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Steam News30 September 20241y ago

Survival Changes for Upcoming Wipe

Infestation: The New Beginning As most of you know, we have been preparing significant changes for our game, specifically the Survival Game Mode.

In this update6

Full notes

Full Infestation: The New Beginning update

Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.

What changed

1 fix3 additions3 changes0 removals
  • Gameplay
  • Events
  • Server
  • Store
addedWhy is Survival being rebooted?After several attempts at introducing new elements to Survival, your feedback has shown us what should remain unchanged in order to preserve the feeling we had when we played The War Z and Survivor Stories back in the day, and what can be kept from the recent changes. With that in mind, we have decided to recreate the game as it was—ambiance, loot rarity, mechanics, etc.—while retaining only the well-known and unquestionable improvements we've made since then. This, however, will be our starting point.
addedPost changes to itThe goal of the new Survival mode is to ensure FUN for EVERYONE. Changes that could negatively impact a significant portion of the community, or that are controversial and divisive, may be rejected.
fixedSeasonsWe will structure the game mode into seasons, following a classic seasonal system with wipes occurring at set intervals to keep the game fresh and the community engaged. Our initial plan is for seasons to last 6 to 9 months, but we need to assess whether that works for most players. To determine the ideal season length, we will run the first season without a fixed end date. This will allow us to observe how far players progress into the endgame and how long it takes before they no longer have anything left to do.
changedMapsWe will have only ONE map available at all times, and the same map will be used across both Official and Private Servers. There may be maps for specific TEMPORARY events with different rules, etc. Missions will also be available throughout the season, though at the beginning, they will be more limited. There will be fewer missions initially, as they can greatly impact player progression. To achieve the right balance, we need to observe how the game mode feels without excessive 'boosts' to progression and the economy.
changedSkinsSkins are a very controversial aspect of Survival. There are a few things we need to address, but we believe we’ve found a fair balance.
addedSkinsFirst, let’s talk about clan skins. Clans with existing clan skins can request to have them re-added to the new Survival mode. This can only be done by the current clan leader, who must have a character and clan created in the Game Mode.
Our initial plan is for seasons to last69mOur initial plan is for seasons to last increased, buff

Infestation: The New Beginning changes

addedAfter several attempts at introducing new elements to Survival, your feedback has shown us what should remain unchanged in order to preserve the feeling we had when we played The War Z and Survivor Stories back in the day, and what can be kept from the recent changes. With that in mind, we have decided to recreate the game as it was—ambiance, loot rarity, mechanics, etc.—while retaining only the well-known and unquestionable improvements we've made since then. This, however, will be our starting point.
addedThe goal of the new Survival mode is to ensure FUN for EVERYONE. Changes that could negatively impact a significant portion of the community, or that are controversial and divisive, may be rejected.
fixedWe will structure the game mode into seasons, following a classic seasonal system with wipes occurring at set intervals to keep the game fresh and the community engaged. Our initial plan is for seasons to last 6 to 9 months, but we need to assess whether that works for most players. To determine the ideal season length, we will run the first season without a fixed end date. This will allow us to observe how far players progress into the endgame and how long it takes before they no longer have anything left to do.
changedWe will have only ONE map available at all times, and the same map will be used across both Official and Private Servers. There may be maps for specific TEMPORARY events with different rules, etc. Missions will also be available throughout the season, though at the beginning, they will be more limited. There will be fewer missions initially, as they can greatly impact player progression. To achieve the right balance, we need to observe how the game mode feels without excessive 'boosts' to progression and the economy.
changedSkins are a very controversial aspect of Survival. There are a few things we need to address, but we believe we’ve found a fair balance.

Infestation: The New Beginning

As most of you know, we have been preparing significant changes for our game, specifically the Survival Game Mode. However, in this case, instead of innovating, we will be returning to the basics—what has worked in the past and what the community has been clamoring for!

Why is Survival being rebooted?

After several attempts at introducing new elements to Survival, your feedback has shown us what should remain unchanged in order to preserve the feeling we had when we played The War Z and Survivor Stories back in the day, and what can be kept from the recent changes. With that in mind, we have decided to recreate the game as it was—ambiance, loot rarity, mechanics, etc.—while retaining only the well-known and unquestionable improvements we've made since then. This, however, will be our starting point.

Post changes to it

From that point on, any changes we decide to make will be based solely on suggestions and polls from active Survival players. These polls will not lead to direct or immediate changes. One key consideration is that a 51% approval in polls will not be considered a sufficient majority. We need to assess whom the changes will affect and how they will impact those people. Therefore, we will require a larger margin for approval. We also aim to structure the polls in a straightforward manner, including an option like 'doesn't matter to me' to minimize the potential for larger groups to manipulate the results.

The goal of the new Survival mode is to ensure FUN for EVERYONE. Changes that could negatively impact a significant portion of the community, or that are controversial and divisive, may be rejected.

Initial Plans for Survival

Our initial plans are based on the feedback we've received so far from the community, who are eager to experience a true Survival mode, reminiscent of what Infestation / The War Z once was.

Seasons

We will structure the game mode into seasons, following a classic seasonal system with wipes occurring at set intervals to keep the game fresh and the community engaged. Our initial plan is for seasons to last 6 to 9 months, but we need to assess whether that works for most players. To determine the ideal season length, we will run the first season without a fixed end date. This will allow us to observe how far players progress into the endgame and how long it takes before they no longer have anything left to do.

Maps

We will have only ONE map available at all times, and the same map will be used across both Official and Private Servers. There may be maps for specific TEMPORARY events with different rules, etc. Missions will also be available throughout the season, though at the beginning, they will be more limited. There will be fewer missions initially, as they can greatly impact player progression. To achieve the right balance, we need to observe how the game mode feels without excessive 'boosts' to progression and the economy.

Skins

Skins are a very controversial aspect of Survival. There are a few things we need to address, but we believe we’ve found a fair balance.

First, let’s talk about clan skins. Clans with existing clan skins can request to have them re-added to the new Survival mode. This can only be done by the current clan leader, who must have a character and clan created in the Game Mode.

Second, and most importantly: Skins are optional! While everyone knows you can choose not to use

Source

Steam News / 30 September 2024

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