Hey Zookeepers!
It's been a while since our last update, and now we’re excited to announce a massive update that fixes all known major bugs and brings significant design changes to the game. We've worked to reduce repetitiveness, make the game more accessible, and implement extensive quality-of-life improvements. Here’s the list of fixes:
[h2]Design[/h2]
- The global core loop has been changed. Now, your primary objective is solely to extract the parasite from an infected animal. All other mechanics are auxiliary and serve to help achieve this main goal.
- The tutorial has been globally reworked and expanded. You will complete a parasite extraction mission, which will serve as the first gameplay task for identifying a mutant before transformation. IMPORTANT: If you have existing save files, it is strongly recommended to start a new game with the tutorial to understand the new gameplay mechanics and prevent potential bugs. We have attempted to accommodate old save files, but issues may still arise. A replay option for the tutorial has been added for each new game.
- The mandatory gameplay loop requiring full analysis collection to determine the correct medicine has been completely removed. Now, you can diagnose animals by analyzing only external symptoms such as scars, mucus, and zoochosis. This mechanic was present before but is now more transparent, making the UV flashlight a more essential tool.
- The vet station has been completely redesigned and simplified. You no longer need to search for the correct medicine in a list by description—just apply the necessary filters.
- Parasite vaccines have been completely removed. Now, both mutants and animals are treated with a single type of medicine, and your task is only to identify the disease and the mutant.
- A major new feature: If you make a mistake with the mutant’s medicine or kill the mutant, all infected animals will die along with it. You will have multiple ways to prevent animal deaths.
- Posters have been reworked. Collecting them now unlocks additional information in the vet station about animal behavior under different diseases.
- Disease balance has been adjusted to ensure a more even distribution of diverse animal behaviors for all players.
- The task system in the PDA has been reworked. Now, only the latest active task will be displayed in the PDA to avoid confusion, and each task will include a clear description of what needs to be done.
- The monster will now appear immediately in the next enclosure after the tutorial.
- The balance and generation of consumable items have been adjusted.
[h2]Controls[/h2]
- The control system has been completely rewritten to eliminate focus loss on certain screens.
- Support for DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers has been added.
- Full UI navigation via keyboard has been implemented.
[h2]UI/UX[/h2]
- New control hints for both PC and gamepads have been added.
- Animal avatars in terminals have been redesigned.
- The vet station has been completely overhauled.
- The parasite storage system has been improved.
- UX improvements to the PDA task system and its hint system.
- The profile menu’s visuals have been adjusted.
- Fixed boss health bar animations for damage and recovery states.
- Added notifications for gamepad connection and disconnection.
- The story choice notification has been made more noticeable.
[h2]Animations[/h2]
- Many IK animation issues for animals and bosses have been fixed (still needs polishing).
- Hands now lower when holding gadgets near walls.
[h2]Optimization[/h2]
- The game has undergone a major transition to Unreal Engine 5.5, which fixed numerous rendering issues. We hope this will resolve many optimization-related problems. On an RTX 3060, we are seeing 90 FPS without DLSS and 140 FPS with DLSS enabled.
[h2]BUGS[/h2]
Parasites
- Parasitic Disappearance: The parasite disappears in the enclosure if the player loads a save after the boss spits it out.
- Parasite Collection Input Block: Switching gadgets while collecting a parasite into the MFE blocks player controls and prevents collection.
[h2]Controls & UI[/h2]
- Input Lock with PDA Open: If the boss attacks while the PDA is open, all inputs get blocked.
- [Controller] Movement Input Not Working: Left stick and right stick do not respond until performing another action after entering the game.
- PDA Sometimes Opens Without a Model, Only Screen Visible.
- [Controller] UI Input Lock in In-Game Menu When Switching Between Mouse/Controller.
- PDA Task List Opens at Bottom: Players must scroll up to see tasks.
- [Endings] Text Formatting Issues: Ending texts are incorrectly split across screens (TITLE_01/02/03).
- Story Notes Display Issues.
[h2]Boss Fights[/h2]
- Boss Feeding Exit Block: The player is unable to leave the enclosure while feeding the boss.
- Boss Healing Issue: Healing the boss with meat does not properly complete the boss fight.
- Boss Grab During Transformation: The boss can grab the player during the transformation sequence at the start of the fight.
- Exit Block After Pre-Healing Boss: The player cannot leave the enclosure after pre-healing the boss.
- Boss Not Healing: Sometimes, bosses do not heal after being shot with the correct medicine.
- Boss in Defeat State Eats Meat.
- Boss Takes Too Long to Enter Feeding State.
- Boss Fight UI Not Disappearing: The UI remains active when leaving the enclosure during the boss fight.
- Bosses Do Not Retreat After Biting the Player.
- Boss Spins in Defeat State When Shot.
- Boss HP Bar Refills: When leaving the enclosure after defeating the boss, the HP bar refills.
- Boss Regained HP Above 6 Unexpectedly.
[h2]Animal Behavior[/h2]
- Animals with Allergy Won't Eat.
- Infected Animal Teleport Issue: The infected animal does not teleport under the enclosure at the start of the boss fight.
- Blood Extraction Possible While PDA is Open.
- Tranquilized Animals Have No Collision: This makes blood extraction inconsistent.
- Boss Fight Animal Behavior Persists: Previously infected animals still behave aggressively after the boss is healed.
- Animals Poop Instead of Vomiting After Eating Meat.
[h2]Enclosures & Animal AI[/h2]
- Animal Stuck in Rocks.
- Mutant and Animal Stuck Inside Each Other.
- Mutant Stuck on Slide.
- Mutant Passed Through Player: The boss phased through the player during landing, grabbed the camera, attacked a penguin, and got stuck.
- Elephant Stuck, Won't Eat.
- Mutant Movement Issues.
- Mutant Stuck and Not Responding to Shots.
- Gorillas Get Stuck on the Bridge.
- Animals Incorrectly Interact with Petting Animations.
- Mutant Can Enter Terminal Zone and Get Stuck.
- Mutant Spawns Invisible and Stays AFK.
- Mutant Has No Collision in Defeat State.
[h2]Hub & Train Issues[/h2]
- Doc Blocks Train Entry: If the player listens to Doc’s monologue outside the train, he may block the entrance.
- Doc Vanishes: Doc does not return to the train and disappears entirely.
- Locked Train Doors in NG+ Tutorial: The train doors remain locked after parasite submission.
- Getting Stuck Behind Doc in Terminal Area.
[h2]Items & Gadgets[/h2]
- Mobile Device Duplication: Using the mobile device in the lab allows duplication of the vacuum bucket.
- Gadget Disappearance: Some gadgets disappear randomly.
- Vet Gun Appears in Player’s Hand and Train Storage.
- Lethal Dart Ineffective After Monster-to-Animal Transition.
- Switching from UV Light to Another Gadget Leaves Mucus Visible.
- Paul's Hands Detached from Gadgets Near Walls/Props.
[h2]Story & Missions[/h2]
- Temperlax Dispenser Issue: The task to collect Temperlax from the dispenser does not progress.
- Impossible to Craft Temperlax: The vet station opens in the "Symptoms" tab instead of "Crafting" in the tutorial.
- Task Not Updating: If the player enters another enclosure after completing the giraffe enclosure, tasks do not update.
- "Medic" Achievement Not Unlocking: The "Medic" achievement does not unlock when healing an infected animal without taking any samples.
- Wrong Ending Triggered: Ending 3 triggered instead of the expected Ending 4.
[h2]Cutscenes & Animations[/h2]
- Cutscene Input Not Blocked: The player can still move during the cutscene where Sara receives the poison.
- Doc Lacks Facial Animations.
- Hub Area Visible for Several Frames in Opening Cutscene.
- Broken Jump & Wall Poses: Boss animation issues when climbing walls.
[h2]New Game+ & Tutorial Issues[/h2]
- Soft Lock on NG+ Tutorial Failure: Failing the tutorial in NG+ results in being unable to travel to any enclosure.
- Escape Soft Lock: Pressing "Esc" in the NG+ tutorial selection window starts a new game without a tutorial.
- Mucus Disease Generation: In rare cases, the game generates mucus disease in all giraffes instead of only Beau and Poe.
- NG+ Tutorial Rains Unexpectedly.
[h2]Miscellaneous[/h2]
- Terminal Soft Lock: Unable to exit the terminal if the player enters it just before the boss fight starts.
Thank you to everyone who responded to our request for help in finding difficult and elusive bugs, and to all those who continue to support us despite the issues you encountered during your playthrough. We are continuing to polish the game, and good news is coming soon!
