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The Dead Linger - open-world survival FPP game

udm

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Found this game mentioned on the GOG.com forums, and the concept sounds cool. It does, by the look of it, seem to be modeled after the likes of Project Zomboid. I doubt there are stats, but you have to scavenge for resources, barricade yourself (or yourselves if playing in MP), and make use of whatever resources you have gathered to craft equipment in order to defend yourself. This isn't just L4D where zombies are popamole fodder i.e., a joke. Zombies can bash the crap out of your barricades, so there's an air of constant danger which encourages flight over fight.

MP sounds really cool, because it's not just a bunch of you sticking together and trying to survive. Apparently there's PVP too, meaning you can have varying groups of players trying to fight for territorial control or just for lulz while staying alive in a zombie-infested city.

Here's their website:
http://www.thedeadlinger.com/

They have a Kickstarter going on here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sandswept/the-dead-linger?ref=card

Sounds like the type of project I'd support. It's going to be DRM-free too. Sadly, no hard copies are planned. My main concern, though, is how it's going to turn out aesthetically, given that the map is going to be random generated. I think it's nice to have that school you thought was safe previously suddenly change location in a new game, but I hope it's not going to be just big, flat, square city.

Here are some questions and answers from their FAQ section on the forums:
Will this game's art style be realistic or stylised?
Realistic.

Will your character feel hunger?
Yes, your character will need to eat.

... What about thirst?
Drinking water won't be that necessary for your character but it will lower infection risk.

Will there be barricading in this game?
Yes, free-form barricading is one of the main features in the entire game. No preset spots to place boards on windows. The integrity of a given barricade will be determined by what it is and how you place it on the door/window.

Can I create my own items in game?
There will be some sort of crafting system yes, what that will be is still to be determined, so put your suggestions up on the forums!

Will the game's enviroment be destructible?
We're not sure how destructible yet, but windows and doors will be things you don't want zombies hitting.

How will zombies act?
Zombies will essentially have 3 states. (Names of the states are made up for the sake of explanation)
- Idle (Wandering a area, just standing there, gnawing on something)
- Investigating (Being aroused by a outside source; be it light, sound, smell, etc; And going around to investigate)
- Aggro (Actively pursuing a player they saw or know is there)
Zombies within a investigating or aggroed may draw other zombies to them.


Will there be inventory limitations?
Yes, you can only carry as much as your backpack, pockets, etc, can hold.

Will weather have a effect on the AI?
Yes.
Thunderstorms will make it more difficult for zombies to hear you, night time makes it easier for them to hear you but decreases their vision, this is all the information we have about the effects of weather on the world so far.


Will there be driveable vehicles in this game?
Yes and they will require fuel so you may need to top off the tank before driving it off into the sunset.

:incline:

Concept art/pics (for those too lazy to click on the links):

SbU7K.jpg


gblrx.jpg


8LdQV.jpg


Cv3Mi.jpg
 
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Ulminati

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Hrm. Shame I'm completely burned out on zombie games. Best of luck to the devs though. At least they put slightly more work into this than the HARDCORE TACTICAL SHOOTERs
 
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Ulminati

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Zombies are the new ww2. Saves lazy devs from thinking too hard, since they can just copypasta from all the other shit already out there. And they even have a legit excuse for lazy ai/pathfinding.
 

udm

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Market hitting zombie oversaturation in 3...2...1...
Happened a long time ago. Still, this looks very promising.

I'm tired of zombie-themed games too, but mostly those that are popamoles under the guise of "survival". There just aren't many zombie survival games that emphasize on the "staying alive as long as you can" part and not just shooting 400 shambling corpses. Project Zomboid is one, Dead State too, and there was a freeware game made by that guy who worked on the Zombie Smashers series, but I don't believe there are any FPP ones.
 

udm

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My bad, I forgot about Rogue Survivor. I've already downloaded it, and meant to give it a serious playthrough, but never did, and I just completely forgot about it after that.

-fake edit- Damn you, looking at your LP makes me want to just say "fuck it" to this assignment I have going on in one corner of my desktop and just start it up. :love: ;)
 

udm

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$25 is pretty steep for a pre-order of a game that doesn't exist.

Yes. Yes it is. I may withdraw my pledge if they don't have something concrete to show for it over the next few weeks; I don't mind getting it at a later date, even if at a slightly higher price, if I like the looks of the final product. I don't want to pay $25 for a fucking farming simulator. You know shit's getting serious when people actually start talking about domesticating animals and growing flowers for decoration.
 

JarlFrank

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Another potentially interesting game ruined by the incredibly boring and overused setting of zombie apocalypse.

Might torrent it when it comes out, but meh... zombie apocalypse as a setting doesn't do anything for me. It's just boring.
 

CorpseZeb

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Now, but how zombie can be "overused"? They are like pizza - more of them, better day you have. Oddly, kickstarts accepts only US currency (through Amazon payment), so, dandy folks from Europe, are unable to support fine games.
 

SerratedBiz

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Which raises a question: is there anything else which can / has been used instead of zombies? Something slow, stupid and numerous as fuck?
 

Hobo Elf

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Which raises a question: is there anything else which can / has been used instead of zombies? Something slow, stupid and numerous as fuck?

Why does it have to be slow, stupid and numerous? Why can't it be one fast and intelligent being? If it was a hunter by nature then that would give you incentive to move around as often as possible so that it doesn't catch up with you.
 
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Ulminati

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Hide my goldz! In which you play a jew family, fleeing the german wermacht. How long can you outwit the bureaucracy of the large army hunting you and how much of your identity and family are you willing to sacrifice to avoid being sent off to the showers?

Barter sugar rations for hiding places. Booby trap your cellar. Exhilerating chase scenes through the scenic Ruhr district suburbs.

GOTY material right there.
 

SerratedBiz

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Which raises a question: is there anything else which can / has been used instead of zombies? Something slow, stupid and numerous as fuck?

Why does it have to be slow, stupid and numerous? Why can't it be one fast and intelligent being? If it was a hunter by nature then that would give you incentive to move around as often as possible so that it doesn't catch up with you.

Because they make for a good setting. They give you reason to settle somewhere but still be afraid to go out and make your presence known, which in turn is indispensible for gathering supplies. The zombie apocalypse is not bad per se, it's just been used over and over and, most of the time, in the least creative and gratifying possible ways.

Not that a clever, fast hunter wouldn't work too, within reason. My initial quick overview on that idea is it's either fast enough I'd need to stay indoors or it's clever enough that I need to stay on the move. One possibility could be similar to the Dead State kind of survival game, the other more for a run of the mill FPS or a driving game of some sort, raiding towns on your way to escape the predator for as long as you can.
 

JarlFrank

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Personally, zombies being slow, stupid and numerous is what makes the zombie apocalypse setting so unappealing to me. Heck, I don't like quick and strong zombies either... zombies are a boring enemy. The entire genre depends on there being masses of zombies and the only danger being their mass, or infection. A single zombie isn't a difficult to kill enemy. Heck, even a group of zombies isn't cause they're retarded and rush you while yelling BRAIINS so if you're properly barricaded you can just gun them down while they futilely run against your palisades.

I'd much prefer a game where instead of zombies, you have to fight humans or intelligent aliens. Actually, Ulminati's idea is quite close to it. How about playing as a group of resistance fighters in a city that has been almost completely wiped out by a merciless enemy, and you need to survive and sabotage enemy efforts in a zone where every civilian is shot on sight? That would be much, much more interesting than hordes of mindless zombies, which are the most boring enemies ever.
 

CorpseZeb

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Because only a disgusting fat fuck would like to eat pizza every day.

That was a metaphore, mylady. Zombies (like pizza by the way) are near perfect as a tabula rasa of storytelling or gameplaying. Simple ground, simple bread, waiting for savory sauces of an intelligent story.
 

SerratedBiz

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A single zombie isn't a difficult to kill enemy. Heck, even a group of zombies isn't cause they're retarded and rush you while yelling BRAIINS so if you're properly barricaded you can just gun them down while they futilely run against your palisades..

Well, the whole point is that, eventually, your supplies dwindle while zombie numbers remain rather constant. There's no 'wiping out' the zombie threat, with millions and millions of them out there and, for gameplay purposes, seemingly attracted to your little piece of heaven. The time will come when bullets become scarce and too many of them begin to amass outside; you can only wait as long as your supplies last and, even then, only as long as the numbers outside are manageable. Then it's time to pack up your crap and go on the move again, knowing that while you've been cooped up the world outside has kept on scavenging and that limited resources force your hand every step of the way.

I realize it might not be everyone's cup of tea but, outside the realm of FPSs and flash games, I do believe there's a niche for good zombie games. What I'm hoping Dead State will touch on.

Ulminati's blurb was very interesting, though. How interesting would it be to play resistance in an enemy city, with the same necessity of gathering supplies and keeping your people alive while planning your next move? Very much so and very much untapped, I think.
 

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