Tips for newbies

[Lord Fancy Pants]

I finished the game a while ago, and I think it would be a good idea to list some useful tips for new players. In light of the lack of a manual, I feel this would be invaluable. This should probably be stickied.

(1) Your selected character's equipped weapon determines the zoom level of the overhead view. This is VERY useful to know. A sniper rifle will give you excellent view distance, and will enable you to target almost all enemies before they attack. Even if you don't want to use it as a primary weapon (due to paucity of ammo), you should explore with this weapon equipped. You can always switch to another weapon prior to engaging enemies.

(2) Characters can get mad and leave your party without any notice. You can talk to them and find out their feelings towards your main character. Imagine my surprise when Alice quickly went from describing me as "her hero" to saying she that can't take me anymore and promptly leaving. In my case, it was due to her consistently high levels of sleep deprivation. Of course, we were all sleep deprived because of the constant need to find insulin to save her worthless hide. You can bribe people in your party with luxury items to improve their disposition. I restored an old save and gave her every Chick Lit novel ever made. :)

(3) If any faction is at war with you, they will form a pack and attack your base. There is an unavoidable conflict late in the game, so be wary. There is a "gamey" way to end this conflict without any casualties, however.

(4) Wooden fences/gates will not protect against looters. Looter use molotovs, and will burn your base to a crisp. Stick with wire fences/gates (which can't be burned down) or engage them in the open. Keep in mind that there is no base defense that is effective vs enemies with rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).

(5) Every time Alice eats food, her blood glucose level will increase proportionately wiith her hunger decrease. Therefore, it might be optimal to manually control her food intake, so her AI doesn't cause her to eat too much, thus raising her blood sugar too high. Generally, I like to keep her blood sugar level below the first tick, so there are no penalties.

That all I can think of for now, but please feel free to add some more tips.

[Lord Fancy Pants]

(6) Stats in red indicate penalties. These are the result of battle injuries. Over time, all bandages on your character will disappear. As the bandages are removed, so will your stats restore to normal. It is simply a matter of waiting enough time.

(7) Another advantage of wire vs wooden fences/gates is that you can shoot through holes in the wire fencing.

(8) Traders will offer better prices based on their disposition towards your character.

(9) Manning a watchtower will increase your weapon's attack range.

[Star]

these were really great especially the view distance one i always run round with a crappy pistol definitely going to change that!

[ParaScuba]

(10) Green Stained zombie - Save your ammo. Shot leg, when they walk slow. do melee rest the way

[rubyismycat]

betteradvise FEED ALICE TO THE ZOMBIES THE GAME ISMUCH BETTER WITHOUT HER!!!!

[TRON]

Originally posted by rubyismycat:

betteradvise FEED ALICE TO THE ZOMBIES THE GAME ISMUCH BETTER WITHOUT HER!!!!

I don't agree at all. Striving to get enough insulin is the only thing in this game which has that "survival" factor. Everything else; ammo, food, water etc is way too easy to come by and makes this game arcadey

[Lord Fancy Pants]

I agree with Bucket on this one, though I wish there were much more available insulin. Furthermore, Alice is very relevant at the end of the game.

[Proteus]

Originally posted by Lord Fancy Pants:

I agree with Bucket on this one, though I wish there were much more available insulin. ...

I definitely agree ...
it is a pity that the amount of Insulin in the area is fixed at 62 ... it would be better if you were able to find a late game trader who has a renewable resource (but offers the Insulin at higher prices)