What Needs to be Fixed for Tarkov’s 1.0 Launch

(Intro)

Tarkov’s 1.0 launch is going to happen by the end of this year, and there is a lot that BSG needs to do to prepare for that day, whenever it might happen. We recently had a livestream with the team, and they showcased their roadmap for this year, and what their goals and intentions are. Primarily optimizations, fixes and stability to prepare for launch, and not that many new mechanics or major additions to the game before launch. And while what we saw looks to be very promising if it all goes well, there is still plenty to do that maybe didn’t make it to the list. At the end of the day, while BSG is super focused on preparing for 1.0, there is a lot that needs to be taken care of now more than ever. So, today I wanted to go over what needs to be fixed before Tarkov goes 1.0. There will be some overlap with the roadmap because I’ve had this initial idea written down before that livestream, but ultimately what the community wants and what BSG hopes to get done before their officially launch the game is in line, for the most part. So, what does BSG need to address before the game goes 1.0?

(Performance across the game)

Depending on who you ask, performance is the number one priority the community hopes gets looked at across the board. Luckily, we see that throughout most of the roadmap which is something to hopefully look forward. But where more specifically in EFT do we hope performance gets addressed? In regard to maps, Customs is a personal choice if I had a say in the matter. Ever since this most recent wipe, it arguably plays just as bad as Streets does, if not worse at times. The new triple scaffold building and all that area being opened up while creating tons of new shortcuts and choke points for players to engage with, also came at the cost of heavy frame drops when even just walking around that area. Even something like a two-times scope is enough to tank frames on the map. There are certain sections that feel fine; big red generally feels good, and the opposite end of the map over by scav checkpoint feels fine too. But once you begin to cross the big bridge over to the main section of the map, that’s where you can feel and see the frames go down. Hopefully when they say visual improvements to Customs, it can assist in getting the map to feel good again.

Of course, no optimization conversation would be finished without mentioning Streets. This one leaves me with the biggest question mark. They have only expanded the map a single time, even though if I recall correctly, they were going to do it multiple times because their ambitions for Streets were so high. But if I had to take a guess, they quickly realized that making the map any bigger would simply create an unplayable disaster for the community. Which to be brutally honest, is kind of how it feels now. Even just walking around with a red dot on a weapon, the frames are all over the place. It doesn’t feel good and there are particular spots on the map that feel the most egregious. The bank across the street from Lexos is one example for myself that feels awful to be around. But I don’t blame them for maybe cutting their losses with Streets; the map itself is already the largest one in the map. It’s also the densest, making traversal confusing if you aren’t accustomed to the layout of the maps. Either way, ever since release people have struggled or even been unable to run Streets to a point that feels fair. And that will need to be taken care of before the game launches. How bad would it be if their supposed flagship map that they teased over eight years ago still runs poorly for a chunk of the player base. Wouldn’t go over well, and they definitely know that. So hopefully, by the end right before launch, the game just feels better to play. Not every map is awful, not every location needs to be looked at with a fine-tooth comb, but there are some outliers preventing people from really enjoying what this game has to offer.

(Cheating [of course])

Cheating. There is contention again, depending on who you ask that cheating is actually the number one problem that needs to be looked at. I don’t say fix because you can’t fix cheating but bringing down the number of cheaters as much as they possibly can before launch is a no brainer. This problem has only gotten worse with time. Both because there are more players and therefore more cheaters, but also people are spotting cheating more than we ever have before. EFT has had cheaters pretty much since day one, but because the game was so small and niche for so long it pretty much flew under the radar. But as the years have gone by and the game gotten more popular, the demand for cheats has only gotten higher. With an entire market being created to facilitate players with items or money should they want to pay for them. It’s hard to judge in a vacuum, but cheats for EFT must be up there in terms of popularity for modern video games. And it’s pretty much completely out of our hands. All we can do is report any suspicious activity we come across and hope that it is indeed a cheater and they get banned. I would say the fact EFT is not a free game makes the barrier of entry for cheating a little harder when compared to something like Warzone, but there are so many accounts out there for cheap that it really doesn’t matter. There isn’t much more to add for cheating. I just hope it can be brought to a level that we only see cheaters in one out of a hundred raids. I know that’s asking a lot and will most likely not happen, but one can dream.

(Audio)

Audio is another major component to the game that needs to be really looked at before launch. I figured I would separate this from performance because each issue by themselves is worth mentioning. This has been a never-ending battle BSG has tried to get right in multiple different ways. From new audio engines, to removing them, to adding brand new ones, it’s been a constant struggle of certain areas on maps having atrocious audio while other places work perfectly fine. If I may add a personal anecdote, in all my years of playing this game, the audio has never felt completely broken or busted. For the most part, I kind of just go off what the game is trying to tell me. I can’t genuinely remember the last time the lack of any audio or incorrect footsteps got me sent back to my stash. I’m not belittling those who have had issues; I've seen enough clips online to know there is absolutely a problem with the audio that needs to be fixed from the ground up. It's just that perhaps it’s how I play, the maps I load into, or something else that makes me feel like there aren’t that many issues with audio in my own personal experiences while inside EFT. But either way, whether you have barely any noticeable issues, or lose to it every other raid, audio is something BSG has struggled with for years and will most likely struggle with until 1.0. Maybe then being inside the resort will make sense for once.

(Desync and AI)

Another obvious one, but the general net code of the game and the infrastructure surrounding it needs to be in proper order before they hit the 1.0 button. Too many years of dying around corners, dumping entire magazines into other players, and the AI instantly locking onto your location and mowing you down. It’s bizarre how it really hasn’t gotten any better overtime, and in some instances, worse than before. And sure, the other problems in the game can be adjusted based on community feedback and tailored to what the majority wants, even if there are different groups wanting different things. But net code? That is a unanimous voice; we all just want the game to perform better when engaging one another. There isn’t really any ambiguity or nuance to this conversation. It's cut and dry; if the net code is better, hit registration is better and people lose less often to what they think might be a cheater but is just the game being dumb. Not bringing anything new to the table; I just want to express the severity of how important net code is just like everything previously mentioned.

(The little odds and ends)

Those are what I would say are the major issues that without a shadow of a doubt need to be as solid as possible for launch. There is barely any wiggle room with those core components not being as close to one hundred percent as possible for 1.0. But there are still some smaller issues the community would like to see changed before the game is out. Smoother progression across the game is something I’ve seen brought up a lot. Regarding traders, experience earned, when items are unlocked and how; instead of having massive power spikes when you unlock one of the four loyalty levels, it would be if there was perhaps a fifth level for the best items and was harder to achieve. Smoothing out the item distribution from the traders would make each level feel like a small bump in power instead of hitting level two and basically having everything you would need for the most part to be successful. Another small nitpick would be the quests and having them be revamped across the board; technically all these quests are just things to do before the main story quests get introduced. We still have zero clue how those are going to work, but we have been doing the same quests in the same order for literal years. Sure, they’ve added more as new maps and events have come into the game, but man I am sick of finding three salewas at the start of each wipe. And especially finding flash drives. But once we know how the main story quests will work, it will be interesting to see if they decide to do anything with the quests in the game we already have. I’d love to see anything at this point that shuffles the order around a little bit. But beggars can’t be choosers.

(Outro)

As we inch closer to the official full release of EFT, there is still much to do before we get to that point. Many core fundamentals as well as smaller oddities throughout the entire game still need lots of work before we get to a state that will hopefully feel like a full release once the time comes. It seems like BSG is making a mad dash towards the finish line, and as much as I understand and respect their desire to do so, I just hope that areas of the game that still need attention are not ignored because of that. Either way, all we can do is keep continuing to provide feedback on the small issues and much larger bugs and game breaking moments that occur so that they have everything they need to provide as smooth of a 1.0 launch as they possibly can, when the time comes. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me know down in the comment section below your thoughts on the issues and changes that still need to happen before 1.0, what you want addressed the most before the game fully launches and be sure to subscribe for more videos about keeping our fingers crossed that the don’t mess up the full release of the game later on this year. I hope to see you in future ones.