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Zombie Cure Lab News

Regular Update 0.21.5 [Experimental]

Hey zombie curing scientists, we are back with another update for the experimental branch, continuing our efforts to get Zombie Cure Lab into release shape.

This time we also have some smaller features and a bit of content to spice up some things.

[h2]Worker and Building Type Cycler[/h2]

You can now cycle through existing workers or buildings of the same type at the top of the open info box.
This gets introduced mainly to improve gamepad usability, but is also helpful for keyboard and mouse controls.


It also shows the total amount of the building type, which can be quite useful to get an idea how many resource camps you have scattered across the map.

[h2]Inactive Tabs Shortcuts[/h2]

To make the tabs UI system a bit better to handle with keyboard and mouse controls, you can now trigger the shorcuts of inactive tabs. This is mainly useful to click a building and hit DEL or 7, 8, 9 and 0 for the respective actions of deleting the building, changing their priorities or disabling/ enabling it. Before, you had to switch the tab for the shortcuts to work.

[h2]Alternate Ice Pack and Grilled Meat Production[/h2]

In the tech tree are two new buildings available.

Grilled Meat Printer - Food
An indoor meat printer that can only be operated by Humbie Level 2 and only requires chemicals to directly print grilled meat. As Humbie Level 2 requires a sustain grilled meat production, this essentially skips some production chains and can allow you to to go for a different economy strategy.

Berry Freezer - Production
An outdoor ice pack producer that requires Humbie Level 3. It only requires glowberries and a higher energy consumption to output a steadiy supply of ice packs, which can be interesting to reduce the chemical needs of your lab which would be necessary with the classical ice packer building.

Those two buildings might require further balancing adjustments, but we are curious for you to try them out.

[h2]Repair Cost Info[/h2]

The info box now has a new segment that displays the repair cost of damaged buildings.

[h2]General Changelog:[/h2]

  • Tutorial fixes (objectives, loca)
  • Repair cost info of damaged buildings in info box
  • In general a more final proof read english localization (Other languages might be quite outdated, this will change soon)
  • Fixed the Frozen Zombies that missed their flight are ice sculptures for eternity bug
  • Worker and build type cycler/ object swapping - Also works for missions on the worldmap
  • You can now trigger "Send Helicopter" in Trade Screen by pressing (Y) on the gamepad
  • "Layout" tab was removed from build menu - This only means the jump to icons at the top, the separate layout menu still exists.
  • Hotkeys for controls hidden in non-active tabs are working now
  • The Tutorial Popup can now be accessed using the (Y) gamepad button while in the upper hud
  • "There was a problem with your savegame" popup will never appear anymore now
  • Some minor visual issues with gamepad vs. mouse highlighting fixed
  • Added grilled meat printer for T2
  • Added berry freezer for T3
  • Improved employment screen for gamepad
  • Improved character overview window for gamepad
  • General structural improvements for the three tutorial missions


[h2]Known Issues:[/h2]
There seems to be a newly introduced problem with scrollbars and mouse wheel input. We will fix that soon, but did not want to withhold the new stuff for experimental.

Unsure how the new tech tree buildings grilled meat printer and berry freezer will affect savegames.

Hotfix 0.21.4 [Experimental]

Hi, thanks to your feedback and reports we could continue to fix some stuff on the experimental branch and continue to push forward towards the 1.0 release.

0.21.4 Changes
  • Tutorials split in three for better pacing and learning the concepts
  • Tutorial changes to improve onboarding experience
  • Wiki fully available with proof read english language (You currently have to play through the tutorials to unlock all entries)
  • Western mission correctly playable now
  • Minor balancing changes, tech tier main storage research - Some costs reduced
  • UX quick fade in when infobox appears
  • Better worker selection for shifts - Changing shifts should now better pick available workers with the specific shift missing
  • Fixed a specific save game related multi threading issue
  • Fixed Disabled waves being shown in timeline (Elite and boss waves were shown, but did not spawn when disabled)
  • Fixed objectives not shown after loading a savegame
  • Fixed ui issues, overlapping elements
  • Further minor bug fixes

Experimental Update #2 - Release Preparations

Hey, it's been a long time!
Many of you thought we had abandoned the game—but that’s not true. We’ve just been quietly working behind the scenes on something bigger, even if we were a bit too silent.

Zombie Cure Lab is planning to leave Early Access in the upcoming months and launch on three platforms:
  • PC
  • PS5
  • Xbox Series


Over the past year (and a bit more), we’ve been working on creating one unified, complete version that runs on both console and PC. It includes all features and bug fixes to make Zombie Cure Lab a fully finished product.

NEW UPDATE IS ON STEAM BETA BRANCH EXPERIMENTAL

But first, what has changed:
Features Overview
  • Reworked Onboarding – Two new handcrafted tutorials have been built to address severe issues with players not understanding the game, resulting in many frustrating first impressions.
    A wiki has also been integrated to assist players who are stuck or returning and need a refresher.
  • Urban Theme – To strengthen the post-apocalyptic vibe, the new tutorials take place in an urban environment featuring a destroyed city.
  • Mission Screen – After the tutorial, four new missions can be selected and customized via a new mission setup screen. Adjust various sliders, start with fences, modify zombie damage, and more to match your preferred playstyle.
  • Reworked UI / Gamepad Support – Our biggest project was overhauling the user interface so it works seamlessly with both keyboard & mouse and any gamepad. We’re pretty proud of the results so far.

    You can plug in your gamepad at any time, and the UI will adapt automatically.
    The interface now includes cure progress, visible cured human population, updated lab status with reworked alerts, and more.
    A major change: the infobox is now separated into three tabs—we’d love to hear your feedback on that.
    Worker types now need to be assigned directly (no more “any” assignments).
    (An early version of the UI rework was already available in a previous experimental update.)
  • Overcrowded Lab – Having too many workers will now push your lab into a “crowded” or “very crowded” state, modifying worker needs and calm-down chances. This creates a soft population cap.
    However, there’s a trade-off: crowded labs also accelerate worker experience gain, helping you prepare humbies for treatment faster.
  • Trading Rework – Resources are no longer free. You now earn support points to request resources, making it more strategic to support your economy.
    Frozen zombies can be sent away for additional rewards.
    It’s now a valid strategy to focus on trading instead of local production—for example, sending away workers or frozen zombies to trade for metal.
  • Restored Cities – Endgame content: finally, we can restore humanity! Destroyed cities on the world map can now be rebuilt using cured humans.
    Each restored city grants a permanent perk that makes your next mission easier, helping you cure more humans and rebuild the world faster.
  • Balancing – Days are now a bit shorter, and in general, the game moves faster toward tech tier 4 and curing humans, strengthening the late game and restored cities loop.
    Key bottlenecks like metal production have been boosted.
  • Many Bug Fixes – New features always bring new bugs. We’ve fixed a huge number of issues, including long-standing ones like stuck workers and refill job problems.
  • Citizen Science Removed – When Zombie Cure Lab first launched in Early Access, players could participate in real-world science by helping calculate protein-ligand dockings.
    That side project has now ended. As a result, those world map events have been removed, and the associated rewards (especially decorative items) are now available in the general tech tree.


Release Plans

Admittedly, things didn’t go exactly as planned during Early Access, and it’s been a challenge to maintain steady development throughout.

That said, we’re excited to finally be moving toward full release with this update.
Help us test the latest changes in the Experimental branch and let’s make this the strong, polished launch that Zombie Cure Lab deserves.

We’re looking forward to your feedback on Discord and in the Steam forums. Cheers!

Blood Bar Tycoon Upcoming Release

Hey!
Some friends of ours are about to release their game, BLOOD BAR TYCOON, on February 4, 2025.
And guess what: it’s a super cool, darkly humorous tycoon game where you abduct humans to feed vampires! If you enjoyed ZOMBIE CURE LAB, chances are you’ll love it.

They’re an indie team, just like us, so be kind and show them some support. The demo is available right now until launch! Go try it and wishlist their game today!

Have a great day!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2776780/Blood_Bar_Tycoon/

The Steam Winter Sale is here! 🎮❄️

The Steam Winter Sale is here! 🎮❄️



Now’s the perfect time to grab Zombie Cure Lab at 60% off—but hurry, this offer lasts only until January 2nd. Whether you’re treating yourself this holiday season or adding to your collection, these immersive simulators are sure to thrill! 🚓🎁 Don’t miss out!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1620290/Zombie_Cure_Lab/

👉 You can find more information and offers here: Steam Store News 🎁https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/33010843/view/4491873334851536284