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[Jonathan S. Fox]

I'd make changing that a priority

Indeeeed. Otherwise, I'm liking this.

Yeah, okay, I'll add a door.

Hey, great, tbh this was more what I was hoping for than the other game you where making, random char stats please, making do with what you get is always fun.

  In terms of making some $, is throwing up a kickstarter for a couple of grand an option?  its not a living, but it could keep the wolves from the door for a little while.  You could also talk to darkling wolf who is pretty much main dev of cataclysm these days, polite words could probably get you access to the new cataclysm and the sorts of people who would be interested in this game, if only to help build a player base.

Random character stats, definitely. Probably with more control over your founder, as in LCS, so you can customize your start.

Kickstarter is an option, but I'll need a strong selling point to make it work -- games as a field have been really successful on there, but it's not free money -- projects only get backed if they're actually compelling and exciting. I think it's doable, but my prototype of the game will have to mature a bit more. A couple of screens and some big ideas doesn't prove much.

I haven't even tried it yet and I still think it's a good idea.  Graphics don't make the game--player options and the ability to build up do, IMO, and your work generally handles those pretty well.

Will get it transferred and take a shot later today.

Shot taken.  Missing a DLL (MVCB100,  IIRC).  Game fails to run.

Okay, thanks for the report; I'll provide the appropriate DLLs with the next build. Installing this package from Microsoft should also solve the problem.

Meh, I think you should put LCS as your #1 priority.

<shrug>  Would appreciate a fixed Metal Detector & LCS build, but whatever.

I won't be doing anything big with LCS, but I hate to leave you hanging if I'm neglecting a pending issue. I've gone ahead and located the Metal Detector bug and committed a fix to the latest SVN -- a rebuilt game will have working metal detectors. I'll also get a new release up for LCS in the next couple hours, incorporating the various changes people have contributed to the game since the last release (including the metal detector bug).

[RustKnight]

Yeah, this looks straightforward. I mean i could see how this could be VERY enjoyable.
Just make these notes thou:
If you're willing to go commercial with this, having no graphics, i have no idea how efficient it would be UNLESS it proves to have some incredible set of features to back up for the lack of graphics (and justify the lack).
Even so, you will only reach only a small group of people that would be interested.
So how much profit can you gain?

What i've just said is common sense, and said it more to see how are you planning to deal with it, since i'm pretty sure you have an answer for that.

Don't get me wrong, i have nothing against going commercial with this, personally. Even more going without graphics. As i can see it, no graphics means a hell of a lot more features that could make the game shine!


PS: And yes, of course we can be your devoted beta testers through out development that get to play the for free!

[Scelly9]

Sweet. PTW

[Servant Corps]

If you go the Kickstarter route, you have to make sure the rewards are designed properly so that you could fulfill them. The second-worst thing that could ever happen to a Kickstarter is getting overfunded, and thus receiving the pressure of trying to fulfill all backers' orders. Granted, that's not as a big of a problem as trying to get people interested in a zombie rogue-like in the first place.

Since you do admit that this game cannot really be sold, I think you should try the Ransom Model, offering to make the source code and the game free if your Kickstarter is fully funded, and then have rewards be you inserting backers into the game, either as randomly generated names or as possible parts of the "main quest" necessary to get out of the city.

[Jonathan S. Fox]

As suggested, I added the ability to go back to base after you send out a raiding party. To make this meaningful, I made the food/water tracking impactful, added healing at your base, and made it so you can collect the required food and water with your raiding party. More changes below.



Changelog:
- Added an exit to the mysterious compound where you fight zombies, so you can go back to safehouse
- Added character stats and character header
- Added knifehands zombies that can cut your head off
- Added food and water tracking, damage for not having enough, healing while resting in safehouse
- Added many new sources of food and water
- Added several new weapon and armor types, including a shotgun and two melee sidearms
- Added incapacitation due to damage
- Added variable limb sever chance by weapon
- Made party members that die get kicked from the party and drop their stuff on the ground
- Made it so you automatically pick up items you walk over

http://www.jonathansfox.com/ZSS/zss_python_1-28-2013.zip

[mainiac]

How did this take me two days to notice?  Great stuff!

It might be cool if instead of gasping in pain zombies would be knocked to the ground.  They'd then keep trying to climb back up until you kill them.

Damn, those knifehand zombies.  Not sure I'm a fan of those.

[kilakan]

one thing that I find very few zombie games do well, is any sort of weapon durability tracking.  Also the ability to block/counter/defend yourself with a melee weapon, generally in most games getting close to a zombie with a melee weapon is almost certain to get you hurt.  Any plans at all to adding melee skills, so that lone zombies would be a lot less harmful against people with melee weapons?  Maybe fatigue or something that gets used up as you block/counter attacks to make fighting 1-2 zombies in melee safe but multiples can still overwhelm you.  Preventing the 'Urist Knocks the bolt out of the air with his sword' spam that df sometimes has :p

[RustKnight]

Is infection to be taken in account as future feature?

[RustKnight]

To be honest i find this game enjoyable even as it is at this stage.
It's just so well done, although i cannot say what is well done but i love it!

[tenmillimaster]

What are your plans for how this game starts out?

Multiple start options, like LCS, would be neat.

Something like:
[ A] You have spent years watching the news, waiting, preparing for the rebuilding of society. You will have several (rand # of weeks/days) to prepare for the collapse as isolated reports come through.

[ B] A few days(rand # of /days, max of a week) ago you personally witnessed one of the first reanimations. The ramifications of the illness are not lost on you, but you were not prepared to abandon society. The journey will be difficult.

[ C] They are coming, it has been on the news. Evacuation will not be necessary, only a quarantine. But the stories you had dismissed indicated that the disease spread with great ease. Humanity will fall.

[ D] You have been living under a rock. On your way home from your job, you finally figured out that society has collapsed. OR You wake up to the sounds of gunfire and moaning.

Option [ A] might then take you to your founder preparation screen, which gives you plenty of additional resources "You have made certain to keep good credit, and can remortgage/draw up loans very quickly", "Your basement is handloader's heaven", "You have scouted out several retreats, several of which you know are within your immediate means of purchase", "you have purchased many books on skills, and printed out [vital information from the internet] (handloading data, nutritional information, stuff for home-canning, etc)."

Option [ B] might saddle you with poorer start options. "You have x# of children, you will have many mouths to feed, but more hands to aid in the fields", "you live in a gated community but your home has many windows", "Remaining an active shooter has proved difficult with your finances.", "you live in a new community with few friends."

Option [ C] gives you a few hours to run home, panic buy, "you drive to several gun stores, most of which are closed. He tries to do the background check, but then he hands you the (random legal firearm) and tells you to get home and be careful" "You head to walmart but the shelves are almost empty. You still manage to grab [things]. Checking out, you have maxed out your CC/emptied your bank account(if your occupation is pretty shitty)" "You head to Home depot, buy wood, and start barricading your home." "You race to pick up your kids and loved ones." "You call your mates and make plans to meet up later." "You fill every receptacle in your house with water." "You take the time to move everything important to your second story, then destroy your stairwell."

Option [ D] would only give you Founder options. Housing, contacts, dependants/cohabitants, resources, and tools are completely randomized.

[Jboy2000000]

One thing I noticed is that there is no lose, and you can send dead people on raids, and when you do you can't move them.

[suitableusername]

This looks pretty awesome, "Rise of the Conservative dead" anyone?

[KA101]

Included DLL solved the problem; thanks.  (It may also cure a similar DLL problem I had with an unrelated engine.  Will find out Friday or so.)

After a few problem/learning playthroughs, this one's looking good.  We had a few close things and Rick put a lot of effort into it (still fighting despite being Out Of Action), but everyone's healthy again, we've army armor, helmets, shotguns, and 9mm for all, with a plentiful supply of food & water.  19th Jan.

Things that are impressive:
1) Scrounged gear is visibly helpful: armor makes attacks bounce, shotguns routinely cripple Zs, etc
2) Squad members can recover fairly rapidly, given resources
3) Resources tend to make themselves available if you work for them
4) Interface, & especially the font selection, seems just creepy enough to properly set the mood
5) Cleared terrain stays cleared (since site raids are the ONLY way to acquire resources ATM, letting the player pull out without further risk seems fair.)

Not so much:
1) Vision area is inconsistent/zombies tend to pop up out of nowhere (a square that looked clear from a square away can suddenly have a Z when you move adjacent--this can be nasty in the early going)
2) Unclear on food/water requirements
3) Not sure what effects the bandages have

XML, and maybe some low-level Java/Pascal (if I'm lucky and the compiler cooperates) is all the coding I can do.  Let me know, though, because this feels like it can & should go a lot farther than another zombie game I know, and I'd love to help.

[Jonathan S. Fox]

Not particularly exciting today, I worked mostly on smoothing out some rough spots in the interface. This really should have been out at least a day ago, but I was a lazybones and played too much Orcs Must Die 2.



Changelog:
- Unified interface to remove hotkeys from menus and add number pad support to menus.
- Added indentation in message log for readability.
- Added a message log to the safehouse screen.
- Prevented enemies you just spotted from acting before you can react.

http://www.jonathansfox.com/ZSS/zss_python_1-31-2013.zip

[mainiac]

I think that zombies should be doing less massive single strikes but should be getting more small damage hits.  They should be slowly wearing you down before the horde.  It would work especially well if coupled with them spawning behind you based on how long you've been in the area.  It should be about the horde slowly wearing you down and you deciding whether it's better to keep searching for food or run before too many of them show up.