Team Venus 

• Ambient occlusion and improved lighting
• Dynamic loot system
• Zombie sound system
• Difficulty system
• Additional visual effects (like blood splatters)
• New weapon with ammo-switching mechanics
• A new boss
• Custom zombie speed settings

• A few final events
• Sound implementation for new animations

ACT 2 — Expansion & Sandbox Focus

New Mechanics & Features

• Optional blood splatter effects when hitting zombies (already implemented for the next update)
• Optional Field of View (FOV) system — you only see what the heroine is facing (ready for next update)
• Optional dynamic camera — slightly follows the mouse to extend visibility (ready for next update)
• Dynamic loot system — ammo and bandages drop based on player inventory (ready for next update)
• New weapon with ammo-switching mechanics (ready for next update)
• Zombie sound system (experimental):Idle soundsCombat sounds (ready for next update)
  • Idle sounds
  • Combat sounds (ready for next update)
• Difficulty system — adjustable during gameplay (ready for next update)
• Animations for old and new scenes (partially ready)
• Better AI for NPCs — now NPCs like David and Abe are making distance between them and zombies during fights (ready for next update)
• Auto saving — (ready for next update)
• Gallery — this one is a pain in the ass, really. It takes a lot of time to put implemented scenes there. (partially ready)

Graphics & Technical Improvements

• Ambient Occlusion & advanced lightingNew, more powerful light sourcesLight no longer passes through wallsReal-time shadows(currently available on a new map)
  • New, more powerful light sources
  • Light no longer passes through walls
  • Real-time shadows(currently available on a new map)
• OptimizationOngoing processConstantly adjusted with each new featureNo fixed milestones here
  • Ongoing process
  • Constantly adjusted with each new feature
  • No fixed milestones here

Design Direction: Sandbox Shift

• Act 1: urgency — escaping the city
• Act 2: adaptation — learning to live in the new world

• More freedom of movement
• More side content
• Less linear progression

Core Content Additions

• Procreation mechanicCode existsNarrative and scenes are in development
  • Code exists
  • Narrative and scenes are in development
• New settlementsPopulated with multiple NPCs
  • Populated with multiple NPCs
• Jobs & activities for the heroine
• Light settlement development systemNot as complex as Fallout 4Focused on unlocking new people and opportunitiesDesigned to stay non-intrusive
  • Not as complex as Fallout 4
  • Focused on unlocking new people and opportunities
  • Designed to stay non-intrusive

Exploration Systems

• Free exploration mode (experimental)Procedural map generator in developmentMay be released as a test feature firstPotential integration into the main game later
  • Procedural map generator in development
  • May be released as a test feature first
  • Potential integration into the main game later

Character Progression

• Physical training via regular exercises (ready for next update)
• Increased melee damage through usage (ready for next update)

Content Expansion

• Large variety of new weapons
• Situational outfits
• New zombie types with unique attack mechanics

Mutant Branch Expansion

• New mutant enemies (distinct from zombies)
• Integration into the main story
• Adult content involving mutants is uncertain (may not fit tone)
• Don't expect overly grotesque designs (e.g., excessive tentacles or extreme body horror)

Narrative & Adult Content

• Significant amount of adult-oriented content
• Expanded character relationship arcs:Romance (heroine ↔ NPCs)NPC-to-NPC relationships
  • Romance (heroine ↔ NPCs)
  • NPC-to-NPC relationships

Tone & Themes

• Death and darker themesThis is not a “safe” zombie apocalypse storyWhile we do not support or promote violence,expect darker aspects of human nature to be explored
  • This is not a “safe” zombie apocalypse story
  • While we do not support or promote violence,expect darker aspects of human nature to be explored

Note

ACT 3 — Narrative Finale

• Return to a more linear, story-driven structure (similar to Act 1)
• Shorter than Act 2
• Focused on concluding the heroine’s story

• Guided progression (“on rails”)
• Some branching paths leading to different endings

Design Philosophy

• 10 new maps added (Act 2)
• Farm themed zombies added
• A new character - Fiona
• Abe and Sarah received new clothes for summer
• Farming crops. Right now it provides food, which will be usable in next updates.

• Help david in the barn. If you are corrupted enough, he'll give you a reward. This scene is repeatable
• David might peek on you when you wake up if you have helped him in the barn

• Help Liam to fix the water pump
• Help Liam to apply some oil to windmill's blades
• You can notice a huge hole in the barn's wall if you'll take a walk alongside barn's right wall. This scene is a placeholder for future events.
• Interacting with sofa in the living room now skips time to evening. Right now this is a placeholder with a small dinner event for immersiveness. In future updates a night version of the farm will contain a lot more events.

• Camera core added (the camera now moves smoothly with a slight delay)

• Added blood particle effects when enemies take damage. This effect is displayed only for enemies marked with the blood effect in their note tags (for example, humans and "bloody" zombies).

• Introduced a new animation for the player character when picking up loot, making the action more immersive.

• The character now remains in a holding weapon pose after using a weapon, until movement resumes.

• The character and equipped weapon now dynamically turn to face the mouse cursor, providing more responsive controls.
• Weapons, Items & Status Effects

• Overhauled Molotov mechanics: creates a fire zone on impact with realistic burning effects.

• Both the player and enemies can now catch fire when entering burning areas. The player can extinguish themselves by using a water bottle from the inventory.

• Pathfinding system has been improved and optimized (the number of simultaneous enemies on the map has greatly increased. FPS on older PCs should improve during high-load moments).
• AI for allies has been significantly improved.

• Fully implemented wave-based survival mode. The next wave does not start until the player visits the shop. Between waves, there is a prep phase for restocking and recovery.

• Player skills and stats now improve through use
• Running increases stamina.
• Using melee weapons increases strength stat, which adds damage

• Lock picking mini-game has been created
• Added mini-games for “barbell squats” and “push-ups” that allow players to train and boost stats faster. These are implemented as interactive events/QTEs.

• Inventory and Hotbar Improvements
• Hotbars and inventory can now be temporarily disabled during cutscenes and important events.
• Weapon reload logic has been reworked (reloading is interrupted if the player starts shooting).
• RMB (right mouse button) logic has been revamped: now holding RMB causes continuous firing until the ammo runs out.
• M249 weapon has been enhanced (visual and sound effects).
• Movement while firing automatic weapons is now blocked.
• Spawner logic has been reworked.
• Added a load button in the ESC menu.
• Cheat menu for ammo has been created and added.
• Adrenaline duration doubled. 

• Improved zombie pathfinding and overall AI performance, especially with large numbers of enemies.
• Multiple small fixes and improvements across the UI and item pickup system.
• Save becoming suddenly corrupted was fixed. Now it should be ok, but trying to edit the save file will still break it
• Shops working again
• Intro cutscene was skipped previously, now it is back
• Fixed an issue where elevators triggered a transition during the fight with Mr. X
• Moved one zombie in outskirts which was spawning right at the entrance of warehouse causing players to get stucked
• Bug with medkit prices at sewer traders has been fixed.
• Bullet trajectory logic has been reworked. Now bullet starts it's way from gun's barrel, not from MC's legs. This makes shooting a bit easier.
• Added a new "ABSonDamage" feature that plays a sound when damage is dealt. You can notice it while using a baseball bat. You hear a hit sound only when you actually hit a zombie.
• Fixed minor visual bugs.
• Loot generation logic on the map has been reworked.
• Loot system improved (sprite sizes reduced by 50%, dynamic ID pooling system added to prevent ID loss in loot objects).

• Expanded hearing system for enemies with new reactions to noise.
• Additional mini-games and skill training mechanics.
• More status effects
• New enemy types with unique behaviors
• Some zombies on map now have moaning sounds. It is experimental and will be expanded in future.
• Added a new item search mechanic. You'll face it while looking for wood and glasses for Fred. It's experimental and will appear in future in some places.