[h2]Greetings, Survivors! [/h2] Long time no see! We are coming back to you today with a nice chunk of good news. First of all - the next Major Update is in advanced development. Second of all, we aim to bring you this Major Update at no later date than [b]October 25th, 2024[/b]. Those of you, who are feeling adventurous, will have a chance to test this update even earlier, on the open_beta branch in around a week or two. Expect the following changes in the [b]Major Update #3[/b]: [list] [*] Scientist Storyline and Illness [*] Custom Buildings [*] Repairmen [*] Stop to Shoot [*] Many others! [/list] Most of those changes are being introduced upon your request. We have made you a promise to listen to your feedback and now we are doing our best to add features, which are being mentioned most often. We hope that you will enjoy all those new changes, as they significantly reduce the micromanagement and make the gameplay more enjoyable. We can't wait to see your reactions to this update! [h2]Scientist Storyline and Illness[/h2] The Story goes on! With the introduction of the Scientist Storyline, we are also adding the Illness system to the game. While most of the citizens, who have survived, seemed immune to the Mad Virus for a long time, the Virus started to mutate. Now it's your job to cooperate with the new Scientist faction, research vaccines, and produce them for your citizens. Worst case scenario? Infection outbreak inside the Zone. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40888271/677ce478eea1ed908202eb012a05febcebffb7a7.png[/img] [h2]Custom Buildings[/h2] We are fully aware that many of you like to start your gameplay in the wildest locations around the world. Those locations include islands, deserts, and small villages with a few buildings here and there. Previously, most of those locations were hardly playable. With the addition of the Custom Buildings, we want to allow players to place their own buildings. Select a specific shape, building color, roof type, and height. If you have the resources and the workers ready, the construction starts! [previewyoutube=2VL0lswlIk4;full][/previewyoutube] [h2]Repairmen[/h2] One of the most common requests that we have received was making the repairing of our Zone easier for the player. It's fully understandable, especially if a swarm of infected attacks our settlement every few days. Previously, we have added the "Repair all" option into the game. Now we are introducing a whole new building adaptation, the "Repairmen Quarters". Simply adapt a building for the repairmen, assign a satisfying number of workers, and watch them automatically go through your Zone, repairing structures one by one. [img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/40888271/d12e9740bafd7f016e2e4865f7e694ee9912dfbd.png[/img] [h2]Stop to Shoot[/h2] Last but not least, we want to address the aspect of the squads' responsiveness to encountered threats. We were receiving several reports highlighting how annoying it is to lose the squad and not even notice that it was actually fighting at all. That's why we have improved the [b]Move at Will[/b] squad stance with the [b]Stop to Shoot[/b] logic. When attacked, moving squads will now stop and instantly return the fire. On top of that, the squad's behavior might differ depending on the situation, taking into account the direction the enemy is coming from and some other parameters. That said, small groups of bandits and hordes shouldn't pose as much threat anymore! Is that all? Absolutely not! We are working on several other new features and preparing new content. While we don't want to announce things that are not guaranteed to end up ready for Major Update #3, don't worry. The Changelog will be a big one! Thank you for your Support and for playing Infection Free Zone! Best regards, Jutsu Games Team