State of Decay 2 - Preview thread

Klobrille · May 1, 2018

Puffy said:
Why didn't Microsoft give them more money?

What kind of stupid new meme is that? Do you have any source to back-up your claim?

Let's get the facts right. State of Decay 2 has over 3x the scope of the previous game in terms of raw content alone. They had 3+ years of development time and the team for State of Decay 2 is 4 times larger than for the previous game.

There is a shit ton of more money being pumped in here. The game has full support by Microsoft. Just because the previews point out some graphical glitches doesn't mean "Microsoft didn't give them enough money". What a stupid conclusion really.

The game will be fine. All of the previews praise the deep gameplay systems and simulation aspects.

WindowsCentral said:
Our hands-on started six to eight hours into the State of Decay 2 experience, meaning we're yet to experience the early stages of acquiring bases and their growth. Provided the opening hours hold up and opportunities for long-term progression are present, creating a personal home could be a compelling drive to keep playing beyond missions. With the added depth in both community management and base progression, gameplay is looking to push the strengths of the first game even harder.

WindowsCentral said:
State of Decay 2 appears to remains true to the original experience, leveraging many of the same foundations that make the original stand out. With deeper survival aspects Undead Labs has identified what made the original so unique while reducing the presence of some weaker concepts. If you didn't like what the original had to offer, State of Decay might not be for you — but for an experience with a strong survival focus, there's little on Xbox One quite like this.

The co-op is exactly how it was in Far Cry 5 - I don't see the media going rage-mode over that either.

SuikerBrood · May 1, 2018

To be honest I'd love to see a survival game in a setting like the recent 'Frostpunk' game, but then in a third person action setting. Undead Labs could do it. *dreaming*

Dyashen · May 1, 2018

The depth of the management systems is crazy! That seems to be the aspect where this game gets the most praise from.

The bases also sound pretty creative. Can't wait to go for that bridge base that Undead confirmed a couple weeks back.

Puffy · May 1, 2018

Klobrille said:
What kind of stupid new meme is that? Do you have any source to back-up your claim?

Let's get the facts right. State of Decay 2 has over 3x the scope of the previous game in terms of raw content alone. They had 3+ years of development time and the team for State of Decay 2 is 4 times larger than for the previous game.

There is a shit ton of more money being pumped in here. The game has full support by Microsoft. Just because the previews point out some graphical glitches doesn't mean "Microsoft didn't give them enough money". What a stupid conclusion really.

The game will be fine. All of the previews praise the deep gameplay systems and simulation aspects. The co-op is exactly how it was in Far Cry 5 - I don't see the media going rage-mode over that either.

Ok

nasirum · May 1, 2018

Oh no. They copied Far Cry for the coop progression.

Host of coop gets story progression - you only get character progression.

janusff · May 1, 2018

Gamespot

Unfortunately, on the basis of a three-hour preview demo, State of Decay 2 suffers from many of the same issues as its predecessor: It still feels a little aimless, and it's still never really clear what direction the game wants you to go in, since every direction is so punishing to traverse; the loop of exploration and defense soon begins to feel tired; and a multitude of bugs and some poor presentation make it feel unfinished. Which, of course, it is. Many of these issues could therefore be fixed by the time State of Decay 2 launches on May 22. But they've persisted since the original came out in 2013, and that's a worrying sign.

Eurogamer

As someone who has played the previous State of Decay titles I was struck by how familiar it all felt. Granted I've not been back to the series since 2015's remastered Year One Survival Edition so my memories may have faded slightly but still, it seemed like almost every beat was identical. The focus here is once again on building and maintaining a healthy community. Find a base, populate the base, survey areas, scavenge for supplies, upgrade base, avoid zombies, run missions, rinse and repeat.

Even the enemy types - the standard zombies plus the four special 'Freak' types - were identical in look and feel. The bloaters explode in a shower of acidic bile, the screamers attract hordes to your location and so on and so on. If it hadn't been for the introduction of the blood plague mechanic it would have been very easy to convince myself that I was actually playing just another remaster of the original.

Noticed these two previews are not in the OP. I wonder why.

Klobrille · May 1, 2018

Worthplaying

The final version of State of Decay 2 hits the Windows Store and Xbox One later this month. While it's too early to make a final judgment, we walked away from the demo play session with a positive impression. So long as the full game maintains the same level of depth and immersion, State of Decay 2 should please fans of the original as well as newcomers to the franchise.

Fatal · May 1, 2018

Seeing a lot of excitement here. Though zombies were yesterdays news according to Days Gone threads.

nasirum · May 1, 2018

Fatal said:
Seeing a lot of excitement here. Though zombies were yesterdays news according to Days Gone threads.

The zombies are not the interesting part - the interesting part is the survival/base building mechanics.

Klobrille · May 1, 2018

COGconnected

Despite playing at roughly the same point of the game for hours, I never quite grew tired of the gameplay cycle. Rather, the point I was at only made me want to experience both the earlier and later stages of the game. Though single-player was my favored mode, the cooperative play worked well and was still a lot of fun. State of Decay 2 launches for the Xbox One and PC later this month, and it is shaping up to be one of the best zombie games available.

Panic Freak · May 1, 2018

janusfilmsfan said:
Gamespot

Eurogamer

Noticed these two previews are not in the OP. I wonder why.

There is a thread devoted to those previews which actually has more posts than this one... I also wonder why.

Fatal · May 1, 2018

nasirum said:
The zombies are not the interesting part - the interesting part is the survival/base building mechanics.

They should have made it with Dinosaurs then, would have been even better

Theorry · May 1, 2018

janusfilmsfan said:
Gamespot

Eurogamer

Noticed these two previews are not in the OP. I wonder why.

Because i havent got time to update it yet smartass. I am home in 10 min.
I know what you are doing. And if you maybe read other previews in the OP. You see they have some negative remarks also. Like the VG247 both with the article and video.

MentalZer0 · May 1, 2018

I just watched the launch trailer. Oh man the graphics really disappointed me so bad. It looks like a remastered version for a last gen game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLOFZjGClY

Kilgore · May 1, 2018

I've seen a bunch of video impressions on YouTube and still can't figure how much distance can be between you and the host. Somebody knows where I can find out that?

Klobrille · May 1, 2018

Puffy said:
Ok

"Ah fuck I hate facts - I'm out here!"

Theorry · May 1, 2018

Kilgore said:
I've seen a bunch of video impressions on YouTube and still can't figure how much distance can be between you and the host. Somebody knows where I can find out that?

We dont know yet.

SuikerBrood · May 1, 2018

MentalZer0 said:
I just watched the launch trailer. Oh man the graphics really disappointed me so bad. It looks like a remastered version for a last gen game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLOFZjGClY

It's no masterpiece, but it does look vastly improved over the E3 2017 showing. So that's positive.

Puffy · May 1, 2018

Klobrille said:
"Ah fuck I hate facts - I'm out here!"

Nah. Just Ok.

Theorry · May 1, 2018

MentalZer0 said:
I just watched the launch trailer. Oh man the graphics really disappointed me so bad. It looks like a remastered version for a last gen game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLOFZjGClY

Nah. Because this is what it would look like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-ARTvKfkI

Kilgore · May 1, 2018

I'm not comfortable with the idea that a game like SoD have to be a graphical showcase to not being disapointing. But well, the game looks nice to me.

Xeontech · May 1, 2018

After watching most of the previews, I wonder why they didn't change it up a little more. At least visually.

DotHair · May 1, 2018

Shame but it looks like this isn't going to be the top tier game that Microsoft needs right now.

The co-op seems really bad and according to Eurogamer it feels like a remaster of the original.

Hopefully they get their shit together before E3 because they really do need a win.

HeisenbergWW62 · May 1, 2018

Reading a lot of things I like but some I don't, mainly coop related which is a shame because that was the main draw for me. Will still try it out, and probably enjoy it

Bradbatross · May 1, 2018

Man, this game looks great. It's shaping up to be one of the best zombie games ever.

CrimsonEclipse · May 1, 2018

I dunno, I think it looks good. There seems to be more positive previews than there are bad. I wish they added more special Zombie types though. Main focus of the game revolves around the underlying management mechanics. Some folks focusing way too much on visuals (which aren't the best but still good).

Edit: Also, the bugs and co-op stuff can be easily fixed before or after launch. Hopefully a lot of bugs will be sorted out before then obviously. However if it's a much more polished and the mechanics of building a community of diverse survivors and headquarters are deep. Should be even more enjoyable than the first one, I believe you can even mod vehicles and weapons now as well, so there is a good bit to look forward to.

rebelcrusader · May 1, 2018

So people are upset a non AAA game doesn't look like a AAA game? What?

AcridMeat · May 1, 2018

Having played the first game I personally think 2 looks really nice...

Plumpbiscuit · May 1, 2018

Puffy said:
Ok

Posts like this should not be allowed on this forum.

Neuromancer · May 1, 2018

rebelcrusader said:
So people are upset a non AAA game doesn't look like a AAA game? What?

People's expectations have gotten out of control, but I have no idea why. It was always going to be a budget game focused more on mechanics and systems than performance and polish.

Riderz1337 · May 1, 2018

Looks rough but something you could have fun in for a few hours. The co OP aspect is horribly done though

Dlacy13g · May 1, 2018

Hopefully the team will iron out a few of the bugs that were mentioned in the preview but ultimately I am very much looking forward to this game. Enjoyed the first but always felt it could have better...this seems to improve in the right ways.

SuikerBrood · May 1, 2018

Aaah those gifs. Just 3 more weeks and I'll be blowing up zombies. (And getting rid of annoying community members! :) )

Landford · May 1, 2018

People are expecting this to be on the same league as Sony's exclusives first party studios just because its an Xbox and PC exclusive? What the fuck? This is made by a small dev, with the smaller price to match. Come on people. Game looks fine and its really complex with its base building and community simulator. There is a lot under the hood here.

Tecnniqe · May 1, 2018

rebelcrusader said:
So people are upset a non AAA game doesn't look like a AAA game? What?

Hard to tell. Some have their expectations on the moon and some seem to just want to bash it and say others have agendas while clearly having some of their own show crystal clear.

jem · May 1, 2018

Besides the tethering I think the coop complaints are actually a little bit over the top.

I don't see how saving progression in coop could actually work. Unless they had some kind of cloud based save/server system like Minecraft's Realms.

It's not like you're progressing story missions. It's a sandbox game.

Castia · May 1, 2018

Another shitty Xbox (and PC...) exclusive.

No wonder they changed the game pass they knew everything on the horizon is complete dross including Sea of Thieves.

Terryfromyokosuka · May 1, 2018

I actually like the jankiness and everything I've seen so far...until today and the co-op news. I was looking forward to doing two man teams and other things with people who were going to buy this game due to my recommendation. I hope the co-op restrictions is something they can shut off immediately, though I feel like it's tied to the game and won't be easy.

Zappy · May 1, 2018

Castia said:
Another shitty Xbox (and PC...) exclusive.

No wonder they changed the game pass they knew everything on the horizon is complete dross including Sea of Thieves.

Is there any need for this? Firstly lots of people love SoT. Secondly SoD2 is made by a small development team and isn't meant to be a big budget masterpiece. It's taken huge strides since the first game but was never meant to be a massive AAA production.

I think calling games you haven't played yet shitty especially in the context of one made by a relatively small developer is a bit uncalled for myself.

Freakzilla · May 1, 2018

jem said:
Besides the tethering I think the coop complaints are actually a little bit over the top.

I don't see how saving progression in coop could actually work. Unless they had some kind of cloud based save/server system like Minecraft's Realms.

It's not like you're progressing story missions. It's a sandbox game.

No different than MC. Some of us only planned on playing coop. So we would be pooling our resources from Day 1.

CrimsonEclipse · May 1, 2018

Landford said:
People are expecting this to be on the same league as Sony's exclusives first party studios just because its an Xbox and PC exclusive? What the fuck? This is made by a small dev, with the smaller price to match. Come on people. Game looks fine and its really complex with its base building and community simulator. There is a lot under the hood here.

You seem to actually know what your talking about :p.

HypedBulborb · May 1, 2018

Really excited for this, this is coming out on Steam right?

I remember seeing something a few weeks ago about it, but I'm not sure.

Wil Grieve · May 1, 2018

State of Decay was like, my favorite zombie game ever. 2 is looking fantastic. Probably the only upcoming zombie game that I'm at all interested in (yes, including Days Gone and TLoU2. Although I don't own an Xbone so that's a little bit of a downer)

severianb · May 1, 2018

Landford said:
People are expecting this to be on the same league as Sony's exclusives first party studios just because its an Xbox and PC exclusive? What the fuck? This is made by a small dev, with the smaller price to match. Come on people. Game looks fine and its really complex with its base building and community simulator. There is a lot under the hood here.

After all the hype from Microsoft and the raging success of the first one, I was under the impression this was going to be a AAA game at one point. Don't give me "they never said that! You weren't paying attention!" crap. I follow Microsoft and their games more closely than most and I still got that impression.

Now, the presentation at last year's E3 disabused me of that fantasy. It's obviously a somewhat low-budget, $30 game. Just like ReCore. Also like ReCore, it's one of a small number of Microsoft Studio published exclusives that was hyped to the point of many people thinking it would be something more than it is.

All that said, I'm still excited for this game. Maybe my Game of the Year. I loved the first game and I thought it would have been a no-brainer to give it AAA resources. That's just a fan talking.

Rocketz · May 1, 2018

Looking forward to playing it. Never played the first and a lot of people say good things so I'm ready to jump in.

Tecnniqe · May 1, 2018

Boownage said:
Really excited for this, this is coming out on Steam right?

I remember seeing something a few weeks ago about it, but I'm not sure.

There is a Steamworks build.

Kilgore · May 1, 2018

Recore was super hyped?

derFeef · May 1, 2018

severianb said:
After all the hype from Microsoft and the raging success of the first one, I was under the impression this was going to be a AAA game at one point. Don't give me "they never said that! You weren't paying attention!" crap. I follow Microsoft and their games more closely than most and I still got that impression.

Now, the presentation at last year's E3 disabused me of that fantasy. It's obviously a somewhat low-budget, $30 game. Just like ReCore. Also like ReCore, it's one of a small number of Microsoft Studio published exclusives that was hyped to the point of many people thinking it would be something more than it is.

All that said, I'm still excited for this game. Maybe my Game of the Year. I loved the first game and I thought it would have been a no-brainer to give it AAA resources. That's just a fan talking.

They never said that tho. Ever. The studio did not magically turn into a several 100 people studio. It was pretty clear what to expect, especially if you follow the studio closely. Which you say you do. But I highly doubt.

Anyway, same nonsense discussion in every SoD2 (or any MS published game) thread... It's so tiresome.

SirVilhelm · May 1, 2018

nasirum said:
The zombies are not the interesting part - the interesting part is the survival/base building mechanics.

Zombies are definitely still interesting

severianb · May 1, 2018

derFeef said:
They never said that tho. Ever. The studio did not magically turn into a several 100 people studio. It was pretty clear what to expect, especially if you follow the studio closely. Which you say you do. But I highly doubt.

Anyway, same nonsense discussion in every SoD2 (or any MS published game) thread... It's so tiresome.

I COVERED that in my first post. I DO FOLLOW the studio and State of Decay closely. Because I'm a big FAN. If even *I* got the impression this would be a much better funded game, then a LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE DID TO.

State of Decay 2 - Preview thread

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