Hello everyone,
I’ve been waiting to post a BIG video update but it’ll have to be some other time as I’m currently recovering from oral surgery and talking too much makes my mouth numb (I had four wisdom teeth extracted and two root canals all on the same day!). So, here’s a giant wall of text instead! :squirtyay:
I’m WAY overdue for a Steam progress report, and I apologize it’s been so slow-going the last few months. The intent was never to take so long between updates, but unfortunately some complications arose while transitioning from the previous programmer to the new programming team, which now includes myself and Devin, our new lead coder. Devin and I have already made progress on some good stuff (see roadmap below for more details). The reason there haven’t been any updates yet is because we need to close out a bunch of bug fixes first; we want to build new features and improvements on as solid of a foundation as possible. Those fixes are/were contractually the responsibility of someone else, hence the delay. Even the build that was being tested had critical errors in it, so we're tossing it out and Devin and I are starting fresh from v1.3 on.
I know this all sounds somewhat cryptic, but I’ve been working hard since launch in February to resolve the matter and start moving past this roadblock. It’s been very difficult and frustrating on my end as well, so I deeply appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.
I’ll try to make it up to you, starting right now with a sneak preview at a WIP of the first track from the official Z. Year One soundtrack.
While I do like the ambient soundtrack we’re using now (which is also getting re-mixed to sound better), there’s room for traditional music as well. More details and track previews in the future!
Steam Forum Overhaul!
I’ve reorganized the Steam forums a bit. There’s now a landing hub with vital information, and then several sub-forums, including General Discussions, Technical Issues, Tabletop Version, and Suggestions & Ideas. I may further rearrange this as things progress. For instance, different languages and new player help/guides will either be put in the hub or get their own sub-forum. TBD.
Promotion & Community
Due to the initial launch feedback and complications with the previous programmer I still haven’t promoted the game in any meaningful way (any streamer, reviewer, or YouTuber who has played the game thus far bought it with their own money!), and I’ve asked all the contributors (cosplayers, etc.) to also hold off until the new tutorial is up and running. Hopefully when the time comes and everything you see below is complete, we’ll get a nice influx of new community members.
v2.0 ROADMAP
Once the biggest pre-existing bugs have been ironed out, there are some major improvements/additions I’ll be adding to Z. over the coming year. I want to be VERY transparent that these will not be accomplished overnight so please set your expectations accordingly in terms of timing, but we are already underway on many of them and plan to roll things out as soon as it makes sense to do so.
Continuous Gameplay Tweaks & Bug Fixes
It seems the Survivor AI are still being problematic in certain scenarios (primarily when Locked Doors are involved), so that’s a top priority for the new programmer. Likewise, all of the bugs that you have reported since launch have been logged away and tested for, and will be fixed in future updates, along with other quality of life tweaks and improvements.
Revised Tutorial System
Obviously, the most-requested feature has been an improved tutorial system. During development, it ultimately came down to doing a traditional tutorial, or having more game content such as modes, cards, and locations. I opted for the latter, expecting that the tabletop rulebook-style How to Play would suffice for a tabletop-style game and players. While that’s been true for many players, it also, understandably, hasn’t for many others. Now with a little time I’ve devised a better new player experience that will not only help teach the mechanics of the game, but also help draw players’ attention to things that I think aren’t as apparent right now, such as the “hidden” decks in the Trait system, Bases, and Hardcore Mode/Variants.
There is currently no ETA for all of this, but it’s coming.
Translations
More and more volunteers have offered to create translated versions of the rules for different languages. Those will get rolled out officially alongside the new tutorial system, to ensure all information is 100% accurate and up-to-date.
Thank you so much to everyone who has offered to lend their time and effort to help Z. reach as many people as possible.
And to all of our new French community members, bonjour! As a thanks for all of the kind words and enthusiasm, a genuine Frenchman (or woman) will be added to the Survivors in a future update. Likewise for the Spanish rules as well--there’s someone special I’ve wanted to add to the game for a LONG time!
Zoom Effect for Cards
Several people have requested a zoom effect to help read the cards better. First, I’m going to look into a font size/card text overhaul and see if improvements there solve the issue.
However, for anyone requesting the zoom or having issue reading cards, is this even when “examining” them (putting your mouse over them so they get larger, then the text tooltip with their flavor/function text appears in a box next to them)?
Please reply to this post to let me know, and if you are still having a legibility issue, what resolution are you playing at? Thanks!
Overhauled Reward/Progress System
This is a big one! There is so much to unlock in Z. (including a few upcoming additions!), but the current system is kind of meh. So instead of just leveling up to unlock everything, there will be specific goals or milestones tied to certain unlocks. It will make the game overall much more rewarding and interesting, IMO.
Player levels will likely be reset, but any boosters/Variants unlocked will remain (and you can, of course, earn even more by leveling up after the reset).
The store page has been updated to let potential new players know about this upcoming change, along with the game’s current difficulty curve and pending tutorial improvements.
Steam Achievements & Trading Cards
I’m really looking forward to getting these in. I love achievements, and trading cards, obviously! The achievements will be largely tied to the new progression system, so expect all of this to follow that update.
Leaderboards for Survival Mode
Along with the overhauled progression and tutorial systems, I’m looking into adding leaderboards for Survival Mode. I think it will greatly augment that mode’s purposefulness, and also give the community something to share and compete over.
Revised Supply Run
There will be various improvements made to Supply Run. The one most people have requested is allowing progress to be saved, so if it’s possible within the system we’ve created I will definitely prioritize it.
From a design standpoint, Supply Run is meant to be an all-or-nothing deal in many ways, but I understand that not having save points may turn off players with limited time and they’d be missing out on a big part of this game, so that’s obviously undesirable.
Improved Audio/Visuals
Now that I’ve had time to let v1.0 of the game sit for a while, there are a lot of places that stick out to me as needing some spit and polish. I’ll continue to tweak things as development on the other additions proceeds. There’s still a few cool things we can add in.
Audio Slider
I’ve had a few requests to improve the audio controls, so a new slider will be added. This feature is actually already complete and waiting for the pre-existing bug fixes to be done before we enable it.
Semi-related: Yes, the crickets will be getting re-balanced, along with all other audio. ;)
Remaining Kickstarter Rewards
Certain Kickstarter rewards (the game itself and booster packs) have already been fulfilled, obviously, but there are still several that are yet to be rolled out. This is partially because they require the BackerKit to open, and the BackerKit requires the tabletop version to begin production in order to open. But just know they’re are coming, and include things like having your name appear on randomly spawned units and a handful of new cards, including a ninja!
Digital Artbook & Soundtrack
Two of the remaining Kickstarter rewards include a digital artbook and soundtrack. These will also be made available to non-backers, but the details on that are yet to be decided.
And last but not least....
A New Leader!
Ask and ye shall receive (sometimes....maybe)!
The reception to Jordyn has been overwhelmingly positive, so she’ll soon be joined by an additional leader for you to customize and take on your Supply Runs!
That’s all I can say for now. Don’t want to ruin the surprise!
FAQ: When is [feature/port] coming?
As soon as there are specific details to share about anything not covered here, you’ll all be the first to know!
***IMPORTANT: I try not to mention anything that isn’t already a concrete plan, but please keep in mind any dates/estimates/additions are targeted goals and MAY CHANGE!***
So that’s that. While the digital card space is too competitive to expect Z. to make a splash at this point, I still want to ensure this game ends up in a place where everyone--myself included--is happy with it. I’ve learned so much over the past few years about game design, community, and business, and hope that will show in the coming months and eventually on future projects.
Thank you all for your support!
--Sebastian
Creative Director
