Hello, survivors.
After a long period of polishing, fixing bugs, improving the atmosphere, and working on the new-player experience, a new ROTEN update is here.
This update introduces a completely new Tutorial, a Safe Zone with a Trader and NPCs, gameplay and survival improvements, new audio features, environmental additions, quality-of-life changes, and many fixes throughout the game.
A major goal of this update was simple: make the beginning of ROTEN easier to understand without removing the freedom and exploration that are at the core of the game.
NEW SCREENSHOTS
Added a new set of screenshots to better represent the current state of ROTEN. These images give a more accurate look at how the game feels today.
NEW TUTORIAL
A completely separate Tutorial Level has been added for new players.
The Tutorial takes place on its own small map and introduces the main mechanics gradually instead of throwing everything at the player at once.
Added a dedicated Tutorial Level
Added a Tutorial option to the Main Menu [] Added a new small Tutorial map
Added a dedicated in-game map for the Tutorial
Added an introductory Controls screen
Added the Wounded Man NPC The Wounded Man now introduces and starts the Tutorial mission
Added progressive Tutorial objectives
The Tutorial covers:
Food and water
Clothing and backpacks
Basic movement
Weapon pickup and use
Zombie combat
Fishing
Basic crafting
The Tutorial is currently designed as a Single Player experience.
NEW SAFE ZONE
A new Safe Zone has been added to the Forest biome.
This location gives players a place to prepare before heading back into more dangerous parts of the world.
Added a new Safe Zone
Added a Trader
Added multiple NPCs
Added dialogue lines for the Safe Zone NPCs
Zombies and bandits do not spawn inside the Safe Zone
Food, ammunition, weapons and other supplies can be found in the area
The NPCs currently focus on dialogue and atmosphere. Missions for individual NPCs are planned for future updates.
PLAYER & SURVIVAL IMPROVEMENTS
Increased player stamina
Increased player strength
Increased player oxygen capacity
Weapons picked up directly from the world are now automatically equipped
Added G to quickly drop the item or weapon currently held in your hands
DROWNING CHANGES
Running out of oxygen no longer causes instant death.
Once the player's oxygen reaches zero, health now begins to decrease progressively, giving the player a chance to react and reach safety.
TRUE SINGLE PLAYER PAUSE
Opening the Pause Menu now properly pauses the game in Single Player.
Multiplayer sessions continue running normally when an individual player opens the Pause Menu.
AUDIO SETTINGS
The long-awaited Sound Settings have started to arrive.
Added Master Volume control
Improved ambient sound playback
Added additional environmental sounds
Added in-game ambient music
Added fire ambience
Added radio and signal interruption effects
Improved delayed ambient sound playback so certain sounds do not repeat constantly
Fixed several environmental sounds that were not playing correctly
This is currently the first version of the audio settings system, with Master Volume available.
ZOMBIE AUDIO IMPROVEMENTS
Zombie audio has also received additional work.
Improved zombie movement and footstep sounds
Nearby infected should now be easier to notice through audio
Reduced several overly loud zombie pain sounds
Significantly reduced the louder female zombie pain reactions
Improved the overall audio balance during zombie encounters
ENVIRONMENT & ATMOSPHERE
Several additions have been made to make the world feel less static and more alive.
Added Heat Haze effects
Added additional atmospheric sounds
Added more environmental audio layers
Added in-game ambient music
Added wild boar piglets
General atmosphere and environmental polish
WORLD & COLLISION FIXES
A lot of time was spent cleaning up problems throughout the existing world.
Fixed several buildings that could not be entered correctly
Fixed problematic building and structure collisions
Fixed several world collision issues
Improved access to affected interiors
ITEM INTERACTION FIXES
Several situations where loot could be seen but not properly collected have been fixed.
Fixed items inside cabinets that could not be picked up
Fixed items located under beds that could not be picked up
Fixed items on tables and other surfaces that could not be interacted with correctly
Improved world-item interaction detection
Improved collision handling around interactable items
Improved Spawn Zone collision behaviour with World Dynamic objects
CAMERA IMPROVEMENTS
Improved overall camera responsiveness
Reduced excessive Camera Lag
Reworked Rotation Lag for smoother turning
Improved camera behaviour during fast turns and 180-degree movement
Improved mouse responsiveness
General First Person and Third Person camera polish
MAP & NAVIGATION
Updated the in-game map layout
Recalibrated map data to better match the world dimensions
Improved map scaling and positioning
Improved navigation accuracy
Added a dedicated map for the Tutorial area in a 3:4 vertical format
UI, MISSIONS & STABILITY
Added dedicated Tutorial Controls UI
Improved Tutorial objective presentation
Improved Tutorial widget sequencing and cleanup
Improved Tutorial startup behaviour
Improved integration between the Tutorial and Mission system
Added dedicated Tutorial mission data
Improved mission initialization
Fixed Mission Component reference issues
Fixed several Blueprint runtime errors
Improved level-specific Tutorial initialization
Improved packaged-build stability
General Blueprint cleanup and gameplay polish
ROTEN QUICK SURVIVAL GUIDE
An official ROTEN Quick Survival Guide is now available through Steam.
The guide covers the basics of survival, exploration, equipment, combat, zombies, bandits, crafting, building, navigation, fishing, multiplayer and more.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
A large part of this update was shaped by player feedback, especially regarding the first hours of the game.
Special thanks to Xirothnir X for the detailed Steam review highlighting the beginner experience, drowning behaviour, proper Single Player pausing, zombie awareness sounds, zombie pain audio, and audio settings.
Many of those suggestions are now part of ROTEN.
Player feedback continues to be an important part of the game's development.
THANK YOU
Thank you to everyone who has played ROTEN, reported bugs, shared feedback, left a review, watched the videos, or simply followed the development.
There is still a lot more ahead.
Survive.
We Are All Roten.
-Solar blue