Urban Strife - turn-based zombie survival RPG

[luj1]

When is this coming out? Looks good

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Well, first step is to produce a decent vertical slice demo, get public feedback on the game and balance/fix what's wrong.


Then we'll see.

 

[agris]

Well, first step is to produce a decent vertical slice demo, get public feedback on the game and balance/fix what's wrong.

What's the scope: combat map(s) only, combat maps + shelter, or first X% of the game?

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Demo will basically be the prologue of the game. It will include the first faction RPG + combat (+zombies, +unaligned baddies), but with a small twist that we can't spoil.
There will be some basic upgrades you can build for your base, too, just as a teaser. Enough for a couple of hours of fun (depending on your completionist/direct gameplay style).

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Okay mister, when is the demo coming out?

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Okay mister, when is the demo coming out?

When it's ready. Before the next festival that's for sure. Hopefully before we crack from overwork and lack of sleep and start flinging bananas at each other.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

When it's ready.

Is it ready yet?

 

[cyborgboy95]

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Tutorial level & dynamic help widget

You will start the game in a micro tutorial level, that will both introduce you into the story and teach you basic gameplay elements. Just follow the instructions in the new Help Widget. This widget will show up each time there are new elements in the game and offer quick help to the new players. It is not game blocking and you will be able to close it once you have acquired enough experience.

so can I disable this?
I hate tutorials in games

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Yes, we'll have options for those the prefer a more immersive gameplay to disable helpers. Probably not for the demo but definitely for the release build.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Yes, we'll have options for those the prefer a more immersive gameplay to disable helpers. Probably not for the demo but definitely for the release build.

Thanks for the quick reply.
This is looking to be my GOTY of whatever year it releases, can't wait.

 

[Alienman]

This and Project Haven keeps me from

 

[agris]

USG_Mucifikatorul one thing has stood out to me in the recent screenshots you've shared. The way the UI is laid out, the left side of the screen is cramped. The print-out UI widget in the top-left should be brought down to the bottom in my opinion.

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

The UI has been redesigned a couple of times and probably will get more improvements after the demo. The main concern now is having everything you actively use in one place, not spread over four corners.
The quest log is ok where it is though, considering most of us read a screen right to left, top to bottom. You want your must-read info exactly there, in the top left corner. It's a pretty basic UX rule.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Does the big 'LOG' button refer to a combat log or something else(e.g., chat log)?
If it's not a combat log, are there plans to add one?

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

It is an event log. You can scroll through it if you missed some vital info.

 

[agris]

The UI has been redesigned a couple of times and probably will get more improvements after the demo. The main concern now is having everything you actively use in one place, not spread over four corners.
The quest log is ok where it is though, considering most of us read a screen right to left, top to bottom. You want your must-read info exactly there, in the top left corner. It's a pretty basic UX rule.

Think of it this way - you have two dimensions with which you can fill with UI elements. Vertical, and horizontal. You're designing a game in the 2020s, which means your audience is using widescreen 16:9 monitors. 16 wide, 9 tall.

You have less real estate in the vertical axis than the horizontal, but you're stacking UI elements one above the other, top left and bottom left, in the dimension you have less space in. That's what i'm saying. You ever drive down a neighborhood street, a small one with street parking, and there's cars parked on both sides of the street? When it's a narrow street, there's always some genius who parks immediately across from another parked car, creating a pinch point. That's what's happening visually with your UI placement.

UX design rules are fine, but you gotta account for implementation - in this case, widescreen monitors.

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Yep, we'll try and get the hud to function at an optimum level on all types on monitors, wide, 4k or laptop.
Game is pretty well optimized and it should run on a wide range of configurations.

 

[Darth Canoli]

When it's ready. Before the next festival that's for sure. Hopefully before we crack from overwork and lack of sleep and start flinging bananas at each other.

Well, if you start flinging bananas at each other, don't forget to get it on tape, you'd probably make the buzz, i can see the head-lines already: "zombie game devs go crazy from overwork and covid restrictions", great promotion material.

Besides, you're posting on the codex and we expect nothing less.

 

[Stavrophore]

Are these...actually simulated bullets? Mein gott, i get Jagged Alliance vibes, and that's a good thing!

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Are these...actually simulated bullets? Mein gott, i get Jagged Alliance vibes, and that's a good thing!

Yes, this scene has the shooter close and the spread isn't really visible, but each individual pellet is tracked on its own.

 

[Alienman]

A couple of small questions about cosmetics. Hopefully it haven't been asked before.

Will there be gore? Big caliber bullet rip of arms etc? Will there be visible bullet wounds on characters? Will there be blood pools from downed dudes? And finally, will there be injury states, like getting blasted in your leg with a shotgun will make you limp and so on?

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

There will be blood splashes and blood on dead bodies, but having visible wounds on the models is that kind of eye candy that an indie studio has to forget about when drawing the line (although it ranks quite high on our "nice to have" list).
On the other hand, yes, there will be cripple effects, different for each body part.

 

[agris]

There will be blood splashes and blood on dead bodies, but having visible wounds on the models is that kind of eye candy that an indie studio has to forget about when drawing the line (although it ranks quite high on our "nice to have" list).
On the other hand, yes, there will be cripple effects, different for each body part.

knock it out of the park with sales, patch in a bunch of extra shit from your nice-to-have list, re-released as "definitive edition" and rake in even more $$$ from the casuals who like eye candy.

 

[USG_Mucifikatorul]

Yea, that's pretty much our plan (releasing some of the nice-to-have stuff as later patches).