The Biting Point

It’s been a week since Build 32 broke the barricade of IWBUMS public testing (information here) and so far we’ve been hearing lots of happy noises. Well, amidst the renewed screaming. EasyPickins’ new zombie management system has brought the average player lifespan down significantly, and with it most reports suggest playing the game is more tense and enjoyable. That’s not to say, however, that it’s job done. From this point onward in Build 32 EP will be tweaking and experimenting with the new system until we hit a point that we’re happy with. We need a difficulty and population numbers that don’t necessarily lock off survival content [farming, fishing etc] for experienced players, but still throws in some migration curveballs. Then again, through making the challenge surmountable we don’t want to lose the added feeling of danger that we’ve reintroduced to the game. So this is…

WHERE YOU COME IN

We need to find quite a tricky biting point, and as such we need your reports from the game, generally from a few weeks/months into your playthroughs. Don’t just play in Survival mode either, but experiment with the new sandbox options – having more/less zeds in your game, and increasing and decreasing spawn times. Report your findings here, making sure to state what gameplay settings you have selected. Then, soon, the sweet spot will be sounded out. We’d also like feedback on the new Challenges so we can fix them up, adjust rules, timings etc to provide maximum fun. For that we’ve created a separate thread here. In terms of general Zombie Population experiments and tweaks, one current concern is that after meta-game noises some cells may get a huge surplus of zombies while others become fairly deserted. We’ll be addressing that, and also have had an idea about migrating zombies from the overpopulated cells to the underpopulated ones. There’s also a concept that EP has discussed with RJ that would see the total population rising as time goes by to make things tougher. It’s all heavily dependent on community feedback though, so let us know your thoughts. So that’s the current stuff, but what of Build 33 content? Well…

TURBO MOVES OFFICE

The delectable TurboTuTone has been working on a system that lets you put previously immobile objects (furniture, paintings, flooring tiles etc) into your inventory and carry them elsewhere. You can also rotate them to your liking. As such, base customization will now be a thing. Here, for example, is a [long] video of Turbs moving office in West Point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCCGcUPcHT4 “Many single tile objects can now be picked up.” Turbo explains from his underground lair in the Netherlands. “Some can be picked up right away, like chairs and other non-fixed objects, but others require tools and certain skills to be picked up. A good example is perhaps that to dig out plants you’ll need a shovel and a skill level in Farming. Likewise, for a counter you’ll need a hammer and experience in Carpentry.” “I also currently have it that multiple tools will sometimes be needed – like a window that requires a crowbar to try and break it out from its fitting, and a hammer that’s required to put it back into an empty window frame. All moveable objects are generally quite heavy so you’ll only ever be able to hold a few, not unlike the way you currently carry corpses. In fact, larger objects can be extremely heavy and will require a certain strength. If a tool is required,