The Wagyu Games team has been hard at work, dedicating the past several weeks to crafting a refreshed strategy and vision for Undead Blocks. Committed to enhancing the player experience, the team plans to implement key changes while reinforcing our objective to position Undead Blocks as the leading Kill-To-Earn game in the industry.

Some Things Change

Wagyu Games is revolutionizing the player experience in Undead Blocks with the introduction of a dynamic new rewards system designed to accelerate player acquisition and engagement. The innovative Tournament Qualifier and Satellite system aims to attract a wide audience, offering even casual players a chance to win big.

Under this system, players can earn exclusive skins through our unique Loot Coffin mechanism. Not merely aesthetic, some of these skins will serve as keys to unlock entry into high-stakes competitions, ranging from weekly and monthly to the grand yearly tournaments. These events promise substantial prize pools, with potential winnings climbing into the six-figure range. This adds a thrilling layer of strategy, encouraging players to amass the necessary arsenal to compete on the zombie-infested battlegrounds.

Wagyu Games is setting ambitious goals to lead the industry with the most densely packed tournament calendar, catering to both the NFT community and casual Web3 gamers. The company remains steadfast in its objective to engage thousands of players in its flagship game, Undead Blocks, a goal that is set to be significantly enhanced by daily opportunities for players to compete for Gold ZBUX.

The tournament lineup is designed to be a balanced blend of skill-based competitions and elements of chance, ensuring a diverse and engaging gaming experience. Behind the scenes, the development team is also hard at work creating new game modes, promising fresh challenges and continued excitement for its dedicated player base. This strategic expansion of the tournament structure and game offerings underscores Wagyu Games’ commitment to growing its community and maintaining a vibrant gaming ecosystem.

Undead Blocks enthusiasts will be pleased to know that they can continue to earn Green ZBUX through daily gameplay. These in-game earnings can be used to access Loot Coffins, which offer a variety of rewards including weapon and character skins. For the fortunate few, these coffins may also contain Tournament Qualifiers and highly coveted Apocalypse Packs.

In an exciting development, Wagyu Games will be introducing the Undead Blocks Battle Pass. Players will have the option to purchase this pass using either Gold ZBUX or the UNDEAD token. The Battle Pass will provide an opportunity for players to engage in weekly and monthly challenges, earn badges, and unlock exclusive features within the game, enhancing the overall gaming experience.

Additionally, Wagyu Games is revamping its swap mechanism to further integrate the UNDEAD token into the game’s economy. Players will now only be able to convert their Gold ZBUX into UNDEAD tokens. This change aims to streamline the trading process and enhance the utility of the UNDEAD token, allowing players to use it for upgrading weapons, expanding their arsenal, entering exclusive events, or trading it on the open market. This adjustment is designed to add significant value to the UNDEAD token and encourage more active participation and investment within the game’s ecosystem. More information to come in the coming months!

Wagyu Games is reintroducing its staking feature with a few modifications, signaling a strategic enhancement to its gameplay and economic model. While the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) will be adjusted downward, the popular Stake2Mint feature is making a comeback. This allows players to stake their UNDEAD tokens not only to earn APY but also to mint new Apocalypse packs, providing a dual benefit and incentivizing participation.

In addition to these changes in the staking landscape, Wagyu Games is set to implement a novel voting system, further integrating player feedback into the development process. The new system will allocate voting power based on the number of UNDEAD tokens held by each player. This empowers holders to influence key decisions regarding tournament structures, future game modes, and Battle Pass components. By directly involving its community in these pivotal decisions, Wagyu Games is ensuring that its developments align with player interests and preferences, thereby fostering a more engaged and committed player base.

Other Things Stay The Same

Wagyu Games is dedicated to maintaining a rewarding and sustainable gaming environment in Undead Blocks, especially for its Genesis and Apocalypse NFT holders. These players will continue to have the ability to earn Gold ZBUX through daily gameplay, a fundamental component of the game’s thriving ecosystem.

Further emphasizing the company’s appreciation for its long-standing supporters, Genesis Holders will retain exclusive access to holder-only monthly tournaments. This initiative is part of Wagyu Games’ ongoing commitment to rewarding its community’s loyalty and engagement.

Additionally, both Genesis and Apocalypse holders will soon benefit from new revenue opportunities through Loot Rush, Wagyu Games’ newly appointed rental partner. This collaboration will enable holders to rent out their packs, potentially increasing their earnings. The anticipated resumption of daily and tournament play is expected to boost demand for rentals, providing an added incentive for holders to engage with and benefit from the game’s expanding features.

Impact and Benefits to Undead Blocks Community

The latest enhancements planned for Undead Blocks, including the integration of Gold ZBUX and UNDEAD tokens, alongside the introduction of Tournament Qualifiers, Satellite events, and the Battle Pass, mark a significant evolution in player engagement and excitement. Wagyu Games has strategically streamlined its in-game economy by exclusively linking the UNDEAD token with Gold ZBUX, thus elevating the token’s utility significantly. This move effectively merges the concepts of compete-to-earn and upgrade-to-survive, adding a deeper layer of strategy and incentive for the players.

Furthermore, the addition of Tournament Qualifiers, Satellites, and the Battle Pass is set to enhance the competitive landscape significantly. These elements not only boost the game’s competitive spirit but also foster a dynamic ecosystem where fans and Web3 gaming enthusiasts can come together. The allure of substantial prize pools and spontaneous flash tournaments acts as a powerful motivator, drawing players into daily gameplay where they can showcase their zombie combat skills and earn rewards.

This consistent level of player activity not only strengthens the community within Undead Blocks but also will establish the game as one of the top Web3 games. Through these strategic implementations, Wagyu Games ensures that Undead Blocks will remain at the forefront, appealing to both hardcore gamers and casual enthusiasts in the digital landscape.

https://linktr.ee/undeadblocks

Lexington, KY USA, April 4, 2024 — Wagyu Games, a leading player in the Web3 gaming industry in the United States, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Undead Blocks from Adonis Software. This strategic move marks a significant step forward for Wagyu Games as it continues to expand its Web3 gaming portfolio and strengthens its position in the fast-growing Web3 gaming market. As part of the acquisition, Wagyu has partnered with Invo Technologies, Inc. to enhance the gaming and blockchain experience for over 275,000 Undead Blocks players. Undead Blocks, known for its immersive gameplay and thrilling zombie-themed experience, has garnered a loyal fan base since its inception. With this acquisition, Wagyu Games is poised to elevate Undead Blocks to new heights, making it the top Web3 first-person shooter (FPS) zombie game in the industry.

“As part of the transition, Wagyu Games is committing substantial resources to enhance the Undead Blocks experience,” said Kyle Gordon, CEO of Wagyu Games. “Our goal is to leverage cutting-edge blockchain technology and innovative gameplay mechanics to deliver an unparalleled gaming experience for players.” Key highlights of the acquisition and future plans for Undead Blocks include: Undead Blocks Revamp: Wagyu Games will invest significant resources to enhance the gameplay, graphics, and overall user experience of Undead Blocks. This investment underscores Wagyu Games’ commitment to delivering high-quality gaming experiences to its players.

Expansion of Content: As part of the acquisition, Wagyu Games will add more maps, challenges, and ways for players to earn Gold and Green ZBUX within Undead Blocks. These new features will provide players with a deeper and more engaging gaming experience, ensuring long-term retention and satisfaction.

Accelerated Mobile Gaming Efforts: Wagyu Games will accelerate its efforts to bring Undead Blocks to mobile platforms, allowing players to enjoy the game on the go. The mobile version of Undead Blocks will retain the same level of quality and immersion as the desktop version, ensuring a seamless gaming experience across devices.

“We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Undead Blocks,” said Ken Gamble, Chief Operating Officer of Wagyu Games. “With our extensive Web3 connections and expansive reach in Tier 1–3 countries, we are confident that Undead Blocks will emerge as the premier Web3 FPS zombie game, captivating players worldwide.” Wagyu Games is committed to keeping players informed about the latest developments and updates regarding Undead Blocks. Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming weeks.

Hello once again survivors! Zomboss here, bringing another report on the current UB progress. I had received some requests from folks, and I’m pleased so many OG members were so eager to hear from these reports. These reports are actually harder to do than you’d think, mainly because I'm not a writer so I get writer's block every time!

I know you’re here for the details, so let’s get started right away.

Review System

Up until now, priorities shifted to revamping the review system. Mainly, the issue revolved around the system being done by devs who needed to look at games to ensure there was no foul play. This works great for tournaments when only the main record-holding game needs to be looked at, but slows down considerably when it's multiple games and much more people. It was also harder to bring people in since it would show other private data that isn’t meant to be seen.

Our new system mitigates this issue, allowing us to bring in people to help us review the games without it being too complicated, and avoiding the private data issue. Reviews should now start rolling out faster as we tackle the queue and our new folks learn the ropes for the system.

Gold ZBUX Withdrawals

We have an update to share regarding the withdrawal process. While we ensure the new system is fully secure and to avoid potential bad play, we’re starting the system off with smaller withdrawal amounts. For the time being while we test and prod at the system, we recommend players start off with a maximum request of $200, and lower requests will likely be handled faster. We appreciate your patience as we make changes to our manual review system!

Gameplay Content

Outside of the review system, the team has been hard at work on bug fixes. Stabilization is the key to new content, we need to make sure the foundation of the game is stable, and there are a few things here and there that could do with some optimization.

How about new content then? While not our focus this past month or so, we do have a few things planned. Mask and Jasper, our final two characters, have their animations completed and their voice lines recorded. As a small bonus, take a listen to Mask’s voice lines.

With some small animation fixes left to do, Mask and Jasper will soon be playable, completing the main cast of characters for the game.

Moving Forward

We do have some bigger news coming soon, but details are still being finalized so I can’t quite talk about them yet. I know I know, this is an announcement of an announcement, but I promise as soon as we’re able to we will reveal something amazing.

In the meantime while… the big news…. is being worked on, we will work on a smaller update. While we wanted to work quietly on bigger updates rather than smaller patches, we can see the lack of updates has caused some tension, so we will aim for a small content update next week that will give some fixes, and likely introduce one of the new characters (probably Mask since he’s closer to being finished then Jasper) such as an earning issue for renters (caused by the split prize not being exact and causing an error of 99.999999% instead of 100%, its weird trust me) RPG unable to be bought, currencies not matching between ingame and on the website, and so on.

Please remember that while I may not respond, sending bug reports to the forum channel 🐝-bug-reports along with a screenshot and player log helps speed up our side having to locate and figure out how the bug happens tenfold. All reports are read from that channel.

I will aim for another report a few days after the update to give more news as well, but until then,

Rock on, survivors!

~Zomboss

Hello survivors, welcome back to another weekly report with me, Zomboss. Yesterday (technically today, due to a corrupted build delaying the public version’s upload) we released update v1.7.5, featuring the long-awaited feature of multi ZBOXes, and the deadly RPG. Other things were added too, which can all be read at

Patch Notes v1.7.5

Moving on, this report will focus on a couple of things. The update before the tournament, the tournament itself, and the post-tournament plans.

PRE-TOURNAMENT

To start, we will have one more update before the tournament on the 28th. This update will consist of adding additional features for the tournament, and bug fixes report during the lead-up to the tournament. There isn’t a specific date in mind for this update, only that it will happen before the 28th. Since the main goal will be bug fixes, we’ll be checking bug reports and working hard to ensure we get as many fixed as humanly possible to provide a smooth experience for users. The bulk of the update will be tournament features, expanding on the backend that was added in the current update.

Now we get into the meat and potatoes, the tournament itself. So, how will the tournament work?

This is a Genesis tournament, meaning only users with a Genesis NFT loadout will be able to participate. Renting will be available, and a renter who earns a placement will have their winnings split with the lender based on the agreed split % on Blumint.

This is our first tournament with renting, so some additional measures are in place. A very important note, you will only be able to lend a pack to one person for the whole tournament. If you have multiple packs, each pack will be able to be lent to a single player. Adding onto this, this does mean that if the person you rent to cheats or is banned by other means, that will still count as the user for the tournament.

For this reason, it is highly recommended you attempt to lend to someone you trust/a whitelisted user first and know that you accept risks if you lend your pack to someone you do not know. Keep in mind this rule is a security measure for the first tournament with renting, and based on how this tournament runs the rule may be lessened for future tournaments.

TOURNAMENT

Now onto the tournament mode itself. How does it work?

The mode will be similar to tournaments in the past. Players will have 10 minutes to kill as many zombies as they can. Players will also start with a knife and pistol as normal, and only be able to buy the Genesis weapons that they own. Note this is only Genesis weapons, so even if you own an apocalypse set you will not be able to purchase those weapons.

The big change is the scoring system. The leaderboard scores are not based on kills nor XP, but instead, ZBOXes will also be able to spawn from zombies you kill. These tournament ZBOXes will give standard ZBUX and have a higher chance to spawn the more zombies killed. After 10 minutes, or after death, the standard ZBUX will be tallied up, and the highest amount a player earned during a match is placed on the leaderboard.

This creates an exciting mix of luck and skill, while also celebrating the multi-ZBOX update in a unique way. Players who have better Genesis packs will be able to kill more zombies and earn more boxes, but players with smaller packs are still able to keep up, and a single lucky box can rocket a player forward.

Of course, you also get to keep all the standard zbux you earn during tournament matches you play, so even if you have a bad match, you’re still rewarded.

This game mode is experimental, so we’ll be open for feedback after the tournament to see what can be changed, improved, and what’s here to stay. We’ll have a tournament feedback form ready in order to collect as much info as we can from renters and lenders alike.

Be ready to rock and roll when the 28th Genesis tournament weekend begins!

POST-TOURNAMENT

So finally, after the tournament is over, what’s the plan? With the biggest change made (multi-ZBOXes), we want to hunker down and focus on more features and content for the game. Of course, updates will be made to address any bugs, but the team wants to commit hard to improving the game itself and getting out of early access into a proper fully launched game. We have characters, weapons, and more that already have some progress, as well as a few other special secrets that I can’t disclose…. Yet. Weekly reports will serve to show what features are being made, so that players can keep an eye on progress, but rather than these smaller content updates followed by bug fixing that splits our attention, we feel its better to work on a big update that will release later down the line, that also serves to give us more time to polish. Perhaps our sneak peek channel may see a little more use in the coming weeks?

GOING FORWARD

To sum it up, we have a big bug fix bonanza pre-tournament, culminating in an update, our big ZBOX adventure with the Genesis tournament, before a post-tournament time where we focus on improving the content of the game. We have big plans, and as time passes I hope you’ll be excited by what we show you!

Until then,

Rock on, survivors!

-Zomboss

Ah, check it out! I have my own little banner now for the weekly reports! Pretty snazzy, eh? Mask is giving me the thumbs up, telling me to continue working on these. Thanks, Mask, I promise I’ll get you into the game eventually.

Welcome back to another weekly report from me, Zomboss. I haven’t done a weekly report in a while, which technically makes it not weekly, but to be fair, the last few weeks were pushing out updates, so it’s not like I had much to talk about other than “Hey, look at the game” but things are different this week, I have stuff and things! very exciting, right?

So, we have had our soft launch and rental launch. A few kinks to work out, but I’ve been gathering all those bugs reported and organizing them to send to the devs, and the team has been going along and tackling them. What’s next? Well, it was a soft launch, so we still have the full game launch to go for. We don’t want to give a date yet, as we want to make sure we have a proper date, and with earning/renting being live we feel we can take more time to improve the game instead of rushing to meet a random date. In the meantime, I can show you some of the things we have for an upcoming update!

In fact, I know two big things to get you some hype for the next update, so let me share them now.

That’s right, the big two, RPG and multiple ZBOXes per round! Of course, this is test footage, so don’t be expecting all those ZBOX drops on round 1. As we previously have said, our goal is to provide better rewards on higher rounds, along with increasing the challenge as well, keeping the game high-risk high reward as you continue playing.

Neither is quuuuuite done yet, as there are a few things to tinker out, but you can expect these to be coming soon.

What else is on the agenda? Well, I don’t want to spoil everything, so I won’t be sharing images, but let me tell you a little about some planned map changes.

I’ve spoken about it in previous reports, but the neighborhood map is currently very open with lots of easy running space, which makes dodging zombies much easier than it should be. The plan will be to split the map into 3 areas instead:

The starting area — middle of the map, around the bus. This will be where players spawn in and spend the early rounds. The area will be smaller and more cramped, making it more dangerous as more zombies appear in later rounds, and have no perk machines or ammo except a fixed pistol wall weapon spawn, making exploring more nessacary than before. The area will connect to the other 2 areas through the houses, as the main road will be blocked off.

The main house area — On one side of the map, noted by the large house and ambulance. Currently, an ammo box, Sprint perk, and Macho Dew spawn on this side, along with a number of wall weapons. This main house, although not planned just yet, is also planned to have a few updates to create a more interesting looping path around the house.

The far side — The final side of the map. Currently, Reload Root Beer and Dr. Helper, along with some wall weapons again, spawn on this side. The ammo box by the bus is planned to be moved to this side. This area is the most open at the moment, so there are plans for having a few more obstacles in the way.

Along with this, there are many other ideas in consideration for improving the map, though they are not currently set in motion. With all these changes, we hope to make the neighborhood map more dynamic and give a sense of progression by opening up parts of the map to grab new weapons and perks.

That’s all I have to share on the map for now, but when we’re a little closer, I'll consider sharing a few sneak peeks, if you’re nice about it ;)

Final Thoughts

Until now, we’ve been calling UB an open beta. With earning and renting available, I like to think the game is in more of an “Early Access” stage, where we work away on the game while players are free to play, test, give suggestions and, of course, earn during this time.

Once multiple ZBOXes are out of the way and implemented, the team can shift its goals to focusing purely on making the game more fun. It’s been a long road, but we have even more planned, and we want this game to shine. We want to show the world how important the ‘play’ in ‘play to earn’ is and while we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, we have more work to do. We will continue to push forward and add more content, more mechanics, and more fun to the game.

Until then,

Rock on, survivors!

~Zomboss

Well, here we are. The final weekly report before the Undead Block’s soft launch. It has been a ride, and I look forward to communicating with you through my weekly reports. So, let’s look into the future, what’s the plan after the earnings come out on the 28th? For this report, I'll start with the short-term goals and work toward the long-term.

RPG

last week I mentioned letting you know the plan, and I will confirm that for the 28th, RPG users will temporarily be allowed to use the powerful grenades while we make sure the RPG is ready to rock. The RPG is a top priority, so we plan to fix the kinks and send it out as soon as it’s good to go.

New Zombie

The Granny zombie is our equivalent to the spear zombie we previously used as a placeholder. Its long-range melee weapon allows it to hit you much easier, offset by less damage than other zombies. She will also be at the same speed as the other zombies, so be ready to run! Granny is ready to rumble, but we’ll balance-test her first before we let her loose. One important factor is the spawn rate and number per round. Currently, especially in later rounds, the number, and health of zombies cause some very long rounds and the game to extend to much longer than needed. Simply adding Granny zombie now (the lazy way) would only add Granny zombies on top of the existing number of hipsters, businessmen, etc. and make rounds even longer. With that in mind, our goal will be a smaller number of zombies per round, offset by having extra difficulty modifiers in later rounds.

Neighbourhood Map

The neighborhood map has an upgrade planned as well. At the moment, the team feels the map being so open makes it very easy to move around and dodge, so we have the plan to create a “starting area” around the bus that will also help close off the map. Accessing the previous open areas, such as the area around the reload perk and the main house, will now have you go through the houses on either side of the bus to get to them. The smaller areas to get between them make for a much more dangerous traversal than the simple area we currently have. We have the assets ready, but with a new zombie and the earnings launch, we’ll take some extra time to make sure the balance is correct.

Weapon Renting

The Rental Portal on BluMint.io has been created and is a smooth and sleek way to rent out your Weapon Loadout NFTs, with a low maintenance function to earn passive income. Being able to set it and forget it and collect Gold ZBUX is an Undead Blocks Arms Dealer’s dream and we are bringing that dream to life. Now that it’s been done on BluMint’s side, the final step of integrating the split of Gold ZBUX is within the Undead Blocks game for all Holders to list their NFTs up for rent. To avoid long loading times for all users in the game we’ve taken extra steps in streamlining the integration within the Undead Blocks game and will be watching the earnings update closely to make sure it’s stable. Once it’s stable, we believe we can quickly and safely implement renting with no issues.

Quality of Life

There are plenty of smaller-scale updates we already have plans for, such as improved controller functionality, optimizations, better settings, you name it. The soft launch will be monitored closely as well, and with a large group playing at once, we‘re ready to continue changing and improving the system for the players.

LONGER TERM GOALS

More Weapons

Once RPG is completed, we have multiple weapons lined up to begin testing and implementation for Undead Blocks. Some have been shown off previously and will be added over time to the game. Along with new weapons, the potential ability to add them to your NFT loadout will be added. As the plan now is to ensure earnings work correctly, we will have finer details made available in the future once everything is set up.

Mall Map

The Mall Map is a very large map, much more complex than the neighborhood, and with plenty of additional features. As a result, it’s likely not going to be seen for quite a while, but as the weekly reports come out I plan to give more details on the progress.

Mobile

I’ve discussed mobile plenty before, but the port is being handled by a separate team so that all the time is given to our regular team for updating Undead Blocks. Once the gameplay is done being mobile-lized, (yeah I made up a word, I make the rules now) the next step will be working toward how earning will work on a phone. I’ll leave these updates to Grant while he works closely with the mobile team.

BloodBoxes

I haven’t mentioned these in a while, mainly as progress was stopped in order to give greater focus to the earnings update. As it stands, 1 of the 4 powerups in bloodboxes is complete, and the other 3 are in various stages of completion. As a treat, I'll give you the names of the powerups, and I’m sure you can get an idea of what they do from their names.

SALE
AMMO4EVER
FREEZE
HEADS OR TAILS

In a future weekly report, I will take the time to elaborate on all of these ahead of time, but I want to have some good WIP footage to show when I do, and with so many tasks at hand, I’ll put this in long term (or perhaps medium term would be better?)

FINAL THOUGHTS

We are so close to the earnings launch, and right now I’m just repeating some stuff I’ve said before, haha. With the soft launch around the corner, there isn’t much new to talk about, unless you enjoy “we are bug testing, ok see you” but I hope this fraction of the plans we have shown you Undead Blocks will continue to have plenty of support and future plans to improve the game even further and propel kill to earn to an even higher level.

With that, as always,

Rock on, Survivors!
-Zomboss

Hello once again, survivors of the apocalypse! It’s your guy, Zomboss, here with another weekly report. We grow ever closer to the soft launch on the 28th, and I know you’re all feeling the hype.

I’ve discussed upcoming features while showing off images and videos previously, but at this point, time is mainly spent on bug fixes and finalizing the details of the launch. So it’s a little more difficult now to show anything new when the last few things to show are stuff that we want to surprise you with on the soft launch, like the new zombie.

With that said, there is one very important part I need to discuss in today’s report. The RPG. This weapon has, frankly, been a major pain in the butt to deal with. Model/Animation wise, it’s all done. We’ve shown off things like skins, some animations, etc. already, but it’s the mechanics of the RPG that have been a real jerk to us.

So what does this mean? To be frank, the possibility is there that RPG may not be ready for the 28th. We are still working hard and may be able to get it fixed in time, but I did make this report specifically so people can know about potential issues ahead of time, and this is that moment. In the event the RPG needs extra time to be implemented, players who own an RPG in their loadout will instead be able to buy the grenade instead until RPG is properly implemented.

Next weekly report, I will confirm whether that is the plan for RPG. In the meantime, we’re pushing hard to get RPG fixed up.

With the RPG out of the way, we can switch to the more positive news. Dr. Helper and Macho Dew are finished, and all other loadout weapons will be available for players, ready to go. The revival mechanic for multiplayer is in the bug-fixing stage, and of course, earning itself is ready to go.

With upcoming plans for the new zombie and some map changes for the neighborhood, we are also going to give some extra difficulty to the game. We also have plans to reduce the lengths of rounds to offset to keep the gameplay fast

The soft launch of the game will certainly be an interesting time, and post-soft launch a lot of tweaks and changes will be made to further improve the base game before we jump to the new steps toward the full game. In the meantime, while we continue with the many changes and work we plan to do for the game, you can be sure to enjoy playing to earn!

Final Thoughts

I imagine the (potential) RPG news may be a slight bummer to those holding a Veteran pack (if it happens), but you’ll find the grenade should more than make up for it. In the meantime, I hope everybody is excited in the short time we have left before the soft launch.

Next report, I will confirm for sure about the RPG, but in the meantime, please feel free to give any suggestions or feedback. As I said, we have a lot of gameplay changes we plan to implement and test, not to mention the various quality-of-life plans for the future. We may be close to the soft launch, but expect a whole heap more content afterward!

Until then, rock on survivors!

-Zomboss

Oh hey! It’s-a-me, Zombossio! Haha, just a little reference to a niche character called Mario, you may not have heard of him, don’t think he’s very well known in the gaming world. I’m Zomboss and welcome back to another weekly report. Let’s jump right into it.

Grenade

As you may have heard, the grenade is this neat little ball that creates a big boom when thrown. I’m happy to say the grenade is pretty much ready to go, with… perhaps one small area of tweaking. Grant did mention that blooper, so enjoy the power of the grenade.

Earning

Earning is now shown on the end screen and sent to your account after a match. ZBUX is also split in half between the players in multiplayer, so don’t worry about someone stealing your boxes, you share the reward.

A small note here, keep in mind that the ZBUX earned in the photo was in the testing environment. For the soft launch on the 28th, Gold ZBUX will only be earned through playing in VIP Solo, and both ZBUX may not be so easily earned in early rounds. Prepare for a hard fight to get the tasty rewards.

With the exception of a few bugs and display issues, the main draw of the 28th’s update, earnings, is nearing completion! I hope you’re all excited and prepared to start playing to earn!

New areas

The Neighbourhood map houses' interiors have been completed for a while, with the main reasons for not showing the insides being:
1. Not wanting to spoil everything for the map right away
2. Not having much reason to go into the houses.
However, with the soft launch, all the rooms will be open. The two new perk machines will each be inside a house, along with the wall weapons randomly spawning in each house. Be prepared to explore different areas of the map to find the weapon you want!

Other

I’d also like to take a small moment to add a few extra things and their progress, though at the moment any footage/pictures will not be shared.

The new zombie has been added into the game, although currently there are some small animations issues needed to be fixed before it’s ready to be added. As long as the bug fixes go smoothly, the team expects it to be ready to show off for the next weekly report.

RPG is the final weapon not yet ingame, mainly due to it being a projectile weapon unlike all the other weapons. Out of everything, this one is the thing comest closest to the wire. It’s animations ingame work, but the firing mechanic has had a lot of issues that cause plenty of bugs. We’re working hard to get it sorted and get the final NFT loadout weapon ready to play.

Some map changes are in the works to give the area a more interesting challenge. At the moment, the team feels the map is far too open, making it easy for a player to get around zombies and never quite feeling like a player is trapped with them, unless they go into a house. We have some plans in the works, although the update is a higher priority so no promises on when this will be added.

Plenty of lighting and optimization fixes are on their way. With a big update like this, we have a few things planned to help the game run better for the user. As a reminder, if you do experience anything, be sure to leave feedback on our Discord channels! Everything is seen by the devs.

Controller updates are planned, but not expected for the 28th build. We have a lot of improvements in the works, but the earnings update comes first. Once the update is sent, improving controller controls within the game is high on our list.

Mobile is currently being worked on by a separate team in the background. I’ll leave Grant to give updates on this, though at the moment an improved UI and control scheme is in the works.

Final Thoughts

Phew, had a lot of things to say there! I wanted to take a moment to show you that even with the update there’s plenty more always being planned and looked at in the background. Of course, priorities must be made, and with all of that, we are still aiming for that update on the 28th first. We have smaller updates planned after that, though with no specific date at the moment.

Hopefully, this weekly report shows you how we march ever closer to the 28th. Hope you’re as excited as the team is for this!

Rock on, survivors!

-Zomboss

Yello-Hello! It’s Zomboss, here to give you this week’s progress report. I have much more to discuss this week than I did last week, so let’s get right into the rundown of what’s new.

PERKS

Macho Dew was already in a complete state mechanically, but we’ve fixed a few things that should avoid any weird situations happening during the perk drinking.

Now, Dr. Helper on the other hand is a big one. As you may recall, Dr. Helper has 2 functions depending on Solo or Multiplayer. On top of this, the self-revival process/ faster revive depends on the “downstate” where the player is out of health but not dead, which is not implemented in the current public build.

Well, I’m happy to say that the downstate and self-revive are now implemented. Take an (early) look at the perk in action.

You’re forgiven if it looks a little confusing. The camera change isn’t added just yet, so it looks like zombies just randomly walk away. What you are actually seeing is the downstate and Dr. Helper's self-revive in action.

Upon dying, the character is in the downstate and is left with only a pistol (you may notice the pistol ammo goes back to full to indicate this is the downstate pistol) only the pistol works while down, so any other held weapons will disappear and the player is left with only a pistol to use. Zombies will also ignore the player (and in solo, move away to avoid instantly you dying again upon reviving) and the player will revive and regain their previous weapons.

Of course, being revived in solo/multiplayer doesn’t come so free, as all perks will be removed (including Dr. Helper!) Still beats the alternative though, doesn’t it? Beware, as Dr. Helper won’t be so easy to get again like the other perks in solo!

I’ll be sure to share a better look once the downstate camera/animation is properly fixed up, so be on the lookout!

Speaking of animations though, let me share a quick little thing

CHARACTER ANIMATIONS

We’ve freshened up the character turning as well, take a look here!

I had our good Discord community mod KG help me with this, and he might have stage fright because he acts like a weird AI for this showcase (Don’t tell him I said that please.) Nonetheless, You can see Lucas has a much better left/right and actual vertical aim than what we currently have. Eva also has this same upgraded animation. With this, characters will feel much more natural and allow basic communication between mic-less players.

This updated character IK (what the turning uses to work basically) has been a long time coming and I’m happy it’s finally going to be in the game.

Hmm, I wonder if there’s anything else for me to discuss this week? I guess I have a small thing here…

VIP MODE

Let’s take a peek at the main menu:

That’s right, the VIP SOLO is now added as well! VIP SOLO will be your first taste of earning with your NFT loadout, so I know you’re excited about this one! VIP SOLO will work very similarly to regular solo but is exclusive to those who own a weapon loadout. Within this mode you can get your hands on those tasty Gold ZBUX I know you’re hungry for.

The NFT requirement mechanic has already been used as far back as that first holder-only tournament, so we already had it ready to go for this mode. That’s not all though, VIP SOLO has a very important facet of playing:

You can only use the weapons and perks you own in your loadout. This is a very important part of the mode, as having more packs will give you that bigger weapon arsenal and allow you to blast through more rounds, meaning bigger scores of Gold ZBUX. Don’t fret, as even the lower packs will still be able to play to earn, and of course, there will be upcoming ways to upgrade and add new weapons to your loadout.

In the meantime, VIP SOLO will check ALL loadouts you own, so if you own multiple packs, feel free to use all the weapons you own within those packs.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I showed you a lot more this week than before, huh? We’re now in the month of February, and we draw closer to the date of the soft launch. We still have work to do, but this report should show you the breakneck speed we’ve been getting things done. Keep in mind, this is only what’s “ingame” we have even more stuff already in the codebase that’s done and simply needs to be put into the game itself. For example, the new zombie has had all its animations and AI done and is simply awaiting implementation.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s weekly report, and are excited for more! Until then, rock on survivors!

Zomboss

Oh! Hello! Didn’t see you there. It’s Zomboss, and if you remember (or had read the last report), last week I mentioned the dev’s holiday for Lunar New Year, meaning gamewise I wouldn’t have much to share.

Ah but don’t worry, I have the mobile and art side to discuss! We can dive into that!

So mobile. We…. are optimizing the performance and working on a new mobile UI based on internal QA feedback. I don’t have any images to show from that… hm…

Aha! How about the art side? I did say I’d share some art in exchange for a dry news week. So the two main things for the art side are the mall map and the new zombie. Yes… the two things we were gonna keep under wraps as a surprise. OK, I’LL SHARE SOME SNEAK PEEKS, PUT THE PITCHFORKS AWAY!

Well alright, suppose I’ll start with the new zombie. Have a nice profile pic of her face.

How’s that? I think you get a general idea of what kind of zombie this will be from that. Old granny zombie, doing whatever old zombies do. Which as you say before, is apparently carrying scythes around.

How about the map? Well, I’m still gonna keep the full thing under wraps, but how about some concept art so you can get a general idea of the final product?

Keep in mind this is concept art, so the final product may differ in map design. Still, pretty cool right? The aquarium wall is a landmark we particularly enjoy for the upcoming map. The mall map is being constructed to be a larger map with multiple floors, rather than the more open flat map with buildings like the neighborhood.

The mall map is still in its earlier stages, so you may not be seeing it in the full game for a while. As a reminder, though we are speaking with a few potential people already, we’re still on the lookout for some senior-level designers to help us build the map. Once they’re hired, expect production to be ramped up!

Alright, survivors, that’s all I have for this week. Until then, I hope you continue to enjoy Undead Blocks.

Rock on, survivors!

Zomboss