Zombox

I was very busy with work the last two weeks, so Zombox work was put on the backburner, but I managed to finish texturing the latest city tiles, as well as create a giant new one that will serve a special purpose.

In the following weeks, I’ll be integrating these tiles into the map generator. The map generator itself is getting refurbished, since I’ve decided to try and make map layouts randomized after all (until now, buildings and props and things were randomized, but the overall map layout was not random, so things like roads and rivers were always in the same place). The new randomized layouts will mean each time you start a new game, you’ll have a whole new city to explore.

In the next couple of weeks I also want to render out a Youtube video showing a fly-through animation of the entire city, so you can see all of its different features and areas, as well as its size. So, keep a look out for that!

This week I finished up modeling the new city tiles I’ll be adding to the game. Each square represents a chunk of the map, and the elements on each square (fences, trees, walls, rocks, etc) will be randomized when the map is generated.  For example, if a “farm” zone is being created, it’ll choose one of the farm tiles and then randomly choose whether or not to add the fences, hay bales, ponds and such to that specific tile.

This system has been in place from the beginning, it’s just that now I’m adding a lot more variety to it. Previously, the map consisted of either buildings, roads or grassy areas….now you can see all the new areas that will be added (parks, farms, military bases, quarantine zones, demolished buildings, etc).

Here’s an image of the new models. They haven’t been textured yet so that’s why they’re white.

I also analyzed the visitor traffic this development blog has gotten over the last two years, in response to a thread on reddit where someone asked which marketing avenues they should pursue in order to drum up interest for their game. If you’re a game developer who wants to know which forums or websites it would be best to spread the word about your game on, this information may be useful to you!

To read the post, click here.

 

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve added a whole bunch of stuff to Zombox.

• Health bonuses

In a previous update I showed how getting too low on food, sleep or blood could result in dire consequences for your character. Well now, to even things out, I’ve added health bonuses to the game, which give your character temporary boosts when you get extra food/sleep/medicine. Extra food gives you an attack bonus, which temporarily doubles your attack damage. Getting extra sleep gives you a speed bonus, which temporarily increases your movement speed. Getting extra medicine gives you a defense bonus, which temporarily doubles however many defense points you have at the time (based on your equipment and upgrades).

• Vending machines

NPC sewers now contain vending machines from which food can be purchased. They’re stocked up with many inexpensive items, although they don’t get restocked so you have to use them wisely.

• Slot machines

Near NPC stores you’ll now sometimes find slot machines. Gambling on these machines can earn you large prizes and jackpots if you get a 3-of-a-kind match, or cherries. They also have a tendency to malfunction, and each time a malfunction occurs you get a special bonus (free spin, double your winnings, or 2-of-a-kind prizes). Your winnings are multiplied by the amount that you bet each spin…the larger your bet, the more you can win!

• Lock Picking

Previously, locks could be picked using either a lock pick item, or Pete. You would walk up to a locked item, press the ‘unlock’ icon and wait. Now, if you want to unlock something you have to manually unlock it yourself, in a lock-pick minigame that pops up on screen. In order to complete the minigame, you have to bump the lock’s pins in the correct order. Bump them out of order and the lock resets. This provides quite a challenge when you’re trying to unlock something while zombies are nearby, since you’re still vulnerable to attack while picking locks. Depending on the security of the lock you’re trying to pick, it could have anywhere from 3 to 7 pins.

• More buildings and locations

The next big thing I’ll be adding to Zombox is a more fleshed-out overworld, that first requires many new areas and structures to be made. Here are the first 16 that I’ve created…and there are lots more to come! Places like military outposts, quarantine centers, etc, will all be revealed in future updates.