Probably the best Zombie Gameplay out there, but..?

[Wari]

Well, i am a sucker for a real hardcore survival zombie gameplay and it is really sad, that this game is by far the ONLY game that can really deliver me this kind of experiance...

at this point im just wondering why this is only possible with 2D Graphics from the 90s?

Dont get me wrong, i dont want to bash this game, it is awsome, but on the other hand we have to ask ourselfs the question, why modern games with modern engines cant achieve this kind of gameplay.. in the past 10 years, EVERY game failed, mostly the EA-Genre, when it comes to deliver e survival game with prober zombie mechanics...

is the hardware and the architectures not ready in 2021 to achieve a experiance like this?

Or is the problem more that only small indie studies want to create games like this and the big tripe A studios focus on their CODs and Assassins Creeds..

Im now waiting for probably more than 10 years for a game, that gives me that the walking dead survival feeling, with hardcore mechanics, slow zombie hordes and so on..

this game is so far the only one that gives me this feeling.. the only downside is here, like i said, the retro-graphics :/

[moredeadaliens33]

this is awesome i've played maybe 8 hrs all though this game (honestly don't know) but its a awesome game been here since it came out came back a few times but the retro settings are worth it in my mind but than again i'm more old school but seeing this in full person immersive could be hmm more in depth and shall i say like silent hill seeing the baby's and feeling the joystick type scary

[Death]

So first of all I don't think it's so much that this game couldn't have been done in full 3D from the start, even keeping the isometric view, but they decided to use an in house engine based on Java due to not really having the funds to license a better engine at the time. Unity wasn't an affordable option and neither was Unreal when they started and it's really too late now to go back without it being a ton of work. Which let's be honest. If people are complaining about NPCs now, if they had to rewrite the whole game in a new engine, those same people would lose their minds. The downside to this though has been slower development as they've had to develop the engine as they've progressed, which has also created other hurdles down the line.

It doesn't really have anything to do with the hardware at all. I would say though that part of the reason we aren't seeing more games that provide this kind of experience from AAA companies is precisely because most haven't done well at all. Granted none have come close to providing the Zomboid experience either, but they just won't take many risks if they aren't sure that they're going to make a return on the investment.

[Higgs]

Full first person/third person open world zombie survival games take a hell of a lot of money and resources to make. Many, many have tried and failed because they set their sights far too high.

On top of that, the ones that do become relatively successful like State of Decay, don't risk it with having death be the only ending, or with loads of different occupations or skills. And they make it varied with special infected. Zomboid being isometric is already niche, and gladly they decided to stick with their vision of hardcore gameplay, and in a way I guess they could afford to.

Putting a lot of resources and money into something like SoD, just for those graphics, for example, but making the gameplay as niche as Zomboid wouldn't be the best idea to gain a profit and continue to support it. Think that's the general reason why. A lot of people beg for saving in this game which is ridiculous. I imagine it'd be a lot more if it wasn't as niche graphically, and sticking with it being permadeath, would hurt your chance of any gain. But thankfully we have PZ to stick to its guns from the start.

I gotta say I just woke up so hopefully I got this across well.

[ROFLpl0x]

Big AAA studios are only interested in making games they can develop with the least amount of effort, market with flashy cinematic trailers and media hype and then sell millions and millions of copies at $60-$80 each. I would imagine that when it comes to most AAA games as much or more money is invested in marketing them as in actually making them.

Probably a game like Zomboid could be made with the latest and greatest graphics and they could probably make some damn exciting trailers for it, but they're not going to sell a million pre-orders and another 3 million copies of it on release day because it's not the type of game that has mass appeal. So, it's left to little studios with limited resources to make them as passion projects or to cater to a niche small enough for their little studio to fill.

As far as retro graphics go, I've never thought of it that way. The pre-41 graphics are one thing. I thought they were terrible. I thought the whole pre-41 game was terrible, actually. The new style graphics I see as just that - a style, not so much outdated.

[Amigo500]

no "real" updates since years ima grown ass man now was a teen when the first zomboid version hits desura (rip) . no hate but a regular human needs 2 lives to see this game finished :) happy new year to all

[DaLagga]

TC, aren't you basically describing 7 Days to Die? Sure, the game has its own issues, but it's quite deep and complex as well.

[SiliconPenguin]

DaLagga původně napsal:

TC, aren't you basically describing 7 Days to Die? Sure, the game has its own issues, but it's quite deep and complex as well.

I'm not sure who 'TC' is, but I have 850 hours into 7d2d, and I think it's way more in depth then PZ. Granted I've played 100 times as many hours in 7d2d then PZ, but I haven't been that impressed yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm liking PZ, I'm just dying far too quickly to enjoy it much yet. One of the only things I've seen, that PZ has, that 7d2d doesn't, is the psychological factor - panic, depression, boredom... And fishing? But there might be a fishing mod. Also, you don't find drive-able vehicles in the wild, you have to craft them from parts, after you advance down a particular skill path, or buy/find the right schematics...

I guess what I'm saying is if you were looking for a 3D version of the survival, crafting, farming, building, zombie apocalypse game, you might want to try 7d2d out.

[DaLagga]

TC means Topic Creator. Many people also use the term OP, meaning Original Poster.

[The Gat]

DaLagga původně napsal:

TC means Topic Creator. Many people also use the term OP, meaning Original Poster.

This is the first time I've ever seen anyone say "TC"

[J's]

Poloski původně napsal:

DaLagga původně napsal:

TC means Topic Creator. Many people also use the term OP, meaning Original Poster.

This is the first time I've ever seen anyone say "TC"

How about PS?

[noctoskanan]

funny one of the reasons i play this game is the graphics. i despise most new games and their belief for better graphic is all that matters.

people should read more

[Death]

silicon.penguin67 původně napsal:

DaLagga původně napsal:

TC, aren't you basically describing 7 Days to Die? Sure, the game has its own issues, but it's quite deep and complex as well.

I'm not sure who 'TC' is, but I have 850 hours into 7d2d, and I think it's way more in depth then PZ. Granted I've played 100 times as many hours in 7d2d then PZ, but I haven't been that impressed yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm liking PZ, I'm just dying far too quickly to enjoy it much yet. One of the only things I've seen, that PZ has, that 7d2d doesn't, is the psychological factor - panic, depression, boredom... And fishing? But there might be a fishing mod. Also, you don't find drive-able vehicles in the wild, you have to craft them from parts, after you advance down a particular skill path, or buy/find the right schematics...

I guess what I'm saying is if you were looking for a 3D version of the survival, crafting, farming, building, zombie apocalypse game, you might want to try 7d2d out.

And it's the complete opposite for me. Zomboid is considerably better and deeper than 7d2d. Plus there's no risk in the latter as you just respawn and use your horde to re-gear. Not to mention I'm not a big fan of the seven day horde, running zombies or running into dogs on the first damn day and it also just doesn't feel like a zombie apocalypse. And that's on top of devs that I swear don't even have any real direction and always break more than they fix with every patch. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying I hate 7d2d, I have 169 hours in it and most games don't even get 100 out of me, but I feel that Zomboid is the superior game providing that Walking Dead/Night of the Living Dead experience.

[Wari]

i have 7day2d but i dont know, i could never really dive into this game.. I dont like the astethics of the game, the gun and meleeplay is not satisfying for me.. and of course, it is a a bit of a tower defense game.. i think PZ goes into another direction, the direction i want from a zombie game...

my problem with project zombooid so far is, that i die way to quickly, learning curve must be really hard...

[Herr Morlock]

Good, modern graphics are for graphic ♥♥♥♥♥♥ who give a ♥♥♥♥ about the actual quality of the gaming experience, since it's so shiny, shiny, bling, bling.

So, if you are a developer of such a game, why bothering with actual good gameplay content, since the game will be abandoned by most player, 1 yeart later, anyhow, when a new, better shiny bling-bling-game appears and all the graphic ♥♥♥♥♥♥ are running away...

TLDR: The peer group of deeper gameplay experience does not care very much about graphics and funds/time of developers are not infinite. You can not have both: good graphics AND good gameplay...

[Maenethal]

Modern graphics take a LOT of time in a development cycle, especially if they are done in house and not asset flips. There's textures, modelling, rigging, lighting effects, animations and a bunch of other things that go into making 3D graphics work. The more time you spend on graphics, the less time you can spend on gameplay.