-Sigh- Dead Island...

[JoesshittyOs]

I've bee thinking about it a lot lately, and I really think that I honestly could have made a better zombie game than them if given the resources and staff.

Funnily enough, the RPG element was one of the things that ruined this game. #called it

 

[devotedsniper]

I don't see what your all complaining about i'd rather play the underdog in terms of weapon levels then be the almighty indestrutible zombie killer, if you easily kill zombies since your higher than them then it takes the atmosphere away, simples.

The game may be a little buggy at times (sometimes a weapon will randomly disapear from inventory (or at least my co-op buddy had that issue)), but it's a really fun game and as to those complaining you have weapons below the zombie levels all i have to say is a single word... "UPGRADE" and always keep your weapons maintained, they do f all when there badly damaged.

Oh and if you can't find weapon's you must not be looking at all to be honest when i first started before going up the stairs to get the keycard i found 4-5 weapons just lying around on the beech (paddles, broomsticks, etc.) and i wasn't even looking to stock up since i didn't know about weapon durability, by the time i'd reached the keycard i'd found several more better weapons (knives, iron pipes, etc.).

 

[The_Deleted]

I've had the PS3 glitch a few saves, and send me back a few levels. Luckily I read about these issues before buying so I'm reluctant to get too carried away with the game until it's patched for saves. And the last patch wiped out your saves anyway.

That said, I can't stop playing it and just monitoring the biohazard save ident, (it disappears after a few saves, but you still get the checkpoint), means I can stay slightly ahead of any major fuck ups.

 

[Xyphon]

I found a way to manually save. When you want to get off, go to options and set your fighting style from Digital to Analog (and vice versa) and exit the pause screen. It will manually save.

Also, for the love of all that is holy, delete the 31mb patch. It fixes nothing and even makes things worse.

 

[SyphonX]

I like Dead Island, but I hate the level scaling, or the "levels" in general.

It should be more about survival, with places in the world being static pockets of 'danger'. Going into the hotel, for instance, should be deadly. It messes up co-op as well, because if you join someone lower than you, you overpower everything in the game, it's really absurd.

Though, it's just the zombies that scale, along with weapons. You can be level 30, fighting level 10 zombies, and they will still wreck you if you let them, but your weapons disintegrate them. So all you do, is have your lower level co-op partner hand you some level 10 weapons. Then it evens it out a bit.

 

[M-E-D The Poet]

Weapons scaling is retarded it just doesn't work, If I hit you with a crowbar I bloody hit you with a crowbar there's no difference wether it's shiny or not.

Monster scaling is usefull for gameplay but you should take the players skill/ability into account

Do it the oblivion way or don't do it at all

 

[BelfastSpartan]

frantically dancing about a zombie with a broom handle reminds me of Don't stop me now by Queen for some reason though.

That'll be Shawn of the dead! haha
In the bar with the owner, they hit the jukebox which blasts queen and the main characters all beat him with pool cues!

Unless I missed the sarcasm.

 

[Dastardly]

Anyway, for discussion value: How do you feel about level scaling? Any ideas on a better system of allowing enemies to challenge the player? It gets bothersome when you're decked out in glowing legendary armor, but looters in cloth rags and wielding rusty, chipped daggers have more health than you do...

The curve just needs to start differently. In games like this, early on, you should feel like you need to run and retreat from basically every fight. As you gain experience, you get the ability to break free of a tough situation... so that you can run and retreat. Then you get the ability to take a few down on the way. And only at the top level are you really in a position to fight it out. In the early levels, your XP wouldn't come from kills, but from completing survival tasks.

The problem with this? Players would get too frustrated too early on, because we're too used to games in which it's easy to kill all of the zombies super fast. "Zombie survival" is just "zombie hunting." Players don't like to start the game outmatched.

The need for level scaling just means the player has been started at too high a skill level, or that the levels are being gained too quickly. This could also be fixed by changing the leveling system (as many games have done) so that not everything goes up when you "ding."

Great example of all of this? Dead Rising. You don't level up by killing zombies, and it's usually beneficial to try to avoid them--especially at first. And at each level, you get one thing better (maybe it's damage, maybe it's health, maybe it's inventory...). By the max level, you feel far more capable... but you're not SuperGod.

And, of course, zombies aren't the only enemy. Why scale up the zombies, when you can instead just toss in some human enemies to ramp up the challenge once in awhile? In a survival situation, zombies aren't your only opposition, there's also "the other guy who wants that stuff you want."

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Level based zombies?

Why, I thought this was going to be a visceral examination of how you would survive your family getting infected...

Oooh, look, I've eaten a brain. Ding!

Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft

 

[kouriichi]

I have had no problem with it so far.
Ive beaten the story ((with all side quests complete)) and have a level 40 Sam B. (Who do yo Voodoo byeeeitch?)

I played through the campaign solo the first time, and the second play through im doing with a friend.

Yes, the game is VERY difficult. But with more people, it becomes quite easier. Its designed for 2-4 people to play together.

Not to mention, its a zombie SURVIVAL game. Alot of people ((my friend included)) seem to think the game is about killing EVERY zombie you encounter, for EVERY bit of experience you can scrounge. You can easily outlevel your weaponry if your not careful.

And i wont lie, money is plentiful. I ended the game with almost 20k in my pocket. So dont be afraid to purchase weapons, medkits or misc needed for upgrades.

And late game, guns become more then common, and you gain the ability to make ammo for it. I have an 800 damage electrified magnum (Before my 15% damage boost from my skills), that runs on the cheapest ammo in the game.

And the leveling system is extremely important to the game. If your constantly gaining health, doing more damage, and gaining overpowered abilities ((i think the blade expert ends up with 30% crit chance, and 60% extra jump-attack damage?)), the zombies must scale to meet that.

The game is very balanced. But the learning curve is a bit steep. I was well aware of what the game was going to be like, and i only died 3 times my entire play through. Play smart, keep track of your area, and NEVER run out of stamina, and you'll have a great time. Run into every swarm headfirst, swinging your weapon like a mad man, and refusing to take points in survival will get you killed constantly, and make the game unpleasant.

 

[Aeon_COR]

Rant in 3...
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Everything about this game seemed to annoy me

The strafing annoyed me, yes moving slower while sidestepping is more realistic but I can run full ahead IRL and just turn my head, so unless you include head rotation controls keep the speed unilateral.

The level scaling annoyed me, don't scale zombie health and damage off of our health, all it results in is less effective health pickups, scale the number of zombies off our health, its more realistic and makes us feel like more of a baddass when we start struggling with 3 walkers and end up needing at least 25 for a challenge.

The weapon spawns annoyed me, whats the good of a firearms or sharp weapons specialist if you cant find those weapons (or good ones) and ammo until the second act.

The damage models annoyed me, why does shooting a person in the head do bonus damage while shooting a zombie in the head doesn't especially with ammo so scarce and having a small pool, the loading tips even say go for the head. Also hacking off limbs is cool, but when doing so takes almost half the zeds heals per limb, whats the point. (for example the thug, taking off one arm doesn't even slow down his attack pattern, he just compensates by swinging his other one twice as much, by the time he loses both a kick or 2 could finish him.)

The weapon mods annoyed me, yes it is cool that i can have my weapon ignite, electrocute, and poison zeds. It's decidedly less cool when their bodies become a hazard even when defeated, it just makes them even more dangerous, that kinda defeats the point!

The Menus annoyed me, the bleeding menus! why is my mouse so slow in them, WHY, THERE IS NO REASON! (unless its a port then they just didn't bother to check the sensitivity) (apparently there is a fix for this in the steam forums, but just patch it devs)

The characters annoyed me, look at me when I talk to you. Shut up you stupid nun, they're not demons, they're not overcome with the forces of evil, its an infection, you know this, other NPCs know this, the player knows this, did you not see the giant quarantine.
Remove your goddamn high heels, YOUR A COP, A FEMINIST COP, you should know better, when shit hits the fan get sensible shoes. (there's more but you get the point)

The skill trees annoyed me, why does the description cover the other skills with no way to remove it, put that shit in a side bar.

The fall damage annoyed me, I can drop further than these fuckers can, and I'm not a cop, body guard, or former athlete, I can't jump higher but their in peak physical condition they should be able to and I can at least climb.

The tutorial annoys me, it's kinda lacking, sure it gives you the basics, and figuring it out as you go along does add to the desperate feel they wanted, but it would have been nice to know some basics about how weapon stats affect things rather than being told in the loading screen hints, or that drinks heal and i should look out for them.

The crouch annoys me, why include it if it doesn't do anything, you don't crouch low enough to find cover against gun wielding enemies, it doesn't make you more silent so you might sneak past zombies, you cant even duck under openings my grandmother with replacement hips and knees would laugh at!

The degradation / repair cost balance annoyed me, who are we paying exactly, and why are we paying so much, either have it cheaper, or have stronger weapons.

The door buster mechanic annoyed me, why move the mouse up and down, it makes it harder to be precise, and it doesn't tell you the specifics, at first i was trying to get it to hover over red like a balance beam.

The searching containers annoyed me, press once to open, WAIT FOR ANIMATION, press again to grab, WHYYYYYY!

All this added up to zero immersion, Every time i did something it started with the thought "I am playing a game in which the character I am controlling is ..." never "I am..."

 

[RollForInitiative]

I think if you're going to level scale (Where EVERYTHING levels with you), don't really bother including levels at all. Why not just gain a skill point or whatever every time you fill the EXP bar?

That's basically what Deus Ex does. No levels and a Praxis Point every time you successfully fill up the XP bar. Whether they scale or not isn't clear, however.