Major Update Is Now Live on the publicplaytest Branch — All Early Access Owners Can Switch and Try It Now.
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【Complete Lighting & Visual System Overhaul】
The rendering pipeline has undergone a full systematic overhaul. This update introduces 8 independent visual features, each of which can be individually enabled or disabled in the settings menu for hardware-specific optimization:
2D Real-Time Point Light Shadows —— Torches and muzzle flashes now cast real-time shadows. Exploring at night with a torch feels especially immersive. (This is the most performance-intensive feature in the update and can be disabled on lower-end hardware.)
Contact Shadows (SSAO) —— Soft grounding shadows are now generated beneath buildings, crates, and environmental objects, removing the previous "floating" appearance.
Heat Distortion Effects —— Campfires, furnaces, generators, explosions, and incendiaries now create dynamic heat haze effects. Multiple heat sources can stack together.
Per-Object Motion Blur —— Fast-moving characters and projectiles now leave motion trails while the background remains unaffected.
Character Outlines —— Characters remain visible even when obscured by buildings or environmental objects, with outline colors dynamically changing based on status.
Zombie Gore Fragment Effects —— High-damage hits can now tear off flesh fragments from zombies based on the current animation frame texture.
Palette Limiting + Optional CRT Scanlines —— Enhances the retro pixel-art atmosphere while also fixing snow overexposure issues.
In addition, all character shaders have been rewritten to eliminate jagged edges and color bleeding. Flickering issues on crates and furniture during camera movement have also been fixed.
【8 New Localization Languages Added】
· This update adds support for 8 additional languages:
Русский
Deutsch
Français
Español
日本語
한국어
Polski
Português
Combined with existing Chinese and English support, Zed Zone now supports 10 languages in total. Languages can be switched directly from the main menu without restarting the game.
· Custom localization through CSV files is also supported without modifying any code. Localization files are located in StreamingAssets/Localization/. Simply copy Localization_en_to_xx.csv, rename it to your target language code, translate the contents, and place it back into the same folder.
Community-created translation revisions may be selectively merged into the official version.
I have also created a dedicated localization guide for Zed Zone.
Localization Guide: https://github.com/IndieDev-LevenLiu/zedzone/tree/main/localization
【Gameplay & Interface Improvements】
Equipment Comparison —— When hovering over or previewing unequipped items, the game now automatically compares them against currently equipped gear in the same slot using green ↑ and red ↓ indicators.
Right-Click Shop Trading —— Items can now be instantly bought or sold with a right-click inside shop interfaces.
The settings menu has been redesigned into a navigation-bar layout, and all visual effects can now be adjusted independently.
Additional gameplay settings have been added, including infected movement speed controls.
Improved inventory sorting algorithm. Similar items are now prioritized into the same row.
【New Enemy: Blood Creeper】
A parasitic lifeform that attacks using tendrils.
Zombies can now dynamically mutate during combat, with certain mutation paths transforming directly into Blood Creeper forms.
【Character Progression System Rework】
Core attributes have been streamlined from six stats down to Strength / Agility / Constitution.
Attribute points can now be gained not only through leveling up, but also through passive usage-based progression.
12 new starting Perks have been added across the three attribute paths, with some Perks being mutually exclusive.
The system is now deeply integrated with the skill tree, and some skill nodes also grant Perks and attribute points.
【Map Generation Improvements】
Road generation logic has been rewritten to reduce broken roads and unnatural turns.
City row-building generation is now cleaner and more organized.
Building window textures have been updated with clearer front/back differentiation.
【Bug Fixes】
Fixed potion-related buffs failing to apply in certain situations.
Fixed human NPCs getting permanently stuck under specific conditions.
Fixed save files failing to load due to file encoding issues.
Fixed snow terrain becoming overexposed under strong lighting.
A full codebase review was conducted, fixing multiple crashes and null-reference exceptions.
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【How to Join the Public Test】
In your Steam Library: Right-click Zed Zone → Properties → Betas → Select the publicplaytest branch (no password required). After Steam finishes downloading the update, simply launch the game. To leave the test branch, switch back to “none — Opt out of all beta programs”.
It is recommended to manually back up your save files before testing major updates in case undiscovered bugs still exist.
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【Feedback】
If you encounter any issues during gameplay, you can report them through built-in feedback center, Dicord or by email.
For localization or translation-related issues, please use the in-game feedback center or contact the developer directly by email. Or perhaps you would like to contribute to language localization.
please feel free to provide feedback via our Discord or email.
Developer Email:
Thank you again for all the support and feedback.
Thanks.
