0.6 Public Beta Test

[scarlet musk]

❗ DISCLAIMER!

Before jumping straight in, please understand, that this version of the game might be unstable, create issues when switching between old & new builds of the game, and may generally be less stable, more buggy, and in an overall imperfect state. We will do our best to help you with any issues, but please understand the risks associated with beta testing.

❗ HOW TO JOIN THE PUBLIC BETA?

If you understand the potential problems and are willing to take the risk, here's how you can get in:

• Open your Steam client, find Yet Another Zombie Survivors on your games list, right-click its name and select the "Properties..." option.
• Enter the "Betas" tab, click the "None" drop-down menu on the right, and select the "public-beta" option. You can always return to the default version of the game by selecting "None" again.

❗ WHAT ARE WE TESTING?

For the list of changes, please refer to:

News post on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2163330/view/4119177631419980414
"In Beta Testing" column in our Roadmap: https://trello.com/b/Ipc33X20/yet-another-zombie-survivors-roadmap

❗ ONE MORE THING!

Please keep all the discussion around the beta version here, DO NOT post bugs & suggestions related to it in #1072466220634361896 and #1029379853151109170. Thank you!

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[scarlet musk]

Hey everyone! We'd love to hear your thoughts, especially on the new map & Extermination game mode. In terms of difficulty, we're aiming for it to be a content for fully leveled current skill-tree.

[abstract turret]

Well, I don't know that this change was in beta, but the BE AWARE that now with the strong full-screen flashes at the engineer abilities it MIGHT cause discomfort (which it did caused me and my screen is always 1/4 of the brightness) and in worst cases something way more harmful (consult specialists to be certain). If still will keep the full-screen flashes, a disclaimer will be needed.

Performance wise, tested in a worst case scenario and it did had considerable improvements but did noticed early in the game the shadows projected from the zombies wasn't projecting and being in the beginning of the level, it was noticiable

[scarlet musk]

Thank you & sorry. We're still hunting the reason on why do these flashes happen on certain hardware configurations, and will focus on fixing or counter-measuring this ASAP

[abstract turret]

Do not apologize for this Kalafiorek... We are here to help you improve this amazing fun game. I just needed to report how dangerous this flashes potentially could become but I am glad that it is being investigated since before my report.

• Played just now after the updated beta patch that came for me today
• The shadows are now casting even from early. Going to try the same character and mode to double check
• My laptop runs normaly at 48oC (temp on Celsius) with Firefox running youtube. Room temp is 23oC. With the game on first map running at endless, the game kept 54~56oC. Befor the optimizarios it ran at 68oC on peak of the horde attack. Optimizations truly are noticiable
• The new vfx on the hammer boss is cool. The hulk boss could receive the same treatment with its footsteps (maybe a carefully chosen sfx for them since we gonna hear A LOT)
• Playing on 4:3 aspect windowed was flawless on effects and no 16:9 grid filter makes it better and works perfectly

[scarlet musk]

Thanks! Great to hear it's working better. Actually, we've just pushed a silent update which consist of some small tweaks, as well as a possible fix for the screen flashes. Be sure to check if they still appear when you'll able to ✌️

[abstract turret]

Double-checking the beta patched:

• Still flashes but less than usual. Normally it happens when I have the Engineer on the team
• The Extermination mode sometimes does not indicate enemies left on the wave (often they indicate but sometimes they don't). Was the 6th wave on city map, enemy was bellow
• The window resized by itself to 16:9 (but with image stretched, not just resized) right when the session started on Extermination. Did a double-check on this and it didn't resized.
• Extermination didn't felt very appealing to play. Nothing makes me want to go back to it. I rather play the usual way of constant zombies hordes coming.

Forgot to mention:
Laptop specs, Legion 7i Pro
i9 13900h (liquid metal cooling solution)
RTX 4080 (thermal paste cooling solution)
32 DDR5 5600mhz
3 TB SSD NVMe 7000m/s
Windows 11 Home

[abstract turret]

Last batch of tests:

• Green Hell on normal mode, last 4 minutes where upping the cpu temps to 72oC and also having eventual stutterings
• The game reseted my items pool bans. When I tried for the first time the Extermination mode it did reseted
• Green Hell is fun and the balance of enemies are great. Better than Vile Wasteland for sure.
• Played with Ninja, Tank and Medic. No screen flashes appeared

[obsidian dust]

Item Pool choices are not being saved properly after quitting the game. For example: I chose everything from first 3 rows like this:

After quitting and starting the game again, the choices look like this:

[deep mica]

Oh wow. Will test it.
i5-2400 3.1GHz
12Gb Ram
GTX950 2gb
Will hope nothing will burn

[tardy cloud]

Double Item

I used lockdown on burger on previous chest

Another glitch: I didnt take screenshot but Jacobs Ladder icon is corrupted.

Another: when approaching 20 min in default mode on new map, If I let go the left stick the characters still move by themselves (could possibly be my xbox 360 controller is on its way out) I'll see if I can duplicate the issue

BTW, we should get double red rubies for that damn werewolf

[trail thorn]

Want to thank you for the addtional map.
Am running on a lower end system so have graphics dialed back some.

AMD Ryzen 7 3750H with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx 2.30 GHz
32.0 GB (29.9 GB usable)
64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

First run in Green Hell (SWAT TANK MEDIC)(not my normal start team)

Small stutter when Werewolf lands, but other than that no other stutters or lag.

Only other "problem" / not problem was when going to Select Powerup screen.
Would have the HEALTH description opened up. Clicking anywhere would clear it.
For me not a big issue but did this when ever I opened that screen for entire run.

Great work.

Be safe and have fun.

[obsidian dust]

Just finished my first run in classic mode on Green Hell. I'm really digging the aesthetic of the map and new enemies.

In terms of performance, the lowest FPS I've seen was 56 for like half a second, other than that 60FPS for 20 minutes straight on max details.

[obsidian dust]

Scrolling the Weapons/Abilities section with a mouse scroll in the zombiepedia is pretty wonky. If you are hoving the cursor over an icon, then the mouse scroll doesn't work. Once you move the cursor away from the icon the mouse scroll MIGHT work again. I'm saying "might" because sometimes it will lock and not allow you to scroll at all and going out and in to the zombiepedia doesn't seem to change that.
Once you "break" the mouse scroll by trying to scroll while hovering the cursor over the icon, then the section will scroll on it's own just by moving the cursor to the top or the bottom of the page.

[hard timber]

In the zombiepedia, for some reason flamethrower is first in the pyro weapon order instead of 3rd or 4th. (like every other character's weapon's)

If a Military training ends up spawning on top of the puddle in the new map, its almost impossible to see.

[hard timber]

Was able to get a 1 hour and 33 minute run with only Pyro on endless on the new map while initially just going for the new Solo Endless achievement.

This concerns me as the new map seems to be almost the same difficulty or slightly easier then the Desert one as the werewolf has less health then the big mummy and much smaller attacks (though Quicker), the puddles are neat but too small to be threatening, the screamer's attacks are telegraphed and have a thin AoE (making their attacks easy to avoid) and you don't have to worry about the desert's sudden mummy circle (which if your too slow / squishy can 1 shot you in the end game.)

If you want every new map to be harder then the last, and not just something a bit different, here's some changes I would suggest:
1: Increase the screamer's damage, widen attack, or somehow make the slow effect stronger over time (so that you can't gain enough move speed that the slow effect is meaningless)
2: Increase the werewolf's health, damage, or movespeed (so that he is at least the same level of threating as the big mummy.)
Bonus: Make the puddles a bit bigger.

Overall new map impressions: The basic enemies are a lot tankier then previous maps, but their attacks are less threating then the desert map's enemies. Warewolf is underwhelming. The puddles, trees, and bushes makes the map look way less empty then the other 2 maps. (maybe you should add some more visuals to the arena part of the first 2 maps?)

[scarlet musk]

Thank you very much for your feedback! We'll be working on the reported issues and will release an update to adressing them. ETA tomorrow (Friday). Of course, keep the suggestions coming 🤟

[obsidian dust]

I feel like the sad face for debuffs could use a different colouring to not make it seem like a buff

[sonic elbow]

Red or orange?

[obsidian dust]

We got a red icon

All achievements unlocked just fine

Extermination mode is super fun

There is, however, one "but"

10+ waves in, the game will spawn a lot of enemies at once

And it will cause massive FPS drops to below 10 frames until the enemies are cleared

I thought it might have been my laptop throttling due to overheating or something but the temps were okay.

Maybe someone else can confirm if they experience the same?

[rigid torrent]

Just doing an Endless run on Green Hell, and I have noticed that on the far left of the map about midway there seems to be some odd thing where a bunch of exp gems and such pool up there. But it is always the same spot, almost as if they are spawning there even though enemies aren't dying there

[obsidian dust]

I've played through an entire extermination mode on green hell today and I did not experience such hardcore fps drops as before

Must have been something on my end, sorry about raising a false alarm

[languid hare]

Hello!) I liked the new map and new enemies, customizing the items in the yellow box is also good.

But overall the situation is disappointing. Starting with version 0.5, Boss Rush mode has become much easier. If in 0.4 I barely survived there for 40 minutes (every additional minute was a real test), then in 0.5 everything became radically easier and I could survive without the slightest difficulty for significantly more than an hour.

This killed my interest in this mode and in the game as a whole, because I don’t see any other challenges in it.

I thought that in 0.6 you would make Boss Rush mode on the new third map more difficult. Instead, you completely removed this mode)) All that remains is the endless mode, in which surviving for more than an hour without encountering any difficulties is very boring.

That is, an experienced player has nothing to do in the game right now: all the content has long been open, achievements received, and the modes cannot offer a truly serious challenge that would make you think about strategy, cause excitement, tickle your nerves, etc.

My suggestions: bring back the old Boss Rush and make it harder. OR make HARDCORE mode endless and add more bosses there. OR Endless Mode - let the difficulty and various options be customizable. OR something else like that. Simply put, it needs some kind of challenge for experienced players. They simply don't exist now. I don't know what to do in the game, although I really like YAZS.

---

P.S. I liked the new mode with waves of enemies. It's a pity that now after 20 waves the game ends. And the waves themselves seem too simple; even on the 20th wave I didn’t feel any serious difficulty. As a result, I completed this mode on the first try (although in general I am a rather weak player and not at all hardcore).

[ocean ivy]

Does anyone know if the progress from beta server will transfer over?

[tough quarry]

Yep, it always did as of now.

Including achievements, they get unlocked right after you boot the game.

[rigid torrent]

Yeah any stuff from the beta build will keep on normal release, but I don't know if it will transfer once the game leaves early access.

[ocean ivy]

Thanks!

[solemn pagoda]

is there some reason why the game won't update on Steam Deck? I have the beta version set up, but it just stays 0.5 and refuses to acknowledge the update. I've tried turning the beta off and on again and letting it update multiple times, still 0.5.

[scarlet musk]

Hi, thanks for your feedback. It's really hard to keep a game with a casual tag in a state that both makes the core game 100% completable for every player and also offers really tough challenges, but we'll try our best! Unlocking the hardcore mode timer sounds like an interesting idea that we might explore further. Another thing is that we are planning (sooner or later) to introduce a special kind of trials that are aimed at pro players and will offer completely optional non-Steam achievements to collect and put on display, with much harder requirements than the ones that already exist. Let me know how does it sound to you

[scarlet musk]

It should update just fine 🤔 You can always reinstall it to see if it helps, or select a different Proton version in Properties... -> Compatibility. Also, make sure there's enough space to download the updates, and make sure to restart the Steam Deck to see if it helps. Let me know if the issue is still present

Also, in Properties... -> Betas, the Beta Participation must be set as "public-beta - Public Beta Branch"

[solemn pagoda]

Game updated today and works fine with default proton. Thank you for the reply.

[obsidian dust]

Top left of my screenshot. There's a bunch of XP and a military training point piled up in one spot that I never visit - on the left edge of green hell

[languid hare]

Yes, hardcore mode without time limits sounds interesting)

Just don't make it as easy as Boss Rush mode in version 0.5))

I think one of the problems there was that the enemies did not progress nearly as quickly as the player's squad. In other words, the squad's improvement speed was normal, but the enemies remained too weak.

As a result, you could play Boss Rush mode for an hour or more without experiencing any serious threat from enemies. In this regard, version 0.4 was more hardcore) To survive there for 40 minutes or more was a feat))

[wheat charm]

Have to say I love most of the additions and changes done in this beta test.
I've made a few runs of all game modes both on the first and newest map.
Pros : Love the gun sounds,new map's aesthetics,music and enemy variety all fit nicely.
Love the idea of the Extermination game mode needing to prioritize upgrades due to wave format. Though there is room for improvement
Cons : Extermination mode needs some improvements. In Green Hell in particular I'm mostly running around the entire map to chase and finish of a dozen or so enemies bugged in opposite corners of the map. Wave 14 and onwards is where it gets tedious as most enemies just freeze and do nothing in entire waves. Ranged enemies do ranged attacks when I get close but that's it. Would recommend some sort of leash/converge mechanic to the AI pathing in the game mode,giving the player warning when the entire wave spawns as they converge onto the player's position,keeping them on their toes. Also the acid pool enviromental hazzard is a bit tough to spot due to the colour being very similar to the overall green tone of the map,making it difficult to notice where the pools are and how wide they are at times. Looking forward to seeing more made in both testing and live versions of the game.

[drowsy ravine]

Hello @wheat charm - the issue you're writing about seems likt a bug generally since at any case enemies should just freeze at place and do nothing. I'm currently digging into code trying to find out the cause of this but some additional info would be helpful.

Does it occur only on Green Hell? Did you play with Freezing Flasks/Arrows by any chance? Are there any particular places where enemies freeze or it happens across the whole map?

[wheat charm]

I've only played Extermination on the first map and Green Hell. This issue happened on wave 14. At first it only happened with a few basic enemies,getting worse as waves went on. Few dozen enemies were in opposite corners of the map stuck in running animations as well as entire waves immobile in place. I didn't have Huntress or Medic's freezing flask at that particular run. Will test out the game mode on other maps as well as Green Hell again and try to provide screenshots when possible.

[drowsy ravine]

Do you remember what was your team setup? 🙂

[rigid torrent]

Did the spawns get changed at all for Extermination? It feels absolutely impossible at the moment to unlock the Decide Their Fate achievement. Because some of the zombies won't spawn until certain zombies have been killed, and they spawn away from the player it makes it quite possibly impossible to actually get the achievement. Someone on the main channel did it and posted how they did it, but even they can't replicate it any more.

[wheat charm]

Played a couple runs on Wasteland map without Medic's tier 3 weapon and one Green Hell with Medic's Freezing flasks. Got no issues of enemies stuck i cornerns or middle. No idle enemies either . Yeah they are a bit too far spread out to unlock that achievement.

[keen orchid]

1. do so if the game becomes more difficult more intensive like if you have been in the game 1h then it becomes hard so you can't stand afk
2. do so there is more upgrades
3. fix so there are more zombies types
4. do so you can change the color of the damage you dealing

Crawler Zombies: These zombies have lost the use of their legs but retain exceptional upper body strength. They can crawl rapidly and climb obstacles with ease, making them difficult to evade.

Berserker Zombies: These zombies exhibit heightened aggression and strength. When provoked, they enter a frenzied state, attacking relentlessly and ignoring injuries that would incapacitate other zombies.

Acidic Zombies: These zombies secrete corrosive acid from their pores, which they can spit or exude onto their victims. The acid causes severe burns and tissue damage, making encounters with them particularly hazardous.

Screamer Zombies: These zombies emit a high-pitched scream that attracts other nearby zombies to the location. They serve as both a warning signal to survivors and a means of coordinating zombie hordes.

Regenerating Zombies: These zombies possess the ability to rapidly heal from injuries, making them exceptionally difficult to kill. Even severe wounds such as dismemberment can be healed within a short span of time.

Telepathic Zombies: These zombies have the ability to communicate telepathically with other zombies within a certain radius. This allows them to coordinate attacks and strategies more effectively.

Invisible Zombies: These zombies have the ability to render themselves invisible for short periods, making them extremely difficult to detect and evade.

Exploder Zombies: These zombies are filled with volatile gases or chemicals. When killed or severely injured, they explode with devastating force, potentially causing widespread damage to nearby structures and individuals.

Shape-shifter Zombies: These zombies have the ability to alter their physical appearance, allowing them to mimic survivors or other objects in their environment. This deception makes them particularly dangerous in ambush situations.

Hypnotic Zombies: These zombies emit pheromones or other mind-altering

[sonic elbow]

ChatGPT ahh suggestions

[keen orchid]

Yes it true it helped me with zombie types but its good suggestions

[wheat geyser]

Huzzah Team! Enjoying this beta, do have to agree in the ease though compared to other versions.

Would second the suggestions of:
Hardcore Endless
Extermination Endless
Hardcore Endless Extermination

Can confirm random enemies staying in place on green hell extermination mode. Though never en-masse. Usually a handfull spread around the map in the later waves (8+)

Can confirm Decide Their Fate is achieveable, did it this morning using the Engineer but dont want to spoil how since it wasnt anything crazy.

Can confirm enemies dont scale hard enough to keep up with survivors in later stages when team has taken most cards and has mostly dmg increase left to choose from especially.

• Also It feels like Elem Dmg can scale way too high too early, though those bonuses could be necessary in later stages of longer runs.

Love Green Hell, Pools are easy to avoid and even drag mobs through. Werewolf very cool, could use a rare spawn version that is much stronger, perhaps only appearing in later stages (mob for the pros)

Here is what happened when I decided to try Pyro/Eng/Med on original map Endless:

Which should absolutely inspire the achievement: "Hang back and burn one down" -Reach Team level 420 and Horde Strength level 420 simultaneously with Pyro as your team lead

[sonic elbow]

They don't intend to have achievements that require a ridiculous amount of endless

[wheat geyser]

that one time when you ordered the mcrib and some pimply faced nobody was like, "Broooo they dont have the McRib. . . its a limited time product. . ." but it turns out they are just a nobody with no affiliation with Mcdonald's at all and no idea what they are talking about so when you ignore them completely, like the nobody they are, and go ahead and order up a couple McRibs it turns out you were right, because you are not a nobody, and the McRib is indeed back and then you are having all kind of McRIbby goodness because you didn't listen to a nobody who had no business speaking in the first place.

[sonic elbow]

oh sure non-steam achievements

I just see the word achievement and immediately think of steam

[rigid torrent]

That is a lot of shade to throw at someone who wasn't even wrong over semantics.

[scarlet musk]

Yes, we plan to introduce more difficult, fully optional challenges and/or higher difficulty options (these might be tied to standard achievements, but we'll see how difficult it is for most players first) ✌️

By the way

Hey @everyone! Thank you for helping us so far, we've just pushed a new hotfix as we come closer to the full release of 0.6. If nothing goes wrong, we'll soon be pushing it to the default branch.

UPDATE 3:

• New awesome music track for Green Hell.
• New in-between wave interface for the Extermination mode.
• Additional fixes for potential screen flashes when playing Engineer.
• "It's Raining Men" achievement is easier to trigger (6 ragdolls needed).
• Anonymous diagnostics added (can be toggled on/off in options).
• Other tweaks, and fixes for reported bugs & issues.

[wheat geyser]

To be fair, my point was the game could use scaling adjustments. Which would likely prevent any such extreme (as ridiculous exists only in the mind of those who cannot conceptualize the abnormal) levels anyway.

So the achievement was a nice little funny to demonstrate the current state of the scaling.

If the Team wants to inform me they dont intend to blah blah blah, then that is their prerogative and they would be simply informed of the same above.

However, when a rando starts running their mouth about something they have zero control or contributing say to . . . calling me ridiculous for enjoying my gameplay. . . Then yeah. they can expect some shade until they learn to speak when they are addressed or have something valuable to contribute rather than speaking just to be noticed.

that moment when you popped out an umbrella thinking you were going to shade someone's sunshine, and the other guy caused a solar eclipse, then you cried about all the shade

Also, one of the meatier points, was having up-scaled bosses that have a chance to appear after x timeframe when survivors are likely well equipped and looking for random challenges in their hordes.

This way randos and pros still play the same game and get the same achieve opportunities, but both get their needs catered too.

Plus, just for the record, if any average rando can 100% achieve your game, were they really achievements?

[sonic elbow]

You are a strange strange person, I have played this game since release and have 100% the game before most of the nerfs, I for one want the game to be more difficult and would like some challenging steam achievements.

I have followed everything the devs have said on future updates and with that, I know that they do not plan for super difficult achievements, I made that comment to give you that info.

I was not calling you ridiculous, I was calling hours and hours of endless for an achievement ridiculous.

This is a place for discussion of the game, I am welcome to comment as much as the next person or a developer.