Devlog #9 – Before Game Developer Session Update

Hi everyone!
In this devlog I want to share everything I managed to add and fix before my trip to the Game Developer Session with my game The Withered.

Added

1. Expanded the game map
I’ve doubled the playable area to two streets with 24 houses each – 48 houses total. You can loot them or hide from zombies inside (for now… one day zombies will learn how to break doors and windows, so don’t rely on that too much. Fast legs are still safer).
Some houses are “event” houses – one is under construction, several were up for sale and therefore have no furniture. A few others are in complete disarray, as residents tried to flee the quarantine zone as fast as possible. This adds atmosphere and also makes navigation a bit harder.
Yes, the map is currently limited to a kind of quarantine zone from which civilians were evacuated at the beginning of the outbreak… everyone except our player.

2. More zombie variety
Added about a dozen new zombie animations, new sounds, models, and textures to make encounters feel more diverse.

3. Time skipping mechanic
For players who don’t want to go outside at night but also don’t want to wait half an hour in real time. Be careful though – during “waiting”, hunger, thirst, and fatigue continue to rise.

4. Sleep and rest animation
The player now closes their eyes, time passes, then they open their eyes and see how the lighting has changed depending on how long they slept or rested.

5. Quick slots (1–9)
You can drag&drop any item from your inventory into a quick slot and instantly access it in-game. Quickly grab a weapon when a zombie jumps at you, pull out bandages after taking a hit, etc.

6. Head-mounted flashlight & wristwatch
The player can wear a flashlight on their head when their hands are occupied with weapons or other items.
You can also equip a wristwatch to display an on-screen clock and temperature indicator.

7. Main menu, pause menu, and graphics settings
Fully implemented and functional.

Fixed

• Added Escape button handling to inventory, options, and other UI widgets
• Fixed UI focus behavior in inventory (consume, clean bandage, fill water, recharge)
• Changed controls: Inventory → E, Interact → F, Sleep → P (temporary)
• Fixed HP decreasing while sleeping (sleeping killed the player – yep…)
• Fixed lighting in some houses
• Fixed warm zones in large houses
• Increased flashlight brightness
• Fixed overly metallic axe texture (too shiny before)
• Checked all decorations to ensure none are floating (some actually were!)
• Fixed issue where items dragged from inventory into a quick slot couldn’t be equipped (item moved to the end of the list and my function didn’t detect it – now it does)
• Rebalanced loot boxes
• Fixed collision in the big house
• Fixed zombie behavior where they would stand idle in one spot
• Fixed auto-jump on some chairs
• Fixed issue where the player wanted to sleep again only 4 hours after sleeping

Now it’s time to rest a bit.
The next devlog will be all about fixing the dozens of bugs discovered by players at the event, as well as improvements inspired by their feedback.

Stay tuned, add The Withered to your Steam wishlist, and try the first demo version on itch.io!