Hey everyone 👋

We're back with a small update, some recent progress news about Act II, and answers to a few frequently asked questions. But first, let's go over the changes introduced in this update:

• Optimized loading screens and a new intro skip option – The initial loading screen is now at least twice as fast! Plus, with the new option to skip intro videos, you can jump into the game almost instantly.
  
• Main menu skin customization – We've heard your feedback about the graphics being too flashy, so we've added new customization options for the main menu.
  
• Updated pause menu – We've integrated several features from the main menu into the pause menu for convenience, along with performance optimizations to reduce clunkiness.
  
• New item: Potion of Resolve – This potion allows you to recharge auto-resolve points.
  
• Improved retreat mechanics – Retreating from a group of enemies will no longer trigger multiple threat reactions. Instead, linked enemies will collectively reduce your overall retreat chance, making the system feel more intuitive and fair.
  
• Top Tony in East Bazaar now sells entry-level rifles and sniper rifles, so be sure to check out his stock!
  
• More bug fixes – As always, we've squashed some more bugs to improve your experience!
  

🎁 A Thank-You Gift for Early Access Supporters!

As a token of appreciation, here's a special redeemable code for you! You can use it until March 31, 2025:

🔸 Code: springab01

Can you guess what it is? 🥳 Hint: Check the changelog for something related to Spring!

Thank you all for your continued support! Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, let us know your thoughts. We promise to respond to all your feedback on our discussion forums as soon as we can.

Act II Progress

It's time to share what we've been working on recently! We're just as excited about developing Act II as you are about playing it, so without any spoilers, let's dive into our latest progress.



Open-World Expansion

One of our major milestones: all open-world locations (excluding settlements) are now complete! That’s a total of 8 unique locations, each branching into fully developed sub-locations. For comparison, Act I only had 4 locations, and only two - Community Center and Devfronds was large enough to include sub-locations.



New Story Characters & Quest Progression

We've also made great progress in character development, completing over half of the new story characters set to debut in Act II! The main quest now extends up to the introduction of the final two caravan members: Jerry and Emilia. Along with that, we've finished all the animations and related content, making them fully playable!



Settlements Are Getting Bigger

We're making significant progress on settlements too! Wastewood is fully finished, while Last Haven is partially complete. Settlements in Act II will be much, much larger than those in Act I. Closer in scale to Bazaar. In total, 6 new settlements are planned, compared to 4 in Act I.



What’s Next?

Next, we’ll be focusing on:

• Completing the remaining settlements
  
• Expanding the main quest
  
• Introducing base-building mechanics
  

With all that done, we’ll be ready for a new Beta! We can't wait to share more of Act II with you soon. Stay tuned!

F.A.Q.

Q: What’s taking so long to finish Act II?
A: It’s been 4 months since our Early Access launch, and in that time, we’ve already released two major content updates, plus numerous patches addressing bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements, all with your incredible support!

We also took some time off in January to avoid burnout. Originally, Act II and The Dead Await as a whole were planned to be smaller, but instead of cutting features, we decided to expand the scope to the maximum we can handle, including a full base-building system, which wasn’t in our original plans.

To put it in perspective:

• Act II’s map area is double the size of Act I
  
• At least twice the new content, enemies, and challenges!
  
• More mechanics, more depth, and more to explore!
  

Q: Are there any more side updates planned?
A: Right now, our top priority is Act II, and we’re focused on getting it live as soon as possible. However, we’ll continue monitoring our in-game poll, and if a highly requested feature is feasible, we’ll consider adding another major side update in the meantime.

Q: Are there any new features planned for Act II?
A: Absolutely! Some highlights include:

• New cube types, like Church, which lets you reset skill points
  
• New features like the Arena and Base Building
  
• And much more!
  

We’ve got plenty of exciting ideas, but we’d love to hear yours too! If you have suggestions, make sure to share them with us!

Q: What’s the best way to help the development?
The most helpful things you can do are sharing feedback, suggesting ideas, and leaving reviews. They make a bigger impact than you might think! Another great way to help is by assisting new players with their questions, especially since we don’t always have time to respond to every question right away.

Your involvement makes a huge difference, and we truly appreciate it! 😇

Q: What are the post-launch plans after 1.0?
A: As we get closer to 1.0, we plan to release a new roadmap outlining our post-launch goals. We’re exploring ideas like:

• Procedurally generated areas
  
• Enemies that scale with player level
  
• Powerful new items
  
• Maybe even an item auction system!
  

Of course, we want the community to be part of these decisions, so when the time comes, we’ll update the in-game poll to make sure every voice counts!

Thank you all for your support and patience 🤍

v.0.8.7.0

ADDED:


• Added: Top Tony in East Bazaar now sells rifles and sniper rifles.
  
• Added: Option to change main menu skins.
  
• Added: New main menu skin "Burn".
  
• Added: New main menu skin "Spring".
  
• Added: New main menu skin "Storm".
  
• Added: Option to skip startup videos.
  
• Added: New item "Potion of Resolve".
  
  FIXED / CHANGED:
  
  
• Faster loading and optimizations.
  
• Fixed: Shattered Eye piece could be lost if the player didn’t have enough inventory space, as it wasn’t added to Lost and Found.
  
• Optimized main menu items including GameFeed.
  
• Pause screen now contains some of the main menu features.
  
• Improved retreat mechanics: Retreating from a group of enemies will no longer trigger multiple threat reactions. Instead, linked enemies will collectively reduce your overall retreat chance, making the system feel more intuitive and fair.
  
• Fixed: Opening dev console while pressing hotkeys would result in a crash.
  
• Fixed: Blocked hotkeys during cutscenes that could result in a crash or bugs.
  
• Fixed: During Extra Eyes quest obtaining CCTV cameras wouldn’t immediately complete the objective.
  
  

💞 How You Can Support Us

As a small indie team, there are so many ways you can help support us and the game.

• If you buy the game, please consider leaving an honest review on Steam! Reviews have a massive impact on indie games and we'd love to see your thoughts and experiences through a review.
  
• Sharing the game through word of mouth with family and friends or on social media with your followers can really help spread the word and give others a chance to discover their next adventure. So many indies are discovered with a simple share or casual discussion.
  
• Join the amazing community in our Discord and follow us on Twitter to share in the excitement and get to know other great gamers looking to survive.
  

Good luck surviving!
- Shotx