The Zone: Stalker Stories News

I didn't get as much done on Zone as I would've liked this month. However, that's not necessarily bad news... Big things are afoot which could mean immense benefits to both the game and me personally. Will post more details when I know more.

So what's new in this update? I shall tell you!

For one, we now have a proper tutorial which fully delves into the inventory system. This was a real necessity, based on all the feedback from players.

For two, we've got a couple of brand-new side quests which try out some fresh quest mechanics. Should add to the fun.

For three, there's a whole new class of consumables which will give temporary buffs and other benefits.

(For those tough battles where you need a little extra edge...)


I really like this mechanic. Still working on more unique combinations, like consumables that can grant you temporary cards, and other fun ideas.

Of course, all this is to say nothing of all the bugs that were found and fixed, of which there were many. A big thank-you to everyone who bothered to report issues -- you make my life just a little bit easier.

In closing... Please, please, please continue to report and give feedback. I need that stuff badly. Your effort helps to keep the game alive.

Until the next update, I hope to see you out there... in the Zone.


v0.7.5.9.1 Changelog:

• New step-by-step Inventory tutorial when starting new game
  
• New dialogue for Spatial Artifact quest delivery
  
• New side quests
  
• Added menu option for enabling/disabling tutorials
  
• Added support for temporary status effects lasting a limited number of combats
  
• New consumables that give temporary status effects
  
• Refactored & expanded combat status effects
  
• Major overhaul on quest log
  
• Better tooltip behaviour in research and inventory screens
  
• Various tweaks & fixes on battle tutorial
  
• Tutorial battles no longer bug out if player loses
  
• Fixed crashes during Chapter 2/3 story
  
• Fixed dialogue choices not working in Corporal's Bequest quest
  
• Fixed infinite dialogue loop in Corporal's Bequest
  
• Fixed potential crash when loading battle scene
  
• Top-left menu buttons should no longer get confused during battle
  
• Fixed missing battle background during Chapter 2/3 story
  
• Fixed market being unclickable during some story segments
  
• Fixed intro combat not triggering in some circumstances
  
• Fixed rare dialogue freeze
  
• Fixed some card sounds looping
  
• Fixed occasional control malfunction after death
  
• Tweaked difficulty on train yard roach combat
  
• Player should no longer be unable to move after loading
  

Since our last few updates have suffered delays, I decided to push one out a little early for once!

There's a few new features I'm excited about in this update, though probably the most effort has gone into testing and bugfixing. (Shout-outs to zdenbartal for reporting a bunch of issues I wasn't aware of.) As a result, you can see the changelog has a whole laundry list of things that now work properly. I also dropped the health on a couple of bosses to prevent big difficulty spikes.

You, our players, have so much power to change the game for the better -- just by leaving feedback and positive reviews. So don't hold back!


Now, a preview of the new stuff:

(Ooh, what do all the shiny new icons do?!)


The promised revamp of the research tree has officially begun. I'm still fleshing it out, but there's already been significant changes, especially the introduction of class-unique options that unlock more cards and bonuses. Whether you're a Kinetic, Telepath or Augmenter, you'll find a couple of strong upgrades waiting for you that should make a significant difference to how each class feels to play. And if you don't like your choices, there is now an easy and clearly-marked way to respec mid-game.


Next month will probably see a lot of work on controller support, and a more comprehensive tutorial for the inventory. It's been far too common for players to not know how to use consumables, or end up struggling with the interface in some other way, making it an issue that I badly need to address.

After all, an indie game that's not accessible to new players is dead on arrival.


Time will tell how far I get in one month. For now... Happy Stalking, and I'll see you all in the Zone!


v0.7.5.6 Changelog:

• Cleaned up research tree
  
• New research options
  
• Class-unique research options
  
• Card removal & respec functionality
  
• Improved quest data management
  
• Adjusted difficulty on several bosses (Train Yard, Down the Hatch)
  
• New abilities on mutant prawn boss
  
• Back-end changes and improvements to status effects
  
• Fixed Chapter 2 ending scene not triggering properly
  
• Fixed problems with certain area triggers
  
• Fixed unlockable dialogue not unlocking
  
• Fixed potential crash when entering/leaving indoor areas
  
• Fixed crashes in quest log
  
• Fixed quest hint button activating improperly
  
• Fixed intermittent problem with quests
  
• Fixed intermittent problem with loading saves
  
• Fleeing from train yard boss no longer locks you into the encounter
  
• Fixed several problems with market UI
  
• Fixed voice beeps continuing infinitely when returning to main menu
  
• Fixed freeze/crash when clicking through dialogue quickly
  
• Fixed other dialogue crashes
  
• Fixed resistances/immunities not working in some cases
  
• Fixed certain animations showing in the wrong place
  
• Several fixes to Cyn's Favour quest
  
• AoE debuffs now spawn multiple animations properly
  
• Player kick pose is now handled properly
  
• Finishing a side job no longer moves inventory items to Storage
  
• Fixed side job upgrade buttons appearing in the wrong place
  
• Overturned train in train yard no longer confuses scanner
  
• All rabbit hole shortcuts now work properly
  
• Extermination quest building in Wharf can no longer be entered prematurely
  
• Displayed cash value is now consistent for equipped items
  
• Fleeing now subtracts the correct amount of resources
  
• Slightly improved odds of fleeing combat
  
• Resisted debuffs are now shown properly
  

Just a quick fix for research, which had some broken development stuff accidentally left in.

At long last, I present our much-delayed update: version 0.7.5. A nice, round milestone number for a chunky update full of all-new content.

The primary focus on this one was Writing. The main plot is advanced by another extended scene; probably the last major development before the main plotlines diverge.


(Look! 3 NPCs on screen at the same time! Had to rip out and completely replace an embarrassing amount of janky old code to make this work...)


Speaking of plot divergence, there are two possible ways I can develop the rest of the game:

1. Try to write all three plotlines simultaneously, really slowly, and release everything in a big 1.0,
OR
2. Complete them one at a time, in order, with a 1.0 release once the third plotline is complete (what I like to term the smart way).

I'm planning to go the smart way, although if anyone has a contrary opinion, I'd be curious to hear it.


On top of the story stuff, a number of new music tracks are sprinkled around the game, more SFX and ambient sounds, and an important extension to the research tree which will make Science continue to be useful all the way into the late game.

Hopefully soon I can do a proper expansion of the research tree with lots more abilities to unlock. Which brings me to my final point:

Ideas! I want yours!

Is there an ability you'd like to have? A research topic that's conspicuously missing? An artifact you think would be cool? Perhaps even a concept for a new anomaly? I'd like to know about it!

I've made a pinned thread on the discussion boards where you can post anything your evil little minds can conjure up: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1299540/discussions/0/4692279782566059248/


Don't be shy -- we're very open to brainstorms right now.

That's all I've got for this month. Until the next update... Stay safe, and happy Stalking!


Changelog:

• Wrote and implemented a large chunk of Act 3
  
• Wrote and implemented special event after finishing Power Plant
  
• More dialogue for Louis and Dominica
  
• Completely rewrote dialogue bubble code -- system now supports any number of NPCs on screen at once
  
• Greatly expanded functionality for story character positioning & movement
  
• Completely rewrote Esper interaction handling
  
• Game will no longer get confused about which part of the story you're in
  
• Added buyable quest hints in quest log
  
• Fixed fast dialogue behaviour
  
• Sped up timing on some conversations
  
• New unique music for several boss fights & story segments
  
• New sounds for rewards/quest progress
  
• New sounds for battle UI, some cards & enemies
  
• Better normalisation on music tracks
  
• Added more ambient sounds in Wharf biome
  
• Fixed missing music when loading into story segments
  
• Fixed some audio looping issues
  
• Fixed sounds on Prawn boss
  
• Small TTS variety improvements
  
• Fixed Buzzard's sound & animation going out of sync
  
• New research topics
  
• Infinitely repeatable research topics with exponential costs
  
• Fixed certain research upgrades being erroneously reapplied on load (Rad Flush etc.)
  
• More new cards
  
• Replaced a lot of nasty temp art
  
• Fixed crash when opening quest log
  
• Fixed battle crash
  
• Fixed issue during void storm event
  
• Fixed Allison's expressions not showing
  
• All Ailments now properly show on the Passives bar
  
• Added tutorial entry for Passives bar
  
• Fixed HP bar readout during side jobs
  
• Fixed error on Fountain card text (should be Bleeding, not Poison)
  
• Fixed cards/passives box jumping around on item tooltips
  
• Player battle sprite can no longer double up
  
• Upgraded to Godot 3.6 stable release
  
• Phase 1 of localisation support
  

From v0.7.3.5.1 hotfix:

• Fixed crash in Chapter 2 ending
  
• Fixed crash in Power Plant exterior after defeating Wharf and Power Plant bosses
  
• Fixed Power Plant exterior Fog of War not covering whole area
  
• Fixed crashes on area transitions/freeing up memory
  
• Fixed Spray Can not appearing in Power Plant
  
• Fixed Irradiated debuff turning victims too bright
  
• Fixed Rufus's Lifeline quest triggering inappropriately
  
• Fixed music not playing on load in certain areas
  
• Fixed rabbit hole pop-up behaviour
  

In short, a known Steamworks bug is preventing me from uploading new builds of the game.

I've been holding off on posting about it since I figured they'd get it fixed fairly soon, but it's been a number of days already and I have no idea how much longer this situation will go on for.

As I said, Steam support know about it, apparently I'm not the only one who's having this problem, and at the moment the only guidance from them is to keep trying in the hopes that this time it magically doesn't fail. Of course, on my shitty internet, each upload attempt takes an hour. ːsteamfacepalmː

Will post a proper game update when I manage to get the new build live.