Horde Invasion & A Roadmap for the Complete Game Loop!

[p][/p][h2]Delivering the Full Game Loop – In Three Phases[/h2][p]Some of you who follow our forum posts already know that we decided to focus hard on delivering the complete game loop as soon as possible - but only when it truly feels right, hence we're rolling it first on the Beta Branch. After a couple of days of feedback from beta, we'll push it on main branch.[/p][p]This is a major milestone. Not just in terms of development, but also for player testing and feedback. Most importantly, it is the point where the entire campaign comes together.[/p][p]Because of its scope, we decided to deliver it in three distinct phases. First one comes today and brings the aggressive undead army that will spawn in the wake of your conflicts and try to retake the town. Next ones are already in the works and will be delivered as they mature:[/p][p][/p][p]Below is a extended overview of what each phase brings to the game:[/p][p][/p][h2]PHASE 1 (THIS BUILD) – THE UNDEAD TAKE OVER[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]No more docile zombies waiting in map corners to be farmed. This is the real deal.[/p][p]You may have already noticed the first step: random highway encounters, featuring human looters and small groups of undead. That was only the warm-up.[/p][p]Once conflicts start leaving dead humans behind in Urban, the undead slowly begin to reclaim the town. Ideally, all surviving settlements would unite against the zombies - and that is exactly what you try to convince them to do. Unfortunately, years of bitterness and indoctrination work against you. Eventually, you will have to choose sides. Help those you believe are right and fight the ones that are wrong. This will impact your game right away, even if you're midway into your campaign.[/p][p]Vanquished enemies rise as moving undead hordes, roaming across Urban in search of fresh victims. These hordes (number depends on the amount of mayhem you caused) will besiege human camps, and it is up to you to answer the survivors’ calls for help. [/p][p]But sometimes you might be delayed by important things, like organizing your ammo by color, and arrive too late. Those powerful NPCs, armed with the gear you were once envious of, are now just drooling zombies, ready to be picked clean (hint!).[/p][p]PS: Compromised camps will generate their own horde in time so unless you plan to have the entire city overrun, you need to intervene - to help or mop-up the remains, you decide.[/p][p][/p][p]Beta Known Issues[/p]

[p]If a horde compromises a faction sector and you later clear the zombified sector, killing the zombified warlord will result in a negative vote with the human faction the boss used to belong to. This should have no impact and will be fixed.[/p]
[p]Hordes may oscillate between two points for a period of time before selecting a new destination. We plan to add destination priority logic to prevent this behavior.[/p]
[p]An icon marking compromised locations directly on the map is missing. Currently, this information is only visible in the sector details window.[/p]

[p]Feedback Needed[/p]

[p]Hordes spawn rates: too fast, too slow, or just right?[/p]
[p]Horde difficulty: how challenging are hordes to defeat, both on highways and inside sectors?[/p]

[p]
How to Join the Beta Branch[/p]

[p]Go to your Steam Library[/p]
[p]Right-click the game > Properties[/p]
[p]Navigate to the Betas tab[/p]
[p]Choose “beta_branch” from the dropdown[/p]
[p]Wait for the update to download[/p]

[p]And remember—back up your saves before switching![/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]PHASE 2 – MEETING THE ALLY FACTION[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]Why bother making allies if everyone is shady? That choice is entirely yours.[/p][p]You can finish the game without allying with anyone. However, if you do form an alliance, when the massive horde that wiped Atlanta off the map finally reaches Urban, you will not face it alone.[/p][p]Your ally will fight shoulder to shoulder with you and help you build unique faction defenses and upgrades that actually matter in the final battle.[/p][p]The sooner you earn a faction’s trust, the sooner you benefit from their support. This includes access to unique vehicles, all of them far superior to Sheriff Roger’s beat-down police cruiser. Their secret bases may also reveal their true motivations and give you the chance to spend your hard-earned gold on rare hardware found nowhere else.[/p][p]Just remember: alliances are not free. Be there for your ally when they need you, and they will stand by you when it matters most.[/p][p][/p][h2]PHASE 3 – MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES[/h2][p][/p][p][/p][p]Nearly the entire game prepares you for one thing: the horde coming from Atlanta.[/p][p]And it will come.[/p][p]It will consume the city, wipe out what remains, and then come straight for you and your friends at the Shelter. It will attack from all directions, and it will not stop. There are no easy spawners this time. The waves keep coming, and every fight is a fight for survival.[/p][p]The final battles take place in the areas surrounding your Shelter. You start at the outer entry points, thin out the incoming hordes, then fall back. By the time you are making your last stand with your back against the Shelter gate, the horde must already be weakened - or you will be overwhelmed.[/p][p]Built defenses play a crucial role. Shelter residents will pick up arms and fight alongside you. And most importantly, your ally will be there too - if you chose one.[/p][p]Preparation is everything. You will need armor, powerful weapons, and a lot of ammo. Resource management and upgrade planning are critical. If you fail, friends you fought beside throughout the entire campaign may not survive.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]
OTHER FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS[/h2]

[p]Added a button to reset key bindings to default in Game Options, making it easier to recover from control misconfigurations.[/p]
[p]Added a clear red warning on the firing cursor that auto mode disables manual aiming for body parts; if you want to use aimed shots you need to use single fire.[/p]
[p]Introduced the final pending workshop - the Gunsmith, allowing you to build tactical upgrade kits and extended magazines on compatible weapons.[/p]
[p]Secondary maps are now fully independent from main maps, improving navigation and preventing unintended soft-locking of certain maps.[/p]
[p]All ammo visuals have been redesigned, with clearly identifiable ammo boxes for faster recognition during looting and combat.[/p]
[p]Perk descriptions now clearly state which weapon types they apply to, making role planning easier.[/p]
[p]Tactical weapon variants now grant both an action point (AP) bonus and a weight reduction bonus, reinforcing their role as high-end combat upgrades.[/p]
[p]Cloud saves are coming soon too (they're being tested internally right now)[/p]

[h2]
LOCALIZATION PROGRESS[/h2]

[p]We have the code in place for .PO files support, one of the most popular localization formats.[/p]
[p]3rd party localizations have been tested to work as Steam Workshop mods.[/p]
[p]Our Workshop Mod uploader has been designed and tested with Steam Workshop.[/p]
[p]We still need to give proper contextual IDs by hand and remove duplicates for about 1000 strings from the total of 6100 the game has now; this step is essential for translators to understand the context of what they're localizing.[/p]
[p]Also we're doing internal tests with pre-translated data in languages known to use long words to see if we need to make interface adjustments.[/p]

[p]Game has about 82k words and we estimate the final version could be near 100k. We will try and provide as much raw pre-translated data in the translation SDK to help ease the workload for both 3rd party and official work. But make no mistake, each localization will be a serious task so patience is appreciated. [/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3] [/h3][h3]Thank You, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays![/h3][p]As always, a huge thank you to everyone playing, testing, and sharing feedback with us. We here at White Pond Games will always be in your debt for helping us bring our dream to life. We want to thank in particular those who took their time to leave us a review on Steam. When so many games are struggling to even get noticed, we feel privileged.[/p][p]If you haven’t yet, join the discussion on our Steam forums or Discord — we’d love to hear your feedback. [/p][p][/p][p]See you in the field![/p]