Infection Free Zone News

[h2]Greetings, Survivors![/h2]

A new update is now available! There is a number of significant graphical improvements, but you will also be able to use cars, machine guns, walls, and a few more things.



What you might find the most interesting is that the map download now works and you can play on a region of your choice ;) Please mind that this is still a pre-alpha, so some errors can be expected:
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- sometimes units get stuck inside the buildings. Just send them to another building to unlock them.
- some maps might not be playable due to lack of data. Check with www.openstreetmap.org if the buildings of your region are well mapped.
- some maps might be hardly playable due to high density of buildings. The gates inside of the buildings are not yet implemented.
- some maps might crash the game on load. If this happens, we will get notified, but please choose another region.
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Once you try it, please follow the in-game feedback form link and answer a few questions. We wonder how you like the progress!

[h2]Kickstarter and BackerKit Pledges[/h2]
If you missed the Kickstarter campaign, there is still an option to make a late-pledge on BackerKit. Bakcerkit late-pledges will be closed on Jan 8th.
A new batch of backers will get access by the end of January.

[h2]Greetings, Survivors! [/h2]

As some of you might have already noticed, we updated the screenshots on Steam, as the game has changed a lot visually since we uploaded them. If you want to see them all, we recommend visiting our main Store Page on Steam! A quick overview of the new screenshots from the game:







[h2]Crowdfunding continues![/h2]

Other than that, we are happy to announce that the crowdfunding for Infection Free Zone continues! If you have missed the last opportunity to obtain your pre-alpha access to the game, visit our community discussions on Steam and check the pinned thread to learn more about it!

Best regards,
Jutsu Games Team

[h2]Greetings, Survivors! [/h2]

Is it snowing in your hometown area yet? Or maybe there's no snow at all for the whole year?
It is no coincidence that we are asking these questions right now! We have been recently working hard on improving the way that the game looks throughout all the seasons and today we want to give you a little sneak peek!

[h2]Visual changes[/h2]

What has been changed:

• New tree assets have been added. These trees can move in the wind and we spawn the types that fit the selected geographical location.
  
• New grasses and bushes have been added. We are doing our best to make the environment have this wild and post-apocalyptic feeling to it while keeping the optimization in check!
  
• New clouds (visible through shadows on the ground) have been added.
  
• New props on the map have been added to make the environment look more varied - wooden logs, debris, trash containers, and others!
  
• New weather effects have been added. Storm, rain, snow - new sound effects are also on the way!
  
• New season effects have been added. The new trees will not only lose their leaves in the Winter but also have this great golden color in the Autumn now!
  

Of course, our work here is not over yet! But we thought that you might appreciate us sharing those new visuals for the weather and environment with you!

[h2]Timelapse Video[/h2]

Check all of these newest changes in our short time-lapse video!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

How do you like the changes to weather and environment from this update? Do you like them? Or maybe something's missing? Let us know how you feel about all these latest visual changes in Infection Free Zone!

Best regards,
Jutsu Games Team

[h2]Greetings, Survivors! [/h2]

It's time for another entry for the "Behind the Scenes" series! Today we would like to quickly talk with you about the Map Selection process. We receive a lot of questions from you and three are especially common among them:

1. What is the size of the playable map?
   
2. Can I start playing in one place and then move the Zone to another city?
   
3. Is it possible to play on a small Island, in the desert, or in some other exotic place?
   

We hope that this announcement will answer all those questions for you!

[h2]Map Selection[/h2]
When starting a new game, you have two ways of finding a city to play on. You can type the name of the city in the search engine or you can use the interactive globe and zoom in and out in order to find a place that will catch your attention.

After you have decided on the city of your choice, now it's time to pick the right location. This location represents your whole gameplay area.



[h2]Keep in mind:[/h2]

• Every location will have a detailed description visible with information about how playable the area is. The playability mostly depends on the building density and the number of resources in the area. It won't be recommended to play in a location with too many buildings, no buildings at all, or a place that has no trees.
  
• Right now, we plan to allow playing on small islands, in the deserts, or in some other interesting places, but the game will inform you that this area is not viable for balanced gameplay. You can try playing on such places as a challenge or with mods, but we will do our best to clearly inform you about the recommended gameplay areas.
  
• Your gameplay area (chosen location) is around 2 kilometers (1,24 miles) long and 2 kilometers wide.
  
• Unless we are talking about a small village, in most cases only a specific chosen part of the city will be available to you.
  
• You can access further parts of the map around you through the "Expedition" feature that we are working on.
  
• It won't be possible to start playing in one city and then move over to another.
  
• All the map data is based on Open Street Map database. So if you are wondering if the city of your choice will be available in the game, you can take a look at the OSM. If your city is in the OSM, it will also be available in the game.

We hope that this summary makes it all clear to you. And if you still have some doubts or suggestions regarding the locations, playable areas, and maps - please let us know!

[h2]Pre-Alpha access - last chance![/h2]

If you want to get access to the Infection Free Zone's pre-alpha, now is your last chance! The ongoing 911 Operator: Board Game has a separate pledge and add-on that will provide you with an early chance to play our Infection Free Zone! Remember - the campaign ends on Friday, November 4 2022 at 12:00 PM CET.



Best regards,
Jutsu Games Team

We are very happy with the pre-alpha reception. A small group of Kickstarter backers had a chance to test the game in this very early stage and the first feedback is optimistic. Of course, there are many elements still requiring significant improvements, but observing the first reactions to Infection Free Zone is really satisfying to us.



Right now we are collecting all the feedback and prioritizing all the upcoming works that are ahead of us. Few systems require significant changes, while others are being already liked and appreciated in their current state. It's a good sign for us and a reassurance that we are going in the right direction.

If you are interested in taking a quick look at some of the collected data, below are a few graphs!

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Seems like we have a dedicated community of players, who are feeling rather comfortable with the game difficulty and appreciate the visual design of our productions. Still, we are going to keep on working hard to make the game even better!
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To summarize our current progression - we are officially working on the Alpha build now. Among many other things, here are some major areas that we are working on:

• New buildings. Factories that allow the production of tools, canned food, and arms. Barns, butcheries, and a few others.
  
• New horde types. Including infected leaders and various infected animals, all requiring a different strategy to deal with.
  
• Vehicles. A car allows the squad to move faster across the map. But it's also hard to acquire and requires fuel to keep moving.
  
• Walls. Having a proper defense around your Zone changes everything.
  
• Map Selector. We want the players to have the whole globe at their disposal. Zoom in and out to find a perfect area for your own Zone.
  

[h2]911 Operator Board Game[/h2]



On a side note - 911 Operator: Board Game is coming to Kickstarter! 911 Operator is a very important game for Jutsu Games because this is basically where it all started for our company. Without 911 Operator, there would be no 112 Operator and no Infection Free Zone! If you are a board-games fan, this game might be right up your alley!

[h2]Infection Free Zone Pre-Alpha Access[/h2]

We have recently received countless questions on how to access the pre-alpha build for Infection Free Zone. Some of you might get really excited as we have decided to add access to the Infection Free Zone's pre-alpha as one of the 911 Operator: Board Game add-ons. Now you have an option to join the pre-alpha today!

Best regards,
Jutsu Games Team