Zompiercer cover
Zompiercer screenshot
PC Steam
Genre: Adventure, Indie

Zompiercer

Christmas decor elements
Hey, drivers! Happy Christmas to all and good luck next year! During these Christmas days, until the end of the sale, themed decorations and decor items will be available to create a festive mood on your train.





Help with controller settings.
Hey, machinists! I'm starting work on implementing controller support in the game. I know there are players who already play the game with controllers using third-party programs. I ask you to share your controller button settings with me, as well as screenshots of the third-party interface used for typing when interacting with cabinets, as well as methods for conveniently transferring items between inventories and placing items on surfaces. In general, I welcome any useful information that will help me make the game as convenient as possible with a controller. If you play on Steam Deck, I would also appreciate your configurations, as I plan to fully support this platform.

You can leave your configurations as comments on this news item or email me directly at: zompiercer@gmail.com




Update 19.0 Alpha
Hello, engineers! As I mentioned in the previous update, I am currently actively looking for a programmer and a 3D artist to expand the team and speed up development. So in this update I decided to experiment a bit with topics I previously lacked time or courage for. These topics include optimization and randomization of zombie appearances up to the point of preparing for upgrades to newer Unity engine versions. Unfortunately not all experiments succeeded, but I will definitely return to the most important ones once I find an experienced programmer. Now let’s move on to the main improvements and changes in this update:

Since the number of unique zombies is small at the moment, large groups of identical zombies were very noticeable, especially the standard zombies. As a consequence, I’ve long planned to implement an appearance-randomization system for all zombies not wearing professional uniforms, with the exception of nurses. The mechanic is implemented by randomly choosing between 3–4 color variants of clothing for most zombies. I also implemented a mechanic that outfits a certain percentage of zombies with a specific set of hats, which also come in color variants. All of this should help break up zombie monotony a bit, especially when many zombies of the same type spawn on screen.

Regular zombies.

Nurse zombies.

Fat zombies.


The second most important topic of this update is game optimization. Thanks to neural networks, I started to study various optimization directions in depth and apply this knowledge to the game. In this update I studied batching thoroughly. As a result, in some parts of locations the frame rate increased by 10–20%. I should clarify that this work does not globally optimize the game — optimizations usually take effect in places with a high concentration of objects, for example a city with a boss, farmland, or a desert location.



For quick access to saves, a button to open the saves folder was added to the load menu. This feature will be especially useful for testers or if a player encounters a serious bug and needs to send me their save files.



The Nurse zombie attack mechanic was refined: now this zombie spits a gas projectile only if the player is in the zombie’s field of view. This should prevent attacks based solely on sound, especially in situations when a zombie used to spit through a wall.

The number of zombies at the base starting location has been significantly reduced; this should make it easier for players to adapt during the first steps in the game.

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • Implemented a system for variation of zombie appearance.
  • Completed another stage of optimization.
  • Refined the Nurse zombie attack.
  • Significantly reduced the number of zombies at the base starting location.
  • Full localization to Brazilian Portuguese.
  • Added a button in the load window that opens the path to the game’s save files directly.
  • The locomotive window now opens from both sides.
  • The iron sink can now be installed flush against a wall.
  • Increased storage capacity of car hoods, because sometimes items exceeded capacity — up to 800% of loot weight.


Changes

  • Increased the firefighter-zombie’s flamethrower damage by 50%.
  • The game logo no longer scales up in the main menu.


Fixed Bugs

  • Fixed a bug where turbine blades changed their rotation axis on sections with steep railway slopes.
  • Fixed an issue with the display of the area behind the grated window of the police station in the city.
  • Fixed a bug that allowed running while sitting.
  • Fixed an imbalance in the price of sofas for the train.


Plans for future updates

I want to gradually return to larger, more significant updates even though the team expansion is still in progress. One likely theme for the next update may be the appearance of animals and hunting them, as well as expanded farming and cooking.





Update 17.7 Alpha


Hey, train drivers! This is an important update that fixes an old critical bug causing the entire train to collapse into the locomotive, after which players were unable to enter the train. If you encountered this bug and put the game aside due to being unable to enter the locomotive, you can now load this save and continue playing.

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • A text indicator for the recently implemented gas station in the latest location has been added.


Bug Fixes

  • Fixed the bug causing the entire train to collapse into the locomotive.





Update 17.6 Alpha

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • Disabled collisions for helmets and shields of dead zombies, as players were getting stuck in these elements during critical moments of the game.


Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug where robots and zombies couldn't pass certain areas in the tunnel under the church in the new location.
  • Fixed the ability to jump in water.
  • Fixed the ability to combine sprint and jump, which resulted in a high jump.
  • Fixed the ability to double jump.
  • Fixed a bug where the limbs of some dead zombies disappeared in front of the player.





Update 17.5 Alpha
Hey, train drivers! Well, I finally decided to implement jumping in the game, but let me clarify right away, the jump is currently quite small and can be used as a tool for players to escape silly traps that occasionally occurred for some players. I assume that this feature might be used to hide from zombies in inaccessible places, but I expect there are very few such places. I also do not rule out that in the future, jumping will become a full-fledged game mechanic.



Since players have had the ability to build cars and place light sources, there has been a problem with severe frame drops if many light sources are on in the train and the player is in or near the train. Therefore, it was decided to develop a light source optimization system for the train. Optimization works by disabling shadows at a close enough distance from the player, which is practically unnoticeable due to a smooth effect. Depending on the number of light sources in the train, the efficiency of optimization in my tests ranged from 20 to 70%.



While watching players’ playthroughs of the new location on streams and from messages from some players, a problem with fuel depletion for the flamethrower was identified. This was due to the fact that refueling stations disappeared after the location with the train station. Therefore, it was decided to place a refueling station in the new location, on the road between the residential area and the supermarket.



The game has a special save "Location Start", created so that the game saves when entering a new location, allowing players to revert to this save in case of encountering a critical bug instead of starting the game from the beginning. It was found that this save could be overwritten not only when entering a new location, and this has been fixed.

This is likely the last update for version 17 of the game, after which I will begin actively working on update 18, dedicated to redesigning the locomotive and improving it by increasing armor.

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • Added a small jump.
  • Implemented light source optimization for the train.
  • Saves are now sorted by date, making it easier to find the latest save.
  • A refueling station has been added to the new location on the road between the city and the shopping center.
  • The robot turret no longer fires prematurely when turning towards a zombie, which often resulted in misses.
  • Localization updated for the warning about having a modifier in an item if we want to use it in construction.
  • Added 1 new melody for the train theme.
  • Sleepiness onset slowed by 15%.


Bug Fixes

  • Fixed the ability to enter the cabinet texture for the Caboose.
  • Fixed a common bug where the environment was incorrectly displayed in boarded-up windows.
  • Fixed a bug where the special save "Location Start" was overwritten not only when the player first entered a new location.






Update 17.4 Alpha
Hey, train drivers! Overall, this is a regular small update with bug fixes and improvements. Notably, a bug was fixed where there was no difference in lighting between a scrap flashlight and a regular flashlight. Now, each subsequent flashlight found will be brighter and have a wider beam angle than the previous one, whether the flashlight is mounted on a helmet or held in the player's hand.



CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • Korean and Ukrainian localization is 100% complete.
  • Added several missing lines for Simplified Chinese localization.
  • Increased the number of zombies that can be skipped to complete zombie-killing quests. For Mark from 5 to 10. For Stanislav from 3 to 6.
  • Increased the chance to find brass scrap by 60%.
  • A sawmill has been placed in the swamp workshop.
  • The condition for dealing increased damage in stealth mode with a dagger is now that the zombie must not see or hear you at the moment of the strike. Being in a crouched position at the moment of the strike is no longer necessary.
  • Reduced the volume of the following effects: bullet impact sounds for all surfaces, regular shotgun firing sounds, robot walking sounds, robot crossbow reloading sounds.
  • Improved the description of the turret combined with a lamp and medical block.



Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug where there was no difference between a scrap flashlight and a regular flashlight.
  • Fixed a bug where the flashlight continued to shine if the player removed it from the helmet slot.
  • Minimized the chance of a bug where, after killing with a melee weapon, the zombie would fly high or jerk violently.
  • Fixed a bug where the depletion of ammunition placed in the quick slot would cause the icon to freeze at zero without the ability to delete it.
  • The kitchen refrigerator handle no longer stays in place when the door is opened.
  • Fixed the unexpected appearance of a dead firefighter zombie in front of the player in one of the houses in the new location.






Update 17.3 Alpha
Hey, train conductors! Unfortunately, some players are still encountering a bug that breaks autosaves, and I have yet to figure out the cause. The bug also had an unpleasant consequence: after the autosave broke, all subsequent saves stopped appearing. Since autosaves are usually at the top of the list, all saves visually disappeared, making players think they were erased. This has been fixed; now saves will display even when an autosave is broken. You can identify such a save by the missing date and version. I also ask you to send me screenshots of the autosave failure if you encounter this, as it will speed up the resolution of this issue.

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • Increased sniper bullet damage by 33%, from 60 to 90. When hitting the head, the damage will be 180.


Fixed Errors

  • Fixed the blocking of save display if one save in the folder is recorded with an error.
  • Fixed incorrect descriptions for all languages for train car wall spikes without a doorway.




Update 17.2 Alpha

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • Boxes have been placed under the breakable staircase in the swamp location to minimize player damage from falling.
  • Improved the positioning of shotguns and the Winchester in the character's hands while running.


Fixed Errors

  • Fixed a bug where only a few zombies needed to be killed in quests involving zombie killing.
  • Fixed a bug where the geometry of objects was not correctly hidden in the windows of some houses (known cases).
  • Fixed an error in the key settings for the English localization where it was "Level Up" instead of "Lever Up."




Update 17.1 Alpha
Hey, train conductors! Over the past few days, there have been several reports of a serious bug breaking saves, including autosaves. Since this is a critical issue, I've decided to release an urgent update. The problem was that at a certain point, the game would start saving with an error, and if the player didn't stop the game, all autosaves would be overwritten and possibly corrupt the rest. This has been fixed; now, when the system detects a save error, the game stops overwriting autosaves and displays a large notification window about the issue:

Example of notification window.



If a player receives such a notification, they should stop, take a screenshot of the notification, and send it to me (the developer) by any available means. After that, they should go to the menu without saving the game (as saves are likely no longer being created). Check the last working autosave and also send this autosave to me (the developer). Given that autosaves are created at short intervals, this will help me identify the cause of the failure, and the player will hardly lose any game progress. Also, if you have any guesses about what might have happened during this short period and what could have led to the failure, describe your assumption to me along with the attached files.

CHANGELOG



Improvements

  • 100% Slovak localization.
  • Implemented restrictions for missions involving killing zombies in a specific area. For Mark's mission, killing 120 out of 125 zombies is enough to complete the mission. For Stanislav's mission, 55 out of 58.
  • Fixed the descent from fallen shelves in the far part of the Supermarket in the new location.
  • Removed grass from the floor of the last house with armor in the swamp location.
  • Removed grass from the first container to the right of the barrack in the starting location.
  • Fixed several levitating zombie corpses.


Fixed Errors

  • Fixed an error where, if a crash occurred, the game would start saving with an error, replacing all autosaves with broken files. Now autosaves will not be replaced, and a message about the save game error will appear. In this case, the player should stop, take a screenshot of the message, and send it to the developer by any means. Then check the operation of the last autosave and send this save to the developer to identify the causes of the save game error.






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