Survive the Nights News

Survive the Nights is now 50% off during Steam's Lunar New Year Sale - now through February 3rd. If you have any questions before purchasing, please join our friendly community on discord.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/541300

[h3]Links[/h3]
Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Changelog: https://changelog.survivethenights.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/a2zinteractive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/a2zinteractive

We’ve been working mostly on player reported issues and general game improvements for 1.14. That being said, there are actually some rather large changes coming and we’ll discuss some of them below. As always, keep up to date with everything we’re doing by checking in on the changelog or asking right on our Discord.

[h3]Horde Improvements and Fortification Tweaks[/h3]
Some big changes are coming to the hordes in Survive the Nights. Wrapped up in the horde changes you’ll find fortification improvements as well. Our original concept for Survive the Nights focused heavily on structure fortifications. The original spark and idea for the game itself stemmed from Call of Duty’s Nazi Zombie mode. James and myself (JB) were fixated on this mode, the ability to add planks to structures, the feeling of holding down a building, repairing entry points and keeping the hordes at bay while doing your best to kill them and survive. This is still super appealing to the team and something we aim to deliver in the upcoming builds.

There are a couple of core changes in the works. The player will now find as they advance through the zombie hordes that not only do the numbers increase but their strength does too. We’ve made all fortifications stronger, around 3 times stronger than the previous implementation. Increasing zombie difficulty aims to alleviate the issues where players take advantage of pinch points. Pinch points like staircases or narrow halls, this renders the entire game loop useless and it also makes fortifications pointless.

The upcoming changes and improvements aim to fix these issues. We’ve made fortifications useful again. Players can now take full advantage of boarding up a structure. Doing so will actually hold zombies back. Zombies will not instantly gain access. The player should really have an opportunity to stand their ground now. We’ve upped ammo spawns as well, making shooting to kill way more viable. Along with these changes, zombie hordes will no longer be skippable. We never intended them to be. STN has always been about fighting zombies and now the player will be able to properly do so.
Fire Improvements

We’ve found via feedback and just simply watching players play that our UI can occasionally be unnecessarily cumbersome. James has spent some time this week improving fire machines across the board, hearths, campfires, barrels and stoves. He has completely removed the UI and the need for a UI. The new system is far more fluid and simple. The player only has to aim at a fire source and press E to add wood.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We plan to expand on these UI improvements. Removing the need for a UI for other in game machines or cleaning up and making any needed UI simple and easy to understand.

[h3]Improved Rain and Weather Performance[/h3]
Andre spent some time this week tweaking and improving both the look of weather effects and their performance on clients and servers. Rain particles have been updated and optimized, rain emission on lower quality settings have been adjusted for better performance among other changes. The results are rather pleasing. The rain particles themselves look far more realistic and impact performance significantly less.

New Rain Particles

[h3]Continuous Placement Crash[/h3]
Many of you have created tickets for this one. Currently in 1.13 you may run into a client crash involving item placement. This was caused by a bad loop and continuous placement should cause no further issue in 1.14.

We hope to have 1.14 out the first Friday in February and hope to continue a monthly update cycle from here on out. Thank you for the continued support. We’re working on issues you’re finding so please keep reporting any bugs and making any game suggestions you can think of. Please share any questions or comments on our discord.

[h3]Don't want to wait for an experimental build? Join us on Patreon and gain access to everything in this update and 1.14 development builds.[/h3]


[h3]Links[/h3]
Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Changelog: https://changelog.survivethenights.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/a2zinteractive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/a2zinteractive

We’re back in the office after some much needed time away from you maniacs. That’s a joke, of course. We’re back and rested and the team has gotten right back into the swing of things. This will just be a short blog laying out our 1.14 plans. As always, remember to check our live changelog for up to date information on exactly what we’re working on.

[h3]Patreon[/h3]
Over the course of our development a lot of people have requested a way to further support the game. We’ve put it off to be honest as we have spent literally every minute attending to development and community. This past week JB has finalized the Patreon page we probably should have launched a while back. There are three tidy tiers to choose from. If you’re interested, feel free to pick one up. As always, thanks for the continued support. We probably don’t have to say this so many years on but of course all funds will go directly to game development. We will be expanding on our goals and have some really fun stuff planned for the future of Patreon.

Patreon Page

[h3]Improved Tree Felling[/h3]
Oh yeah, there has been a report or two about this. Something about trees perhaps flying off like the Falcon 9 when they’re chopped down etc. Jokes aside, we've decided it’s time to address the insane tree issues and we’ll begin to tweak things and get those trees falling properly in 1.14.

Along with improving the general mechanics behind the system, we’ll introduce a totally bad ass chainsaw for quick tree felling and zombie mutilating...just be sure to wear chaps as chainsaws are very dangerous.

[h3]Improved Fortifications[/h3]
Many of you have requested we add holes to doorways, and ledges to free placed fortifications like the plywood and tin walls. Andre has spent some time modeling up some steps for these barricades and the results are a lot of fun. You’ll also notice walls without steps now have a shooting slot just above the center support. The improved visibility and ability to shoot without damaging your own fortification really improves gameplay and practicality of these fortifications.

We will continue to add and improve the entire fortification system moving through the next few builds as we feel it should be and always was meant to be a major part of gameplay.

Improved Fortifications (Steps and Slots)

Improved Fortifications (Steps and Slots)

[h3]Quick Play[/h3]
The game is fun and it’s a lot more fun with other players. James has spent some time balancing and tidying up our main menu. A lot of the issues people seem to encounter with STN are solo/hosting issues. Rarely do people who jump in game and immediately into the top server have major performance issues or gameplay issues in general. Solo can double the system requirements currently, resulting in less than ideal performance. Hosting at this time is really for the more advanced user, port forwarding and opening being requirements that the average Joey Bag o’ Donuts just doesn’t have the time for.

The introduction of the “Quick Play” feature should alleviate some of these broader and more generalized issues. It’s also a fantastic way to experience the game, especially for the first time. Being able to open up STN and simply hit one button to join the most populated server is simple and requires no actual effort. You’re instantly getting into the action. Solo and Hosting options have not gone anywhere, you’ll find solo in the host tab now.

Quick Play Feature

[h3]General Fixes and Improvements[/h3]
We’ll be doing a good deal of general fixes with 1.14. Some of them have been on the ‘needs fixing’ board for far too long.

Tree Felling

• Garage Door Issues (if you know, you know)
  
• Improvements to fortification balance
  
• Support tickets not appearing to work (stuck at 84%)
  
• Continues placement client crash (very annoying)
  

[h3]Links[/h3]
Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Changelog: https://changelog.survivethenights.net
Patreon: https://patreon.com/a2zinteractive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/a2zinteractive

Survive the Nights is now 40% off during Steam's Winter Sale - now through January 5th. If you have any questions before purchasing, please join our friendly community on discord. Our latest update (v1.13) includes language localization, QoL improvements + more!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/541300

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Links[/h3]
Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Changelog: https://changelog.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/a2zinteractive

Hello everyone,

We'll be moving the experimental build onto the default branch today. v1.13 includes language localization (a massive community request) along with quite a few quality of life improvements. Below you'll find a small recap of what has gone into 1.13. We will have a preview blog of what to expect in the 1.14 in the new year. The team would like to wish you all a happy holiday and new year. We hope you have a great 2022 and thank you for the continued support!

[h3]Localization (Game Translation)[/h3]
The text based system has, of course, made it rather difficult for non-English speaking players to easily pick up and play STN. 1.13 will introduce our ‘first pass’ over translations. James has spent his time this update cycle implementing an auto-translate system. Translating a game of this size with a team of our size just isn’t possible without auto-translate and on top of that community help.

Most of you know, translations via apps or the web aren’t always the most reliable or fluid. There’s a lot of text in Survive the Nights and things might not automatically translate properly. In fact, we know they won't, the system creates a great base but will also allow us to improve over time.

If you'd like to help out with translations please head over to CROWDIN.COM. You'll need to create a free account but their service is super user friendly and used by a lot of game developers in the industry.

Language packages on Crowdin.com

Simply select your language and the edit window will open. Here you'll see all the translations in the game on the left hand side of the page. This list is long, you can skim through the pages with the tab on the bottom left hand side. You'll notice that all the translations that come up first are those that the auto-translate feature has missed or doesn't understand. Have a look through all the translations as auto translate can sometimes be literal. If you see something wrong (and you've already made a crowdin account) please simply make the change and save it. If you've found something in game, you can also 'Search in File' on the top left of the edit window.

Dutch translation needed for 'Machete' here as an example

This should make the process pretty simple and straight forward. If you have any questions jump on our Discord. If your language isn't here, let us know and we'll get the package added to the game and the crowdin website.

Video options in base languages

[h3]Improved Spawning[/h3]
Andre has spent some time this development cycle working on 'near death' spawn points. These are the world spawn points you would used when killed and choosing the spawn 'near death' option instead of spawning at home. He has added nearly 500 new spawn points. They have all been placed near places the player should recognize, structures, road signs etc. Minimum spawn distance from the players death now starts at 100 meters instead of 800m. Maximum spawn distance has also been adjusted now starting at 250m instead of 400m.

New spawn additions

[h3]Zombie Improvements[/h3]
We've listened to some community feedback and have made various zombie tweaks for 1.13.
Night zombies now have similar run speeds to day zombies however their threat now comes from having better vision. We've up zombie loot chances from 60 to 80% this makes for getting cloth and making bandages a bit easier. Along this these changes Andre has adjusted the vision colliders on our daytime zombies. This adjustment allows players to sneak up right behind and make the first move.

[h3]Fire Improvements [/h3]
Andre has made some small tweaks to fire lighting. You can now light fires including hearths, stoves, barrels and campfires by swiping at them with a lit torch. We found this small tweak to be handy and fun to boot. The ability to swipe and light has also been added to the fireworks along with the ability to shoot them to activate which was a lot of fun in testing.

Lighting fires with torch

A lot more has gone into 1.13. You can find the changelog below. If your language isn’t in the project, please reach out and let us know. Thank you once again for the support and we look forward to some community backup when it comes to translations. Remember, if you're having any issues at all with the translation files, pop onto the Discord server and we'll do our best to help out.

[h3]Patch Notes - Alpha 1.13 [/h3]

Quality of Life (QoL)

• Increased healing speed of fires
  
• Map now works without a map item. The player starts with the ability to view the map.
  
• Removed map harvesting from message boards and bus stops.
  
• Map locations key updated with new icons and locations.
  
• Fireworks can now be activated by shooting.
  
• Fireworks can now be activated by a wooden club on fire.
  
• Fires can now be activated by a wooden club on fire (Fire barrels/campfires/hearth/stove).
  
• Faster vehicle repairing
  
• Respawning near death now improved and more accurate and will spawn the player closer than previously. Over 500 new spawn locations added.
  
• Damage from sliding reduced.
  
• Fixed small chance of player spawning under water on new life.
  
• Fix for multiple fires healing the player faster
  

Pickups

• Club no longer spawns in the world.
  
• Added crafting recipe for jerry cans
  

UI

• Fixed critical stat not showing when joining game
  
• Removed phantom map pins off the coast of black rock.
  

Ai

• Outside areas now stay clear of zombies for a while after clearing it.
  
• Zombie chase distance slightly reduced.
  
• Zombies now have a higher chance of dropping loot.
  
• Players can now sneak up to the back of zombies during the day.
  

Tutorial

• Removed the need to find a map for guide.
  
• Bandages are now crafted as part of the guide.
  
• Trash harvest piles now give metal and wood to fix confusion in the guide.
  
• Filters are now hidden for health during the guide to save confusion.
  
• Removed delay before next waypoint is enabled in guide
  

Audio

• Fixed menu music playing in the game
  
• Generators are now quieter.
  

Thanks for the continued support and continued issue and suggestion reporting :). Below are some helpful links to anyone new and interested in the game. If you'd like to follow a bit closer, please consider joining our Discord. We're here, we're listening!

[h3]Links[/h3]
Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Changelog: https://changelog.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net
Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/a2zinteractive