Hello everyone!

We have been working for a while on improving and expanding the They Are Billions level editor. The first big update, available right now in the new version V1.1, allows to modify the rules of the game. You can now modify all the parameters of the units, buildings and enemies in your custom levels.
Every time we make this kind of modifications we have to be very careful because it can affect both the original game and the hundreds of levels that the community has created, any change must guarantee full compatibility with everything that already exists.

The modification of the rules is carried out by means of a function "ApplyRules ()" that can be used in any script of the game such as events, hordes, when activating objects or entering zones, at the beginning of the game,...
Some random examples:

• When you release a neutral soldier cornered by zombies, he reveals a technology that increases the attack of your units by 50%.
  
• A new Titan is made available at a higher cost but with a doubled range shooting effect.
  
• From the Command Center you can access a market to purchase unit and building upgrades.
  
• A new type of random scenario with its own rules in which the infected are extremely active and nervous.

You will be able to create your own random survivals with your own rules.

We have updated the level editor guide on Steam that explains all the parameters and syntax with examples of this new functionality.

And that's all for now. We are looking forward to playing the new scenarios created by the Community with their own rules.

See you soon!

There is always time for a celebration amongst friends, even for those who keep us safe from the zombie apocalypse. Who would have thought that cooking was one of the Sniper's skills!
Happy Holidays and happy New Year from Numantian Games to all the They Are Billions community!

Great news! The Campaign mode of They Are Billions is finally available for consoles for free. To play it just let the game update automatically.

It’s been almost six months of hard work. We know that some players were upset because this mode was not available for consoles at the same time as it did for PC, but it required all that time to port and adapt the game to consoles. Some games are developed at the same time for PCs and consoles because they basically work the same way, but for They Are Billions the interface and handling are drastically different. In addition, it’s been necessary to modify entire systems such as physics and text rendering, so it would work at proper speed on consoles.

We’re very happy with the final result. The game is handled in an agile way and we didn’t have to change any of the content (number of zombies, difficulty ...), so that the console version is 100% equal to the PC one. And above all, we are very happy to have contributed to enrich the ecosystem of console games with an RTS as challenging as this one.



We believe that They Are Billions is already a fairly round and complete game. With the campaign mode, the survival mode, and the custom levels of the users, TAB offers many hours of play. In fact, according to statistics, each player plays more than 52 hours on average.

And of course, we are looking at how to expand the universe of They Are Billions. We are considering many options. We want to continue improving the editor so that content creators have many more options and can create more complex levels. We’re also considering to extend the original game with a new campaign available as a separate DLC.

However, deeper changes in the game would require a complete new development, which would already be They Are Billions 2. In a new development we could include new factions that can be played in different ways, cooperative multiplayer and versus modes, and a new Survival mode with many more options.

What do you players think? What new features would you like to find in a new They Are Billions?

Looking forward to your feedback.

We are very happy to announce that They Are Billions is available for XBOX One (right now) and PS4 on 9th July. The time has come for console players to also enjoy this RTS. Although for the moment it’s only available in the Survival mode, we will also bring the Campaign mode to this console in the near future.


Indeed, there are not many RTS games in consoles. This genre is mostly exclusive to PC because its game mechanics make it essential to use a mouse and keyboard. But at Numantian Games we have accepted the challenge. First of all because we truly believe that console players can also enjoy this exceptional game genre that we like so much. Second, They Are Billions within the RTS has also created its own sub-genre, a new style that has managed to bring many players who had never before played this type of games, and have enjoyed it as much as the more veterans players.

In the porting we have tried to be 100% loyal to the PC version. We want the game experience to be the same. Along with Blitworks, our porting partner, a huge effort has been made to achieve a game speed equivalent to the PC, as this game uses CPUs and multicore super intensive. Few games can boast of handling 30K units in real time, each with fully independent AI.

We also had to work to adapt the game handling to the console interface and we have implemented two play modes:

Gamepad

In this mode, the cursor and the camera can be moved with the analog joysticks. We have also enabled many shortcuts for the most typical actions that greatly improve the speed of handling. They Are Billions was always conceived as a game where strategy comes first (over player's performance) and that's why you can pause, so you can take your time and decide your strategies and tactics. This allows that in consoles, even if it is a little more uncomfortable handling with gamepad, the player establishes the preferred pace of play.

Mouse and Keyboard

The new consoles allow you to use any normal USB or Bluetooth mouse or keyboard and, of course, they are both supported by They Are Billions. In this case the gaming experience is exactly the same as in the PC version.
Even you can perfectly play with mouse while using the gamepad for shortcuts.

And that's all for now. If you have console gamer friends you can tell them that: "The zombie apocalypse, has arrived!"

And if anyone is curious to see how has been the development on consoles here you can see our friends from Blitworks in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvhOg6iRFJY
See you soon!

Spoiler: Developers are scared .... more in V. 1.0.10 ...


It's almost incredible that we didn’t think of this before...

TAB has always stored in a Steam variable the total number of zombies killed by each player, in order to unlock the Infected Killer achievements. So, now those values are added to another global Steam variable that contains the sum of all the zombies killed by the entire Steam community.

Since version 1.0.8 this information is being uploaded to the server. So only players who have opened TAB in that version or higher have been accounted for.

From now on all the zombies killed are counted regardless of whether you have won or lost, or whether it is a Survival, a Custom Level or a Campaign mission. Until now only Survival wins were accounted for, meaning that the actual number of killed zombies is much larger than the one shown in the game. Ready?
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At first we thought there was some kind of error or that Steam was not processing the totals correctly. But no, all is right and it makes sense. TAB already has more than one million players and, according to Steam, the average playing time per player is 45 hours. Surely the real number is much bigger but still, 44 billion zombies killed must surely be some world record… will there be any category in the Guinness Book for this?

The title of the game is no longer a hyperbole and has become, literally and empirically, true: "They Are Billions ..., yes, 44 actually. And rising!"

In the new version V.1.0.10 you can see the world zombie counter. The counter is updated in real time as players get rid of more and more zombies. Move the pointer over the number and you will see what your contribution to the total has been. How far will it go?


As you can see, one of the testers has contributed with more than 6 million. Definitely ready for a possible and imminent zombie apocalypse in real life!

In the new version 1.0.10 we continue fixing issues and improve several things. More info in the Changes Log Version.

Come on everyone! What are you waiting for? We have to reach 100 Billions this summer!

See you soon!

We continue working to improve the game and, our number one priority, to fix all the bugs and issues. Since the release They Are Billions has between 15,000 and 20,000 simultaneous players, and has been played for more than 2 million hours in the last week. Amazing! A billion thanks to all players!

Something pending to include for future versions is the counter for the total number of zombies killed by all TAB players, updated in real time on the game's menu screen. That could be very, very interesting :)

Now, let us run you through everything you can find in the new version, of course, we’ll continue listening to all your feedback:


We have detected that Steam Cloud was interfering with the game recording and the user's progress, so we have disabled it. As the game state is huge, They Are Billions uses file compression and it seems that Steam Cloud can affect the recording process when it synchronizes.

All the TAB user data (saves, settings, custom levels, screenshots ...) can be found in My Documents\My Games\They Are Billions, in case you need to move them to another computer.


From the game menu within the Dashboard of the campaign you’ll find a new option to record the current state of the campaign in a new slot. You can continue when you want using the Continue option in the main menu. (This is not available inside a mission, just in the campaign dashboard).

We have implemented it for two reasons: First and foremost, we do not want anyone to lose the progress of the campaign. In such a long game losing the advances due to an error or a disk problem can be a disaster.

This will also allow you to perform tests with the technology tree or try different levels of difficulty... in short, experimenting a bit more with the game.

In addition this new option will work very well together with the following new feature…




Now you can play missions that you have already completed, as many times as you want in the difficulty level you want. This functionality is just for fun, it will not affect any aspect of your campaign, nor the victory points or the defeats counter.


It seems that this mechanism is the one that has caused the most concern to the players and after analyzing the issue among the team we think we already know why.

This mechanic was designed to encourage exploration and reward progress little by little. We love when the hero opens a door, react to the situation, kills the enemies and then explore the room’s content, finding useful objects or research points, it is a good way to constantly reward the progress of the mission.

The testers knew that these bonuses are optional, so they explored the fortress, met the objectives and finished the mission, usually with 70-90% of the points earned. That's why the campaign was balanced to get that number of points on average. Those players that were more into exploring and observing could get extra points, and that’s phenomenal.



However, we realized that most players take it as if it was mandatory and in no case want to pass on any of the available points. So, when they achieve the mission objectives, they feel compelled to look everywhere for remaining objects, instead of leaving the mission and continue the Campaign. That of course is a boring and tedious job. It was a mistake to include in the interface the total available points in the mission because players will not finish the mission until they got them all. We didn’t take into account that most players want to complete and get everything that is available, and this mechanics would bother them too much.

To improve this mechanic, we have activated the flash for objects in all difficulties and increased their visibility. Now finding all the objects should not be a problem. The campaign has been balanced for an average get of 70% of the objects, so nothing happens if you have left any behind. In any case, we take good note for future campaigns!


Now the technologies that you have unlocked since the last mission can be modified if you fail in the new mission. That is, if you have chosen one or two technologies that have not worked well in a mission and you have lost, you can pick up others and play the mission again with the new technologies.
Once a mission is completed, the unlocked technologies become permanent as before.

We have also added the costs of unlocked units and structures in the help messages of the technologies, and solved the problem of the Veterans Snipers that did not receive the attack improvements of the normal Snipers.


It turns out that we missed a parameter in the Storm Cape mission swarm and the veteran community of TAB claimed that we were nerfing the game!?! Please calm down guys, wait until you hear the official voice of Numantian before drawing conclusions. TAB is an old-school and hardcore RTS, that's our hallmark and it will always be!

In recent patches we have improved the difficulty curve of the campaign to make it more accessible in the first missions of the game as they are where new players without previous experience learn the mechanics of the game. That is why we have added new tutorial messages to improve learning. The rest of the missions of the campaign (80%) remain the same as they were originally designed.

In addition, following the feedback of the most veteran players, we have increased the level of challenge of the modes Brutal and Nightmare between 20% and 50%. And, in case you think this is not enough,... please keep reading :)


Was Nightmare mode not enough for you? So get ready... the evil TAB developers have created a new way in which the infected are hungrier, more nervous and more billions than ever. We assigned one of our testers to try the Apocalypse Mode during the weekend and, when we returned to the office, we found him huddling in a corner crying and sobbing. Burbling again and again: "Why…? Why did we do it... ? " Guys, it was very disturbing...


We have re-enabled the feature that allows that the new version changes can be consulted from the main menu. We had taken it away because translation to so many languages could take many days, something we can’t afford when they are so urgent. So we have implemented a self-translation system using Google Translator to translate them from English. Apologies if the translation is not very good or results in something totally crazy!

- We have fixed the anti over-kill feature that made sometimes the units to waste shots when targeting enemies.

- Mine traps works now as expected according to the delay time set by the player.

- Also, dwelling without colonists (waiting the train arrival) no longer spam zombies when they have been infected.

The list of all changes can be also found here on Steam forums.

And this is all for now... we’ll keep on working on improving the game while you continue to reconquer the World after the zombie apocalypse. Good luck and see you soon!

The launch week is becoming really intense. We never thought that version 1.0 would generate so much interest, opinions and feedback. That’s a sign that They Are Billions is becoming a very popular game and, as such, generates intense debate.

First of all, thank you very much to all the constructive feedback that helps us to improve the game and to correct mistakes. Thank you very much for taking the time. You know that our team is always open to everything you want to say to us.

During the development of the Campaign we had a few dozens very different testers playing the campaign from start to finish using very different strategies, and always in Challenging difficulty.

Although we’ve worked hard to achieve the best quality, making it as challenging and with the widest range of strategic possibilities, with hundreds of thousands of people, playing the game there are many aspects that may require adjustments and improvements. That’s what we are here for, to improve it and give you the best possible experience.

We have to say that we are saddened to see that many players with hundreds of hours of play in Survival mode have written very negative reviews for the launch of the Campaign. We understand that there are people who prefer to play Survival and are not interested in the campaign, and prefer that development efforts be directed only to the Survival. That is totally legitimate, and we are delighted to hear that feedback and we will take it into account. But we've done an update with new free content, which we promised from the first day of the Early Access. And we’ve even improved the Survival with two new maps and the wandering Mutants. So, we ask for your patience as the advances in the development will come in order. The next big update will be for the Survival, but we are working on one thing at a time.


Here are the most important improvements:




Here we made a mistake when leaving the Challenging mode as the default difficulty level. In addition, many players haven’t noticed the small screen of difficulty level that appears on the Missions screen and are not aware that you can change the level of difficulty at any time.

Improvement 1: Now the default mode is Accessible, which maintains a good level of challenge and is more progressive than the Challenging. Also, now when playing the first mission you will see the difficulty window explaining this functionality.

Improvement 2: The general difficulty of the first missions has been lowered a bit so that it is something more accessible, especially for first-time players

Some missions have a time limit because the challenge lies in getting a colony of certain characteristics within that time frame. It seems that this limit has taken many people by surprise or is simply too short for less experienced players.

Improvement: So, we have removed the limit in the first missions and expanded generously in all the others. It should no longer be a problem, but we will continue to listen to your feedback and make further adjustments if necessary.


We understand that there are players who prefer to focus on the colony mode and are not that interested in tactical missions. We see them as bonus reward phases which our testers really enjoyed playing.
For those who are not very interested in these phases, we recommend playing them with the lowest level of difficulty. This will allow a quick walk through the fortresses.
While searching for objects, that for us it is something that enhances the exploratory nature of the game, it’s much easier if you zoom in. Also, they’re optional, it is not necessary to collect them all. Even so we have made some improvements:

Improvement: Now the bonus objects flash every so often, so it is very easy to identify them. The period of blinking changes according to the difficulty, the easier the more often they will blink. In Difficult, Brutal and Nightmare levels, they will never blink for those who enjoys a greater challenge.


Some players mentioned that if you don’t achieve certain advances you won’t be able to progress in the missions.
In our tests we have completed the entire campaign in Challenging with very different (and crazy) tree settings. We have even completed the campaign with only one unit: the soldier with all his improvements, without attack towers, and without any micromanaging, simply making hordes of soldiers and sending them to hunt. Also, using the Inn and its rewards without investigating any unit. And so many other situations and game styles just for fun.

In the end, what we want to say is that the fun comes from exploring and creating your own strategies with the resources at your disposal, to adapt and survive, that's what the game is all about. We hope you’ll agree.
Still, if you get stuck in a mission you have several options:
- There are always other missions to complete first, in which your technological configuration may have an advantage, and then you can return to the previous one with more progress made.
- If you are still stuck, lower the difficulty for a specific mission. The only change is that you win fewer victory points.

Improvement: We have made some adjustments in the tree to make the beginning more accessible.

We continue working hard to correct all reported issues. We have already fixed many and we’re still working on them.

We have fixed a memory leak problem related to sound that made the game consumes much more RAM than needed so it can lead to crashes and freezes. A thousand apologies for this! Now the game should be 100% stable while playing hours.

Another issue we’ve fixed is that the game counted a defeat in the event of a crash. It’s already been fixed, apologies for those who have suffered it.

EDIT: Also we are examining if there is any problem with the anti-overkill targets feature that it seems to work worse than in the last version.

To force the update just restart the Steam client. It should be now the 1.0.5.

We continue working to improve the game. Thank you very much for your support, we will continue to post the most important changes here.

Quintus is waiting for you... those wild lands are not going to reconquer themselves! See you soon!

At last, They Are Billions reaches version 1.0. We are leaving the Early Access and the great Campaign, The New Empire, will be available for all players.

Lead the campaign under the orders of Quintus Crane, ruler of the New Empire, and reconquer the lands devastated by the infected.

• 48 missions with more than 60 hours of gameplay.
  
• Build fortified colonies to survive in infected territories
  
• Destroy the swarms of infected with the Imperial Army.
  
• Make your colonies evolve with more than 90 available technologies.
  
• Explore the ancient human fortresses with your Hero.
  
• Discover the story behind the apocalypse... how did the pandemic start?

Don’t forget the new available maps for the Survival mode.
You can see this update for more info.




Along with the Campaign we will also launch a DLC that will contain the 22 themes of TAB soundtrack at the highest quality, and the digital book “The Art of They Are Billions”, for those of you curious about the sketches and illustrations of the most important elements of the game.

In the game main menu "More" you can find an option "Collector's Edition". Click there to open the content folder with these extra rewards. Hope you like them!

Of course the soundtrack can be player via the Steam Music Player.

The V.1.0 is the most stable, lots of issues have been solved and the performance is much better than in the old version. Also it has countless of improvements in all fronts.

Although we have tested the campaign to the fullest, we will be ready to quickly fix any bugs or solve any problem after the launch.

As you know, in this section of the forum you can report any issues you have with the game. Please, be patient, we promise to solve everything as fast as possible, as we have always done.

Thanks a lot for your support and feedback during the Early Access time. You have made They Are Billions possible as it stands today, and for that we will always be grateful. We really hope you’ll enjoy the Campaign.

That’s all for now, we don’t want to take much more of your time. Please go ahead and submerge yourselves in the New Empire Campaign. Just a friendly advice, don’t forget to eat and drink every few hours! (sleeping is optional)☺

See you on the other side of the Campaign!

There is only one day left until the launch of the They Are Billions Campaign that finally, after a year and a half in Early Access, will become version 1.0!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKRTQGHL3mc

During this time, and thanks to all your support, we have improved TAB in many aspects while developing the Campaign mode almost in secret. It will finally be released tomorrow and, as promised, it will be included for free for all existing TAB players.

TAB will be a fully finished game so it will leave the Early Access stage. Of course, we will continue to work on improving TAB, especially the Survival mode and the Editor, but all of that will some time later, first the priority is the campaign launch.

We wanted to share with you some details for all of you who have been eagerly waiting, as we know that nobody is going to read anything of tomorrow’s announcement and will jump directly into playing the Campaign :)




Along with the Campaign we will also launch a DLC that will contain the 22 themes of TAB soundtrack at the highest quality, and the digital book “The Art of They Are Billions”, for those of you curious about the sketches and illustrations of the most important elements of the game.


We will activate it between 9 and 10 AM Pacific Time. As there are many steps involved in publishing the new page (the DLC Soundtrack & Artbook, the announcement and so on), we do not know exactly what time it will be, but it will be in that range.



The V.1.0 is the most stable, lots of issues have been solved and the performance is much better than in the old version. Also it has countless of improvements in all fronts.

Although we have tested the campaign to the fullest, we will be ready to quickly fix any bugs or solve any problem after the launch.

As you know, in this section of the forum you can report any issues you have with the game. Please, be patient, we promise to solve everything as fast as possible, as we have always done.



The Flat Mode is designed to help you when building and some element of the scenario impedes your vision. The Flat Mode is really ugly (compare the following images), and it's a shame that after working so hard to create this awesome scenarios, especially for the campaign mode, the game ends up showing up in videos in this way. Streamers, your audience will enjoy your videos much more if you play the game as it is.

Thank you very much in advance!


By default the Campaign is played in Challenging mode. At any time you can change the difficulty of the game from the campaign Dashboard. The difficulty level only impacts the final victory points. We recommend playing the game in Challenging mode and if you find it very hard drop it down little by little. Pro-players who are used to playing in Brutal or Nightmare in Survival mode, can also start the campaign at those levels. But we warn you, it will not be easy! ;) We hope that everyone, in one way or another, can reach the end of the game.

The last scenario: "The Goddess of Destiny" is really an epic experience, do not miss it!


The Campaign is full of amazing details and surprises, especially in the tactical missions. We recommend playing it without watching videos or knowing anything in advance. Enjoy playing in your own style, take your time to explore and experience everything.

The best strategies are those that you discover yourself!


Finally just check this amazing fan-art of our beloved Ranger Unit by Dennis Fröhlich.



And that's all for now, see you tomorrow!

At last! The highly anticipated They Are Billions Campaign will be available on June 18th. Here at Numantian, we recommend that you ask your boss for at least one month off. That’s because, and you are being warned, the campaign is addictive - really addictive. Check out the teaser trailer of The New Empire. We hope you enjoy it!

https://youtu.be/GKRTQGHL3mc

The campaign will, of course be included free with the current game, and also it will be available in the 12 languages currently supported by They Are Billions.


Along with the campaign, two new scenarios will be unlocked for the Survival mode: The Deep Forest and The Caustic Lands.

- As The Deep Forest is the most accessible, it will now be the first scenario available, so that new players’ first contact with They Are Billions is not so brutal.



- The Caustic Lands, on the contrary, will be the hardest of all the maps. The most dangerous infected live here and you’ll face the Doom Colony that can occupy up to 30% of the map. Scary!



In addition, the rest of the scenarios have been modified in the level of difficulty and include new dangers... No spoilers here! ;)

See you soon!

*EDIT: They Are Billions will leave Early Access when the campaign is launched (18th June).