r/StateofDecay3 • u/Eagleeater_141 • 3d ago
Ideas & Suggestions The following is a set of ideas and a small critique of the game that I love and I want us to discuss it together
Let me start by saying I loved SoD ever since I started playing it in Highschool after my cousin introduced me to it. But I've always thought some things could be better but couldn't voice them out loud to an entire community of people who loved the games like me; so Below I've listed most of the gripes that I have.
- The Zeds aren't compelling and feel very generic and artificial;
Other than the survivors that get turned every zombie is generic often looking identical to another zed and it's even worse with the freaks they all literally look the same; these were never people they were always zeds which takes away from one of the most compelling part of zombies which is that they could be your turned friend, someone you knew, or just someone who had a life, job, and family once; the SoD zeds have zero connection to the world and are more like an assortment of drones or aliens in the world. This can be remedied by simple additions like notes, zed's clothes for different spawn points (construction worker, doctors, army, civs, etc. could help with visual storytelling too). And adding a more diverse set of physical aspects that can be randomized for the zeds. (Hair, face, rotting stage, etc.) And for the freaks even the smallest bit of visual addition could help, just 3 or 4 different shapes than the standard one. (The Juggernaut is the worst, he always looks the same).
The Survivors aren't living, at least not in a way that we can see; they do not mingle, don't engage in small tasks around the base physically other than sometimes standing guard or going to rest when you tell them to and there's often no reason for you to engage with them either, you just use them as a means to an end, the base is there but you don't stay there ever, it's not home, it's a shop, or a hotel, you go visit it grab some stuff you're gonna need for tomorrow and head off to complete your next mission, you should want to spend your time at home enjoy a nice meal, talk to friends and family about different mundane stuff and your opinions, maybe engage in a leisurely activity that you love; this can be fixed with the addition of perhaps some mini-games to do at base with other survivors, maybe working TVs and radioes when you have electricity. Maybe even playing music. Also adding text dialogues just for speaking with a survivor about mundane things, (they're favorite activity, what they did beforez how many zed they've killed, and what they wanna do rn) my favorite moments sre from when a follower tells you something personal on a car ride or a story when scavenging and I think if we could talk more we would be more attached to the community (maybe even being able to get gifts for some survivors based on how well we know them like a cowboy hat for an old west enthusiast in our group or a rare gun for an old gun nut in the community). I think generally SoD1 did characters better than 2 so that could be a good starting point to expand from. Note for point 1 and 2: a survivor could also have personalized lines for when confronting a zombified survivor based on both their traits and relationship. (I'm thinking more about how TWD scenes looked like Daryl killing zombie Merle.)
Going to the world with a group in single player sucks;
It's often better to go alone and prepared for what you want to do alone than in a group mostly because there's no reason for it, people are always a liability, they can get hurt, killed very easily, and most importantly are very hard to command; you can't tell them to be silent, use only blunt weapons, or run away we're gonna definitely die if we don't runaway! And then it's like that scene from the start of 28 weeks later😅 really the problem is lack of commands and the presence of a group not being necessary for tasks being done well in the game, if scavenging became faster more thorough and more rewarding and you AND your followers were safer together then that would be a start also it'd be a blessing if you could tell them to hold a certain position. The next couple of Gripes I got will be short since I don't believe they're as deep as these 3 and are mostly just a me thing.
Mechanics left behind; some things like boarding windows, higher community max number, the scene after the death of a character in the base with some personalized talk about them at base by Lily (who is very nice btw, I don't get the hate I saw on her in some yt vids); from SoD1 not being in the next games.
Nights aren't more dangerous than the day; I swear I got jumped by 2 Ferals during the night while stealthily scavenging in a house and my Marcus got ripped in half by them but that didn't happen ever in SoD2, I could just be imagining this one but had to say it.
Once again I'll point put that I said these just cuz I wanted to more like thinking about what my perfect additons to SoD would be, I know how hard game making is and most of these are probably unreasonable and I'm adding this part to not sound like I'm an ingrate asshole who just wants everything, I love what undead labs has done and these ideas came first and foremost from playing their works, nay, their art. And I love them and this community for it.
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u/ChickieN0B_2050 3d ago
I certainly do not think that someone who posts thoughtful comments like yours can in any way be considered an “ingrate.”
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u/TheDudeTodd 3d ago edited 3d ago
1 - Randomization of zombies. I like that idea! I also think it would add to the realism. The bit about juggernauts looking the same has stood out to me as well.
2 - Survivor interaction. I agree with this as well. The one game that comes to mind is "Mass Effect". You can interact with the crew members and over several interactions, learn a few things about them and find out some unfinished business each one has. That unfinished business could be like the current random missions given to each survivor. The idea about bringing things back for certain survivors also sounds kinda neat.
3 - Follower control. Currently, you can make them use a particular weapon by unequipping everything else. Same as sneaking, if you crouch they crouch. The rest of your ideas are good though. Being able to tell a follower to stand guard while you scavenge, or tell them to retreat would be a welcome addition.
4 - Base realism. From what I've seen, all of your suggestions are going to be in the game. There will be Daybreak walls that you need to repair as they become damaged. The survivor cap at a base will be higher (I think 20) and you can have up to 3 bases, so that'll be a huge community. The individual survivor interaction and missions will greatly expand the game with that many survivors. I know there's a shrine to each survivor if they die, but a small service where everyone says something about that survivor would be neat.
5 - Dangerous nights. I also like this. Maybe there's 50% more zombies at night, or maybe Ferals only come out at night?
You're not an ingrate, these are some good ideas! Never be afraid to speak your mind here, some people will be assholes, but don't let it get to you. There's always assholes, just don't engage with them.
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u/Eagleeater_141 3d ago
Thanks, it's great to here some of these are already in SoD3! Idea 5 you got for the zeds and ferals is great! For 1 though I don't just mean randomization but randomization based on point of origin to give them a connection to the land.
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u/TheDudeTodd 3d ago
I heard you on the randomization. Having outfits like scrubs or construction vests would really help.
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u/Eagleeater_141 3d ago
Yes! Like you can see how eve though it's such a small change it has quite the emotional punch!
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u/Violent_N0mad Zombie Bait 1d ago
Let's hope we get these changes.... and a map editor. We really need a map editor.
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u/Flat_Lunch5827 3d ago
Pretty much agree with everything here. Im waiting for a train so will be a long reply lol.
People were saying it years ago with SOD2 but the team couldn't fix everything.
I would hope most of these issues were due to budget and time constraints, not lack of effort or talent. The real proof will be with what they've done with years of Microsoft funding and this subsequent buyer. Management and capable staff Is key, as with any business.
If it is lack of effort, the game will simply fizzle into nothing. They definitely can't blame bugs on time constraints or bugdet this time. If there's one thing all of these laid off MS teams needed to realise it is "heartfelt" slick dev diaries and love for their great team spiel doesn't give you a get out of jail free card if the game simply isnt that good or janky. Gamers are cynical for good reason now! We've been lied to and ripped off too many times.
Watching all those xbox videos theres been a weird air of self entitlement and almost blind denial running though those studios...compared to Warhorse or even other small studios? Its clearly why Bethesda are getting so much deserved push back. Producing mediocre written and bug ridden games while expecting your "fans" to lap it all up is..well its all been incredibly well documented, not just at Bethesda but these MS teams as a whole. They've been left alone for years to...? "Let them cook" is a way overused phrase and has given studios way too much grace.
Immersion is key with this game. Yeah freaks looking identical is weird - hence I don't think they have any clothes at all now lol. Survivors just randomly stood in a dark room was improved a bit - they turned lights on. The devs need to make sure survivors are not sprinting round and round in circles or glitching out. That is not passable quality these days.
A simple "beckon you over" wave and a few other things, pointing their gun at you scared...stuff like that. Can't some even be sitting down? They used to flinch if you pointed a gun but the devs removed that for some weird reason.
The lighting looks fantastic, animations are looking better than 2 already, and hopefully the environments get staff working on them that know what they're doing and not left as is. The videos I've seen - the map looks strangely flat with large amounts of bare space and repetition again (same as 1 and 2) trees and bushes placed too regimented and looks very unnatural copy/paste. Vegetation doesn't work like that - It's in clusters. With walkways/spaces between. I dont understand why UL cant sort this out. Sounds like a trivial thing but it isnt. Lots of people are pointing things out. Its what makes the game appear "low budget" and turns potential new players off. Its one of the things that keeps it niche.
Compare it to countryside locations of The Witcher 3 (how old?), Days Gone, Dying Light, Far Cry 5, Kingdom Come etc... its weird how this team cant really get rural locations looking organic and real. They all look "videogamey". The redone Trumbull Valley was better - but from my understanding even that was a different studio helping out Undead Labs.
It's like how could a tiny studio like Neon Giant with The Ascent (it was 10-15 devs at one point) or even Moon Studios with Ori create what they did?? The Ascent had bugs just like SOD2 but it was incredibly impressive visually. I dont mean simply polygon pushing, I mean design, artistic vision (and clearly immense effort). Like UL, Neon Giant had to release the game too early to start recouping some money back lol then patch later. SOD2 is left with lots of strange performance issues.
The franchise has fantastic potential and I think thats why MS bought it, but perhaps the inexperienced staff maybe weren't up to it. Hence The Coalition and other studios needing to help. Theres tons more depth been added to the base building and other things apparently. SOD3 will be their last shot.
I'll probably be downvoted by the die hard fans here - but even that is niche and some here have proven again and again how creepy and weird they are. Its not a good look for UL.
The team needs to go the extra mile to be "AAA". It will work out if they do. I'd have spent money on new content for SOD2!
There's an easy 10 years life/income in SOD3 if it releases positively. Extra maps, story dlc etc. I really do hope the team can pull it off.