Aug 9, 2019

Merchant of the Skies - comrad_gremlin

Hey Merchants,

During the launch week it has become clear that the quests feel repetitive and not rewarding enough. In this update, we are addressing this. Expect it to be a start, not a final state. But it should set the direction where we want to go :)

Quest system improvements

Tourism quests added to houses
Item fetch quests become progressively harder (and progressively more rewarding) as you gain reputation with the trade guils
Item fetch quests can ask you deliver items to other islands (before that they ask you to deliver stuff to the same island only)
Shipwright lumber delivery quests (take them at the shipwrights) - reputation decreases ship prices.

New currency - guild tickets

Awarded for completing the quests. Can be:
1) Spent to purchase Special modules (at new island, see the picture above!)
2) Tradeed in for reduced tax @ trade posts

New modules, purchasable with guild tickets:

Spyglass (increases your view range in navigation view and allows you to see the buildings on unvisited islands)
Sturdy pickaxes (mine all resources as lesser wear)
Magic Sails (move 25% faster, stacks with stronger sails)
Autocharger - charges your ship automatically when you visit port (and actually takes the money for that, so be careful; luxury item)

Tweaks:

When you buy a new ship, it has 50% charge now (no more sudden bankrupcies!)
Bottom ship panel status is saved across screens and game restarts
Moved reputation panel to the right (will no longer interrupt picking new quest / interacting with the building)
Carrot will show reputation growth even when you don't gain levels (you could increase reward levels before if you participated in minigame)
Carrot will now talk to you in the interaction menu (we're experimenting)
Changed resolution of main objective goal mark in map ui
Whenever you hire crew at a house, the people will march towards your ship
Bumped the gold game objective numbers (increased each roughly by 2 times)
Can only have one lumberjack / apple gatherer on an island from now on
More city names as suggested
"When is the next update" panel so you can be informed. Expect bi-weekly content updates (unless something huge is planned). Also hotfixes will be released ASAP and don't match this schedule.

Bugfixes:

Bazaar no longer "eats" surplus items that it has no slots for
Bazaar will correctly display stack price on multiple stacks of the same item
Visual look of ship upgrade menu changes: now module buttons won't go over borders when upgrading bigger ship

The old saves are going to work, but new quest island content (trading hub) is going to be available only on newly generated maps. You also won't always be getting the travel quests (not all travel objects are on the old maps). So yes - if you can, please start a new session.

Apart from that - we were overwhelmed by your feedback, but were really happy to receive it. Keep the reports/suggestions coming :) we might not implement it right away, but we sure appreciate hearing from you and try to gradually improve the game.
Best,
Vladimir

Aug 9, 2019

Fishing Planet Anniversary Cup

Fishing Planet - Dennis_FP

This is one hot summer we are having, eh, folks? Well, maybe not so much in terms of the weather, as in fishing tournaments! Of course, August brings you yet another thrilling competitive event that is double special for us! Wanna know why? Well, we’re talking about Fishing Planet Anniversary Cup - a dear-to-our-heart Sportfishing Tournament that we’re hosting to celebrate our yearly anniversary of coming out on Steam! FPAC tournament is all about catching Salmon in various beautiful destinations like White Moose Lake, San Joaquin Delta and Lake Saint-Croix! Making your way from the Qualifiers to the Semifinal, you’ll have to prove your Salmon catching skills to take part in the unforgettable Grand Finale in Alaska, on the mesmerizing Kaniq Creek and become the Salmon fishing Champion!

Join us in this symbolic Fishing Planet “birthday” celebration by Enter the Fishing Planet Anniversary Cup, passing the Qualifiers, getting to the Final Round and competing against the very best to ultimately become the Salmon fishing Champion! First-place winner and the two honorable runner-ups get the fame, the glory and valuable prizes!
Fishing Planet Anniversary Cup will be held August 13th through August 18th, with the Registration starting on August 12th, 24 hours prior to the First Qualifier. The Tournament’s timetable is as follows:

12th of August - Registration for the FPAC Tournament begins.
13th of August - Qualifier 1 on the snowy White Moose Lake in Alberta, Canada.
14th of August - Qualifier 2 on Lake Saint-Croix in Michigan.
15th of August - Qualifier 3 on San Joaquin Delta in sunny California.
17th of August - Semifinal Round on the mesmerizing Kaniq Creek in Alaska.
18th of August - the Grand Finale on Alaskan Kaniq Creek.

Take advantage of the opportunity to get special Fishing Planet Anniversary Pack with 30% OFF!

Aug 9, 2019

Upcoming Changes to Monetization

Killing Floor 2 - [TW]Yoshiro

Hello Killing Floor Community,

After over 4+ years of content support for Killing Floor 2 since Early Access launch, it has been our pleasure to provide continuous features, weapons, maps, modes, zeds, and more at no cost to you. Along with that, we have provided numerous cosmetics, characters, weapons skins, emotes and FX packs through Zedconomy system that with your financial support has enabled us to continue supporting the game with free seasonal updates and hotfixes for these many years.

As we have looked at the life cycle of the game, we strived to look at new ways that will enable the game to live on and grow well into the future. With where we are with the project, we know there’s a hungry desire for everything featured in Killing Floor 2. While the updates have all been free in terms of features, weapons, zeds, maps, etc, the cost of development has certainly been anything but. Ultimately, that status quo of our current strategy cannot sustain the current level of support that you have all grown accustomed to without a major shakeup. After multiple months of internal debate and investigation, we came to two paths forward:

Significantly reduce the amount we can provide each update to better match its projected return
Find new sources of revenue for the project that goes beyond the Zedconomy system will enable us to maintain our current level of update quantity and scope.

As huge fans of the game ourselves, the thought of scaling back what we could build, create, and offer would have disappointed us just as much as we felt it would have disappointed you. That left us with doing what we know will be more controversial but we feel in the long run will enable us to better service the game.

So what does that mean in practicality? This means starting with our next content update all-new weapons will be sold as DLC along with 5 Unique Weapon Skins custom made for the weapon at a price of $9.99 SRP. We know that this news is going to come with a lot of concerns so we would like to get out in front and address some of the obvious questions:

Will these weapons have any advantages over existing free weapons (i.e. Pay to Win)?

No, we have made a concerted effort to design of these weapons as we have with previous weapons to not be better than any weapon of similarly targeted tier in terms of raw stats. Instead, these weapons are designed to provide new gameplay experiences and fill new roles within the arsenal that are not already served.

Additionally, all Paid Weapons will work with the existing Shared Content system for Multiplayer Servers in which if one player owns a Paid Weapon on a server all other players will have access to that weapon within the match to prevent any possible gameplay discrepancies.

Finally, we will be committed to continuing to balance these weapons among others within subsequent updates and patches for the life of the game.

How will I be able to know if I like the weapon before I buy it?

With the Shared Content system, anytime you access a multiplayer match with someone who owns the DLC you’ll have full access to try the weapon if you’re on the fence about owning it.

Why weapons and that price?

Weapons are the lifeblood of the Killing Floor 2 and Tripwire as a whole. They are what we excel at as a studio and is what is most valuable to the player in the game because of the interesting gameplay they provide. Additionally, we initially developed the Shared Content system with weapons in mind as a means of trying to keep our multiplayer gameplay on an even playfield.

We feel we needed a price that is in line with our other cosmetic items such as outfits, characters, FX packs, and skin packs that also gives us the best opportunity to fill the needs to enable us to sustain long term support of the game. As an added value, each Weapon will come paired with 5 unique mint weapon skins that will let you visually differentiate them to your liking.

Does that mean if I don’t buy these weapons, I’ll never get a new weapon in Killing Floor 2 to play with?

Not true, while all-new weapons going forward will be Paid DLC, we have a new initiative that we will announce in the coming days that will add new weapon types to existing weapons that will provide fresh gameplay experiences. This new initiative will be free along with other non-cosmetic content.

Why not sell [X] and not weapons?

While we explored numerous different alternative ideas, ultimately none of them would have fit within the timeline, strategy, resources, and projected return that would have served the purpose of sustaining KF2 into the years ahead. Simply put anything in line with the status quo of our current strategy would not be enough. So while we understand this measure is far more controversial, it will benefit KF2 as a whole in the long run.

Does this mean you are getting rid of the Zedconomy System?

The team is evaluating potential future changes to the Zedconomy crate and key system, but no changes are happening with the Fall update. At this time, we are prioritizing work with our current resource availability on continued additions to the content of the game, but players will see more direct purchase bundles, such as the Clot Backpack Bundle and Dragon & Koi Weapon Skin bundles, in the future.

What does this mean for other future content (maps, modes, bosses, etc)?

There are no plans to make other future features and content paid DLC for Killing Floor 2. We would still be providing these elements from maps, modes, bosses, zeds, and quality of life updates free of charge to the player with our seasonal updates. When possible, we endeavor to not split the community through paywalls which is why even with this initiative we are making sure to have the Shared Content system in place so that multiplayer gameplay will be a consistent experience.

What does this mean for modding?

There are no plans to change our current strategy and support for modding. We will continue to support and add new hooks as we are able to throughout development to further the modding community for KF2. As a tangible example to our continued commitment, we will be adding a system so that mappers will be able to make their own Objective Mode maps that are recognized by the game, in addition, to addressing Mid-match dosh issues with custom weapons within our next major content update.

While we recognize as a team this news is bound to come with many strong emotions, we hope you now understand the rationale of this decision for the future of Killing Floor 2 and that you’ll continue to support us and the game. The support and continued commitment to the game from the community is an essential part of its success and what drives us to keep making new awesome gameplay and content for you to enjoy.

See you all on the Killing Floor.

David Amata
Product Lead of Killing Floor 2