Hello everyone!
v1.4 is now live on the beta branch. Lots of new stuff added in this build! Hope you’ll take a look over the holidays and shoot some feedback our way.
Massive shout-out to Devin for working magic on the programming side of things!
Highlights:
- Variants 2.0 (WIP)
- In-Play Unit Cap Changed
- Unit Twitching Added
- Enhanced Unit Placement
- Game Launcher Enabled
- Bug Fixes & Known Issues
How to access Beta builds on Steam:
1. Right-click Z. Year One in your Steam Library
2. Select Properties
3. Select the Betas tab
4. Enable the "beta - Update beta branch" option from the drop-down menu
DISCLAIMER: Beta builds may introduce new bugs. Play at your own risk! You can disable beta builds at any time using the same process shown above.
v1.4 Changelog
Variants 2.0 (WIP)
- Variants are no longer consumable
- Hardcore-specific decks can now be saved in the Hardcore Deck-builder
- Variants max out at 03 in the deck-builder, except for Heroes/Horrors which max out at 01
The first stage of overhauling the Variants system is in place. I haven’t received much feedback about the Variants/Hardcore mode at all, but the little I have heard is that most people don’t seem to like the idea. I think it’s partially my fault for not having a tutorial or way to better explain the reason I designed Variants the way I did, and I think it’s also due somewhat to the current climate of games in general, thanks to players feeling burnt by Battlefront II and a million other games with various questionable approaches to making money or dragging out gameplay, etc. And that’s totally understandable.
Since I don’t want my little experimental mode to hover over this game as a unanimously unenjoyable aspect, or all the work that was put into it to go to waste, Variants are getting remixed considerably, starting with the fact that they are no longer consumable.
This is only the first step of Variants 2.0, though. Variants as they are now are way too OP and every single one of them is getting rebalanced to take into account that they’ll no longer be consumable. This change and more will happen over the next few months leading up the v2.0 launch. Everyone’s Booster Packs / Variants will be getting reset upon launching v2.0 to account for these changes, so don’t worry about losing or wasting anything you’ve already opened/used.
As always, your feedback is welcome!
Capped In-Play Units to Six
In an effort to tighten up the game and keep matches more balanced and intense, the in-play unit cap per player has been reduced from 8 to 6. This is not final, so feel free to sound off on your thoughts after giving it some time, but I do think it tightens the game up considerably. Neither side can drastically outnumber the other side as often, which should especially help the Survivors.
Note that for the longest time, the max unit cap was actually 5, with no Bases. We eventually made it 8 just to see if we could, and that number stuck. This also has the added benefit of allowing us to enlarge the units so the cards and text are featured more prominently.
The way Traps and Bases are displayed has also been changed temporarily to account for the new size/spacing, but will be further adjusted in a future update.
Twitching/Fidgeting
Units will now twitch (Fallen) and fidget/shiver (Survivors) at random intervals and intensity. This is a small thing I’ve wanted to add for a while, as I feel it makes the units and game feel more alive. When coupled with some of the upcoming audio improvements, the characters should feel a less flat.
This is just one more step towards making Z. feel like a horror movie disguised as a card game! Or is it a card game disguised as a horror movie?!
Note: By pressing Shift+T during a match, you can actually edit various parameters for Survivor and Fallen twitching. Feel free to mess around with it!
Unit Placement
You now have much more control over where your units can be placed. Instead of a single unit placement field, there a six individual unit positions. When playing a unit, you can choose which one you want that unit to be played to.
Enhanced Audio Sliders
Added audio sliders for the following:
- Ambiance
- Music (none currently implemented)
- SFX
- UI
- Voice (none currently implemented)
Game Launcher Permanently Enabled
We have re-enabled Z.’s launcher and will leave it on permanently, now. This should help players encountering resolution issues when playing on unusual or unsupported resolutions. We’re also aware of several resolution issues and are actively looking to resolve them with the next major build.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug where Keys would float under a unit’s equipped items
- Fixed a bug where Fallen loot was not visible to the Survivor player
- Various miscellaneous fixes / optimizations
Known Issues
- Various resolution issues when not playing in 1080p. We are looking into fixes for these, so please report them if you see them
- A possible issue with in-play units disappearing but still being active due to the enlarged images; please report any instances of this should you encounter it
- Pepper Spray costs 2 but is shown as only costing 1
That’s all for now, but there’s much, much more to come! I hope you all enjoy the holidays. Cheers!