Hey everyone! First of all, hopefully everyone has had a good new year and holidays and going into a new year means more updates for SurrounDead. In this dev update I'll be going over near future updates and stuff a bit further than that.

Quests

The base for quests have been added now with the 1.4.2 update. In the background, I've been working on systems for the quests and at a point where I can start adding this to the base game. As quests get added the story of SurrounDead will get expanded. Find out the inner secrets of 'The Valley' or just help out your fellow survivors by getting them resources, taking out the undead and more.

Ability to remove world objects

Something I've recently started to concept/experiment with is the ability to remove trash objects from around the world map. While this may not be coming in one of the next few updates, it's possible to be added sooner rather than later.

Easier control with world objects

This will be coming in the next update but I've completely reworked the context menu system so that I can easily add more options for the player to interact with. This as well then links to stuff like generators, water wells, etc. Allowing more options for them (Like being able to drink directly from a water well) and easier control or pre-existing options (No keyboard combinations for the generator for example).

Base building - Walls, roofs, etc

More options for how you build a base will be added. From the normal thing of decoration items, etc but one new thing will be modular building. At a minimum, floors, walls, etc will be added.

Bunker/Dungeon revamp

This is one thing I believe is very much needed, bunkers need to have way more depth added to them. With this, systems like the keypad at the Oil Rig, or electrical puzzles at the Laboratory will begin to be added to the bunkers. In an ideal world I would have this stuff be randomised but I'm promising nothing with random generation stuff, more something I will look into.

Bounties - Random quests

Found in safe zones will be the bounty system. Check the board for bounties survivors need you to do. This could vary from finding a certain item, to hunting or classic kill quests. These bounties will link back into safe zone (More info when this is closer to getting added). Also, this whole system will basically be an off-shoot to the standard quests but using all the same systems that does.

Settlement system

Also coming, while different to safe zones are settlements. These will be areas where active scavenger survivors will call home. The locations for these will be randomized and different with each playthrough. These will also be a place to get new quests or trade for rare resources or gear. Give them help and they'll help you.

First person improvements

The main thing with this is proper first person ADS. First person aiming at the moment is quite painful and well the weapon just gets in the way. While this is one way first person will get improved other ways will be improved animations and just a more smoother camera system.

A full updated game trailer

The last game trailer for SurrounDead came out nearly 2 years ago and SurrounDead has changed heavily since then. It has now came for the time that it gets an overdue upgrade to show people what the game is nowadays.

Horde mode

Something more of an arcade mode, but somewhere you can have a quick play and slay waves of zombies in a unique map made only for this mode. The plan is to have it so you can unlock new locations, buy new weapons (Or find them), new equipment, etc. It's somewhere to have simple fun!

Crossbows

You may have already found this weapon in the dev menu. The next steps for this weapon are to create the bolt ammunition and give it some unique animations!

Vehicle upkeep

Coming in one of the next patches will be a revamp to vehicles and how you keep them running. From having to find a key unique to that type of vehicle (eg, Damaged Sedan Key), to fuel cans that you can fill up at the local gas station and vehicle batteries that slowly degrade over time.

More depth to player actions

At the moment, most player events have no animation that is linked to it. In the future, I will be looking at adding unique animations to certain events like; refuelling, eating, drinking, medical, filling up water, etc (One thing to note is that animations for eating, etc would not be overly long or complicated to not drag away from the gameplay).

World electricity/Substations

Take over a substation and provide electricity to a part of the map (Attacks, repairs, etc?) Something further down the road is the ability to provide electricity for certain parts of the map. This would allow the player to illuminate streets, unlock new objects that can help the player with certain tasks, production, etc. Suggestions for this system also would be welcomed as its still in the concepting stage.

More locked stuff with puzzles

With the addition of lockpicking, more minigames will be added to the game. These won't be just found in high level areas but places like towns or that odd house in the forest.

World events

This would make the radio item actually useful. If you've got that item on you in game you'll start to get notifications about events happening in the world. These can vary from a survivor in need of help, to a military encampment that has been spotted, or a special zombie located somewhere. There are many possibilities for this system.

Multiplayer/CO-OP

The simplest thing to say is, work is still getting done. Not soon however.

And more...

• Level design: Much of the west and north of the map is unfinished and still needs a lot of work, that is something I am actively working on. Expect new POIs in the near future. As well, a large city will pop up in the future.
• Companion AI: I am currently working on adding a dog companion to the game that you will be able to find around the map.
• Motorbikes: Has been on hold recently, but have got them working better recently.
• Farming: Create a small farm and gather seed packets, this is something I very much want to add, as well as foraging.
• New items: Always coming, got some fun stuff planned.
• etc...

Thank you for everything, Zurvivor

[ 2024-01-03 00:38:12 CET ] [ Original post ]