HumanitZ News

[p]ZEED FEED 007 Dear Survivors! Let's kick off this month's Zeek Feed with telling you about the FormatGG event we attended last Thursday in Liverpool, UK. We showcased an exculsive 1.0 build to get some early feedback and the response to the new changes, features, and performance was very well received. It was great to hang out with gamers and discuss all things HumanitZ. Thanks again to FormatGG for having us! Ok now lets get into the 1.0 development...

New Magazines Update:
We have added new variation of magazines to the game. These can be found in the world and when the player reads them, they get a increase/buff in that area related to the magazine for a full in-game day. For example, reading the fishing magazine before you go fishing will increase your chance of catching fish and you'll get double the xp for all fishing actions. As for the others magazines, we'll let you discover what they do on your own. We are adding a lot of them, so keep an eye out.[/p][p][/p][p]Custom Character Update:
The new custom characters, to include the new female models, are now fully implemented in the 1.0 build. Clothing and weapons will now show damage, dirt and blood applied over time. Clothing can be cleaned when walking into lakes or when raining, and melee weapons can be cleaned when repairing. [/p][p]Game Performance Update:
We want to discuss game performance next as we know we needed to address game stuttering and FPS drops. We have recently made huge steps forward with improving these issues with a drastic increase in performance across single player, multiplayer, and most notably the dedicated servers. We have received overwhelming feedback from our team of testers how much better the performance and expeirence is on the servers, so hopefully you all will enjoy the optimization.

Map Overhaul Update:
Level design and world building is really breathing new life into the map. In every area where updates have been made, the game feels more immersive the feedback for the map as a whole has been resoundingly positive.

Before and After: Before and After: Before and After: Before and After: Before and After: Before and After: Before and After:
Thank you all for your continued support and patience as we continue working out the final touches of 1.0. An official trailer with release date info will be coming soon, but for now here is a sneak peek teaser of how the new characters and clothing is going to look.

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]
Regards,
HZ Team[/p]

[p]Dear Survivors,
[/p][p]We’d like to inform you that on Monday, October 27th - 11am UK, there will be a server wipe on both the PvE and PvP official servers. Private server owners DO NOT need to wipe their own servers!
[/p][p]It’s been three months since our last major update, meaning three months since the last wipe of official servers. As we move closer to our 1.0 release, we’ve decided to perform a wipe to freshen up the experience for new players and help clean up the official servers.
[/p][p]We’re also aware of several areas where the servers and systems can be improved, such as floating sky-bases and unraidable buildings (against official server rules), glitches and exploits, and abandoned bases/vehicles/horses, and we’ve already addressed many of these issues as part of our upcoming 1.0 build.
[/p][p]Over the next few weeks, expect to see a lot more info and updates on the progress towards 1.0. We are just as excited as you to get it into your hands, but we want to make sure everything is done right, not done fast. Remember, 1.0 is not the finish line, it's the starting block!
[/p][p]Thank you all for your feedback, support, and patience while we build this world together!
[/p][p]Regards,[/p][p]The HZ Team[/p]

[h3]📢 Server Connection Issues & DDoS Attacks Update 📢

[/h3][p]Hey Survivors,[/p][p]We know many of you have been running into connection issues over the last couple of days, and we want to clear a few things up.[/p][p]There’s currently a widespread DDoS attack impacting multiple online platforms — including Steam. This issue is completely outside of our control and not related to HumanitZ itself. Steam is actively working to resolve the problem, and once they’ve stabilized their services, things should return to normal.
[/p][p]We’re just as frustrated as you are — we want everyone back online and playing again as soon as possible. If you’d like to follow the situation, you can search “Steam DDoS” for live updates and reports from across the gaming community.

HumanitZ players are advised to keep trying and make sure you are fully closing down (exit) your steam client and restart it and try again.
[/p][p]We truly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while this gets sorted out. Once everything’s stable again, we’ll be back to focusing fully on our push toward 1.0.
[/p][p]Thanks you,
Yozza HumanitZ Team[/p]

[p]And what a day it is, being the 2-Year Anniversary of Early Access for HumanitZ! Time really has flown by, seems like there's not enough days in the year, but looking back at everything the HZ Team has accomplished, primarily in part because of all the amazing feedback and suggestions the community has given us, 18 full updates to bring the world you enjoy to life!

Nothing happens without all of you, and we are humbled by the love and support you have shown us these past couple years. The time you invest, the bug reports, the love (and some of the negative) have helped shape HumanitZ into something we didn't think we could envision, so a HUGE thank you to all of you!

[/p][p]But, I bet more than thanks, you're all waiting on a litte bit of news...well, since Zeek Feeds don't really happen until the later part of the month and today is a special occasion, here are just a few snippets of information we have held onto as we start nearing the home stretch of the road to 1.0 launch later this year...

New Vicinity Inventory added (Hugely requested feature)[/p][p]Sneak Peak of Movement and World Skill Tree
New Custom Characters Update [/p][p]Steam Deck support Private Testing will be beginning in the next couple weeks. We've had a plethora of Survivors volunteer to take part to ensure full functionality for the Steam Deck goes off without a hitch for 1.0, so to those of you who volunteered, check your Discord inboxes in the next few weeks!
[/p][p]Can't give too much more away as we're still hammering out some systems and performance upgrades, but I will leave you with a hint of lore...

This image is not a true representation of what might be in the game, simply a visual representation of what we have written out [/p][p]
Soon, Survivors...very soon....
[/p][p]Best Regards & All The Loot You Can Find,[/p][p]Yozza[/p][p]Lead Game Designer[/p]

[p]Before we dive into this latest Zeek Feed, just a heads-up: this episode contains quite a few spoilers. If you’d rather discover everything fresh when 1.0 drops, now’s the time to click away![/p][p]Alright, with that out of the way let’s jump in.
[/p][p]We’ve been working harder than ever since the last Zeek Feed, and we’ve got plenty to show and discuss. Let’s start with Infection.
[/p][p]Our goal was to make the Zeeks feel like more of a threat and to overhaul how infection works in HumanitZ. With the new character progression and skills system, losing a survivor should now feel more impactful than ever before.

🧬Infection System Overhaul 🧟[/p][p]We’ve introduced a brand-new infection system.[/p][p]Now, each time you get hit by a Zeek, you’ll take on a small amount of infection. This will slowly build up over time. Once your infection meter hits 10%, it will display on your player HUD so you can keep track of it.[/p][p]The infection meter ranges from 0 to 100 but beware: a single bite adds 50 to that meter, so things can go bad fast. If the meter hits 100, you’re dead. 💀 (when you die you will lose all accrued XP.) [/p][p]🧪 How to Combat Infection[/p][p]Clothing and armor now help reduce infection damage.[/p][p]You can still craft an infection treatment like before, but it now reduces infection by 50% and is tied to an unlocked skill.[/p][p]We’ve also added a new homebrew medicine that can be crafted at the chemistry station. It suppresses infection gradually, a sort of poor man's version of the full infection treatment and this isn't locked behind a skill you just need the resources to craft it.[/p][p]So while the system is kind of similar to before, you can manage infection and prevent death. It is now more dangerous and requires more careful planning. So far feedback from all our testers on this has been overwhelmingly positive!

🎯 Why We Made the Change[/p][p]Our vision for HumanitZ has always been to make zombies something you genuinely fear. Being careless or making poor decisions about when to run or fight should now have real consequences and with this change to the infection system you can really feel it now.


Lets continue with making the game harder…If you want to?

We’ve added a new feature to HumanitZ: Afflictions.[/p][p]These are optional modifiers you can choose before starting a game to make survival even more challenging. For example:
[/p][p]ACL – Reduces movement speed[/p][p]Bad Back – Lowers carry weight[/p][p]Fumble – Slows reload speed
[/p][p]Afflictions are perfect for roleplay scenarios or for survivors who want to push themselves to the absolute limit by stacking an extra challenge on top of max difficulty.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]On the topic of difficulty and settings we have revamped the Settings Menu and created some Predefined Game Settings to get you up and running.. Whether you're a brand new player or a seasoned veteran we’ve got you covered. [/p][p][/p][p]We also have new improved custom settings allowing more options like setting loot rarity of different item types.[/p][p][/p][p]In the last Zeek Feed, we shared some early images of the new Custom Characters, and progress has been moving along really well since then.[/p][p]We’ve added new clothing that can become worn, dirty, or blood-covered over time, plus new beards and hairstyles that look far better than our earlier versions. We’re really pleased with how it’s all shaping up![/p][p]Over the next few weeks, we’ll be working on new player faces and beginning development on the female character.
💥 New Special Ammo Types[/p][p]We’ve also introduced new ammo types for those who like to customize their firepower:[/p]

• [p]Armor Piercing – Punches through armoured enemies.[/p]
• [p]Dragon’s Breath – Shotgun rounds set targets on fire[/p]
• [p]Shredder (Bleed) Rounds – Causes bleeding damage.[/p]
• [p]Hardcast – Heavy impact rounds for larger threats.[/p]
• [p]Incendiary – Ignites enemies on impact.[/p]

[p][/p][p]We’ve finally updated Guns and Ammo![/p][p]Now, when you load a firearm, the ammo is taken from your inventory and stored directly in the weapon — just like in pretty much every other game out there.[/p][p]In short: if you load rounds into a gun, drop it, and someone else picks it up, the ammo will still be in the gun. This also accounts for storing the weapon in your pack, a container, and the ammo will stay in the weapon when logging out so no more reloading everything when you hop back in![/p][p][/p][p]We’ve been busy creating new and improved Challenges, along with a cleaner, easier-to-track UI.[/p][p]These challenges will reward you with the XP you need for the new skill system, helping you unlock those all-important late-game skills!
[/p][p]There is lots of hard work being done on map and level design, lots of locations and towns are getting nice updates so here is a sneak peak on some of the work done so far. Many of these images are from locations still under construction but it's looking really good. We’ve added a Huddson High School, Historical Museum, City Bank and much more.  The whole of Huddson City is having a full make over.[/p][p]New Hide Grass Building System
When building certain items now the buildable will remove the grass for a cleaner look inside your base, this has been a heavily requested feature and it’s finally coming to the game.[/p][p][/p][p]
New Zeeks We have added some new zeeks but we won't share all of them as we want to keep them a secret for the full release but here is a sneak peak of the new giant zeek.[/p][p]While we discuss Zeeks we've made some really good progress on performance and optimization allowing us to increase the amount of zeeks on screen, and with that we've been working hard on the sfx and different hit reacts to make the combat feel that bit more connected.
New locked storage unit with juicey building loot[/p][p]New bus stop signs that fit in the world of Humanitz. Check them out when you find them, they might have some information posted to guide you along the way, hint hint…
Here is a tease of a few new items coming to HumanitZ
[/p][p]Thanks for taking the time to read our latest Zeek Feed. We hope you're as excited as we are for the future of HumanitZ. From here on out, we’ll be bringing you more Zeek Feeds to keep you updated on progress and all the latest info as we move toward 1.0.

Link to all the 1.0 info from the last Zeek Feed: [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Thank you for your support, Survivors.[/p][p]Stay safe out there.[/p][p]HZ Team
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