Final Outpost 1.3

Greetings survivors,

In the ever-evolving world of Final Outpost, our dedicated team has been diligently crafting a series of incremental yet crucial updates since the debut of v1.3 in the early months of 2022. We're listening to our community, refining and enhancing the game in response to your invaluable feedback. Here is a rundown of our latest updates to the game:

1.3.22

🆕 NEW 🆕

• The rubble menu has been replaced completely with the new rubble overlay, offering a better overview of where diggers are assigned in your Outpost!

• New sound effects - diggers, farmers, forges and big improvements to ambient SFX during the day, night and blood moon nights

• Added icons to represent the skills for each citizen type in the job menu

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• The game now loads with the view that you saved

• Noise created by knife fighters and snipers now travel on the ground rather than in the air

• Visual improvements to zombie damage indicators

• Tutorial tips now fade out more smoothly

• Tactical crates are now less likely to spawn on top of each other

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Skill unlock button now becomes interactive when you have sufficient skill points, even when the menu is currently open

• Fixed some inaccurate progress bars when fast forwarding

• Some tutorial tips abruptly disappearing is now fixed

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1.3.21

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Fixed tactical menu not updating when opened

• Tweaked layout of tactical menu

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1.3.20

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Added animations for when your citizens are unassigned, die of starvation, or leave the Outpost!

• 9 all-new tips added to the tutorial for new players

• New sound effect when a citizen dies

• Added farm yield boost/reduction icon to show the effects of rain, droughts, and winter

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Scavengers now animate into the forest, keeping their progress bars in view

• Added a warning showing the number of citizens that will leave the Outpost when destroying a building that citizens are sleeping in

• Devices can no longer sleep during gameplay (but can whilst idle in the main menu)

• Added event message for citizens killed by a lightning strike

• When fast-forwarding audio pitch is increased by 50% rather than 400%

• Switched the Winter app icon to the year-round Final Outpost theme

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Fixed issues with population when destroying buildings under certain conditions

• Date and time no longer sometimes stays red when loading the game after a horde night

• Fixed knife fighters going back to their wall when it is upgraded whilst they are walking to the base

• Fixed unresponsiveness of digger assignment button after loading the game with diggers already assigned to the rubble when diggers should be assignable

• Fixed a crash that would occasionally happen whilst launching the game

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1.3.18

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Added under-construction graphics for all buildings

• Improved visuals in the tactical package window - with a surprise on the way!

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Improved how in-app purchase buttons respond when there is no internet connection

• Made tutorial information clearer in the resources menu

• Added camera pan to workshop tip

• Tutorial tips relating to zombies now auto-pan with improved animations

• Tactical package contents can only be viewed one at a time

• Removed tutorial information for the save/quit menu

• The size of arrows pointing off-screen now depends on the distance of the item

• Translated “QA” in the credits to other locales

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Fixed dead grass not showing when loading the game during a drought

• Plot image is no longer missing for burning buildings

• Fixed an issue where the game could become locked during the workshop tip

• Improvements to tutorial tips to prevent background fading issues

• Fixed tutorial arrow orientation for off-screen objects

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1.3.17

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Introducing pixel-perfect buildings! Everything is now perfectly aligned with grass pixels

• Repositioned corner plots to make those larger Outposts easier on the eyes

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Your first citizens now leave the base in a queue when starting a new Outpost

• Queues of citizens leaving the base are no longer affected by other citizens going to sleep

• Leaderboards are checked and stats-based achievements are can now also be unlocked when opening a save

• Reduced the duration of zombie damage indicators

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Gates no longer close before all citizens have returned after letting in outsiders

• Fixed visual issues with droughts

• Fixed farmers not saving their job progress

• Music slider handle in the settings menu now has the correct size

• Patched up gaps in the shadows of the level 3 wall

• Fixed issue where digging progress bars for rubble could become transparent and saturated when there were snow pixels behind it

• Prevented blacksmiths clipping outside of the level 3 forge building

• Knife fighters no longer leave the base simultaneously

• Fixed an issue where zombies wouldn’t arrive after a crash at 21:00 on a horde (red) night

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1.3.16

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Complete overhaul to the sound effects system - new SFX and improvements

• Added 7 new achievements to the game!

• Added indicator for skill points dropped by zombies

• Distant combat sound effects return to the game in 1.3.15, which gradually decrease as you play

• New Christmas app icon!

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Crates are now shown up-close after being purchased

• Display the range of damage for knife fighters in the job menu

• Added sound effect for burning buildings

• Removed forge and sniper ladder-climbing sounds

• Reduced app download size

• Localisation updates

• Updated the credits in the main menu

🛠 FIXES🛠

• Fixed the audio volume for many sound effects

• Citizens now always have the correct statistics for their first job after loading the game

• Fixed another instance of citizens not leaving the base after pressing continue on game over

• Snipers now leave the base as expected when assigned while it is unsafe outside during the day

• Fixed snipers not shooting when loading the game is loaded while it is unsafe outside during the day

• Fixed issue with snipers when it turns day while they are climbing a ladder

• Fixed issue with snipers where game over is reached while they are climbing a ladder and continue is pressed

• Level 1 towers with snipers assigned now correctly burn when struck by lightning

• Fixed a case where a knife fighter could become idle while zombies are at the wall

• Possible fix to an issue with knife fighters while choosing which zombie to target

• Farmers no longer occasionally work out of sync with their progress bar

• Farmers progress bars are no longer unintentionally at 100% when loading into the game

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Dear players,

For a minor update this is a rather large one. We have completely reworked the sound effects system, bringing improvements to distance-dependent volume, distant fighting noises, volume levels, and added some sounds you may not have heard before! We have also added new achievements, a new skill point drop indicator, and of course a winter-themed app icon.

Perhaps most significant in this update are the bug fixes. We have improved logic for snipers, knife fighters and farmers as well as for when you press continue on the game over screen. I hope you enjoy these improvements!

Thank you for reading this far and for supporting Final Outpost. We hope to bring you much more over the coming months.

- Sam

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1.3.15

• Patch for skill tree upgrades not being applied to citizens

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1.3.14

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Improvements to tapping, panning and scrolling through your Outpost

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Panning throughout the Outpost is now smoother

• Increased the cost of level 4 and 5 skills

• Tweaked the timing of survivors arriving in the early days

• You can now explore all skills in the skill tree from the start of the game

• Removed redundant “walls destroyed” statistic

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Removed occasional inadvertent opening of building menus after zooming in/out

• Fixed unresponsive touch inputs on some devices

• Scrolling to the bottom of the credits now works on all aspect ratios

• Possible fix for a crash related to rendering pipeline

• Fixed the link for the support button

Download 1.3.14 now on the App Store and Google Play!

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1.3.13

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Choose graphics quality in main menu with dropdown selection

• Remove automatic graphics quality change if FPS is low

• Major performance improvement on Android by disabling “multithreaded rendering” and enabling “graphics jobs”

• Improve wall thickness calculation for more accurate zombie and citizen placement

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Introduced new “lowest” graphics quality

• Batching rendering of progress bars and buildings

• Workers now cancel their job and find a new one when their wall is upgraded

• Shifted wall colliders to make clicking on the walls easier

• Reduced area of worker jobs on walls so that workers walk less far on average

• Improved worker AI to prioritise walls based on absolute health remaining rather than the proportion of health, as well as taking material remaining into account

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Cloud shader is no longer unnecessarily lit (reducing rendering required)

• Fixed job progress bar runaway coroutines causing huge performance issues

• Digger assign buttons are no longer faster than other buttons

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v1.3.12

🆕 NEW 🆕

• Rubble overlay to summarise progress without having to go into the rubble menu!

🔄 CHANGES 🔄

• Improved hold-down buttons (like job assignment) to increase rate over time, and removed the ability to spam click and hold to assign at a faster rate

• Newly constructed buildings now start with snow on if built in the winter

• Diggers now disappear into a rubble rather than walking around it

• Add tool loss popups when citizens die outside the outpost

🛠 FIXES 🛠

• Fixed small amount of snow falling, no matter the season, when you open the game

• Fixed “UNLOCKED” showing in the skill information panel instead of the translated text

• Fixed some buttons getting stuck down (notably the digger assignment buttons)

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v1.3.11

🆕 NEW 🆕 • Added a layer of snow for all buildings! Now your entire Outpost is affected by harsh winters • Improved transition into winter with new visuals and snow effects • New texture for building plots • Halloween app icon! 🔄 CHANGES 🔄 • Citizens leave the base one after the other in the evening, rather than all at once • State of the transition in and out of winter is now saved • Winter now lasts 12 days (from 13) • Removed the 1s delay to wall upgrades • Snow melts during the heat of the day at the end of winter • Added horizontal padding to text in the drop-down box in the settings menu • Minor corrections to Turkish, Chinese and Russian translations 🛠 FIXES 🛠 • Fixed some cases where the Outpost gates open/close at the incorrect time • Citizens no longer stay inside in the morning after demolishing certain house buildings • Citizens no longer stay inside in the morning after continuing after a game over • Fixed an issue where diggers would become desynchronised with their task • Ukrainian event notifications containing plurals now display correctly • Big zombies no longer cause an error message

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v1.3.9

🆕 NEW 🆕 • All-new rubble artwork • Major performance improvements, with 25-80% less GPU load during gameplay • Improved battery life and temperatures, particularly for large Outposts 🔄 CHANGES 🔄 • Workshop build time increased from 5s to 10s • Improved the positioning of text in confirmation menus 🛠 FIXES 🛠 • Grass and forest now transition correctly with the season • Resolved an issue where the amounts of resources inside tactical crates did not display • Fixed an instance of stretched text in Chinese • Fixed some plurals in Chinese and Russian

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v1.3.8

🆕️ NEW 🆕️ • Added Indonesian language 🔄 CHANGES 🔄 • Traditional & Simplified Chinese tutorial tips now have line-breaks to improve readability • Improved and updated layout of the credits • Job progress of miners and blacksmiths is now saved • Minor corrections to Russian translation • Fixed Italian translation double line in fast-forward button setting dropdown box 🛠 FIXES 🛠 • Fixed digger assignment buttons sometimes displaying incorrectly in the rubble menu • Workshop tip now always appears when necessary after the tutorial is reset • Fixed issue where a tip could not be completed if the game is saved while the workshop is under construction

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v1.3.7

• Added Ukrainian language • Main menu has been reworked with new background images, refined animations and improved artwork ===CHANGES== • New algorithm for text layout in the tutorial • Made it easier to tap on survivors at the gate • Improved positioning of several tutorial tips • Rearranged social media buttons and links • Improved the settings menu layout and volume slider style • Swapped position of knife fighters and workers in the job menu • Increased the size of confirmation buttons to improve readability in some languages • Improved scrolling and panning in the skill tree menu • Presses on all buttons in the game can now be cancelled by dragging away • Fast-forward button setting dropdown box has better layout, fixed German double line • Reduced size of back buttons in the main menu • Added a missing Chinese character ===FIXES== • Tips can no longer appear on top of the game over menu • Fixed an issue where the game over menu could be closed by a tip • Fixed the fast-forward button sometimes causing the rubble menu to open

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v1.3.6

• All-new achievement icons! • Snipers and knife fighters now have inspectable damage, accuracy and noise statistics • Improved spacing after colons and exclamation marks in Chinese translation • Added missing Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters • Hunter statistics now correctly shows inventory rather than damage • Snipers no longer have a blank statistics entry for range ==FIXES== • Fixed Russian and Chinese languages displaying incorrectly in the tutorial

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v1.3.5

• Fixed snipers loading incorrectly when stationed at a wall, causing things to disappear on some saves

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v1.3.4

• Hotfix for black screen on launch when upgrading to 1.3.3 from earlier versions

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v1.3.3

• Introducing a brand-new tutorial, utilising a tip-based system to guide you as you play the game

• Citizens now leave their housing in an orderly fashion, just after the person in front of them. No more waiting for that other citizen on the other side of your Outpost.

• Improved how citizen health is calculated. Everyone now has their own personal distance from death itself!

==CHANGES==

• The “Educated” achievement is now unlocked by viewing all tips in the tutorial

• Increased responsiveness during transition between main menu and game

• Workshop build time reduced to 5s (from 30s)

• Significant improvements to the Spanish translation

• Corrections and improvements to all translations

• Smoothed out code behind-the-scenes, paving the way for some shiny new code

• Knife fighter AI has been re-written to be more robust

==FIXES==

• The “Expert” achievement is no longer off-limits. Go for 100% achievement completion!

• Knife fighters no longer forget to randomise their damage when no knife damage skills have been unlocked

• Many minor bug fixes

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Dear players,

I’m happy to say that we are now back making updates for Final Outpost. And it’s only going to pick up later this year. I hope new players joining the community for the first time will have a smoother onboarding experience with the brand-new tutorial we’ve made. It will help to explain key game systems in the current context and more clearly than ever before. This update also contains some important bug fixes and a lot of house-keeping behind the scenes.

We’ve been working hard on this one for a long time and in some ways it feels like the most challenging update we’ve ever made. It’s been quite a ride, so let us know if you’re interested in our development process since last summer - we might have a YouTube video up our sleeves.

Thank you to all those who have stuck around for so long and continued to support our little game!

- Sam

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v1.3.2

(5th May 2022)

| CHANGES |

• Increased likelihood of survivors seeking refuge

• Big zombies now give +3 skill points (from +1)

| FIXES |

• Fire now loads correctly

• Fixed housing upgrades sometimes causing your citizens to stop working

• Training a knife fighter no longer occasionally causes overpopulation

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Final Outpost v1.3

(12th April 2022)

==TECH TREE==

Earn skill points by killing zombies and guide your citizens from novice to warrior as you play.

• INVENTORY - increase the carrying capacity of your citizens and see them bring home vast quantities of resources

• MOVEMENT - improve the movement speed of your citizens to improve their productivity and efficiency

• NOISE - train your citizens to become silent killers over time, attracting fewer zombies to your walls

• DAMAGE - train your citizens to become more accurate with every skill unlocked, dealing more damage to zombies

==WEATHER SYSTEM==

• Clouds, rain, and thunderstorms!

• Lightning strikes - may start a fire when striking a building

• Snow is now included with harsh winters

• Summer droughts - dry soil makes many crops die and reduces farmer yield

==LEADERBOARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS==

• Native Game Center & Play Games Services integration

• Added 33 achievements

• View leaderboards and compete with your friends and players around the world!

• Hidden Easter egg achievement

==OTHER NEW==

• New main menu artwork

• New app icon for the summer season

• Added information about tactical supply drops

• Option to change the behaviour of the fast forward button

==CHANGES==

• Balanced many baseline stats for the new skill system

• Increased button sizes in the more (...) menu

• Information about the hunter, lumberjack and scavenger can be viewed in the tutorial

• Tweaked position of the tutorial dialogue box

• Citizens will now find a new place to sleep if their house is removed

• Citizens will now adjust sleeping position if their house is upgraded

• Cease fire button state now saves between sessions

• When loading up a game, you now see the most important parts of your Outpost

• Saves are now shown first when returning to the main menu

• Knife fighters now get redistributed automatically when a new wall is built

• Loading screen now blocks button interaction until it is fully faded out

• Knife fighter AI improvements

• Tweaked brightness during the night

• Saw now requires level 2 workshop (from 3)

• Release of citizens in the morning is now staggered

• Workers now repair at better positions along your walls

• Maximum meat capacity at base level 5 (from 7)

• Tweaked audio levels

==FIXES==

• Knife fighters no longer occasionally become idle next to the wall

• Fixed citizens disappearing after game over is reached

• Fixed a crash that occurred during horde nights

Exabyte Games takes on Gamescom 2023!

From left to right: CTO Ben Clothier, CEO Sam Clothier & CMO Ewan Hart

Gamescom 2023 was a whirlwind of excitement and innovation for the gaming industry, and we were there to soak it all in. This year's event was particularly special for our gaming company as we ventured into the heart of Cologne, Germany, to immerse ourselves in the latest gaming trends, technologies, and, most importantly, the incredible indie games that captivated our hearts and minds.

While Gamescom is renowned for featuring blockbuster titles and massive gaming announcements, it was the indie genre that truly stole the show for us at Exabyte Games. The independent developers showcased their games, delivering fresh and imaginative experiences that inspired us to talk about our position within the creative field of gaming. In the vast and ever-evolving landscape of the gaming industry, small indie developers like ourselves often find themselves navigating uncharted territory. The allure of triple A titles and their massive budgets can sometimes overshadow the creativity, innovation, and sheer determination that indie developers bring to the table. However, the indie gaming scene remains vibrant and innovative, with many small studios producing creative and unique experiences. These indie games often explore new genres, art styles, and storytelling techniques, appealing to gamers seeking fresh and unconventional gaming experiences.

The team head over to the Xbox area

As we strolled through the bustling halls of Gamescom, we couldn't help but notice the palpable dedication of indie developers. They put their all into their creations, delivering unique and meaningful gaming experiences with captivating narratives, inventive gameplay mechanics and unconventional art styles. They stand out as symbols of diversity and creativity, breathing fresh and unconventional ideas into the gaming world. Discovering these indie titles wasn't just a Gamescom highlight; it was a celebration of the innovative spirit driving the gaming industry forward, one brilliant idea at a time. Please check out the following games & studios for some of our favourites: Diplomacy Is Not An Option (Door 407) https://www.door407.com/projects Cataclismo (Digital Sun) https://www.digitalsungames.com/games/cataclismo/ Fireside (Emergo Entertainment) https://emergo-entertainment.com/games/ Classified: France 44 (Team 17) https://www.team17.com/games/classified-france-44/ Caves of Qud (Freehold Games) https://www.cavesofqud.com/

Sam trials ‘Diplomacy Is Not An Option’ by Door 407

One of the joys of attending Gamescom is the opportunity to interact with developers directly. Engaging in such discussions at Gamescom, we were granted unique access to the creative processes, inspirations, and dedication that fuels the indie gaming scene. The personal connection established during these encounters added depth to our Gamescom experience. It reminded us that the gaming community is just as much about the creators who bring their personal visions to life as it is about the players who enjoy them.

Ben plays and discusses ‘Caves of Qud’ with the developers from Freehold Games

We are always impressed by the innovative ideas and unwavering passion these developers bring to their projects and what really strikes us is how these small teams manage to create amazing gaming experiences. It's inspiring to witness their ability to think outside the box, experiment with unique art styles, and craft engaging stories that resonate with players. Our time on stage with Guitar Hero was a lot of fun, playing Dire Straits' "Walk of Life" to the Gamescom crowd. Sam and Ewan's enthusiastic but less-than-perfect guitar skills added charm. However, it was Ben on the drums who really set the stage on fire, nailing the rhythm and putting on quite a show. Some games are simply about having a great time with friends, regardless of hitting every note perfectly!

The team plays ‘Guitar Hero’ in the retro games area

Our Gamescom experience concluded with a delightful session of retro gaming, courtesy of one of the oldest systems in the gaming world - the Commodore 64. It’s humbling to witness the remarkable progress in gaming technology over the years, and reassuring to see that the core experience of gaming remains completely unchanged. Gamescom 2023 was an unforgettable journey for Exabyte Games. As we return, we carry with us a renewed enthusiasm and a commitment to fostering creativity and innovation within the gaming community. Exabyte Games looks forward to the future, where we hope to bring exciting new experiences to gamers worldwide. Until then, keep an eye out for the incredible indie games that are sure to make their mark on the gaming landscape in the coming years.

Exabyte Games: Our Vision

What is Exabyte Games?

I believe much of the answer lies with the humans behind the name. They make this company what it is. However, I’ll save the pleasure of introducing the amazing people that I get to work with for a future blog post. This month I’ll instead restrict my focus to the values that have brought us together and, most likely, represent the catalyst for the creation of this company.

The foremost commonality that we have is having spent years of our lives playing games. It’s fundamental to the passion we have in our work and is the reason we made the decision to spend our working lives making games. The core values of most teams would stop there. Mutual interest in video games brings us together. Sound familiar? Behind that idea, though, lies the reality.

Growing up with video games is a beautiful, but rather conflicting experience. You develop a respect for the games you played early on in your life, one that influences how you see games released when you’re older. Many see these games as a form of art. Some simply love them for the entertainment. Others derive pleasure from the distraction. When a beloved series loses its allure, comes to an end, or your all-time favourite is never quite met eye-to-eye, a longing for the past or even a frustration with the present can ensue.

As with all cultural phenomena, (1) the games industry is in constant flux. High level gradual changes in how games are made seem to exert an outsized influence on developers, biasing the titles they choose to develop and the creative decisions they take when developing them. This can incite the feeling that a good game is never quite perfect or that the majority of games no longer sit quite right with you.

I can assure you that the same beliefs are held by video game developers all over the world. If anything, developers feel this more than anyone else. They are the ones responsible for creating the next generation of games. They relish that responsibility under normal circumstances and it serves as an excellent motivator to create something new. But when forced to conform to industry trends they see as misaligned with their past experiences and joys, an inner frustration with the present can develop.

Such trends are inevitable. After all, technology continuously evolves, attitudes shift between generations, and the game development landscape adapts to reconcile these changes. Oftentimes, these changes are clearly a force for good. Take for example the recent expansion of the indie games scene (2), modern software that makes it more accessible than ever for individuals to make games, or that more people are playing video games now than ever before in history. (3)

So the question becomes: How can we harness the best of the brilliant technological breakthroughs over the last 15 years without indulging in the more pernicious techniques many developers are now being forced to implement? On the face of it, the problem looks insurmountable; if making video games is a business, it must generate a profit.

Developers have a choice. They could adopt all industry trends, or they could remain cemented in the past. Many video game studios opt for the former, while indie developers abound choose the latter. There is, however, a third option. At Exabyte Games we aim to maintain a balance by regularly reviewing whether or not the latest industry developments are in tune with our values, actively forging our own path to the future of gaming.

This informs our approach to gaming from both a technology perspective and a people perspective.

Take monetisation of free games for example. The pessimistic view exists on both sides; some say freemium games are a powerful form of entertainment but will always be used to extract every last penny from the user, others long for the days when free games didn’t exist and developers had more creative freedom. We, however, believe that one cannot simply stay in the past: some game concepts and granularities do in fact harmonize better with a free-to-play structure. Multiplayer online games and many mobile games fit this pattern. But we also believe that the primary purpose of a game is to entertain, and so development of these kinds of games should be approached with the aim of monetising sustainably, ensuring this minimally impacts the player’s experience. That means the game should be fully accessible as described and any microtransactions should only feel necessary to those who want to support development. Although this responsible implementation almost inherently reduces revenue, this should be seen as the cost of gaining the exposure associated with distributing your game to a market orders of magnitude larger than that of a paid equivalent.

In key with sustainable monetisation, we implement a rigorous approach to player privacy. No ads, no data collection, and no other companies. This one’s pretty straight-forward. If you’re playing a video game, nobody should be measuring your behaviour or recording your activity and selling it without your consent. Or with your consent for that matter.

Enabled by the advent of social media and online community hubs, the tighter relationship between players and developers has been a clear win for gaming as a whole. We take full advantage of this to increase our engagement with the community. One angle that we leverage here is the incredible feedback we get from our players. We believe the community knows where our games should go and we take pride in the vibrancy of ideas and talents volunteered to improve something we created. There are of course limitations to avoid feature creep, but with our approach the development cycle receives a welcome boost in creativity and motivation.

To tie this all together, game developers need good game concepts. Our philosophy on this is clear: Create games that you want to play yourself and don’t be afraid to mould something new beyond established genre-defined boundaries. After all, technical and creative innovations are built on elements of existing products and ideas. (4) If you create for yourself, with feedback from others, you can create something that people truly fall in love with.

Through the sometimes bewildering jungle of change, we carefully and responsibly shape our own future in the world of video games.

Sam Clothier

CEO, Exabyte Games

© 2023 Exabyte Games

Not generated by AI

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-2412-8111-6

2. https://vginsights.com/insights/article/video-game-insights-2021-market-report

3. https://www.statista.com/forecasts/255986/physical-or-digital-core-gamers-in-the-us

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources?isbn=978-1948226035