In-game event

Zero-K v1.14.8.0 - Unit Icons and Magpie Nerf

Zero-K - Bronze Donation ($10) · published 37 days ago · build 24518097

All events Players around this date Read on Steam

This update improves the command menu by adding larger build icons with a higher resolution. The bottom of the UI also has a scale setting as we move towards better support for increasingly large screens. There are also a few fixes and a setting that automatically disables cables for Linux users with ATI graphics. Anyone coming forward to reproduce, and potentially even fix, the cable bugs would be appreciated.

The main balance change is a slight Magpie rework, and it is probably the last rework before we attempt to do something else with the unit. The main goal is to give it a proper set of counters, which in this case are fighters and dedicated anti-air. Magpie is now slower and has a lot less health to give anti-air more of a chance to retaliate. It also has a slower missile, which makes it worse against fighters and speedy units. The numbers here are a bit conservative, but hopefully they give us a sense of whether the approach works.

Balance

Magpie is worse against dedicated anti-air and has trouble hitting fast units. To compensate it has more range and is slightly cheaper.

Cost 210 -> 200
Health 740 -> 440
Speed 252 -> 234
Rearm time 12s -> 10s
Range 550 -> 660
Fire tolerance 45 degrees -> 60 degrees
Missile average speed 400 -> 180
Missile starts slow then accelerates.

Ettin receives the Thresher buffs from the previous patch to make it better at shooting while clumped.

Changed the collision volume from a cylinder to an ellipsoid.
It is now better at aiming when one of its guns is blocked.

Tarantula is also better at shooting while clumped.

Flattened its collision volume by 25%.
It now shoots in a slight arc, which also helps when behind hills.

Interface

There is now a unified scale setting for the bottom of the UI. It is ingame under Settings/Interface (Settings/HUD Presets with simple settings disabled).
Increased unit icon resolution from 64x64 to 96x96 to support larger UI sizes. This applies to the command menu, unit selections, and wherever else unit icon appear.
Construction icons are now square and take up the whole button. This can be toggled with Small construction icons under Settings/HUD Panels/Command Panel if you prefer the old look.
Added an Autodetect setting for energy grid cables. They are now disabled by default for Linux users with ATI cards.
Iris and Aspis on Attack Move now try to prevent every non-air unit and structure from entering their bubble.
Disabled the shield guard widget now that the default engine behaviour has improved.
Unit marker timestamps now include hours in hour-long games (thanks SteelBlue).

Fixes

Probably fixed black lines around radar icons on some ATI cards (engine update).
Fixed overkill prevention unit behaviour customisation not being applied.
Level 1 campaign commander now uses the correct death clone (thanks SteelBlue).
Fixed a crash mods could cause by checking whether a not-existent unit type is a commander (thanks SteelBlue).
Removed a large meaningless circle drawn around Odin when Show selected unit range is enabled.

More from Zero-K - Bronze Donation ($10)

Other announcements

All events

Community30 Aug 2026Cold Take #46 - Giving and Taking FeedbackA lot of the polish in Zero-K is driven by player feedback. A single complaint can be enough to spark a re-investigation of some part of the game to check for improvements. Case in point, the recently upgraded build icons are a result of someone complaining that the icons were too hard to see. But it takes good feedback to see this kind of result, so today it is time for some advice on how to g…Community9 Aug 2026Cold Take #45 - Automatic DodgingSimulated projectile physics is a core part of Zero-K, both for the aesthetics and as a balance tool. Rather than using armour classes, light units are nimble enough to dodge most of the projectiles meant for heavier targets. We also want to create powerful controls, so players can fight their opponents rather than the UI , and automation is part of achieving this goal. So you might expect us t…Community18 Jul 2026Cold Take #44 - Choice vs. AutomationAutomation means making tasks complete themselves without player intervention. The concept has a bit of baggage, at least in RTS, as people worry it means that a game will play itself. Some spin-off genres have found success in automating away large parts of RTS, such as DotA and autobattlers, but Zero-K wants to retain the core RTS sense of full player control. Sometimes we are accused of auto…