It's been awhile since my last official patch, but your waiting has not been in vain! As opposed to waiting until it's all complete to release 2.4.0, I figured I'd release it as I reach various milestones - similar to what I did with 1.9.5.
2.4.0 Pre-Release -
2.4.0 is shaping up to be a game-changer for Feed with the barrage of planned features and upgrades, but in the current pre-release we've tackled some of the gameplay issues and made the waves a bit more interesting! Let's see what we have here!
Fixes:
- Fixed the "Ammo+" overlay not going away.
- Some of the weapon drops weren't despawning like they should.(Mattisasexybeastes, Luke505, Amelia Pond)
- Changed the drop rate for weapons from 60% to 40%.
- The experience bar would dissappear after reach rank 10.(Mattisasexybeastest, Amelia Pond)
- Fixed the positioning of the emblem for rank 8.
- Pistols now reload correctly and have a faster reload speed.
New Features:
- Revives now delay your respawn by four seconds instead of immediately respawning.
- The shotgun spread was given a better animation.
- Midnight now has an ammo box.
- The veto time between matches was changed to 30 seconds.
- Added the first official boss to Feed; 'The Skulker'.
- The login screen has been completely revamped in preparation for beta 1.4.0.
- Server stats are now centralized on the login screen.
- Outbreaks added which spawn large hordes(650 - 1000 zombies).
- Graphics overhaul(everything looks SO much better).
- Added an indicator to the hud so players will know if they have a revive or not.
- New map, 'Escape Plan' contributed by Lilius.
- New map, 'Autobahn' contributed by Lilius.
- Added team revives which revive a random dead player.
Known Bugs:
- Sometime weapons will disappear from your contents when migrating between matches(not waves).(Mattisasexybeastest, Amelia Pond, Evilfrost6)
- Rarely the screen will black out when voting for maps. *Fixed in the next patch.
The Skulker
After a long wait, Feed has finally included it's first of several planned bosses! It's AI is relatively advanced compared to the rest of the AI in it's behavior. The Skulker has three primary ways of harming the player; Spyders, Fire, and traditional attacking. It will target a random player and run at them until it hurts the player or decides to break off and target a new player. After a successful attack it will run randomly before either repeating the process of summoning Spyders.
Spyders are stationary enemies that explode if a player comes within a two tile radius of it. The explosion is insta-death so be cautious and quick when maneuvering past Spyders!
Skulker among many Spyders.
Outbreaks
Outbreaks were a last minute idea I wanted to try; just to see what people thought. Turns out they enjoy having several hundred zombies being thrown at their face! An outbreak can occur on any wave and have a %5 chance of occurring. They spawn anywhere from 400 to 700 zombies(varying on map size) and in the future will drop better perks than normal zombies! Expect this concept to be built upon in future patches!
Upcoming Features
2.4.0 is shaping up to be the biggest update in Feed's 9-months of life and it's definitely a step out of the box from previous updates. We've been listening to player suggestions more than ever and incorporating a barrage of features that have been suggested numerous times in the past. Here's a peak at what we have in store for you!
The first thing you'll notice is the overhaul of the login screen. It now features four options. Credits, Connect, Customize and Comments.
As of the current live patch, only Credits and Connect are functional but the other two will be functioning for the final release of 2.4.0.
Customization-
Customization is being completely redone to allow more flexibility and to look better in general. As it is, customization is broken, ugly, and doesn't feature much! We plan to change that in 2.4.0 by making a much cleaner and open customization system/process. Unfortunately, mid-match customization will be dropped, although you will be able to access the main screen at any time to customize your player!
Comments-
This is something I rolled around in my head and thought I would try! The Comments section is exactly what is sounds like; a centralized location for players to leave comments and opinions on the game for all others to see. This will definitely be moderated and in the event it's unused or abused will be removed but I trust our Feeders!
Perks-
Perks are something that's been suggested for a long time and after some thought, we decided to actually incorporate! Perks will be random drops from zombies that will either effect all players or just you. 30 second invincibility, Insta-kill, speed-boost, and fireproof are just a couple of the ideas we've been tossing around. Expect more on perks soon!
Melee Combat-
At long last, Feed is finally adding support for melee combat! I was set against it at first since I wanted to keep Feed a shooter, but the community outnumbered me!
We've been working hard and still have much to do so if you have something you want to see us try, don't hesitate to voice your thoughts! We're more than happy to listen to your ideas!
Community -
Top Feeders
1. Mattisasexybeastest with 11,734 kills!
2. Fauache with 2,817 kills!
3. Yan3101 with 2,602 kills!
4. Luke5050 with 2,207 kills!
5. KenzieJunee with 1,743 kills!
Best Wave: 42
Most Played Map: Evacuate
Community Spotlight -
Veteran Feeders, Mattisasexybeastest, Luke5050 and Amelia Pond impressed people by pulling 3 hours to finally reach wave 42 at 6:00 in the morning on the map, 'Theatre'! Their goal was to reach wave 50, but they were cut short of their goal thanks to being molotov'd by a new player and the other being swarmed by a horde! Bad luck, much? Congratulations for dominating the scoreboard, guys! Now go outside and see the sun for a bit!
Closure -
Thanks to everybody who's contributed to Feed and everybody who supports Feed! I would have lost complete motivation for the game without the extra push!
Keep Feeding,
-Kumo
Kumorii | Darker Emerald | D-Cire | SqueakyReaper | UPD4T3
Side note, how long has UPD4T3 been a part of Feed? Lol.