With Population Zero on its way to Steam Early Access soon, now seems as good a time as any to introduce potential new arrivals of how this bit of survival MMO gaming works. With that in mind, a new video is out that explains a couple of the game’s progression systems: perks and the technology tree.
Perks work on a micro level, representing immediate benefits like an extra edge against monsters or other players for example. They’re unlocked through randomized conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to acquire them, and perks themselves are randomized as well. Once a perk is obtained, however, players can activate it permanently, making it available even after the character dies.
The technology tree, meanwhile, represents a macro style of progression, with a branching path that unlocks the ability to craft certain types of items. Traversing the land of Kepler while finding new areas and points of interest unlocks points that can be used to unlock technologies in the tech tree. These points are broken up into four categories or Sciences — zoology, botany, geology, and terrain.
Both of these systems are meant to work in concert with one another, granting players the tools to survive Population Zero’s seven day cycle. You can get a look at these progression systems in the video below.
