Hey Survivors! Pavel finally found the balance sheet Zombiestein tried to steal — turns out it was buried under wrench grease the whole time.
In this update5
Full notes
Full Survival Machine update
Read the full published notes in a cleaner layout. The original post stays linked below.
What changed
1 fix2 additions3 changes0 removals
Balance
Workshop
changedHey Survivors!Pavel finally found the balance sheet Zombiestein tried to steal — turns out it was buried under wrench grease the whole time. This week the crew on the Machine spent more time with numbers than night hordes: consumable timings, crafting costs, and the Zombieburg's spawn window all got passes until the friction stopped working against us. The countdown to launch is on! Here are a few more changes coming on June 12.
addedSteam post image Buffs that finally feel like buffsCarrot Juice, Mushroom Salad, and the Sprint Potion had their effect durations pulled wide open — Carrot Juice went from 2 minutes to 10, Sprint Potion from 3 minutes to 15, Mushroom Salad the same 2→10 treatment. The old windows evaporated mid-fight; the new ones are long enough to actually build around. Every consumable in the stack — Apple Shake, Berry Jam, Berries — also had its total stacking ceiling expanded, so effects accumulate longer before the cap cuts in.
fixedSteam post image Gunpowder, rifles, and the resource cleanupGunpowder had one crafting ingredient requirement cut from 5 to 2 — late-game ammo spending was compressing tighter than intended. Sniper and precise rifle recipes had their crafting station assignments corrected while we were in there. A separate pass also covered gear upgrade components, tailoring materials, and a handful of mid-game resources that had started to dominate economy pacing.
addedSteam post image Combat: headshots land, sprint movesHeadshot mechanic — bonus damage when a shot connects with an enemy's head — now fires reliably across ranged weapons. Sprint got a fix too: transitioning out of combat no longer carries the combat-speed penalty into the sprint, so movement stays at full speed instead of a hybrid crawl. The Advanced Cannon — the Machine's heavy stationary turret — had a second variant built and balanced this week, adding more firepower to the night defence lineup.
changedSteam post image New looks for familiar tools + Zombieburg timingIron and Steel tier IV tools — pickaxe, axe, hammer — now use dedicated models instead of shared placeholders. The Zombieburg 's spawn logic also got a reliability fix: Pavel reports the encounter now fires on schedule, which he seems suspiciously cheerful about.
changedSteam post image New looks for familiar tools + Zombieburg timing37 days out from June 12 — the Machine is getting tighter by the week. Anything in current EA that's still fighting you? Drop it in Discord — we triage daily. Every fix, every balance pass — we hope it hits different when you're actually in it. That's the whole point! Dzięki
Gunpowder had one crafting ingredient requirement cut5→2↓Gunpowder had one crafting ingredient requirement cut decreased, nerf
Survival Machine changes
changedPavel finally found the balance sheet Zombiestein tried to steal — turns out it was buried under wrench grease the whole time. This week the crew on the Machine spent more time with numbers than night hordes: consumable timings, crafting costs, and the Zombieburg's spawn window all got passes until the friction stopped working against us. The countdown to launch is on! Here are a few more changes coming on June 12.
addedCarrot Juice, Mushroom Salad, and the Sprint Potion had their effect durations pulled wide open — Carrot Juice went from 2 minutes to 10, Sprint Potion from 3 minutes to 15, Mushroom Salad the same 2→10 treatment. The old windows evaporated mid-fight; the new ones are long enough to actually build around. Every consumable in the stack — Apple Shake, Berry Jam, Berries — also had its total stacking ceiling expanded, so effects accumulate longer before the cap cuts in.
fixedGunpowder had one crafting ingredient requirement cut from 5 to 2 — late-game ammo spending was compressing tighter than intended. Sniper and precise rifle recipes had their crafting station assignments corrected while we were in there. A separate pass also covered gear upgrade components, tailoring materials, and a handful of mid-game resources that had started to dominate economy pacing.
addedHeadshot mechanic — bonus damage when a shot connects with an enemy's head — now fires reliably across ranged weapons. Sprint got a fix too: transitioning out of combat no longer carries the combat-speed penalty into the sprint, so movement stays at full speed instead of a hybrid crawl. The Advanced Cannon — the Machine's heavy stationary turret — had a second variant built and balanced this week, adding more firepower to the night defence lineup.
changedIron and Steel tier IV tools — pickaxe, axe, hammer — now use dedicated models instead of shared placeholders. The Zombieburg 's spawn logic also got a reliability fix: Pavel reports the encounter now fires on schedule, which he seems suspiciously cheerful about.
Hey Survivors!
Pavel finally found the balance sheet Zombiestein tried to steal — turns out it was buried under wrench grease the whole time. This week the crew on the Machine spent more time with numbers than night hordes: consumable timings, crafting costs, and the Zombieburg's spawn window all got passes until the friction stopped working against us. The countdown to launch is on! Here are a few more changes coming on June 12.
Steam post image Buffs that finally feel like buffs
Carrot Juice, Mushroom Salad, and the Sprint Potion had their effect durations pulled wide open — Carrot Juice went from 2 minutes to 10, Sprint Potion from 3 minutes to 15, Mushroom Salad the same 2→10 treatment. The old windows evaporated mid-fight; the new ones are long enough to actually build around. Every consumable in the stack — Apple Shake, Berry Jam, Berries — also had its total stacking ceiling expanded, so effects accumulate longer before the cap cuts in.
Steam post image Gunpowder, rifles, and the resource cleanup
Gunpowder had one crafting ingredient requirement cut from 5 to 2 — late-game ammo spending was compressing tighter than intended. Sniper and precise rifle recipes had their crafting station assignments corrected while we were in there. A separate pass also covered gear upgrade components, tailoring materials, and a handful of mid-game resources that had started to dominate economy pacing.
Steam post image Combat: headshots land, sprint moves
Headshot mechanic — bonus damage when a shot connects with an enemy's head — now fires reliably across ranged weapons. Sprint got a fix too: transitioning out of combat no longer carries the combat-speed penalty into the sprint, so movement stays at full speed instead of a hybrid crawl. The Advanced Cannon — the Machine's heavy stationary turret — had a second variant built and balanced this week, adding more firepower to the night defence lineup.
Steam post image Loot V2: drops match the fight
Loot V2 — the rebuilt loot system with rarity tiers and signature drops per enemy type — had rarity tiers activated across all enemy types this week. Drop pools now split by enemy class, so what you pick up reflects who you fought rather than a shared bucket.
Steam post image New looks for familiar tools + Zombieburg timing
Iron and Steel tier IV tools — pickaxe, axe, hammer — now use dedicated models instead of shared placeholders. The Zombieburg's spawn logic also got a reliability fix: Pavel reports the encounter now fires on schedule, which he seems suspiciously cheerful about.
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37 days out from June 12 — the Machine is getting tighter by the week. Anything in current EA that's still fighting you? Drop it in Discord — we triage daily. Every fix, every balance pass — we hope it hits different when you're actually in it. That's the whole point! Dzięki
