Hi all, and welcome to another VEIN News! We have a lot to cover in this one.
First off, we've just released Hotfix 7 and 8. It includes a bunch of the fixes mentioned in this post, as well as a few more. You can check out the whole changelog on Steam here. Some of the bigger changes include networking and dedicated server fixes. It'll be our final hotfix until 0.025.
We're also happy to announce we're participating in the Steam 2026 PvE Survival Crafting Fest, on now. If you don't have VEIN yet (or want to get some good deals on similar survival games), now is the time!
As usual, the stuff we're going to talk about is only on the experimental Steam beta branch or work-in-progress, and won't be in-game until 0.025 comes out.
In the last couple weeks, we've done a lot of polish on gameplay, the world, and networking, as well as working towards a few new features that will most likely be added in the next update or two.
We fixed some issues such as AI audibility (there was a bug where zombies were way too quiet when running from behind), issues with VOIP, hats and glasses remaining on beheaded characters, condition UI issues, some misc. item related issues, some furniture collision and art issues, and a lot more.
Zoe has done a lot of work on rebalancing and setting up weapon stat requirements for effectiveness as mentioned in the last update. Most larger weapons now have stat effectiveness requirements, and without them you do around 2-3x less damage-per-second. We also added some missing crafting schematics to the world, such as for weapons like the claw sword and combat shovel.
We're happy to announce that the new map region is complete for 0.025. It's inside Franklin County geographically, and includes the new areas of Mountain View, Owl's Head, and Duane. We don't want to spoil the contents of it but there are a handful of new unique areas to explore. We're going to be updating the detailing on some of the older areas (such as Redford) while planning the next map expansion.
We did a lot of work over the last two weeks on server performance and lag. We did a lot of fixes on character movement, so rubberbanding is now minimal in multiplayer (if you have low enough ping). There's still a bunch of rubberbanding in other places, like vaulting, so there's more work to do, but we're moving in the right direction.
We also did a lot of work on dedicated server performance. We used an underpowered PC to test this on low conditions. We've managed to take our test server FPS from 11 FPS to 23 FPS. More server frames means smoother networking and processing, which means less desync and faster responses. We have a lot of work to do on this but we're happy we're making progress. We'd like to apply some of what we've learned to single-player as well so we can bump up the default zombie count. There's still a lot more we can do though and we'll be working on it over the next little while.
We did a bunch of work on HLODs, again as mentioned in the last update. They should be better performing and more consistent now, and are almost ready for the 0.025 update.
We added support for screen readers, but had to remove it in Hotfix 8 because it was causing Windows Smart App Control to block the game from running for some players. We'll be adding it back as a toggle for players that need to use it.
New winter textures have been created for the game, and we've done some work on the new map region's features, such as adding a rideable sled and ski lifts.
Yan has been working on inventory networking and throwing improvements. Inventory networking and vehicle networking are the two highest bandwidth users in the game, so getting that minimized will help a lot with multiplayer lag reduction.
8z is working on ragdolling. Specifically, zombies and characters can get knocked over and get back up. We're really excited to implement this in a bunch of different areas. We can now stop zombies from instantly dying when hit by cars; they'll be able to slow down cars when they're hit, and will be able to get back up. Same for falling from heights or just during combat. We were thinking about adding seatbelts to cars so that when you're not wearing one and hit an obstacle you go flying through the windshield.
Adam has been working on some new replacements for the taped box placeholder. He's so far done metal pipes and scrap metal pipes.
Boon has finished a set of animations for our Fifty-Seven pistol. We'll be integrating them soon.
Astro is doing some work on making some smaller props come alive; they're starting with curtains, which you will be able to open and close. There's technically functionality for opening them a variable amount, but we'll see what feels best gameplay-wise.
Skyler's been continuing work on new character hair and has completed a couple new textured hair types. We're hoping to get a prototype of the new character in-game soon.
Remancer has finished and released Vol. 3 of the VEIN soundtrack. Have a listen here. It's also included in the soundtrack on Steam.
801 has been continuing work on independent base pieces for standalone fortifications. In the same way you can build fortifications for existing buildings, you'll be able to build standalone buildings yourself if you like. You'll also be able to add e.g. drywall to them, flooring, etc. and paint them if you like. It's still a bit away but having the visuals done is an important step.
They're also proceeding with visual remakes of the bus, pickup truck, hatchback, SUV, semi truck, and camper van. They'll have separate parts like the sedan proof-of-concept we've been working on from the last update. We want you to be able to e.g. remove the seats and furniture from inside the bus and camper van respectively so you can outfit it with a mobile base. They're still in pre-production though so don't expect too much in the next couple months.
In addition, they're working on replacement roads for our current low-resolution ones. The higher resolution ones will be drop-in, and there will also be some extra art for larger towns with sidewalks, intersections, etc.
Finally, we've added new language support for Portuguese (Brazil), Ukranian, Polish, Swedish, Chinese (Traditional), Spanish (Spain), Dutch, and Thai. These will be in 0.025.
That's about it for updates for the second half of August. We're continuing to march towards 0.025; should be soon.
See you in a couple of weeks!