There will be scheduled service maintenance on 1st December 2021, starting from 22:00 HRS (PST) / 01:00 HRS (EST).
During the maintenance, heroes will not be able to connect to the game including steam users, and are expected to be resumed by 02:00HRS (PST) / 05:00HRS (EST).
[Friendly Reminder]
-Grubby Key Promotion of Black Friday Sale has come to the end.
Hey everyone, it’s been a month of adjustments, fixes and preparations for what comes next. I’ve been particularly occupied with corrections of old and new mechanics this month to ensure that we have a clean path for the next updates, including humans as well.
One important fix was related to “Lag Compensation” which is utilized by a few abilities such as the Utah’s pounce and the Pachy’s ram, the system was causing a noticeable stutter and lacked the necessary accuracy in relation to server and client sync of events. The “Lag Compensation” is a generic term to help against the biggest issue in online games, the latency, or lag, which is the time certain things take to go from the client to server and/or from server to client. This system helps to reduce that latency the moment an ability is activated, which makes the entire ability chain significantly more reliable, accurate and ping tolerant. The problem is that such a system is sensitive to any code mistake, which obviously can break the various abilities, but it is important for the future. However, I’ve resolved the issues and with more tests/time we will finalize this mechanic so it can be implemented in other abilities and even expanded.
Besides that, I have also been working on humans (yes, officially) organizing animations, folders, classes, etc. Something important to note is that the initial implementation of humans will be basic and significantly expanded upon throughout development.
Amar0k - Programmer
Hey all, this last year has gone by in a flash and I hope that you’re all looking forward to the holidays. This past month for me has been spent developing some of our server side tools, which will eliminate the issue of the servers not restarting properly, as well as making them significantly easier to manage on our end.
Based on feedback, the team and I are also reimagining our approach for the implementation of AI and the roles that they will fill within the ecosystem; we'll be able to share more specific details on that in future. I’ve also been working on the ambient animals, continuing to make their behaviour more dynamic and interesting to interact with alongside improvements to the fish. Other than that it has just been a plethora of bug fixes and performance testing as usual. That’s it for me this month!
dmIV - Programmer
I updated the stagger mechanic to have actual movement instead of just playing the animation in place. It’s just a little push, but the animations play out much better now that the feet are not sliding around. I had to set up a little “studio” in the engine to measure the movement speeds and durations for each direction of each animal but it will come handy for the new additions.
I made some changes to the tracking system as well. It’s mostly just balancing it at this point but there were some visual updates too. You can now see the cone and the footprints through foliage which was a much needed improvement in places with dense vegetation.
I also moved the scent icons back to the compass. When I first set up the system it was primarily for testing so now I went back and made some updates to support fading in and out. Finally I got around to moving the pack scent there as well.
hypno - QA Lead
This month QA has been busy assisting with rounding out Update #4. We’ve been spending the majority of our time bug testing and confirming the fixes for the programmers with each internal build of the game. We’ve noticed lately that the game has been suffering with a lot of crashes and input lockups (we hear you Stego players), so the majority of our focus has been spent on narrowing those down. These issues can arise from all sorts of unexpected places - one of the latest crashes was related simply to fracture sounds not playing properly, instead of the headbutt ability itself.
Besides bug testing, we’ve been following the mechanic test and balance feedback channels on the Discord closely, fine tuning the statistics for the characters across the board and the values for the diet system. A large focus during this time was spent looking at the Pachycephalosaurus and the accompanying fracture system, more specifically how well the character contends with the other species on the island. We knew that the Carnotaurus was going to be a huge threat for the Pachy and started by ensuring that this animal had the toolkit to deal with it effectively. The goal we’re currently pursuing is for the Pachy to be able to break its leg and be able to run away, instead of outright killing it; please let us know in the balance feedback Discord channel how it feels so far so we know how it’s performing.
Another focus we’ve had is the new scent tracking system that was mentioned above. We’re really excited to see this feature come into the game and think it’s going to push carnivore tracking into a whole new direction that the game hasn’t seen before. As mentioned in dmIV’s post, it’s mostly down to balance testing at the moment and we’re looking forward to seeing what you guys think about it!
VisualTech48 - 3D Artist
This month has been all about the Dockyard and getting shaders ready for the new system. Dockyard items have been progressing as expected with various buildings pretty much done. Just need to be put in a blueprint, optimize the distances and voila, we have at least 4 versatile buildings.
Others are on the way of course, with a large collection of props and interior changes, both in the decal department, and set dressing. These new items are a collection that we are pushing to make all aspects of human buildings feel unique and with a purpose, especially with coloring, which highlights the importance of each building, and what can be pretty much found there. Alongside these, I’ve been making semi modular props for storage, to bring more life into these storage places.
That is so far regarding highly detailed items for the humans, and the new dockyard. I wish you all the best with the new year and holidays!
Fred - 2D Artist
The art department has been keeping me busy a great deal. At the beginning of the month I’ve been working on finishing the Underwater Concept for our Rivers. Because rivers are thinner and longer in shape than lakes, I had to stretch out the concept art horizontally quite a bit to fit as much as I could. I’m hoping we can be quite creative with how the river bends, forms, deepens, and shapes. Default skins for all the animals have been completed and work on secondary skins has begun. We’re going to try and not be super drastic between patterns and keep them looking similar with their own flair. Think of them like different variations of the same skin, like different morphs in some reptiles. Hopefully they’ll break up the monotony of having the same patterns on every individual.
Seiza - Video Editor
The release trailer for the 4th update had to be revised heavily in the last few months, as the content of the 4th update changed a lot over the course of its creation and thus many scenes of the trailer had to be re-filmed.
Especially the changes to the fractures took a lot of time, because now only the pachy can use fractures. So (besides small specials like the Halloween video) I spent the last weeks updating the release trailer.
Also during the last two weeks, I've been working on the audio effects for the trailer. When I film a scene in the game engine it is entirely without sound. I add the individual sound effects, each call, each step and each idle snort manually in the video editor, as it’s easier to adjust and edit the effects there. When designing the sound of the trailer I make sure that the effects harmonize with the soundtracks. I often test many different variations until I'm satisfied with how the sounds fit. In the end there are often more than 10 audio tracks (uncompressed). Here is a little view behind the scenes of the audio tracks:
Wedge - Sound Designer
This month I continued the design of the Beipiaosaurus calls, which consist of a variety of unique bird sounds giving it a colourful sound palette. However, these sources are blended with more unusual sounds such as wood and plastic bowed with a cello bow, contrasting the delicate bird-like qualities with a harsher and raspier honking quality, which carries across the Beipi’s larger biology over modern birds, whilst maintaining the organic feel. The juvenile and hatchling calls follow the same gesture as the adult calls, but are created using a selection of the adult sounds pitched up combined with sounds from large birds in their infancy and in-organic elements such as glass squeaks.
I have also been continuing on the combat feedback sounds, the stab and claw attack sounds are complete with sufficient impact and gore, however the bite sound is still in development. As this sound will be heard very frequently a lot of attention is being put towards it in particular to ensure the sound is impactful, but also realistic, as we want the player to really feel these sounds as a clear indication of when they have been bitten. Additionally, I need to create enough iterations to the point at which repeat plays of the same sound do not occur so as not to break that immersion. This has to be achieved for all size categories so entails creating a large quantity of these sounds and making sure they hit the mark in both aesthetic and feeling.
Bryan - Animator
Most of what I've been doing lately is updating rigs in preparation for future updates, for the rest you'll just have to wait and see when the proper time comes. Troodon, Beipiaosaurus and Ceratosaurus all got some modern upgrades in the puppeteering department along with some associated animation work with more to follow in the coming weeks.
KissenKitten - Producer
With November having come and gone, we have gathered all the information we feel we need in regards to diets, fractures and the pachy. We have a few more things we want to polish and solidify before we fully release Update 4 but we are quite satisfied with the initial results. Which has led us to expanding on diets even more. The diet system has a lot more depth than we initially released it with as we wanted to take our time and carefully assess its impacts on the ecosystem first. We didn’t want to bloat the system with too many factors that may have led to a false assessment of how well the feature as a whole was performing. With diets being such a cornerstone feature, we really wanted to have a solid base to work from before adding too much complexity. But we are satisfied with the results and can begin working on the deeper gameplay we want to deliver. Some of the changes to come, in a later update, will center around mixing dietary elements that have effects that can then be tailored to your individual playstyle. We will be maintaining that one of each element will still be required for a dietary growth boost but we will be introducing combinations of diet elements that can result in substantial changes to movespeed, stamina, regen, damage etc depending on what exactly you are eating. If you like going fast, there's a dietary combination for that. Want to maximize your strength? There’s a combination for that too. We really want you to be able to choose how you play within the confines of the island's harshness. Naturally we will have to keep a very close eye on balance and will likely only include one active buff through diets at a time but we are excited to offer you much more complexity. More information to come as we are closer to the release of these new changes. Which will not be accompanying the release of Update 4.
With Update 4 coming to a close, I can reveal some elements of Update 5. Which is largely restructuring how nesting occurs in The Isle. While some of the basic elements you have come to know will still be present, we are adding more engagement to the experience. Players will have to engage in courtship displays, form a bond and then create the nest together, varying by species. There will be different requirements for the type of nest your animal creates and different incentives to nest in certain areas as well. We aim to deliver an in-depth parental experience so you can really bond with players you create nests with and invite to your nests. Which will make the stress all the more dire when your nest and offspring are inevitably threatened with brutality by outside forces.
The skin system is also underway with changes to patterns and colors and a means for unlocking different skins and patterns through gameplay. Maintaining an exploratory commitment to allowing server owners to decide how they want a species visually represented on their server. Before we go... I'll leave you all with a little preview of Utahraptor's courting animations. More information on Update 5 as we progress, in the meantime be kind to one another and we’ll see you in December!
Here's a rundown of some of the major updates in today's patch!
Zombie Scenario Mode UpdateTry the new Event Mode update and the new map Pursuit: Evelyn's Test B!Exploration System ImprovementCheck out which of the Exploration System's rewards have been revamped!Family System ImprovementCheck out the new Family System improvements, from achievements to storage!New Transcendence Class Promotion (12/1 - 12/29)Meet the new Transcendence Classes, sibling survivors of the Lost City, Roy and Romy!
Check out the Details section below for more information.
---------- Details ----------
[New Content]
Zombie Scenario Mode Update
Zombie Scenario New Event Mode Update (12/1 - 12/15)
Random Transformation: End of Madness & Random Transformation: Truth Uncovered
Information: Killing zombies on the event map during the event period grants a chance to drop gene orbs. Earning the orbs (4 types) fills the gauge, and once the orb gauge is full, press the T key to transform into a random monster. - The 4 types of orbs have a chance to drop from all zombies. - Earning an orb fills up one tick of the gauge and changes the color of the gauge to that of the orb. - The more orbs of the same color you collect, the higher your chance of transforming into their respsective monster.\n- Red: Revanant. Green: Yeti. Blue: Dr. Rex. Yellow: Frozen Wrath - Earning additional orbs after transforming grants a buff that lasts a particular period of time (once per 4 gene orbs). - If you are having difficulty playing or don't like the selected monster, you can manually cancel the transformation by pressing the T key again. - While transformed, you will transform back into a human upon death. - Sitting down after transforming to a monster as certain classes can cause the bottom half of the body to be buried under ground.
New Zombie Scenario Map - Pursuit: Evelyn's Test B
Exploration System Improvement
Exploration System Rewards Revamped
Rate for exploration start availability changed for each difficulty. - The difficulty been reduced so the standard class level 1 can run easy difficulty.
Base Reward and Success Reward Changes and Additions - Base Reward, which is granted regardless of success, now gives a Scenario Add-On and Part. - For Decoder-related contents (weapons/class) from Success Rewards, it has now been changed to grant unlimited items for a small chance.
Added Exploration Success Rate-Up +10%p item. - 10%p success rate is added, regardless of the selected difficulty. - You can buy this item at the Shop with points. An informative pop-up will appear, when you press the Explore button from the Exploration System, and you currently have a Rate-Up item.
Exploration Pileup Progress Event Open - Points are distributed when you receive exploration rewards.
Family System Improvement
Family Achievement Improvement
Family Rewards Revamped: Changed rewards to fit the current state of the game.
Family Achievement Added: With the addition of new Modes and Scenarios, 9 new achievements have been added.
Quality-of-Life Improvements: You can now exclude the achievements you can't pursue when viewing the achievements, and total points are provided in order to see your overall progress.
Family Storage Improvement
When listing enhancements/parts weapon, the portion listed without the enhancements/parts information can now be used with the enhancements/parts information.
The method of viewing weapon enhancement information and part information in storage (outlines, tooltip, etc.) is now displayed the same way as personal inventory.
Other Information
Added Login rate information of the past week to Family Search List and Main Page. - This information changes in real-time and it marks your attendance if you log in at least one out of the seven days. - This information is also available on Family Search, so it can help determine which Family members have actually been active in the past week.
If inappropriate actions are detected in certain gaming environments related to Family Storage, level or count limits can be implemented to limit item listings/usage.
It's been decided that one of the Family Emblems is inappropriate so it's been changed to a different image.
[New Events]
Playtime Pileup Event (12/1 - 12/15)
You can get rewards for completing the following missions during the event. You also get various rewards based on the total number of completions.
Daily Rewards
Event Conditions / Rewards - Obtain 500 mileage upon reaching 30 minutes of playtime - Obtain Unique Decoder x3 upon reaching 60 minutes of playtime
Cumulative Rewards
Event Conditions / Rewards - Total Playtime one time: Special Agent Criss (2 Days) + Boss David Black (2 Days) - Total Playtime three times: Weapon Enhancement EXP Coupon (100) x5 + Enhanced Weapon Selection Box x1 - Total Playtime five times: Drill Instructor Gerard (30 Days) + Private Erica (30 Days) - Total Playtime seven times: Zombie Scenario Add-On x20 - Total Playtime nine times: Hunter-Killer X-90 (Permanent)(Gun Boost Part - Grade 6 + Vampiric Part - Grade 6). - Total Playtime eleven times: VVIP Free Pass (5 Days) - Total Playtime thirteen times: Class Decoder x10
Notice
Daily rewards can be obtained once a day per account.
Cumulative reward can be obtained only once per account.
You can earn the Cumulative reward upon reaching 30 minutes of playtime.
Only rooms with 4+ players count toward the event.
It counts in all modes, including Studio Mode.
Enhanced Weapon Selection Box will be removed during maintenance on 12/15 (Wed.)
Mission Clear Event (12/1 - 12/15)
You can get event rewards for completing the following missions during the event.
Event Conditions / Rewards
Complete Zombie Scenario Mode on Hard difficulty or higher 2 times for Event Decoder x1
Transform into random monster once in the new Zombie Scenario Event Mode for Zombie Scenario Add-On Box x3
Score 10 kills or assists in Zombie Modes (Zombie Original, Zombie Mutant, Zombie Hero, Zombie Evolution, Zombie Z) (excluding bots) for Event Decoder x1
Notice
Only rooms with 4+ players count toward the event.
Excludes Studio Mode and Zombie Scenario Survival: Double Gate, Survival: Lost City, Survival: Trap ,Survival: Groundwater, and Pursuit: Chaos maps
Each reward is given only once a day per account.
The Event Decoder can be used until before midnight on the day it is obtained.
Mission Clear Pileup Event (12/1 - 12/15)
You will receive rewards based on the number of Event Decoders used over the duration of the event.
Event Conditions / Rewards
Event Decoder Total Usage Count - 5 times: Grade 5 Parts Reward Box x5 - 10 times: Grade 5 Parts Reward Box x10 - 14 times: Transcendence Decoder x10
Notice
Each reward is given only once per account.
Exploration System Renewal Special Item Giveaway (12/1 - 12/15)
You will receive a special item for trying exploration just once during the event.
Special Item Contents
Magnum Launcher (1 Days)
Infinity Laser Fist (1 Day)
Barrett M95 White Tiger (1 Day)
Dual Beretta Gunslinger (1 Day)
Trinity Grenade (1 Day)
Dual Sword Phantom Slayer (1 Day)
Hunter-Killer X-12 (Gun Boost Part - Grade 6 + Rage Down Part - Grade 6) (1 Day)
Zombie Scenario Add-On Box x3
Notice
All of Special Item contents are given, and is limited to only once a day per account.
Special Items are given immediately upon attempting to explore once, regardless of success or failure.
Exploration Pileup Event (12/1 - Permanent)
You can earn permanent Transcendence Weapons based on the exploration completed total points for each difficulty.
Conditions
Each time reaching 100 points
Obtainable Items (One of the following are given, based on their respective rates)
Thunder Ghost Walker
Dual Sword Phantom Slayer
M249 Phoenix
Barrett M95 White Tiger
M3 Black Dragon
AUG Guardian
SG552 Lycanthrope
Desert Eagle Crimson Hunter
Magnum Drill
Warhammer Storm Giant
AK-47 Paladin
M4A1 Dark Knight
Ripper
Gae Bolg
Python Desperado
Volcano
Red Dragon Cannon
Blade Runebreaker
Notice
Point distributed when you receive rewards after completing Exploration.
Each time you receive cumulative rewards, you'll receive a Cumulative Attendance Reward Box.
New Transcendence Class Guaranteed Giveaway (12/1 - 12/29)
You will be guaranteed to receive the two new Transcendence Classes based on the number of Class Decoders and Premium Class Decoders used during the event!
Conditions and Obtainable Items
Reach 150 / 300 guaranteed points and Select either Roy or Romy + Roy's Keepsake Hat or Romy's Survival Pack.
Roy's Keepsake Hat
A keepsake from his father. He never puts it on his own head, but he won't go on a mission without it.
Romy's Survival Pack
A pack containing everything essential to survival. The more experienced you get, the more things you need to carry.
Notice
1 Guaranteed Points given each time you use 1 Class Decoder.
3 Guaranteed Points given each time you use 1 Premium Class Decoder.
If you receive Transcendence Class Roy (Permanent), his costume Roy's Keepsake Hat (Permanent) is automatically distributed.
If you receive Transcendence Class Romy (Permanent), her costume Romy's Survival Pack (Permanent) is automatically distributed.
Guaranteed Giveaway rewards can be granted only once per account.
New Transcendence Class Medal Giveaway (12/1 - Permanent)
When you own all items in the new Transcendence Classes set, you will receive the Transcendence Class medal.
Conditions and Obtainable Items
You will receive [Honor] City Survivor when you have Roy, Romy, Roy's Keepsake Hat, and Romy's Survival Pack all in the inventory.
[Honor] City Survivor
A medal given to those who have obtained Roy, Roy's Keepsake Hat, Romy, and Romy's Survival Pack.
Notice
[Honor] City Survivor Medal can be obtained after the 12/1 (Wed) maintenance without event period limit.
The medal can be obtained only once per account.
[Shop Update]
New Transcendence Classes, Roy & Romy Promotion (12/1 - 12/29)
During the event, the drop rate of the two new transcendence classes from Class Decoders and Premium Class Decoders is four times higher!
Roy and Romy Drop Rates
Premium Class Decoder: 2% each
Class Decoder: 0.5% each
Roy
Romy's older brother. His fast thinking and survival skills come from his father, a former guard captain of Lost City, and were essential to the siblings' survival. He wanted to become a soldier himself, but he was hugely disappointed when the Lost City army fell apart. Nowadays, he wishes to just be a normal salaryman, but is forced to do mercenary work to make ends meet.
Paired Effect: Area duration is increased when using Laevateinn's special feature.
Exclusive Skill: Survival Book - Can use a skill that grants temporary invincibility to self and heals HP in Zombie Scenario.
Romy
A survivor of the Lost City, who lived with her older brother Roy. Even though she had to dedicate herself to school and housework after their parents passed away, she was still a cheerful, carefree girl. Following an explosion at a factory where her brother had been deployed, she armed herself and joined the battlefield. While she has no military experience, her soldier father trained her in marksmanship. Combined with survival instincts honed from living in the hell that is Lost City, Romy proves herself to be more than just some schoolgirl.
Paired Effect: Area duration is increased when using Laevateinn's special feature.
Exclusive Skill: Crisis Breakthrough - Can use a skill that grants temporary invincibility to self and does area of effect damage in Zombie Scenario.
Exploration Rate-Up Item Sale (12/1 - Permanent)
The following items are sold at the Points Shop.
Item Sold
Exploration Success Rate-Up +10% / 5,000 Points
Exploration Slot Expansion Coupon Vendor and Sale Currency Changes (12/1 - Until Announced Separately)
Exploration Slot Expansion Coupon Vendor and Sale Currency Changes
Now: Vendor - Shop / Sale Currency - Cash
Changed: Vendor - Mileage Shop / Sale Currency - Mileage
Decoder rates have been updated. This will be updated irregularly when the rates and the items are changed. We hope this allows you to enjoy CSN:S to its fullest, knowing exactly what you can get.
A maintenance for the update will be performed at UTC 7:00 December 2nd Scheduled maintenance time will last about 60 minutes. Please note that the end time may vary depending on the situation. Thanks for your understanding!
If you encounter a bug while playing our game or have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us by following ways: Email: afksummoners@gmail.com Facebook: AFKSummoners FB Group: AFK Summoners Group
Pilots! It's time to improve your fleet strength! UMC reports that a new transport convoy has arrived in fringe sectors from inner worlds. It seems that the blockade has been broken. We are expecting even more trade caravans in the fringe sectors soon!
Only today, December 1, we offer a 30% discount on Karud components! They can be purchased directly from the ship tree. Long-term testing of the ship ‘Karud’ secured its fame as the most mobile and effective ECM interceptor. For this reason, the leading designer of Saladin family chose a prototype for a new experiment.
The special offer is valid for a limited time and will end on December 2!
A maintenance for the update will be performed at UTC 6:00 December 2nd Scheduled maintenance time will last about 60 minutes. Please note that the end time may vary depending on the situation. Thanks for your understanding!
If you encounter a bug while playing our game or have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us by following ways: Email: tojoygame@gmail.com Facebook: zombiestrikerpg FB Group: Zombie Strike Group
