The Infected News

Hey folks,

Below is a breakdown of the new features, fixes, and changes live in V22. This build is heavily focused on build parts and some end-game advanced placeables.

Thanks for all the community feedback and suggestions during this beta cycle! Your input has been invaluable in shaping the game, and we appreciate your support. If you've been enjoying the updates, we’d love to see your reviews—it really helps!

A quick note: The Beta Hub will close soon as this cycle wraps up, but don’t worry—it’ll return for the following public beta phase.

Reminder: If you have suggestions, feedback, or bug reports, please post them in the Steam Forums. That’s where both the community and the developer check regularly. Head over to the forums here to share your thoughts - or visit us in Discord!


We hope you enjoy the new additions and improvements!

[h3]Build Part Additions:[/h3]

New set of Wooden foundations and ceilings:

• Wooden Foundation 2
  
• Wooden Corner Foundation 2
  
• Wooden Triangle Foundation 2
  
• Wooden Ceiling 2
  
• Wooden Corner Ceiling 2
  
• Wooden Triangle Ceiling 2
  
• Wooden Ceiling 2 (Ladder Access)
  
• Wooden Corner Ceiling R 2 (Ladder Access)
  
• Wooden Corner Ceiling L 2 (Ladder Access)
  
• Wooden Triangle Ceiling 2 (Ladder Access)
  

New set of quarter foundations and ceilings:

• Wooden Foundation Quarter
  
• Wooden Foundation Quarter 2
  
• Concrete Foundation Quarter
  
• Sandstone Foundation Quarter
  
• Wooden Ceiling Quarter
  
• Wooden Ceiling Quarter 2
  
• Concrete Ceiling Quarter
  
• Glass Ceiling Quarter
  
• Sandstone Ceiling Quarter
  

New sets of vertical half walls:

• Wooden Vertical Half Wall
  
• Interior Wooden Vertical Half Wall
  
• Glass Vertical Half Wall
  
• Sandstone Vertical Half Wall
  
• All the upgrade variations of walls (Brick, wood, concrete)
  

Other build part additions and changes:

• Wooden Slanted Roof Quarter
  
• Wooden Door 2
  
• Wooden Door 3
  
• Wooden Ramp (Ceiling) – Snaps only to ceilings and has no legs.
  
• 3 new sets of metal railings.
  
• Mirror versions of the corner foundations and ceilings so textures align correctly.
  
• Wood and Concrete half pillar.
  
• Change: Pillar snap points adjusted slightly to accommodate quarter foundations and ceilings. Previously placed pillars will maintain their original position.
  

[h3]Other Additions:[/h3]

• New POI – Added a new POI and roadway near the center of the map.
  
• New POI – A more city-like POI that contains an enormous amount of loot. This POI will not include any technologies but will offer some other cool items that can be found with a fresh/new game save.
• Advanced Sawbench – Electric Circular Sawbench: requires 200 power and trader tech—yields five planks per log.
  
• Trader Tech – New Electric Sawbench tech available from the trader for 1000 coins.
  
• Elevators – Added both Elevator Frame and Elevator Cabin- tech required from the trader.
  
• Trader Tech – New Trader technology for unlocking elevator components.
  
• Settings – Added menu settings to adjust the number of AI spawns in POIs (default is 3).
  
• Lighting – Players can now change the color of powered lights. Additionally, lights can now have adjustable intensity and a flashing effect.
  
• Lighting – New linear light added.
  
• Lighting – New wall light added.
  
• Watermill – Provides 350 power and must be placed on rapids. Trader tech required.
  
• Trader Tech – New Watermill trader tech available for 1500 coins.
  
• Water Bottle – Can't be crafted but can be found in loot.
  

[h3]Changes:[/h3]

• Build UI – Adjusted to accommodate all the new build parts.
  
• Spike Traps – Now have a 10-20% chance of breaking when hit by AI Vambies. Barbed wire is recommended for complete protection.
  
• Environment Rapids – Rapids no longer freeze in winter.
  
• Vambie Drops – 30% chance for Vambies to drop coins (between 5-15 coins). It makes coin collection easier and adds incentive for combat.
  
• Rain Sounds – Rain sounds are dampened when in buildings and bases.
  
• Log Cart – It will no longer push logs, frogs and other objects on the ground.
  

[h3]Bugfixes:[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where some objects could not be placed on glass ceilings.
  
• Fixed a bug where players could get stuck in the fridge UI, requiring a forced reboot to exit.
  
• Finally resolved (hopefully) all rain-in-base issues.
  
• Mike would sometimes have issues opening gates if they were placed near slopes.
  

Hey everyone,

Welcome to the Beta Test Cycle for V22! Suggestions are especially valuable during this phase, as we can implement and test them directly—so if there’s something you’ve been wanting to see in the game, now is the time to share it!

[h2]Here’s how it works:[/h2]

[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:

• Every time we release a new Preview Build, we’ll edit this 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:

1. Open Steam
   Launch your Steam client and ensure you’re logged in.
   
2. Go to Your Library
   Locate The Infected in your game library.
   
3. Right-Click on the Game
   Right-click on The Infected and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
   
4. Navigate to the Betas Tab
   In the Properties window, click on the Betas tab on the left-hand side.
   
5. 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!
   

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[h2]V22 Preview Build Notes[/h2]

[h3]Build 1 - Jan 22nd:[/h3]

• Bugfix: Issue where some objects could not be placed on glass ceilings.
  
• Bugfix: Could get stuck in the fridge UI, requiring a forced reboot to exit.
  
• Bugfix: I think I finally fixed all the rain-in-base issues.
  
• Change: Tweaks to spike traps—between 10% and 20% chance of a spike trap breaking when hit by AI Vambies. Barbed wire is recommended for 100% safety.
  
• Added: Map update—new POI and roadway added near the center of the map.
  
• Added: Electric Circular Sawbench, requires 200 power and trader tech. Yields 5 planks per log and no Oil required.
  
• Added: New Electric Sawbench tech available from the trader for 1000 coins.
  

[h3]Build 2 - Jan 29th:[/h3]

New set of Wooden foundations and ceilings:

• Wooden Foundation 2
  
• Wooden Corner Foundation 2
  
• Wooden Triangle Foundation 2
  
• Wooden Ceiling 2
  
• Wooden Corner Ceiling 2
  
• Wooden Triangle Ceiling 2
  
• Wooden Ceiling 2 (Ladder Access)
  
• Wooden Corner Ceiling R 2 (Ladder Access)
  
• Wooden Corner Ceiling L 2 (Ladder Access)
  
• Wooden Triangle Ceiling 2 (Ladder Access)
  

New set of quarter foundations and ceilings:

• Wooden Foundation Quarter
  
• Wooden Foundation Quarter 2
  
• Concrete Foundation Quarter
  
• Sandstone Foundation Quarter
  
• Wooden Ceiling Quarter
  
• Wooden Ceiling Quarter 2
  
• Concrete Ceiling Quarter
  
• Glass Ceiling Quarter
  
• Sandstone Ceiling Quarter
  

New sets of vertical half walls:

• Wooden Vertical Half Wall
  
• Interior Wooden Vertical Half Wall
  
• Glass Vertical Half Wall
  
• Sandstone Vertical Half Wall
  
• All the upgrade variations of walls (Brick, wood, concrete)
  

Some other additions and changes:

• Added: Wooden Slanted Roof Quarter
  
• Change: Pillar snap point slightly adjusted to accommodate quarter foundations and ceilings. Previously placed pillars will maintain their old position.
  

[h3]Build 3 - Jan 29th:[/h3]

• Added: Wooden Door 2
  
• Added: Wooden Door 3
  

[h3]Build 4 - Feb 3rd:[/h3]

• Added: Elevator Frames
  
• Added: Elevator
  
• Added: New Trader technology for unlocking elevator stuff.
  

[h3]Build 5 - Feb 4th:[/h3]

• Added: Wooden Ramp (Ceiling) Snaps only to ceilings and has no legs.
  

[h3]Build 6 - Feb 6th:[/h3]

• Added: 3 new sets of metal railings.
  
• Change: Some changes to the Build UI to accommodate all the new build parts.
  

[h3]Build 7 - Feb 7th:[/h3]

• Added: Mirror versions of the corner foundations and ceilings so that the textures can align.
  
• Added: Wood and Concrete half pillar.
  

[h3]Build 8 - Feb 8th:[/h3]

• Added: Menu settings for quantity of AI spawns in POIs (default is 3)
  
• Added: Players now have the ability to change color of powered lights. Furthermore, I have added the ability for you all to change the light intensity and to make them flash.
  

[h3]Build 9 - Feb 9th:[/h3]

• Added: New linear light.
  
• Added: New wall light.
  

[h3]Build 10 - Feb 11th:[/h3]

• Added: Watermill that provides 500 power, must be placed on Rapids.
  
• Added: New watermill trader tech for 1000 coins.
  
• Change: Rapids will no longer freeze in the winter.
  
• Change: 30% chance at Vambies dropping coins, between 5 and 25. Helps gather coins and adds another reason to actually wanna get out there and kill em.
  

[h3]Build 11 - Feb 23rd:[/h3]

• Added: Translations for all available cultures.
  
• Added: Water Bottle, can't be crafted but can be found in loot.
  
• Added: New POI, a more city like POI that contains an enormous amount of loot. It is mostly completed but still lacks some detailing that will be worked on in the upcoming days and some potential balancing. This POI will not contain any technologies but will offer some other cool items that can be found on fresh game starts.
  
• Change: watermill power from 500 to 350.
  
• Bugfix: Mike would sometimes have issues opening gates if they were placed near slopes.
  

[h3]Build 12 - Feb 24th:[/h3]

• Fixed: Rain in the new POI buildings.
  
• Change: Cost for the watermill tech increased to 1500.
  
• Change: Reduction of item drop rates in the new POI from approx. 70% to 60%. (Trying to balance loot quantities)
  
• Change: Slightly reduced coin drop amount from cash registers in the new POI.
  
• Fixed: Watermill still read 500 power in the control panel.
  
• Change: Rain sounds are dampened when in buildings and bases.
  

Hey folks,

Below is a breakdown of the new features, fixes, and changes live in V21.

We hope you enjoy the new additions and improvements.

[h3]Additions:[/h3]

• Stone Crate Rack – Store up to six stone crates for better organization.
  
• Electric Furnace – Offers 20 slots and consumes 200 power. Power consumption stops when no ores are smelted. (Locked behind trader tech.)
  
• Trader Tech for the Electric Furnace – Cost: 750 coins.
  
• Cooler – Preserves a small amount of food, ideal for livers or other perishables while on the go. Can be placed on the Truck. (Max 2 can be built per save.)
  
• Advanced Mixer – Requires 100 power to run. (Locked behind trader tech.)
  
• Advanced Mixer Trader Tech – Cost: 1000 coins.
  
• Brick Half Wall Slanted – Now includes the missing Dark Brick version.
  
• Wooden Corner Railing Open and Concrete Corner Railing Open.
  
• Wooden Window 2 – Can now be opened and closed.
  
• Iron Window – Can now be opened and closed.
  
• Glass Window Frame.
  
• Auto Stack/Store Button – Added for easier item organization in storage containers.
  
• Wall Sections – Snappable to the side of foundations for seamless building.
  
• Custom Food Storage – You can now decide which foods get stored in NPC Storage Chests.
  
• NPC Chest Rules – Configure which NPC Storage Chests Mike (or other NPCs) can eat from.
  

[h3]Changes:[/h3]

• Increased Loot Chances – Loot chances in the large town (apartments) increased from 50% to 66.6%. Better odds for loot hunters!
  
• Animal Attacks – Bears, foxes, and wolves are now more challenging, with added blood effects and attack feedback.
  
• Auto-Return Projectiles – Harvesting animals, picking them up, or looting AI will now return arrows or bolts to your quiver or backpack automatically. No more lost projectiles!
  
• Trader Item Prices – Adjusted sale prices for some items sold to the Trader.
  
• Movable Log Stands – Log Stands can now be moved even when loaded with logs.
  
• Plant Beds Grid Snapping – Plant beds now snap to a grid for easier placement.
  
• Chest Rack Update – The chest rack in the Town Hall now supports NPC Storage Chests.
  
• Glass Texture Improvements – Glass on building pieces is now clearer, with no dirt film.
  
• NPC Chest Texture – Updated to better match regular chests with a slightly darker color for distinction.
  
• Window Mesh Update – Improved wood and brick window meshes; glass is now clearer.
  
• Stone Crate Rack Expansion – You can now add coal and sandstone crates to the stone crate rack.
  
• Stackable Clay Bowls – Clay bowls now stack in piles of 10.
  
• Mushroom Interaction – Press the interact key ([E]) to gather mushrooms. No need to right-click anymore.
  
• Gate Placement – Gates can now be placed on foundations, not just the ground.
  
• Stone Grinder Output – Now drops 5 sand per cycle instead of 10.
  
• Fish Bait Price Adjustment – Sale price changed from 0.30 to 0.06.
  
• Mike Behavior Update – Mike will now close the doors he opens.
  

[h3]Bugfixes:[/h3]

• Animal AI Fix – Animals attacking players inside bases or on foundations now correctly target the player instead of structures.
  
• Empty Cans Return – Mike now returns empty cans after eating fruit or veggie salads.
  
• Rain Issue – Fixed rain appearing inside bases under specific conditions.
  
• Repair Bench Cost – Repairing depleted armor now costs 50% of the craft cost (down from 100%).
  
• Inventory Border Glitch – Fixed a small black border appearing when right-clicking items in the inventory.
  
• Mike and Log Stand Fix – Mike no longer gets stuck when placing logs in a log stand being moved.
  
• Indoor Plant Bed Fix – Plants indoors no longer die with heat provided. Doors are now recognized as part of the base structure.
  
• Rooster Requirement – Roosters are now required for chickens to reproduce.
  
• Mike Distance Issue – Fixed Mike glitching when Log Stands are more than 25k units away from his house.
  
• Watermelon/Pumpkin Crates – Added missing details for adding and removing items.
  

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:

1. Open Steam
   Launch your Steam client and ensure you’re logged in.
   
2. Go to Your Library
   Locate The Infected in your game library.
   
3. Right-Click on the Game
   Right-click on The Infected and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
   
4. Navigate to the Betas Tab
   In the Properties window, click on the Betas tab on the left-hand side.
   
5. 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.
  

Hey everyone,

Sorry for all these small patches, I know it can be annoying but I want to fix all the lingering issues reported before moving on to V21,

BUGFIX - Issue with Mike nav mesh when building certain build pieces above his house or townhall that would result in him remaining idle/stuck.
BUGFIX - Could not move all items to and from the garbage container.
BUGFIX - Both fireplaces would not register as a heat source for plant beds and resulting in the plants dying.
BUGFIX - Fixed Cypress tree collisions in the swamp, they were too large.
ADDED - Snap ability for all the ore shelves.

Best regards and thank you very much for the continued support, I love this community.