V21.0 Beta Branch New Update Cycle!

Hey everyone,

We’re trying something new with how we handle updates, and we’re excited to share it with you! Starting now, players can actively participate in the current update cycle while it’s still in progress—rather than waiting until it’s fully finished.

Here’s how it works:

[h3]Preview Builds:[/h3]

Updates on the beta branch will be released as Preview Builds (e.g., Preview Build 1, Preview Build 2, etc.).
Players can test new content, provide feedback, and report bugs as we develop the patch.

Centralized Patch Notes:

We’ll post a patch specific news update on Steam, and every time we release a new Preview Build, we’ll edit that same post to include the latest changes by day.
This means you can track the update’s progress all in one place.

Translations:

Please note that translations will only be added once the full update is complete.

Feedback and Bug Reports:

To keep things organized, we've set up a dedicated subforum on Steam specifically for the public beta branch.
All feedback, suggestions, and bug reports should be posted in this subforum. This helps us and the community moderators keep track of everything in one place. Again, we will only intake issues, suggestions, and feedback when posted to the new subforum- so please head there to post!

How to Access the Steam Public Beta Branch for The Infected:

Open Steam
Launch your Steam client and ensure you’re logged in.
Go to Your Library
Locate The Infected in your game library.
Right-Click on the Game
Right-click on The Infected and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
Navigate to the Betas Tab
In the Properties window, click on the Betas tab on the left-hand side.
Choose the Beta Branch
Under Select the beta you would like to opt into, choose beta- Beta Branch
Wait for the Update
Steam will now download the beta version of the game. Once the download is complete, you’re all set to launch the game!

This is an experiment for us, and we’re curious to see how it works out. There may be some bumps along the way, but we think this approach will help us improve the game even faster—and we’re counting on your feedback to make it a success.

Let us know what you think, and as always, thank you for your support!

------

[h2]V21 Preview Build Notes[/h2]

[h3]Build 1 - Nov 15th:[/h3]

Bugfix: Animals acted strangely when attacking players inside bases or on foundations—they’d attack structures instead of the player. This has been fixed.
Bugfix: Mike wasn’t returning empty cans after eating fruit or veggie salads. That’s now resolved.
Added: Stone Crate Rack – You can now store up to six stone crates for better organization.
Change: Increased loot chances in the large town (apartments) from 50% to 66.6%. Enjoy better odds for finding loot!
Change: Animal attacks (bears, foxes, wolves) are now more challenging, with added blood effects and feedback.
Change: Harvesting animals, picking them up, or looting AI will automatically return any arrows or bolts to your quiver or backpack. No more lost projectiles!
Change: Adjusted sale prices for certain items sold to the Trader.
Added: You can now decide what foods get stored in the NPC Storage Chest.
Added: You can also configure which NPC Storage Chests Mike (or other NPCs) can eat from.
Added: Wall sections can now snap to the side of foundations, making building more seamless.

[h3]Build 2 - Nov 18th:[/h3]

Change: You can now move Log Stands while they are loaded with logs.
Change: Plant beds can now snap to a grid for easier placement.
Change: The chest rack in the town hall can now be used for NPC storage chests.
Bugfix: Fixed an issue where rain would appear inside bases in specific scenarios.

[h3]Build 3 - Nov 19th:[/h3]

Change: Glass texture on all building pieces has been improved—no more dirt film! The glass is now much clearer, as players requested.
Change: Updated NPC Chest texture to better match regular chests, with a slightly darker color for distinction.

[h3]Build 4 - Nov 25th:[/h3]

Change: The wood and brick window mesh. Also changed the glass to be more clear.
Change: Can now add coal and sandstone crates to the stone crate rack.
Change: Can now stack clay bowls to piles of 10.
Change: Can now interact with mushrooms by pressing the interact key (Default [E]). Previously players needed to right click and harvest them.
Added: Electric Furnace, offers 20 slots at a cost of 200 power. When there are no ores to smelt, no power will be consumed. (Locked behind a trader tech)
Added: Trader Tech for the electric furnace, 750 coins.
Bugfix: When repairing depleted armor on the repair bench, the cost was 100% of the craft cost, making the repair bench kind of useless. Now its 50% the cost.
Bugfix: Would sometimes see a small black border on the screen when right clicking on an item in your inventory.
Bugfix: Mike would get into a bad state if he tries to place logs in a log stand being moved.

[h3]Build 5 - Nov 25th:[/h3]

Added: Cooler, can store and preserve a small amount of food, perfect to store livers or other foods when away from home. Can be placed on the Truck. (Max 2 can be built per save)
Bugfix: Found another issue where plant bed plants would die indoors even with heat. Seems I forgot to include doors as a base structure.

[h3]Build 6 - Nov 26th:[/h3]

Added: Advanced Mixer, locked behind trader tech, requires 100 power to run.
Added: Advanced Mixer trader tech. 1000 coins.
Change: Can now place gates on foundations, previously could only place them on the ground.

[h3]Build 7 - Nov 27th:[/h3]

Added: Auto stack/store items button to storage containers.
Change: Stone Grinder now drop 5 sand per cycle instead of 10.
Change: Sale price of fish bait changed from 0.30 to 0.06.
Bugfix: Rooster was not needed for chickens to reproduce.

[h3]Build 8 - Dec 2nd:[/h3]

Bugfix: Mike issue when Log Stands would be more than 25k units away from his house.
Bugfix: Issue when shift clicking sand or clay to the new Adv Mixer.
Added: Wooden Corner Railing Open and Concrete Corner Railing Open.

[h3]Build 9 - Dec 4th:[/h3]

Added: Brick Half Wall Slanted was missing the Dark Brick version.
Added: Wooden Window 2 that can be opened and closed.
Bugfix: Watermelon and Pumpkin crates had no details as to how to add/take items.

[h3]Build 10 - Dec 6th:[/h3]

Added: Iron Window that can be open/closed.
Added: Glass Window Frame.
Change: Mike will now close the doors he opens.