Zombasite Previews and v0.931 Patch Released
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Soldak Entertainment continues to keep us informed about the recent coverage for their zombie-infested action RPG Zombasite, with their latest update bringing word of a new v0.931 patch along with several new hands-on previews.
GameGrin:
Your clan growth and behaviour in the world contribute to your potential victory over the area with 4 possible win conditions. Make friends with the other clans for a diplomatic victory, wipe them all out for a military win, gather a huge cache of food supplies for a logistical win or for an adventurers victory you can complete all the optional quests in an area.
One interesting aspect of this game is its dynamic nature. There are many events going on without your presence being necessary. You may receive a message about a fight going on between some people or someone needing help. You may choose to respond to the message and effect the outcome, or you can ignore it. If you choose to ignore it, the issue will eventually resolve itself, and most likely not in the manner that is most beneficial to you. Adding this element to the game helps create the illusion that even though it is overrun with parasite controlled corpses this story is taking place inside of a living world.
Clan members are full-fledged NPCs, too. They have morale. They need food. They can be sent out scavenging. They can come with you into the wilderness; they can level up and be given your old armour and weapons. They also tend to result in quests, as should someone in your clan be infected by some sort of disease or plague, you're almost certainly going to be asked to find a cure before it spreads. And if it does spread. well, you'd better hope you've been doing a good job of keeping the other clans happy and the zombie threat meter down, because that would just be a terrible time for you to come under attack.
The creation screen, when starting a new game, is a strange mix of that expected for an RPG with options on class and gender and mob level, and a more Civilisation style world creation with options for area size and number of factions. It sounds like a strange merging of genres, but it works really well, and I think part of that is due to the skill of the development team, in artfully blending the different aspects into one seamless and unique gameplay style.
With all of the reading and all of the features in regards to the townspeople that a person need worry about, everything else runs smoothly allowing for a quick and easy jump into the gameplay. Combat flows well from standard attacks into the more specialized ones for plenty of Hacking and Slashing to be done without worry. Different classes have access to different equipment allowing for variety of different gameplay experiences. Like many others in the genre personal and shared stashes may be set up in order to either hold onto equipment for later or set it aside for another character.
Zombasite's neat twist that makes the game feel so alive is that while you are out in the wilderness questing and slaying, the other clans are doing the same thing. You may find that the fearsome monster you've set out to kill has already been taken care of by another clan or that the NPC you've been trying to recruit can no longer be found, as quests have different priorities and you had ignored the quest text which warned that these were time sensitive issues. When you add to this the previously mentioned clan relations and follower systems, Zombasite's world becomes a complex and challenging place which is certain to provide plenty of hours of enjoyment to the player.
And Hardcore Casual:
There are also other NPC clans out in the world, each with their own town, traits, members, and goals. You can trade with them, become friends or allies, complete quests, and even go to war, ultimately eliminating them and looting their town. Because each world can have multiple clans, if you are allied with one and go to war with another, now those two NPC clans are also at war, and will raid each other as well. It's all very dynamic, and once you have discovered a good chunk of the randomly generated world, it can become very hectic (in an enjoyable way).
