Erkinwine

Wow, I'm back and I didn't realize I had been away for so long. I didn't stop playing PZ, Just kinda got out o the forum for a while. I see this thread got a little bit of attention while I was away. I also gave it some additional thought as I experimented with various updates over the last couple o years. There have been some great suggestions above and it does seem that I stirred a little discussion. I thank you all for your input. I still think PZ needs to provide an option for children, and while I admit that it will probably need to be moded, I would prefer it to be part of a Kids DLC for after the eventual full release. And yes, Gurluas, there would have to be "woohoo", though a fade to black would work fine for the animation, it should create some noise, too. Raising a child in a zombie apocalypse would be extremely stressful for all the reasons mentioned above (and likely many as yet unconsidered), but they would also be a source of happiness. Just waking up and seeing that smiling child would surely get a nice moodle. You would create happy moodles for the little one, too, when you returned from a day of looting. There would be so much to do in teaching Cooking, First Aid, Electronics and Carpentry to junior, not to mention taking your daughter out on her first looting mission. What pride and joy you would have in seeing her crush the head of her first zed. Since the subject of children in PZ has long been a non-starter, can I start the debate on whether there could be a children DLC? BTW, I also think it might be a good tribute to the hard-working moders that have provided many spectacular mods to perhaps combine some of them (with permission, of course) in a DLC after the release. Whenever that may be.

What Ever Happened to Marina Cook I grew incredibly anxious awaiting the release of Build 41 – Anims. Every Thursday, I read the weekly Thursdoid, hoping that there would be some announcement of the pending release of the much-anticipated Build 41. And each week there was more news to make me even more eager, but no news of that release. Finally, I could take it no more. I turned on the IWBUMS, waited patiently while the game updated and finally, I was playing Build 41 – even if it wasn’t ready for release, yet, I could get the feel for what would, in essence, be a whole new game. I wanted to play Project Zomboid 2.0. Since it would be my first playthrough in this build, I thought it might be fun to do an After Action Report (AAR) and perhaps keep a diary of how things went. That’s what What Ever Happened to Marina Cook is all about. Game Notes This play-through takes place in Muldraugh, Ky, using Survival mode with no Mods installed. Marina is an unemployed individual. She is Resilient and has Thick Skin. She is also Short Sighted and is a Slow Reader. Because I like to make it a little more difficult on a starting character – I have no reason why – Marina begins with no clothing; not even shoes. Background Marina is not from Muldraugh, she was visiting her friends, Bill and Ted, when the Knox Event occurred. Things happened so quickly, before she knew it, there was no chance for her to go home. But Bill was a firefighter and Ted a sheriff’s deputy, so she felt fairly safe with them. About a week after the Knox Event, she was playing poker with Ted and Bill’s wife Laura. Bill was out trying to see what he could scavenge from the neighborhood that might make their lives a little simpler. When he came home, Bill didn’t look well. He said he had been scratched and was a bit anxious about a near-death experience, but that he would be okay after he got some rest. Laura gave him some beta blockers and something for the pain and stayed him a while as he finally fell asleep. She then returned to the poker game with Ted and Marina. They didn’t hear Bill get up. In fact, Ted was the first to see him and then just as he was taking a bite out of Laura’s neck. She let out a horrible scream of terror mixed with pain. He must have gotten the artery, because blood sprayed everywhere; it got all over Marina. Ted acted as quickly as he could, pushing Marina back, so that he was between her and Bill. He was obviously worried about Laura and his friend Bill, who was obviously now a zombie. He didn’t have his pistol or anything that could rightly be called a weapon, but he did his best to keep Bill at bay. He landed several good blows, which rocked the zombie, but it took them and kept coming back. Finally, it was able to grab Ted and pull him to the ground. Ted tried to push him off and get back to his feet, but it was clear he had lost the battle. Marina let out a shrill shriek and then fled out the rear exit of their safehouse. It wasn’t safe anymore. That was the last thing she remembered. Whatever happened after that was a mystery to her. It must have been the shock. July 9 Marina awoke in an unfamiliar home. She was on the floor in a bedroom under the window. Rising to her feet, she noticed that she was naked, except for her bra and panties. She must have shed her cloths because of Laura’s blood. She had to remind herself that such fits of hysterics would likely get her killed. She had to keep her cool. There was something uncomfortable in her left cup. Checking, she found it to be a keyring with a single key. She assumed that somehow, she had gotten a key to this house. She found a few things in the house that she could use, a hiking bag, a pair of socks, a cleaver, some books and a bit of food, but the house has apparently already been picked over pretty good. When she was satisfied, she had all the good stuff from this little house, she went next door to a two-story house. There she found a club hammer and more books. She also found three trade magazines, which she took the time to read. One was The Hunter Magazine vol 3. She learned how to Make Trap Box and Make Cage Trap. Two skills that might come in handy later. The second was The Metalwork Magazine vol 3. From it, she learned to Make Metal Fences. She wasn’t sure when she could put that skill to use but was still happy to have learned it. The third magazine was Laines Auto Manual – Performance Models. This magazine taught her how to work on performance automobiles. After reading, she left the magazines behind as she had no further use for them. To her surprise, she found a fully cooked, but cold porkchop on the stove. She took it and ate it later when she became hungry. This house, too, was fairly picked over, but she found a bit more food and she found an alarm clock. Without a watch, it would have to do for telling time. She also found a couple pairs of pants, one of which she put on. She was starting to feel drafty. She did find a saw and some nails as well as a nice club hammer. These would certainly come in handy in her future. Having collected everything she felt was of value in this house, she headed out to try her luck elsewhere. By now, it was 2:30 in the afternoon and was sure she should start looking for a safe place to make her home for the evening. [She went outside and was walking across the street when the game froze up. I was expecting it to crash again, like it already had four times at this point. Instead, while I stared at the blurred out, frozen screen with the (Not Responding) notice at the top, I heard the distinct sound of zombies ripping at flesh. Sure enough, once the game finally finished crashing and I rebooted it, Marina was surrounded by zombies and was already nearly dead.] That is how Marina Cook died. Sad, sad story.

I just want to say that when I heard talk a year or so about an anims release, I was excited that we would get to see our characters wearing a backpack and maybe look a little more like we have them outfitted. This is above and beyond what I was expecting and it still is growing. I'm hoping that you folks at TIS have an expected date for the release - even if you don't want to get our hopes up too much by saying it. I'm really looking forward to these additions. Especially the animations of our characters doing the many tasks they have to do from day to day that currently just show them staring back at us. Good luck with this build. I hope it goes to IWBUMS soon.

Great to see the new skills and revamped skill system - I agree that as skills were added, leveling was becoming encumbered. It might now be necessary to tweak the experience required for a level as the first two or three levels might seem a bit quick. - just say'n.

Ayrton, You got the idea. With NPCs, there will be a community, so some aspects will be easier, allowing players to live longer. Other aspects more difficult. It will be necessary to keep the entire community fed, for example. But communities allow for specialization and thus more chances for longer survival. Even in communities, survivors will slowly be eliminated, forcing those who remain to take on greater roles. Having to take care of an infant or toddler would certainly add an aspect of difficulty to the game and, I think, a fun tag. Survivors may not live long enough to create their own offspring, but what if the player came across a young mother with a 4 or 5-year-old. They both need to be taken care of, because the mother cannot be expected to go out hunting for food and supplies on her own or with the child.

Ok, I know, I know, I know. The TIS Devs have already made it clear that there are going to be no child zombies in Project Zomboid. And the case is closed. If that's the way it is - that's the way it will be, but I must at least post my suggestion. When NPCs are finally released (whenever that may be) it will be entirely unrealistic to assume that survivors are not going to attempt to save the species by creating a next generation. If the issue for no children is because the Devs don't want to deal with their deaths, that is one thing against which I have no counter argument. However, if, as I have read, there is a lack of desire to have zombie children, the answer is easy: The disease that causes zombification only affects those who have already been through puberty. While this might suggest thirteen or fourteen year-old zombies (technically children), they will appear no different than other young adults of 18 or 19, once their bodies have cooled and the signs of a gruesome death are showing. There, I'm sure it will be shot down, but I've made my argument and my conscious is clear once more.

You know, Crusaders of the Dark Savant - the fifth installment of the legendary Wizardry series by Sir-Tech - pioneered some pretty impressive early NPC interaction, allowing for somewhat open-ended dialogue with some, but not all of their NPCs way back in 1994. I, for one, thought that they had opened the door to revolutionary new NPC AI. But they did not improve on that through any of the next three installments. Nor did anyone else in the computer gaming industry. As a matter of fact, most NPC dialogue and AI isn't much advanced from what I programmed in my programming classes in high school back in 1981. From what I read, TIS had NPCs, but just didn't like them, because they were too two-dimensional. They want 3-D NPCs, which I'm willing to wait for, because a good interaction with an NPC would be light years ahead of everything else.

Me, too. I like the NPCs in Dead State, but would prefer if they were a little more open-ended. Too many times you only get two choices and either means a character will die. I'd prefer more intelligent NPCs. I think that's what the devs are trying to give us and why they have been so difficult.

Expansions generally involve a much higher price - 29.99 vs. 1.99 for example, so it is acceptable that the two don't have the same level of content. I've also had to suffer through some expansions that involve changes to the basic mechanics, thus creating a different game, entirely. Expansions like Denver, St. Louis, Seattle, Washington DC or LA (Grand Theft Auto with a twist) would be cool, but I don't think it would bother me if motorcycles and bicycles were part of a DLC for 1.99 and, as mentioned by Butter Bot, Louisville is part of the project. I do think that we currently have plenty of map to play on while other pieces of the project are rolled out. No one has really said much about a campaign, but it was obviously the intention of the devs to have a campaign for the project and that will be a different kind of beast, entirely, as it requires story-telling rather than programming to be successful and no matter how great the mechanics and graphics are, if the campaign isn't good, it ends up being just a sandbox. The point of this is that the devs definitely have enough environment to test and run each element as it is introduced without a need for more maps. Before too long, Orell will become more necessary as the devs need to work out taller buildings, basements, etc., but I think we are ok until then. We don't need taller buildings or basements for a vehicle that is just going to drive by or for an NPC, unless he or she is going to live there.

At this point, I don't want to be a party-pooper, but I think there are enough maps to allow for hours of fun gameplay in the upcoming v1.0. I would rather not distract devs from their monumental task of adding the remaining elements that will turn this from an EA game to the blockbuster that it certainly will be. Can we agree that Orell and Louisvill, etc. could be really fun, but would also work as an attractive DLC once the whole Project Zomboid experience has come together? I also like the idea of bicycles and motorcycles, but think that they could probably work as a nice little DLC, too. I'm getting tired of reading posts by people (but certainly not you Kuren), who lament the time the TIS team is taking due to expanding their concept of what the v1.0 game should be, while simultaneously trying to pile up their plate with a wish list of non-essential items. I'm looking forward to this becoming the first EA game to actually be released out of dozens that I have bought. But that can't happen if they are constantly reminded of ideas they happened to mention a number of years ago.

I've thought of this, too. Perhaps some of these changes can happen later to cosmetically improve play and feel, but I'm happy enough with the way things work for now as I wait for the things that have a higher priority, like anims, NPCs, vehicles. I even heard mention of armor (Armour for the British and Canadian chaps). I could really dig some armor - even if it was just leathers for riding bikes, etc. Anything that keeps the zeds from sinking their nasty little chompers into my ever-so delicate flesh.

Metal bed frames are of little difficulty, except where they join with the headboard and foot. If these are not solid wood, you are going to have a problem, even if you don't damage it. Frames made entirely of wood are a different case entirely. I have encountered a number of frames, where holes need to be re-drilled once a screw is removed because the wood will no longer hold it. Trying to change where pieces are connected causes other issues with stability. I never mentioned mattresses. The fact is, the game doesn't consider the mattress to be a separate component. The bed is a unit by itself. Break any part of the bed and the mattress won't work. That doesn't mean the mattress is broken. Your problems are not caused by the game mechanics. They are caused by a decision someone made creating your world. That isn't the dev's fault. These are the rules of the world your survivors live in. Just like you learned to live with gravity, they must live with fragile furniture.

I for one would love to get a Spiffo with my next Happy MealTM Teeshirts are cool, too. There are a number of online marketers that would do custom tees in a heartbeat as a fund raiser. I've seen some that give a couple of weeks for pre-orders and distribute them as long as there are at least 50 buys. A Spiffo tee or a Project Zomboid tee could probably hit this mark easily. I'd probably buy a few.

Hey, I know this doesn't have anything to do with the game, but I'm enjoying the game as it is with your frequent updates. Can we get a new poll on the Forums page? Pancakes or Waffles is getting pretty old. I suggest we try Boxers, Briefs or Commando. Just my 2.5 cents - considering inflation.

I know what you guys are saying, I have yet to be able to get my carpentry score above level two or three, but every house has at least one bed. Just go to another bed and try to move it. Your carpentry score is bound to improve in the process. Speaking as someone who has moved a bed or two in my day, keeping them from being damaged is difficult. Especially the ones that were kits from Ikea, etc. They seem to be designed to stay in place once constructed. I don't really see how this is too far off from reality. Sorry. Screws and fiberboard are a bad combination.

As long as it isn't a gas stove or a wood stove. This stuff is a bit too nit-picky. Is this a decorating sim or a zombie apocalypse sim?

Are results of these studies going to be posted?

I like these points and I respect the opinions that the devs know we are excited and they know the we want anims, etc. etc. etc. At the same time, I also know that I am a fan like many others and fans enthuse about things they are fans of. That's the whole point of being a fan. It beats going around trolling other posts, doesn't it?

Yes .... and ... No. You have something of a point about hyping and generating excitement and then getting frustrated because it isn't out, yet. I'm the same way when I put my egg in the microwave for the second 30 seconds, before it is done. The difference is, the microwave doesn't care how much I'm anticipating the egg getting done. On the other hand, a steady flow of positive feedback is good for the devs, since it lets them know that: A) we ARE interested in anims coming out soon; and B) we haven't lost interest and gone on to something else.

Obviously, you need to cover a pit trap, otherwise it's just a pit.

On this subject, but slightly different, I've thought it might be another type of trap for the game. Larger game could be caught in pit traps with or without spikes at the bottom. Since Zeds don't appear to climb very well, I have thought that luring a bunch of them into a pit and then tossing in a Molotov cocktail might make a nice little campfire for roasting hotdogs or marshmallows. Might even make some smores.

IR, you made some very good points. Some that I agree with and support, but I have to take exception with the idea you seem to have that constructive criticism has to be "praise". Quite the contrary. Let's talk about the argument of gameplay or graphics. Anyone play role-playing games? I'm not talking about the ones you play on a computer. I'm talking about the real ones that require people to actually sit down together and communicate in order to assist some fictional beings to save their fictional world. That kind of thing. Well, with those games, there is a long-running argument between realism and playability. It's the same thing. Some argue that if it doesn't seem real enough, it suspends "belief" and makes it difficult to "imagine" the world properly. Others argue that too much realism slows down playability, thus the game turns into a lot of rolling dice, and looking through rule books, rather than "playing". A balance needs to be found. Gameplay or graphics is the same argument for video games or at least the game design. They need to work together and progress together or the finished product will suffer. It would be quite possible for the TIS developers to forget anims and just focus on adding all the game elements so that they can have a v1.0 for release. We here are a cult following and we would really love it, but the game would be a dud on the market. Real "enthusiasts" want fancy graphics. That's what really makes a game a success. Those people would not like this game and would also wonder why people like us say such good things about it. What's worse is that it gets more and more difficult to add graphical "pizazz" if it doesn't come along with the gameplay elements. It could turn out buggy. It is even possible that it could get to a point that bringing in graphics elements would require a complete reworking of the game. We've seen this before with other games trying to incorporate new graphics technology. My point is, I think you should just enjoy the game that you appear to already enjoy (so I'm not asking you to do something against your will - that would be asking you to be patient, which I admit, you may have already been at one point). If you burn out, you burn out. I'm guessing it wouldn't be the first game you've burnt out on. But have you ever gone out and gotten the sequel of a game you burnt out on and found renewed vigor? Well, guess what? That will happen with the release of anims, or with NPCs, or with whatever comes next. Stop worrying and enjoy the game we all seem to love.

I understand what you are saying along with IndigoRebel, but let me give you some free advice and I promise you it is worth every penny. Before I do, though, let me explain that I am not a high school or college student. I'm in my 50's. I have a family and a job I've worked for the last 17 years. In 2010, I went back to college, while working and got my associates, my bachelor's and my MBA degrees. I actually picked up PZ while working and getting my MBA. I credit much of my sanity to this and other computer games - most of which are early access. Now the advice: Life falls into a number of categories, too numerous to list independently, but three very important ones are work, family and entertainment. If either of you want to reach my age, you need to learn that the third is as important as the first two, yet neither should be sacrificed for the others. Your work pays the bills, not just the ones for now, but the ones for the future. it's important, but it isn't the only thing. Family are the people that count on you and those that you can count on. They are also important. Without family, work and entertainment, even life in general will start to feel unimportant. Never forget about family. Now, let's talk about entertainment. Entertainment is the cornerstone to your sanity and your health. We live in an extremely challenging world full of stress. Not properly kept in check, stress can ruin your mental and physical health. Amazingly, entertainment helps to deal with stress, even though it may actually create stress of its own. As much as I know my survivor in PZ is doomed to die, I try to keep him or her alive as long as possible and when he or she stresses, so do I. But it's a good stress and it helps me to forget about the real stresses of living in a Trump world full of idiots who think he and Alex Jones are the only ones with the right answers. You need this. I'm not saying just video games, but whatever it is you enjoy doing to escape, if only briefly, from the stress of living. The problem is, all three of these tug on a person and their time. Twenty-four hours never seems to be long enough and it feels like something has to give. What you, I, and everyone else needs to do is find a balance. You may not be able to do all the things you would like to do all the time, but that doesn't mean you can't do them. Balance is important. So, play PZ, go to the movies, watch football, whatever it is that lets you relax, you have to do it. Just don't make it your life. You also have family and work. That same advice goes for your survivor, by the way. While your job might have you working 8, 10, 12 or more hours per day cracking undead skulls, you need time for that comic book or a newspaper now and again, if just to take you away. And devs, if you are reading, we need NPC's, too. Family is important.

Maybe I'm just different from everyone else that plays this and other early access games, but I really don't concern myself with a release date. Quite frankly, I have a dozen or more games in early release, but I've never been part of an early release game that has ever been released. I don't buy them for what they might be. I buy them for what they are, and I think everyone else should too. Why, because no one knows what tomorrow will bring. If you have all your hopes hung on what you think will be, you are almost guaranteed to be disappointed. That doesn't mean that the developers have failed you, it just means that you interpreted their promises differently than they did. Here's my philosophy - think of it what you will, but remember, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs made a "buyer beware" industry out of electronics a long time ago. It's time people figured it out. When you see an early release game out there, ignore the words "early release". Look at the game as it is and look at the price. Ask yourself, is it worth that price? If your answer is yes, by all means, buy it. If not, don't. If you are not sure, bookmark it and go back when it gets updated and see if your answer changes, but for goodness sakes, don't buy a game for what it might be one day. If you are that driven to help something get going, then go to kickstarter and "invest" in something or apply somewhere as a playtester, but don't pay for the privilege. I have been quite impressed with the development of this game and don't care one bit about the speed of that development. Some of the other early release games I bought showed tremendous activity for a time, then they suddenly stopped. Word came out much later that the developers gave up on them. Was I cheated? Of course not. I had what I paid for. Was I disappointed? Maybe at first, but I got over it. I've also paid more than $60 for a game that was tested and marketed and had great reviews, but was simply crap with so many problems, I couldn't finish the first play-through. It's fine to anticipate new releases and changes to the game, but don't invest yourself too emotionally in them. It isn't the end of the world if you have to wait a few weeks, months or even years for them. Also remember that the developers appreciate your input, when it is constructive and they like to know that you are looking forward to their next release. I like the point of this thread. Blasted_Taco, I may have waited a while to get to this, but I'm not being critical of what you said. It just seems to be the kind of thing that can turn this from a positive thread into a negative thread. Quite frankly, I've read a number of your contributions and they are generally constructive, as I think the point of this post was.

Macro1, Yes, bitching. Yes, my entertainment is MY only standard for whether or not a game was a good buy. Unless you are really bizarre, the reason you buy a game is to be entertained when you play it. The more you are entertained, the better the buy. Replay ability is a phrase that is tossed around a great deal for RPGs such as this one. Do you not already feel that Build 36 has replay-ability? Or are you so bored that you spend hundreds of hours playing something you hate? Of course you aren't. you enjoy playing it. You just want the developers to wave some magic wand and have it finished. From a value standpoint, Build 35, or even Build 34 already IS about a $10 game, which is what you paid. This seems to hit somewhere around your point that you don't understand why they are still working on it. The only thing is, you confuse your point by saying that you would feel "robbed". The terms involved in getting an EA game are rather clear about "... may never be completed." Now yes, I'm bringing up the terms of the disclaimer, which you don't seem to appreciate, but only to remind you that you have already gotten what you paid for ... EARLY ACCESS. Apparently, you have a problem with how early your access is, but it is exactly what you paid for and thus, you have not been "robbed". If anything, you should be pleased, even grateful that the TIS team continues to work on this project to make improvements. Whether or not you think they have any significance, the additions to build 35 are very nice. Nutrition alone is amazing. But they have also doubled the number of skills that can be improved through books, and added the mechanics and objects for a whole new skill: metalworking. Another map has also been added, too. How can you not realize that Build 35 added significant game-play? It's because you are busy bitching. Maybe, like me, you were hoping for Anims in this release. Well, TIS decided that rather than delay the release date further by continuing to work the bugs out, they would remove it from the build and give us the remainder of the build, thus putting off Anims for later. As for me, I have mixed feelings. I'm really enjoying what build 35 added to the game, but I could have waited longer for the release in hopes of getting the Anims. You should, however be thrilled - they boxed it and shipped it as-is so that you would have something to play. They are also sharing some of their development toys with the moders so that new mods can be made. That should also please you - so much more for your $10. Yet, you are still bitching. Are you a really short, rubbery, green guy with long orange hair? 'Cuz you are starting to sound a lot like a troll.