Structures
- All structures are enterable and unique
- Every structure is fortifiable
- Boards, planks and furniture can be used to fortify structures
- Booby traps for structures you've invested time into
- Store your found items in buildings and vehicles
- No uninhabitable spaces
 
Crafting
-Extensive item combining and crafting. You can combine household items to create tools or weapons. You can also combine and modify parts for vehicles and equipment.
 
Day and Night Cycles
Day
- Gather food and water
- Gather planks and board up windows and doorways
- Set traps around the perimeter of your structures
- Board up structures
- Fuel up your generators and repair the structures electrical panel
- Day-cycle activities define your chances of surviving night cycle
 
Night
- Start your generators to provide light and heat
- Activate any surrounding traps or device
- Find your favorite vantage point
- Murder anything that moves  
 
Food/Calorie Intake
Food and calorie intake will be a part of your daily routine. Realism will be maintained here. If a player doesn't eat for a few hours, he won't die, but will become sluggish. Death from starvation should take a number of days at minimum. The opposite being true also: a traveler with a high calorie diet will move faster, aim better, carry more weight.
- Trapping small animals (you'll be able to set small traps with the hopes of catching small game like rabbit, squirrel, rat, moles, etc)
- Hunt larger game (Go on the hunt for larger animals like deer, fox, sheep, etc.)
- Fish in lakes and ponds (Find lakes and ponds use a crafted fishing pole or a found one to go fishing)
- Find canned goods and preserved food supplies (Scavenge canned and dried goods from all of our abandoned buildings, stores and homes)
- Forage for wild berries and edibles (some may kill you, better Google it! Berries and edible plants may provide that extra burst of energy you need so greatly or they may make your small intestine come shooting out of your nose!
- Take to streams to fill water bottles or activate well pumps in homes to access the water supply
 
Maintain Body Temperature
Our island is set in a colder climate and the game will be set in late Fall, early Winter. Keeping your body temperature up will be necessary for survival.
- Start campfires in the wild
- Power home heating systems
- Find shelter to conserve heath
- Maintain physical state
- Broken bones, limbs or bad cuts will make your survival bloody and painful
Maintain mental state
- Killing other players will eventually result in a mental breakdown
- Blurred vision, shaking hands, voices only the player hears
 
Weapons, Tools and Machinery
-You'll need certain tools to fortify homes and buildings, certain machinery to power homes or access water supplies. Machinery must be maintained or it will fail. There will be loads of weapons. One thing that we've already had some success working with is using most items as weapons. You'll be hard pressed to find yourself in a situation where you can't defend your life with a weapon of some type. Being able to place window boards quickly and without worrying about powering the structure first could be the difference between life and a very bloody death.
 
Vehicles
All vehicles are potentially usable. They won't be hard to find but you might have a problem getting them running. We have planned and implemented an extensive parts list for anything on wheels. Vehicles can also be used as mobile camps, carrying all of your goods in their trunks or truck beds. Leaving your fully-stocked car in the wild, unlocked, would be a terrible idea. Removing a part or two should keep it pretty safe. Items can be stored in trunks and truck beds. So, you found a nice pile of old barn wood? That'd be great to use when boarding up all those doors and windows back home. You can't stick ten planks into a backpack, right? But you can fit plenty into the bed of a truck or the trunk of a car. Vehicles will be worth their weight in gold in this world so make sure that you take care of yours.
 
Leveling/XP
There will be leader boards, achievements and you can level your character to move up in rank. People like being number one in stuff, right? Survive the most nights to gain server wide rep and level your character to better your skills.
- Leveling up will be old school (do something enough times and you'll get better at it)
- Hunt to improve your trapping abilities
- Shoot to improve your accuracy
- Trap a lot to improve your return rate
- Fortify multiple times to improve your carpentry skills
 

 
STN FAQ
 
How can I play/participate in the first community alpha build?
Anyone that backed the game on Kickstarter or pre-orders the game will have access to our alpha backer release. It’s just a matter of time until we are ready to release the first alpha build to the community.
 
What can I expect of the first alpha build?
Please keep in mind the game is still in it's infancy. Expect crashes, bugs and various other potentially game-breaking issues. Also, many of the features will be works-in-progress, while other features may not be implemented yet. STN will be much more polished during the community alpha than it was during the previous two stress tests, but please don't expect to be playing a "finished" game.
 
When will the game release on Steam Early Access?
We are working our hardest to get alpha out to backers ASAP. Once the alpha build is ready, backers will be receiving a Steam key to the email address they provided to us upon pre-ordering. Backers will be playing first and help us find initial bugs. Once everything is stable we'll be releasing on Steam's Early Access.
 
What’s taking so long?
We’re a small team working on our first project. Unfortunately, our original release dates on Kickstarter were far too optimistic. We’ve been developing our current build since February of 2015. Nearly everything we do, we do for the first time. Things are progressing much quicker these days. The team has gained a great amount of knowledge in the last couple of years. There are still mistakes to be made and lessons to learn. We hope you’ll stick around for the journey!
 
How many people are currently working on STN?
a2z(Interactive); currently has 5 full-time team members.
 
What engine is STN made with?
Unity 5
 
Can I stream/record STN during alpha?
Yes, we only ask that you please include a disclaimer with your stream or recording that states that the current version of STN is an alpha build and is not to be considered a finished game.
 
Will I be able to rent or host my own dedicated server?
Running your own server is part of what makes so many games great. During the initial alpha build and Steam EA releases there will be officially hosted servers and players will have the ability to rent servers from our trusted provider, AllGamer.net. As major issues are worked out and everything really starts coming together, we will eventually release the backend server software to allow players to host servers on their own systems. While there is no current ETA for when the backend server software will be released, rest assured it's in the works!
 
What will you do about hackers?
Our servers are authoritative which means server logic is independent from the clients and most decision are made by the server which makes it harder for people to manipulate situations. This will however not be all, we’re always looking for ways to improve cheat protection. We’re also exploring 3rd party anti cheat solutions and steams VAC system. Our servers will and can be heavily moderated this also allows for greater control of just how a server will run and how secure it will be.
 
Will there be single player?
No but you’ll eventually be able to rent a server if you want to play solo or with friends.
 
What platforms is the game being developed for?
Upon initial release STN will be PC/Mac only with the possibility of porting to consoles in the future.
 
Where can I find all of STN’s videos?
All of our videos can be found on our YouTube channel. You can use and monetize any of our Survive the Nights videos. If you have any inquires feel free to contact support@survivethenights.net
 
How big is the map?
STN’s main island (Black Island) is around 64 sq. km. You can view the interactive map here [www.survivethenights.net]
 
Is the map procedurally generated?
No, it is hand designed.
 
How long are the day and night cycles?
30 minutes for a day and 30 minutes for a night as a default. Server owners/admins can easily change this value.
 
Are zombies in the game?
Yes, STN is a zombie survival game. You will eventually have the option to turn them off through a private server along with many other server options.
 
What kind of zombies are in the game?
Classic zombies. They will be slow and dumb but more powerful in numbers. They are a real threat and will kill an unprepared player quickly.
 
Can I become a zombie?
No, you can only kill them at this time.
 
Can zombies break down walls?
No but they can break through doors if they try hard enough.
 
Will there be base building?
No but all 400+ existing structures are fortifiable and securable.
 
Can I have a pet/companion?
There are not currently any plans for pets.
 
What types of vehicles are there?
Land vehicles are currently implemented such as cars, mobile homes, trucks, etc. Boats will be coming in future builds.
 
Will there be helicopters or planes?
No, we don’t feel that aircraft really suits the island size or the realism factor in STN.
 
Will there be PvP?
Yes but PvP and KoS mentality will be discouraged with our mental health system.
 
Will you be able to sleep in game?
No.
 
Will there be a female character?
Yes but not for initial release.
 
Will there be character/clothing customization?
Yes but not for initial release.
 
Will there be cannibalism?
No.
 

The Concepts
The videos (some 3 years old) that are floating around the internet are NOT EARLY BUILDS of the game! They’re concept videos put together by the original team to show off our ideas and see if there would be any interest.

The Builds
This current pre-alpha build will turn 3 in March. Due to our inexperience, we’re having to release to a much wider audience than originally planned for. This will not change the way we do things as of now. We’re still a team of 5 (only four developing full time). We will expand when it’s financially possible and things have stabilized.

What’s NOT working?
A lot, the trailer reflects our hopes for alpha, this is pre-alpha. While all of the mechanics shown in the trailer are functioning in the project as a whole, they’ll not all be in this initial release. Below are some of the bigger features that are completely missing from the current public build. The Steam Store page reflects exactly what’s in and isn’t in this initial release. We will release a public roadmap shortly after we get things running well.

Fortifications
Our old static system is being replaced with a free placement system. This will be one of the first features added after we’re stable. Players can currently lock doors and containers. Most windows are covered.

The Goal for Alpha
The fortification system will be a major feature in the game. We hope to have a unique and wide variety of materials to cover windows, doors and doorways.

Vehicles
While working in development branches, vehicles are not the focus nor are they imperative to our core mechanics. They will be in as soon as we’re stable and our survival core is in place. Plus, you’ll notice far more issues walking around then driving around. Remember to report bugs!

The Goal for Alpha
Vehicles are in. You can secure them and you can store goods in them. Vehicles should act as mobile bases and be worth their weight it parts. We’ve created numerous automotive part drops and the part system for vehicles should be rather extensive.

Temperature
While our season system is in place and players will see all four seasons in this build, temperatures have no effect on players just yet.

Hunting and Trapping
Hunting, trapping is not currently in. These two mechanics will mostly likely arrive just after fortifications along with fishing.

The Goal for Alpha
Hunting and trapping should be a viable option for anyone living outside of town or on hardcore finite servers.

Appliances
While electrics are working, fridges and electric stoves aren’t functioning just yet.

The Goal for Alpha
Working appliances should give an extra layer of depth to gameplay. Needing to keep fresh foods cool or a structure warm, appliances will take focus soon after our core survival mechanics are solid.

There are many features I’m sure we’ve missed here, things that have been seen in concept or talked about on forums/discord. There’s a lot of work to do for the team and the community. The majority of our features are ‘in their infancy’ only in the project in their most basic forms. A lot of these features have been waiting on larger scale testing and tweaking.

Here are a handful of the many features that are in and need tweaking:
Zombie AI (Pathfinding)
Zombie Spawn Rates
Night Zombie Behavior
Day Zombie Behavior
Loot Spawn Rates
Loot Variety
Locking Containers
Locking Doors
Persistence
Flashlights
Weight Calculations
Wiki Links (every object has a wiki link that needs an associated page created)
Weather Cycles
Day and Night Cycle Length
Gunplay
Gun Jamming and Cleaning
Consuming Foods
Consuming Liquids and Medicines
Bandaging and Healing
Crafting Consumables
Cooking on Fires
Crafting Tools
Crafting Treated Medical Gear
Crafting Resources
Chat
VoIP Local
VoIP Radio Based (up to 1000m)
Powering a Structure
Daily Leaderboards
Stats System
Mental Health System

As we are missing many features, many are already in. There’s a lot of balancing to do. We’re a tiny team and having to learn and develop at the same time hasn’t allowed us much time to test. We need more hands on deck to find all the nasty bugs and game issues that we simply don’t have the manpower to find.

What to expect on Release
Tomorrow will be the first time more than 10 people have played the current build of Survive the Nights at the same time. Tomorrow 1000’s of people will try to play. Expect absolute insanity for at least the first 48 hours. The dev team can be counted on one hand so you’ll need to bear with us. It’s also a holiday weekend, not ideal. We’ll do our best to be around but you will likely not be able to reach us on Christmas Day. Release will happen tomorrow at around 1pm EST (give or take a few hours). With any luck, servers will be stable sometime next week.

What is an ‘Unlisted’ release?
The game is somewhat ‘hidden’ you will not find it searching in the Steam store nor will it show up on any kind of associated list. You will only be able to access the Steam store page via a direct URL. This will remain the case until builds are stable, enjoyable and match the above alpha trailer in gameplay.

Can I Stream?
Yes but please include a disclaimer that states that these builds are pre-alpha and is not to be considered a finished game.

Backer Badge/Discord Role
We will no longer be giving out badges/roles after tomorrow's launch. If you’ve pre-ordered before tomorrow you can still request the role.

Bug Reporting
Done here via BitBucket. Please do your best to include any valuable information. The better a problem is explained the faster we can address it.

Communication
The best way to reach is via Discord and Twitter

Technical Issues
This pre-alpha build is going to be riddled with issues. Public tickets will get addressed as they come in and as development allows. We will do our best to ensure everyone is playing by a public alpha release.

Public Alpha Release
A fully-featured/promoted Early Access Alpha build will come once the team, all of the current and all of the new supporters feel the builds are stable and enjoyable. We hope to be in a public alpha stage in a few months and out of it in a year.

JB: Okay, downloads should start sometime in the next 20 minutes or so. Servers will likely all crash instantly and we'll spend the rest of the night (The team is in the UK) trying to get patches out. Servers will likely not be stable until sometime next week.
[9:45 PM] JB: I will update everyone here best as I can, please remember there are only 4 of us and me. Clinton is hosting all servers for this release. Things will take time, a lot isn't working and a lot has never been put under any kind of stress.
[9:48 PM] JB: Some known Issues -

GPU TICKS
HIGH RAM USAGE

FPS ISSUES
- Night time FPS drops
- Stutters
- Zombie causing FPS spikes
- Boarder crossings causing stutter

ZOMBIE BEHAVIOR
- Collision issues with player punching and melee attacks
- They may sometimes ‘float’ towards you and not animate
- They will sometimes get caught in a thinking loop and not know how to chase you (typically when stuck behind a fence)
- They continue to knock on doors after they’re dead
- They act goofy please record video, get screens and give detailed reports!

GENERAL GAMEPLAY
- Physics and animation issues
- Persistence issues
- All around silly behavior like clipping, collider issues and camera effect issues

GUI
- Server list lag/slow scroll