Milo News

[h3]TLDR: The demo sucks but we're fixing it[/h3][p][/p][p]I want to extend a heartfelt 'thank you' to everybody who has played Milo and supported this crazy dream of mine. Four years ago I decided to make a game instead of growing up (I'm now 37 years old smh). But the joke is on me because I grew up anyway, and now Milo is four years old. He has legs. He can walk and talk. He even makes new friends. I sometimes miss when it was just us. When I reflect on how far he has come I'm both in awe and terrified, because I understand now that he doesn't just belong with me, he belongs with you too.[/p][p][/p][h3]What Happened?[/h3][p]In case you're unaware, the Demo for Milo was featured in this past Steam NextFest. It was a massive disappointment as it performed far below my expectations, garnering about 1800 wishlists, around 15 (mostly) negative reviews, and 2,500 players). To be honest, i was (and frankly still am) devastated by some of the reviews. I'm not asking for sympathy, but it's difficult to hear things like this - 
[/p][p][c]"It's as if someone plugged "code me a playable BO3 zombies clone but don't worry about the features, gameplay loop, or performance" into chatgpt and just slapped it up on steam."[/c][/p][p][/p][p][c]"This is basically a barebones and sloppier version of cod zombies."[/c]
[/p][p]- during a major event showcasing my passion project that I've dedicated four years of my life to and sacrificed so much for. But thankfully among all of the reviews (including negative ones) there were golden nuggets of honest feedback that are helping us shape the future of Milo and make it a success! [/p][p][/p][h3]What Did We Learn?[/h3][p]We learned that players who simply visit the Milo page are likely to wishlist the game (neat!) ...but only if they DIDN'T try the demo (players are 8x more likely to wishlist Milo if they don't play the demo). The median playtime for the demo is also very poor (11 minutes). In lay terms, this means that the demo sucks, but people are excited for the final product.[/p][p][/p][h3]What Now?[/h3][p]My publisher/co-developer team at Yarrawah Interactive stumbled on an old build of the Demo and wound up having a lot of fun playing it. I played it too and agree that it's more fun than the current Demo and it performs better. So, we swapped the live Demo build so new players can(hopefully) have a better experience with Milo and hopefully play it longer. For those of you who are happy with the current state of the Demo, you can still play it on the beta branch on Steam (code: cream1234567). For now, we are going to continue developing Milo and addressing player feedback.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you again for playing, and for your interest. I love you. [/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]STEAM NEXT FEST DEMO IS LIVE![/p][p]Next Fest Update is LIVE: New Characters, Perks, and a Revamped Economy![/p][p][/p][p]We are thrilled to announce that Milo is part of Steam Next Fest October 2025![/p][p][/p][p]To celebrate, we've just pushed a new update to the demo based on your incredible feedback. We've added new content, rebalanced the demo experience, and polished the game to a beautiful nightmare.[/p][p][/p][p]What's New in the Next Fest Demo?[/p][p]We've been hard at work making the demo experience deadlier, more rewarding, and most importantly, more fun. Here’s a breakdown of what’s waiting for you in the trenches:[/p]

• [p]The Kill Leaderboard is Live! - Think you’re the ultimate survivor? Prove it. We’ve added a new leaderboard tracking the most kills. Climb the ranks during Next Fest and claim your bragging rights![/p]
• [p]Temporary Buffs - A handful of powerful new perks have been added to the loot pool. These temporary buffs are here to give you a taste of what's yet to come![/p]
• [p]A Second Chance at Survival - You now start with a ‘Second Chance’ ability, allowing you to survive a fatal blow and get back in the fight. It’s a game-changer when you’re cornered by the horde.[/p]
• [p]The Horde Reimagined - All cultists have received a major visual overhaul and now swarm the trenches with renewed ferocity. They look better, move better, and are more eager than ever to test your skills.[/p]
• [p]Performance Boost with NVIDIA DLSS & AMD FSR Support - Crank up the visuals without sacrificing performance. We’ve integrated both DLSS and FSR to help you achieve the smoothest framerates possible, letting you focus on the carnage.[/p]
• [p]Arcade Economy Upgrade - The path to power is now clearer: Earn Points from kills, spend them on weapons or buy Tokens at the arcade, and use those Tokens to earn powerful upgrades![/p]

• [p]Complete Game Balance - Based on your feedback, we've performed a full balancing pass. From weapon tuning and enemy health to horde spawn rates, the game should feel more fun, yet still challenging. [/p]

[p]

[/p][p]A Glimpse of What's Coming...[/p][p]While you enjoy the demo, know that our forges are running hot. We are deep in development on the next wave of content that will be coming to the full release, including:[/p]

• [p]An Entirely New Arsenal: We have an all new collection of weapons to dramatically expand your loadout options.[/p]
• [p]New Maps & Enemies: Prepare for new battlegrounds that will test your skills in different ways, populated by new, terrifying cultists.[/p]
• [p]Full Co-Op Experience: The ultimate goal is to let you face the horde with your friends.[/p]

[p]

[/p][p]How You Can Help![/p]

1. [p]PLAY THE DEMO: Your playtime and feedback during Next Fest are invaluable. Download the update and show Milo what you're made of![/p]
2. [p]WISHLIST THE GAME: This is the #1 way to support us. It tells Steam you're interested and ensures you don't miss our launch.[/p]
3. [p]JOIN THE COMMUNITY: Join Our Discord! The best place to share feedback, report bugs, and chat directly with us and other survivors.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Thank you for being part of this insane journey with us. Now get in there and have some fun![/p][p][/p][p]Changelog[/p][p]Core Gameplay:[/p]

• [p]Added sprint and marketing features.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted map difficulty and lowered zombie damage.[/p]
• [p]Implemented a second chance ability and adjustments to pop corpse effects.[/p]
• [p]Introduced new powerups, including an infinite cream powerup, and adjusted wave scaling.[/p]
• [p]Added temporary effects like insta-kill.[/p]
• [p]Added the ability for players to purchase tokens with points.[/p]
• [p]Fixed issues with the cream machine and powerup pickups.[/p]

[p]Cultists[/p]

• [p]Significant updates to cultists, including various new versions[/p]
• [p]FX, and face adjustments.[/p]
• [p]Overhauled all character animations for smoother, more realistic movement.[/p]
• [p]Improved ragdoll physics and enemy reactions.[/p]

[p]Engine & Systems:[/p]

• [p]Minor code adjustment to remove a redundant RHI check.[/p]
• [p]Extensive work on Nanite implementation, including enabling it, modifying file configurations, and updating various items to use the new system.[/p]

[p]Weapons & Items:[/p]

• [p]Recoil is now scaled with attack speed.[/p]
• [p]Rebalanced various weapon stats for better gameplay.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted aim assist and sky brightness.[/p]

[p]UI & Leaderboards/Stats:[/p]

• [p]Added UI indicators for powerups and improved code for temporary effects.[/p]
• [p]Implemented font changes.[/p]
• [p]Implemented more scoreboard, stats, and leaderboard features.[/p]
• [p]Added and updated leaderboard functionality.[/p]

[p]Visuals & Spawning:[/p]

• [p]Made numerous improvements and fixes to enemy spawning logic.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted spawn manager settings.[/p]
• [p]Made changes to visual effects and body expiration timing.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted reload speed FX for the Garand.[/p]
• [p]Fixed sky and game start visual effects.[/p]
• [p]Various map adjustments and collision fixes for wallbuys.[/p]
• [p]Re-added Lyra actors to the spawner with improved per-cultist retargeting for better proportions.[/p]
• [p]Added texture padding to the coin icon to remove visual artifacts and adjusted texture settings.[/p]
• [p]Made adjustments to the placement of planks and the material of the cream machine.[/p]
• [p]Simplified the cloth shader for better performance and appearance.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted various map and shader elements[/p]

[p]Bug Fixes & QoL:[/p]

• [p]Fixed bugs related to music, weapon stats, the cream machine, and barriers.[/p]
• [p]Addressed an unstable game crash on launch.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with a small coin.[/p]
• [p]Achievement for reaching wave 25.[/p]
• [p]Added music to the achievements main menu.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug with the pistol wallbuy that allowed for infinite ammo.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted light temperature and increased the point cost for the wallbuy exchange.[/p]
• [p]Implemented automatic weapon fire.[/p]

[p]Milo Demo Update 1.9.25 [/p][p]- You can now use secondary abilities while ADS’ing (grenade, knife, etc.).[/p][p]- Pop Corpse ability is now a separate ability and has been reworked.[/p][p]- Pop Corpse is powered by “Cream.” Cream is restored when rats eat bodies, and the amount of Cream can be seen inside the reticle.[/p][p]- Removed Rat Food.[/p][p]- Temporarily removed player lifetime and session stats in favor of rework[/p][p]- Fixed a bug that selected Cultists for the Kill In Order quest when they were just standing still.[/p][p]- Fixed issues with spawning overall.[/p][p]- Added Map Selection menu.[/p][p]- Grenade is a cooldown ability (15 seconds)[/p][p]- Added Practice Map.[/p][p]- Improvements to UI[/p][p]- Opened up a few parts of the Trench map[/p][p]- Power-ups can only drop from Cultists that have entered the map.[/p][p]- Fixed a bug that caused Cultists to sprint too early in the game.[/p][p]- Weapon lights up when the player receives a buff.[/p][p]- Added a punishing lottery Cream Machine to the map. It takes points instead of tickets, with the point cost increasing with use. The cost resets at the start of each wave.[/p][p]- Improved settings and performance[/p][p]- Switched launch options for Steam client[/p][p]- Added “Anti” to the Special Thanks section of the credits.[/p][p]- Many more changes that are too much to specify[/p][p][/p]

[p]I've noticed many people are experiencing horrendous performance in many cases just using DirectX 11 made performance drastically better, so now it's the default![/p][p][/p][p]If you have a great computer and want to play Milo with the highest quality graphics at the cost of performance...opt into DX12 in launch options. I've attached an image to show you where Steam allows you to configure the launch of the game.[/p][p][/p][p]Now for all new players, the game will by default launch with Direct X 11[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Thank you all for playing and supporting Milo. It’s been amazing to see so many people try out the demo and share their feedback. The kind notes and messages we’ve received on Instagram and TikTok mean a lot, and it really does feel like a dream come true to be sharing this game with you. [/p][p]In this update, we’ve also reset the leaderboards. This is because we introduced a system to prevent players from exploiting the map in ways that make them untargetable by cultists. Now, if cultists can’t reach you, a timer will start, and after a few seconds your character will be teleported back to the player start. This should help keep the leaderboards fair going forward. [/p][p]This will also be the last update for a little while (unless something unexpected comes up). We won’t be updating the demo quite as frequently, not because development has slowed, but because the rapid updates have occasionally caused performance issues. Slowing things down gives us room to integrate larger systems into *Milo*—things like new maps, first-person animations, cultist models, and textures. A lot of this work is being done in collaboration with Yarrawah Interactive, our publisher and co-developer, who are handling the new artwork and animations. Updates will come less often, but they’ll be much more meaningful when they do. We haven’t decided yet what exactly will be shown for Steam Next Fest in October, but we’ll talk more about that in a future post. [/p][p][/p][p]If you enjoy Milo join the Discord! We'd love to have you and hear you feedback or just hang out![/p][p]https://discord.gg/f4z7V7Jer2[/p][p] [/p][p]Milo Demo – v1.9.13 [/p][p]- Performance: General improvements across the board [/p][p]- Lighting: Adjusted across maps for better visuals and smoother performance [/p][p]- Critical Hits: Chance has been buffed significantly [/p][p]- Persistent Effects: Gibs and blood adjusted (size and roughness) [/p][p]- Exploit Fix: Players now teleported back to start if cultists can’t reach them [/p][p]- Leaderboards: Reset for this version [/p][p]- UI: New options added for video settings [/p][p]- Thompson: Base reload speed lowered slightly[/p]