happened in the past few months:

We underestimated how much work and resources it would take to properly port Zero Caliber to the Quest. We had to fix a lot of QoL issues the PC version suffered (well, suffers) from, and also had to rethink how the game works under the hood.
After overcoming countless unforseen obstacles, we were ready to launch Reloaded with the intention of implementing all of the optimization, improvements, and features back into the PC version right away, but..
..but we weren't happy with the port's state at release. We had to fix and improve things so we could say: "Yeah, this is a Zero Caliber version worthy of the name."
So we started doing just that as you can tell by the number of Quest updates.
Now, we have a Quest version we're happy with with all the benefits the porting process brought and a PC version in dire need of an update.
We decided it's time to finally smash all of that together, as we originally intended to do.
And that's where we are right now with the PCVR version. We're:
1. upgrading from UE 4.24 to 4.27 to keep core mechanics and plugins up to date (and to leave a few unpleasant engine bugs behind)
2. moving all the optimized code and features from the Quest version back to the PC version
3. upgrading some of the Quest missions to PCVR standards so we can finish the story
4. fixing all the things we break while updating the engine and migrating the goodies from Quest.
It's a painfully long process, but we're sure all parties involved will be satisfied at the end. ;)
We're working hard to bring you an update as soon as possible, so stay tuned!
On behalf of the whole XREAL Games team,
Daniel Nyirfa
Head of Communications

The reaction to the last message was unanimously negative, due to a lack of really anything new.

[Leo OS.]

So, version parity IS on the plans.

[aggressive-cat]

Sick, so we're getting a quest downgrade like onward...

[Gordon Freeman]

Originally posted by aggressive-cat:

Sick, so we're getting a quest downgrade like onward...

No, I don't even think crossplay is possible with the current setup. It's explicitly stated that they want to upgrade the Quest content for its PC release, not downgrade the PC content.

[Gordon Freeman]

Originally posted by Emperor Void:

Negativity is justified. They should have finished the PC version before going on to Quest, or even promising PSVR. It is crap planning.

Definitely have to agree with that one, and I think that even XREAL Games agrees that the planning was done poorly. Yet at the same time, a Quest port was just a lucrative idea to get more copies sold because more people use Quest. The reason they left the PC builds "unfinished" is because of Steam's Early Access tag, which the Quest store didn't have. Is that scummy? I'll let you decide, because honestly I'm not too sure myself.

[DukeFreeman]

Come on guys, it's a small team Zero Caliber is an early access game whose development started a really long time ago, adapting to the mechanics related to VR for developers is not so simple. They had to fumble, test and above all have both ambition (to offer something cool) and reserve/hold back because the sales projections were not to be crazy either. It's not a game that sold several million copies, I don't even think they sold more than a few dozen/hundred thousand (and still probably many in sales or bundles). Among other things, because the game was released at the time when the VR market was 3 to have bought an Oculus or a Vive. And it's not easy to sell over a long period of time, so when the market was big enough the competition was much tougher, Onward, Contractors, Pavlov...

In short, all this to say that the choice to release a quest version (and for lack of early access to offer it "finished") is also a way to bring in cash and not just eat instant noodles while waiting to miraculously sell 1 million copies on PC. As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather the PC version didn't get an update for a long time but the next one is really massive and deeply improves the game, rather than the studio keeps on living for months and months and ends up not being able to hold on anymore (or even sinking).

Somehow a quest port is "fast" and the sales potential is important. In this case they underestimated the porting time but it's not only that, they don't only take care of the quest version, they also do a big clean up of their spaghetti code and revise things in depth on the PC version too.

Frankly, even if the game was left in this state (and it obviously won't be), it wouldn't be cool, but there's already content, gameplay, I think many of us have a few hours of play time on it. Again, it wouldn't be cool, but it's not like the game is currently unplayable or only has 2 guns and one map.

Don't be too hard, be (still a little) patient, don't forget that behind the game there are people who work hard and who also have to make a living from their work. When you've paid 25€ for a game (or 5 in a bundle) I understand that you're demanding, but they've been working on it for years, as far as I'm concerned I'd rather the studio stayed afloat by doing a port and come back later with a big update full of improvements.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[Costco Executive Member]

Originally posted by mariotime1287:

The reason they left the PC builds "unfinished" is because of Steam's Early Access tag, which the Quest store didn't have. Is that scummy? I'll let you decide, because honestly I'm not too sure myself.

I think that is absolutely scummy, but tons of devs exploit the "Early Access" tag to ignore the games they promised to finish, so it's not unusual.

I wish Valve would only get games be in early access for a limited time, this case is ESPECIALLY egregious, where because of this Platform's greater flexibility, we the consumers were ignored, whereas the more limited platform's users got a better experience. We should start asking Valve to change this system, all devs use it for is to exploit users.

[DukeFreeman]

I agree, some games are developed by even smaller teams ("Hot-dogs, Horseshoes and Handgrenade" for example) and sustained over time in an ultra-conscious way. But not all have access to the same means/resources, even if yes, according to me also a game in early access should be supported at least until its release from early access without the developer dispersing its means on other projects. The reality is unfortunately often more complicated, but in a "perfect world" or in view of professional ethics this is what should be done.

I'm not defending the practice of developers doing something else before they finish a previous project, I just want to point out that the groundwork they've done on Zero Caliber is taking time and that what they're doing on the Quest version of the game will also benefit the PC version, at least that's what they say. And yes, there is a lot of development work that is heavy and long (and it's easier to develop for a standalone VR headset with a unique architecture than for a PC version that has to run with different headsets and components, well the development is not much harder for the PC but on the testing and debugging level it's heavy).

Obviously I got the game in a bundle at a low price, at this price I'm satisfied with the content already present and especially I'm not waiting for an update for 1 year, I understand perfectly that the patience of many is worn out and confidence lost :-/

And indeed the point you underline about setting up a workshop for modders is a very good reflection, it's true that it allows games to live and survive even when developers take too long to release updates. Too bad they didn't do it, you're right. As far as I'm concerned, I really hope that in the next few months (or during 2022) there will finally be the promised additions/improvements. If it's not the case I'll be disappointed but considering what the game cost me (1/8th of a 10€ bundle) I'll probably get a return on my purchase, but yes I can imagine that the players who paid full price for the game will have all the rights and reason to complain.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

[Mathmatics]

I get how people feel negative about what has happened to the PC version. At the end of the day I am just happy to hear we are getting a proper not questified update. I hope that plan does not change.

[Gordon Freeman]

Originally posted by Mathmatics:

I get how people feel negative about what has happened to the PC version. At the end of the day I am just happy to hear we are getting a proper not questified update. I hope that plan does not change.

Despite their mess-up, XREAL seems to decently care about the ZC PCVR community, unlike what happened with ONWARD. 'Tis a shame, ONWARD would definitely have my money if it didn't look like a lazily made Pavlov map now.

[DmAnd]

Do owners of the PCVR version that use Quest 2 get a free Quest key?

They screwed everything up with the PVP that I really don't think anyone wanted?

[Dr.SugMe]

Originally posted by Dmand:

Do owners of the PCVR version that use Quest 2 get a free Quest key?

They screwed everything up with the PVP that I really don't think anyone wanted?

Nah the quest version is a separate purchase. They want their money boi.

[The Collector]

What an absolute clusterfeck, and they started working on a PSVR version too? Unbelievable.

[Mr. Giggles]

Who even plays this game for the pvp? I think it should just be scrapped or postponed until everything else works for pc.