Yet Another Zombie Survivors News

[h3]Welcome, Survivor![/h3]

I hope you're doing great! We certainly haven't been resting for too long the last few months, as we've been busy juggling both the 0.9 update and a console Early Access release!

But first things first, get your tickets ready!

[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː New Map: Dead Terminal![/h2][hr][/hr]
All aboard the zombie-mowing train!



New map is here, this time doused in crimson steel and rusted iron. Hear the distant train horn? It might be closer than you think, so watch out not to stand on the tracks, as this wild ride never ends!

Ready yourself to fight against six new enemies, each with distinct attack patterns and abilities. Face two new terrifying bosses: the Humongous zombie, which transforms his brethren into elites, and the Chainsawman, who's always ready to dance... with death!

Dance, as the crossroads meet, and death clad in iron is waiting to crush its prey at any given moment. Rock out to the two new metal compositions from our acclaimed magicians at Music Imaginary.

And, most importantly, try the...


[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː New Game Modes: Endurance & Infinite![/h2][hr][/hr]
Remember Endless? This is him now:


As promised, we've divided the old game mode you know and love into two separate experiences, each crafted for the two types of endless enjoyers, so that each one can enjoy the game to their heart's content!

Endurance Mode takes the spot previously owned by the Endless Mode. While early game doesn't differ much from what you're already used to, I dare you to try to survive forever, no matter which build you fancy. In fact, you'll be challenged to survive as long as you can, as every 5-10 minutes, after the 20-minute mark, you'll face an increasing number of new horrors: the Elite Bosses. These foes are not only stronger and tougher than the rest, they are also immune to most things normal zombies aren't. Show us your best moves and prove the World that you can survive the longest!
ㅤ
Infinite Mode in straight contrast is a much more chill experience. While its based on Endurance wave definition, you'll soon find that you can stomp the horde fast and hard, with the fact, that in this mode there is no item limit. Feel free to equip your 89 favorite items, sit back, and relax to your brand new screensaver (popcorn sold separately) that can go on, and on, and on, and on... BUT! To not make the game feel meaningless, this is an optional game mode, in which most achievements are disabled. As such, you'll still have incentives to play other modes and progress further than before!

We hope that this separation will prove both sides happy as now you can choose if you want to be challenged or prefer to chill and watch the numbers go up.

And the numbers WILL go up, because all difficulty levels, game modes, and arenas now have...


[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː Better Scaling - Horde HP & Speed Down, INT Up![/h2][hr][/hr]
Remember the good old days, where you had to kite the bullet sponges (boss enemies) through every corner of the map, barely escaping before they died? Me neither!

With this update, we're fixing the inconsistencies between different levels, so that you know what to expect when starting your run, and making sure you'll get rewarded for going for the extra challenge.

In addition to better difficulty VS reward curves, we're nerfing the Horde representants Max HP and Movement Speed stats. Zombies no longer increase their movement speed with time, keeping the challenge fair and increasing players' feeling of getting stronger as the run continues.



But it wouldn't be a challenge if the battle were one-sided, don't you agree? Saying that, zombies are now more organized, striking sooner, and with improved encircling AI. Ice damage type is no longer the "only right way" to clear late game content, with its crazy scaling nerfed, and Horde can now break free of a taunt effect if you come too close to them while they're distracted!

Be sure to let us know what you think about these changes after playing a few runs. We'd love to hear more of your feedback to know if the difficulty is in the right spot or if we should re-adjust it.


[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː Achivements, Minimap Radar & Auto-Choices![/h2][hr][/hr]
We heard you like tabs, so we've put tabs in your Achievements!


Besides the new achievements we're adding in this update, there's also a redesign of the achievements interface, aimed to support the additions that we've promised before. Achievements UI is now divided into three parts:

• Progression: which hosts achievements related to progression and points you in ways on what you could do next to progress deeper into the game's main content.
  
• Achievements: Non-progression related challenges you know and love (to have more).
  
• Hall of Torments: Fully optional, very hard to extremely difficult non-Steam achievements, that give you nothing but bragging rights (and potentially some in-game points for visual-only rewards). The Torments are coming soon, with a standard update to 0.9, but the UI is ready.

We've also added a minimap, which was also an often requested feature. You can customize it to your liking from within the new Options menu tab: Interface. With the addition of minimap, you can choose to disable the classic indicators, as well as the map, or use both at the same time - your game, your choice!

Speaking of choices, we've also added the Auto-Choices function, which can be enabled in the General tab of the Options menu. This option adds an additional button in the pause menu, which allows you to set which types of power-up selection screens will have their choices selected at random. Feeling like putting your survival on the line, giving full control to the lady luck? Wanting to just relax and not think too much about your level-up choices? Now you can do just that!


There are also many other QoL improvements, like additional information in tooltips, more details in the skill trees, improved control of the power-up selection interface, and many more. For all the details, I invite you to check the full patch notes below:

[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː Changelog:[/h2][hr][/hr]
[h3]Gameplay Changes:[/h3]

• New area: Dead Terminal. With new environmental hazard (trains!) & 6 new enemies.
  
• New enemy type: Elite Boss - Tougher, immune to status effects, drop Tag point upgrades.
  
• Endless was completely redesigned into two separate game modes:
  
  
  • Endurance - Spawns an ever-growing number of Elite Bosses every 5-10 minutes after the first 20.
    
  • Infinite - Play as long as you like without the item slot limit but with most achievements disabled.
• Difficulty & Horde stat scaling rework:
  
  
  • Better and more predictable scaling on all maps, game modes, and difficulty levels.
    
  • Horde HP scaling is much slower than before (less damage sponges all around).
    
  • Horde no longer increases its Movement Speed stat with Horde Level changes.
    
  • Enemy behavior improved to better surround the player when possible.
• 17 new items:
  
  
  • One For All, Fire Extinguisher, Warm Ice Cream, Battery Leakage, Biofuel Energy, Nail Bat, Expired Sushi, Treasure Finder, Nuclear Fusion, 99'th Balloon, Explosive Surprise, Power of Friendship, Life Savings, Mouse Trap, Last Unicorn, Broken Glass, Well Prepped.
• Achievement interfaces reworked into three distinct tabs:
  
  
  • Progression: Displays what can be unlocked next to help players decide their steps.
    
  • Achievements: Non-progression related challenges you know and love (to have more).
    
  • Hall of Torments: COMING SOON! Fully optional hardcore non-Steam achievements.
• 20 new achievements (note: as usual, some item rewards changed/swapped places).
  
• Radar Minimap - with multiple customizable options in the Options -> Interface tab.
  
• Auto Selection - automatic choices, separated for each power-up selection type.
  
• Mechanic Survivor unlock requirements lowered to 4,000 ability activations (from 5,000).
  
• Optimization & game size improvements (we downloaded more FPS for everyone!).
  
• Research Pod event: Virus Sample indicators no longer disappear after a few seconds.
  
• Other minor tweaks.

[h3]Quality of Life:[/h3]

• New "Interface" tab in Options, with additional settings for indicators and radar minimap.
  
• Improvements to interface navigation (e.g. scrolling, power-up selection on gamepad).
  
• Sony PlayStation DualSense and DualShock controllers now display correct prompts.
  
• Controller vibration no longer activates when collecting XP when set to medium or lower.
  
• Added Reroll/Banish/Lockdown/Skip binding in Remap Controls function in Options.
  
• Reroll function now stays selected after rerolling (doesn't reset to the first power-up).
  
• Some items that lacked visual identification for their activation now have it added.
  
• Survivor Specialization Level now displays on their cards at the SOS Signal interface.
  
• Pause Menu: Weapon & Ability tooltips now display their current DPS value.
  
• Skill Tree: Weapon & Ability descriptions display their rank 4 damage type tag bonuses.
  
• Skill Tree: Ability Evolutions are now listed in their unlock node descriptions.
  
• Items: Jade Amulet: Now displays the bonus amount it grants in its tooltip.
  
• Item swap interface now displays items' full description when it's selected.
  
• Huntress: Arrow Rain: Downpour: Tooltip now shows the number of times it will launch.
  
• Medic: Resuscitation: Tooltip now displays how many times it was activated.
  
• Optional game modes are no longer included in map completion at the area selection UI.
  
• Total number of defeats no longer displays in the Zombiepedia.
  
• Other minor QoL additions with interface, color, and translation improvements.

[h3]Balance Changes:[/h3]

• Survivor changes:
  
  
  • Taunt effects now taunt up to 16 enemies with a single effect activation.
    
  • If Survivors are close to the taunt effect, zombies are now able to retarget them.
    
  • Engineer: Energy Shield: Protection: Now blocks projectiles spawned inside the shield.
    
  • Medic: Syringe Gun: Increased starting clip size to 5 (from 2), damage to 120 (from 100), final clip size by 1.
    
  • Mechanic: Chainsaw: Hitbox increased (RIP...).
    
  • Pyro: Axerangs: Hitbox increased (...AND TEAR!).
• Tag changes:
  
  
  • Tag effect activation chances now have diminishing returns, scaling towards ~90%.
    
  • Ice: Slowing effect is now a constant of 25% (no longer scales with Tag amount).
    
  • Ice: Perma-Freeze chance reduced for Elite & Boss enemies.
    
  • Fire: Burn instances now stack up on each other. Each stack lasts at least 3s.
    
  • Fire: Burn effect transfer chance is now a constant of 10% (no longer scales).
• Item changes:
  
  
  • Devil's Deal: Survivor stats are now increased by +25% (from +20%).
    
  • Burger: Max HP decrease effect is now -25% (1/4, from 1/3).
    
  • Scented Candle: Status effect duration now decreases by -15% (from -20%).
    
  • Zugzwang Hypergaster XD: Now increases damage type tags by +5 (from +4).
    
  • Stretcher: Now reduces the Dodge Chance by -1% per stack (from -2%).
    
  • Camping Set: -5 Movement Speed effect removed (what was it even doing there?).
    
  • Wooden Stick: Tweaked for Infinite Mode, counting empty item slots up to 8.
    
  • Empty Chest: Tweaked for Infinite Mode, counting empty item slots up to 8.
    
  • Glass Cannon: Now decreases your Max HP by 25%.
    
  • Gold Medal: XP required to level-up increased by 10% (from 5%).
    
  • Schrodinger's Cat: +10 Luck effect removed.
    
  • Congratulations Letter: Now grants up to two Military Training upgrades at a 50% ratio.

[h3]Bugfixes:[/h3]

• Fix for the new save game files having the default game volume set to 0%.
  
• Items: Skip Rope: Now properly grants bonuses for Research Pod event selection Skips.
  
• Items: Zugzwang Hypergaster XD: Fixed the wrong order of calculations.
  
• Huntress: Bear Trap: Now no longer spawns blood in the no-blood mode (sorry, dads!).
  
• Fixed a rare sound volume issue that happened when alt-tabbing the game window.
  
• Other minor fixes.

PS If you encounter issues with the game crashing or freezing, please refer to our Troubleshoot Guide first!

[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː What's to come?[/h2][hr][/hr]
The update 0.9 is officially the final major update of the Early Access version (release hype!).

That, however, doesn't mean we won't update the game still before the 1.0 version drops. In fact, we currently plan to release a series of smaller updates, which will consist of not only hotfixes to potential reported issues, but also some of the planned features.

Here are the next things we plan to work on:

• Translations / new languages support!
  
• Hall of Torments - Very hard, optional challenges.
  
• Interface/text scaling for handheld devices / Steam Deck verified.
  
• Completion of missing pages for Zombiepedia & Survival Guide.
  
• Presets for requested interfaces (e.g. Item Pool Customization).
  
• Team leader's passives and/or perks for even more run customization.
  
• New gameplay mechanics/map interactables within the playable area.
  
• At least one main boss encounter (one main boss for each map planned).
  
• Ninth Survivor & new map(s?).
  
• More synergies between Survivors, possible item upgrades and/or combinations.
  
• Additional column (fifth rank) for the general & Survivors' skill trees.
  
• Prestige system (new game+).

And... you'll not believe it, but...

• Main hub...
  
• with a story...
  
• and additional quests...
  
• and dialogues with NPCs and Survivors!

Which brings us to:

[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː Release date estimate changes![/h2][hr][/hr]
With the amount of things to come - especially with the last surprise addition mentioned above - we've decided that we're moving the full game release date a bit forward, which now officially stands at the first half of the 2026.

We're sorry for yet another delay, but we ask you for a bit more patience, as we really want to do the release correctly. Version 1.0 impressions from the new and old players will be extremely important for us, as a successful launch on PC and consoles will pave the way for us to continue the development further, adding all the crazy stuff we've missed along the way in our shared adventure in the Early Access!

This time, if we won't encounter any complications along the way, we're confident that we can make it this time, as we have a clear cut of what we want to implement, as well as a bit of leeway to make it happen, with some of the upcoming features actually already being worked on as I write this.


[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː Xbox Game Preview version released![/h2][hr][/hr]
Yes, you've heard that right, YAZS is now available on all Xbox Ones & Series, in a Game Preview (Early Access) version. Also, your demo progress transfers to the retail version!

- https://www.xbox.com/games/store/yet-another-zombie-survivors/9NCK0FXQL38F

Forgive us for not bringing the game to consoles sooner, but we've encountered some roadblocks along the way. For Xbox release, we've had to be selected by the platform holder to be accepted into the Game Preview program, and we actually were, around a month ago (which is the surprise on why update 0.9 got delayed to September, oops)!

About the other console platforms, well... both Sony & Nintendo approach to early access titles and game releases overall required us to skip the "game preview" versions for both of these ecosystems, as well as plan the demo release to be closer to the full game release. While it's unfortunately something outside of our control, we can assure you that...

Our test builds for both PS4, PS5, and Switch (the original one!) are working great, and you'll be able to play the full version of the game at the same time as everyone else, no matter which platform you're on!

PS Update 0.9 will come to Xbox soon, as we polish the last few console-specific related quirks!


[hr][/hr][h2] ːfu_skullː Thanks for sticking with us![/h2][hr][/hr]
If you've read through it all, you're the real MVP!

There were a lot of things happening in the background these last couple of weeks, so we're thankful for your patience while we've worked on the update to one of your favorite post-time activities.

Special thanks, as always, to our brave beta testers, who made sure your experience will be bug-free (except the bugs we've added in the last few days - sorry!)!

Now, please enjoy yourself, no matter if you're playing on Steam or on Xbox. We hope you'll continue to enjoy the game and will keep us informed on what you would add or change. Remember, we're here, and we DO listen to all your feedback and suggestions!


ㅤStay awesome,
ㅤㅤAwesome Games Studio


ㅤ  Discord ㅤ   Bluesky ㅤ   X ㅤ   Facebook ㅤ   Instagram


[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]

[h2]Welcome, Survivor![/h2][p]
We are launching the beta test for the 0.9 update to the game. Please read the information below to find out what's changing in this build and how you can help us test things. Keep in mind that everything is subject to change based on your feedback, so please let us know what you think.

[/p][hr][/hr][p]IMPORTANT: To reduce any possible confusion and accelerate the implementation of changes, please keep all the discussion related to the test versions to the spaces listed below:
[/p]

• [p]A dedicated #yazs-beta channel on our Discord server.
  [/p]
• [p]"Public Beta Test" sub forum on YAZS Steam forums.
  [/p]
• [p]Comments under this post.[/p]

[p]You can also send us your feedback at [email protected]
adding "0.9 Beta" somewhere in the title of your message. Thanks!

[/p][hr][/hr][h2]How to join the Public Beta Test?[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Want to help us out & get an early look at the new version of the game? Awesome!

[/p][h3]DISCLAIMER: Before jumping straight in, please understand that this version of the game might be unstable, create issues when switching between old & new builds of the game, and may generally be less stable, more buggy, and in an overall imperfect state. We will do our best to help you with any issues, but please understand the risks associated with beta testing.[/h3][p]
If you understand the potential problems and are willing to take the risk, here's how you can get in:

[/p][h2]How to join:[/h2]

1. [p]Open your Steam client, find Yet Another Zombie Survivors on your games list, right-click its name and select the "Properties..." option.
   [/p]
2. [p]Enter the "Betas" tab, click the "None" drop-down menu on the right, and select the "public-beta" option. You can always return to the default version of the game by selecting "None" again.
   [/p]
3. [p]If you want to share your feedback about the beta version (thanks in advance!), click the image below to join our Discord server (you'll need an account for that, but it'll be worth it, believe me!):
   [/p]
4. [p]When joined, you will be able to comment on the current beta version in the new #yazs-beta forums, which you can join by selecting it from the drop-down list:
   [/p]
5. [p]And that's all! If the beta/test version of the game is different from the current one, the Steam will update the game with its changes. You will know that the Beta Branch is active from the "\[public-beta]" text to the right of the game's title in your game's library.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]What should I test in this version?[/h2][hr][/hr][p]The new difficulty scaling! Especially the experience from the start till the later levels. We've worked hard to ensure that all areas, modes, and difficulties now scale more consistently than before. If the difficulty feels wrong, please share your experience and Survival Level with us! Oh, right! There's also a new map, enemies, items, achievements, and lots of other stuff!

Here are some of the things that have been added/changed in this release:
[/p]

• [p]New area with new hazards and 6 new enemies (2 boss enemies).
  [/p]
• [p]Endless mode reworked into two separate modes: Endurance & Infinite.
  [/p]
• [p]New difficulty scaling system for all maps, game modes, difficulty & horde levels.
  [/p]
• [p]New enemy type: Elite Boss - immune to status effects, spawns on Endurance mode.
  [/p]
• [p]17 new items & 20 new achievements (will be added to Steam at 0.9 full release).
  [/p]
• [p]Reworked Achievements menu, with each type of challenge now tied to its own tab.
  [/p]
• [p]Radar Minimap & Randomize Choices options. New options menu tab - Interface.
  [/p]
• [p]Multiple other bugfixes, balance & quality of life changes.[/p]

[p]We'll provide the final changelog at the full release of the 0.9 update.

[/p][hr][/hr][h2]What should I do if the game works worse or crashes?[/h2][hr][/hr][p]Keep us posted on the stability of the game, as we'll continue to work on improving the game and fixing any issues you may encounter with this beta test. If the game stutters or crashes more than before, please let us know!

If your game is performing worse than before, please press F8 on your keyboard and quickly fill out the survey to let us know what's going on. This will also send us your log files so we can check if there are any errors happening in the background.

If your game is crashing, freezing, lagging, or you've lost your progress, please make sure you've checked the Troubleshooting Guide (link below) first, and contact [email protected] with the description of the issue you've encountered.

:fu_gold: https://steamcommunity.com/app/2163330/discussions/0/830459290005355070/

[/p][hr][/hr][p]There are a lot of additions in this update, and a few details we need to polish, so we'll probably keep this beta running for around two weeks. Naturally, we'll make the necessary changes and improvements based on your feedback.

Thank you for all your support and patience :heart_me:ㅤStay awesome,
ㅤㅤAwesome Games Studio



[/p][hr][/hr][h2]0.9.0_beta6 changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][p]- Fixed an issue where Zombies could sometimes get stuck or stop rendering entirely[/p][p]- 99th Balloon now correctly stops working after reaching level 100+[/p][p]- Changed Hashtag Sample Minimap color from red to purple[/p][p]- Huntress: Arrow Rain: Downpour tooltip now shows the exact number of times it will fire[/p][p]- Huntress: Bear Trap now doesn't spawn blood when gore is disabled[/p][p]- Humongous: ground hit particles now accurately display the damage zone range[/p][p]- Spitter: model now properly rotate towards the player[/p][p]


[/p][hr][/hr][h2]0.9.0_beta5 changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][p]- Fixed an issue where Hardcore Train Station could end before the 10-minute mark[/p][p]- Corrected behavior of Ultra Instinct & One For All[/p][p]- Horde Level scaling readjusted (slower HP & MS increase)[/p][p]- Single taunt can now target up to 16 zombies[/p][p]- Auto-Selection now includes an additional "Skip" option[/p][p]- 99th Balloon is no longer available in Extermination mode[/p][p]- Jade Amulet now correctly displays its current bonuses[/p][p]- Extended information in tooltips of some items[/p][p]- Various internal optimization improvements
[/p][p]Current priority: making some changes to the late game balance (think hashtags statuses & horde scaling)[/p][p]




[/p][hr][/hr][h2]0.9.0_beta4 changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][p]- Fixed an issue where zombies stopped spawning after ~1h 45m[/p][p]- Fixed Firefrighter behavior (yet again)[/p][p]- Mouse-over popups now display at the correct size[/p][p]- Endurance & Super Elites: now spawn at roughly the same rate as their regular counterparts, with reduced HP and damage[/p][p]- Potential fix for FSR staying enabled even when turned off in options (please let us know if it still happens)[/p][p]- Treasure Hunter no longer automatically replaces items[/p][p]- Congratulations Letter now works properly[/p][p]- Deworming achievement is now correctly granted when completing modes other than Default/Hardcore[/p][p]- Reduced Endurance Train Station difficulty a bit[/p][p]- "That Which Does Not Kill Us" & "Push It Through The Limit" are now unlocked only when condition is actually met

[/p][hr][/hr][h2]0.9.0_beta3 changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][p]- Added an option to temporarily override auto-aim by holding LMB (mouse only - functionality for controllers will come at later date)[/p][p]- DPS values now appear during runs when hovering over weapons and ability popups[/p][p]- Reduced Movement Speed horde scaling with Horde Level[/p][p]- Zombie Horrid particle effects now stop playing when killed[/p][p]- Zombie Firefrighter should no longer remain immortal :)[/p][p]- Fixed Zombie Chainsawman movement issues and improved the jump attack indicator[/p][p]- Humongous melee attack animation is now slightly faster[/p][p]- Fixed some UI navigation issues[/p][p]- Improved descriptions for Vampire Survivor and Treasure Finder




[/p][hr][/hr][h2]0.9.0_beta2 changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][p]- Infinite Mode no longer has item limits (previously capped at 28 by mistake)[/p][p]- Empty Chests now correctly cap at 8 stacks[/p][p]- Firefrighter now slows down slightly when killed and shows an explosion warning indicator[/p][p]- Trains appear more frequently[/p][p]- Various minor UX improvements and bug fixes[/p][p]


ㅤ  Discord ㅤ X / Twitter ㅤ  Facebook ㅤ Instagram ㅤ TikTok

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

ㅤ[h3]Welcome, Survivors![/h3]

Got your tickets ready?

[hr][/hr]

• [h3]All aboard the hype train![/h3]

[hr][/hr]
ㅤㅤ

The fourth map, which we'll add soon with the 0.9 Update, will make you question your love for trains.

The Train Station (working name, we're not sure if it'll stick, suggestions plz!) will provide a new twist to the formula. It is shaped like a horizontal rectangle that expands to the left and right from the central default spawn location. The map will offer a new moody environment, heavy metal tunes, brand new enemies, and train tracks intersecting all throughout the playable area.

Thankfully, it's not all doom and gloom. Trains can hurt Survivors and zombies alike. These ironclad killer machines appear when indicated, so you'll be able to refer to warnings at crossings, both to keep your Survivors far from danger, and to use trains to deal some serious damage to your opponents!

Speaking of dangerous situations, the new enemies are a pretty fun and diverse bunch of Horde offshoots. Get ready to be punched by a two-ton mutant, stomped by a chainsaw man, exploded by larva-mines, and blocked by hammer-wielding railway workers. If you're up for the challenge, the rewards will be worth it. Remember, each following area grants more Specialization Points and Cash drops, not to mention the satisfaction of overcoming the greater challenge!

[hr][/hr]

• [h3]The ride never ends![/h3]

[hr][/hr]
Item slots limit your build? Want to disable it and have fun breaking the game?



We want the game to be stable and balanced in its default state, but we're also looking into ways to offer a more "for fun" game mode, since we're making ongoing improvements to the game's optimization. We're thinking of naming this game mode "Infinite Mode." It'd let you break through the ceilings with features like a much higher item limit or maybe even the possibility of equipping all of them at once (we'll have to see)!

A game mode like this would be optional, and it wouldn't be included in the leaderboards system. It would also have a nerfed meta-progression/achievement-related rewards tied to it. At the end of the day, we still want you to enjoy the game itself and everything it has to offer. This would let us keep improving Endless Mode to make it more of a "survival" experience (Endure Mode, anyone?), which gets much harder over time. Players would no longer be invincible for hours on end, and the leaderboards would cease to be all about who can keep their PC running the longest.

On a side note, you'll eventually be able to equip more items in all game modes, as we'll be expanding the maximum amount limit with the general skill tree expansion, which will be featured in version 1.0 at the latest. We'd love to hear your thoughts on our "Infinite" (optional) game mode idea!

[hr][/hr]

• [h3]Achievements, progression & challenges[/h3]

[hr][/hr]
Remember how we've promised the addition of optional challenges for hardcore players?



We're going to be reworking the achievements interfaces to make these possible, since we're planning to create different tabs for each type of in-game achievement. The plan is to keep most achievements as they are, but improve them with progress bars when they make sense (e.g. achievements with completion accumulated with multiple runs).

Any meta-progression achievements related to important unlocks, like game modes, levels, Survivor specialization ranks, and so on, are going to be moved over to a separate tab. This should make it easier to keep track of your main in-game progress and quickly check out what could be the next on your journey.

The third tab will be brand new and will feature special challenges you can complete for bragging rights. They range from hard to diabolically unfair, so be sure to remember, that these will be 100% optional and not for the faint of heart. These challenges won't unlock any Steam achievements, but they'll give you in-game points, a total of which could be displayed in your in-game profile for bragging rights.

Also, there's a slight chance that these points might be a way to unlock some cosmetic additions, but we'll have to wait and see!

[hr][/hr]

• [h3]Translations coming soon? 👀[/h3]

[hr][/hr]
As we get closer to the full release, we're working on adding support for all the languages you've requested (and that we can provide)!



As you know, while we're working on developing the game, we're constantly changing and updating the in-game text. Still, we're working on getting the translation systems ready (e.g. proper font implementation and character codes), and we're teaming up with our partners to make the translation process as painless as possible. Naturally, we can't promise to support 100% of the languages - we're a small indie team after all, and this would be a colossal task even for the AAA companies - but we'll try to support most of the ones you've requested!

Stay tuned for more! We predict that the support for new languages won't be ready for the release of version 0.9.0, but we'll try to release it as part of a standard update shortly after, either as the 0.9.1 or 0.9.2 game updates.

[hr][/hr]

• [h3]Diana joins the Awesome Team![/h3]

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On the topic of small indie teams, we're growing yet again!

Diana, who helped us out during the Fury Unleashed development days, is coming back to join us full time. She's ready to face the Horde head on, but more importantly, she'll help us with the important marketing stuff, since she's awesome at that, and we're… sometimes not!


Oh, and she's got a cat, so that brings the Awesome Pets Squad up to 11. Thinking about it, Awesome Games Studio is currently made up of more animals than humans!

Anyway, be sure to swing by our Awesome Discord Server and give @dianix a warm welcome!

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• [h3]We've launched a dev blog![/h3]

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As you know, not every player uses the Steam News section as their main source of info, especially when they play our games other platforms. Thinking about all of you, we're launching our own DEV BLOG website to help spread the word about the development and updates on our games and other Awesome-related stuff.

We'll be adding new info and moving some of the older Steam News posts there, so that players on all platforms have an easy way of catching up if they'd like to.

To keep things consistent, we'll be keeping the blog content in English only. We'd love to hear your feedback, especially if you have any ideas for new features.

Be sure to bookmark our blog and check back front time to time: https://awesomegamesstudio.com/blog/

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• [h3]Price increase incoming![/h3]

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As stated in our FAQ at the beginning of Early Access, this moment was bound to happen sooner or later.

[h3]On July 24, the price of YAZS will rise from $10 to $15. Be sure to grab the game now at the old price and with a -30% discount running up until then![/h3]
This change will happen only once. There will be no price increases at full release or afterward. In fact, the game will at times be cheaper than ever before, as we plan to continue offering sale discounts as we always do with our games. After all, we want everyone to be able to enjoy them!

As we draw ever closer to the game's full release, we would like to thank you for all your support so far. You are all awesome!

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• [h3]Drink plenty of water![/h3]

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Thanks for sticking with us, both through the time and space, and this development post as well.

Please maintain proper hydration levels, as summers have been getting hotter lately. Also, don't hype up the upcoming update too much, as it could lead to a risk of losing too much water.



I'll see you soon!

ㅤStay awesome,
ㅤㅤKalafiorek @ Awesome Games Studio

[h3]Welcome, Survivor![/h3]

We're pushing a small hotfix update with fixes to reported issues from version 0.8.1.

Here are the changes in this version, as well as some of the others that were pushed as silent hotfixes:

• Improvements were made to the game's stability to hopefully prevent in-game crashes*.
  
• Fixes for some errors with the Reroll function related to Survivor Level-up interfaces.
  
• Gunner Badge fixed to have the correct, higher bonus to Kinetic damage.
  
• Extermination: Fixed the issue where the wave information box would show enemy quantity as "0".
  
• "Scented Candle" item now properly increases the chance of status infliction by 50% (instead of adding a flat +50%).
  
• Fixed a few audio-related issues.
  
• Fixed issues with fonts sometimes not rendering properly.
  
• Language & translation improvements.
  
• Other minor fixes & tweaks.

* - In the event, that you're still experiencing crashes, please try the troubleshooting instructions provided in the Troubleshooting Guide, and if they don't help, provide us with the files and the information listed at the bottom of this post. Thank you!

Thank you for your reports and feedback. Please let us know if you encounter any other errors while playing, and have fun!

ㅤStay awesome,
ㅤㅤAwesome Games Studio

ㅤ  Discord ㅤ   Bluesky ㅤ   X ㅤ   Facebook ㅤ   Instagram

[h3]Welcome, Survivor![/h3]

We're introducing another update to the game in the form of version 0.8.1.

This update focuses on delivering a few of the new things we've promised to add, as well as adding a new gameplay event to the game to shake things up a bit before the main course arrives (in terms of a major version update).

[h2]New Gameplay Event: Research Pod[/h2]

To enable this event, you will need to spend points on the new General Skill Tree node, available at rank 3.

At certain intervals, depending on the game mode, you'll receive an SOS-like signal telling you that the Research Pod has appeared somewhere in the current area. By following the new purple virus notification icon, you'll find the pod, which you can interact with by standing near it to start the event.



You'll have one minute to find and collect the research samples scattered throughout the playable area, which contain valuable data about the zombie virus mutations. The more you collect within the time limit, the greater your reward, but don't stress yourself too much as you'll be rewarded anyway.

When you return to the original location of the capsule, you'll be able to choose from a random pool of damage type tags, which will give you bonus points based on the number of samples you've collected. We hope you'll enjoy this side quest, and we look forward to adding or improving other events in future updates.

[h2]Save Slots (Player Profiles) & Per-Device Settings[/h2]

You'll now be able to have several different save profiles, which you can switch through at will from the main menu screen. You can now try a fun challenge on a separate slot, or share one or two with your siblings!



You can have up to 5 profiles, either by creating new ones or by copying your current ones to new slots. Speaking of copies and backups, each save slot creates up to 10 backup files in case you want or need to revert to an older save (file recovery still requires manual intervention).

Gone are the days of having to constantly toggle graphics options when swapping your desktop for a laptop or Steam Deck. These settings are now stored locally, so each device you play on will have its own configuration without overwriting each other.

[h2]Other Quality of Life & Balance Improvements[/h2]

We've also added other tweaks and fixes along the way. For example, the new accessibility setting - Daylight Mode - switches the game's night setting to a cloudy afternoon, improving the experience for those of you who found the game a little too dark.



We're also replacing the "Quit to Main Menu" option with the "Conclude Run" option, so you can always "gracefully" end your current run and reap your rewards. Quitting (and dying) will now collect all cash pickups that are currently on the level, so you don't have to worry about missing any of them when you take a break from the game!

We've also taken another look at the most overused and underused options in terms of the game balance. While we're happy to report that the overall situation is now much better after the changes introduced in recent updates, we're continuing our work to improve the underdogs and reduce the overpowered "only right choices" with a few quick tweaks.

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[h3]GAMEPLAY & QUALITY OF LIFE CHANGES[/h3]

• New gameplay event: Field Research:
  
  • Unlocked by a rank 3 node in the general skill-tree.
    
  • Activate the event by standing near the Research Pod area when it spawns at random location in approximate time intervals.
    
  • Find and collect Research Samples before the time runs out, the more you get, the higher the reward!
    
  • After the collection phase ends, deposit the Samples into the Pod to receive bonus tag points from randomized pool (rerollable).
• New accessibility option: Daylight Mode:
  
  • Forces the game to take place during the day instead of at night.
  • Can improve the experience for players who find the game too dark.
• All runs now conclude with Cash pickups being collected from the level, instead of only when the run ended on victory state.
  
• Explosive damage type Tag: Gains a new effect - Implosion: Has 1% chance per Tag to refresh and reapply all other active status effects.
  
• “Conclude Run” now substitutes the deprecated “Quit to Main Menu” function. When concluding, Survivors no longer play their defeat animations.
  
• Reduced the chance of same options appearing again when using the Reroll function on power-up select screen.
  
• Damage type colors revised and unified in gameplay, interface and tooltips (Slashing is red, Explosive is yellow, Kinetic is ecru, etc.).

[h3]BALANCE CHANGES[/h3]

• Burn: Base damage is now 30 per damage tick (from 25).
  
• Pyro: Molotov Cocktail: Ice: The Ice portion of this ability now guarantees Freeze status.
  
• Mechanic: Chainsaw: Now has wider range and better character rotation.
  
• Mechanic: Remote Control Car: RC cars have longer pause between uses & targetting AI improved.
  
• Items: Devil’s Deal: Now deals 10% damage every 5s, and activates most on-hit effects.
  
• Items: Scented Candle: Status effect duration debuff reduced to -20% (from -25%).
  
• Items: Zugzwang Hypergaster XD: Now adds +4 points to tags (from +3).
  
• Items: Pills: Damage boost duration increased to 30s (from 20s).
  
• Military Training: Luck bonuses increased to 2/5/10/20 (from 2/5/10/15).
  
• Military Training: Ability Area bonuses increased to 2,5/10/20/30 (from 2,5/5/10/20).
  
• Badges: All damage type badges had their damage and tag amount increased to max +6 & 40% (from +5 & 25%).
  
• Badges: Tough Badge: Stat bonuses decreased to max 400 & 25 (from 500 & 50).
  
• Badges: Speed Badge: Stat bonuses decreased to max 25% & 40% (from 30% & 50%).
  
• Damage Against Elites & Bosses skill tree nodes and badge nerfed (25% → 20%).
  
• Achievements: “Explosion!” range requirements lowered.

[h3]BUGFIXES:[/h3]

• Potential fixes for game crashes, especially ones related to the Extermination mode on Green Hell.
  
• F8 Feedback Form should no longer allow the game to be unpaused in the background when it’s in use.
  
• Items: “Zugzwang Hypergaster XD” should once again work correctly.
  
• Items: Improved the synergy between “Ultra Instinct” and “Omnigeode”.
  
• SWAT: Ricochet: Slashing variant now counts to total Slashing damage done.
  
• TANK: Bombing Strike: Electric variant fixed to deal electric damage when it’s under 10 tags.
  
• Medic: Syringer: Description now correctly displays “Magazine Size” stat instead of “Projectiles fired”.
  
• Engineer: Energy Shield: Particle effects position corrected.
  
• Huntress: Arrow Rain: Visuals now better coincide with its actual range. Indicators removed for clarity.
  
• Other minor fixes (e.g. localization).

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We'll be sure to post hotfixes as needed, but we'll be switching gears to work on the remaining content for version 1.0, specifically the new Survivor and two remaining maps. We haven't decided yet if the next version will be 0.9 or if we'll go straight to the full release, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we do (be sure to "follow" the game on Steam to see the latest news!)

For the near future, we plan to work on the things listed below:

• Ninth Survivor & two missing maps (new map is a priority).
  
• Team leader's passives and/or perks for even more run customization.
  
• At least one main boss encounter (one main boss for each map planned).
  
• More synergies between Survivors, possible item upgrades and/or combinations.
  
• Additional column (fifth rank) for the general & Survivors' skill trees (more meta-progression).
  
• New endless-like game mode (non-ranked) focused on fun, instead of the fight for survival.
  
• Full release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/Series & PlayStation 4/5.
  
• Steam Deck support improvements / verification.
  
• Support for more languages (translations).

PS Don't worry about the missing features, as we plan to support the game after its full release, so we can add more fun content and improvements along the way!

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In case you missed it, we've also created an Official Troubleshooting Guide that we hope will help any of you who encounter any kind of problem with the game (we hope you don't, of course), so take a quick look at it if you have a moment.

Thanks again for sticking with us! We hope you have a great time with the game, and we ask for your patience as we work on the final stretch before the full release - it'll be worth it!

Cheers!


ㅤStay awesome,
ㅤㅤAwesome Games Studio


ㅤ  Discord ㅤ   Bluesky ㅤ   X ㅤ   Facebook ㅤ   Instagram


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2163330/Yet_Another_Zombie_Survivors/