r/StateofDecay3

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.

1. 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).

2. 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.)

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

Per Sunny Games, 8 days ago:

If you signed to alpha test on console, you are SOL. There will be NO console alpha. Beta? Maybe.

Apparently, lots of people have been caught breaking NDA. Stop fucking doing it. You could potentially derail the release of the game.

There have been many MANY more updates to the games since Brian and Sunny's showcase videos. Sunny claims each and every one has made the game much better than the early alpha videos show.

The results of the buyout have apparently allayed the worst fears of most in the know.

Possibility of him doing a sit down interview with studio head Phillip Holt. He wants feedback on whether fans want that, but the new owners may or may not oblige.

Caveat: The complete absence of negativity, or so I feel, from Sunny about SoD3 makes me wary of his testimony being paid advertising. But there's no proof one way or the other.

Have they mentioned what their next plans are? More info closer to release? More streamers showing off the game? Road map, social media posts, teasers or trailers?

I want to say this isn't a demand for information, it's not an accusation and it's not a complaint. I understand they're hanging on by their fingernails trying to finish the game during layoffs, having a new owners, up ended plans, and neck deep in testing.

I'm just genuinely wondering if I have missed something where they've talked about what's coming next on the road to release.

TLDR: Hungry for more info, not complaining.

I’m curious if they’re going to bring it back with more archetypes or scrap it all together. Doing different runs with different archetypes was part of the replayability of SOD2 imo.

Hey guys does anyone know if they are going to focus again on the characters and story of the world? Like are we getting an actual storyline like in SoD 1 ? If you have links too articles or stuff for me too read, i would love to read it. 😊

im a sucker for Red Talon. always loved the idea of a badass paramilitary fighting zombies.

im obsessed. every gun or melee i use must be related to Red Talon in a way, i only use Red Talon backpacks, characters, outfits, Red Talon cars, prefabs if not the Trumbull FOB, etcetera etcetera

so, im really excited to see if we'll get more Red Talon representation in SoD3 (and i hope they're playable characters just like SoD2...)

whatre your thoughts?

The initial alpha videos from the council members have been a bit underwhelming. Sunny’s footage was bugged with broken zombie spawns, Jay’s was only 51 minutes, and Brian has more than 1 but those videos are mostly just him talking while his 1 video played in the background.

I’m really hoping this next alpha cycle brings fresh footage, and maybe some new perspectives. No disrespect to Sunny, Jay, or Brian, but their coverage felt a bit too agreeable and lacked critical feedback.

Given that the game is expected to launch next year (anywhere from 4 to 16 months from now), it’s concerning that they keep mentioning how many core systems aren't even finished enough to be tested or talked about yet.

I've recently been consuming a good amount of alpha footage on SOD3 and I've seen a good amount of positive changes and updates compared to SOD2.

* Improved Graphics, Sound, Melee mechanics, more detailed customisation, more zombies in a single area, better animations etc.

But one of the biggest aspects I am finding myself concerned with; is the lack of immersion when looting/scavenging, as I think thats a massive part of what makes the world feel important and alive when traveling from A to B.

The same system of E.g. Open a door, walk to each room, and wait for a loot box icon to light up; feels outdated now and imo fits more in line with the looting mechanics of old battle royal games.

The current scavenging mechanic seems to be at it's best when the tension of a plague zone or the fear of possible character death fills in for the lack of stimulation.

I think scavenging could really benefit from

* I'd really like if Torch Light attracted Zombies, maybe adding that you can dim or face the torch downwards to the ground when attempting to sneak around at the cost of not being able to see as far.

* Adding more common weather events like Storms, Fog, Mist, Smoke that reduce visibility as that adds tension to the world, as it can also make traveling back through the same town you've already visited (but now in a different weather state) feel like you are experiencing the area in a new & unique way to the last time.

* Adding more unique ways to find items/ and or animations when picking through wrecked cars or cupboards to make the world have a bit more depth to it e.g. So it actually feels like you are scavenging through things rather than just opening another "generic" loot box that happens to come in a different shape.

* Adding more surprise elements to looting e.g more zombies hiding in places, making noise is more punishing and likely to attract a good amount of zombies. edit: Also random events like being ambushed by survivors, or a car alarm suddenly triggers while searching a wreck causing a horde to be attracted.

* Adding a mini-game to the "fast search" mechanic rather than just holding a button and hoping you don't get bad RNG edit: this mini game would only apply to fast searching and could be very simple e.g. you time a button press to stop a spinning hand inside a circle, and if you timed it correctly it lands in a highlight zone within the circle causing you to avoid triggering noise.
This mechanic would ideally take the same time as fast searching always has, and you either pass or fail it; meaning you don't get stuck on the same loot box trying it again & again stalling your play-through like other "mentioned" more annoying mini-games.

* Adding special types of loot boxes that are harder to open or require finding a key to a lock.

I think scavenging in State of Decay is one of the major "bread & butter" aspects of the game, which we also spend so much game time doing.

Which is why I believe adding some extra depth to the mechanic could really take the game to another level.

I know it's still early days and a lot can change. But I'd still like to see as much of it as I can.