MISERY News

[p]Hello Survivors,[/p][p]We just released a major update to the Demo! Thank you so much for your constructive feedback, valuable suggestions, and your trust in Maewing.[/p][p]There were many great ideas and a fair share of valid criticism - and we’re listening and acting on it. [/p][p]This update brings lots of requested balance changes, quality-of-life improvements, optimizations, and bug fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]Here’s what’s changed in the Zone:[/p]

• [p]New loot spots and items: Batteries, generators, and other components can now be found during expeditions, along with new containers and general loot.[/p]
• [p]Player list and moderation tools: You can now view players on your server, mute, or kick unwanted guests. Screw griefers! (Private, password-protected servers coming in a future update.)[/p]
• [p]Flashlight improvements: You can now run with your flashlight on. We’ll tune down the flashlight bobbing animation and increase brightness in future patches.[/p]
• [p]Improved melee combat: New sounds, blood VFX, and enemy hit reactions make close combat feel more impactful. This is just the beginning, and more improvements are coming.[/p]
• [p]More encounters: Expect new enemy spawns and a more dense creature population.[/p]
• [p]You can now strafe: No more silly limitations while running. Finally, true mobility![/p]
• [p]Resource stack size reduced: Resources like scrap now take only 1x1 space, freeing up inventory.[/p]
• [p]Bunker lighting upgraded: It’s easier to see your stuff now.[/p]
• [p]Faster cooking: Grilling time has been reduced by 3x.[/p]
• [p]Mic input selection added: Choose your microphone device. Don’t forget to enable proximity chat (Caps Lock).[/p]
• [p]Persistent saves after death: You won’t lose your save anymore when you die.[/p]
• [p]Inventory reload: You can now reload your gun directly from your inventory, no need to equip it. Just drag and drop a new magazine. (Full item usage from inventory is coming next patch.)[/p]
• [p]Longer expeditions: Expedition time has been significantly increased, explore deeper into the Zone.[/p]
• [p]Difficulty scaling: Easier at the begining, but the longer you survive, the more dangerous the Zone becomes.[/p]
• [p]VOID bug fix: This nasty bug should now occur far less frequently (we aim to eliminate it completely before release).[/p]
• [p]Head bob toggle: You can now disable head bobbing.[/p]
• [p]Various UI/UX improvements and bug fixes.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Here are some pics from the Zone in the full game. Thank you for playing MISERY. More updates are on the way, so please share your feedback and suggestions![/p][p][/p][p]Love U,[/p][p]Dev.[/p]

[p][/p][carousel][/carousel][p]Hey Survivors, listen up! The free MISERY Demo is now LIVE and available for everyone.[/p][p]It won't be for long, so make sure you grab your friends, buckle up, and deploy to the Zone ASAP.[/p][p]What you can expect from this demo:[/p][p]The first 10 days of content, giving you a taste of MISERY, just enough to dig the atmosphere and basic mechanics, but not enough to spoil the full experience. You can explore the first locations of the Zaslavie Exclusion Zone, build your bunker, and scavenge the ruins of the dead world.[/p][p]For those new here, your goal is to have an adventurous experience with your friends (or solo).[/p][p]No quests, no storyline, you have to figure out what to do to survive by yourself and explore the world of the once-great Zaslavie Republic.[/p][p]The full game has no day limit, and you will have much more content, enemies, anomalies, weather effects, and even cycling seasons. So, if you can survive for at least 150 days, you can witness how nature blooms, ripens, dies, and resurrects.[/p][p]Be aware that this is a game in active development (and it will remain so even after the release), so there will be constant updates with new content, systems, enemies, etc. It is just the very beginning of the journey.[/p][p]What we improved after the 2 closed playtests (thank you once again for all your feedback):[/p]

• [p]Optimization - We believe we solved it! The game now runs way smoother, but the battle is not over yet; we will continue improving visuals and optimization.[/p]
• [p]Localization - We translated the game into many languages so you can play comfortably. Please be aware, we do not use AI in any form for development, and everything is written and translated by real people. However, we have not done QA testing yet, so there could be imperfections in languages other than English: typos, wrong terms, weird sentences, etc. If you find something like that, please let us know, and we will correct it. On release, the translation should be perfect. Also, there is no Chinese localization yet, we are working on it, and it 100% will be available on release![/p]
• [p]Upgraded visuals - We ended up with a balanced and moody vision for the game atmosphere. [/p][p]It looks beautifully melancholic, haunting, and a bit cursed, just as we want it to be.[/p]
• [p]UI fixes - Major bugs have been fixed. Some improvements are coming in the following demo patch in a week or so, and further improvements will be included on release.[/p]
• [p]Critical bugs fixed - The infamous void bug and desyncs should all be resolved now, but let us know if you find something nasty.[/p]
• [p]Rebalance - We improved the early experience, making the learning curve not as steep as before, to give new players an opportunity to learn the ropes and gradually increase the challenge. The game is still brutal, though, just like life in MISERY itself.[/p]

[p]If you want to help MISERY, the best thing you can do is wishlist the game and reach out to your favorite content creator and ask them to play MISERY: do that in Twitch chat, YouTube comments, TikTok replies, etc. If you are a creator, please contact us at creator \[at] ytopia.gg, and let's talk about collaborations.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]For Zaslavie![/p][p]Love U,[/p][p]Dev.[/p]

[p]WOW! [/p][p]Thank you so much for showing love and your interest in MISERY! [/p][p]We are now boasting over 200k wishlists and are on track for a release in October. [/p][p][/p][p]If you missed the latest playtest (over 150k players, with 75k invited by their friends!!!), do not worry:[/p][p]The free Demo, with polishings, improvements, new visuals, and enhanced performance, is coming soon! [/p][p][/p][p]If you haven't added MISERY to your wishlist yet, here is the cute green button to click, so you will get a notification when the demo and then the full game are released. [/p][p][/p][p]Love U,[/p][p]Dev.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p]

[p]UPD. Hello! The playtest is over, and we are closing the registration now. Thank you so much for playtesting MISERY, for all your reports and support. We collected a lot of feedback, some cool ideas, caught some nasty bugs, and are now oreoaring for the demo in October. Our number one priority for now is optimization! See you soon in the Zone![/p][p][/p][p]Hello Survivors,[/p][p]We are happy to announce the start of the second playtest![/p][p][/p][p]80,000 players participated in the first playtest, with over 35,000 players being invited by their friends. Your feedback gave us confidence that you love the experience, but it was a bit rough. We heard you! And we are excited to see how you like the new update.[/p][p][/p][p]The playtest is now open and will be live until the end of Sunday. After the playtest concludes, we kindly ask you to provide feedback in the questionnaire that opens when you close the game (sorry in advance if this is annoying!).[/p][p][/p][p]Please note that if you have access to Playtest, you can invite 3 friends to join you, and they will get immediate access to the game![/p][p][/p][p]The game is getting ready to release, and we will participate with the open demo in the Steam Next Fest so everyone will have an opportunity to try the game.[/p][p][/p][p]The playtest is limited to the first 10 days of survival, and it will give you a good impression of how the game feels, but of course, there is much more content beyond this point. In fact, we expect players to have 150+ day sessions to see all the content in one run.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Here is what has changed since the first release (+ many minor bug fixes and improvements):[/p][h3]New Content[/h3]

• [p]Day/Night Cycle. Expeditions are now detached from the time of day. The expedition time is still limited, but now you can explore the zone during the nighttime![/p]
• [p]Siren alarm will notify you about the emission, and it is time to run back to your bunker.[/p]
• [p]Now you have to manage your mental state iand avoid panic attacks and heart attacks.[/p]
• [p]New items: "Detector busel"  (that u can craft in Crafting table), "Vitamins", "Antidepressants"[/p]
• [p]New furniture to steal![/p]
• [p]some small things like bugs and Zaslavie Flags in SIRZEZ[/p]
• [p]New GUI for a cleaner interface.[/p]
• [p]New locations to explore.[/p]
• [p]New mobs and general mobs rebalance[/p]
• [p]New guns: PPSh, Mosin, TT 33[/p]
• [p]New anomalies: "Black Holes", "Wandering Lights", "Hedge", "Deaf Meadow".[/p]
• [p]12 powerful Artifacts with unique mechanics[/p]
• [p]New lighting system for a more atmospheric world.[/p]
• [p]Dynamic weather system. Maybe the weather somehow affects the world and creatures of the zone. We do not know - you have to check it for yourself.[/p]
• [p]New shooting VFX for improved combat feel. [/p]
• [p]Four new emotes (F5–F8)[/p]
• [p]Trader NPC with new items for sale, including ammo [/p]
• [p]Craftable sledgehammer (available at the crafting bench).[/p]
• [p]Drinkable rivers: you can now drink directly from natural water sources.[/p]
• [p]Weapon aiming system for more immersive gunplay. [/p]

[p][/p][h3]Improvements & Changes[/h3]

• [p]Improved smoking animation[/p]
• [p]Now you can pick up fridges![/p]
• [p]Customizable visual setting - FoV, [/p]
• [p]Improved initial 60 sec phase onboarding[/p]
• [p]Server hosting and joining reworked – more stable and reliable.[/p]
• [p]Player stats properly reset after respawn.[/p]
• [p]Death screen updated for a smoother experience.[/p]
• [p]Bomber plane spawn rate increased by 50%.[/p]
• [p]Melee hit detection range increased by 20% for more consistent hits.[/p]
• [p]Sledgehammer spawn rate increased.[/p]
• [p]Shooting mechanics improved – better feel and responsiveness. Melee improvements are coming in the next update![/p]
• [p]Overall optimization pass for smoother performance.[/p]
• [p]Balance tweaks to improve gameplay fairness, especially in the early days.[/p]
• [p]Pistol animations and hands IK updated for realism.[/p]
• [p]New landscape textures for a refreshed visual look.[/p]
• [p]Various bug fixes, optimizations, and polish across the board - collisions, animations, textures, logic, and tech bugs. [/p]

[h3][/h3][p]Thank you for playing, making videos, and all your support![/p][p][/p][p]Love you,[/p][p]Dev.[/p][p][/p][p]PS. Do not forget to wishlist![/p][p] [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p][/p][p]Hey friends, we’ve got some exciting news! MISERY is taking part in DevGAMM Awards 2025 — one of the biggest indie competitions out there. If MISERY is a game you’re looking forward to, you can support us with your vote! - https://devgamm.fillout.com/community-vote2025 [/p]