That’s the way the first game worked, and the single aspect I’m missing in the sequel. It made the characters so much more… lively, hrm…
A lot of people were torn over that feature, I hated it in SoD1 but kinda miss it now. It would be nice to have it as a switchable option.
I think I remember the self-governing feature being nerfed a bit so that it would slow down and eventually stop the longer you stayed away. Having this as a switchable option would be interesting though.
This will probably sound churlish given how much this game has been tweaked and changed since release, but it would be cool to see your community members use more of the amenities in the base. For example, people who love to drink could hang out by the still. Or folks could hang out at the lounge. Just background stuff that would make the community feel more alive and independent.
Well, I don’t know if anyone else hoped back in on update 30 but this game is much harder then it was a year ago. I think I need to bump back down to dread mode. I just can get ahead of all the infestations…
I’m actually finding Dread mode more difficult. Zombies are way more aggressive when you drive and swarm your vehicle when you park. Just started a community on Dread and fought off a feral even before I settled in my first base.
Lost my first character in a long time because I took out an enemy community and got swarmed by zombies and couldn’t break free.
Still early going and have to contend with a wild infestation problem as well,
Dread mode still feels like Dread mode though if that makes sense. So by adjusting my planning, I can get by.
But still, pretty surprised that I faced a feral so early on.
I do like the difficulty settings in this game. Each them feel like they are a challenge for whatever type of gamer you are. I’m pretty comfortable in Dread mode, and manage to get someone killed every once in awhile so it’s still a challenge. I’ve dabbled in Nightmare mode and managed to get one Legacy boon there, but I’m not comfortable with the way the mechanics change yet. Lethal is not even on my radar. That looks like it was made for people absolutely looking for a whole new game.
The bit I forgot about Nightmare mode is you really should just ignore all the missions for a bit until you get settled. As earning lots of points early on just makes the map harder before you are ready. Also, trade is king there. You need to have a trade depot at some point, or move maps constantly because there just isn’t enough “stuff” on the map to float you to the end.
Yeah, I love how nightmare mode calls for a different set of survival strategies. And sometimes even those strategies aren’t enough - cough cough stupid plague bloaters lying on the road. I managed to get the builder boon in nightmare and that really helps. Not sure how I will cope in that now that the game seems harder.
The game really shines for me in Dread mode, even with the ramped up difficulty. I love having to prioritize on the fly and that sense of satisfaction you get when all your preparations pay off.
Today’s update to State of Decay 2 introduces a new system of pushback. Apparently, Plague Hearts will now spawn “Infesting Hordes”, which create “Infestations”, which apparently daisy chain their way to your base to create “Siege Sites”, which launch actual base sieges. The update notes explain:
I’ll believe it when I see it. Maybe it’ll wash the taste of Redfall out of my mouth. Here are the update notes on Steam:
This has been in beta for awhile. Throughout the process there have been a number of balance tweaks. When it first hit it was not very well received, but I think now at release the whole plague heart awakening/ infestations mechanic is much more fluid. I have not myself tried it but have been following the development.
P.S. between this change, some balance changes, some difficulty changes, the way maps work today with plague zones, etc. If you haven’t played SoD2 in a long time, it’s probably a completely different game for you now.
Wouldn’t a new map DLC be a bit of a slam dunk?
I was about to start playing this game for the first time but I saw a big update was about to drop, so I waited. Perhaps I will give it a go tonight and see how it goes.
Semi procedural map elements like infestations, that affect areas, and now progress across the map (?) are what Redfall needed to copy with its Nests/Mist/Rook Storm/Safe House systems. If map control had added up to anything (Maybe it does - I couldn’t tell though) that would have been cool.
So I had a Quarter to Three moment when I started this game. Keeping people alive in a zombie apocalypse is hard work!
I invited the tutorial neighbours to be part of the colony and that seems to be a biiiiig mistake. Now we have too many mouths to feed and not enough beds, everyone is grumpy and the next plague heart is inside heavily infest territory. Need to upgrade the base and/or let someone go. Tough choices.
Ok after a while I just feel like I’m being lead by the nose. There are so many things your allies want one after another, there is no breather to strategise, unlike e.g. Fallout 4’s Sim settlements. Now it seems almost everything is just busy work.
Yeah, you need to let some of those whiners sort out their own problems from what I remember :)
That is one of the things that put me off even if I really love the concept. Every new game starts with the same mission to collect samples. And then the first few requests seem to always be the same. I just want to be left alone darn it.
When I first started playing this game, I was quickly frustrated by the all the demands I was facing simultaneously. And I was always super annoyed shlepping across the map to respond to some whiny git asking for a sack of materials that he could easily get by looting the garage next to his base. But once I realized that “No” was a valid response, I got into the game’s time management vibe.
Yeah a give a hard “nope” if they live next to a plague heart and want help to fight off the zombie horde (the universe subtly is telling you to MOVE). But anything less I tend to help. Especially because sometimes the allied benefits are powerful (free beds!), but you never know until you are allied.
I should say no a lot more then.
IIRC the other survivors are endless RNG so it doesn’t matter if you help them or they all die off like dead suckers. More survivor groups will spawn in. And they can be friendly or hostile. I once had a hostile group spawn near a plague heart. I don’t think they lasted that long.
State of Decay 2 is absolute busy work. The thing is you either enjoy that busy work, or you don’t. But busy work is definitely what it is!