KAZ Update 0.5.0 is live

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p][/p][p]The 0.5.0 update is now available, and this one is a big step forward for KAZ. This version pushes the game closer to its final vision, with major additions, polish, and a lot of love poured into the details. We also just finished our very first KAZ Playtest, which has gone incredibly well![/p][p][/p][h2]Playtest #1: Recap & Winners![/h2][p]Our first official playtest has come to an end, and the results exceeded all our expectations. We want to say a massive thank you to the 504 players who signed up to help us stress-test the game. The community showed up in a big way. We saw incredible engagement across the board, with tons of interactive live streams.[/p][h3][/h3][h3]The Champions[/h3][p]The competition was intense. To ensure a fair result, we took extra time to manually verify the leaderboards and filter out exploits. Here are our Playtest winners:[/p]

[p]🥇 RndmGuy - 45,658 ($100 Steam Card)[/p]
[p]🥈 Pouloulou - 44,049 ($30 Steam Card)[/p]
[p]🥉 Rodzilla - 23,585 ($20 Steam Card)[/p]

[h3]Next Steps[/h3][p]You’ve really helped us improve the game. We’ve already started acting on your feedback, specifically regarding:[/p]

[p]Leaderboard Integrity: Patching some exploits we discovered to keep the skill ceiling high.[/p]
[p]Bug fixes and considering all of the game design suggestions that were made.[/p]

[p]This was just the first step. If you missed out this time, make sure to join our Discord to be updated about the next one! And of course, Wishlist the game here on Steam- we have plenty more planned for the next build![/p][p][/p][h2]Development Highlights[/h2][p]A lot of this update focused on tightening systems, improving clarity, and making the overall experience smoother and more consistent.[/p][h3] Sound Design and Music[/h3]

[p]Sound Design Complete: The full sound design pass is now done. Every movement, hit, combo, and failure has been carefully tuned to enhance speed, impact, and flow. KAZ should now sound just as intense as it feels to play.[/p]
[p]More Music Added: There are now 6 immersive and interactive tracks in the game. Each one reacts to gameplay and helps shape the energy of a run.[/p]

[h3]Twitch Integration[/h3][p]KAZ now supports Twitch integration. Viewers can interact with the game, influence runs, and turn streams into pure chaos. Some wonderful Twitch streamers gave this a go during the Playtest, and I’m happy to say it’s working well![/p][p][/p][h3]New Content and Quests[/h3]

[p]New Content: Lots of new items to unlock, experiment with, and break the game. New visual themes, including artist-driven aesthetics.[/p]
[p]Quest System Added: A brand-new quest system has been added, giving players short- and long-term goals to chase while playing. More structure and more progression.[/p]

[h3] Leaderboards Reset[/h3][p]With all these changes, leaderboards have been fully reset to ensure a fair competitive restart. Legendary players from previous versions are being preserved in the game’s history.[/p][p][/p][h2]Linkito Collaboration[/h2][p][/p][p]During the playtest, we’ve also had a collaboration with Linkito. There is a Linkito skin in the game right now, and it was the featured theme for the playtest with its own music. Super happy with how this one turned out. Keep your eyes peeled for more collaborations in the works![/p][p][/p][h2]Patch Notes[/h2][p]0.5.1[/p]

[p]Fixed max round reached statistics with theme (found a bug affecting quests and statistics).[/p]

[p]0.5.0[/p]

[p]Split demo, playtest, and full game.[/p]
[p]Fixed item descriptions.[/p]
[p]Updated sound design and FX for multiple items.[/p]
[p]Quality of life improvements & fixed rank panel.[/p]
[p]Added quests and tweaked existing ones.[/p]
[p]Fixed notification marker showing when there was nothing to unlock.[/p]
[p]Fixed a selection bug when collecting multiple quest rewards.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]What’s coming next[/h2][p]The coming month will include a UGC competition playtest, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Make sure to join our discord to stay up-to-date with all announcements and events![/p][p]Thank you for playing, breaking, and pushing KAZ. More speed and more chaos, soon![/p][p]– Kalinarm[/p][p]PS: The demo is now a real demo, with some limitations compared to the full version. Thanks for your understanding![/p][p]
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