Game News Dead State Kickstarter Update #25: Combat Video Released

[likaq]

Pretty much. Plus Mitsoda's writing and story.

http://justpressstart.net/?p=10205

^ listen to this bros.

" it's a zombie game about humans"

you're a fucking retard


To all those complaining about the UI and graphics, Wasteland 2 has a 10 times bigger budget and it looks as shitty as this, you fucking hypocrites, Fargodrones who revere him as a rpg messiah.

Where i'm criticizing UI and graphics or anything from Dead State exactly ???

you're sub-human shit

 

[MicoSelva]

Some people seem to have actually believed in early 2013, but that was totally impossible. Other people said that because RPG XY took 5, 10 or 15 years, every other project must also inevitably be delayed by 3-6 years, but I think they will be proven wrong, too. Because such delays come when development stops for a longer time, basic concepts get changed along the way, people leave, etc. Things like a long silence followed by an announcement that they are changing combat to real time would be an indicator, but this seems not to be the case .. fingers crossed

I think SR gameplay video was released to buy them more time, and I applaud this strategy. People would watch it and shut up about hurrying the project, because they like what they see.

 

[Wizfall]

About SR they stated before the end of the campaign that the scope of the game have changed and the initial delivery date was no more valid.
They have been very honest about everything, even saying DURING the campaign things that backers really did not like at all (like not implementing a complex matrix system).
Now about Deadstate i like much better the W2 and SR graphics style (not really the same thing that graphics quality, moreover SR have a fix camera big+ for me).

 

[Jaesun]

Yep. HBS have been very open about this. The first iteration of the game was a more casual Shadowrun Return game. And us backers were VERY vocal in that we just wanted a good old fashioned Shadowrun cRPG (kind of like the NES and Genesis ones). The scope completely changed of the game. Thankfully.

 

[Trash]

Finally something concrete. Nice. Despite it being clearly a work in progress (missing animations, repeating sounds, performance drops) it really is looking amazing. Love the attention to detail to the area and the whole lived in feel it conveys.

The noise system really does seem to work nicely and is a rather elegant way to simulate all those tense zombie flick moments. Nice to see it in action. Imagine you can do lots of nasty things with car alarms, stereo sets going on when power is restored, church bells being rung by hostiles and so forth to spice things up. Wonder if there will be other mechanics regarding zombie arrival in play as well? Certain amount of zombies arriving each turn regardless of noise, more and more zombies arriving after a set number of turns or a certain time?

Anyway, loved what I've been seeing so far. Very glad I backed this one.

 

[InspectorRumpole]

Hoping there will be:
- Fog-of-War
- Attack of opportunity, or some kind of surprise attack (why did the Cowardly Looter just run up to them, instead of shooting from a distance?)
- Zombies being a little more "alert". It seems you virtually have to be face to face with them before the notice you. Why not also make them react on movement (with them having a limited sight range).

 

[Jedi Exile]

Don't like rotatable camera, but otherwise, it looks great.

 

[Trash]

Fog of war is a shit way of simulating los. Do like what I already see implemented in the demo video with buildings and general area being visible but items and npc's not. I'd hate for the boring 'run over the entire map to get it out of the grey fog of nothing' shit to return.

Seriously, anyone who has played BG or TOEE should know better than to want that to return.

 

[Jaesun]

Shadowrun Returns semi fog of war/darkness looked really good. But then again Brian doesn't have anywhere near the budget they have.

 

[St. Toxic]

Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that zombies don't react to characters 1-2 squares away? Is sound really going to be the only thing that they care about? Last I heard, those things can smell your fucking fear in the wind from a block away. Now, maybe they wouldn't pin-point your exact location on a map, but in a best-case scenario they would slowly gravitate towards areas of human activity in large numbers. And what was the deal with that zombie that just ran past him in the aisle? It's like she didn't care about meat, only investigating the source of various noises.

I realize we're talking about a wip here, but appropriate AI behavior is the first step to making progress in a zombie game, because without it any scenario you design will end up lackluster.

 

[Trash]

Well, the idea is that they go for sight over noise.

How do zombies prioritize who they attack and where they go?
Sight than noise. As long as they can see a human, they will go after them.

Zombies are attracted to the loudest sounds or the sounds that are within their hearing range. Once they find a live target, they will try to follow it. If you make a great deal of noise, then find a place to lay low, they will eventually forget about you, but then, of course, there are a bunch of them hanging out in the area, so hopefully you didn't leave yourself cornered.

I guess the zombie AI needs some more finetuning brainsssss to actually do so.

 

[BobtheTree]

The game could be die-checking the awareness of zombies and if they don't make the throw, they don't engage in combat.

 

[Infinitron]

Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that zombies don't react to characters 1-2 squares away? Is sound really going to be the only thing that they care about? Last I heard, those things can smell your fucking fear in the wind from a block away. Now, maybe they wouldn't pin-point your exact location on a map, but in a best-case scenario they would slowly gravitate towards areas of human activity in large numbers. And what was the deal with that zombie that just ran past him in the aisle. It's like she didn't care about meat, only investigating the source of various noises.

Maybe the zombies in Dead State are more like dangerous dumb animals than always-hostile creatures of evil.

 

[Trash]

Work in progress was evident in nearly every second frame of that video. I love what I saw but it's clear the game needs a lot of work before it's finished.

Am glad to see something of it though. Had all but written if off to be honest.

 

[St. Toxic]

Maybe the zombies in Dead State are more like dangerous dumb animals than always-hostile creatures of evil.

You'll get no argument from me, as that's exactly what hungry herd-animals do. They flock towards sources of food.

The game could be die-checking the awareness of zombies and if they don't make the throw, they don't engage in combat.

There's a limited number of scenarios, at least that I can think of, where you'll actually get to see a zombie without it getting hostile.

- Being out of its line of sight, that is either coming up behind it, above it or below it.

- If the zombie's view is obstructed by a physical object, such as a cone or a bucket on its head.

- Finally, of course, stealth with a skill-check, which would be an abstract representation of avoiding los by any means necessary.

In any other situation, seeing a zombie would pretty much mean either running or fighting.

 

[majestik12]

How the project would look if it was being developed by competent people: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roam/roam

 

[Trash]

Like a shitty action game?

 

[majestik12]

Like a shitty action game?

Obviously, I was not referring to gameplay.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Though the engine appears quite robust they still have to implement most of the content.

Who says they haven't already? What do we know about SR's development schedule?

I am .. of course with some caution. You don't have to be a prophet in order to male an estimate now.

First of all, considering there is no publisher, it's quite likely that the alpha is presented at the earliest possible time. These guys are really enthusiastic and the point were you are most excited and eager about showing your software is when you have seen it up and running for the first time, not 1/2 year later. It's extremely likely they have entered alpha not too long ago. The WL2 demo may have been yet another impulse to get a slice of the game ready asap. They only had to wait til they can show something that will get people excited, and does not crash. It does not have all the bells and whistles, but enough that people will praise it.

Going by their two presentations, they seem to be almost finished with their engine and the Editor, which will both speed up things from now. But at that point they would still have to put most of the content in the game, because things work in a certain order, and putting content togeher comes after the engine is ready (as long as your name is not Zsoltan from tortured hearts). They were showing the exact same mission on two individual occasions (the kickstarter update and the gamespot thing yesterday). Commons sense tells this must be the first / or one of the first missions, were everything is in place, not a sample of an almost finished software close to beta.

From that point onwards, am optimistic estimate would be: MANY more months til beta, then some more months for testing and balancing .. probably more of that than we think because people tend to slack off and get lazy at that stage, when the hard work is done. Considering all of that, even Christmas 2013 sounds a bit optimistic, though not completely impossible.

From what I've seen, I am just certain it will be no later than Christmas 2014, they seem too far advanced for that . All presuming that the final game will fulfil the minimal standards of an RPG and will not be a shallow affair that people finish in two or three evenings. I would actually be VERY concerned if the game would indeed be released in May, because that most certainly guarantees that it was rushed and will suck.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Some people seem to have actually believed in early 2013, but that was totally impossible. Other people said that because RPG XY took 5, 10 or 15 years, every other project must also inevitably be delayed by 3-6 years, but I think they will be proven wrong, too. Because such delays come when development stops for a longer time, basic concepts get changed along the way, people leave, etc. Things like a long silence followed by an announcement that they are changing combat to real time would be an indicator, but this seems not to be the case .. fingers crossed

I think SR gameplay video was released to buy them more time, and I applaud this strategy. People would watch it and shut up about hurrying the project, because they like what they see.

I think that's the case. Now that the pressure is taken from everyone, it also means work can slacken, that's almost a sure thing. They are just human after all.

 

[Infinitron]

From what I've seen, I am just certain it will be no later than Christmas 2014

CHRISTMAS 2014? With what money will they pay wages until then? Dude get real.

First of all, considering there is no publisher

Indeed!

"Work can slacken", lol

 

[St. Toxic]

Wages?

 

[Infinitron]

ITT we discover Burning Bridges thinks all Kickstarter developers are indie part-timers who work in their parents' basements

 

[Trash]

Somebody give Brian some cough drops btw. Guy sounds like he's been up all night to try and record all the zombie sounds in the game. All by himself.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Well I just said what I expect, and it's not so much changed since this all began, a year ago.

But what do you guys expect? That you will be playing SR this June? Ha-ha-ha.