Dead Island

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:09 pm

I agree with what Peacedog said. Although I do love Dead Rising, I am enjoying this more. I think because of the first person perspective.

I thought I would be more annoyed at the bikini clad zombies. But I don't even notice them beyond where their head is so I can smash it. The digital controls are fine for me. I don't know if I could stand using a controller for this, because being aware of your surroundings at all times is important.

I am also glad I don't have to play the douchebag in the introduction video. If I had to play him I probably would have walked up to the first zombie I saw and let it eat me. That seems like the sort of thing that that witless dipstick would do.

I don't see why anyone would play the character that gets gun skills. Unless guns and ammo start showing up in luggage. Maybe that is one of her skills. I don't know.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:48 pm

FOV tweaks are a huge improvement IMO.

I found my first gun, but lacking much in the way of ammo (or do guns get ammo???) I am going to hold on to it. I am playing the Asian blades expert and I now have a set of 4 fully upgraded bladed weapons (hilted for my pleasure, sharpened for theirs). And plenty of cash to spare. Just hit level 5 (I think), but I'm not sure what I want to do with my skill point yet, so I am holding onto it.

Just did one quest I got from a radio and almost finished the alcohol collection quest. .. which I am guessing is going to lead to another escort quest. On medium, these haven't been bad so far.

I'm reading there is no difference between analog/digital controls. It seems you can use the analog controls to alter swings, but I can't really speak to how well it works (it's possible it isn't in the PC version buit I hear it is). I find weapon switching much superior on the PC.

Man, this game makes you leery about tight spaces.

Doomboy wrote:Although I do love Dead Rising, I am enjoying this more. I think because of the first person perspective.

My own preferences run more towards this type of game. The DR games have very specific setups; you have a limited amount of time with which to go about your goals. This is open ended. Is this problem restricted to the resort? The island? What about the main land? How many continents are infected? As a veteran of no less than 5 level 3+ zombie outbreaks, these are the immediate and important questions to answer. I like that they are in play and unknown at this point. I like that rather than trying to wait things out in a mall I'm just out in the world, trying to get by. The world is more open (by definition), and I like that too.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:52 pm

On paper I should really love the Dead Rising game, but something is just off. Sounds like with another patch or two, this might be a worthwhile investment. I'm glad they're supporting it.

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:40 pm

I just attempted to use a gun. It wasn't thrilling. I had hoped that getting a headshot would be very useful in this game. I tried to take out a thug with a revolver that I found. I hit him in the head about 12 times before I gave up trying to kill him like that.

I find this annoying. It breaks the atmosphere if guns aren't one hit killers when shooting a zombie in the head. Apparently being zombified strengthens the skull's resistance to bullet based weaponry.

With limited ammo and guns to choose from, it seems strange that they just lumped them in with all the other weapons and made them do a set amount of damage. At the very least it should always do massive damage when hitting them in the head.

Oh well, no game is perfect. At least I know not to bother keeping guns.

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:52 am

Dead Island is a ton of fun with 4 people. We spent a lot of time wandering the island and kicking zombies. Check out our fun times!

Unfortunately, we found out later that this was just a hobo. In fact it turns out they were all just hobos. And some tourists. Turns out you shouldn't do a truly massive amount of DMT before visiting an island resort.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:53 am

For the record I don't know who these three other people are...

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:18 am

Got the game. Football interfered last night, but will be on tonight.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:19 am

msduncan wrote:Got the game. Football interfered last night, but will be on tonight.

I picked it up and played for about an hour last night, somehow I doubt my wife will let me play this with the kids around.

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:39 am

Anyone got picklock yet or know the details of the locked chests? Are the contents really worth the skill point investment?

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:45 am

Peacedog wrote:Better explanation:

FOV tweak instructions.

From the comment section.

FOV 101.
Now, while I've known what FOV was for years, the whole "motion sickness" angle has always been mysterious to me. I don't suffer from it, and always wondered why some of my friends had that problem. This two-part video did a beautiful job of making total sense of that aspect.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 11:26 am

Giles Habibula wrote:From the comment section.

FOV 101.
Now, while I've known what FOV was for years, the whole "motion sickness" angle has always been mysterious to me. I don't suffer from it, and always wondered why some of my friends had that problem. This two-part video did a beautiful job of making total sense of that aspect.

That guy was awesome. I never really fully understood, but now I do. I had noted that *some* FPS games gave me headaches and made me feel nauseated. I always thought it was the refresh rate being too low or something, but put up with it. It just meant I could only play in hour-long stints before needing a break to recover. Knowing this, when I get into a game that gives me ill feelings, I'll see what I can do with the FOV to make it work for me.

Half-Life - as he mentioned - was a huge offender for me. It took me far longer than it should have to get through it.

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:03 pm

So, I see multi-player is back up. Since I haven't been able to try this out yet, I have a few questions.

1) Quest assignment: Do we each have to talk to the quest giver? Does everyone's quest list get updated? The quest menu is like Fallout where you selet the quest and the map creates a waypoint (if applicable). Does everyone get XP?

2) Cutscenes: I saw that cutscenes always used the current character. I wonder if they incorporate the other players. I've seen this done in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and the cutscenes seem to use the game engine. I "think" there are special multi-player cutscenes vs. single-player.

3) Does the game add more zombies?

4) If someone has to drop-off or gets disconnected, does the game continue without issue or is it easy to get back in? Does a bot a la L4D take over?

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:38 pm

Buatha wrote:2) Cutscenes: I saw that cutscenes always used the current character. I wonder if they incorporate the other players. I've seen this done in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and the cutscenes seem to use the game engine. I "think" there are special multi-player cutscenes vs. single-player.

I think the single player cutscenes were only for the prologue. The rest of the cutscenes seem to have all 4 characters in them (regardless of how many are actually playing).

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:46 pm

1. When we did it everyone received the quest and reward BUT if the quest was from further in the story than party members were they got a message that it would not be tracked in their profile.
2. I haven’t seen a cut scene that includes a player character yet. If you’re referring to when talking to a quest giver it is always the leader of the party, you don’t see the text but you can hear what the quest giver is saying if you stand close enough.
3. More zombies and they appear to be tougher.
4. Game continues as normal. No bot is added. Easy to rejoin but being as its quest based if you know they are coming right back you should wait to finish whatever quest you were on or they wont get the reward.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 12:48 pm

Buatha wrote: 1) Quest assignment: Do we each have to talk to the quest giver? Does everyone's quest list get updated? The quest menu is like Fallout where you selet the quest and the map creates a waypoint (if applicable). Does everyone get XP?

Pretty sure only one person needs to talk to the quest giver. Anyone completing the quest should give experience to everyone. Not sure about the rewards though.

Buatha wrote:
3) Does the game add more zombies?

From what I've read there is some sort of balancing for multiple players, but I'm not sure if it's more zombies or just tougher zombies.

Buatha wrote:
4) If someone has to drop-off or gets disconnected, does the game continue without issue or is it easy to get back in? Does a bot a la L4D take over?

If the host drops out for any reason I think everything will come to a halt, but individual players can come and go without any issues. They just disappear or reappear in the game world.

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 3:49 am

Well, it has grown on me in Act II. The weapon mods, new combat skills (I like stomping on zombie heads!), and the Act II area were all good for me.

I'd definitely call this "Borderlands with zombies".

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:00 am

Effidian wrote:Well, it has grown on me in Act II. The weapon mods, new combat skills (I like stomping on zombie heads!), and the Act II area were all good for me.

I'd definitely call this "Borderlands with zombies".

Huh. My interest just jumped in a big way.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:03 am

Question for those who have been playing a while, is the gun girl at all worth playing?

Everything I've heard so far sounds like ammo and guns are extremely rare (at least in the beginning areas) and are underpowered so it would seem the gun girl wouldn't have much benefit unless more ammo/guns become available later on.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:17 am

I wish I could play the gun girl. I haven't because I'm hearing the same things. I can't tell you how many times I'd love to have thrown a propane tank at a Thug and blown it up with a one-shot.

There should be more guns in this game.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:32 am

I wish I could remember exactly where I read it, but during some preview they said they really didn't want to make a run and gun style game, probably because how similar it would appear to L4D. I specifically remember them saying the design was focused on the melee aspect and while there would be guns, they were rare.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:35 am

Smoove_B wrote:I wish I could remember exactly where I read it, but during some preview they said they really didn't want to make a run and gun style game, probably because how similar it would appear to L4D. I specifically remember them saying the design was focused on the melee aspect and while there would be guns, they were rare.

Isn't it weird to make a gun focused character when you can never find any to use? They should have just skipped that class type if they wanted to make guns impossible to find.

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 11:30 am

The guns are a little less rare in the second area. And she has other skills, like the "infamous" one that allows her to do extra damage to those ulta annoying thug guys. At least so far, every thug I've seen has been a guy. So her skill that does extra damage to guys should work on him.

I played her for a bit in the intro area, and I didn't have trouble. Also, her fury skill is to pull out a magic gun and blast things for extra damage for a while.

The game is smart too. I have a gun now (they are also able to do more damage in the second area, some enemies are much easier dispatched by gun), and when I throw a propane tank, it automatically readies the pistol afterward. Nice.

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:40 pm

The "gun girl's" (Purna) skill tree also has buffs for the entire party. She has multiple skills that buff the entire party both short buffs (tied to Fury) and constant buffs (in her utility tree). Also the first half of her combat tree is all about sharp melee weapons. She'd be a boost in a co-op game, but there is no way you could expect to focus on guns. Even with her skills that increase the number of bullets she can carry, she wouldn't be able to carry around enough to just use guns. She does have a skill which "increases the number of bullets found in loot". I don't know if that would make bullets appear when there aren't normally dropped or just increase the number of bullets that drop when they do drop though. I have a feeling it was the latter since you can get that up to 60%.

Even in Act II you won't find anything but a pistol until the very end of Act II (somewhat depending on the order you do the missions). The other guns you find won't have much ammo until Act III. You can get blue prints for pistol ammo in Act II (I didn't find any for assault rifles or shotguns). The good thing about guns is they do not degrade. They do get expensive to upgrade though (I have an assault rifle that would cost $10k for a level 4 upgrade), but with no repair bill that is pretty cheap in the long run. I'm sure I've spent more than $10k repairing a couple of the weapons I carry around.

Also, everyone will likely want to carry a gun in Act II. There are 2 things they are pretty useful for (spoiler below to describe what for). I carry around a pistol (on Sam) to take car of these.

Spoiler:

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:43 pm

msduncan wrote:I wish I could play the gun girl. I haven't because I'm hearing the same things. I can't tell you how many times I'd love to have thrown a propane tank at a Thug and blown it up with a one-shot.

There should be more guns in this game.

FYI. If you equip a gun and throw a propane tank, the gun is automatically selected after the tank is thrown, regardless of what weapons was selected when you picked up the tank.

baron calamity · Post by **baron calamity** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 4:33 pm

I find it funny that kicking takes no effort and you can kick 4+ zombies at once. I've stopped complete rushes by just kicking a herd of zombies until they are dead. Takes some time but saves on weapons.

Frost · Post by **Frost** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:58 pm

Effidian wrote:Anyone got picklock yet or know the details of the locked chests? Are the contents really worth the skill point investment?

I have picklock level 2, and I'm not overwhelmed with what I've found so far. A decent weapon here or there, but nothing game changing.

I haven't played Co-op yet, but will give it a shot soon.

My Steam ID is "Fr☆st". Not sure if you'll be able to look me up with a star in my name, though.

EzeKieL · Post by **EzeKieL** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:43 pm

I've stopped trying to go into the toilets. Every time I try to get back up the stairs to leave it takes me all the effort of the world to get up. It's like there's invisible leash that always pushes me back >_<

The only way I can get out is by sprinting and jumping on the ledge on the left/right side. If I jump forward I get pulled back down the corridor

I'm guessing they'll fix that though

Besides that, I'm loving it, although I could use some more quest markers

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:52 pm

I just found my first sword (Act III). I'm ready to play the blade expert now. Wow is it fun. Really too bad it takes so long to get into the character, though I see why it is like that. Not sure I want to play through 2 acts with her just to finally get a sword. I don't particularly care for knives, but cleavers are okay.

Frost · Post by **Frost** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:03 pm

I think game reviewers jumped the gun when reviewing this game. I've seen a lot of subpar scores for this game, but many of the rough spots were quickly fixed, and this game is awesome. It's what I've always been looking for in a zombie game. FPS, scavenging, creating weapons for survival, a good mix of slow lurching zombies with a few fast running zombies, lots of quests. Most enjoyable game I've played in awhile.

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:54 am

Frost wrote:It's what I've always been looking for in a zombie game. FPS, scavenging, creating weapons for survival, a good mix of slow lurching zombies with a few fast running zombies, lots of quests. Most enjoyable game I've played in awhile.

Word.

Just an FYI, a friend sent me the following links on enabling/disabling some of the graphical aspects of the game:
http://forums.steamgames.com/forums/sho ... ?t=2109672" target="_blank

with special reference to this:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... tcount=247" target="_blank
After using the combo file that removed weapon blur, bloom, and dust along with the fog mod (using the preferred), the game looks much better. There is also a mod to fix the auto-equip, but I haven't tested that one yet.

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:15 am

Game reviewers were justified in giving the game harsh reviews, except for maybe the PC version, because that was a flat out mistake from the publisher.

But everything else, well, you get reviewed on the work you present to the public. Don't want bad reviews? Don't ship us bad or buggy software day 1 and think you can just patch it.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:32 am

Buatha wrote:
Frost wrote:It's what I've always been looking for in a zombie game. FPS, scavenging, creating weapons for survival, a good mix of slow lurching zombies with a few fast running zombies, lots of quests. Most enjoyable game I've played in awhile.
Word.

Just an FYI, a friend sent me the following links on enabling/disabling some of the graphical aspects of the game:
http://forums.steamgames.com/forums/sho ... ?t=2109672" target="_blank

with special reference to this:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... tcount=247" target="_blank
After using the combo file that removed weapon blur, bloom, and dust along with the fog mod (using the preferred), the game looks much better. There is also a mod to fix the auto-equip, but I haven't tested that one yet.

Thanks for this. After looking through the before and after pics I’m impressed at how good the game can look and just don’t understand adding all that other stuff.

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 3:41 am

Yes, it's weird. At no point did I see dust blowing all over the place or lights that bloom so badly (and I had LASIK done to my eyes!) on our family trip.

I'm probably enjoying the game slightly more than many since we just had a vacation to Club Med in the Dominican Republic, so the imagery is fresh (and spooky) in my mind for this game.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:12 am

The first hour I had with the game I wasn't impressed. It just didn't click with me. However, during the second hour I started understanding more about the combat and I ran into the first of my "mini-boss" zombies that required some actual planning to take down. Now I'm really, really enjoying this. While I love the Dead Rising series, the 2nd one didn't really grab hold of me like this one does. I think it's because the number of zombies in Dead Rising makes it difficult to actually think, you're always just running or swinging away. The slower, more deliberate pace of Dead Island is more my speed.

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:28 am

Finished my playthrough last night as Sam B. I think Act II was the high point in the game.

The story is just horrible. They have some supposedly emotional scenes with really no build-up or attachment before hand, so I was just sitting there wondering if I should be caring about it. The best story was actually the collectible recordings (I missed #3, but got the rest of them). I was confused about stuff in the cut-scenes several times. It was like they were created for a different version of the game. Maybe I just missed something elsewhere. Spoiler about a couple examples below.

Spoiler:

While I didn't have any crashes, the game isn't polished. Clipping issues are rampant as well as other graphics weirdness in places. The menus (inventory, weapons switching, especially) are all obvious console ports and could have been a lot better on the PC.

I started the new game+, but the quest rewards don't seem to scale right. Quest reward XP doesn't scale at all, so quests will not be nearly as beneficial on the new game+ side. I'm level 38 and got a level 24 weapon as a reward for one of the early quests. I'd have to play more with it to see if drops scale correctly and if you get better weapons in Act I than you did in your first time through Act I. It would suck if all you got was level 38 broomsticks.

I might try playing a couple of the other characters, but as I mentioned elsewhere it takes a long time for the character to really start to come into their own. As you complete chapters, you can start a new game at that chapter, but only for that character (so, if I complete Chapter 5 with Sam, I can start a new game at Chapter 5 with Sam, but not with Purna). It starts you with experience you might have at that Chapter (I'm guessing what you'd have if you just did the main quests to that point). It would have been nice if I could start a new game with any character at a completed chapter. That way I could just jump on one of the other characters at a higher level and play around with them.

I think I'd have to give it a 6.5 to 7 out of 10. If you play co-op, it would likely score higher.

Frost · Post by **Frost** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:39 pm

Turtle wrote:
But everything else, well, you get reviewed on the work you present to the public. Don't want bad reviews? Don't ship us bad or buggy software day 1 and think you can just patch it.

I agree. Ever since the internet went mainstream that's pretty much what game companies do, which is aggravating.

The game was much improved after two days of release, and that was the point I was trying to make.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:52 pm

This file is even better than the manual file edits. Does almost everything you could want it to do to fix graphics and improve performance.

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:33 pm

I wanted to see how quickly I could get into Act II, so I started a new game with Xian (bladed weapons) and just focused on the main quest. Got to Act II in right under 2 hours, at level 13.

Crushing heads is one thing, but cutting off limbs and heads with almost every stroke is just gory ... and fun. I really want to get her a sword.

Moggy123 · Post by **Moggy123** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:53 pm

Effidian wrote:I wanted to see how quickly I could get into Act II, so I started a new game with Xian (bladed weapons) and just focused on the main quest. Got to Act II in right under 2 hours, at level 13.

Crushing heads is one thing, but cutting off limbs and heads with almost every stroke is just gory ... and fun. I really want to get her a sword.

I've been enjoying the game playing as Al (blunt weapons rapper) but really wanted to play Xian. I started playing her but didn't get a single edged weapon in the prologue and Act I, so quit and started again with Al.

Now I've got a bleeding bat (baseball bat with a circular saw on the end), I'm having a lot of fun aiming my shots and chopping off limbs and heads. So much fun, in fact, that now you tell me how quickly I can zip to Act II (where the edge weapons seem to start showing up) I think I'll restart with Xian. Again.

Having a Thug come after you with no arms is too funny for words (" Come here, I'll bite your legs off!")

Enjoying the game immensely!

Effidian · Post by **Effidian** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:17 pm

Moggy123 wrote:I've been enjoying the game playing as Al (blunt weapons rapper) but really wanted to play Xian. I started playing her but didn't get a single edged weapon in the prologue and Act I, so quit and started again with Al.

You get a couple as quest rewards. I pretty much just used the quest rewards through Act I. I upgraded them and kept them repaired. Luckily, I seemed to get just enough money from the quest rewards to keep them repaired most of the time. However, there were times I had to pick up a wrench or something to help because I was broke and all my weapons were badly damaged.

Having a Thug come after you with no arms is too funny for words (" Come here, I'll bite your legs off!")

This is what makes bladed weapons so fun.