Survivalist: Invisible Strain News

Hello, it's patch time :) This one's a bit technical. I've upgraded to a more recent version of Unity in the hopes of fixing an intermittent bug where gamepad controllers stopped working after a while. There's fixes for some recently discovered crashes, a few small optimizations, and fixes for mods such as SIS Locked Buildings (which I broke in a previous patch).

In terms of new features there are two main ones, which are both things I should probably have done a long time ago. The game will now autosave every 10 minutes or so. This is an often-requested feature but I've always held off on it because saving always means a small hitch in framerate and I didn't want that to interrupt combat or just the flow of the game. To get round this I've made it so it will try to wait until you're not in combat or in dialog, and you haven't pressed a button (or moved a joystick or mouse) for 1 second. Hopefully that way it'll be less obtrusive. If it still hasn't autosaved after 20 minutes it'll just save regardless though.

The other new feature is a Respawn button for online co-op players who die. I avoided doing that for such a long time because I always wanted there to be a cost for dying, so that you feel invested in your character and there's a sense of tension and weight to your decisions. Since you can always recruit new NPCs - or reload a savegame - it doesn't stop the co-op player from playing.

The problem with that is, as I've now made it possible for co-op players to start relationships and friendships with other community members, if their character dies they lose all ability to do that. That isn't the case for the "main" player, because you can get the community to elect a new leader who then becomes the main player's "avatar" and can do all the stuff they could. There's no equivalent for co-op players.

That sucked because although I want there to be a cost for dying, I don't want to close off any options permanently. Secondly, saying "well you can reload a savegame" goes against the philosophy of living with the consequences of your decisions and embracing the darkness (TM). So I think it's better to allow them to spawn a new character. There still is a cost to dying anyway - you lose your dead character's progression in skills and relationships.

So I added a Respawn button to the pause menu, if you are a co-op player whose original avatar is dead. (I called it Respawn because that's an easily recognizable word to gamers - it's not really respawning though as it creates a new character with starting skill levels).



Here's the full changelist:

• Autosave automatically every 10 minutes or so, if the player is not in combat and doesn't touch the controls for 1 second
  
• Added a Respawn button the Pause menu for online co-op players whose avatar dies
  
• Reinstate the ability to bandage unconscious zombies to raise your medical skill
  
• Made NPCs with high hand to hand skill change their blocking stance more often
  
• Updated French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Lithuanian, Simplified Chinese and Turkish translations, made game recognise Czech.tsv files
  
• Upgraded to Unity 6000.0.35f1 in attempt to fix bug where gamepad would stop working after a while
  
• Fix for some situations where you couldn't move the cursor with the gamepad in the menus because it continually returned to the button the mouse was hovering over even though you weren't using the mouse
  
• Fix for sometimes getting an error message when you try to save save if you join a multiplayer game in Story mode and then the host leaves
  
• Fix for former members of Survivalists or FEMA being able to have the Loyalty quest, which would break canon
  
• Fix for allied followers not filling water bottles or sitting round fires when you do
  
• Fix for crafters sometimes not dumping their heaviest containers when they are full of the thing they are crafting
  
• Fix for out of sync error when getting jumped by zombies
  
• Fix for crash in mod with prop that wasn't set up to have a model
  
• Fixes for the SIS Locked Buildings mod which I broke in a previous patch
  
• Possible fix for error message taking you back to the menu when starting a game with mods that have the same asset bundle
  
• Crash fixes
  
• Optimizations
  

EDIT - I've released a hotfix, v230, to fix a crash in the SIS Fishing mod that I introduced. A few other fixes also got rolled into it:

• Dialog option to tell traders to move along can also be used with other travelers
  
• Fix for crash when SIS Fishing mod is active
  
• Fix for red damage indicator on edge of screen sometimes staying on after switching to a different character
  
• Possible out of sync fix
  

I've also promoted v228 to the main branch. There are some problems in v228 which are fixed by the "crash fixes" etc above, but they weren't introduced by v228 and it seems otherwise solid.

[h3]What's this publicbeta thing?[/h3]
v229 will be in the "publicbeta" branch for a while, before pushing it to the main game. If you want to try the latest features as they come out (and help test them!) it's a good idea to start using this branch. But keep in mind:

• Because it's the bleeding edge it could be less stable
  
• If you want to be able to play online co-op with someone you'll need to be on the same version as them
  
• If you go back from the "publicbeta" branch to the main branch you may not be able to load savegames created on "publicbeta".

To use publicbeta, just right-click on Survivalist: Invisible Strain in your Steam library and go to Properties, then Betas and in the drop-down select "publicbeta".

Hello, it's patch day again! Just another bunch of bug fixes and tweaks :) I feel I'm getting pretty close to being able to release the game out of early access now so a lot of the patches are going to be stuff like this. I'm trying to focus on fixing things and avoid adding new features that then introduce new bugs and also need translation work. Speaking of which, it looks like the Latin American Spanish translation is really close to being finished, thanks Facundo!

I've had some reports of large communities getting into feuds that trigger more feuds until it becomes impossible for anyone to do any work, this patch makes some small changes to try and address that. I've tried to make the AI for fighting from watchtowers better at getting ammo when they run out. And I've made the dump truck knock things over more easily without having its momentum stopped by them, so it feels more like the juggernaut it's supposed to be.



I've also added an Active Mods tab to the Sort Order drop-down when selecting mods, so you can see the ones you have already selected without having to scroll around a lot.



Here's the full list:

• Some improvements to guard AI to make them leave watchtowers and restock ammo when they run out
  
• Some tweaks to memories about feuding to try and make it less likely that a large community will get stuck in a chain of fights with each other
  
• Made dump truck knock things over more easily
  
• Characters doing a task set to urgent won't stop to watch snowball fights
  
• Remove unreciprocated 'In Love With' relationships from a character if they are getting to have too many of them
  
• Updated Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Lithuanian, Simplified Chinese, Turkish and Ukrainian translations
  
• Fix for player being able to manually pour lumpy liquids like stew or curry into bottles
  
• Fix a situation where characters could get stuck in restraining animation loop
  
• Fix for infected stew not infecting people if they empty the container in one bite
  
• Possible crash fix
  
• Added Active Mods option to sort order drop-down when selecting mods
  
• Fix for recipient of hugging animation instantly snapping to idle pose instead of transitioning out properly
  

The previous patch seems to have been okay so it has been moved to the main branch. This enables online co-op players to start relationships and friendships with your community members, like the main player can do.

[h3]What's this publicbeta thing?[/h3]
v228 will be in the "publicbeta" branch for a while, before pushing it to the main game. If you want to try the latest features as they come out (and help test them!) it's a good idea to start using this branch. But keep in mind:

• Because it's the bleeding edge it could be less stable
  
• If you want to be able to play online co-op with someone you'll need to be on the same version as them
  
• If you go back from the "publicbeta" branch to the main branch you may not be able to load savegames created on "publicbeta".

To use publicbeta, just right-click on Survivalist: Invisible Strain in your Steam library and go to Properties, then Betas and in the drop-down select "publicbeta".

Hello, there's a new patch in town! By which I mean publicbeta. It's another mostly bug fixing patch, nothing earth shattering. The biggest change is I enabled online co-op players to have relationships and friendships with community members, and generally have the same dialog options the main player has. Something I always meant to do but never got round to.


There have also been some improvements to the Storage Policy dialog, you can see what buildings something will be stored in by hovering over it, and items you have discovered but have 0 of will still be shown (this applies to the Community screen as well). For convenience you can also cycle through all the buildings (that can have a storage policy) with the Q/E buttons, while in the dialog.


Finally, the Korean and Lithuanian translations are now complete including Story Mode! Thanks so much to Hyun-il Lee, aka 해무아빠 and Audrius Vaidalauskis! (Hyun-il mentioned there might be some more corrections coming on the Korean but all the lines have a translation now)

Here's the full change list:

• Give other online co-op players the same dialog options as the leader when talking to community members
  
• Show time next to date on community screen
  
• Include all discovered equipment and liquids on Community menu and Storage Policy dialog, even if you have have 0 of them
  
• Show what other buildings are set to store something when hovering it on the Storage Policy dialog, and allow you to switch buildings on that dialog
  
• Automatically chop trunk for 1 wood unit after chopping down a tree manually
  
• Trigger Supreme Commander achievement if you wipe out the map without recruiting anyone (and Survivor Camp Density is greater than 100%), this also gets Sole Survivor if you're in Hard mode
  
• Allow you to set Roles once you have any buildings (or community members, or chickens), so it's easier for players on a Sole Survivor run to automate things
  
• Some tweaks to make rabbits less flighty when you throw carrots
  
• Ensure first names are unique in world when spawning new NPCs
  
• Updated Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian translations
  
• Fix for people not being damaged when burning
  
• Fix for crafting progress indicator sometimes showing the wrong ingredients, where items in the ingredients are interchangeable (such as different kind of meat in meaty stew)
  
• Fix for a situation where a crafter failed to dump a container of recipe ingredients to free up space, which they had multiple containers with enough of the ingredients
  
• Fix for characters commenting on every corpse they see in a large pile of corpses
  
• Fix for characters feuding excessively with people who reject someone they like, also fix for people feuding with someone they have recent bad memories of but like overall
  
• Fix for not being able to get into your vehicle if it contains a chicken from another community
  
• Fix for 'Park' algorithm to make it not give up so easily on trying to find a valid place to teleport the vehicle to
  
• Fix for player community members getting memories that you poached people from your own community, after you recruit a complex chain of related characters
  
• Fix for people's clothes occasionally disappearing when you recruit them
  
• Fix for characters occasionally being able to teleport through walls after vaulting over something and finding themselves on a tile occupied by another character
  
• Fix for not being able to complete This Here Ain't Venison if you had recruited or killed all the Survivalists
  
• Fix for Charlie attacking you if you steal something from the Survivalists
  
• Fix for character getting into an infinite loop when the rock on the next tile was placed on a slope
  
• Fix for hang if you press Escape while transitioning to the next screen after the loading screen from the Story Select menu
  
• Fix for SetPlayDead event not working if setting it to true (for modders)
  

EDIT - had to do a quick hotfix, so it's v226 now:

• Possible fix for vehicles sometimes sinking through the floor
  
• Fix for crash when highlighting an in-progress building
  

The previous patch (v224) doesn't seem to have had any major issues so it's being promoted to the main branch. Hooray!

[h3]What's this publicbeta thing?[/h3]
v226 will be in the "publicbeta" branch for a while, before pushing it to the main game. If you want to try the latest features as they come out (and help test them!) it's a good idea to start using this branch. But keep in mind:

• Because it's the bleeding edge it could be less stable
  
• If you want to be able to play online co-op with someone you'll need to be on the same version as them
  
• If you go back from the "publicbeta" branch to the main branch you may not be able to load savegames created on "publicbeta".

To use publicbeta, just right-click on Survivalist: Invisible Strain in your Steam library and go to Properties, then Betas and in the drop-down select "publicbeta".

Hey everyone, happy new year! It's time for a small patch, v224 in publicbeta. I've added a loading screen when you start a new game and select a Story, so the game doesn't just stall for ages when you click Zedmulate anymore. I've changed the Cyrillic font again - so now all Cyrillic text uses the same Komika style as the Roman languages do - thanks to Pavel Borisov for adding those characters!



The rest is just bug fixes but one of them was pretty shocking. It turns out the game was getting updated at a slower tick than it should have, so you would often see longer animations getting out of sync with the sounds or game events they triggered. I think it happened when I upgraded Unity a while back. It didn't affect the framerate per se but you might feel that you move a bit faster now when walking or running. I really should have noticed that one sooner. Here's the full list:

• Loading screen when you load a story (as opposed to stalling for ages, especially for big workshop mods)
  
• Show error messages when a savegame fails (e.g. due to lack of disk space) and return token if one was used. Also show free disk space on SaveGame menu.
  
• Cyrillic characters for Komika text font
  
• Updated Indonesian, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Polish, Russian and Simplified Chinese translations
  
• NPCs get a memory that you Helped them if you give them free stuff via one-sided trading
  
• Possible fix for being able to knock someone out just after fisticuffs, which then leads to them declaring war on you
  
• Fix for memories of who beat up who being the wrong way round after a feud is finished
  
• Fix for being able to damage NPCs with melee weapons in fisticuffs
  
• Fix for animations getting out of sync with game
  
• Fix for gangs that spawn in Ritzville not being able to get out by attacking the gates
  
• Fix for Intimidation quest not continuing after saying 'I'd watch my back if I were you'
  
• Fix for chef not being able to cook anything when a vehicle was close to their campfire
  
• Fix for a situation where someone with a crafting role gave up because they didn't dump containers in their inventory to make space
  
• Fix for hang when you pick up the green passes after having recruited certain characters
  

I've also moved the previous patch, v223, to the main branch as it doesn't seem to have have had any major problems. That adds the Medic Role and one-sided trading.



[h3]What's this publicbeta thing?[/h3]
v224 will be in the "publicbeta" branch for a while, before pushing it to the main game. If you want to try the latest features as they come out (and help test them!) it's a good idea to start using this branch. But keep in mind:

• Because it's the bleeding edge it could be less stable
  
• If you want to be able to play online co-op with someone you'll need to be on the same version as them
  
• If you go back from the "publicbeta" branch to the main branch you may not be able to load savegames created on "publicbeta".

To use publicbeta, just right-click on Survivalist: Invisible Strain in your Steam library and go to Properties, then Betas and in the drop-down select "publicbeta".

Hey everyone, Merry Christmas! I've got a new patch out in publicbeta, and the previous publicbeta patch is going to the main branch. The main new feature in this patch is I've added the Medic role, as it got a lot of upvotes in the discord and wasn't too much of a stretch to implement. You can assign it to your community members with high medical skill so they'll upgrade people's bandages without you needing to do it manually. Also, onesided trading - if you want to help an NPC out by giving them more goods than they have gold to purchase with, you can now do that. It's Christmas!



Another big change is I've changed the Cyrillic fonts to be more in keeping with the comic book style of the default fonts. Someone found a version of the Komika title font that supports Cyrillic characters, and for non-title text I'm using Comic Relief bold which isn't perfect but looks much more similar to Komika than Open Sans (which I was using before) does. Separately, Turkish will now use the same fonts as Lithuanian (called Luckiest Guy and Poetsen One), as they seem to support it better than Komika did. Let me know if you see any font problems, especially in those languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and Lithuanian).



The rest of the patch is mostly bug fixes. Some of them are quite subtle but important, like Invisible Strain hasn't been spreading nearly as much as it should have been, for a pretty long time I think. Here's the full list:

• Medic Role
  
• Allow onesided trading
  
• Map icons for extortion squads and Trustworthy Tim's Trading Party
  
• Stop armor striped temporarily for fisticuffs from adding to your inventory weight and potentially making you encumbered at an awkward time
  
• NPCs in settlements don't consume bandages when healing the player (previously they didn't consume them when healing themselves and each other, but did when healing the player)
  
• NPCs are more likely to restock bandages when you buy them
  
• Changed Cyrillic (Russian and Ukrainian) fonts to ones that are more similar to the Komika style that English and other Latin languages use, also set Turkish to use the Luckiest Guy/PoetsenOne fonts as they support it better
  
• Updated Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Lithuanian and Simplified Chinese translations
  
• If the player has taken over crop patches in a dead settlement, and NPCs then occupy the settlement, the NPCs will also take over the crop patches
  
• Don't show hints about not being able to kill people with leg shots, and attacks not doing much damage if you're exhausted, if hints are disabled
  
• Fix for Carter Moreno and other long patrol members being able to join you
  
• Fix for Liam and squad getting stuck if the FEMA director is dead by the time they appear
  
• Fix for NPC settlements getting stuck unable to rebuild destroyed buildings if the original builder dies and the replacement doesn't have high enough skill
  
• Fix for yellow status notification showing character has broken up with their ex when you start a Dark Past quest with them
  
• Fix for being able to knock someone out in fisticuffs
  
• Fix for White Hills Gang not giving you keys if you bribe them
  
• Fix for stuff like Advanced DIY book being lowercase in quest descriptions
  
• Fix for a situation where crafters with multiple crafting tasks that depended on each other got stuck in a loop
  
• Fix for Ritz Creek Gang halting their invasion of Weathermen if they see Christina's unconscious body
  
• Fix for Charlie being too depressed to follow you as soon as you get him out of prison
  
• Fix for characters continuing to follow each other after cooking a treat was cancelled
  
• Fix for destroyed fence physics glitches intersecting with ground when driving vehicle into it
  
• Fix for miners sometimes saying 'We've got nowhere to dump this flint, etc' when there's plenty of space to dump it
  
• Fix for invisible strain not spreading properly and occasionally crashing
  
• Fix for option being shown to pour fuel onto trees, even though you can't set them on fire
  
• Fix for out of sync error in snowball fights
  
• Possible fix for crash when saving
  

As mentioned above, v222 is now in the main branch. This means the following features are coming to the main branch:

• Ability to target head/legs in fisticuffs
• Indonesian added to the supported languages (not complete but progressing well)
  
• Under Construction visuals
  
• New features for selection and followers in the Map screen and Command Mode
  

Finally, I'm updating the store page with a new trailer, screenshots and description text that covers all the stuff that's been added over the last 4 years. New year's resolution: I will release this game out of early access in 2025! Merry Christmas again and happy new year!

[h3]What's this publicbeta thing?[/h3]
v223 will be in the "publicbeta" branch for a while, before pushing it to the main game. If you want to try the latest features as they come out (and help test them!) it's a good idea to start using this branch. But keep in mind:

• Because it's the bleeding edge it could be less stable
  
• If you want to be able to play online co-op with someone you'll need to be on the same version as them
  
• If you go back from the "publicbeta" branch to the main branch you may not be able to load savegames created on "publicbeta".

To use publicbeta, just right-click on Survivalist: Invisible Strain in your Steam library and go to Properties, then Betas and in the drop-down select "publicbeta".