This event celebrates the best indie games from German developers. As part of the festivities, Endzone 2 is unveiling a brand-new trailer called "Unbroken," showcasing the unbreakable will to survive!
We are actively reviewing all of your submitted feedback, both on Steam and through our dedicated Feedback Tool accessible in-game. We have received over 1,000 reports so far and have collected some of the most important questions for both us and you. Now, we want to specifically ask you some questions in a survey to understand the majority opinion and identify areas for improvement.
Thank you very much for playing the demo, submitting your feedback, and filling out the survey. Your input helps us shape the game to better meet your expectations and enhance its overall feel. 🙂 🍀
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
Thanks To Your Massive Support
Survivors!
The Steam Next Fest June Edition has just ended, and we received the information that Endzone 2 is among the Top 50 Most Played Demos - thanks to you, Survivors.
Here's a quick status quo from our side:
We are going through every bug and feedback ticket that has been submitted so far and meanwhile organize them, delete duplicates and merge similar ones. Besides the importance to do that every now and then, we also have reached our server limit for Threads at about 1.000 due to the massive reports (which is absolutely awesome, thank you all!).
In order to maintain room for new tickets, we need to "reject" some, which will be removed from our Ticket System that is visible to you, but not on our backend. We still got your tickets. 🤙
For Feedback we are trying to merge multiple tickets that share the same topic and idea into a new custom one, which we will post. You can find the first one below.
➡️ The idea is to have you vote on these merged tickets to make sure, you agree or disagree, so we can streamline your feedback better ⬅️
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
Community Building Final Update
Survivors!
You made it! With your help, we've already reached the final tree update a few days ago. So, we wanted to give you a final glimpse at the Wish Tree cosmetic building that's gonna be available at Early Access release:
Thank you so much everyone who played the demo. It'll be available for a bit longer. So there's still time for you to check it out.
Also, everyone who shared feedback and contacted us to tell us about his Endzone 2 demo experience, we recently posted a News to address the most pressing topics. You can give it a read here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2144640/view/5997186379226294106
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
Regarding Your Feedback
Greetings survivors,
Matthias here, from Gentlymad Studios. Let me extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has taken the time to play the demo and share their thoughts with us. The demo is our first puzzle piece in our vision to develop the post apocalyptic colony-sim of our dreams together! ːsteamhappyː
Please continue to give us feedback with our in-game reporting tools or head over to our Discord, and especially VOTE on the already given feedback! ☢️🚌🌱
This helps us tremendously in prioritizing what we need to focus on or fine tune for the upcoming Early Access.
Some of the feedback and fixes for your reported bugs already made it into the demo, for example you can now zoom out further! Keep an eye on the changelog thread for all the details!
Furthermore we want to address several topics directly:
Several of you have reported problems starting the game, creating a new session or loading a save file. Please see the FAQ for the causes. In any case, since the in-game bug reporter will not work in these cases, be sure to give your feedback using our bug form and provide as much data as possible.
Send us your log files and additional data with this form
What is your setup (graphics card, CPU, RAM)?
Do you have enough disk space (30 gb+) on the system disk and the installation location?
Additionally, please send us the result of a DxDiag if possible
2. Simulation
We made some profound changes to settler simulation, so we have the system resources and comprehensibility to make multiple settlements manageable. This means that settler pathing is not a requirement for the game economy anymore (More details on this can be found in this thread).
However, at the same time our systems for displaying, animating and observing settlers following their daily routines and their work life is not where we want it to be. We still wanted to participate in the Steam Next fest to provide you with a first glimpse at the game and not be a black box until the Early Access release.
This has resulted in a lot of feedback where you voiced your valid concerns that Endzone 2 would not share the same feeling of the “Wuselfaktor” or bustling city vibes. In the demo, that is true. But rest assured that we are fully committed to making your settlements feel vibrant, bustling and riddled with detail!
Here are a few things we are currently working on:
Making settlers clickable again
Builders need to walk up to a build place to start building
Carry goods and resources along paths
Settlers going to warehouses to deliver their goods
More construction and work paths for buildings for less
More visible settlers, especially when working
Children running around or idling in front of their homes
Settlers tilling fields and plantations
Settlers reacting to droughts, diseases and other catastrophes
Settlers using streets
Additionally our new system allows us to potentially provide things in Early Access, that we couldn't do in Endzone - A World Apart, like the following:
Settlers meeting at the town center
Settlers doing their laundry
Settlers eating and chilling at their home
Settlers coming together to protest or ask for things
3. Game difficulty
For the demo we had to decide what the general entry point would be. We knew that a lot of you are experienced Endzone players, but yet Endzone 2 also has several different mechanics and new features. We decided to integrate the fully fledged tutorial as the default option when firing up the first session. This was a risk, as the hand holding style of the tutorial might lead to the impression that Endzone 2 is not as difficult as its predecessor.
For everyone who feels this way and reads this, please let us know how you like the game once you start a play session without the tutorial enabled! There should be some very Endzone-like pitfalls waiting for you.
Additionally, session options were an important thing for Endzone - A World Apart, to customize the experience to your liking and create your own challenges. We aim to provide something similar as well in Endzone 2; it just didn’t make it into the demo.
Okay, that was quite a lengthy thread! Thank you for sticking with us until the end; your feedback and insights are immensely valued.
Here's to building something truly exceptional together! 🥳
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
Grow a Tree Update
Survivors!
Thanks to your help, the initially announced cosmetic tree item got several updates. Our artist squeezed in some time to work on the tree and, with more and more Demolished! achievements showing up, he was able to add several update steps in one session.
Here's the current status of your tree:
We're almost there, our artist has an idea of what the tree should look like in the end.
Thank you for playing the demo, and if you haven't, go and give it a try!
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
A Baffling 200k!
Hey Survivors,
While everyone's checking out the demo during Steam Next Fest, Endzone 2 managed to clear the bar of 200.000 wishlists - THANKS to all you supporters out there.
So, in between updating the demo, fixing and improving stuff and working our way through all the tickets you submitted - we couldn't hold back and had to drop a huge Thank you for your support here.
Now, let's head back into Endzone 2. Keep the feedback coming, everyone!
Thanks from the teams @ Gentlymad Studios & Assemble Entertainment
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
Survivors! Time To Play
Survivors!
Time has come for you to take a deep dive into the very-first publicly available demo for Endzone 2. The last months have been exhausting and exciting at the same time. Still, making our little demo baby available for everyone to play feels incredibly fantastic. We hope you'll enjoy your time with the Endzone 2 Demo.🌱
Before you get started, we'd like to give you a piece of advice for life (aka the Demo). So, please read carefully.
General Info & Differences [Endzone 1] <-> [Endzone 2]
Zones: In Endzone - A World Apart, you played on one vast map where you could build a global settlement. But in Endzone 2, the world expands as you uncover different zones, each offering exclusive resources to plunder. Manage multiple settlements and unlock a vast amount of possibilities.
New Settler Behavior: We've tackled and refactored settler paths and job distribution issues from the ground up. Embrace the new and improved system, now more comprehensible and balanced, supporting thriving settlements with thousands of inhabitants.
Vehicles: Your wish for vehicles back in Endzone - A World Apart has been heard! Now, you can freely choose your starting location by moving your settlement bus. As the game progresses, you'll have the opportunity to construct additional vehicles, perfect for establishing trade routes or venturing into the treacherous badlands.
Expedition System Overhaul: Exciting changes! The updated expeditions system introduces detailed ruins waiting to be explored by directly controlling and guiding your explorers. They consist of less text and more action! Uncover clues, unlock secrets, and discover valuable loot on your journeys.
New Graphics: Our rendering system has undergone a complete overhaul, bringing you a more detailed and visually stunning environment. The animations have received a makeover too, resulting in breathtaking graphics that will immerse you like never before.
Achievements: YES! Complete the Demo and get the “DEMOlished” Achievement to unlock an exclusive in-game item available at the game's Early Access release.
Languages: English, German, French, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Russian, Korean
Game Modes: Tutorial or Endless Game (but we HIGHLY recommend playing the Tutorial!)
Expected Playtime: Tutorial 2 - 3 hours and endless mode is endless my friends!
Save/Load Functionality: Yes
Controller Support: No
Transfer demo save game to Early Access: No
What to expect in the demo
You start your journey with the Endzone bus, explore abandoned ruins through interactive expeditions to find the right spot to establish your first settlement. The map is divided into three sectors by rivers, each with unique resources. In the demo, you can freely explore the first sector, build settlements, and face disasters like droughts, toxic rain and sandstorms. Also, establishing transportation routes between your settlements adds strategic depth.
On a side note: the difficulty setting during the Tutorial is a bit toned-down to make it a bit more comfortable and less stressful (but just a bit though).
Known Issues & Fluff
Even though we updated the demo the last days, some of you might notice that the settlements miss some fluff feel less busy/bustling. We are still heavily working on the visuals and atmosphere regarding our settlers, to make their daily lives look more plausible & interesting. Please be aware that a lot of these systems did not fully make it into the demo version. We might potentially update it as soon as possible but please be aware that especially animations and settler visuals are not final.
We Want You!
Just as with Endzone - A World Apart, we want to develop Endzone 2 together with you - its community. Publishing this demo is meant as our first step and preview into the upcoming Early Access version of the game. We have created an easy way for you to leave or post feedback directly from within the game. Additionally you can also reach us on Discord, Steam or with our dedicated feedback form!
We want to hear your thoughts! Please report any bug or feedback via in-game reporting Tool. Press F2 and describe how the bug occurred or pick the Feedback tag and tell us how we can improve Endzone 2. Please don't write support inquiries via email, use our in-game reporting tool.
Streaming Info
Feel free to livestream the Endzone 2 demo on your channels or create content for YouTube. We love checking your content, and hearing your thoughts - keep it coming.
But, before you do, here's a quick advice: Please turn off “sharpen” in the options menu. We noticed some viewers experienced a low bit rate. A workaround is to turn off sharpening. You find it in Options>Graphics>Render Quality.
What's to come?
There are still several things we're already working on and some others we'd definitely want to tackle before Early Access release (e.g. settler behavior, fluff). Deeply tied to this is the proper visualization of settlers to convey a more realistic feeling of what is happening in your settlements. We'd like you to be able to watch the settlers at work and that they behave and move sensibly in the settlement. This is still an important point for us until the EA launch.
At the same time, also because you can now establish several settlements at the same time, it was important for us to decouple the production of goods from the direct actions of the settlers. On the one hand, to balance out the management complexity of several settlements and, on the other, to avoid having incomprehensible production cycles, as the rather random-looking settler paths were difficult to follow.
We don't want to spoil too much, there's gonna be a Roadmap closer to Early Access release, but some additional info can be dropped here. Amongst others, all known issues that will be reported until then will get tackled, of course.
Here's a quick sneak peek at our list:
All sectors are available and can be played; which means much bigger maps
More buildings with their corresponding upgrades
Additional Technologies for the Tech Tree
More Fluff to improve the settlement's activity
Updated visualizations for settlers
New resources that have been hidden in the demo
More options to be able to alter play sessions to your likings
Difficulty options
More vehicles to drive
New expedition types
More post-apocalyptic ruins to explore
These are just a few things worth mentioning.
Help us grow a cosmetic tree for you
As you might know, developing a video game is all in one; lots of fun, stressful, time consuming but fulfilling and a dream coming true once your game gets released.
Let's keep on point: during development some things get approved while others get scrapped - even though they'd be cool to have. Cosmetic items are usually a good contender for scrapped items. We've found one of those items In our drawer, and thought we could help it grow together with you.
As you might know, the demo has its own achievements. One of them is called Demolished!, and unlike it's name, achieving it causes the cosmetic tree item to grow. The more players achieve it until the end of Steam Next Fest, the more beautiful it'll be once Endzone 2 gets released into Early Access.
Let's go and Demolish! the demo to make this tree grow. You can check this Twitter post for regular updates.
Now, we don't want to make this tl;dr - time to get into Endzone 2. If you liked playing the demo and haven't already wishlisted the game, please do so. It's very much appreciated!
Thank you from the teams @ Gentlymad Studios & Assemble Entertainment
As Discord is our main platform for feedback and discussion within the community, we highly recommend joining us and sharing your feedback there.
In Case You Missed It
Fellow survivors,
We wanted to say a quick thank you for all the feedback we've already received through all those fantastic livestreams, videos, and on Discord - and there's more to come. We can't wait to push the demo live tomorrow @ 11am CET / 2am PDT. Mark your calendars!
As for today, we have a special treat for our German speaking community: As for today, we have a special treat for our German-speaking community: the beloved and veteran Twitch streamer Gronkh will explore the Endzone 2 demo for the very first time. Make sure to tune in: https://www.twitch.tv/gronkh
Here's a quick & dirty highlights list - just in case you missed some of the big beats these last days:
