Dead State Combat Footage Shambles Online

[Jamous]

Yes good. I lost track of this game a while back and it's good to hear it's still alive and kicking. Probably going to give the Kickstarter a look in if it's still open too...

 

[II2]

Overall, looks like a nice game, but in TB tile tactics games you really should have your fully party controllable. The only time you should lose control of a character is if there RPG stats Health/Courage/Stamina/Morale "breaks" and represents them as psychologically irrational and unusable...

I think the 'out of your control, other people's dumbness' element DOES play a big part in zombie settings, but I'm not sure how well it makes a gameplay mechanic.

Zombies, and surviving Zombies. Not exactly the richest loam, but its nice to see turn based CRPGs, so what the hell, I'll 'good on' it... Unfortunately, I'll be too absorbed in Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns and (still) XCOM: Enemy Unknown, to check it out till it's on sale, most likely.

 

[infinity_turtles]

That was looking vaguely promising... until the AI partner started moving on his own.

Yeah. Uncontrollable party members. Whose bloody idea was that?

Say goodbye to plans, tactics or coordination. Want to leave a lookout outside the building while the rest of you clear and loot it? Nope! Want to have everyone covering different angles? Nope! Want someone with a gun on overwatch in case of surprises while the others melee zombies? Nope. Want to split up to cover more ground? Nope! Want to flank or surround an entrenched enemy? Nope!

Bleh.

It's an rpg about survival, not a strategy game centering on tactics. The idea is that other people are unpredictable, that they can panic, become stressed, not trust you, and not all of them are going to be reliable.

 

[Zhukov]

That was looking vaguely promising... until the AI partner started moving on his own.

Yeah. Uncontrollable party members. Whose bloody idea was that?

Say goodbye to plans, tactics or coordination. Want to leave a lookout outside the building while the rest of you clear and loot it? Nope! Want to have everyone covering different angles? Nope! Want someone with a gun on overwatch in case of surprises while the others melee zombies? Nope. Want to split up to cover more ground? Nope! Want to flank or surround an entrenched enemy? Nope!

Bleh.

It's an rpg about survival, not a strategy game centering on tactics.

That sentence is essentially meaningless.

"It's an rpg". So what? That means it shouldn't allow for tactics? It's also a turn based game, and a turn based game that prevents you from using plans is just a slog where you take turns hitting each other with your numbers.

The idea is that other people are unpredictable, that they can panic, become stressed, not trust you, and not all of them are going to be reliable.

I have nothing against mechanics where your party members can lose their shit and panic or run away. That sort of thing can add to the complexity by making you avoid situations that can cause them to do that.

However, that sort of thing shouldn't replace tactics by saddling you with thick-as-a-brick AI allies (and make no mistake, they will be thick as bricks) that can't do anything complex and will inevitably shit all over your best laid plans.

 

[infinity_turtles]

That was looking vaguely promising... until the AI partner started moving on his own.

Yeah. Uncontrollable party members. Whose bloody idea was that?

Say goodbye to plans, tactics or coordination. Want to leave a lookout outside the building while the rest of you clear and loot it? Nope! Want to have everyone covering different angles? Nope! Want someone with a gun on overwatch in case of surprises while the others melee zombies? Nope. Want to split up to cover more ground? Nope! Want to flank or surround an entrenched enemy? Nope!

Bleh.

It's an rpg about survival, not a strategy game centering on tactics.

That sentence is essentially meaningless.

"It's an rpg". So what? That means it shouldn't allow for tactics? It's also a turn based game, and a turn based game that prevents you from using plans is just a slog where you take turns hitting each other with your numbers.

The idea is that other people are unpredictable, that they can panic, become stressed, not trust you, and not all of them are going to be reliable.

I have nothing against mechanics where your party members can lose their shit and panic or run away. That sort of thing can add to the complexity by making you avoid situations that can cause them to do that.

However, that sort of thing shouldn't replace tactics by saddling you with thick-as-a-brick AI allies (and make no mistake, they will be thick as bricks) that can't do anything complex and will inevitably shit all over your best laid plans.

Tactics does not mean controlling all our resources exactly. If something is unpredictable or unreliable you adjust. As a thematic game with a heavy focus on trying to keep allies happy, and weighing the usefulness of individuals against how much you like them, it's a choice I like. If your best bud panics easily when hurt but doesn't like to do what's told and you have to choose between him and the asshole who knows that in serious situations you put stupid shit aside and can handle a gun? That's a better choice for a game focused on role-playing and survival then one between an asshole with better stats and a cool guy with worse stats and a negative trait that can be managed. The ability to control other characters de-emphasizes that choice because smart control can make it far less impactful.

There will be the ability to give some orders to characters by the way, but I like not having actual control of them the way you do the PC.

 

[Dastardly]

I'm insanely glad to finally see a zombie survival game that attempts to de-emphasize combat, while still allowing it as an option. Looking this over, it really seems that all the other elements of the game were designed first, which will really help reinforce the "last resort" aspect that should surround it.

That said, I do hope that position plays a bit more of a role during combat (rather than just before).

 

[xorldain]

Looks good, but I am still waiting for a zombie survival game where there are no enemy respawns and it's theoretically possible to kill all zombies in game. Although maybe unlikely like being in a city with a few million zombies, but at the least allowing to make safe zones.