Z. Year One cover
Z. Year One screenshot
Genre: Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Indie

Z. Year One

Early Access Launch Update Notes

Hello Kickstarter backers and Early Access players!

Below you can find and discuss the latest changes to the game. Z. Year One is currently under heavy development and will continue to be tweaked and improved throughout the Early Access period.

Please make sure to read the Early Access launch FAQ!

Version 0.12.2 is our biggest update yet, with a lot of substantial content and changes added just in time for the Early Access launch.

Survival Mode


  • New Challenges added for both factions
  • Survival Mode added to Main Menu options
  • Survivor Challenges require a Survivor deck to start, and likewise for the Fallen


Survival Mode tasks the player with surviving as long as they can against a severely OP enemy AI. Winning is (or at least, should be) impossible since the enemy base has 999 SV.

Each challenge has unique effects which usually revolve around a certain type of enemy unit coming into play each turn. Combined with specific bases, all enemy units having Rush, and Survivor AI having auto-Supplies (which works similar to Fallen Aggro), going in unprepared means your defeat will be swift.

That said, the Challenges should strike a good balance between being weird and unique, and extremely challenging, and so some of them are still feeling a little too easy. Any feedback you have on this mode or ideas for potential Challenges is welcomed.

In the final game, each Challenge will provide rewards depending on how long you can survive for.

Bases


  • Added a large number of unique Bases to the game
  • Bases can be selected during Deckbuilding by clicking the Base button
  • In Versus matches, the AI will have a random Base


Bases give your deck a thematic foundation to build around. This is the first pass and so you can expect some changes to be made to the system overall (including how it all appears in the Deckbuilder). As a reminder, not all content currently available in the game will be immediately accessible in the final game.

Locations


  • Added Visitor’s Center and Camp Site backgrounds to map rotation/options
  • Added new Location cards to new Locations
  • Added moonlight variant to the Lumber Yard Location
  • Triggering Car Bomb will now change the lighting of the Lumber Yard background
  • Backgrounds are randomly flipped each match so you’re not always playing from the same side, visually


There will be six Locations in the final game, each with their own unique cards and 3D backgrounds. Right now we have one complete Location deck (Lumber Yard), and three 3D backgrounds. The other locations mainly use the Lumber Yard deck with a few exceptions, but getting the complete Location Decks and all of the final 3D backgrounds into the game is a top priority as Locations are one of the most unique aspects to Z.

The Visitor Center background will likely get an overhaul since it’s a little... *tricky* on the eyes.

Card Changes


  • Backpack cost increased to 2
  • Ladee’s SV decreased
  • LT / Reggie SV increased
  • Dodge & Counter cost increased to 2
  • We’ve started to transition placeholder imagery out and final images in, especially for Equipment and Location cards, but it’s still a WIP


General


  • Instants can only be played during your Action phase now
  • Configuration Menu added (press TAB)
  • Enhanced the Main Menu (MM)
  • General improvements to AI (still very much a WIP)
  • General improvements to text when playing certain cards
  • Adjusted DB layout so assets are better spaced out
  • There are now separate “Submit Feedback” and “Report an Issue” buttons on the MM
  • Added “New Deck” options to any empty custom deck slots on the MM
  • Disabled turn timer in all SP modes
  • New Traits added to the Fallen Trait pool (such as Treacherous and Heavily Armored)
  • Wooden Baseball Bats no longer provide Supplies when Salvaged
  • Melee Weapons are less dependable now


Bug Fixes


  • Dead End will now properly prevent Survivors from searching on the same turn
  • Barricades can not be used to play Tactics
  • Glass Bottle and Brick will now properly use a unit’s turn
  • Safeguard Hideout will not give Barricades armor
  • Fallen player will see proper Area cover images
  • Bases can now be selected before decklist is full
  • Marksman will now be properly applied to SMGs and ARs
  • Loot dropped on the Fallen’s turn will automatically be added to the Survivor’s Inventory
  • Multiple loot drops will now queue properly
  • Multiple Walkie Talkies will now queue properly
  • Fixed a bug where Danger Ahead could soft lock the game if there weren’t three cards left
  • Instants should only highlight as playable on the Action Phase
  • Triggering Backfire during a counterattack will properly remove the weapon now
  • Fallen can now reveal the Climax card by roaming the final Location card


Major Known Issues


  • Game cannot be played while Steam is offline (even if you are online)
  • Resolving non-combat Events like Generator are causing the Survivor to attack.
  • Missing audio during certain UI and in-match actions (this is a top priority!)


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Early Access Release Update!

Z. Year One will now be released on Steam Early Access on Monday, August 22nd (instead of the previously announced 15th).

Apologies for the delay, but it's actually for a positive reason. Shortly after making the announcement for the 15th we realized we were making better progress than expected on some pretty cool stuff, and with first impressions being what they are, we really want to launch with the best possible version.

Needless to say, the upcoming game update will be the biggest yet, by far!

You can read the rest of the Early Access details and join the discussion here!

Steam Early Access Details!

Z. Year One will be released on Steam Early Access on Monday, August 15th!

You should be done with No Man’s Sky by then, right? ;)

Some information on what to expect:

Price


The Z. Year One Early Access Bundle will cost $19.99.

F2P


Once Z. leaves Early Access it is expected to be available as free-to-play to everyone, though there will not be any perks or booster packs included in the F2P option.

Early Access Bundle Contents


  • All three Survivor Starter Decks
  • All three Fallen Starter Decks
  • 20 booster packs


Note that Booster Packs will not be included in the game right away, so you’ll receive your packs when that feature is added later on.

Special Early Access Perks


As part of our Early Access process, you’ll be able to play with tons of cards that would normally be extremely rare or difficult to unlock. By granting all Early Access players access to these cards it will help us balance them ahead of the final release.

However, when the game is complete, you will no longer have access to the special cards and will need to unlock them normally.

Game Content


During Early Access the game will still be in heavy development, so only buy it if you’re okay with the following:
  • Bugs and balance issues
  • Placeholder audio/visuals
  • Features/cards being added, changed, or removed for various reasons


Update Schedule


The plan is to provide one major game update each week, and smaller, faster updates to address any game-breaking issues as they arise.

There will also be a weekly dev stream on Twitch to show off and discuss the new and upcoming changes/features.

Early Access Duration


We’re aggressively working towards completing the game by October, including the iOS/Android tablet versions, as well as the Mac and Linux versions for Steam.

IMPORTANT!


Note that Z. is NOT a living platform like Hearthstone. Once the game reaches v1.0 and leaves Early Access it will be considered content complete, similar to the Duels of the Planeswalkers titles.

If you’d like to see the next chapter in the Z. story, the best thing you can do is spread the word to people who might like this sort of thing (assuming you end up liking it yourself, of course). The more people wanting a Z. Year Two, the more likely we’ll get to make it!

If you have any other questions feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for your interest in Z.!

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New update and special dev livestream tomorrow @ 1pm PST!

Tune in at https://www.twitch.tv/downwardviral for a special dev livestream around 1pm PST (Sunday, July 17th).

I've got some announcements to make and new content to show off, so I hope to see you there!

--Sebastian

Update Notes - v0.11.2 (6/20/16)

Hello all closed alpha players! This week's update is a pretty big milestone for the game as it introduces the new card frames. We hope you like them!

See the notes here!

And if you can make it, check out today's dev stream at 12pm PST:

https://www.twitch.tv/downwardviral

See you then!

Update Notes - v0.10.2 (6/13/16)

Hello everyone! Update notes are live for v0.10.2.

This update focuses on revising all six Starter Decks and adds in several new cards, including a new Survivor Hero, LT, and a new Fallen Horror, The Darkness!

Check them out here!