The Solus Project - All You Need to Know

I'm one of those survival horror fanatics that love a good fight and scare. If you're a fan of The Forest, Minecraft and Subnautica then you will love this game. It seems like developers took the best of a few survival horror games on the market and made a futuristic game known as The Solus Project.

The Solus Project is a survival adventure game, in which the player controls an astronaut on a mission to save mankind. His spacecraft crashes on an uncharted planet, Gliese-6143-C. He has to survive on the planet and faces factors such as hunger level, thirst, body temperature or weather conditions. The player explores the planet full of temples and other interesting places

Why am I interested?

One of the biggest unique gameplay options I enjoyed was the weather anomaly.  While gathering resources a tornado dropped out the sky, and it did work on the environment and my character.  I had to teleport to another area just to survive. I heard that weather anomalies will range from storms to meteor showers, so it's something I definitely can't wait to experience. 

It’s clear that the weather or, more generally, the atmosphere of the planet, is lined up to play a key role in how you play The Solus Project. Naturally, disasters like that meteor shower will be a natural enemy that should keep players on their toes. These disasters are obviously dynamic and random, and can kill the player if they’re not careful. More than just random events though, the weather also plays into the basic survival of your character - a lost and lonesome space traveller. Humidity, cold water, even running uphill are all conditions that will affect your character. His body will react to these conditions and it’ll be your job to keep it up and running.

It scared the S**t out me, lol

Have you ever wanted to know how it felt to crash on a strange planet full of strange lifeforms and unknown data?  Well it's your chance to experience it.  Survival games like this have been exclusive to PC, but for the first time you can play a new generation survival horror game on Xbox One which what I really desired the most.  I felt a lot of good games have limited their market by only being available for the PC. Fingers crossed for Banished and 7 Days to Die to make that leap to console. 

There are no “obvious enemies” and there’s also no combat, The Solus Project could be a true example of a game that really tries to capture that ‘connection with nature. Survival games have a tendency to be very game-y: “fetch these five things to make this, kill these guys here to unlock this area”.The Solus Project looks a little different in this regard as it’s much more open-ended and equally realistic (minus the intergalactic space-travel of course). The development teams has also promised that the game will harken back to older titles, meaning complex level design, plenty of secret areas to explore and a willingness to push the player to his or her limits.

Why will it succeed on console?

The Solus Project’s more unusual feature (aside from the obvious agreement with Microsoft) is the focus on storytelling. With all of these basic survival needs to occupy your mind, it’s a wonder how you’ll ever be able to pay attention to the game’s central story. Most games of this nature tend to have an underlying plot that’s pretty simple and often found exclusively within lost notes. The Solus Project is supposedly much more oriented around the tale of a lonely wanderer.

Scariest Silent Hill Monsters (And What They Symbolize) - Part 1

Whenever life gets boring, I always enjoy a good horror movie to make things exciting again.  Silent Hill is the staple of survival horror when it comes to psychological elements.  This is due to the horrific monsters and creatures that lurk this purgatory.  I say purgatory because me and my friends took a great deal of time to analyze and understand what exactly is Silent Hill.

Whether it be in your mind or right in front of your face, Silent Hill has a creature to represent what you hide deep within.  It was a deep subject to tackle, but I found the identified that top 13 creatures in Silent Hill and what they symbol or mean to the story.

Sad Daddy - Silent Hill Origins
Sad Daddy can be found in room 500 of the Riverside Motel.  Sad Daddy is a malicious entity that contrast with Travis Grady's real daddy Richard. Sad Daddy is a huge mass of human flesh that covers the north wall.  The main body hangs from the ceiling similar to his dad that committed suicide by hanging.  When Travis first encounters his father, he has a flashback that manifest in the room he currently stands in.  His younger self finds his father committing suicide and hanging from a noose. Richard tells his son, Travis, that he "won the game".  Richard ask Travis if he would like the quarter that he still holds.

Symbolism- The creature is a manifestation of Travis memories and symbol of his guilt. Upon being told to wake up, Richard replies that he was never asleep, and Travis knows this.  Richard tells Travis that remaining with him for so long was unhealthy. At this point, Travis snaps out of his flashback, and tells his father that this is insane.  Richard tells him that is time for Travis to face up to his responsibilities, and that he and his mother will see him in heaven.   There was a lot of analysis here.  Mostly it meant, Travis was affected by his father's suicide.  Travis suffered from trauma of seeing his father hanging himself, which caused his life to spiral out of control.  Overcoming the grief would be the challenge to set him free from his memories.  Travis being informed that his parents await him in heaven is an attempt to set Travis mind at peace with his parents gruesome deaths.

Asphyxia - Silent Hill Homecoming
Travis encounters Asphyxia, a manifestation of Judge Margaret Holloway's vengeful and childhood memories of Nora Holloway.  This one was the saddest creature because it was created by the sacrifice of a child to please the pagan beliefs of a cult. Nora returns as a near invincible boss, but she has one weakness that is a reference to her favorite childhood story. Asphyxia is a mass of female body parts arranged like a centipede or caterpillar. This creature was created by Nora's interest in Alice in Wonderland's character the Blue Caterpillar. Asphyxia's scream is similar to how the Blue Caterpillar blows hookah in the book.

Symbolism - Both the name and the appearance of Asphyxia is a symbol of how Nora Holloway was murdered.  Numerous hands reflect choking and suffocation Nora felt moments before she was killed and the picture of the body as her family abused her.  You defeat her by giving her the oxygen she needed to breathe in order to live.  Her mother, Judge Margaret Holloway, strangled in order to sacrifice to appease God Dark Order and protect Shepherd's Glen.

The Mannequin - Silent Hill 2 
James encounters The Mannequin in room 205 of the Wood side apartments.  It springs to life immediately after James retrieves a "flashlight" from a mannequin which a reference to a sex toy. The first Mannequin is dressed in Mary Sheppard Sunderland clothes.  The clothes are actually made of human skin!  The Mannequin is an armless creature without a head and legs in place of human arms. When on the attack, they rub their legs together like an insect mandibles.

Symbolism - The mannequin is a manifestation of Jame's sexual frustration with his wife's aliment. Pyramid head's introductory scene has it abusing two mannequins. It is possible that the mannequin is an image of female innocence and helplessness being misused or oppressive by a masculine force. A symbol that is touch upon when Jame's finds the tablet of "The Oppressor"in Toluca Prison.  When James finds the tablet in the 7th cell and tries to leave, the door to the cell is locked.  It was confirmed by Konami that the scene symbolized the guilt James and his atonement for the sin of murdering his wife.

Connections to James
It is possible that Tlazolteotl represents Mary Shepherd-Sunderland, as she forgives James's sin of murder at the end of the game and is the one who ends his journey in Silent Hill, so that he is able to move on with his life. Since Tlazolteotl in the goddess of filth, this may connect to Mary's disease. Overall, both Mary and Tlazolteotl could represent filth and forgivers of sin. Her expression in the tablet could represent Mary's struggle with her disease.

The Aztec man could represent James, who is trying to have Tlazolteotl (Mary) forgive him of his sins. As the man appears to be trying to touch Tlazolteotl's breasts, this could represent James's desire and lack of sexual activity with Mary (but he was unable to because of her disease). The symbolism of the Mannequin monsters also allude to this.

The tablet is also found by James inside one of the prison cells, symbolism of James being mentally imprisoned over his guilt for killing Mary. In fact, when James attempts to leave the cell, the door is broken and he must attempt to open it several times before it finally does. This furthers the symbolism of James being trapped and unable to move on with his life.

Numb Body - Silent Hill 3

Heather Mason's first encounters the Numb Body in Silent Hill 3.  The whole purpose of Heather is to birth a God, so the Numb Body is foreshadowing what is to come. Its name is derived from its slow and clumsy movements and the fact that its body appears pale as though frozen.

It appears undeveloped, as to represent the premature state of God in Heather's womb. The larger Numb Bodies could symbolize God growing. The fetus of a child in the womb develops what resembles a tail, but it loses this attribute in the later stages of development; the Numb Body is one of the few enemies not associated with animals that has a tail, and suggests the underdevelopment of God as a type of fetus. They only appear in the first half of the game, further adding to this theory. They emit lamb-like, distressed cries when Heather causes them to collapse. The creature's head resembles a cervix, further relating to maternity and femininity, as do many of the game's monsters.

The cracked skin of the Numb Body is similar to the effects of the congenital disease harlequin ichthyosis.(WARNING: Images of infants suffering from Harlequin Ichthyosis are very disturbing. Please do not click the link if you think the pictures will upset you.) This feature can relate to body horror and women's fears of problematic pregnancies.

The Numb Bodies emit lamb-like cries they give off once fallen. Especially within a game of occult matters, this may be a mild nod towards the Christian Lamb of God, which is meant to symbolize the sins of the world being eliminated. The Lamb is typically seen as a beloved, peaceful creature of Jesus, but in context to the game, hearing such agonized, lamb-like sobs may be considered an inversion to its Christian meaning, morphing it instead into a blasphemous occult understanding; Claudia Wolf even states the coming of God will "forgive everyone of their sins", something the Lamb is meant to symbolize. The Order has roots in various modern religions, Christianity included, so this also provides evidence for its sound-oriented symbolism.

The cries of the Numb Body could also be likened to that of a bear cub, especially when compared to the sounds the larger versions make, and is possibly symbolic of the mother-daughter relationship that neither Heather nor Alessa had in their childhood.  I came up with a theory myself after watching the Silent Hill 2 movie.  Is the Numb Body linked to a teenage pregnancy that Heather had?  She had a relationship with a boy in the movie, and she spent a lot of alone time with him that could have given her the opportunity to "make a baby".  Perhaps the child is a result of an unwanted pregnancy that came into existence in the alternate world of Silent Hill.

Lurker - Homecoming

Alex Shepherd first encounters the Lurker in his flooded basement, from where his mother had recently left. They are semi-aquatic, found both underwater and on land.  Lurkers appear as bald male humanoid monsters with huge claws, resembling mermen. Their legs are fused together or bound by layers of dead skin, so they drag them uselessly behind them. Their faces are blank save for a huge, vertical slit down the middle of their heads, filled with horrific teeth. Most notably, their wrists are severed and a series of three, sickle-like blades are grafted on to the stubs of their arms. They use their arms to crawl and attack.

Lurkers may represent the restraint Alex felt throughout his life and the lack of love from his family. Similarly, it may represent Alex's feelings of incapability when it comes to finding his brother, being restrained or held back by those around him refusing to tell him the truth.

It could also symbolize Alex's intended fate by drowning, and his subsequent avoidance of it. Their legs are tied up, possibly hinting Adam Shepherd planned to tie Alex up and dump him in the lake. On the same note, they could also possibly represent the death of his brother Joshua, as Joshua drowned and Lurkers have an appearance similar to a twisted version of a mermaid. Its claws also highly resemble tools of torture.

The mouth of the Lurker is reminiscent of vagina dentata, suggesting Alex has possible gynophobia, a fear of vaginas. Considering how Alex has been hospitalized in a mental hospital for four years, there is a strong possibility Alex is a virgin, unfamiliar with female genitalia.

As well, similar to the Schism beast, Lurkers hold a more obscure symbolism to being "split"- upon observing a Lurker's chest area, the player can notice that the flesh appears to be sewn together vertically, possibly suggesting that it was once split open. The fact it is now sewn shut may allude to Alex's repressed memories of how Josh died.

Their significance can be further expanded upon after obtaining the Kneeling Man Plate, which in the puzzle signifies penitence. If the tablet is examined, the picture displays a kneeling man in prayer whose upper body looks exactly like the Lurker when its body is at its most upright; this could imply that they mainly symbolize Alex's regret and need for penitence after what he did to Joshua.

Much like the Lurker, Alex's memories lay hidden just below the surface. When they emerge, they bring with them only pain and suffering.

Trivia
Defeating a Lurker for the first time while playing the Xbox 360 version of the game will award the player with the achievement "Lurk no More".

If the player decapitates a Lurker with the axe, it is very likely that the monster won't die immediately. 

It may swipe and even succeed in injuring Alex, or it may pursue him for a few moments and attempt to lunge at him before actually falling dead.

It is possible that the humanoid monster that attacks Heather Mason in the asylum featured in Silent Hill: Revelation was influenced by the Lurker; its distorted mouth is also the only feature on its face, and the noise it makes as well as even skin tone are similar to the Lurker.

Well that was a lot of information, and there is a lot more to go so i will break this series up into 3 parts of more if needed.  

7 Days to Die - Alpha 13 Released

Well the fun pimps finally released

7 Days to Die "Alpha 13"!

Here are some of the features and resources:

• New Zombies, High-Res Zombies and Animals – We have 5 new base male and 3 new base female high res zombies, a new high res nurse, a new high res frozen lumberjack, and a new hd crawler. Basically all zombies are high res now and the apocalypse never looked so sexy! If that wasn’t enough we’ve added a new Screamer Zombie that investigates world heat map locations that are too hot based on noise, smells and activity so the spider zombie has returned to a normal zombie in the spawning mix. We’ve also added zombie bears to the game be very careful with these guys they will fuck you and your fort up. Last of all we’ve added chickens to the game for another source of meat, feathers and eggs their finger licking good.
• Motion Capture Zombie Animations – We’ve integrated a complete set of new motion capture animations for the zombies that are root motion driven. Meaning they are anchored to the world and their animations drive their motion and speed. The set includes per region pain animations, jumps, attacks, bites, dramatic deaths and a new death to ragdoll animation transition system. There are several variants of walk and run including fit, fat, convulsions, strong and crawl as well as a custom spider zombie moving on all 4s set.
• Zombie Dismemberment System – We’ve added a brand new cutting edge dismemberment system. The system allows players under the right weapon conditions to lop-off with a melee weapon or shoot off with a firearm a zombie’s limb at the elbow, shoulder, knee or hip and take off their heads. Zombies keep coming until their head is taken off or the damage given meets the required damage threshold. Damage to zombie arms/legs cannot kill the zombie, only direct damage to head/chest can kill it now.
• Dynamic Limping and Crippling System – In-conjunction with the new dismemberment system we’ve added a new dynamic limping and crippling. You can attack a zombie legs and their walk can change from normal to a hobbled walk and if you damage them enough they fall to the ground and become a crawling zombie. Spiked traps, landmines, pipe bombs, landmines and fire damage also interact with this system with similar results.
• Knockdown Combat System – We also added a new knockdown combat system that allows player to knock down zombies into prone or kneeling stunned states and deal more damage during these states. With this change health of all zombies have been adjusted up. When a zombie is in the prone stunned state players deal 3X damage and while in the kneeling stunned state deal 2X damage. The system tracks accumulative damage to an upper body knockdown pool for prone knockdown and accumulative damage to a lower body knockdown pool for the kneeling knockdown. For each knockdown pool the damage is accumulative and must reach 0 in a limited time for a knockdown to occur as there is a constant refill rate.

We like it Cold, Hot and Wet! Extreme Weather Survival System

• World Temperature – The world has a global temperature in Fahrenheit Degrees and is displayed in the new map under map stats and can also be seen by hitting F8 in debug mode only. This world temperature fluctuates per biome, per time of day, and gets colder the higher you are and warmer the lower you are. Wind speed can also impact the temperature which is also shown in the map screen maps stats section.
• Player Temperature – The player has a core temperature in Fahrenheit degrees which is the world temperature +/- how it feels to the player and is displayed in the new character menu in the player stats section next to the thermometer icon.This can also be seen by hitting F8 in debug mode only. When the player gets too cold a snowflake buff displays in the lower right corner of the screen with the players core temperature next to it warning the player of his current status. When the player gets too hot a sun buff displays in the lower right corner of the screen with the players core temperature next to it warning the player of his current status. These buffs can also be seen and examined in the new active buffs panel in the new character screen.
• Player Wetness – The player can get wet by moving through water volumes in the world or by being exposed to rain or snow overtime. The more the player submerges himself in water or the longer he is exposed to rain or snow the higher the wetness % goes up to 100%. When the player gets wet an umbrella buff displays in the lower right corner of the screen with the players wetness % next to it warning the player of his current status.
• Temperature and Wetness Defense – All clothing has a positive or negative insulation degree value which can be seen by left clicking an item and examining it which displays the stats in a new Item info window above the backpack. Most items have a positive insulation defense value but a few are special and have a negative value for hot weather survival. Some clothing have a waterproof defense % which can be seen by left clicking an item and examining it which displays the stats in a new Item info window above the backpack with full item stats. A players total summed Insulation and Waterproof values can be seen in the new character screen in the upper left of the character window next to the thermometer and umbrella icons.

• Temperature Modifiers
  • Wearing clothing that has a negative insulation value will cool down the player and is desirable for hot weather survival. F.E. the cowboy hat keeps the player cooler in the desert.
  • Wearing clothing that has a positive insulation value will warm the player and is desirable for cold weather survival.
  • Getting wet by moving through lakes, rain, or snow will make the player wet and colder when he’s cold and cool the player down when he’s hot.
  • Activity that uses stamina, like running or swinging a pickaxe, will warm up the player.
  • Standing near a campfire or forge that is burning will warm up the player.
  • All clothing will have a waterproof % capping how wet the player can get.
  • Going indoors will warm you when you’re cold and cool you when you are hot.
  • Exposure to direct sunlight will warm, and shade will cool, the player.
  • Some foods and drinks have temporary core temp warming or cooling properties. F.E. drinking coffee warms you while water and goldenrod tea will cool you.
  • Wind speed can also cool the player down and will be seen in the new map screen under map stats.

Harvest and Universal Block Upgrade System

• Harvest System – We’ve overhauled block health so everything in the world from a wood wall to a deer carcass has a health and when attacked decreases and adds resources into the player’s inventory automatically showing both added and dropped inventory changes with a GUI informational pop-out on the bottom right corner! The system is global giving the player the right feedback and additionally allows the player to yield bonus items when using the right tool for the right job. For Example using a wrench to take apart a car or air conditioner or using a knife to harvest a deer can yield special bonus items or larger yields. The system also communicates resources removed or needed when attempting to repair or upgrade blocks. Note: With the introduction of harvest and crafting list we have had to majorly change the amount of resources the player receives from wood, stone, metal, clay basically everything and the costs for crafting them so a lot of rebalance has gone into this.
• Universal Block Upgrading – We’ve added a universal block upgrading system. With it nearly every block in the game can be upgraded if the player has a construction class tool such as a Stone Ax, Wrench, Claw Hammer or Nail gun and the right resources such as wood or scrap iron on his person. The game knows what a blocks core materials are to start with such as wood or brick and takes it to the next higher tier in the games overall upgrade hierarchy. This allows players to take over locations easier and save them the trouble of tediously tearing out a block to upgrade it unless it’s part of a new floorplan design. Not to worry we have maintained our old building system so you can still build and the old way. This includes every door, window, most full size wall blocks, roofing blocks and more.
• Block Upgrade Hierarchy – So the overall upgrade system hierarchy is listed below including 1 meter blocks, stairs, roofs, poles, windows and doors. Building has never been more fun!
  • Wood blocks upgrades to reinforced wood blocks by right clicking with a repair tool and using wood resource
  • Reinforced wood blocks upgrade to metal reinforced wood by right clicking with a repair tool and using scrap iron.
  • Metal reinforced wood blocks upgrade to a scrap iron blocks by right clicking with a repair tool and using scrap iron.
  • Scrap iron blocks upgrade to a reinforced scrap iron blocks by right clicking with a repair tool and using scrap iron.
  • Reinforced scrap iron blocks upgrade to a reinforced concrete block by right clicking with a repair tool and using concrete mix.
  • Reinforced concrete walls upgrade to steel walls by right clicking with a repair tool and using forged steel.

Brand New GUI with added functionality and Skill System

• New Inventory controls – Ok before you get on our case about changing inventory controls please try it and give it a chance. Your muscle memory will fight you at first but after you get use to the new controls we think you’ll like it. We had to change them to allow item inspection and actions to be done from a static window. So here are the new controls:
  • [Left Click] to inspect an item, recipe or active effect
  • [Left Click] hold and drag to take a stack
  • [Left Click] to drop or swap a stack
  • [Right Click] hold and drag to take a half stack
  • [Right Click] to drop one item at a time

• New Clean GUI Design Framework – The first thing you’ll notice is the minimalistic new clean design. The minimalistic design is more immersive improving flow and conveying needed information better displaying it all in one large page not sub-pages under sub menus. Even veteran players will appreciate the new flow and ease of use. Our team members have even commented that they find themselves crafting items they never knew existed. The system will allow us to iterate much faster and add new stations quicker and provide a great framework for mod support. In the video options we’ve added UI background and UI foreground opacity with defaults of 50% for background and 100% for foreground which can be tweaked to your liking. Note: there are some minor issues and elements to be grouped with this.
• Paging System – We have integrated a new global player inventory paging system accessed by hitting the ‘Tab’ key. The new paging navigation system is located at the top center of the screen and clicking on the icons switches between crafting, character, map, skills, players, and creative screens. The old short cuts still exist ‘m’ key for map, ‘I’ key for the scoreboard which is now the player’s screen, ‘U’ for the creative and new ones ‘B’ for character screen and lastly ‘N’ for skills all of which can be rebound to your liking.
• Item info window – We have added an item info window that appears on every screen that the players backpack does right above it. With it you can read descriptions and stats for every item, recipe, skill or buff in the game and where applicable perform actions taking the place of the old right click menu. Note: We have done a first pass on descriptions buffs and skills all have descriptions and most items you can loot, or make have them except for some of the misc. décor type items.

• Crafting System – The new crafting system can be accessed by hitting the ‘Tab’ key or the crafting icon in the new paging system header. The crafting system has been overhauled with a large generous recipe window on the left which includes a favorite’s button, search and page scrolling. We’ve also added a brand new info window over the backpack which allows item description information to be displayed with a left click. The info window also shows available actions per item such as scrap, drop or equip. When you click on a recipe the info window changes to a crafting window which displays in a table format the recipes required items, names, amounts needed and the amounts you have. In the crafting window action panel you can increment the amount you want up or down or hit the max count button and simply hit craft. The crafted items will go into the crafting queue under the recipe window with a timer and will dump into your backpack when they are done. Up to 4 recipes can be queued at once. You can cancel queued items by clicking on them. Inventory management has been changed to left click to view an item info, left click and drag to take an item , right click and drag to split a stack, right click to drop one item at a time and shift left click to move a stack between spaces.

• Character System – The new character system can be accessed by clicking on the character icon in the new paging system header. The new system offers a generous new larger character window to see your character better than ever playing a cool animation with no sub-page clicking to see what you need. On the upper left of the character window you can see your characters total clothing defensive values displayed. We have streamlined these defensive clothing attributes into 7 core groups including: Concussive defense % by the hammer icon, puncture defense % by the knife icon, fire defense % by the fire icon, radiation defense % by the nuclear icon, insulation defense temperature by the thermometer icon, water defense % by the umbrella icon and clothing weight % by the weight icon. Worn clothing can also be individually inspected showing stats in the new info window. We’ve also added a new player stats window with many valuable player stats and a new buff window where active buffs can be viewed and inspected for more information.

• Map System – The new map screen features everything the old one did and so much more including a full 3 kilometer zoom out. It can still be accessed by ‘M’ shortcut or by clicking on the map icon on the new paging system header. On the top left you’ll notice a new map stats window which displays time and day, outside temp, wind speed and your elevation. The central map window top bar has a row of buttons where you can see your player’s current position, show it on the map, see your bedrolls position and show it on the map, see your cursors position and remove your quick waypoints. When you right click on the map you can set a quick waypoint or save a waypoint picking an icon for it and naming it which adds it into the new waypoint window on the top right. In this waypoint window you can click on a waypoint in the list and in the button bar track it on your compass, show it on your map, remove it from your saved waypoints or share it with allies or everyone on the server. These shared waypoints will go out to others who will receive them in the new waypoint invites window on the lower right. Here you can add the waypoint to your waypoint list, show it on the map or remove it. Who needs google maps with a system like this?

7 Days to Die Alpha 13: All Dramatically Improvements and Updates

The release for Alpha 13 is almost near.  The fun pimps spoiled us with an update or new alpha every 5 weeks, so this long wait really is having gamers wondering what have they been doing that could take this long.  Here is a sneak peak of what to expect in 7 Days to Die: Alpha 13.

Hit Points, and Cars, and new Guns

Tracing all of 7 Days to Die 12.5 alphas history of hit points, before, all blocks had 10 hit points and then we used a hardness to say how hard it was. In the end it was really just a bunch of math that made it difficult to balance the game and also made it impossible for us to really display a health bar for blocks. Now each block shows a hit point value as you harvest it, and you can see how effective your tools are and the impact low stamina has on damage too, feedback that was always invisible before. Plus you will get a feeling for what blocks are the strongest in the game because well, stats are awesome.

Cars are now harvest-able. Rather than blowing up you can mine them and get metal. But if you are smart, you will use a wrench and disassemble the car to get all kinds of cool parts, like short metal pipes, springs (now required to make a blunderbuss), cloth, small engines, batteries, radiators and more. You can still loot them too, but the loot isn’t guaranteed like before, since you can harvest them, and now that they aren’t entities (eating collisoin and server cpu).

Speaking of the blunderbuss, its now the most powerful shotgun in the game, followed by the sawed off, and then the long barrel pump. Of course range and reload time make a big difference, but for up close one shots, the blunderbuss is king. Also, a badass home made looking rocket launcher is being introduced in the alpha 13 update. I hope it makes a better impact than the explosive arrows.  All the arrows did was blow holes in the ground and attract the annoying spider zombies that would scream and unleash a flood of zombie hordes.

A welcomed additional feature will be flooded basements! Now, underwater exploration in looting is added as well. Instead of water destroying anything in its path, water only floods over items realistically. Under water exploration could be dangerous though, you never know what you might find.

They added dismemberment of limbs.  You can dynamically cripple enemies by shooting or cutting off a limb in combat.  You can continue to cut pieces off even if they're more dead...well completely dead we are fighting zombies, lol.

Melee will be an worthwhile investment in Alpha 13. Here is the first look of the new machete. Looks like a machete will be useful when dealing with the modifications and animations made to the improved zombies. 

As seen in other games like ARK cold weather survival will present a new challenge. The entire world has a global temperature and then each biome has a modifier, as well as time of day, wind, sunny or cloudy all influence the perceived temperature.

Each clothing item in the game has an insulation value which can be positive or negative. Fire warms you up as well and running raises your core temperature. Running raises your core temperature, drinking coffee warms you up as well.

In order to cope with the cold weather survival system clothing has been upgraded with stats that will play a factor in conducting heat and improving defense.  The starter gear will be the same plant fiber armor we have seen in prior games.

Here is a look at the new leather duster coat. I’m really excited about the new coats and armors. Shown here is the leather armor, denim pants, leather duster, cowboy hat and a blue plaid shirt.

Abandon houses are redesigned and serve as a better survivalist haven than in prior alphas. Abandon houses won’t have any zombies near them, but hardly any loot either, and far from secure. But if your cold and desperate and willing to put some elbow grease into it, it might make a place you can stay at for a night or two. 

You can upgrade everything: floors, doors, walls and window to the steel level.  On the right side of the screen you will see the upgrade cost and materials needed for upgrading. You can take an dilapidated home and upgrade it to something livable or a complete steel fallout shelter.

Other cool new additions are garbage piles make random noises when you walk over them.  It doesn't seem interesting now, but when you are exploring and a zombie is trying to sneak up on you...that random noise will be very useful to you.