Zelter
The Steam Awards. Nominate Zelter for "Labor of Love"
Join us for Zelter Art Month!
Even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, human creativity persists. And we don't just mean creatively putting together sticks and stones into a functioning crossbow. To celebrate especially artistic survivors, we're starting Zelter Art Month! Throughout November we'll be posting art dedicated to the cutest pixel zombie survival game there is to share with all of you.
Want your art to be featured too? Upload your work to the Artworks section of our Steam Community Hub or use the hashtag #zelter_artmonth on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to help us find your work. We'll include you in our Zelter Art Month highlights! Sketches? Storyboards? Cosplay? Flaunt your style! Everything goes and we would love to see you try it! To kick us off, here’s a few of the pieces our fans created previously!
Credit: @mintats_vo on Twitter
Credit: @zbmand on Twitter
Credit: Drathfox on the Zelter Discord (did we mention it was made in Survival mode?)
Art comes in many forms and we can’t wait to see yours!
Zelter's spooky Scream Fest discount!
Zelter's taking part in the Steam Scream Fest and we're bringing some scary good deals. Get Zelter at a 20% discount! Only from October 25th to November 1st. If you've been on the fence, then what are you doing? Hurry! Get to whichever side of the fence doesn't have zombies!
You can outrun them.
Probably.
🎃 Happy Halloween, survivors! 🧟
What's your post-apocalypse music?
Give a listen to some of the tracks that help Zelter really come together*
*⚠️Warning! Contrary to the video footage the music doesn't actually help you outrun a horde of zombies without proper training. Please exercise regularly and focus on not being seen rather than being faster than ravenous risen dead.⚠️
We've shared our tunes with you, now share yours! What's the music that gets you into a proper zombie-apocalyptic mood?
Pioneer Mode renewal plan
Hello, survivors!👋
This August marked the release of a significant update. Throughout September we received a great amount of invaluable feedback from you, our dear survivors. There is definitely enough to warrant further updates to the game, and as such the team is actively discussing a comprehensive plan to make improvements to Zelter.
There is much to add to the existing single player modes of the game, and that is currently our priority. While the plan is not yet final, we have heard great ideas and are considering additions such as vehicles, new weapons, new buildings, even brand new tech trees.
Such additions are of course going to be quite demanding and not all of them might make the final cut. But Zelter has always been a product that we put both our technical expertise and our love and passion into. We are reorganizing our internal resources and taking necessary actions to facilitate further development of the game. We don’t want to stop at the success that Pioneer Mode has experienced thus far!
As far as concrete changes and additions that we are sure you’ll be interested in, here is a list of the most likely features that we will be developing for Zelter:
NPCs
Supporting NPCs you encounter in the game is a core element of Zelter. However, that doesn’t mean that you should constantly feel restrained and burdened by them! That’s why we will be looking at introducing the following changes:
- Removing hunger and thirst: Your companions will no longer have hunger or thirst meters;
- Introducing cap for number of survivors: The number of companions and survivors will be limited to a certain value (details pending);
- NPCs will no longer come to the player’s location: Based on player feedback we are altering the behavior of NPCs awaiting rescue. Rather than come to your location they will stay hidden on the map;
- Crafting: Companions will craft items for you;
- Gathering and farming: Companions will gather and farm resources for you.
Survival mechanics
Based on player feedback we will be enhancing and adding certain elements to the way you survive in the world of Zelter. This will be done by adding and changing some of the following:
- Water: According to player feedback the current way that you find water seemingly decreases the intensity of the game. In the future water will be harder to come around at the start of the game, but will gradually get easier;
- Electricity: Similarly, to make the electricity system more engaging we will add features allowing players to generate their own electricity, which will be your go-to until you can secure a more stable supply;
- Weather: We will add weather conditions such as fog or rain to further diversify gameplay;
Map
- Greater map size: We will be increasing the size of the map, adding new walls to divide it into sections.
- Opening walls will affect difficulty: Whenever you remove a wall, the game will become more difficult. Primarily it will result in increasing the number and types of the zombies;
- Completing maps: When you have either removed all walls, rescue a certain number of NPCs or complete a global quest for the map, the game will offer you a choice. You will be able to either stay in the previous map, or move to a fresh one instead.
Quests/UI/Quality of Life
- New Quest system: Quests will be acquired on the map rather than assigned automatically;
- More Quick slots;
- Adding the ability to Remove items as well as Move All items;
- Introducing slight delay between saving games: After saving your game, there will be a slight delay before you can save again.
- New weapons, defensive structures and types of zombies
As always, we thank you for your continued support and your patience. Let’s keep going strong, survivors!
Survivors' Adventures - the winning stories!
Ananami told us a tale of desperate struggle to protect the survivors, banding together with trusted NPC allies!
Folús Ealaíne brought us a story of a lone survivor looking to put an end to their loneliness, but tragedy struck…
Finally daydreaminhigh tells an explosive story of zombies and hand grenades! Who said there’s no room for comedy in a zombie apocalypse?
All three of our winners should look forward to a private message with their promised Zelter Steam keys to share among their friends. But in the meantime we wish to thank everyone who posted a story to our comments. Your heroics are an inspiration to us and we invite everyone to read the full stories in the comments to our previous entry: https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/1193340/announcements/detail/3367025204056255977
You’re awesome, so stay you, survivors! 👍👍
Bringing Zelter to Busan Indie Connect!
Following our last update we’ve been closely in touch with our community. Attending a live event to let us show we’re alive and well makes for a good next step! So last week we checked ourselves for zombie bites, vaccinated, stowed away our cooked food in the fridge and headed out to Busan Indie Connect 2022! It’s exciting to be attending events again and getting to see some of our dear survivors face to face. Even better when we have the newly updated Zelter to show off!
Gamers traveled to Busan to hear all sorts of presentations from indie developers...
... And we eagerly awaited our dear survivors to visit our little corner of BIC (not pictured turrets and barriers to keep out zombies)
We were happy to welcome all survival game fans and answer questions live
Busan Indie Connect 2022 was an awesome opportunity for us to mingle with our fans and we’ll be looking forward to more both online and offline!
Tell your Zelter story
Living through the zombie onslaught in Zelter can make for quite a story. This time we want to know what your most epic Zelter story was like!
Where did you make your first shelter? What kind of NPC companions did you have in Pioneer Mode? Did they live to tell the tale of your exploits? And what of yourself? Were you the hero who dies at the end of the story?
Tell us about your most memorable and cinematic Zelter playthrough! In a week we’ll be looking through your comments and submissions. And out of those a select few lucky survivors will receive a free Zelter key for the effort.
We can’t wait to hear your story, survivors! 💪🧟
Thank you, survivors!
Dear survivors, we would like to take a moment to thank you. Following the release of the latest update, we saw many of you try out the new Pioneer Mode and see what else has changed in the game. We are incredibly happy to see your feedback, positive reviews and encouragement for the team!
Hearing words such as these from you is incredibly rewarding and shows that we were right in pursuing our vision for Zelter and diligently updating it. Rest assured that further improvements are on the way.
We continue to refine the Zelter experience and listen closely to your comments. So please keep sharing and pointing out what you like or dislike about the game. All constructive feedback is welcome!
Love you, survivors! 🧟❤️
Hints & Tips
Strategy and foresight are key, and aside from sharing his outstanding gameplay, we will try to provide hints & tips that should help you stay alive.
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Stay sneaky early on
You won’t immediately find reliable weapons to kill the zombies. Luckily they’ll only become aggressive if they see or hear you. Be ready to sneak around and conserve your ammo and your health.
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Eat, drink and be wary
Getting eaten by a zombie is of course the biggest danger in Zelter. But far from the only one. You may well starve to death or perish of thirst. Ensure you have the resources to prevent that. Both for yourself and for your NPC companions.
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Don’t always eat things raw
You may be tempted to wolf down a potato spud immediately, but ultimately it’s better to plant it. You might also feel the same way about apples, but roast it and it’ll be 3x times as efficient! Hunger’s a dangerous foe and you’ll want to make the most of what supplies you gather.
- Break things!
Chopping a tree or hitting a rock with a pickaxe are perfectly natural things to do (in a game), but don’t forget to dismantle furniture and vehicles if you need resources! Cars and couches can give you leather for instance.
- The right tool for the right job
You can attack any resource deposit with any weapon, but the most effective yields are obtained by using the right resource for each type. Axes for trees, pickaxes for stones, hammers for garbage & destructible items, sickle for crops. Otherwise you’re in for a loooong day of stabbing a tree with a spear. A tool’s materials are pretty important too. Stone tools will give you resources after hitting the right item four times. Iron tools will do the same in just three hits!
- DEX helps hit hard and fast
Dexterity affects your attack speed, which doesn’t only relate to hitting zombies. You’ll also strike faster with your harvesting tools, so you’ll gather resources faster!
- A dead NPC = a deadly zombie
NPCs have their own hunger and thirst. If they drop too low, they’ll go so far as to scavenge for supplies themselves. They might have good intentions, but they may well die on their own. And if (or when) they do, they become a deadly new kind of zombie. Intelligent, resilient and retaining enough memory to use tools.
- Guns are strong, but expensive
Over the years of video-games we all have the instinct to shoot the zombie. But bullets are rare and expensive. Consider using cheaper alternatives. Ammunition for the slingshot & crossbow is easier to come by and can be crafted in greater quantities. In fact if your aim is true, the slingshot is a good friend to have. You can fire and roll in quick succession and a zombie gets stunned on the second hit! Plus if you manage to sneak past the enemy - you save all your resources from a potential dangerous encounter!
- Build! Especially barricades and turrets!
When you’re being assaulted by an entire horde, it helps to have extra guns firing at them. If those guns are mounted on reinforced turrets - that’s even better! More advanced barricades actually damage the zombies who try to attack them. Pair those with turrets and you’ll whittle down the horde much faster and without loss of life. Zombies will attack your structures, so bear that in mind when placing your fortifications.
- Don’t feed the boars
Some animals in the world of Zelter are more scared of you than you are of them. Boars, however, are a lot more bold. They’ll try to eat your crops and if they’re attacked, they’ll retaliate with lethal force. Be sure to keep them away but don’t push your luck if you’re low on health. You may need to confront them eventually to get tough leather!
- Helicopter attracts a lot of attention
The helicopter is the only way out, but it’s also the single loudest thing in the world of Zelter. As a result, when it shows up it rings the dinner bell for a huge wave of zombies. This is the part where you’ll have to remember all you’ve learned about turrets, barricades and conserving resources.
*****
There are many ways to play Zelter. Did you discover any strategies or hints that we haven’t covered here? Share for the good of your fellow survivors. And as always, stay tuned for more from Zelter!