Game News Dead State Kickstarter Update #45: Progress Report, Design Updates, and Polls

[Crooked Bee]

Tags: Dead State; DoubleBear Productions

In the new Kickstarter update for their zombie survival RPG Dead State, DoubleBear talk about the progress they've made since the last Early Access update:

Well, we've been doing some seriously heavy internal testing to prepare everything, and our whole team's focused on a multitude of features, fixes, and assets that will make the open beta that much better when it's released.

Here's a quick progress update:

* Our art team's cranking out assets for unique and special areas, unique armor models, and new NPC models;

* Our programming team is working on implementing dogs, shelter upgrades, and character perks and traits, as well as the usual bug-fixing;

* Our animator is working through importing a number of new and existing animal, human and undead animations into the build and creating new dialogue gesture animations;

* Our design team is crafting crisis events, adding ever more allies and their corresponding dialogues to the game, and working on new and old levels;

* Our sound designer is busily working on weapon-related SFX, and recently provided us with new explosion sounds

* Our composer's finished most of Dead State's core tracks (of which there are many!) and is getting started soon on a unique track for the ending theme.​

Aside from that, Annie and Brian Mitsoda have also resumed their Monday Design Updates, which you might want to check out, too. The latest one, from July 14th, has to do with the game's conversations -- how they help flesh things out and what DoubleBear's current goals with those are.

Also, check out the full update for the list of polls (e.g. "What are you looking forward to the most for the upcoming beta?") that the developers are currently running on their forum.

 

[Volrath]

Nobody really gives a shit. Kind of sad.

 

[Morkar Left]

It's relatively pointless for me to play the beta because I want a fresh experience when I start playing the full game. I played the first day in the first beta to see how things are generally looking and I couldn't complain. A bit rough on the edges but I liked what I saw. Waiting for release...

 

[Sensuki]

Hey, they copied BioWare's ME4 Poll. The smart of war.

 

[Haba]

Nobody really gives a shit. Kind of sad.

Two pages on their own forum, most of it staff posts.

 

[Lhynn]

Well, im still interested in it.

 

[Roguey]

Nobody really gives a shit. Kind of sad.

I already made a thread giving the definitive reason why.

Anyway it still outsold AoD, those people just don't want to discuss it in places that aren't the Steam forums which makes sense.

 

[StaticSpine]

Hey, they copied BioWare's ME4 Poll. The smart of war.

Where?

 

[Sensuki]

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/69HFZTS

 

[MapMan]

Nobody really gives a shit. Kind of sad.

I already made a thread giving the definitive reason why.

Anyway it still outsold AoD, those people just don't want to discuss it in places that aren't the Steam forums which makes sense.

Link? I didn't know there was quite a shitstorm around this game up until now... Duh...

 

[Roguey]

Link? I didn't know there was quite a shitstorm around this game up until now... Duh...

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...rent-you-looking-forward-to-dead-state.92781/
As expected, setting is #1.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Speaking as someone who is interested in it (I'm not going to repost the whole Romero-verse conversation again, but I've explained in many threads why I don't think any of the 'zombie' games have really touched it), there's not a lot one can say until the game is released.

With AoD you can discuss the combat and builds, as they're enough of a focus to be the basis of excitement in itself. But the main attraction of DS isn't really the traditional mechanics. I'm hoping for some decent turnbased combat, and the noise mechanic could add an interesting dimension that we haven't faced before but, frankly, combat isn't the game's selling point. If it has good combat, that's a bonus - I"ll be happy if it's passable.

The things I'm excited about for DS are the implementation of survivalist mechanics in a modern crpg, the base, what seems like a more complex than usual set of companion mechanics (weighing usefulness in combat v contribution to the base v morale v clashes with other companions v reliability, etc), and what could be a really interesting way of implementing the game's quests and plot within a semi-sandbox environment. The last point is the biggest one for me: a game in which the plot, quests and challenges advance with in-game time. I really like the idea of events happening around you, instead of being triggered only when you reach the 'right point' in a quest path, and whilst they're unlikely to make things this hardcore, it would be great if the main plot could be something that you have to find by yourself, like the old crpgs of yore except with a soft time-limit imposed by the challenges getting harder, and resources increasingly scarce, the more weeks that go by.

Of course, we're unlikely to get anything that good, but even something that half-delivers along those lines would interest me.

Thing is, none of that stuff suits pre-release discussion. There's just nothing one can really say about any of that until the game comes out.

 

[Broseph]

The really sad thing is that when this was first announced, in fact just prior to the announcement, we had Mitsoda saying stuff like 'It's something we are surprised no one thought of before, etc etc' And indeed there were no real zombie games on the horizons when this was announced. Fast forward and today we have zombie fatigue. And games like DayZ, etc.

Maybe the Mitsoda's should go the Grimoire route and wait until zombie games, and even turn based rpgs have again become extinct, and then release it.

 

[Jaesun]

The really sad thing is that when this was first announced, in fact just prior to the announcement, we had Mitsoda saying stuff like 'It's something we are surprised no one thought of before, etc etc' And indeed there were no real zombie games on the horizons when this was announced. Fast forward and today we have zombie fatigue. And games like DayZ, etc.

No one has done a turn based, survival, and resource and people management game before. All the rest of the "zombie" games are just shitty pew pew shoot the zombie pop-a-mole stuff.

 

[Morkar Left]

No one has done a turn based, survival, and resource and people management game before.

Zafehouse Diaries is exactly about that.

But yeah, zombie rpgs which are actually worthwhile games don't exist so far.

When doublebear announced they want to make a zombie rpg there wasn't really a zombiehype. This came around 1 year later. If Dead State would have been made in that timeframe it would have sold exceptional more than it will probably now. By now, they have lost the novelty factor and there's even the risk of losing sales because of zombiefatigue with all the zombie crap around.

Still, I guess Dead State will be my best zombie experience besides the Walking Dead pilot movie and 24 Days later.

 

[Azrael the cat]

I wonder whether it wouldn't be too late to change the zombie model, and alter in-game references to some equivalent of 'infected' (not 'infected' itself - 'the infected' were too iconic in 28 Days Later for the term to be reused in this setting). Shift the marketing to focus on the idea of a post-outbreak survival, push the zombie appearances back to the 2nd week, with looters (will flee if hurt or if someone pulls a gun) and gang-members (ultra pissed because they rightly suspect that nobody is going to come help them) as the tutorial enemies. Promote it as a 'society collapsing through a deadly pandemic' game, with the 'infected' appearing after the vaccine intended to treat the pandemic has unexpected side-effects.

I.e. just change enough so that people won't see 'zombie' and turn off without reading about what the game is. From what I understand, the game is following the tradition of characters not referring to them as zombies, so it might be possible to make some strategic alterations without having to re-record dialogue.

It isn't my preference at all, but if the game ends up being good, I'd hate to see it sink due to a superficiality.

 

[Morkar Left]

If you go with the classical Romero zombies or the 24 weeks later model is just a matter of style. And they made really clear right from the start which route they are going to take.

The 24 weeks later infected sounds more believable from a modern point of view if you prefer a scientific approach but in the end I think it doesn't really matter and it isn't even important. By now everybody has already seen or heard every possible "reason" for zombies to exist and you have to use your suspension of disbelieve anyway. The curiosity of what happened and why isn't really there anymore. The novelity of the setting has worn of. It's an established setting by now like classical fantasy is.

I suspect there isn't even a reason to exactly explain why zombies exist. I think survival and getting along together is the main theme of the game. Which is quite ironically exactly what the "classical" zombie setting was in the first place as we know it today.

 

[Kalin]

Change zombies to congoid machete rapists and I will purchase at day 1.

 

[Morkar Left]

Change zombies to congoid machete rapists and I will purchase at day 1.

Modders will fix it.

 

[4too]

Zombie As Survivalist Code Word

Overheard after the gun range: Urban Tease asked a Rural Prep-er, "what are you planning to shoot with all that ammunition you buy?"

Rural Prep-er replied, with thin smile, hint of teeth,

"Zombies".

"Zombies" may be as good a dehumanizing tag or profile as 'bandits' and 'looters' after a hypothetical collapse (temporary or worse) of civil order and economic commerce.

Three days, three weeks, three months, … might be harder to differentiate victims of disaster from trash mobs of monsters.

If there were men among the mobsters, the possibility of "Zombie Diplomacy" might necessitate a C and C mini game too complex, too little return, too time attenuating,

for the most precious pop-a-mole demographic.

From all I know of Dead State as a Survivalist Simulator with community rebuild aspirations, 'faction wrangling',

that would have been edited from the design doc's as beyond the gathered resources,

AND not mass consumption tasty for the 21st Century Doritos(™) palate, … as observed here at RPG Codex.





4too

 

[Overboard]

24 Days later.

24 weeks later model

It's 28 ffs.

The 24 weeks later infected sounds more believable from a modern point of view if you prefer a scientific approach

Infected with RAAAGGGGGEEEE is scientific?

 

[cherry blossom]

Everything aside, Dead State has more serious problems than a market segment who is not crazy about zombies, and that is simplistic and consolish game mechanics and boring writing.

And the beginning of the seven-day demo; what a terrible start to introduce the game to the players. You have to wade through so much boring writing just to get started with the game, it is inexcusable, not to mention the high school as a fixed shelter.

 

[Morkar Left]

24 Days later.

24 weeks later model

It's 28 ffs.

The 24 weeks later infected sounds more believable from a modern point of view if you prefer a scientific approach

Infected with RAAAGGGGGEEEE is scientific?

:incloosive:

Infected with RAAAGGGGGEEEE is scientific?

Rabies. This is as scientific as zombies can get.

 

[TheEntitledOne]

24 Days later.

24 weeks later model

It's 28 ffs.

The 24 weeks later infected sounds more believable from a modern point of view if you prefer a scientific approach

Infected with RAAAGGGGGEEEE is scientific?

:incloosive:

Infected with RAAAGGGGGEEEE is scientific?

Rabies. This is as scientific as zombies can get.

No 2 second infection is scientific. A necromancer would be more scientific.

 

[Morkar Left]

Could work like an instant drug? And wasn't there an article posted here somewhere about "zombie" wasps because of some fungus?

But I'm not defending the zombie genre as a real possibility. It's a fantasy setting as much as a Stephen King novel.