Hello, roaders!
Version 0.1.2 continues to refine the world of ZEROAD Demo, making it more detailed, tactically rich, and bloodier. I focused on visual depth, gameplay balance, and quality of life. The road becomes even more dangerous and expressive.
Atmosphere and Visuals: Darkness and Blood
A brand new, hand-drawn parallax background of a ruined city now scrolls behind the road, replacing the old one entirely.
The fog on the road is now less intense and colorless. Background building colors are less saturated, creating a more natural and grim look.
Zombie corpses now leave pools of blood on the asphalt, and your dirty boots leave bloody footprints. Every hit creates large blood plates and bursts, making impacts feel much juicier. I also tweaked blood colors in various effects for better aesthetics.
Corpses desaturate over time, making living zombies stand out more clearly.
Lighting poles now appear as decorative objects on the side of the road, adding to the atmosphere.
Character and Animation
The character has been completely rebuilt on a new skeleton and sprite set. This allows for bending down and brought significant improvements right now:
Body leans forward and backward for more natural aiming.
Fully articulated and independently animated left and right arms, with a custom grip for each weapon, improving tactile feedback.
The ammo pouch and backpack are now separate, animated sprites (the backpack sways, adding life).
New poses for opening crates and reviving an ally. A downed player now has a flare, making them easier to see.
The ability to aim and shoot directly downwards when a zombie sneaks up from below.
Gameplay and Balance: Sharper, Fairer, Deadlier
The game is now more challenging. Zombies are 10% faster, spawn more often as the road level increases, and co-op sessions get +1 extra zombie per player.
Reviving a downed ally now takes 4 seconds instead of 6. Crates and ambushes provide fewer resources at higher levels for better balance.
Weapon diversity is improved: the minimum road level to find a Beretta M9 is lowered from 10 to 7. Weapon level requirements for high-tier affixes are also lower, letting players engage with the crafting system earlier. Base weapon damage scaling with level has been slightly reduced to encourage crafting better weapons.
A new pickup item has been added: it increases your lighting and detection radius by 30%, offering a strategic advantage.
Crucial Fixes
Fixed incorrect client-side damage calculation (player's weapon stats and bonuses are now accounted for).
Corrected experience gain for clients (they now properly receive the road EXP bonus, matching the host).
Fixed a bug where bonus tooltips were missing when re-entering the game.
Weapons found in Gun Cabinets now have a minimum item level of 1, ensuring they are never worse than the default Nagant.
Quality of Life and Information
The current road number is now displayed in the mission state (visible to all players, especially crucial for clients) and in the character selection menu, showing your progress at a glance.
The weapon's item level is now displayed on its card next to its rarity.
Distracting light emission has been removed from crates and resources.
New messages in the mission state clarify if you're waiting for players or for the mission to start.
Environment and Details
Your starting point is now a proper base camp, visually fitting the "eternal road" theme.
Updated background and exit zone images for consistency.
The road is calling. It's darker, bloodier, and demands more skill. See you on the asphalt.