New ‘Zero Caliber: Reloaded’ Update Adds Mod Support, PvP Cross-Play, and More

|

Jul 20, 2023

|

Between its exciting story campaign and multiplayer modes, there’s already a lot to do in Zero Caliber: Reloaded. And starting today, you’ll have even more ways to play thanks to a substantial free update that adds modding support—which lets you create and share your own multiplayer and co-op maps—and PvP cross-play between Meta Quest and PC VR players. The update also includes a bunch of other improvements based on feedback from the community.

If you haven’t tried Zero Caliber: Reloaded yet, you can grab it for $24.99 USD on the Meta Quest Store.

We talked to XREAL Games Head of Communications Dan Nyirfa and Lead Developer Zsolt Feher about all the new features in the update and what we can expect from the future of Zero Caliber: Reloaded.

What kind of mod support is available through this update? How will it enhance the experience in Zero Caliber?

Daniel Nyirfa: With this update, we’re enabling players to build upon Zero Caliber’s foundations by providing comprehensive mod support. Players can now create their own maps, or even build unique single-player and co-op missions! This means a virtually endless stream of new, exciting content created by the community, for the community. To kick off Zero Caliber’s modding era, we already have some genre-defining classics at our players’ disposal, ready to be enjoyed through the in-game Special Operations panel!

What inspired you to add mod support to the game? Are there any resources that budding creators can use to help them get started?

DN: Our inspiration comes from seeing how much creativity lies within our community. We wanted to provide an outlet for that creativity to thrive not only in multiplayer maps, but in single-player and co-op missions as well.

We know multiplayer is the bread and butter of the FPS genre, but Zero Caliber has a huge single player and co-op community, and we didn’t want to leave them out of the fun. And yes, we’re committed to supporting new modders!

We’ll provide assistance to anyone interested in map or mission creation on our Discord server. We also have a guide ready to be used and followed on mod.io. We can’t wait to see what our players will build!

Cross-play is a popular feature in a lot of multiplayer games. How does it work in Zero Caliber?

Zsolt Feher: We took extreme care designing our PvP maps in a way that wouldn’t make it unbalanced for players on any platform. Cross-play is enabled in multiplayer matches between Meta Quest and PC VR players, including the Rift. Since the single-player and co-op campaign of the base game is structurally different in the PC VR version of Zero Caliber, we weren’t able to implement cross-play for those modes. But now that we have mod support, players will be able to make their own cross-play co-op missions!

Can you shed light on some of the new quality of life upgrades? How do they impact the player experience?

DN: We’ve been listening closely to our community’s feedback, and as a result this update includes several quality of life improvements—these might seem small, but they significantly enhance the gameplay. Expect smoother mechanics, streamlined UI, improved color balance and overall aesthetics, smarter enemy AI, PvP balancing, a brand new dedicated Australian server for those down under, and much more! These upgrades will ensure players can focus more on the action and less on managing game elements.

How will these new features shape the future of Zero Caliber?

ZF: The vision for Zero Caliber has always been about building a game for, and with, our community. This is our 15th update since the game’s release on Quest—by adding features like mod support, cross-play, constant quality of life upgrades, and the PvP and Survival game modes before that, we’re slowly reaching the point where we can finally say that we created the ultimate VR shooter. Now only one thing remains… but we’ll keep that a secret for now!

How did player feedback influence this update? Are there any specific features that were directly inspired by community suggestions?

DN: Every change in this update was shaped in some way by community feedback. Players have long requested features like mod support and cross-play, and we’re thrilled to finally deliver them. Many quality of life improvements were also a direct result of suggestions from our player base.

We’re grateful to have such an active and loving community, and we encourage everyone to keep sending feedback and suggestions our way—we’re tirelessly reading everything we receive!

Why is this a good time for new or returning players to jump back in?

DN:Zero Caliber has broadened its horizons to become a veritable playground for thrill-seekers. It boasts an engaging single-player and co-op campaign, edge-of-your-seat Survival and PvP game modes, as well as a multitude of maps and missions crafted by our very own creative community. It’s a gaming extravaganza like no other!