The Forest has been updated to Unity 5 engine ans Endnight Games have released the full set of patch notes, which includes a several number of graphical upgrades and gameplay updates.

All the old shaders have been replaced with new PBR materials and textures. Tree models have also been replaced, and a new billboarding system has been implemented. Plant shaders now have sub surface scattering, skin shaders have been rewritten, and many other visual tweaks and improvements have been made to the look of the world.

For multiplayer, a new network prioritization algorithm has been introduced to provide more relevant updates of remote entities to players. This means smoother multiplayer gameplay and although the lag isn’t completely removed, the team will continue to tune in the coming weeks.

Some new graphics options should help those with slower computers get the game running faster, including a new level of detail setting which will allow you to raise or lower the view distance of most elements from Ultra all the way down to Ultra low. Across the board everyone should see some performance improvements.

The Forest now features bendable grass which results in more lifelike interaction

New bendable grass means you can see it part slightly as rabbits run through it, making them easier to track. Some major animal improvements mean geese can now fly from lake to lake, and if you like you can follow them and watch how they spend their days. Plus, Deer now no longer run headfirst into trees!

Player audio has been partially implemented, along with a new take on the female skinny audio.

Due to the massive re-working of some of the environment and terrain save games had to be swiped with this patch.

Version 0.16 Changelog:

New options menu setting ‘Render Type’ will allow you to switch between new deferred renderer(recommended for modern computers) and Legacy renderer (recommended for older computers)Full pbr shaders on all items. Reworked most textures to fit new lighting.Reflection probes added.New ocean shader (work in progress)Better bow aiming – sight added to bow. bow tracks better with camera view when aiming up and down. Looks better now when viewed by another playerAnimals will now attempt to dodge trees, obstacles and other animalsFixed rebreather’s air resetting to 0 after loading a saved game(Multiplayer) Reworked the network prioritization algorithm to provide more relevant updates of remote entities to players (Smoother, less jittery enemies)Upgrade balance: Inverted bonus curve, it now goes from small (10%) to big (100%)Fixed booze upgrades still not showing up for some weaponsAdded a small outline to chat text to make it visible in bright lighting conditionsFixed issue preventing to lock floors/roofs on multiple walls on the same height levelGrabber system now turned off when in in inventory/book/pause menu or while placing a building (ie, placing a building near water will no longer trigger drinking)New snapping grid gizmo to help with manual placing of experimental floors & roofs (tip shows the current lock position and is big enough to be seen from either side of a wall)Experimental Roofs now snap back to closest edge on current support (ie the wall you’re putting it on)Goose simulator added. Geese will now fly between lakes and swim around acting like geeseFixed Bon Fire not lightableFixed flying food on rock fire pitFixed burn lizard scaleAdded generic meat burntFixed drying generic meatFixed Treehouse + Treehouse Chalet floor not buildable

Deer will now drink at lakesFixed issue where deer would run right through trees!Dead birds now have a chance of spawning feathers when hitRevamped cooking to allow eating burnt food but with far lesser gainPlayer will now see himself briefly dragged away into a cave when knocked out but not killed.New art added: Improved airline foodcartFixed bug where climbing rope for first time would sometimes cause it to release right after climbingNew trees! New bark and leaf types.New billboard system with lit billboards and rotationUnity 5 reflection probe system addedNew clouds/skyAll shaders switched to use new unity pbrDirtied up and improved regular enemy texturesNew pbr skin shader!In game controls remapping, both in Title & Main scene optionsFalling particle leaves now accumulate on groundFixed logs flying up into air when trees were cutFixed physics on some trees not colliding with terrain when fallingNew art added: dead small trunkGraphics options: added rendering patch selectionGraphics options: added new setting to turn off sunshine occlusionGraphics options: added new setting to tune Level of DetailGraphics options: SSAO setting now also changes sample countGraphics Settings now properly show the saved preset name after restarting the gameGraphics Settings: Renamed “Laptop” level to “Ultra Low”Fixed survival book entries not clickable on occasionNew art added: new version of plane food! plane tray, styrofoam cups and traysNew bushes- replaced 2 of the worst looking bushes with new typeNew lake shader added! reflective and with murkinessNew dead trees! Better textures and models, and now all cuttable!Better shark ragdollJump animation added to playerNew combat move – Flying axe attack. Attack downwards with axe while jumping to perform a powerful ground chop.When falling from high up, player will briefly stumble to his hands and kneesYou can now cook arms and legs (and … eat them – but you probably shouldnt)Dead trees replaced and now cuttable!New log type for buildings that matches carried log(audio) New player sounds!(audio) New female skinny audio!New blueberry bushes!New multiplayer octree based priority calculationNew art: Re-done plane seatsFish and sharks are now also in multiplayer games!Touch bending grass added! enemies, rabbits, animals and player will now slightly rustle the grass as they move through it (this is a first pass at this, next version will include better bending)You can now climb fishing standsExperimental Walls now block AIs (mutant & animals) from going through itFixed fire particles staying up after cutting down a burning treeNew world art: cliff wall variations.Lighter now stays equipped when exiting/entering ropesAdded some additional optimizations and memory tweaks for 32bit machines that have less than 4gigs of usable ramFixed molotov fire never shutting down

The Forest is available on Steam for $14.99 as well as on The Humble Store. We will bring you any new information as soon as it becomes available.