Developer a2z(Interactive); has just kicked off another year working to deliver their FPS survival game, Survive the Nights. The open-world sandbox takes place on a collection of post-apocalyptic, zombie infested islands, like so many other games before it. What sets Survive the Nights apart, however is the sheer number of items and possibilities players can access.

A February Kickstarter update details just how much stuff the team is working to fit into their crumbling world. It also serves as a brief glimpse at just how much stuff it takes to populate a believable game world. According to the update, “as of today, there are nearly 100,000 hand placed game objects in total on the island and half of these are interactive objects.”

This number includes everything from working light switches to 24,154 fellable trees. Fixed objects (those not movable by the player) make up approximately 15,858 of the total. Players also have access to over 400 structures which they can explore, secure, and fortify. These numbers don’t include any spawned or player crafted loot which also populates the world.

Alpha Testing, Backer Approved

Currently the team is working towards an alpha release to deliver to backers. This will give them a chance to iron out all the minor bumps and bugs that will crop up during initial testing. The current plan is to have the entire base island explorable on backer release.

It’s a huge undertaking, but not one that a2z(Interactive); has taken lightly. The early access release was delayed in favor of making sure backers would find the game more stable and polished when they began testing. Not an easy decision to make with 6,262 backers ready to see some results of their £108,398 worth of support, but one the devs maintain is right.

“If you’ve spent any time following the team you’ll know (as we’ve said it 100 times) we won’t release anything we’re not happy with or isn’t what we’d consider a good base.”

It may be taking more time than they first planned, but Survive the Nights was never a small project. Keeping backers in the loop with the number of objects and assets involved is a good way for the team to keep the scale of the game in perspective when progress seems slow. I still want to play it, but I’m willing to give them a bit more time to get it right.

About the Author

Joanna Mueller

Joanna Mueller is a lifelong gamer who used to insist on having the Super Mario Bros manual read to her as a bedtime story. Now she's reading Fortnite books to her own kiddo while finally making use of her degree to write about games as Cliqist's EIC.

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