This update should've come out a few days ago, but it's been a month for fighting with the game's engine. I've had to completely redo several things from scratch at the last minute when it turned out they just don't look or behave the same way in-game as they do in the editor. You can see some of it in this example, featuring one of our brand new enemies:
The flagship change of this update is the first area of a new biome to explore, the Power Plant, featuring several new unique enemies and a bunch of new anomalies and wrinkles to explore. (Including enemies who will chase you for a bit, but eventually return to their original patrol path.)
It's still a work in progress, with plans to add even more content, but I'm pleased to show all the work that's gone in so far. The next area in this biome will be the actual interior of the Power Plant -- a dangerous place indeed...
Happy Stalking, and see you in the next update!
Changelog:
First area of new Power Plant biome now available in Chapter 2
New points of interest
Several new enemies
Fixed inventory wipe when opening jobs board
Fixed crash when playing cards in quick succession
Fixed crash when playing cards that discard other cards (Turn, etc.)
Fixed crash when delivering story quest items in Chapter 2
Removed Stalker option from main menu for stability
Fixed potential crash when knocking back rearmost enemy
Fixed quest log not properly tracking delivered items
Game now saves after every Point of Interest encounter
Fixed rations getting consumed while game paused
Finished quests are now properly removed from the quest log
Choosing City Hall questline now properly fails Escape questline
Changed Juliet's Necklace card loadout
Fixed Cyn's Favour quest triggers and ending
Removed unintended hidden Stun immunity from some enemies
Fixed Seagull enemy behaviour errors
Fixed sprite problems on Cyn & Louis
Added support for AoE enemy abilities & mid-combat enemy spawns
v0.6.7.6 - Chases & Escapes
The party piece of this update is something people have long asked for -- enemies that are visible on the exploration map. Some will follow a set patrol path. Others will spot you and chase you all over the map if you give them the chance! Mixed varieties will be coming in a future update. No matter which kind, once fought, they will remain dead as doornails.
Random encounters are still a thing, but who knows what the future may hold?
Other than that we've got a host of important fixes, reworked features, and some new content as well. My current priority is to complete more biomes to explore (and thereby advancing the main quest), and perhaps I can find some time to squeeze in another side quest too.
Much love continues to go into development, no matter how long it takes. Thanks to all you brave Stalkers for your continued support!
Changelog:
Added patrolling enemies to some areas
Added homing enemies to some areas
Wharf is now properly accessible in Chapter 2
Reduced size on disk by 20%
Fixed more crashes when loading
Fixed crash when travelling between certain areas
Fixed multiple potential crashes when interacting with Wharf crane
Fixed occasional crashes when starting an encounter right after combat
Game now properly saves after ending VN segments
Fixed error with opening options menu during combat encounter warning
Items now stay identified when loading
Fixed potential crash when starting Chapter 3
Fixed potential crash in Extermination side quest
Duplicate quests can no longer be added to the quest log
Fixed Helping a Friend and Bearer of Bad News quests not completing properly
Reworked enemy intent tooltips for clarity
Rewrote Points of Interest system to be more reliable
Some new card art
Some new items & cards
Hotfix v0.6.7.4.2
A small patch with a few important fixes:
Wharf is now properly accessible in Chapter 2
Fixed more crashes when loading
Fixed crash when travelling between certain areas
Duplicate quests can no longer be added to the quest log
Fixed Helping a Friend and Bearer of Bad News quests not completing properly
Items now stay identified when loading
v0.6.7.3 - January Update
Hail and well met!
January has been a slow period for Zone, as I've been dreadfully preoccupied with job hunting (starvation holds very little appeal for me) -- but even so, we're still making important progress.
v0.6.7.3 features a few crucial fixes, and paves the way for better pathfinding, particularly for enemies. A frequent complaint I hear is about the combat being based largely on sudden random encounters, so one of my current goals is to make more encounters visible and predictable on the exploration map.
In less good news, controller support is clearly broken on many levels, so I've removed it from our store page until I can find time to completely reimplement it.
I've also been paying for some of the shortcuts I took early on in the shift to Godot. A number of hours have had to go towards tidying up and re-testing things I should've done differently in the first place... But it ultimately results in a better, cleaner codebase, so it's by no means a waste of time.
As always, I'm excited to keep rolling into the next update. Until then!
Changelog:
Fixed crash on game load when using Crackling Eyepatch/Antenna
Fixed bug when defeating sinkhole side job boss
Fixed hospital endboss story/encounter
Added flee option for hospital endboss encounter
Combat can no longer immediately re-trigger on load or after death
Fixed softlock on Cyn's Favour quest
Fixed cards getting disabled when cancelling flee menu
Text speed and volume settings are now properly applied after loading
Added (almost) all missing boss sounds in Hospital biome
Improved combat loading
Fixed issue with player lighting in combat
v0.6.7.2 - Xmas Update
It's that time of year, and what do we find in our stockings? Another update for Zone!
Thanks to several crucial bug reports, I've managed to fix a lot of persistent issues that really needed squashing, in amongst the new stuff. Work continues on the new environment, the Greenery, as we're in the process of finding a new artist to handle this.
An early sneak preview of the work in progress:
Writing-wise, I'm on the cusp of starting the explosive main event of Chapter 3, which will feature a serious crisis for you and all the survivors of Esper...
Stay tuned for partial excitement!
Changelog:
Fixed softlock in Special Request quest
Fixed potential crashes in Discretion Required quest
Fixed card Drain targeting issues
Fixed end-of-turn buffs not triggering properly
Buff/debuff readouts now update correctly
Added missing Chapter 2 story trigger
Fixed crash when fleeing side job combats
Accessing inventory during side jobs no longer boots the player back to Esper
Fixed wrong Stamina assignment in side jobs
Fixed several other side job issues
Duplicate story events should no longer happen
Fixed unintended music/ambient audio resets during story segments
Fixed rain particle positioning in Wharf
Added missing brittle star stunned pose
Added missing Wharf loot stash
Updated, corrected and expanded several quick ref/tutorials
New boss encounter in Hospital
Improved lighting in Hospital
Added more radiation spots
Saved games now track radiation buildup
Expanded some dialogue options
New battle backgrounds
Reworked battle background loading
Improved load times between stage transitions
Added visual readout for Stamina above 100
Tweaked other combat readouts for clarity
Increased controller cursor speed
v0.6.6.4 - November Update
Hard to believe another month has passed us by! The biggest change is, I suddenly have a new computer. After several weeks of having my time wasted by repair shops, my old computer was officially pronounced dead. You can imagine how this might present some life difficulties.
The new one was bought on a very tight budget, but it has just enough oomph to allow me to continue developing Zone.
On the bright side, what was lost in coding/testing time was made up for in writing. I have been doing a lot of it, and as a result, the goal I set last month was hit: a completed Act 2! There is much escalation, culminating in a choice that changes everything... And even more sidequesty action.
In the next update I hope to have a new environment to show off, and see us well underway into the excitement of Act 3.
Finally, I wanted to say thanks for the support you've given us. The comments, reviews, and even the bug reports are what keep me going.
We're standing at 8 reviews at the moment, just two shy of the all-important 10. So if you haven't yet posted a review, or if you know someone who could, please please do -- it makes a massive difference to us tiny indies who don't have any external support!
v0.6.6.4 Changelog:
Finished Chapter 2
Two new story-based side quests in Chapter 2 or higher
Fixed crashes after loading saved games
Fixed buffs not triggering on their final turn
Major overhaul of saving/loading
Improved Confusion card handling
Fixed some broken normal maps
Fixed ship encounter not disabling after finishing
Combat buffs now provide detailed breakdowns on mouseover
Fleshed out combat encounters in Wharf biome
Added extra flee option during train yard boss encounter
Added sanity checks for some side quests
Tweaked item drop rates
Extended functionality for story triggers
New item passive abilities
Replaced more temp art
Visual improvements on some NPCs
v0.6.5.7 - October Update
It's been a hell of a month -- I may make another update about that -- but I've managed to keep progress coming. Fixes, new features, new art, new content.
Next update should feature the conclusion of Chapter 2, which is exciting. It's a sprawling mess of a lot of interconnecting parts so I'll be glad when it's done!
v0.6.5.7 Changelog:
Fixed area transition pop-up sticking around when it shouldn't
Player can no longer transition areas during a combat encounter
Fixed issue with combat slowdown after playing certain cards
Fixed crash when using Grim Vision
Fixed crash when mouseovering certain item passives
Fixed items in shop not updating to new/fixed versions
Fixed some card text displaying incorrectly
Started adding missing sound effect for Hospital boss fights
Added icon and explanation for two-handed items
Added animation when Reflux triggers in combat
Added animation when player gets an Ailment
New Ailments now show up on the passives bar immediately
Added more options to use adventuring rope
Improved support for multiple story NPCs on screen
Shop now occasionally clears sold items
Added on-discard card effects
Replaced temp battle background in train yard
Reduced Blink Organ requirement for 'Organs for Dom' quest
New visually-distinct Confusion card borders
Brushed up old Psi card borders
New worm anomaly
New story NPC - Hunter Captain
New Confusion cards
New enemy
v0.6.5.5 - Story & Stability
In the time since the last update, I've been chasing down every issue our wonderful players have reported, as well as many that went unnoticed. The list below is but a condensed version of all the fixes! (Trust me, it took up literal days.)
And in the between times, I've been working on furthering Chapter 2. Running into an old friend will raise even more questions about the mysterious Org and their activities in Esper...
Ambitions for next time are to have our fourth biome at least partly completed, and potentially to complete Chapter 2, which will be by far the longest in the game.
(If you know any artists who are okay working for tiny indie rates or rev share, please encourage them to contact me at info@illuminated.games )
Remember to report any issues you might be experiencing -- it helps improve the game for everyone, and I want players to have the best possible experience!
Until next time... Happy Stalking, and see you out there in the Zone.
Changelog:
Fixed multiple crashes related to enemies in wharf
Fixed issues with wharf progression and ending
Fixed crash in Buzzard side quest
Fixed crashes and other problems when handing in story side quests
Reworked side quest minimap behaviour
Fixed some story combats not ending properly when lost
Fixed issue with train yard area transitions showing up too soon
Fixed options menu locking up on rare occasions
Fixed problems with window focus on 16:10 screen resolution (hopefully!)
Removed unstable right-click area transitions
New NPC Kate with new conversations
Added new encounters in wharf
Added proper reward after wharf boss
Improved wharf boss fight visuals
Added some new cards
New animations for certain cards
Update: August 2023
I won't lie, things have been extremely rough for me this past month. All sorts of crises keep cropping up left and right -- personal, financial, and medical, with a stubborn dental infection that left me unable to do much of anything for over a week.
Obviously this has hurt progress on the game and delayed our next update. Things are still in the works, however! For example, we recently finished art and animation for a key NPC which will let us move forward with the City Hall part of the storyline: the Mayor of Esper.
In the meantime, I'm conducting a full review of the plot, looking to trim some fat so we can stay on target for our 1.0 release.
Stay tuned for further developments. We won't quit until the game is out.
0.6.5.4
We're one month on from the EA release, and it's been a hell of a time! Trying to catch up on all the things I put off while crunching for the launch.
That's the reason why this update is mostly fixes rather than new content. However, expect new stuff in the next update!
Changes:
Fixed an error with some fog not displaying properly
Fixed error with repeating train yard story encounter
Tweaked train yard story ending 3
Fixed issue with choice buttons showing too soon
Fixed combat loss not working correctly in some cases
Added sanity check for combat loss due to damage over time
