You’ve noticed it: expeditions are back! And they have evolved.
In Endzone 2, expeditions are no longer isolated text-based events; they’re immersive, dynamic, and tied deeply into the world you explore. We sat down with the developers to share how this beloved feature has grown, what changed behind the scenes, and how your feedback is helping to shape what comes next!
From walls of text to fully interactive expeditions
In Endzone: A World Apart, expeditions were mostly about picking your specialists, gathering resources, and waiting to see what happened. And sometimes you had to wait… a lot! So essentially, expeditions were impactful, but not very interactive.
BEFORE // Here’s a little trip down memory lane: one of those classic Endzone 1 expeditions in all its text-heavy glory…
In Endzone 2, expeditions are part of the gameplay loop, they are properly integrated into it. You stumble upon locations rather than initiating a big, separate mission. The experience is seamless, immersive, and engaging, with mouse interaction, puzzles, and voiceovers adding depth to every expedition. More *actual gameplay*, less walls of text.
AFTER // Look at this beaut'!
How Expeditions changed under the hood
Reworking expeditions wasn’t just about adding polish, it also meant creating, rebuilding or improving core systems:
- Lots of interactables! Which now all need a name and a component to function. Everything you click and interact with has been carefully developed and integrated.
- Inventory systems evolved! You can now bring items between locations and even prepare your own gear, like ladders, based on what you’ll need ahead.
- Cameras adapt to complex environments, like underground buildings and elevator shafts.
- Lighting, textures and shadows are hand-tuned to create the right atmosphere, especially underground.
- Pathfinding for expeditions is a real challenge, and we’ve been actively working on improving it and making it smoother.
- NPC interaction is also one of the most recent additions to expeditions. You’ll meet survivors you can talk to and interact with, and developers are interested in possibly expanding it.
And just to give you an idea…this right here?
This is just a glimpse of the massive spaghetti tower of logic holding the expedition system together.
Please send snacks to the devs! ????????????
Packing for the trip: a new Expedition inventory
One of the biggest overhauls from Endzone 1 to Endzone 2? The Expedition inventory system.
Originally, every expedition had its own isolated inventory. The items you found or needed were specific to that one expedition, which made sense, but also limited flexibility. Now, that’s changed entirely!
Expeditions in Endzone 2 use a shared resource-based system, where items come with different background colors to indicate their type, and most importantly: you can take them with you from one location to the next.
This means you might need to bring your own ladder, your own tools, or the right supplies! Because what you bring (or forget) directly affects what you can explore or unlock. You can also choose different vehicles, each with varying cargo slots, which opens up a whole layer of strategic prep before you even leave your settlement.
Zitat:
> Want to take more gear? Bring the van.
> Want to travel light and explore? Pack smart and take the buggy.
> Want to travel light and explore? Pack smart and take the buggy.
This shift has opened the door for more complex, layered expeditions, and the team already has extra items tucked in their back pocket, waiting to add even more realism and richness to your next outing.
Help us shape the future of Expeditions!
The future of Expeditions, like much of Endzone 2, is also shaped by you. And our devs are *very* interested in hearing your thoughts on the forums, Discord, or here in the comments.
So here are a few questions from our very own devs, to *YOU*, Survivor:
- We heard some of you ask for "more complex expeditions", for example, what would that mean to you?
- Would you like to see harder puzzles, or puzzles that are more creative, or spread out, encouraging deeper exploration?
- Would you like expeditions to feature bigger areas, more layered interactions, or simply more things to do?
- What kind of atmosphere are you looking for or expecting from expeditions?
- Should they feel eerie, tense, dangerous? Would you like negative consequences if you make a wrong choice?
- The team is also very curious about your personal highlights:
- What are your top 3 favorite moments in an expedition so far?
- What do you look forward to experiencing again when heading out on an expedition?
- Every bit of feedback helps the team a ton, so we can work on building better expeditions that capture the right feeling in this post-apocalyptic world.
Answer here in the comments, in our Steam forums on in our Discord right here!
Up next in Part 2...
Underground expeditions, how we worked on lighting & pathfinding, teleportation tricks, modular systems, and more!
Part 2 will dive deeper into the technical and visual challenges behind the game’s expedition system!
Part 2 coming soon.
