Development Update : Desert Expansion, New Vehicles, Items, Fixes & More!

Hey survivors!

I’ve been working on a lot of different parts of Not Quite Dead lately, so I wanted to share a bigger development update showing some of what is currently being worked on.

A lot of this update is focused on improving existing systems, polishing the world, fixing reported issues, optimizing performance, and continuing the upcoming desert/wasteland area.

Some of the content shown here is still work in progress and may change before it is released.

🏜️ Desert / Wasteland Expansion

The new desert area is continuing to grow.

I’m currently:

• Expanding and finishing the desert section of the map

• Replacing some of the old sand with new desert materials

• Adding extremely difficult zombies specifically for the desert

• Adding new enemies

• Adding new weapons and loot

• Adding more environmental details so the area feels less empty

• Adding tremors around the map

• Improving the boundaries of the playable world

• Removing problematic trees and environmental objects

• Fixing bad rock collisions

• Continuing general map optimization

There is still quite a bit of work left, but I want the desert to feel like a genuinely dangerous new part of the world rather than simply a different texture.

🚗 New Wasteland Vehicles & Nitro

I’ve also started working on some new post-apocalyptic / wasteland-style vehicles for the desert.

One of the new vehicle systems currently being developed is Nitro.

The idea is simple:

Normal driving remains completely normal, but holding the Nitro button gives certain vehicles a temporary acceleration boost while consuming a rechargeable Nitro bar.

This system is still being tested and tuned.

I’m also continuing to improve vehicle usability throughout the game.

🚁 Vehicle Fixes & Improvements

Several vehicle-related fixes and quality-of-life improvements are also in progress:

• Fixed helicopters disappearing after reconnecting

• Improved trailer connection range to make attaching the trailer easier

• Added more vehicle information for players who may have missed it during the tutorial

• Continued work on vehicle persistence and multiplayer behavior

• More vehicle polish and fixes are ongoing

I know vehicles are a big part of the game for many players, so I’m continuing to spend time improving them.

🎒 New Equipment & Items

Several new wearable items are also being added:

• New backpacks

• New military helmets

• New hats

• Fixed the size of the Cowboy Hat

• Additional equipment and loot are being prepared

I’m also continuing to add new weapons and other survival items as development continues.

🧟 Enemies & Combat

Combat and enemy content are also getting more attention:

• New enemies are being added

• Very difficult zombies are being prepared for the desert

• Fixed an issue where a boss could become immortal

• Fixed Molotov damage

• Fixed Molotov damage zones

• More weapons and combat content are in development

The desert in particular is intended to be one of the more dangerous areas of the game.

🗺️ World & Performance Improvements

I’m also doing another optimization and cleanup pass across the map.

Recent work includes:

• FPS optimization

• Removing unnecessary/problematic trees

• Fixing rock collisions

• Improving world boundaries

• Increasing the amount of stone received while mining

• Replacing some environment materials

• Adding new snow in the tutorial area

• Filling empty-looking areas with additional details

A lot of this work is not as flashy as adding a new weapon or vehicle, but it is important for making the game feel more polished.

🛠️ Fixes & Quality of Life

There are also a lot of smaller fixes being worked on at the same time:

• Fixed inverted mouse settings not saving correctly

• Fixed tutorial text

• Added additional vehicle instructions

• Improved trailer usability

• Increased stone rewards from mining

• Fixed environmental collision issues

• Continued multiplayer fixes

• Continued UI and gameplay polish

There are many smaller quality-of-life changes happening alongside the larger updates.

🔧 Still More To Come

There is currently a lot happening behind the scenes.

My main goal right now is not just to continuously add features, but also to go back through existing systems and fix, optimize, polish and improve what is already there.

The desert expansion, new vehicles, new equipment, new weapons and enemies will continue to develop alongside those improvements.

Thanks again to everyone playing Not Quite Dead, reporting bugs, leaving feedback, and following the development.

There’s still plenty more coming. ❤️

– Mazxz