Zenith: The Last City's Developers Discuss Vision For 2.0 Version, Announce Alpha Playtest

mmorpg.com:

In a new blog published to the game’s official site, Andy Tsen, co-founder of Ramen VR, fully officially discussed the prospects of Zenith: The Last City’s 2.0 version. The blog also acknowledges that alpha playtests will be enacted soon. 

There are very few if any specifics, but the “pillars” discuss sweeping changes meant to make the game more engaging. Among the major points are improving gameplay, “doubling down on XR;” and more regular updates to incentivize returning players and socialization. 

In separate points, Tsen explains multiple points at which the team aims to improve the gameplay. The new version will improve “feel,” it seems, “to make sure that players of all skill levels can feel powerful when they are playing.” Meanwhile, in the hopes of letting players reach more of the MMORPG-like elements, Zenith will “simplify our court systems and our core gameplay loop.” The 2.0 version will adapt an “Easy To Learn, Hard To Master” pillar to make the learning process feel more satisfying. 

Plus, it seems overall quality of life will be addressed. Multiplayer appears to be a major issue to tackle, as the blog acknowledges it doesn't “actually do the best job of incentivizing or promoting group oriented play,” and wants to not reward activity such as spawn camping. Tsen also claims there’ll be more updates more regularly to bring players back into a refreshed environment, likely much like other MMORPGs do.  

While these all are given high-concept explanations, it seems Ramen has already been moving forward with development. Tsen mentions that alpha playtests of 2.0 have already been a part of the development experience, with an NDA Closed Alpha “soon(™)” including “hundreds if not thousands of community members.”