State of Decay

[Octavious]

Anyone wondering if the DLC is worth getting, it is. The sandbox mode is exactly what I wanted. They could use some more mission variety, but otherwise I heart it oh so much. I'm still one level 1 and find it pretty challenging. I'm terrified of what level 10 would look like.

[AjD]

Out-of-town with the family at grannie's 'til Sunday. Brought my laptop and darn forum effect got me...

What a great game. Kind of a combo between the latest Far Cry, Dead Island and Skyrim. So close to greatness, if it wasn't for the glitchy controls/graphics and a bit of dumbing down & consolitis. Still really, really cool... they've created a new sub-genre with this one. Surprisingly works smoothly on my laptop with Intel 4000HD graphics and 2 gigs RAM. Very playable, even in intense battles with multiple zeds.

If they made a first person view, I'd be in heaven (please!). I love large open world action RPGs with exploration (and zombies, especially when feeling underpowered and outnumbered). The safehouse management is an innovative add-on I hadn''t seen before.

[Hrnac]

Out-of-town with the family at grannie's 'til Sunday. Brought my laptop and darn forum effect got me...

What a great game. Kind of a combo between the latest Far Cry, Dead Island and Skyrim. So close to greatness, if it wasn't for the glitchy controls/graphics and a bit of dumbing down & consolitis. Still really, really cool... they've created a new sub-genre with this one. Surprisingly works smoothly on my laptop with Intel 4000HD graphics and 2 gigs RAM. Very playable, even in intense battles with multiple zeds.

If they made a first person view, I'd be in heaven (please!). I love large open world action RPGs with exploration (and zombies, especially when feeling underpowered and outnumbered). The safehouse management is an innovative add-on I hadn''t seen before.

I just stumbled upon this game yesterday. It is called "7 days to die" and it looks like it might be very good. It's in early alpha, but is worth following.

http://7daystodie.com/

-Hrnac

[Lordnine]

I played for about an hour and a half tonight. For lack of a better word, the game is janky and yet highly addictive and entertaining. The game does so many things right but overall I still feel like it was cobbled together on a shoestring budget.

If you can put up with the lack of polish I would say it’s definitely worth a look just because it offers such a unique gameplay experience.

A question for people who have put more time into it. What is the result of going over your storage limit? All my numbers are yellow but it hasn’t mentioned that I’m wasting anything. Also, how do I increase my storage?

[tgb]

Also, how do I increase my storage?

Create outposts? I haven't even played as much as you, but that.s my best guess based on watching videos.

[Archinerd]

You guys suck.
I was kind of on the fence on whether to get this or not, then I finally caved when I discovered the George Romero Mod.

[Sepiche]

Anyone wondering if the DLC is worth getting, it is. The sandbox mode is exactly what I wanted. They could use some more mission variety, but otherwise I heart it oh so much. I'm still one level 1 and find it pretty challenging. I'm terrified of what level 10 would look like.

Same thoughts here. It's basically a randomized, little more difficult version of the base game, but without the story missions.

A question for people who have put more time into it. What is the result of going over your storage limit? All my numbers are yellow but it hasn’t mentioned that I’m wasting anything. Also, how do I increase my storage?

There's a storage structure you can build that adds quite a bit, and some bases have built in extra storage. If I recall how it works I think at the end of each day if your stocks are over the limit you lose some of the excess.

[AjD]

Still out-of-town at relatives... played another hour tonight, and

Spoiler:

I went on the mission to rescue Maya. Such a tense gaming session, it was the middle of the night (game time) and I snuck with Ed the whole way. Creepy stuff, with all the ambient zombie groans and that music that suddenly starts-up, reminds me of '70s Italian horror films. Lots of sneaking, short runs and the occasional sneak-behind kill.

When we turned the corner by the river and saw that zombie horde running at us - it definitely qualified as a memorable gaming moment. Taking charge of Maya and then seeing how Marcus was now more vulnerable - after building up his stats, etc. - really made the return sneak back home exciting. And then the other survivors, finding them all dead back inside the Ranger Station.... nice touch.

The story advancement may be simplistic/thin, but the player-made set-pieces in-between can feel very cinematic and really set things up (so far). It can be very suspenseful.

Speaking of mods... is anybody working on a first-person mod for this? Would make this game even more immersive, IMHO (or at least let us tweak the damn FOV).

[tgb]

You guys suck.
I was kind of on the fence on whether to get this or not, then I finally caved when I discovered the George Romero Mod.

That looks great. Thanks. I was just getting ready to start a new game.

[Baroquen]

Well, I've played a bit so far this weekend, and while I haven't gotten very far, I'm enjoying it, and want to play more. Not sure I'll be in for Breakdown but I can figure that out later. Let me finish the base game, and maybe fiddle with mods.

I understand the bit about how it doesn't quite seemed polished. I get that feel too. But otherwise, the game is entertaining enough to overcome it. At least so far. Definitely think I'll get my sale money's worth out of it.

[ibdoomed]

Same here. I hated Dead Island.

What did you hate about dead island?

Still out-of-town at relatives... played another hour tonight, and

Spoiler:

I went on the mission to rescue Maya. Such a tense gaming session, it was the middle of the night (game time) and I snuck with Ed the whole way. Creepy stuff, with all the ambient zombie groans and that music that suddenly starts-up, reminds me of '70s Italian horror films. Lots of sneaking, short runs and the occasional sneak-behind kill.

When we turned the corner by the river and saw that zombie horde running at us - it definitely qualified as a memorable gaming moment. Taking charge of Maya and then seeing how Marcus was now more vulnerable - after building up his stats, etc. - really made the return sneak back home exciting. And then the other survivors, finding them all dead back inside the Ranger Station.... nice touch.

The story advancement may be simplistic/thin, but the player-made set-pieces in-between can feel very cinematic and really set things up (so far). It can be very suspenseful.

Speaking of mods... is anybody working on a first-person mod for this? Would make this game even more immersive, IMHO (or at least let us tweak the damn FOV).

Thanks for the story. Really gives me some perspective about the game.

[Lordnine]

This game is ridiculously addictive. Once you learn to live with the little technical problems and limitations it’s hard not to love the game. The only thing that continues to annoy me is that zombies respawn in areas you’ve cleared. It takes away the sense of accomplishment you get from securing an area.

[Normann]

Out-of-town with the family at grannie's 'til Sunday. Brought my laptop and darn forum effect got me...

What a great game. Kind of a combo between the latest Far Cry, Dead Island and Skyrim. So close to greatness, if it wasn't for the glitchy controls/graphics and a bit of dumbing down & consolitis. Still really, really cool... they've created a new sub-genre with this one. Surprisingly works smoothly on my laptop with Intel 4000HD graphics and 2 gigs RAM. Very playable, even in intense battles with multiple zeds.

If they made a first person view, I'd be in heaven (please!). I love large open world action RPGs with exploration (and zombies, especially when feeling underpowered and outnumbered). The safehouse management is an innovative add-on I hadn''t seen before.

I just stumbled upon this game yesterday. It is called "7 days to die" and it looks like it might be very good. It's in early alpha, but is worth following.

http://7daystodie.com/

-Hrnac

That looks great. I think you should post that in a separate thread. I think I will buy the alpha.

[tgb]

This may be a really dumb question, but I'm not clear on how improvements to a safehouse work. In order to get the benefit of a medical area or a workshop, does the person or weapons have to actually be inside it,or is it enough to just have one on the premises.

I keep restarting because I keep doing dumb shit (like going out solo after dark looking for supplies) and getting someone killed. I want to play smarter, but don't feel as though I have a full grasp of how all the systems work.

[Lordnine]

Pretty sure you just need the person on the premise.

So I encountered a rather hilarious bug that has put me in the habit of backing up my save. I was driving home from scouting for a new base when I veered a little too fast off the main road, I hit a tree and my car shot about 100 feet into the air and landed on-top of the church. The car then cliped into the building and exploded killing me and I think a couple other people.

[Doomboy]

You guys suck.
I was kind of on the fence on whether to get this or not, then I finally caved when I discovered the George Romero Mod.

That looks great. Thanks. I was just getting ready to start a new game.

I was hoping someone would make a mod to remove the boss zombies. The armored ones aren't too bad, but the big guys and the ferals are just too much. It is hard enough with hordes of zombies everywhere, without unstoppable behemoths and leaping/dodging zombies.

[MythicalMino]

I still remember the first time I saw one of my characters die...like it was yesterday (probably because it was yesterday).

Talk about gruesome...she got caught in a horde of zombies, then more and more zombies joined in...before long, they ripped her in half, and began feasting on her...then there was a little eulogy-like thing...with different ppl's thoughts on her and how her death affected them. That was awesome...

[tgb]

I still remember the first time I saw one of my characters die...like it was yesterday (probably because it was yesterday).

Talk about gruesome...she got caught in a horde of zombies, then more and more zombies joined in...before long, they ripped her in half, and began feasting on her...then there was a little eulogy-like thing...with different ppl's thoughts on her and how her death affected them. That was awesome...

Same thing happened to Maya in my game.

[hepcat]

Just happened with Marcus this afternoon. Think I'll restart.

[Fretmute]

I was hoping someone would make a mod to remove the boss zombies. The armored ones aren't too bad, but the big guys and the ferals are just too much. It is hard enough with hordes of zombies everywhere, without unstoppable behemoths and leaping/dodging zombies.

That's generally my complaint in zombie games. It's already you and your finite resource supply versus infinite zombies. They don't also need to throw HULK SMASH zombies into the mix, too.

[MythicalMino]

yeah...it was Maya that was slaughtered. I liked her, too...

[Octavious]

Same here. I hated Dead Island.

What did you hate about dead island?

Still out-of-town at relatives... played another hour tonight, and

Spoiler:

I went on the mission to rescue Maya. Such a tense gaming session, it was the middle of the night (game time) and I snuck with Ed the whole way. Creepy stuff, with all the ambient zombie groans and that music that suddenly starts-up, reminds me of '70s Italian horror films. Lots of sneaking, short runs and the occasional sneak-behind kill.

When we turned the corner by the river and saw that zombie horde running at us - it definitely qualified as a memorable gaming moment. Taking charge of Maya and then seeing how Marcus was now more vulnerable - after building up his stats, etc. - really made the return sneak back home exciting. And then the other survivors, finding them all dead back inside the Ranger Station.... nice touch.

The story advancement may be simplistic/thin, but the player-made set-pieces in-between can feel very cinematic and really set things up (so far). It can be very suspenseful.

Speaking of mods... is anybody working on a first-person mod for this? Would make this game even more immersive, IMHO (or at least let us tweak the damn FOV).

Thanks for the story. Really gives me some perspective about the game.

For whatever reason the camera style they used made me sick. Plus while I was trying to not hurl it just seemed like it would only be fun if I played with a group. Maybe I'll give it another shot down the road, but I really didn't have much urge to go back and try it again.

[tgb]

I thought Dead Island suffered from too much consolitis. I hated the music, hated the characters, hated the way my character respawned when killed, and hated that despite the island crawling with zombies, the A.I. was too stupid to close the door whenever I went out on a mission.

In other, more positive news, the Romero mod is now available for Breakdown. Which is enough to get me to purchase Breakdown.

[Octavious]

Oh that mod sounds pretty cool. I like that you can pick which types of zombies can spawn. The only ones are I don't like are the tank guy and the feral. The tank guy is WAYYYY overpowered. You can shoot him like 10 times in the head which is f'n annoying.

[Octavious]

OMG try the hellmode. It's insane. I died in like 2 minutes.

[tgb]

I had two white sillouettes appear for a while on the left side of the screen. Never seen that before. Does anyone know what that means?

[Sepiche]

I had two white sillouettes appear for a while on the left side of the screen. Never seen that before. Does anyone know what that means?

You were probably near an infestation and that's the number of screamers inside the building.

[Lordnine]

I had two white sillouettes appear for a while on the left side of the screen. Never seen that before. Does anyone know what that means?

You were probably near an infestation and that's the number of screamers inside the building.

It means you should run away until you have a good ranged weapon...

[Sepiche]

The only ones are I don't like are the tank guy and the feral. The tank guy is WAYYYY overpowered. You can shoot him like 10 times in the head which is f'n annoying.

The ferals are really probably the toughest, but are most dangerous when you're alone. If you have someone to watch your back and get him off if he grabs you they aren't too tough.

The tanks seem really intimidating, but they're pretty easy once you figure them out. Just wait until they charge, sidestep the charge, then get around behind or to the side and start swinging with a melee weapon. They should go down in a few hits. Guns work if you don't want to get close, but as you mentioned they take quite a few head shots before they go down, so the melee approach is more cost effective.

I played quite a bit of breakdown over the weekend and it's been a blast. It's really nice just being able to focus on building your community and bringing in other survivors rather than running around doing missions for people all the time. My first base was in the main town, but once I got built up enough I transferred us to the rodeo grounds. It's a good base, especially with a couple of outposts out in front to thin out any hordes, but it's location makes it harder to scavenge. I've pretty much cleaned out the fairgrounds and I have to drive a good distance now to search through fresh houses.

I've had the RV ready to roll for a while now, and I'm mainly just seeing how long I can last on this map now. I'm also building up my survivors to try and get as many useful skills as I can. I just recently finally got a paramedic, so I've been sending her out on the front lines to train for a while. I've got 20 survivors now, a lot of them soldiers and heroes, so it's going to be hard picking the 8 to bring with me to level 2, but I'm mostly focusing on bringing all the skills I need along (medic, researcher, tools, etc) along with a few badasses for security. I'm trying to make sure even my support guys who will mostly be kept back at base are skilled up enough to hold their own.

Few random tips for breakdown:
- You don't need to go out of your way to find and outfit the RV as you have plenty of time, and it's not a big resource investment
- Be very cautious using characters until you have a level or two in fighting at least. It's very easy for a newbie to get exhausted and overwhelmed
- Don't go too wild upgrading your base until you move to the base you intend to be your final one. Construction materials can start getting rare really quickly, and the later upgrades cost quite a bit
- Same goes for vehicles... until you upgrade your workshop to be able to repair cars don't beat them up too bad as they can start to become a scarce resource
- Don't be afraid to break open ammo cases... ammo you can actually use in your weapons is much rarer than the ammo resource in my experience
- Be proactive and take the time to clear out infestations and hordes as you find them
- The most efficient way to gather resources is to go out alone, find some resources for yourself to carry back and when you find more, call in a scavenger. Wait until he gets there, talk to him, and tell him to hurry and you'll escort him back. Once he's done he'll follow you like any companion and you can drive him back to base
- It can seem obvious to just go to the towns and loot buildings, but that big, open space in the middle of the map is actually packed with farms and fields with lots of items to be found
- Try to jump into each person at one point or another to make sure they're well equipped and try to get them a level or 2 in fighting as soon as you can
- If you unlock a hero, keep your eyes open for an escort mission to pop up. Go to that spot on the map, and you'll find the hero you just unlocked waiting to be escorted back to base to join you
- Best all around cars (hit points, speed, handling) are the police car, the cab, and the heavy duty truck IMHO. I tend to prize those over the others
- Be strategic about placing your outposts. You want to make sure they are pulling in resources you need, but also make sure they are in a place where you can most take advantage of their minefields: covering main roads, covering the approaches to your base, etc. A base backed with well placed outposts is almost invincible

[Octavious]

I had my base in the warehouse and with all the outposts I had they could never get close to my base. Didn't know about escorting the scavengers back that's a good tip.

I'm going to mess around with the Romero mod some more tonight. Removing the specials doesn't seem to work at all currently. I know they are required for some missions, but i ran into a bunch in the open. The slow zombie setting + the more zombies is freaking awesome. You REALLY have to watch your ass as they group up really quick.

[AjD]

I'm going to mess around with the Romero mod some more tonight. Removing the specials doesn't seem to work at all currently. I know they are required for some missions, but i ran into a bunch in the open. The slow zombie setting + the more zombies is freaking awesome. You REALLY have to watch your ass as they group up really quick.

Hmmm, loving this game still... yet also thinking about tinkering with the Romero mod. Slow numerous zombies (no specials) is more than scary enough for me. Maybe I'm just old school, but it also seems like it would be more authentic to the experience. All the Romero flicks, most of the '70s Italian flicks and even today's Walking Dead use the slower "O.G.-style" zombies. And I find the suspense just riveting when they all appear over the horizon in slow moving, yet sizable groups. (Or when a horde bursts out of a previously closed door.)

But will it break the original game if the specials are removed? I'm talking about the plain vanilla State of Decay (not Breakdown). Although I really dig the survival mechanic, I'm also a big fan of the story elements (wish they were developed more, but they are good enough) and don't want to lose them.

Incidentally - I also love the way the "basic" zombies are motion rendered - sometimes sitting, sometimes wandering slowly, banging their heads, staring into space, etc. No matter how long I observe their movement patterns, I can't quite predict what they are going to do next. Brilliantly done, and really adds to the gameplay.

[Octavious]

Some of the mods it does requires you to start a new game. I won't break the story missions as they will still have the special characters. The screamers can't be removed at all because of the infestation missions.

You can't have the breakdown and story mods installed at the same time. It's one or the other. So if you install the breakdown mods you won't be able to play the story version unless you remove the mods. It's all crazy easy. Just make a backup of the game folder. Pop the zip files in and extract what you want to try. As I said before though the Breakdown special mod doesn't appear to be working. I could of course just be cocking it up, but I don't think so.

[Octavious]

Newer version of the mod was released to fix the special stuff not working right.

http://www.moddb.com/games/state-of-dec ... 16-revival" target="_blank

[Octavious]

FYI I'm playing with slow zombies, weak cars and black fever enabled. Seems pretty good so far. I had tried the updated no specials and it seemed to mess up a mission so I dumped it for now. I love the weak car setting as now plowing over zombies isn't a good option. Even using the door move only works a few times before it rips the door off. It just seems more realistic and doesn't allow you to cheese as much.

[Lassr]

Started playing the other night started with the original but didn't care for the missions because I couldn't save while on a mission. So I started breakdown. My first guy walked into town looking for other survivors and a horde appeared from a gas station. My guy was overwhelmed so he lasted all of 5 minutes. Damn.

Next character started at the downed plane and she made it to a safe house.

I'm thinking of trying the mod though before I get too far into the game.

I see a comment above about switching players to build up stats and make sure they are equipped. How do you do that?

[Octavious]

I would recommend playing without the mods for now. It's very possible some of these mods will break something in the game and it would be better to learn how to play the game as intended first.

You can switch people once you get to the safe house. You might want to go through the story mode first until you get to the safe house at least as I believe it will explain how the game works more than Breakdown will.

[Lassr]

I would recommend playing without the mods for now. It's very possible some of these mods will break something in the game and it would be better to learn how to play the game as intended first.

You can switch people once you get to the safe house. You might want to go through the story mode first until you get to the safe house at least as I believe it will explain how the game works more than Breakdown will.

I have played several hours in story mode but I must have missed the part about, or wasn't paying attention, switching players. I tried different things in the TAB menu but never could switch.

[Fretmute]

I would recommend playing without the mods for now. It's very possible some of these mods will break something in the game and it would be better to learn how to play the game as intended first.

You can switch people once you get to the safe house. You might want to go through the story mode first until you get to the safe house at least as I believe it will explain how the game works more than Breakdown will.

I have played several hours in story mode but I must have missed the part about, or wasn't paying attention, switching players. I tried different things in the TAB menu but never could switch.

Highlight one of the characters in the list, and press Q. You can only switch to characters that you've befriended.

[Doomboy]

You have to be "friends" with them first. When you go to the TAB menu, go to the survivor page, and the ones you can switch to will have a button in the frame of their picture. I think it might be "Q". Hover over their picture and hit that button, and you are playing as somebody else. A good idea to do that regularly to heal the character you have been playing and let them get some sleep.

[Octavious]

Your survivor must be REALLY tired if you never swapped him out. When they first start at low level they get tired pretty darn quick. That makes their stamina not fill totally anymore. I think I'm at like 15 hours played and I'm still just scratching the surface. Heck of a deal for what I paid for it.