Progress Report + Release Date Estimate (Patreon)

Hey everyone!

February's speeding along so soon enough it's going to be time to release the first Zombie's Retreat 2 update!

== The Grid ==

I've talked about it a bit before but I wanted to talk about The Grid a bit more.  It's the 'home base' area for Zombie's Retreat 2 and will feature the ability to customize where various buildings & facilities can go! 

For people who have been wanting to see more base building, this is where I hope to deliver a bit of that!  

Originally, with the Alpha build, I was quite unhappy with The Grid's design.  This time around, I think I've found something I like a bit more.  I may still make tweaks on it but it's got a bit more of a 'chaotic' layout.  I went with this approach with the idea that once buildings are being placed in different areas, it will make each player's locations stand out a bit more as opposed to all of the building slots being neatly lined up next to each other.

The Grid will be one of those mechanics that should significantly improve as new updates release and the customization options are fully fleshed out.  It may take some adjustments/tweaks but I think it will be a very fun mechanic for ZR2!

The screenshot seen above is of the new Motel that will be in The Grid!  This will be the area that houses most of the women who you save around the city ;)

== New Map ==

With the Alpha, I was only able to create one partially complete 'district' for exploring & scavenging.  With this additional time, I am working on a second district.  This should help the early game feel a bit less linear with a bit more to explore on your initial visit to Crimson City.

Both districts will still have a few incomplete buildings/areas in them.  This is similar to ZR1 where certain areas weren't fully fleshed out until someone's quests or the storyline required access.

== Release Date ==

I'm guessing this is the reason you're probably reading this post.

ZR2 Beta 0.01 will release this month for sure (sorta)!  My guess, is sometime around Feb 26th for $5+ Patrons.  This does mean the public release won't be out until around March 1st/2nd.  If only this wasn't the shortest month of the year >_>

I don't expect any delays will be necessary this time.  I can't thank everyone enough for the understanding with the decision to not release the Alpha.  In just these two months the tweaks/improvements have been incredibly nice to add.

It's also given me much needed time to sit back and think about future parts of the game & how I want to design some mechanics without feeling so rushed which is always nice to have.  Sometimes the urge to meet a deadline interferes with my ability to just think. 

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That's about it for this update!  Expect another update or two before the actual build releases.  Thank you all so much for your support and I will see you all soon!