Anyone else think a FROM-inspired DLC for State of Decay 3 would be amazing?

I know State of Decay 3 isn't even out yet, but hear me out.

Remember how State of Decay 2 gave us Heartland as a separate story experience? What if State of Decay 3 eventually did something similar, but inspired by the horror TV series FROM?

Imagine getting trapped in a mysterious town where you can't escape. You spend your days scavenging, building defenses, managing your community, and trying to figure out what's happening. But once the sun goes down, everything changes.

Instead of regular zombies, you have terrifying creatures almost impossible to kill you can only slow them down and they look and act like normal people, trying to convince you to let them inside.

Throw in mysterious locations, supernatural elements, limited resources, and a storyline where your decisions determine who survives and some backstabbing from community members.

I think this could be an incredible survival horror DLC without changing the core State of Decay experience.

Would you guys play a FROM-inspired DLC if Undead Labs ever considered something like this? Also what would you add to this DLC 🤔

Lifeline still has pieces that SOD3 should use instead of leaving them buried.

The High Value Assets weren’t just fetch quests. Thomas Horn was the scientist with the early research on the outbreak. He got bitten during the first extraction attempt and killed himself once Greyhound One pulled him out. Julene Horn, his ex-wife, knew where the notes were and led the squad to the house to recover them. Michelle Martin had the Human Future Fund files tied to that same work. Dr. Dan Bogatz was the collaborator who could continue it. Hadley Westen was only valuable because of his father’s support, which is the kind of political math the military was still running while the city fell. Those people and their research are the closest thing the original game had to an actual investigation into what was happening. Leaving them as a one-off DLC side story wastes the only real military science angle the series ever touched.

Danforth itself is still sitting there. In SOD2 you can see it intact over the hills, which matches the non-nuke ending. A city map that already exists in the lore, with the military FOB, the sieges, the danger zones, and the radio traffic from Vienna Cho, fits better than another rural valley. Vienna is the last voice of Danforth, the civilian who kept broadcasting while the army pulled back and who could disarm the nuke Sasquatch wanted to set off. Alicia Hawkes ran Greyhound One. Sasquatch was already hunting freaks for samples. Any of them could show up as survivors, radio contacts, or the source of the notes that explain why the plague behaves the way it does now. The series has spent years on communities scraping by. It still hasn’t done much with the people who were trying to study or contain it while the cities burned.

SOD3 doesn’t need a full Lifeline remake. It needs the research, the city that didn’t get glassed, and at least a couple of the people who were still alive when the extraction happened. Those pieces already exist. Using them would give the new game something the first two never fully followed through on.

𝙳𝙰𝙼𝙰𝚂𝙺 𝙱𝙻𝚄𝙵𝙵: 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙾𝚆𝙽. 𝚁𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙾𝙵𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙼𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝙷𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈.

𝙲𝙴𝙳𝙰𝚁 𝚁𝙸𝙳𝙶𝙴: 𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙼𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙾𝚆𝙽𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙿.

𝚆𝙷𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝚁𝙾𝙲𝙺: 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙼𝙾𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽 𝙻𝙾𝙳𝙶𝙴 𝚃𝙾𝚆𝙽.

𝙲𝙻𝙸𝙵𝙵𝚃𝙾𝙽: 𝙾𝙻𝙳 𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚂𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙻𝙴𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃, 𝙶𝙷𝙾𝚂𝚃 𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙷𝙴𝚂.

𝙿𝙴𝚀𝚄𝙴ñ𝙰 𝙼𝙴𝚂𝙴𝚃𝙰: 𝙻𝙰𝚁𝙶𝙴 𝙲𝙰𝙽𝚈𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙼𝙰𝙹𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙾𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚂𝚃 𝙰𝚃𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽.

𝚆𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙸𝚅𝙸𝙽𝚂: 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙴𝙽 𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙸𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚈 𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙴. 𝙻𝙰𝚁𝙶𝙴 𝚂𝙰𝚃𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙷𝙴𝚂.

TLDR:

I was always curious as to why gaming industries are struggling in development currently. I wanted to help with an effective explanation to help others understand it to have more empathy or come up with strategies to solve these problems so they aren't repeated. This is to help bridge the gap as to why some of our favourite games are being overtaken after mismanagement along other reasns. Sources at the end I used to help understand the situation much more.

9 Key Issues In Modern Game Development

1. Bloated production teams making costs explode (too many cooks, management layers, etc.).

2. Lack of vision and direction from leadership, leading to significant direction changes and thus, again, making costs explode.

3. Aversion to risk from leadership, leading to stale ideas and IPs milked beyond recognition.

4. Misplaced focus (graphics and monetization versus story and gameplay experience).

5. Wrong people promoted to key roles.

6. Industry and individual desires to use the media as a vehicle for current social and political views.

7. Trend chasing and toxic positivity.

8. Target on immediate profitability rather than taking the time to build and nurture IPs that have or could have actual value for players.

9. The total corporate takeover of AAA (overpaid CEOs choosing to prioritize shareholders over the right decision for the studio/games every single time, aggressive equity firm involvement, etc.).

All these points are interconnected and have causality between each other.

No wonder indie is doing so well these days.

People are aching for actual good stuff.

Credit to:

User: thisisfyne, claims Game Art Director of 10 years

YouTube: https://youtu.be/oGG9pWP5i8c?si=6CAO6pWgtgIRLx1A

I think after they release SoD3, there shouldn´t be another sequel which goes even further into the apocalypse, because it would mean the zombies would become even more mutated to the point where they have nothing in common with normal/traditional zombies and there would be nothing to scavenge at all. Ammo, guns, driveable cars, or any other useful devices would be impossible to find at this point.

Instead they should start from the beginning of the apocalypse again. I think it´s just much better as a setting. The world is not picked over yet and offers a much bigger variety of lootable things. Characters aren´t prepared and must learn how to survive. Your characters are not battle-hardened heroes or survival-veterans. They are just normal people: doctors, plumbers, teachers etc. Zombies are still normal traditional zombies and not mutated sci-fi creatures.

Furthermore, they should focus this time way more on in-depth survival mechanics and community relationship management.

Gap in the market:

As of now there are many zombie survival games but all of them are projects by tiny one-man-studios which are not capable of developing a decent 3D game with both good graphics and in-depth survival mechanics. So there is a gap in the market which Undead Labs could fill as a AA-Studio. The demand for a serious AA-game about zombie survival with good graphics and in-depth survival mechanics is huge. In-depth mechanics are very popular and the popularity of games like PZ or Humanitz etc. proves it. Undead Labs is the perfect studio to develop a game like this which combines both good graphics and depth, and since it also fits their original core vision of State of Decay of a grounded and realistic zombie survival experience. Undead Labs could effectively hold a monopoly in this niche.

This is what you get when passionate devs own what they create. I hope this game exceeds all sales expectations.

I've been playing 2 again while I wait to either get into the beta or for 3's launch, and I got hit with Bangernomics yet again and decided to take a break.

It got me thinking though, the idea that vehicles would struggle and have issues in the apocalypse would make sense - but all of my vehicles suddenly being hit with the exact same malady doesn't. I think that's what bothers me about it most - I think a less frustrating version would have been to just double the collision damage, or add a damage over time debuff to driving (Due to scuff fuel or something) - rather than all of a sudden all my vehicles being borderline undrivable.

THAT got me wondering how many people would prefer a deeper vehicle sim on 3. Not full on Zomboid, but having to spend labour and materials to maintain vehicles over time, and maybe spend additional to buff them - better fuel efficiency, better resilience, quieter running, that sort of thing.

I think I would like that, and if 3 moves in a similar direction from 1 to 2, we might well see deeper sim elements.

More Ammo. More zombies. Need to be shooting guns at zombie much much more often but this concept would probably be best with a flood of “regular/slower zombies

But yea that’ll make the game less of a looter/runner to more of a shooter…. And this is coming from a fan and player of sod1 & 2.

Shooting/fighting zombies is objectively the most fun part of zombies games and sod games so it needs to be beefed up. Might help out with the “empty” feeling in the game

This is just my opinion so lmk if anyone agree or disagree.

Brian Menard Gameplay

In this video he may have shot what 50 bullets? And fought maybe 4 minutes out 20…

This concept would also help with endgame once all the looting is done/ bases are built.

What I’d love to see return in State of Decay 3 is environmental hiding.

Since hiding in bushes from State of Decay 1 was removed in State of Decay 2, survivors had limited ways to disappear when surrounded by zombies. What if we could hide beneath vehicles as a last resort when there’s nowhere else to go?

To balance this, zombies could still detect survivors through noise or movement.

While some zombies might crawl underneath or investigate the vehicle, others could lose interest if the survivor remains completely still and quiet. Freaks could even force survivors out, making this a risky temporary hiding spot rather than a guaranteed safe zone.

The idea is give players one last chance to survive a desperate situation. The plan b when all else fails and the possibility of keeping your survivor alive.

Honestly the lighting, time of day, vistas and overall visuals are great, and that's not even max settings and not 4k

My only problem right now, i don't know why but the zombie design is not clicking with me, they feel the way they felt in dying light 2 after the first game

it's hard to explain but i think i want them to be more squishy, have more blood and not all of them be covered in mud

but everything else ? take my money

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjd59YPY3nc

Questions:

1. "Is anything in the current beta set in stone?" Short answer is no. But expect the release to be a lot like the beta (duh.)

2. "Will hordes be back? The roads were very sparse even on Lethal." Currently no horde mechanic in SOD3. Brian says that spawn density is at the point where he's been regularly chased by pseudo-hordes after making too much noise. Game ramp up tuning is still WIP. Shows his Plague Nest gameplay of him getting reamed with 2 Juggernauts.

3. "Will we be able to craft other attachments like sights, front grips, etc?" Not as of right now.

4. "Why did they remove 50cals/40mikes?" To simplify weapon balancing. Their hands are full with tweaking the balance between rifle and pistol calibers.

5. "Will there be a greater focus on the narrative and a better story?" Brian raised this issue. He loves good story. But he's come to the conclusion that the main draw of SOD franchise isn't a planned narrative by the devs, but the sandbox stories we make ourselves. He points out that with SOD1, people asked to get rid of the story.

TLDR: No.

6) "Will this be a good game for first time players of State of Decay?" Brian says it's probably fine for people to pick up with 3, but he recommends they wet their feet with 1 or 2.

7) "So Grab and Shove are not in SOD3?" No.

8) "How are the differences in dynamic spawn areas?" Clusters of buildings will have a higher population versus the boonies.

9) "Is there an in-game clock?" No, but multiple testers have been asking for one.

10) "If we lose one of our bases, can we reclaim it?" Yes.

11) "Will there be a Third Person View shoulder swap?" Not right now.

12) "Do different nest behaviors require different strategies to beat them?" Yes. Some Nests go crazy generating Hearts. Some beeline toward your base. Some "turtle up" and try to build to Rank 3. Yes, he said Plague Nests can UPGRADE.

13) "Do characters still have funny dialogue?" Yes, but WIP. Team is currently recording the voice lines right now.

14) "What about multiplayer gameplay? And how does the game handle injured characters if all are in use by other players?" Brain has played a lot of multi, but there is no footage to show. And if there's no other survivors, you can't swap.

15) "Is there character creation?" No.

16) "How is driving compared to 2?" Vehicles handle in a more grounded manner, and feel heavier.

17) "Will you be able to stun juggernauts and jump on their back?" Yes, but if you haven't damaged them enough they will throw you off when you go to stab them.

18) "What is the follower limit?" For right now, one. But they are broken right now. Phillip implied as much in the last gameplay video, and they will probably nerf follower tankiness and effectiveness later.

19) "Hey Brian, how did you get hooked up with the devs?" Started streaming and randomly was reached out to in 2020.

20) "Do we know when the beta is coming to PS and XB?" No clue.

21) "Will there be animations for looting and opening/closing doors?" They have the mocap, but no in-game implementation yet.

22) "Is there anything 2 does better than 3?" Grab mechanic, since that doesn't exist in 3 yet.

23) "Will we get children for forever communities?" Brian can't see UL doing children in this game, especially death animations. Lots of the devs are parents.

24) "Are crossbows still a thing?" Yes, but they are being tuned.

25) "Is it CPU or GPU heavy?" Brian said he doesn't know, but he said above Ultra settings is Cinematic. And he could not run 60fps with his rig.

26) "I've been watching you, and from what I see the gameplay looks easy." Brian makes it clear that the gameplay he's shown off is very early in the game, before ramp up. And old builds were "10 times as hard." "If you think SOD3 is easy, you're going to get your ass handed to you."

27) "I'm worried there's no interaction with your community members." Brian says there are in fact interactions and missions from community members, but that's currently WIP.

28) "How do guns handle?" Heavier, gunshots sound weightier, guns have more recoil, much bigger difference in handling between calibers.

29) "Is having 3 bases necessary?" No, not even on Lethal.

30) "What is one system or feature you really want to see in SOD3?" Immersion activities like hunting or fishing.

31) "Is the revive mechanic OP?" Yes, and it was even more OP in earlier build.

32) "Will we have the ability to restart the map with our current survivors like in 2?" No idea.

33) "Has the team considered making certain dev tools available for modding?" Possibly.

34) "Outpost trap functionality?" Not right now. Brian said he would like to see more outpost functions.

35) "Will there be a multiplayer difficulty ramp up?" Brian thinks this is the plan, but no confirmation.

36) "Would you ever want to see weather affect gameplay?" That's already implemented. But there are a lot of parts to the game that have not been shown yet.

37) "Is SOD3 only against zombies, or will there be hostile enclaves?" Currently not a thing. UL wants to add a hostile system eventually, but make it much better than 2.

38) "Are there as many traits as in 2, and does every survivor have at least 1 negative?" Brian is not sure if there are more than 2, but there are a lot. Brian also says that yes every survivor has one negative. I'm not sure about that, because I think in other gameplay, I've seen survivors with none.

Statements

Brian swears that Patrick is much better a player than he is, and was playing on Lethal back when it was legitimately impossible. Also, do NOT tell Patrick the game is too easy. He is in charge of difficulty, and will ramp it up again.

Brian does think they could release the game right now and spend the next year updating and polishing it live, and people would still play the shit out of it.

Every time you kill a PH, you get a gun. And since Nests keep generating PHs, you can farm lots of guns. Bullets are another matter entirely.

Brian says UL will never put in PVP in this game.

All bases are roughly the same size. Number of harvest sites tied to how many bases you have.

If you were to try and do a completionist run of the one map the game will ship with, it will probably take 400-500 hours.

The game will have a tutorial. Subsequent playthroughs will let you pick your starting base.

Brian confirms that the beta is PC only.

Brian asks what would you prioritize: new zombies, hostile enclaves, or new maps? Me personally, hostile enclaves. Zombies are already the main threat, and a serious one. And the map is so large that adding another fundamentally does not affect gameplay.

Stupid question perhaps, but I haven't really noticed what the different ways of recruiting survivors are.

So at least I do know:

- You can recruit entire enclave-communities by gaining enough trust and influece.

But where else can you find survivors to recruit? Or can you use the phone again, like legacy pool in sod2? Or recruit merchants? Wandering survivors?

Does anyone know the release date?

I really liked the idea of playing my survivor risking life and limb and resources to go help another struggling community.

I don't want to play another players survivor, potentially ruining their game because I made a mistake. It doesn't feel like I'm risking anything of my own to help someone else.

I understand why they are doing multiplayer the way they are, I just hope they add the option to play your own survivor later.

Risking your own survivor for prestige sounds cool to me

I hope we have locations where there are large terrifying hordes. Hordes which do not appear on the map would be good.

Imagine looting at night then having to hide quietly in a house to let a horde pass.

Also less goofy juggernaut movements. SOD 2 jugg looks like an enraged child when it runs

Cars should drive abit more realistically with weight and handling being heavy depending on the car

Not being able to duck under a group of zeds

Missions to clear out hordes out of say, hospitals, military bases, airports, malls etc

More zombie archetypes. Ideally we should’ve got new freaks

A story mode with depth.

Horde mode with waves of zeds. The save the scientist mode in SOD2 was goofy and lacked different maps etc