Or, as this patch should be dubbed, “Version we should have initially released”
I really want a way to jack up the difficulty and play this like a punishing zombie survival game. If this were on Steam, I bet there would be mods to do that. :(
-Tom
Where is the STEAM release of this? :(
So, apparently, there is an update coming (or already here?) that includes a new map which is a re-creation (or perhaps just an upgrade) of the Trumball Valley from SOD1. Now I have to install the game again, so I just came in here to complain about that while I wait for the download. Yay?
Does it speak volumes that I had SOD1 installed the entire time, up until SOD2 came out? I reckon it does. Has anyone been keep track of updates since last year?
Everyone is disappointed Turnbull Valley is only partial and its own separate mode.
I am finally playing this thanks to Game Pass, and its alright.
I am only a few hours in, and it seems more like State of Decay 1.5 than a full sequel.
That’s what everyone else thought too.
Ah ok then. :)
Also whats really strange is how the world doesn’t feel dangerous at all. And I recall SoD1 feeling dangerous.
I guess after so much time with Dying Light and World War Z , with the crazy large horde’s I am left unimpressed my the half dozen or so zombies that try to chase me.
Also its like a year after release, and I saw it mentioned up thread. What is up with gates in this game, trying to close them is like trying to find 1 pixel on the gate that triggers the close prompt.
Hearts migght change that a little :)
I dunno, I destroyed a plague heart already and even that didn’t seem challenging.
Ah well then. You’re the hero we need!
Welp, the new Heartland DLC seems to have increased the difficultly quite a bit. Maybe I’m imagining things, but the nights seem darker too. All zombies are plague zombies so I’m constantly having to manufacture Plague Cure and keep my medical supplies stocked. I’ve already lost more than half of my community twice (restarted once) in about an hour in. I just got done getting them killed again, so I’m probably restarting again. It pretty much sucks going anywhere alone. I’m not afraid of difficulty, as in Dead Rising 1, but this is pushing my limit, perhaps, of difficult versus unfair. That might have to do with how zombies just spawn from nowhere once you get engaged with one. If I were able to see a large amount of zombies and then make the decision to try and beat them, I would be more understanding. In this case, singular zombies are spread through the environment that makes them seem solitary, but if you do engage one or get spotted, you’re just suddenly surrounded. The hordes of Dead Rising feel much more organic and I know that what I see is what I get. They shift around and I create openings that I can make a run through and leave most of them behind. SOD zombies will just chase you til you’re dead. I’m probably just used to playing a certain way, so I’ll see how it goes.
I think I like the “re-imagined” version of Trumball, but they’ve added things which appear to have been the initial concept of the first game. Corn fields, for example, which were essentially wide open spaces, now have tall corn stalks that obscure view and make it much more claustrophobic (adding to the difficulty). It’s also much more mountainous and rocky, making it difficult to drive through.
Uh, please stop saying things that make me want to get this.
-Tom
So I think I’m enjoying Heartland. It has taken me back to the first time I played the original in that there is a real sense of danger in heading out from base. I remember being terrified back then, inching my way out into the larger world. It probably took my 30 hours before I had even seen the north end of the original map. It’s also seemingly more story focused and there are some hints that certain characters might not be expendable (not sure at this point, though). One thing I noticed and liked was that, in coming home to base or running into another character, your community members will greet each other by name, as opposed to the “Hey, you, how’s it going?”. That small change feels really important.
Also, there are plague versions of all the special zombies, too, which is just rude.
Have you played the DLC that adds two new difficulty levels? Because other than the canned character interaction and scripted story stuff, I can’t tell whether Heartland is any different from just playing those harder difficulty levels.
-Tom
I did not even know of them, so I’m not able to compare them. If I had to make a wild guess, based on previous experience with all of Undead Labs’ work, I would say they are most likely similar and you’re probably just getting the new map and story with Heartland (and the aforementioned plague Ferals, etc.).
Well I’m on the supposedly final conflict but my community is now 2 people :/
I think the zombies may be the new owners of this valley.
… and he was wrong!
Helena and Diana hold on to triumph in the end!
I love this game’s concept, but the execution and the occasional grind detract. I hope MS funds them to do something great next gen.
I haven’t played this in a year. It was so disappointing. Sort of a SoD 1.25 instead of a full blown sequel.
The harder difficulty levels really aren’t worth it, and amplify the fundamental design problems.
As you might expect, higher difficulty means:
- “blood” versions of the big bads (similar to what happens in Heartland)
- even faster weapon / vehicle degradation
- more HP for the zeds
- scarcer resources, higher costs, slower progression
- more zed spawns
- less time to recover from plague (~30 minutes instead of ~2 hours)
Even on the “Dread Zone” difficulty (one up from vanilla), you literally can’t go 10 steps without zeds spawning in. You will burn a third of your weapon durability just getting to whatever mission you are trying to accomplish.
It quickly turns from challenging to annoying, as you can’t go anywhere or do anything without a more or less constant barrage of nuisance zeds.
With the lame companion AI, you are forced between choosing a disposable meatshield and hoping you don’t run into a (blood) feral or blood juggernaut without sniper support and a car nearby.
Oh, and the game treats the difficulty levels as separate worlds, so you can’t take your characters from one level and bring them into another.
I really wanted this to be great, but it is more or less a do-over of the first game. Yes, there are some improvements, but the bad companion AI, getting hung up on obstacles/running in place, and grind make it difficult to love.