Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our 11th devblog! Happy New Year to everyone. We’ve been away for an update or two. The team took some personal time for the first time in a long time over the holidays. Jos went back home see family along with our interns Rik and Marko for the holiday and school obligations. They’ve already finished their first block which is hard to believe!

Last week everyone returned, focused and refreshed! We’re continuing on 0.9 and making great progress. Our new workflow is paying off quite well. We’re far more organized and able to work on the project as a team, where as before, things could at times feel very segmented. Below we’ve included a few snippets of what we’ve been up to. Now that the holidays are out of the way and we’re back on the grind, we’ll provide weekly updates once again.

We’ve been joined this week by a new intern from ROC Friese Poort in Sneek in the Netherlands. Ids Wijnja (Widge) joins the team as an intern in media design. The team is excited to have a dedicated media team member. We currently have little time to dedicate to video capture or UI art.

We’ll now have the ability to provide a feature showcase video alongside default updates. We’ve begun to lay out a video plan for our 0.9 showcase. Ids will start working on that this coming week and we’ll have more info in the next Devblog.

Weapon attachments will be introduced shortly. Rik has been working on quite a few. If you remember our concept videos then you might remember the oil filter suppressor. That will be introduced alongside a commercially available suppressor of better quality.


Commercial Suppressor



Oil Filter Suppressor



Attached to a shotgun (probably not a great idea) 



We’re also working on scope attachments and additional weapons. The ACOG is something many of you have asked for and pretty much everyone on the team wanted.



We’ll also be introducing more scopes and flashlight attachments. If you have any suggestions or attachment ideas please share them on our suggestion page. If possible, we will include any viable ideas!



Clinton has worked on a nice solution for an issue that we’ve faced for some time which is the stability of our lobby. Often running for days and sometimes requiring a restart or crashing, the lobby has needed some attention. Clinton has had a go at a nice panel for us. It does its job and looks fantastic. We have an accurate way to track performance on the fly now and the lobby will automatically restart should it run into issue and no one is around!





Ids has captured some new loading screens to freshen things up as part of the 0.9 update. Our tips have also all been updated to reflect features coming into the project. Below you’ll see the new control scheme (customizable inputs coming soon!) overlay that Ids created, something new players are always asking about. Hopefully this makes it a bit easier until then and even after we get custom inputs in.








Controls clearly marked and visible during load and in control window via menu tips and shortly loading backgrounds will be update specific.



Curing sickness has been an issue for a while. We'll introduce an antibiotic drop in 0.9 and as you can see there's a 100% chance of cure with these. You'll find them in medical cabinets and pharmacies.



Antibiotics introduced for 0.9!


The team would like to wish everyone a Happy New year once again!  You can check our next set of goals and 0.9 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our 10th devblog! Happy holidays to all :) We may not have a weekly blog up next Friday so a quick heads up there. The team has been busy cracking away on 0.9. You can follow the progress if you'd like right on our changelog. Below we'll discuss a few of the features you can expect to see in 0.9.

After a good deal of community feedback and some solid testing by the team, we came to the conclusion that the crafting system needed some work. The system as it stands in 0.8 is over complicated and cumbersome. It's just not clear how to find recipes, how to use tools and when you can or can't craft something. Jayty has spent some time tweaking our current systems and reworking how the search and recipe system is laid out.

Once the player opens the inventory and reaches the create tab, they're presented with 3 methods to begin the crafting process. These methods include searching using the search bar located at the top of the inventory page. This is ideal for locating a recipe or item you may not already have in your inventory. The player is also able to press the [Search] button next to any item in their inventory. Doing this will show them any recipe that includes the item. The last method allows the player to press the [Recipe] button next to any item in their inventory. Doing this will show the player a recipe for the item should there be one. Below are examples of all three methods.


Method 1: Search for craftable items using the search field.


Method 2: Press the [Search] button next to the item's name in the inventory to search for recipes that include that item.


Method 3: Press the [Recipe] button next to the item's name in the inventory to see the recipe for that item.

Our current notification system is easily missed and often ignored. All notifications are jammed into the center of the screen out of the line of sight and often become very repetitive. The general notification system is currently displayed alongside the hint system. This means a common notification like the player dropping loot is displayed in the same area where a helpful hint is. The current system is largely ignored even by us so an update was needed. The new system is way more dynamic and most importantly, it's designer friendly. This allows designers to set up triggers and easily place notification systems in any way they see fit. You'll see them mainly as hints for now. There are some concepts below currently awaiting pull request approval.









As some of you may be well aware, getting chased by a zombie and trying to open a door can at times be infuriating and terrifyingly unfair. While playing a few weeks back, the team came the conclusion that door interactions needed to be worked on. The initial step to bettering the system was to create a panel wide collider. This system allows the player to tap the interact key anywhere on the door panel to slam the door open or closed. This is done at a cost. The door slamming will make a good deal of noise attracting nearby dead. The player still has the ability to open the door normally by interacting with the door handle (same as the current system). Below you can see the system in action...bit of lag in the gif but the animations are nice and smooth in game.


Door interactions, slam and normal open mechanic.

The current consuming system isn't very clear. There's no quick and easy way for a player to see exactly how what they're about to consume is going to affect their stats. We've implemented a system that makes the stat changes from consuming clear and obvious. Green is good and red is bad. Each item will display the nutrition it provides along with other things like the chance of sickness upon consuming. Below you can see the system in action.


Stat change preview mechanic.

Dropping and placement have had a big overhaul for 0.9. The current system makes our placement feature rather difficult to enjoy. The player must first drop an item from their inventory and then hold the interact key to place it. In 0.9, the player will be able to hold shift while hovering on the [Drop] button changing the button into a [Place] button. The current system also doesn't have a system to allow the player to drop items where they or the crosshair is looking. In 0.9, the player will be able to drop directly where they are looking making things a bit more fluid. Remember to hold shift and [Place] items if you don't want the server to clean them up!


Dropping items where the player is looking

Today marks 1 year since we launched our unlisted pre-alpha Steam build. The team has made a good deal of progress with the project in the last 12 months. We've also learned a great deal more about development and running a company. We'd like to thank the community support and mods for all the help over the last year. Below you'll see the Survive the Nights changelog for the year of 2018. You guys have done a fantastic job at finding and reporting issues. We'll continue to push forward and introduce alpha mechanics, building towards a super enjoyable alpha game! :)

Click here and scroll down to the spoiler tab if you'd like to view our full changelog for all of 2018. You can check our next set of goals and 0.9 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support! :)

The team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! If we don't speak again, Happy New Year!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our 9th devblog! We’ve released the 0.8.21 build to our default branch on Steam. The build introduces the beginnings of our fortification mechanic among other quality of life improvements and bug fixes.

It has been a little over 3 months since our last default update and a lot of that time has been spent improving our workflow. In the last few weeks we've adapted a completely new workflow and have begun using Jira. We're using it to streamline our time, allowing us to prioritize the 'bigger picture' by breaking the work into bite sized pieces. As most of you know, this is our first project and learning nearly everything has been a big part of it. The addition of Jira and the Scrum workflow to the team has already done wonders. We're really making headway on 0.9 as a team and for the first time we're not working with our backs against a wall. Our past workflows, most through trial and error, have been overwhelming and at most times the team felt as though there was a constant mountain to climb. The new workflow allows us to attack the mountain step by step and provides great structure while doing so.

Originally our plan for 0.9 was to add passive AI and hunting. Mid development on 0.8 we produced a build and for the first time in a long time spent a good few days playing the game. Not testing or developing just playing as a player would. We've realized there were issues that needed to be addressed so we took a step back from our planned roadmap as introducing animals does not solve current issues. 0.9 will focus on a nice game loop and much needed gameplay improvements. Below we'll showcase some of what we have planned for the next default update. You can keep an eye on the changelog to follow our progress.

Our current crafting system can sometimes be confusing. The search bar is rarely used and how the tools are used is confusing as is the recipe layout. Jayty is reworking the current system creating what we hope is a system that's a bit more straightforward. Once the player reaches the 'Create' tab, their inventory displays the player's loot with either a [Search] or [Recipe] option. This makes it much easier to see what you can create with an item or what recipes contain the item. We'll showcase the crafting mechanic in next weeks devblog.

Right now it's beyond difficult to survive most nights and not always enjoyable. While testing, most of us found it far too dark or dangerous to even move out of a structure at night and if the power wasn't running it was just as hard to do anything inside. We've taken steps to improve this such as shortening nights across the board covering all seasons. Along with the shorter nights and longer days we'll be introducing a headlamp as part of your starting loot. The batteries won't last forever and it's not the brightest but it should make surviving your first night a bit easier.


The headlamp can be enabled with V or via the inventory

In addition to shortened nights, longer days and headlamps, another feature we're focusing on for 0.9 is the 'starting camp'. New players will be guided to these camps via signs along the roads and in the wild. Commonly known as blazes these signs will guide new players and returning players alike to small camps. These camps may consist of a ruined cabin or tent that will eventually provide the player with a sleeping mat. This will allow them to save and log off safely anywhere in the world. They'll also include a hatchet, a harvestable wood/tinder source, harvestable bushes and some might also introduce the water cleaning mechanic with dirty water sources. All camps will have static campfires and grills as shown below (not an actual camp just the new fire). These camps should help new players survive their first few nights as they'll be bright with a fire burning. Camps will be safer than the general wilderness and much safer than any town. They should provide the player with a decent start.


New static campfire will also include a cooking surface (camps not designed here)

We've started to redesign all of our structure interiors including some texture improvements. Many of you have commented and suggested that we went a bit too far with how dirty structures were. Seeing as how they're a major part of your survival and with the introduction of fortifications, structures needed to be looked back into. The rework includes updating some textures, cleaning and removing debris and just a general rework to include more shelving and space for loot. With the coming introduction of player dropped loot and placeable containers, grow lamps and traps houses needed a bit more space in them. Below are a few shots of cleaner design and the start to our structure update.






We've started to update our UI to make it a bit clearer as to exactly what's interactable. The player will now see small icons at a set range when they're able to interact with a game object in the world. We've also replaced our small GUI that would pop up over items with a cleaner looking mechanic that's easier to read and doesn't impede the players view as much. We'll dig deeper into the new hint and tip notifications in coming devblogs.


The current small GUI that pops up on interactable game objects.


The new system and the new hover icons showing lock and door interaction positions. The player can now slam the door open by hitting e anywhere on the panel.


The new player hint notification informing a player here that they have just picked up a compass and should search for a map. The system will be dynamic and you'll see these hints on many items in the world. 

Something many of you have asked about is placement directly from inventory. This feature will be introduced in 0.9 making placement much easier. As placement stands now, a player must first drop an item then hold e to pick it up and enter placement mode. With the next update, players will be able to hold shift while in inventory and use the place button to enter this mode directly. This will come in handy with the introduction of more traps, shelving and placeable containers! 


Placement from Inventory

We're working on quite a bit more for 0.9. These improvements and new features should greatly improve the player's initial experience. There's a ton of developing to do. We have a new workflow and we're excited for the future. We'll include more of what's to come in 0.9 in next Friday's devblog!

As always, thanks much for the continued support! If you're testing out 0.8 and the initial fortification mechanic, please report any bugs found to our tracker.

As a reminder before we go, we'll be getting these devblogs out weekly. You can check our next set of goals and 0.8 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,


We’re moving our experimental branch to default today. 0.7.21 will become 0.8.21 :) The update below will go over what we’ve been up to along with what has changed in 0.8. This coming Friday we'll post a devblog on what to expect in 0.9.x. You can check out a little of what to expect via the changelog to see what the team has done so far. 


This update (0.8.21) focuses on the implementation stages of our fortification mechanic among other things. This is just the initial introduction to the mechanic and it will be expanded on with upcoming builds. As of now, the player is able to plank windows, fell trees and craft strong planks or harvest weak planks from wood objects (like fences) in the world. Jayty did a video blog a few weeks back shortly before the branch was introduced to our experimental build on Steam. If you've not checked it out have a quick look, it goes over the mechanic pretty well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfo5W6Mxvhc

• Fixed scenario where zombies could get warped back to previous object that was climbed over.
  
• Picnic benches worn plank and nails harvest now working.
  
• House 3 double interior now fixed.
  
• Cabin 6 interior now has collision.

• Fixed dupe glitch with containers when taking a stack of items!
  
• Free placed shotgun trap added which takes 12 gauge ammunition.
  
• Free placed propane fire wall trap added which can also be exploded on being shot
  
• Free placed bear trap added which damages players and AI and locks them in position
  
• Wooden fences can now be searched for worn planks
  
• Fixed issue which was causing the database to become corrupt
  
• Added global sounds system which has the ability to sync sounds between clients (current client side only sounds will slowly be migrated to new system)
  
• New variant of the placement mode system added for bigger (Traps/Generator/Campfire etc.), the system aligns items to the terrain/ground and makes sure the player can’t place items on steep surfaces.
  
• Crouching altered so players can access buildings through windows
  
• Placement mode collision with buildings fixed, this prevents players from placing things inside of walls.
  
• Fixed issue with the in game terminal which was causing the game to lag.
  
• Hammer attack/swing sound improved.
  
• Hammer attack animation improved.
  
• Fixed issue with world initialisation which was causing the server to lag when new players joined.
  
• Fixed scenario which would allow the weapon to slip into inspecting when searching area for items.
  
• Zombie screaming mechanic fixed.
  
• Weapon avoidance now works again on buildings.
  
• Changed the guide page of the player inventory to "Coming soon" to save confusion.
  
• Fixed glitch where zombies would snap on to roofs when walking through door ways.
  
• Items dropped from a stack in the inventory no longer have the same identifying ID which was causing issues where things would sync to the wrong items.
  
• Added rubber hose drop.
  
• Added improved hammer model.
  
• Added crafting recipes for shotgun, fire and bear traps.
  
• Mouse invert option now works again.
  new worn and fresh plank drops added.
  
• Bear trap model tweaked to make contact with ground better.
  
• New tweaked bear trap animations added.
  
• Window frame positions and centres updated for Zombie traversing.
  
• Updated all command input help info accessed via /help

• Free placed shotgun trap added which takes 12 gauge ammunition.
  
• Free placed propane fire wall trap added which can also be exploded on being shot
  
• Free placed bear trap added which damages players and AI and locks them in position
  
• Wooden fences can now be searched for worn planks
  
• Fixed issue which was causing the database to become corrupt
  
• Added global sounds system which has the ability to sync sounds between clients (current client side only sounds will slowly be migrated to new system)
  
• New variant of the placement mode system added for bigger (Traps/Generator/Campfire etc.), the system aligns items to the terrain/ground and makes sure the player can’t place items on steep surfaces.
  
• Crouching altered so players can access buildings through windows
  
• Placement mode collision with buildings fixed, this prevents players from placing things inside of walls.
  
• Improved 'Killed by' UI notification.
  
• Centered small hover GUI.
  
• Added new screen centered hover GUI which can be used for meshes where the pivot is far from the player. (fences)

• Zombies no longer glitch on top of roofs when passing through doorways.
  
• Players and AI will now catch on fire and take damage when walking into a propane fire wall trap or a campfire.
  
• Impact force added to player and zombie ragdolls when receiving gun or explosion damage.
  
• Zombie scales now tweaked for traversing through window frames.
  
• New hammer attack animation added.
  
• Improved player ragdolls.
  
• Tweaked physics default solver iterations to improve ragdoll stability/jitter.
  
• Zombies character rig and animation overhaul to allow for more precise animations and rag dolls.
  
• Improved rag dolls for zombie AI.
  
• Water bottle drinking proxy animations improved.
  
• Zombie climbing through window animations added.

• Bear trap interaction time reduced to 1 second
  
• Reduced amount of time it takes to search area for items when holding F.
  
• Improved the notifications when searching for items.
  
• Fixed issue where player vitals weren't always being written to the database on log off which would result in out of date stats on login back in.
  
• Fixed AllwaysSafeLogOff perm so that it now always store up to date log of position.
  
• Wilderness cabins now contain more storage containers.
  
• Added design around new player spawn locations to help direct new players.
  
• Fires now start with a few items in them.
  
• Added tips to loading screen!
  
• Updated generator GUI so that quantity no longer shows 1/1 and now displays the fuel amount.
  
• Reduced time it takes to start generator.
  
• Added [Interact] button to fires to match other machines.
  
• Updated fuel display on fires to simplify it and match with generators.

• Fixed radiator that was sticking through wall in strip mall variant 3.

If you're interested in helping us bug test, please check against the changelog above. You can fill out bug reports on our public tracker here. Thanks much for the continued support, we'll see you Friday with a devblog and a sneak peak at what's to come!

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our 8th devblog! We’ve released the initial 0.8 build to our experimental branch on Steam. Feel free to please check that out, we need some feedback. There’s a lot of testing and breaking to do so go at it! Below you can find our patch notes, We’ll be doing a full fledged branch update once exp is tested and stable. Please do your best to check against the list of changes below!

***This is only the initial introduction of the fortification mechanic. There's still a lot of developing to do here and expansion. Once the core is tested we'll slowly start introducing other materials and traps.***

If you didn't catch the vlog by Jayty a week or so ago have a watch. It's a good example, albeit exaggerated. We spent a night hunkered down in a home while zeds were spawned to test the fortification mechanic. Jayty shares a good deal of info and it might be a good idea to check it out before testing. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfo5W6Mxvhc

• Fixed dupe glitch with containers when taking a stack of items!
  
• Free placed shotgun trap added which takes 12 gauge ammunition.
  
• Free placed propane fire wall trap added which can also be exploded on being shot
  
• Free placed bear trap added which damages players and AI and locks them in position
  
• Wooden fences can now be searched for worn planks
  
• Fixed issue which was causing the database to become corrupt
  
• Added global sounds system which has the ability to sync sounds between clients (current client side only sounds will slowly be migrated to new system)
  
• New variant of the placement mode system added for bigger (Traps/Generator/Campfire etc.), the system aligns items to the terrain/ground and makes sure the player can’t place items on steep surfaces.
  
• Crouching altered so players can access buildings through windows
  
• Placement mode collision with buildings fixed, this prevents players from placing things inside of walls.
  
• Fixed issue with the in game terminal which was causing the game to lag.
  
• Hammer attack/swing sound improved.
  
• Hammer attack animation improved.
  
• Fixed issue with world initialization which was causing the server to lag when new players joined.
  
• Fixed scenario which would allow the weapon to slip into inspecting when searching area for items.
  
• Zombie screaming mechanic fixed.
  
• Weapon avoidance now works again on buildings.
  
• Changed the guide page of the player inventory to "Coming soon" to save confusion.
  
• Fixed glitch where zombies would snap on to roofs when walking through door ways.
  
• Items dropped from a stack in the inventory no longer have the same identifying ID which was causing issues where things would sync to the wrong items.
  
• Added rubber hose drop.
  
• Added improved hammer model.
  
• Added crafting recipes for shotgun, fire and bear traps.
  
• Mouse invert option now works again.
  
• New worn and fresh plank drops added.
  
• Bear trap model tweaked to make contact with ground better.
  
• New tweaked bear trap animations added.
  
• Window frame positions and centers updated for Zombie traversing.
  
• Updated all command input help info accessed via /help

• Free placed shotgun trap added which takes 12 gauge ammunition.
  
• Free placed propane fire wall trap added which can also be exploded on being shot
  
• Free placed bear trap added which damages players and AI and locks them in position
  
• Wooden fences can now be searched for worn planks
  
• Improved 'Killed by' UI notification.
  
• Centered small hover GUI.
  
• Added new screen centered hover GUI which can be used for meshes where the pivot is far from the player. (fences)

• Zombies no longer glitch on top of roofs when passing through doorways.
  
• Players and AI will now catch on fire and take damage when walking into a propane fire wall trap or a campfire.
  
• Impact force added to player and zombie rag dolls when receiving gun or explosion damage.
  
• Zombie scales now tweaked for traversing through window frames.
  
• New hammer attack animation added.
  
• Improved player rag dolls.
  
• Tweaked physics default solver iterations to improve rag doll stability/jitter.
  
• Zombies character rig and animation overhaul to allow for more precise animations and rag dolls.
  
• Improved rag dolls for zombie AI.
  
• Water bottle drinking proxy animations improved.
  
• Zombie climbing through window animations added.

• Bear trap interaction time reduced to 1 second
  
• Reduced amount of time it takes to search area for items when holding F.
  
• Improved the notifications when searching for items.
  
• Fixed issue where player vitals weren't always being written to the database on log off which would result in out of date stats on login back in.
  
• Fixed AllwaysSafeLogOff perm so that it now always store up to date log of position.
  
• Wilderness cabins now contain more storage containers.
  
• Added design around new player spawn locations to help direct new players.
  
• Fires now start with a few items in them.
  
• Added tips to loading screen!
  
• Updated generator GUI so that quantity no longer shows 1/1 and now displays the fuel amount.
  
• Reduced time it takes to start generator.
  
• Added [Interact] button to fires to match other machines.
  
• Updated fuel display on fires to simplify it and match with generators.

• Fixed radiator that was sticking through wall in strip mall variant 3.

The default update will include some big news from the team. We've spent quite a few days deep in gameplay testing. We have some game news to share and look forward to bringing everyone up to date. If all goes well with our experimental build you should see something this coming Friday!

We're looking for help! If you are or know any programmers/unity developers looking for work in the UK please let us know. We're looking for like minded devs, the project is near and dear to us. The team is very small and being a team player is very important to us. If you'd like to send a CV to support@survivethenights.net please do so :)

As a reminder before we go, we'll be getting these devblogs out weekly. You can check our next set of goals and 0.8 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support! :)

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfo5W6Mxvhc


In this video, Jayty takes us through what to expect in the upcoming 0.8 pre-alpha update. The project is moving along quite nicely now. We're introducing all of our initial alpha features. The team is shooting for alpha sometime towards the end of the year. You can follow along with our development progress on the changelog.

Please consider joining us on our Discord server and official forums. We love interacting with the community. Come share your ideas, we are listening.

https://community.survivethenights.net/threads/pre-alpha-devlog-fortifications-0-8-update-showcase.10499/

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our seventh devblog! The 0.8 update is coming along nicely but it will not be released this week. We're still bringing the boys up to speed and also putting some additional work into fortifications. As mentioned in last weeks devblog, we're not far off an experimental build. Once we have something (most likely next week) we'll release with a small update across our social platforms to let you know. This update will not be a long one but as mentioned we'll do our best to get one out every week.

The fortification mechanic is shaping up very nicely. More importantly, the AI is behaving nicely and destroying/traversing fortified windows without major issue so far. The fortification mechanic is by no means fleshed out but will have a very solid foundation once introduced. Placement is very fluid. Players can place planks and eventually sheet materials e.g. plywood and tin. The system will allow players to place fortifications on both interior and exterior frames. Securing a structure will be a decent amount of work but should provide a safe haven with proper maintenance. Below we've included a few shots of zombies making it through window frames and fortifications.


Close one, AI reacting nicely with windows.


That's gonna leave a mark.

Structure traps are also part of our 0.8 update including the shotgun traps and the propane firetrap. AI and players will both be affected by fire so be sure to stand at a safe distance when interacting with that propane trap ;) Players should be able to find most needed parts and fuel with the introduction of harvest machines specific to the most needed loot. You'll find nails and hammers at the hardware store in town nearly every time you look for them, fuel at a fuel station and so on. We're trying our best to balance realism and fun. None of our mechanics are set in stone and all feedback is welcome. Below are a few recent tests of the new firetrap in action.


Lighting a fire trap (watch those fingers!)


Burning Zombies


Such a warm light isn't it?


Shotgun trap to the chest. Stupid zombies.


Bonus gif, Jos walking into his own shotgun trap...

Jos has been working on a standard set of particle mechanics. The leaves shown in the gif below can be and will be swapped out for all sorts of garbage. The system is dynamic and should add a good deal of atmosphere to the world. The mechanic will be easily tweakable and something we'll showcase in the feedback section on the forums.


Atmospheric particle system to be introduced.

The forums have been updated both backend and style. We've also gone orange and decorated for halloween :). We'll soon be fleshing out and filling in our feedback section. We've spent the last 8+ months killing bugs, working on in game features and fixing issues we'd never have been able to find without the help of testers in the community. Issues that the team never would have run into without the extra game load at times.

It's now nearly time for us to enter our alpha stage. We'll be introduced to a new and larger audience as the game will be public and fully listed on Steam. The project is still on a lot of wishlists and stable re-playable alpha builds are not far off. The feedback section will be the main source of feedback for the team. It will be the place we check to see what everyone likes or dislikes. We'll do our best to include most important game features here. The first section to be polished up in the coming weeks will likely be weapons. Gunplay has always been important to the team and now it's your turn to give us some feedback on how things are going. We'll expand, including most interactable props and features eventually.

We're looking for help! If you are or know any programmers/unity developers looking for work in the UK please let us know. We're looking for like minded devs, the project is near and dear to us. The team is very small and being a team player is very important to us. If you'd like to send a CV to support@survivethenights.net please do so :)

As a reminder before we go, we'll be getting these devblogs out weekly. You can check our next set of goals and 0.8 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our sixth devblog! The 0.8 update is coming along nicely but it will not be released this week. The new interns (Rik and Marko) have slowed us just a bit but the boys are keen and going to be a fantastic addition to the project and team! We’ve not had new blood in the office for some time now. Bringing the guys up to speed, showing them our workflows and development process has taken a bit of time.

We should have a solid experimental build out in the next week or so. Once again all tentative but that’s what we’re shooting for. There will be a weekly update either way so you know what we're up to!

In the last devblog we explained a small part of our workflow, fixing bugs and implementing features. We’re currently explaining the workflow to the new guys, Rik and Marko (obviously now being called Rik and Morty). 

Marko is a programming student and intern excited to assist in any way he can. James is our only programmer (with André assisting when he can). He has spent the week explaining our systems, workflow and development process. Marko will be a fantastic asset to the team once brought up to speed and the project should be a great platform to learn and actively use new and existing skills.

Rik is being brought up to speed and is working alongside André so he’s in very good hands! Rik is getting used to our workflow and is already producing some test models. We’re excited to once again have a dedicated 3d artist on the team full time! Survive the Nights should be a great outlet for Rik to learn new skills and showcase the ones he already has. Below you can see an example of Rik's first model tests, a hammer and jerry can. Simple models but a totally new workflow and work environment. Rik is super eager to get cracking away on models!


Newly created models that have been created to introduce our workflow. (Credit to Rik)

Jos has been working on fresh spawns and points of interest. We still have a lot of design work to do as we work through pre-alpha and well into alpha. There are many more 'in-betweens' to fill out along with the possible addition of another north easterly town and theme park.

Jos has been designing fresh spawn areas adding structures like housing and commercial warehousing. Below are few examples including quite a few shots of the airport which will be introduced in an upcoming build.


Fresh spawn housing this will allow players spawning in for the first time to access some starting loot.


Housing and road sides directing players to nearby towns.


Airport design - Security


Airport design - Terminal 1


Airport design - Terminal 2


Airport design - Lobby 1


Airport design - Lobby 2
 
The fortification mechanic is really coming together now. We're adding a few 'finishing touches' to what will become the base for the mechanic. Below you can see the update progress from the trailer's base mechanic to the more fleshed out version coming in the next update.


This is the core of the mechanic showcased in the alpha trailer.


The mechanic a bit further along taken from Devblog #4.


The mechanic as it stands, planks being applied and destroyed in game. These planks are only being tacked on, you'll be able to add more nails and strengthen them further.


Player and AI destroying planks.

The logic we've introduced to allow zombies to traverse window frames has caused this hilarious bug with fence navigation points. Currently being fixed, this is a small example of an issue you can run into while introducing new mechanics to the main branch of a project.



We're looking for help! If you are or know any programmers/unity developers looking for work in the UK please let us know. We're looking for like minded devs, the project is near and dear to us. The team is very small and being a team player is very important to us. If you'd like to send a CV to support@survivethenights.net please do so :)

As a reminder before we go, we'll be getting these devblogs out weekly. You can check our next set of goals and 0.8 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our fifth devblog! The 0.8 fortification update is nearly ready for our experimental branch. We're hoping to have an experimental build next Friday. We are taking on new interns today! Marko and Rik arrived safely and mostly intact this morning. They’ll be getting settled over the weekend before being sized for intern cages..I mean starting with us Monday morning. This could put a kink in our experimental release but we think all should be fine. There will be an update to inform you regardless. 

Some of you have asked about our workflow in the past. It's been something we speak about on  Discord but never really did an update on. We’d like to talk a bit about that now. The community has provided us with a lot of bug reports over the last 10 months. This is how the process is currently working for us. Remember, nearly everything we do we’re doing for the first time. This is the current iteration of our workflow which is ever improving and expanding. 

When a player or one of us finds an issue a ticket is created. Player created tickets come from our bug tracker. Internally the team uses Trello to report issues. We also use Trello to report the player created tickets. There are 7 steps to getting a bug 'fixed' with our current workflow. 

1. The Report - The bug is reported via our issue tracker.


  Created for example (old tickets are destroyed on tracker)

2. Replication and Ticket Creation - If needed the team will attempt to replicate the issue typically only needed for obscure issues or badly written bug reports. Either way, we will create an internal ticket on Trello. This is done so the team isn't overloaded with ticket repeats and bad tickets. Trello is also integrated with concept and feature adding. 


The internal ticket is created on Trello. More detail may be added here, concepts, ideas and the entire team has access.

3. Branch! A branch of the game is created and development on a fix begins. Survive the Nights is developed like most games in branches. All branching from a master branch (the project you play).

4. Pull Request! Once the developer thinks he has a fix ready he then creates a pull request. Other team members can then check the fix in Unity and ensure all is well. At least two of us MUST test any fix. Once there are at least two approvals on the branch then the next step begins. 


A pull request is created and ready for testing! 

5. Merge! After the original pull request is approved the branch can be merged into our Development Branch. This branch is for internal testing and is always the most up to date branch internally. The team and some mods will test this branch ensuring nothing major is wrong and ensuring the original fix is actually fixed! :)

6. Experimental Release! The game goes to experimental branch and is tested by backers who opt into testing for us. This is a great opportunity for a few more people to get their hands on it before it’s pushed to everyone's download/update queue. Our updates are always pretty large and sometimes issues are found in the experimental build. These issues are fixed via the same process and don’t make it to the next and final step. Some issues of course aren’t found and new ones are always lurking. 

7. Default Branch! We’ll push the experimental build, update the build number and release a patch note on Steam's default branch. This is when the project goes live to all, regardless of the branch you’re in. The process starts all over again at this point. 

That’s how the team fixes issues. It’s basically the same process for adding features. The new feature is developed in a Future/Feature/(FEATURE NAME) branch. Once the dev is happy with it the feature gets a pull request and the process to get the feature in game begins as listed above. 

The team has been busy working on the fortification mechanic getting it ready for release. We've spent some time this week on optimizing planks and fortifications. Below you can see planks combine when a player isn't within interaction distance. You won't notice this happen in game but it turns potentially hundreds of game objects into just a handful, so that's good! Planks will uncombine when other players interact with them or when the player shoots them from a distance. 



We've begun adding in world harvest machines. The player can harvest worn planks and nails from these. This will allow you to begin fortification without needing to fell a tree, it will also work great for quick repairs. 


The player can gather word wooden planks and nails from wooden objects like tables, fences and junk piles.

We’re smoothing out new rigs and animations in preparation for 0.8. Zombies are now attacking, damaging and destroying planks in game. The gif below is solely to show the mechanic. We’ll tweak board strength along with other fortification materials together. Zombies will not ‘stack’ on windows or doorways. If there’s already a zombie attacking one window the next zombie will try and find another entrance or exit. You will have to defend all points of entry.



We're looking for help! If you are or know any programmers/unity developers looking for work in the UK please let us know. We're looking for like minded devs, the project is near and dear to us. The team is very small and being a team player is very important to us. If you'd like to send a CV to support@survivethenights.net please do so :)

As a reminder before we go, we'll be getting these devblogs out weekly. You can check our next set of goals and 0.8 progress whenever you'd like via the  changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net

Hello all,

Thanks for checking out our forth devblog! The 0.8 fortification update is coming along nicely. We're hoping to have an experimental build in the the next week or two. You can check in on our progress by having a look at the changelog.

Fortifications are really starting to shape up. Below is a concept .gif from the start of the month. This is the core of the mechanic showcased in the alpha trailer, the backbone of the feature. You'll also see the more up to date fleshed out version below that.


Our original 'trailer' mechanic from our last update. The fortification base.


Latest variant, you'll notice a more fleshed out UI on the planks as well as different plank types. Also shown here is a new hammer created by André.


Not a demonstration of plank strength just showcasing plank removal. We'll tweak fortification strengths together in our experimental branch.

With the coming 0.8 update and updates following them, we'll be introducing new points of interest. The player on initial spawn will always spawn near a point of interest. They'll include small industrial areas like store yards and warehouses. The player will also find clusters of houses, fuel stations and other small residential/commercial buildings. The spawn points should always point the player toward a point of interest and the closest town. We're still very much designing the game world.

Some of you may assume design has ended but that's not the case. We have a lot more to introduce, design and develop as we move forward into and through alpha builds. Below are a few screens of just some of these new points of interest.













MOAR TIPS! Yes, we know a very minor detail but one we've not had a minute to address. It's been a back burner ticket for some time now. In 0.8, you'll see streaming tips while loading into a server. This thread has all the current in game tips. If you have any tip suggestions please provide them there.

We're very excited to share that we're taking on new interns next month! As some of you might know, we've had a close relationship with ROC Friese Poort in the Netherlands. All of our past interns have come from ROC. Two of our current developers André and Jos are both ROC grads and ex interns. Next month we'll be joined by Rik (3d Modeler) and Marko (programmer). We're excited for the team to expand and are looking forward to the prospect of additional developers!


Signs so the new interns don't get lost :p

We're looking for help! If you are or know any programmers/unity developers looking for work in the UK please let us know. We're looking for like minded devs, the project is near and dear to us. The team is very small and being a team player is very important to us. If you'd like to send a CV to support@survivethenights.net please do so :)

As a reminder before we go, we'll be getting these devblogs out weekly. You can check our next set of goals and 0.8 progress whenever you'd like via the changelog. Thanks for checking in and the continued support!

Discord: https://discord.gg/survivethenights
Forum: https://community.survivethenights.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STNgame
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STNgame
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/a2zinteractive
Website: https://www.survivethenights.net