Welcome, Survivor!
While we're working on the full release version (1.0), we'd like to share with you some of the things we've made so far. We've compiled so many new features and systems that you could even say it's a 0.10 update!
We're adding support for 7 new languages to the game! Additionally, we've just released the game's official soundtrack here on Steam. But that's not all - far from it! Every weapon now has its own range parameter stat that makes it scale better or worse at specific distances. This opens new team compositions and tweaks the most powerful and the weakest choices.
The game should now run much smoother, with increased framerates and faster load times all across the board. You can now control the Game Speed parameter and display the Pickup Range circle, to see the exact distance at which you'll pick things up. You can also now see each area's boundaries on the minimap radar... and more!
Official Soundtrack Now Available!
As we approach the full release, we would like to share with you the original tunes that we have added thus far. They are available in full quality as FLAC and MP3 files and can be played directly from your Steam client:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4377470/Yet_Another_Zombie_Survivors_Soundtrack/
Of course, new music tracks will be added to this soundtrack at no extra cost, starting with version 1.0.
Remember that, similarly to our games, purchasing the soundtrack directly supports YAZS and the development of our other games. Think of it as a tip that comes with the added bonus of awesome tunes to listen to.
Thank you for your support!
Weapon Range System - Developer Notes
We've added an extra layer of depth to most weapons in the game. Now, the distance the projectile travels and the Survivor's position in relation to the enemy both matter. We hope this change will increase the variety of builds and the depth of theorycrafting in the game, as both previously overwhelming and underwhelming options will now get an additional balance pass.
Pistols and similar guns now deal more damage at close range but less damage the farther the projectile travels. The Sniper Rifle now deals 25% more damage at long range. The Taser and the Syringe Gun deal bonus damage at point-blank range (+25% and +50%, respectively). Similarly, the Windcutter and the Axerangs deal even more damage at maximum distance, adding long-range options to their owners' arsenals!
Both of Pyro's melee weapons now deal increased damage if the enemy is hit with the sharp end of the axe. Similarly, the Mechanic's Chainsaw now has a greater ripping and tearing effect when something comes into direct contact with the blade. Speaking of the Mechanic, both of her spanner weapons now deal bonus damage the farther she travels from the "projectile's" hit point.
A great example of using this system to build identity would be the Tank, whose whole character was built around getting close and personal. Shotguns continue to wreak havoc at short to mid distances but fall off sharply at long distances. Similarly, the Minigun's damage gradually decreases with distance. However, the Rocket Launcher is now fully viable at any range, providing a third, all-around option when needed for your team composition.
Oh, and about Huntress - she's a pro. Her arrows do the same amount of damage at mid-range and long-range distances, with a slight decrease at very close range. This balances her ability to "shotgun" down enemies with multiple arrows and reflects the difficulty of shooting an arrow at point-blank range.
Weapons that have no parameter additions/changes are those which projectiles either explode directly (so the distance from the launch point doesn't matter) or have constant projectiles (Engineer's Laser, Ghost's T1 & T2). Weapons that evolve from a similar line/type inherit similar range definition to their previous tiers, unless their descriptions state otherwise.
Usually, the changes aren't drastic, and you might even not notice them at all, but they're an additional element that helps us craft an environment in which every weapon-related decision matters for your teams. Please let us know what you think of this change!
Patch notes / Changelog
Gameplay Changes / Additions
➕ New system: Weapon Range - Most weapons now scale differently with distance.
➕ New accessibility option: Game Speed - Reduce or increase the gameplay speed from 50% to 200%.
➕ New leaderboard scores can (once again) be interacted with to access their endscreen summaries.
➕ Endurance Mode: Elite Bosses now scale their wind-ups and attack speeds with the Horde level.
➕ Changes to "It's Over 9000!" and "Cause Baby You're a Firework" achievements requirements.
➕ Tons of optimization, stability & loading time tweaks (we've downloaded more FPS for you!).
Quality of Life / Improvements
☀️ Added support for the following languages: German, French, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese-Brazilian, Korean, Spanish. This is the first batch of translations, additional may follow at a later date.
☀️ New Setting: Pickup Range Display - Visualizes the Pickup Range stat's distance as a circle.
☀️ Added NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 support (Options → Graphics → Upscaling technology).
☀️ FSR 3.0 upscaling quality was drastically improved with no hit on performance.
☀️ The game now defaults Upscaling to TAA and DLSS or FSR, depending on availability.
☀️ Minimap Radar now displays the current area's boundaries & closest Cash pickup indicators.
☀️ You can now see the current Team Level in pause menu and at power-up selection interfaces.
☀️ Inactive & unavailable synergies are now displayed as such on the Survivor's card at SOS Signal interface.
☀️ Weapon cards at the level-up interface now display their tiers (at the bottom of the cards).
☀️ Higher tier weapons now also display the weapon from which they evolve on tier changes.
☀️ Damage type tag bonus drops from Elite Bosses now display their type on their radar indicator.
☀️ All equipped items can now be displayed on the gameplay HUD when equipping a huge number of them in the Infinite game mode (their icons will get smaller to fit the screen).
☀️ Increased the size of the icons in the Auto Selection panel in the pause menu.
☀️ Game over screens and animations are now faster.
☀️ A couple of visual effects improvements.
Balance Changes / Tweaks
🟦 Weapon Range System: Changes most weapons damage depending on distance (-50% to +50%).
🟥 Tank: Sawblade Drones: Cogwheels: The inner circle has 2 less sawblades (in total: 12 → 10).
🟥 Medic: Stimpack: Medicament: Now heals (at least) 100 HP (scales from Healing Bonuses) instead of 10% of Max HP.
🟩 Pyro: Axerangs: Base damage increased by 50.
🟩 Pyro: No Pain No Gain: Commando: health regeneration stat no longer works → health regeneration stat is decreased by 3/4.
🟥 Items: Buckshot Roulette: +30% → +20% Weapon CDR.
🟩 Items: Pocket Watch: +50% → Doubles timed power-ups duration and lifetime (+100%).
🟩 Items: Burger: Decreases Max HP by 25% → 1/5.
🟩 Items: T-Pose Doll: increases damage every 5s by +1% → +2%.
🟥 Items: Pickup Pick: Pickup range bonus changed to +20% (from +30%).
🟩 Items: Pickup Pick: Now also works with timed power-ups received from other sources.
🟩 Items: Quick Buck: Now also works with Cash received from the Skip function.
Bug Fixes / Pest Control
🐛 Big Mummy boss enemy has had their attack indicator and damage cone hitbox fixed.
🐛 Fixed Butcher boss enemies sometimes dealing damage right after their death.
🐛 Fixed Derailer enemies attack hitbox causing player to receive damage outside of the indicator.
🐛 Fixed a bug where banished items would reappear when returning from item replace menu.
🐛 Added some safeguards against "Ultra Instinct" and "Gem" items bonuses calculation issues.
🐛 Fixed "Skip Rope" and "Gold Medal" items Military Training bonus calculation.
🐛 Fixed an exploit that caused "Camping Set" item effect to work when moving in short intervals.
🐛 Fixed some edge cases in which Engineer's Electrocution ability wasn't activating properly.
🐛 Yet another fix for "Sawblade Drone: Enchantment" visual effects detaching from drones.
🐛 "Horde Evolved" pop-up no longer appears on Default game mode in the 20'th minute.
🐛 Fixed some bugs and movement glitches related to the Frozen status on enemies.
🐛 Fixed some visual lags appearing on Huntresses weapons and abilities.
🐛 Damage type tags now display properly over 999 points (but reaching that shouldn't be possible).
🐛 Fixed some minor UI related issues, e.g. Transmitter: Network tag description overflowing.
🐛 Lots of translation & language/text improvements (grammar errors fixes, unifications, etc.).
What's next?
Full release!
Some of its content is already nearly done, while we're yet to start working on the rest of what we've promised (with potentially a few fun surprises!).
We ask for your patience as we work on the biggest and greatest update the game has ever seen. It will take months, but once version 1.0 is ready, you'll have a substantial amount of additional content to enjoy!
Of course, if necessary, we will also provide hotfixes for the current version. We want all of you to be able to enjoy the game whenever you like and to have another wholesome game to return to when you require a well-earned break.
PS PlayStation 4 & 5 demo versions are available now (Switch demo will come near the 1.0 release).
See you later (remember to bring the party hats)!
ㅤStay awesome,
ㅤㅤKalafiorek @ Awesome Games Studio
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https://store.steampowered.com/app/2163330/Yet_Another_Zombie_Survivors/