A Personal Message from the Developer
So the time is here: I will be removing Direct Contact off Steam. Over the years, I have been fighting the mass, and I have decided to remove the game we all know and introduce a simpler, more refined version of Direct Contact: Welcome to the FUBAR framework.
This framework is built with UE5.7 and has all the animations and systems set to this new skeleton. My original game, DC, was a project I had to work on entirely as a solo developer. Merging everything over from UE4 to UE5 over the years caused core systems to break under the hood, and there was simply no way to fix it. To move forward, I had to make this change to build a brand new framework.
Why This Change is Necessary
Keyboard Controls & Accessibility
Simplifying the Keybinds: When I started this, I didn't fully realize how the everyday player experiences a game on a daily basis. As an Arma 3 modder and player, I grew up playing games where I never had a tutorial in my life, I just figured it out as I went. But many players don't have that kind of time, and I understand that now.
The Complexity Barrier: I tried to implement a small in-game system telling people what to do, but reading text made it hard for some to even understand. I saw videos of players who didn't even know the keybind to open a door by pressing F, which made me sad. My layout of 50+ keybinds was simply too much for most people to enjoy.
Streamlining the Controls: Features like choosing different colors for lasers and scopes didn't hold up when combined with an overwhelming control scheme. As the developer, I already know every control, but I can't expect players to know them without a proper tutorial.
The Future: I have removed all of that complexity. We are moving down to about 15 essential keys, a clean slate that I can work with you, the player, to adjust and improve over time. I only have a standard keyboard, and I know many of you have advanced mechanical setups that I have never played with. Since I only ever used WASD for movement, I didn't realize how differently other players bind their keys. As a solo developer without a massive studio team to help adapt all of this, I am doing my best to learn. With a smaller keybind footprint, I can finally work around these mechanical keyboard systems and make them work smoothly.
Maps & Early Access Content
Quality Over Quantity: Launching in Early Access with over 10 maps and 25+ missions spread out across them was too bloated. It was too much for people to appreciate, and my work on the maps went unnoticed.
Hand-Sculpted Landscapes: I have removed all of those maps. Direct Contact will now feature only 3 maps, which I have sculpted entirely by hand using the UE5 landscape tools.
Addressing "Asset Flip" Slander: Even though I used some marketplace assets in my previous maps, I spent hundreds of hours customizing them to make them unique. Despite this, people slandered them, while praising other indie games that didn't even change the default marketplace textures. To prevent any further negativity, I am keeping only these 3 hand-made maps. and update the rest as we go.
The AI System
No Compromises on Realism: Our signature AI system remains intact. I have always taken pride in designing AI that flanks, takes cover, and actively hunts you down.
Combat-Ready Threat: My AI will never stand still staring at you, giving you a free 5-second window to land a headshot. This is meant to be a realistic game. They shot back in my game, and they always will, even if other early indie games let AI stand still for target practice.
Headquarters & UI Adjustments
A Smaller, Efficient HQ: I have removed the massive HQ building. Many players didn't want to walk through hallways or up the stairs to find their missions; they are used to having every decision accessible directly from a single HUD. While walking up to an officer to get a physical briefing was an immersive feature I loved, removing it is a necessary, albeit sad, moment for Direct Contact.
The Training Area: Our close-quarters training area has not been removed. It is still located under the map, and over time, I will build an improved door system to grant access to it.
Weapon Progression & In-House Design
Collaborative Weapon Art: I am removing our massive pool of 18+ weapons and starting fresh with 4 core firearms. These weapons were custom-built in-house by CODI, a highly talented student from Thailand who worked incredibly hard. Launching an Early Access game with over 18 weapons meant CODI's hard work got completely overlooked. I am sorry to him for that.
The Unlock System: By temporarily limiting the pool to 4 weapons, we can reintroduce the remaining firearms over time under a proper progression system. Weapons will need to be earned and unlocked by operators rather than given to everyone upfront. The new customization system will give you a clear look at how future weapons will be integrated.
Influencer Logos & Game History
Protecting the Project: I have permanently removed all YouTube and influencer logos from the game. Over the years, many content creators used Direct Contact to generate tens of thousands in views and revenue for their own benefit, only to abandon the project as soon as things got tough. I will not allow this game to be taken advantage of anymore.
Honoring Our Roots: I started learning game development from scratch in 2017. It took me years to master UE4 and UE5, and I take full responsibility for the challenges that come with complex systems. I have shared more early-stage mechanics with the public than almost any other indie game. For example, our 2022 airstrike system that called in a jet has evolved significantly into the Apache, artillery, and AC-130 support systems we have today. This support system is still in the game and will continue to improve.
To Our Dedicated Community
I deeply appreciate the players who have logged hundreds of hours, climbed the ranks, and supported our vision. It is incredibly disheartening to see dedicated players slandered in the reviews by users who played for only 5 or 10 minutes. Steam's review system should do a better job of protecting indie games from being trashed by players with virtually no playtime, and I am truly sorry to the community members who have faced backlash just for sharing their positive experiences with Direct Contact.
This shift to a smaller, more compact game will help me focus on what Direct Contact is truly meant to be.
The FUBAR Update Patch Notes
Global Localization Support
To make FUBAR accessible to tactical operators worldwide, I am proud to announce that the framework now supports over 10 languages right out of the box. Key localized languages include:
Italian
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Russian
Chinese
Korean
And more to be added as development continues!
Feature Spotlight: Weapon Customization Workbench
The Weapon Customization Workbench is a specialized, lobby-based workstation designed for building and modifying your firearms with absolute precision. Rather than dragging items in simple menus, the workbench provides a fully interactive, close-up environment for weapons editing.
Recursive Attachment Mapping: Placing a weapon on the workbench triggers a dynamic scan of the entire receiver to identify every accessory rail, barrel thread, stock adapter, and slot, automatically generating custom categories for that specific weapon.
Dynamic Camera Focusing: Selecting a category (like the muzzle, optics, or stock) triggers the camera to zoom and pan smoothly to that exact area of the weapon for a detailed view of your modifications.
Mutual Exclusion & Offsets: Optics slots are fully intelligent. Mounting a top-rail magnifier checks compatibility with your primary sights, while offset backup sights remain entirely unaffected, allowing for hybrid setups.
Stat Delta Comparisons: Hovering over any attachment in your inventory updates visual progress bars to compare weight, recoil, and ergonomics against your currently equipped gear, complete with color-coded tags (green for improvement, red for penalty).
Dynamic Slot Expansion: Equipping certain parts (like a new handguard with side rails) automatically updates the sidebar to reveal new attachment categories in real-time.
Replicated Grid Inventory & Hardcore Looting System
I have introduced a grid-based inventory system inspired by hardcore tactical extraction shooters. Every item takes up physical rows and columns, turning inventory management into a strategic puzzle.
Server-Authoritative Drag-and-Drop: Item placement is managed securely to prevent cheating or duplication. Grab offsets are tracked perfectly, ensuring that wherever you grab an item with your mouse, it aligns perfectly to the grid slot upon release.
Spawning Death Stashes: When a player dies in the field, their entire inventory does not disappear. Instead, a physical Death Stash container spawns in the world where they fell, allowing other players to interact with it and extract the gear.
Automated Tetris-Packing: When looting a fallen player, the system uses an auto-sorting algorithm to pack items neatly into the loot container or your backpack without overlaps.
Lenient Drag Bounds: Dragging large items into your backpack is smoother. The drop checks represent the item’s boundaries rather than just the mouse pointer, preventing accidental drops on the ground.
Magazine Unloading & Repacking: You can interact with spare magazines to extract loose ammunition directly back into your inventory. Dragging loose ammo boxes over a magazine will load rounds one by one, leaving any leftover bullets in the box.
HQ Economy, Traders & Global Stash
Your progression revolves around the HQ, a private staging area where you manage your gear, buy equipment, and liquidate valuables.
Massive Persistent Global Stash: A large grid storage space located in your HQ that persists across all of your matches, allowing you to stockpile weapons, ammo, medical supplies, and quest items securely.
Traders & Catalogues: Interact with safe house traders to browse catalogues of weapons and accessories. Purchased items are delivered straight to your HQ Stash.
The Sell Bin Grid: Rather than selling items one by one, drag unwanted loot into a designated Sell Bin grid. Pressing "Sell All" liquidates the entire grid, scaling the cash payout based on item durability, and credits your wallet instantly.
Lobby Character Selection & Team Deployment
To foster team coordination, players must establish their combat roles before traveling to a mission.
Role Selection UI: When entering the Headquarters lobby, players can choose from four combat roles: Assault, MG Rifle, JTAC Operator, or Sniper.
Role Locking: To enforce balanced team composition, once a player selects and locks in a role, it becomes unavailable to everyone else in that lobby.
Tactical Gameplay & Combat Support Mechanics
Survival in FUBAR mode depends on using heavy field assets and navigating realistic structural hazards.
Tactical Airstrikes: Call in a high-speed jet flyover to clear out enemy positions. Once coordinates are designated, the jet spawns at high altitude, locks onto targets, and fires laser-guided missiles.
Heavy Artillery Barrages: Request fire support from off-map artillery pieces. Barrages are calculated with realistic flight times, projectile arcs, and spread zones for effective area denial.
Interactive Replicated Doors: Structures are secured by heavy doors supporting.
Replicated Elevators: Ukraine underground elevator platforms that replicate their exact height and state to all players, complete with synchronized activation, loop, and arrival sounds.
Limb-Based Health & Survival Stats: limb-specific tracking (Head, Torso, Arms, Legs). Individual limbs can sustain damage, break, or start bleeding. Additionally, players must manage active survival stats (Hydration, Energy, Radiation, and Toxication) which drain over time, requiring you to consume food and water, apply bandages, and use medical kits. "WIP"
Dual-Actor Consumption: Eating and drinking actions are fully animated. The system supports holding and using two items simultaneously (like eating an MRE package with a spoon or unscrewing a water bottle), automatically holstering your weapons during the process and restoring them when finished.
Why This is Game-Changing for Direct Contact
This update turns Direct Contact into a deep, intense tactical experience where choices carry severe consequences.
True Risk vs. Reward: Your gear are no longer permanent. Dying in a mission means spawning a physical loot stash that anyone else can take, meaning you must carefully choose what gear to bring out of your HQ Stash.
Magazines as Physical Resources: Instead of an infinite "ammo pool," you are limited by the physical magazines in your vest. You have to manually manage which magazines are full, pack loose rounds into them during quiet moments, or decide whether to do a slow reload or drop a magazine on the floor during intense gunfights.
Structured Team Play: The character selection locks players into roles, encouraging teams to communicate. Having a JTAC Operator becomes vital for coordinates-based airstrikes, while the Sniper covers long angles and the Assault leads breaches.
Physical World Interaction: Elevators, doors, dynamic loot chests, and airstrikes are calculated on the server and synced across all clients. This means no desync visual bugs, ensuring clean, fair combat in multiplayer matches.
While my testing has gone well, there are still some persistent minimap bugs that we are actively working to resolve. Please bear with me and have a little patience as I iron these out, let’s work together to make this game the absolute best it can be!
Also, please make sure to review the minimum system requirements for playing. We have heavily optimized the game to deliver much higher FPS. If you are running a modern GPU, your performance and overall experience in Direct Contact will be significantly improved!
Thank you all so much for your incredible support!