Zombie Office Politics
Final Release Date Announcement - final call for feedback
The day job has kept me busy over the last few months but I've finally managed to find time for another push towards completion.
There's a new release available to download which now includes some achievements as well as many bug-fixes and improvements. And a load more recipes to discover.
Finally, If you have any feedback on the game I'd be really grateful - just a one-liner would be great on what could be improved.
P.S.
I'll also add trading cards if there's enough interest - let me know if you want them in.
Until next time
Jeff
Controller Support and Other Major Updates Now Live
- Controller support - tested with USB XBox 360 Controller.
- Controls configurable from the start screen.
- New zombie mechanics and zombie types.
- Redesigned UI (WIP).
- Route through the first level to the boss is more direct.
- Visual cue warning for zombie spawning. (WIP).
- Many other small bug fixes and improvements.
Enjoy
Jeff
Major Update Coming this Week
just a quick note to say that the next major update including controller support will be made live at some point this week.
Please remember that this update will break previously saved games - you'll need to start a new game once the update has been applied.
Hope this doesn't mess anyone up too much.
Cheers
Jeff
Still Progressing - Controller Support is Now Done
just another quick announcement to say that the updates are going well.
Controller support is now done, adding it to the gameplay just took a few hours but adding it to the Menus meant a complete rethink of the UI. Nevertheless it's completed with just some tweaks and polish to be added.
My sights are now firmly on the next release and making the game available for purchase again - perhaps next month. With this in mind I'm now beginning the long process of playing through the game, recording bugs and tasks, fixing them and then replaying.
For the upcoming release I'm also working on adding Configurable controls plus 3 more enemy types and a more focused path through the game. I'm also fixing how zombies spawn - they will no longer spawn next to the player.
Finally, one further point - the next release will break saved games.
Until next time
Jeff
Full Steam Ahead
It'll still be a few months before any new release is ready - I'm totally re-thinking the UI to provide controller and k/m support and ripping the guts out of the game in other areas - enemy AI, character development.
There's plenty of valuable feedback and comments to work with so hopefully the new release should be much improved.
Until next time
Jeff
Still Here, new graphics
I just thought I'd post a quick update to let you know that this weekend I tentatively began to look at reworking the UI.
The challenge is to keep the good parts and to make it work for both k&m and controller. The feedback has been great - there's so much to work with.
I also received some new graphics and animations from the artist a few days ago - including an exploding zombie and other zombified creatures.
I've also noticed that some players have got quite a long way through the game which is kind of interesting as I figured it was next to impossible. When I originally designed the game I was paranoid about it being too short I see lots of complaints about games being too short and not enough content. I now realise that it's probably not an issue for this game and that it's okay for it to be a little shorter. With this in mind I'm going to condense the game and bring the story forward so that the player will get into the story and the action much sooner. The later levels should be more balanced and consistent too.
I also noticed the wishlist numbers are super-encouraging - a solid reminder of why I'm building a game and to keep things moving.
So now that I'm turning my attention back to the game I'm going to try and keep regular updates coming - until next time :)
Update 1.5 - temporary hiatus
I've temporarily disabled the purchase option for this game for the time being.
I'm working on other things for the next few months and I'm unable to continue with regular updates at the moment.
Hopefully I should be able to get back to a regular update cycle some time later this year.
In the interim some new graphics are being worked on and some fresh ideas on menus and zombie mechanics.
Thanks again for your support
Jeff
Update 1.4 Keyboard / Mouse controls changed
New keyboard controls:
- wasd - move character
- aim / face direction using mouse cursor
- fire - left mouse button
- change current ammo/item 1,2,3,4,5
- use item in corresponding slot e,r,t,y,u
- space to interact with NPCs and Shops
- toggle menu - tab or esc
Keys are configurable on launcher screen - input tab
Edit:
space is now mentioned on the in-game controls page
Also removed the save dialog - just walk into a watercooler to save now.
Cheers
Jeff
Update 1.3
Again thanks for all your feedback and support for the game. Here's the latest set of updates:
- Added some extra water-coolers (save points) to the first level. I didn't want the game to be too easy but feedback I'm getting is that it can get a little punishing - the extra save points should help but I'll continue to work on this.
- Fixed an issue with loading in saved games - all items in the Todo list and quest items were missing. This is fixed now and all saved game files should be good to use.
- Smoothed out some performance issues when opening the menu. I noticed a spike when opening the menu. Looks like this was down to Unity's text outlines and shadows. Anyway got this spike down from 29ms to 5ms. I'll continue to monitor this.
- Continuing to work on controller support although it's likely to take longer than expected. Adding controller support means also rethinking the menus and how ammo/devices are equipped. I'm not going to attempt to estimate when it'll be ready as I'm notoriously bad at that - just to say leave it with me.
Until next time
- Jeff
Update 1.2 FIXED - Saving and Loading Issues
UPDATE
Okay that issue should be all fixed now and good to go.
If anyone has any problems please do let me know.
Cheers
Jeff
As of this evening an issue has been discovered with saving and loading the game. I'm currently working to resolve the this and I'll post an announcement once the issue is resolved. My sincere apologies for the disruption and as always thanks for your patience and support.
Jeff