Today’s the day! Z. Year One v1.0 is live on Steam now and the game has left Early Access! This is just part of a five-year journey in bringing this stupidly ambitious zombie card game to life, so thank you all for taking this big step with me!
Before we start, the How to Play screen and rules have all been updated! You can access this from the How to Play button on the top of the Main Menu, or by pressing TAB in-game any time.
Learn this screen. Know it. Live it.
Early Access Booster Packs
All Early Access players have been granted 20 Survivor Booster Packs and 20 Fallen Booster Packs. This is twice as many as originally planned, but I figured I’d surprise you with a little something extra for all the feedback you provided and bugs you helped find!
Reminder about Hardcore Difficulty/Booster Packs/Variants
With your shiny new Booster Packs there’s a few things for returning and new players to keep in mind:
- Booster Packs contain five Variants each
- Variants are super-powered versions of Core cards
- Variants come in three rarities: Rare, Prime, and Elite
- Variants can only be used on Hardcore Difficulty, which unlocks at level 20
- Variants are consumed upon use!
- Booster Packs are earned by leveling up and playing Supply Run -- you cannot buy them
Hardcore and the consumable nature of Variants are sure to be a love-it-or-hate-it (but hopefully love-it-after-giving-it-a-chance) feature. However, the point of Variants are not to make you grind out levels until you have an all Elite deck that you can crush any enemy with, but rather to incentivize constant deck-building and experimentation.
Hardcore is for experienced players looking for an extra challenge, but if you don’t like it or Variants you can ignore it completely and hopefully still get your money’s worth with the hundreds of cards in the Core set. As always, I look forward to any feedback. :)
Final Pricing
I settled on $14.99 for the full release price. It does not include any bonus Booster Packs like the Early Access bundle did.
Honestly, you can thank The Behemoth for that -- I didn’t feel right charging more than they do for Pit People and Castle Crashers. I know that’s kind of an arbitrary deciding factor since there are games that charge $60+ that I wouldn’t pay $5 for, and F2P games that I’d happily spend hundreds on, but last week I took an hour to sit down and play Pit People to give my brain a rest and I thought if they only charged 15 bucks for something they put so much heart and hard work into, then that seems like a fair amount for Z. as well. Just some random insight into my crazy thought process this week. :)
And now, the update notes:
New Mode: Supply Run
- Survivor-exclusive mode that unlocks at level 5
- Up to five consecutive matches on Standard and six on Hardcore
- If you continue after a match, you’ll gain even better rewards and XP but the Fallen will gain a random “Danger” (universal buff). Dangers stack, so after a few matches it will be quite difficult. Good luck!
- Unlike Hardcore Arcade, you have to build a new deck for each match in Hardcore Supply Run
- Includes a live-action Leader customization at the start of each run
Supply Run is the best source of Booster Packs and XP in the game. I’m particularly excited to reveal the Leader Select feature, which took a lot of work, but the stacking Dangers are also kind of cool.
If people like this mode it’s something I’d definitely like to expand upon in future games....
Known Issue: There’s a ghosting effect on one of Jordyn’s videos. A proper replacement will be uploaded this week.
Improved Survivor AI
- Survivor AI goes first
- Survivor AI decks now feature Variants, even on Standard difficulty
- Survivor AI gains increasing Supplies each turn, similar to Aggro
The Survivor AI has been lackluster for quite some time, but no longer! We buffed them in several different ways to ensure they’d put up a fight but not so much that they seemed unfair.
Canonically, the changes can be tied to the fact that when you’re playing as the Fallen, you’re attacking a Location that the Survivors have already established as a hideout of sorts. So they have the initiative and also a greater stock of resources.
I hope you all feel this makes playing as the Fallen much more enjoyable and challenging!
Bases
- New Base selection screen added to Deck-Building
- 30 Bases total (16 Survivors, 14 Fallen)
- Some Bases need to be unlocked
- New Base graphics
Bases are back! Bases are a fundamental part of customizing your Decks and strategies for each mode/objective.
Of particular note is the Traits Base, which unlocks for both factions at level 10.
The Traits Base provides one random ability to each non-Hero/Horror unit that enters play, some of which can only be granted from these Bases (like the Fallen ability, “Apex Predator”)!
If you really want to randomize each match and character, try out the Traits Base! But remember, not all Traits are good ones....
General
- Completely overhauled and updated the How to Play screen
- Hardcore Difficulty now unlocks at level 20
- XP gains increased for all modes and difficulties!
- Added a “Welcome” message to the Main Menu the first time you start the game
- Revised a few Hero/Horror unlock requirements
- Added a Promo Code Entry feature to the Boosters screen
Bug Fixes
- Fixed tooltip/card text mismatches for Scrounger, Lookout, and Ladee
- Fixed a bug where a Trap card would stay on screen when two Traps triggered simultaneously
- Fixed a bug that required the Survivors to be level 2 before players could open a Fallen Booster Pack
Localization Help Needed!
I’ll make a dedicated post about this later, but I’m looking to get the Rules for the game translated into as many languages as possible. I’ve seen a lot of non-English-speaking players trying to get into the game and I don’t want anyone to feel left out or discouraged, so if you are able to help translate the official How to Play guide into Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or anything, really, please let me know.
You’ll be given a hefty bundle of booster packs and a permanent x3 XP bonus in-game as compensation!
Alright, I'll be online today until I literally pass out so if you have any questions, feedback, or issues don't hesitate to pop in the forums!