No More Room in Hell 2 News

Hello Survivors!

It’s been 6 months since our last developer update! We know - that's a bigger gap than any of us intended or expected, but the primary cause of this has been a huge focus on the development of the title (see below for more!).

We're keeping things fairly brief in this update: consider it the 'warm up' to something much bigger in the new year - and a preemptive note to explain that we don’t plan on sharing more for the rest of this year. The team is still hard at work with our heads down and spirits up!

Today we’re sharing a small preview of how the game is looking in Unreal Engine 5 through 3 new screenshots of the game in action. While we’ve had some progress put into a possible new trailer, that too will have to wait until 2024.

Development is going well - really well - and as part of our continued planning, we've decided to retarget our Early Access release date to the second half of 2024 to give the team enough time to make the game a truly worthy sequel to NMRiH1.

We also want to make sure we make a big splash when we launch - there are some great opportunities coming up throughout 2024 that mean we can really get the game “out there”.

We don't intend to delay the project further - we've put a lot of thought into choosing our new date, and that's what every one of us will be working towards. The established development studio that Lever Games has joined forces with has a metric ton of faith in the project, and are eager to give it the time it needs to make the game amazing, rather than rush it out.

Our design team has been hard at work improving on the core of what makes the game compelling. Community members who have seen glimpses of the game in the past can expect to see substantial improvements and modernization to the game mode and game loop, but with the same design philosophy, mechanics and heart at the core of NMRiH2.

We expect to announce our partnership with the development team we’ve joined forces with in the new year, as well. Our focus is on using this announcement to help make the most noise possible and bring more survivors into the community. It’s a competitive market for attention and we want this game to make big waves!

Thanks for being on this journey with us. We want this game to genuinely earn your attention and time. We’re so excited to show you more and to release the best zombie game ever made in 2024!

Hey everyone!

No More Room in Hell 2 is alive, kicking (and screaming and clawing) -- and now in the middle of the most exciting period of development the project has seen yet! We can't wait to show you more soon.

We know things have been quiet lately surrounding our progress, but today we're excited to share a little more info with you about what's been happening in the background, the state of game production, and what you can expect in the near future. We have also prepared a Frequently Asked Questions list to A those burning Qs you have.

Since joining up with another established studio (the “partner” we previously mentioned - to be announced soon, see the FAQs below), we've been able to move from part-time development to full-time for all members of our team. We've also brought many more incredibly talented developers onboard (adding to the horde!). More dev hours and more working hands means the game's development is full steam ahead, now with the level of support we need to make NMRiH2 a beyond stellar game.

Combining with a larger developer and bringing on many new team members means we naturally need a bit more time before we're in a position to do a substantial 'dev update' that you guys are hoping to see, and we appreciate your patience with us.

Our original launch date of last October would have been an Early Access game, with additional core features rolling in over the coming months and years. As we headed towards that launch, we were in the midst of talks with another development studio about the game. Through these conversations, we were able to explore new ideas and expand on existing ones, and it quickly became clear that joining forces would enable us to deliver the best experience possible for an Early Access product, unlike anything else on the market. The additional time and resources we now have access to are immensely helping us achieve these goals.

TL:DR - we know it’s been quiet, but it’s been the “we’ve been busy” sort of quiet! Behind the scenes we’re doing everything we can to improve and enhance the narrative experience to make NMRiH2 feel like it really is the end of the world. One feature we're excited to be working on is barricading, adding another layer of interaction when trying to hold out against the claws and teeth of the horde. Additionally, from a technical standpoint, we’ve fully ported the project to Unreal Engine 5 and we are actively exploring all that this huge upgrade has to offer. Everything from character and zombie animations to environment lighting is getting completely overhauled as well - and we can’t wait to show off how much the game is progressing!

Ultimately we remain focused on and committed to making NMRiH2 the best game it can be. We're super confident that - by joining with an exciting studio and getting access to more resources, combined with your support as the NMRiH2 community - we'll be able to share some more details about our development progress in the coming months.

We really do appreciate your patience, and we want you all to know that we're working hard on not just the game itself, but also plans to ensure our communication with you all is clear, regular, and presented in the best way. We're so excited to show you what we've been working on!


[h2]FAQ[/h2]
Who is the development studio you’re joining?
We're not quite ready to reveal the details just yet, but we are sure you'll like them. We're working with them to plan how we can get the most benefit from a formal announcement: after all, we want to get as much support for the game as possible! We're actively working on the timeline for this, and all the cool stuff that this entails (think trailers, screenshots, etc!) - so please stick with us. It'll be worth the wait.

What is the new release date?
Given we've joined another established studio and can now plan with extra resources, we're not yet in a position to commit to a firm release date at this time, but you'll be the first to know.

How many people are working on NMRiH2?
A lot - meaning many more than we had previously! Our general development power has nearly quadrupled in the space of a few months. Going from “working after the kids have been put to bed” hours to a proper 9-5 full-time production is no straightforward task, and is another reason for the change to the game’s original release timeline. To put it into numbers, NMRiH2’s development team has gone from around 18 people working odd hours part-time to now over 40(!) members, most of whom work full-time, and there’s further room to grow too!

When will we see the next major news about NMRiH2?
We expect to remain largely in “quiet mode” for the first half of this year and plan to have more to show by summer 2023. With this in mind, and given the nature of game development, things can change - and if they do, we'll make sure we give you an update and an explanation.

What is changing about NMRiH2?
NMRiH2 will still be the game we’ve been working on for several years, just with more time, love and quality put into it. We're working on a whole host of improvements and additions now we're able to work on the game full-time. When we're in a position to showcase these properly and do them justice, we will!

Will the development of NMRiH2 affect NMRiH1?
Nope! Increasing dev support for NMRiH2 has no impact on continued support for NMRiH1. The game continues to be maintained by a group of volunteers and will receive regular updates. Additionally we would like to assure players that NMRiH1 will remain free to play, and without paid DLC or microtransactions.

How can I stay up to date with the game's progress?
The best place to be is our official Discord server. All updates will be posted in the Announcements channel.

[h2]Survivor Diary #4[/h2]
I’ve lived in a city my whole life, and you get so used to the sounds around you: doors slamming, police sirens, people talking outside your apartment at 2am; dogs barking. All of this fades into the background, becoming a comfort blanket of white noise that you barely notice. And then one day, it’s gone. The streets are silent. And suddenly, it’s the smallest sounds that start to leap out at you: the dragging of feet outside your door. The scratching of rotting fingernails against the glass of the window you’re hiding behind. A breath that lingers and crackles, echoing down the empty alley below.
Luckily there’s still some power, meaning night isn’t as terrifying as it could be. I don’t know how long that’ll last though. Sometimes I can hear gunshots in the distance: somebody’s still out there, fighting, surviving. And that gives me a little bit of hope. I swear I heard a couple of people run past yesterday - the National Guard checkpoints can be a gold mine, if you get to them before other survivors do.
I’m rounding up the last of my supplies tonight - running low on bandages. Once I’ve got enough, I’m gonna go find that antenna. This city might have been my home once, but it’s a cold, grey, mass grave now. Either I get out, or I join the rest of the poor saps who tried to make it here.
I just want to hear voices again. Not a radio broadcast, but actual people talking nearby. I don’t care if it’s outside a tent, or in some big shared barracks. I just want to know I’m not alone anymore. I just wanna feel like there’s a world left.

[h2]Note from Nay0r:[/h2]
Welcome to Broadway - the shattered remnants of a city once filled with life, and now the domain of the dead.
You’ll be hacking your way through crowds of zeds lit up the burning carcass of a rescue chopper, frantically reloading as you drag yourself through the sewers of the city, and bandaging your wounds in the flickering lights of what was once your home. Behind every corner lurks more threats, but perhaps you’ll make it out…if you work together.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Early Access Reminder
As always, we treat the words ‘Early Access’ the way they’re meant to be treated, particularly as we’re a team working around the world, many of us in our spare time, balancing NMRIH2 alongside supporting our families and full-time careers. Launching in Early Access gives us the opportunity to open up our production and growth to people who want to play an early and active role in our development journey – sloppy undead warts and all! By releasing in EA, our sales will help us provide the means for our team to keep working on the game through to Version 1.
We’re hard at work making something awesome, and Early Access is a big milestone on that journey, and it’s exactly that: a milestone!
We have a lot of things planned beyond EA, from optimisation to more maps; new weapons to feedback-led improvements. By joining us on this journey, you’re playing a key role in making NMRIH2 the best it can be. We can’t wait to have you along for the ride.

You know who I feel really sorry for? The gravediggers and funeral directors. What hell are you supposed to do when the goods start walking around biting folks?
When this whole thing started, all we cared about was tearing away from the claws and teeth of our brothers, mothers, best friends…we didn’t think about the way some of them moved differently to others; how some still clung onto relics from their past lives, like they had some sort of vestigial remnant of what they once were buried deep in their rotten skulls.
Those of us who survived more than a few days started to recognise that - in this horde of death and decay - there were certain ‘types’ of zed. I’m not talking about the wacky crap you’d see in movies - “oh my god that zombie has two heads!!”, “Jesus, look at the size of his tongue!”. I’m talking about real stuff - how some moved faster than others, or how certain zeds didn’t care so much about devouring as they did infecting…
So, let’s play a little game called ‘know thy enemy’.
First off, you’ve got Walkers. These guys are the most common type of zed you’ll encounter - slow-moving, slow-thinking, but they don’t need to think fast when all they want to do is make a meal outta you. You might think it’s easy to get away from a Walker - hell, I used to think so too - but the scariest thing is…you eventually have to sleep. Walkers don’t. They’ll just keep coming. And one night you’ll be lying there, wiping the dust from your eyes, and then a sharp pain will shoot up your leg…
Next up, the Runners. Now this is where we separate the kids from the adults. Runners do exactly that: they run, and god-damn do they run fast. Whatever their fitness was in their past life, these zeds move like lightning. But, unbelievably, that’s not the worst part. Oh no, it gets way worse. Turns out Runners don’t care so much about turning you into pulled pork like the Walkers do. Instead, these freaks come screaming out of nowhere to take a bite out of you and spread the infection. I’ve known too many good people fight off a Runner thinking they had a lucky break…’til they saw the bite on their arm, and realised the Runner got exactly what it wanted. Rest easy, Brett.
And what about the Shamblers? Imagine a food waste bin that’s been out in the summer sun for 3 or 4 weeks, crawling with maggots. Every time you walk past it, your stomach turns and you fight back the urge to vomit. Now imagine that times ten - and you might get somewhere close to how bad these freaks stink. Shamblers stagger through the streets, and if you breathe in their stench, you’re gonna find it hard to breathe...I even heard from one group of Survivors that the fumes caused one of their guys to turn after he died. Sounds like a tall tale, but you never know these days. Oh, and to make matters worse, if a Shambler sees you, you better kill him quick - otherwise he’ll start screaming, and we all know what that leads to…
There’s more zed types than these three, but I’ll save that for another night. Something or someone is coming up the road. Ellie was meant to be on watch…aw, hell.




[h2]Note from Cenelder[/h2]
In No More Room in Hell 2, our vision of Hell isn’t far from the real world, and so our zeds are modelled on the ‘classic’ zombie movie: rotten flesh, grounded in reality. There’s real terror to be found in loading your last shells as a horde of Walkers shuffles towards you, blocking your only escape route…
But - as our Survivor has made clear - Hell is the domain of a whole host of zed types. Runners will sprint out of alleyways, causing panic and disarray, whilst some of you might find yourselves choking on the putrid stench of the Shambler if you let it get too close.
And these aren’t the only zeds lurking in the shadows. Keep your eyes out for future Survivor Diaries, where we’ll introduce you to a few more denizens of the dark…

[h3]Early Access Reminder
[/h3]
As always, we treat the words ‘Early Access’ the way they’re meant to be treated, particularly as we’re a team working around the world, many of us in our spare time, balancing NMRIH2 alongside supporting our families and full-time careers. Launching in Early Access gives us the opportunity to open up our production and growth to people who want to play an early and active role in our development journey – sloppy undead warts and all! By releasing in EA, our sales will help us provide the means for our team to keep working on the game through to Version 1.
We’re hard at work making something awesome, and Early Access is a big milestone on that journey, and it’s exactly that: a milestone!
We have a lot of things planned beyond EA, from optimisation to more maps; new weapons to feedback-led improvements. By joining us on this journey, you’re playing a key role in making NMRIH2 the best it can be. We can’t wait to have you along for the ride.