Community Mini Q&A, 11/21/2012

[Undead Sanya]

A note before I kick off. Many of the most asked questions on Facebook and Twitter tended to be things we've covered before. I am delighted to see so many new faces! It means great things for the game and for the community. But it does mean that this is going to be a bit of a rehash for you old hands.

You old hands asked some great questions, some of which I simply couldn't answer without getting into stuff that Foge and Phinney are going to cover for you. It's better for me to hold until they do the long posts, so we're all coming to the discussion with a solid base of information. (I don't actually help when I dribble out information like a slobbering dog.) There was also a great question about psychology and missions, and I'm waiting until Travis (the writer) gets back to me so you can get a great, full answer.

Here we go:


Co-op mode? Release date? Zombie types? PC version?

Welcome to the Undead Labs community! We’re glad you found us. The answers to the first two are "not at launch," and "early next year." For the full answers to those two questions and lots more, please read the FAQ.

I also strongly recommend the “About The Game” link, which itself is a compendium of links to helpful articles about our concepts and design.


Character customization?

In SoD, you play as a community, and you customize the community by rescuing survivors with the traits and abilities you want. It’s a lot more interesting and complex than throwing points into an attribute and checking a skill box. If you want more info, please read this article from our creative director, and be sure to check out the followup Q&A.


Can a survivor drive when I’m not playing as that individual?

No, driving isn’t just really fast walking. It’s complex enough to need a human brain and human hands. Fortunately, it’s very easy to switch viewpoints.

If you are interested in learning more about our vehicle design, I recommend this article and the followup Q&A.


Will you have to be connected to Xbox Live to play the game, or can it be played without an internet connection?

Once you’ve downloaded the game, you may play offline. Certain achievements will not be available, however.


I know we can harvest things from the gardens we plant. Are there any plants growing wild that we can harvest?

Not in State of Decay, sorry.


What are your target requirements on the PC?

Remember that the PC launch will be some time after the Xbox launch. As such, we do not yet have the requirements set in stone. If you bought a computer in the last three or four years, you should be all right.


Will there be things like new maps via DLC, or even a map editor?

What we are able to offer after launch depends in large part on how well the game does. So...uh...tell your friends about SoD


Is there friendly fire in SoD? Speaking of friendly fire, what if a survivor steps on a mine?

There is no friendly fire, in the sense that you cannot shoot another survivor. As of this writing, I do not yet know the status of landmines and grenades.

However, I have learned that you can accidentally set people on fire with molotov cocktails. Seriously, I learn something awesome every day here at the Lab.


Can you go prone? Can you jump at any time, or do you have to be jumping on something like a ladder or a wall?

You cannot go fully prone, but you can crouch. Yes, you can jump at any time, even without a reason. Hell, we even have emotes just for the fun of it. I look forward to the videos y’all are going to make.

[Whiskers]

Thanks Sanya Can't wait for this game!

[Arc79]

Glad you put out a Q and A leading to other Q and A's for newcomers but its a shame not enough of them actually look for answers on the site, rather just ask and don't listen when anyone but UL tells them something. *Sigh* the older users all knew this would happen with the increase in traffic since PAX but c'mon people! Do a little research!

[GiveMeAHand]

"In SoD, you play as a community, and you customize the community by rescuing survivors with the traits and abilities you want."
How do you know what they can do? Do you talk to them first, and they inform you?

[Arc79]

"In SoD, you play as a community, and you customize the community by rescuing survivors with the traits and abilities you want."
How do you know what they can do? Do you talk to them first, and they inform you?

If you switch to the character you wish to play as you can see what traits they have. I beleive I pause the video at a point where you can see this in a breakdown vid I did if you wanna take a look. I talk about it at around 2:40-ish I beleive.

[GiveMeAHand]

I've seen the video, saw it day one ;p but how do you know you want to save someone is what I'm asking. You see someone, you have no ideas what their skills are, is that what they're going for?

[DapDaGenius]

Thank you so much for this, this will be a easy way to get my friends to see this articles.

Can't wait until we get more gameplay......can't wait until this game is released.

[Deffcon_1]

Would you know what someones skills are just by looking at them? I think the idea is to save everyone you can reasonably save. All skills are useful in the apocalypse.

[Arc79]

Ah alright then Givemeahand, thanks btw. That is a good question but as Deffcon said, you wouldn't pull up to a guy surrounded by a hoard, about to be torn apart and yell over their groans "Excuse me sir, what skills do you posess that would make yourself worth the supplies needed to keep you alive?"
"I used to work at Walmart."
"Oh, sorry mate, your on your own!"
I think the idea is rescue who you can and put them to as best a use as possible, wether that be as a gardener, doctor or zombie bait is really depending on their traits though!

[Undead Sanya]

If you're in a hurry, you won't want to scroll through menus

But if you're not in a hurry, you can talk to them and get more information.

Just like... well, reality.