What’s happening…

Hey everyone,

So you might be wondering what is happening with regards to Zombox development. I mean, the game has been in development for over two years now! Why isn’t it out yet?

Here’s the short answer:

There’s a lot left to do, and most of my recent developments have been back-end stuff related to the new map generation system.

Here’s the long answer:

Zombox was originally conceived as a micro-game in which you walk around a neighborhood killing zombies and destroying property. It was meant to be a simple test to see whether or not I could make an iOS game on my own.

It quickly exploded into what it is today. It now features a rich character upgrade system, a massive world, a complex system of NPCs, dozens of zombie types, almost a thousand different items to find, buy or craft, etc.

The latest overhaul of features that I’ve been working on is a complete rewrite of the map generation system, to make way for the hundreds of new city elements. This is no trivial task, because the old map system was integrated into many different parts of the Zombox code base, so replacing that code is a complicated process. So far I’ve already re-written several thousand lines of code, and by the time I’m done, I’ll have added several thousand more.

In re-writing those sections of code I’ve also put a lot of work into making the map system much more efficient. As it stands, it’s about 20 times faster and uses 10 times less RAM. That will make a big difference on mobile devices, because it means the game will load very quickly and be less likely to crash (running out of memory will cause games to crash on iOS).

Now, that is all behind the scenes stuff that takes a lot of time, which means that while I am coding those types of things, I won’t have many updates to post here.

So,Β just because I haven’t posted an update, doesn’t mean the game is not constantly in development!

Now, that said, here are some updates that you have to look forward to, in the future:

  • Weapons will have durability, and must eventually be repaired or else they will break
  • Players will be able to swim for short periods of time in the water, even though it is toxic.
  • The prop-crafting system (for things like walls, chests, doors, etc) is going to be augmented with many new buildable items
  • Different types of workstations will be craftable, that will allow you to craft more advanced items. So, for example, you’ll need to build an oven to craft certain foods, or a workbench to craft certain objects, etc.
  • A power system is going to be implemented, that will allow you to build generators (which will require fuel) that can be used to provide electricity for more advanced crafting workstations.
  • Zone-specific NPC behaviors are going to be implemented. For example, in the military areas you’ll have to face aggressive soldier NPCs who might not be as friendly as the sewer NPCs or the random NPCs you might meet elsewhere.
  • Eventually I’d also like to add in things like NPC sub-stories and quests, but I haven’t put too much thought into those things yet.

I have other things on my to-do list as well, but those are the main things for now! I’m not sure how long it’ll be before I have some new content to post, but you can rest assured that lots of development progress is still being made!

In the meantime, I appreciate everyone’s support and patience!

 

53 Responses to “What’s happening…”

  1. Geta-Ve says:

    Dude, you’re killin’ it!

    that is all. πŸ˜€

  2. Josue says:

    Wow this is going to be a great game it’s always said the longer it takes the better it is, and one person doing the whole thing is nuts but this guy is doing an amazing job great work!!!!!!

  3. John says:

    This game is looking great. I hope you release it for Android too. I will have to “borrow” my wife’s iPad to play it if not. Cross platform multiplayer would be super wicked!

    Keep it up!

  4. Mr.jff says:

    Greatest game ever on iOS by the looks of the uptades you posted

  5. Mr.jff says:

    If you might get a cross platform multiplayer this game will be pure gold TONS OF GOLD

  6. Cameron says:

    This game looks amazing!!!!! I only have one thing to say and that is about the durability thing for the weapons :(. I really dislike this in games constantly having to repair items. I personally think that alot of games have abused this feature for unnessasary reasons. Please consider this comment and like I said this game looks amazing and shoul be the new top selling app in the US if not the world!

    • Tyson Ibele says:

      I think durability is good for several reasons:

      1) It makes weapon use in a survival game more realistic

      2) It challenges the player to moderate their weapon use

      3) It prevents people from relying on a single good weapon for the entire game, without consequences

      As mentioned, you’ll be able to repair weapons, so you can always get your favorite weapon back up to its full potential.

      Also the durability of each weapon will be dependent on several factors, meaning that special weapons will have a much higher durability than mundane weapons.

      Having played a lot of minecraft in the past, I found the durability parameters for tools in that game to be reasonable and satisfying. I’ll be apply the same philosophy to the tools/weapons in Zombox. It’s a feature that isn’t meant to frustrate the player, but instead, to challenge them πŸ™‚

      • Keffa says:

        There’s an elegant solution to this.

        Make it optional.

        If the player doesn’t wish to be worrying about weapon degradation, simply give them an option in the settings to turn durability off. That way you keep both groups of people happy.

      • Maxwell218 says:

        Hey Tyson,

        You’re always that good with keeping us to date and I really like reading your posts πŸ˜€

        I do have only one question: does weapon durability will have the effect of a lower damage?

        Low durability = Less damage?

        Sorry if you didn’t understand – English isn’t my main language*

        Keep the good work πŸ˜€

      • Jason says:

        I think that durability is good , but stuff like wrenches or pipes out of metal shouldnt break after long use.

  7. Cameron c says:

    This game looks amazing!!!!! I only have one thing to say and that is about the durability thing for the weapons :(. I really dislike this in games constantly having to repair items. I personally think that alot of games have abused this feature for unnessasary reasons. Please consider this comment and like I said this game looks amazing and shoul be the new top selling app in the US if not the world!

  8. Robert says:

    This game looks amazing but I really hope you can get this out on android and I would really appreciate it if you could announce right away When you find out if it will be android.

  9. Ricky says:

    Se ve muy interesante y entretenido , espero que este disponible para PC πŸ˜€ …Espero que usted termine rΓ‘pido con esto .Ya quiero jugarlo

  10. Ishan says:

    Hey Tyson,

    I don’t play much mobile games. But I always stop by and check your progress once in a while just because it’s simply inspiring how much you have accomplished. This baby of yours is going to be a beast! I guess I will have to buy this one when it comes out. Wish you great luck mate πŸ™‚

  11. Bparker says:

    Tyson,
    I just thought I would say that what you have done in two years is incredible. I can’t imagine having to work on a gamer then finding out that it would be easier to rewrite almost very thing that was thought to be done. I think your dedication to this game is amazing and that I love seeing a new posts about the game. Thank you so much!
    Ben Parker

  12. Fadi98n says:

    Thanks for keeping us updated Tyson πŸ™‚

  13. Illuminati says:

    Please don’t make guns have a durability.

  14. iggy says:

    is this comes out iOS only ill fucking kill someone

  15. Avery says:

    Add car upgrades like adding spikes or armour to it and you could craft electric bariers and the subway fast travel with the subway could be vary usfull tool and you could create a base like when your in a house you could make a base out of it and that would add stuff in the house or something and mayby u could add teamates and they could help u or set them to guard or mayby gather matirials

  16. Avery says:

    Or you could add climbing on roofs for a quick getaway and if u wanted to add more than one floor you could fade the bottom floor and show the one your on

  17. Avery says:

    Add previews of the new stuff or of just gameplay

  18. T4V0C3110 says:

    If Tyson Ibele would make a indiegogo campaign the 1000 dollar reward would be knowing the release date xD now getting serious good work! Amazing!! Hope it to be released soon… The pa-cien-ce… Ght… Hshsj…

  19. Illuminati says:

    Want beta testers?

  20. Nathan says:

    I don’t care if this game cost 30 bucks I am still buying this, cus this game IS WORTH IT

  21. Lamonte says:

    I would love this on PC

  22. Fadi98n says:

    So Tyson
    Since you said the game won’t run on my iPhone 3GS i bought an iPad Mini and a 10$ iTunes Giftcard just to be ready for this game and to ensure i’ll be able to play when it comes out. πŸ˜€

    Keep up the good work and thanks for the updates. πŸ˜‰

  23. Doctar bren says:

    Through amazement going in my head about this game I gotta say Im Still excited

  24. Anonymous says:

    Some games were meant for different platforms, such as The new Halo Moble game, that’s only for Microsoft Devices and so on and so on. But yeah maybe he’s trying to keep it on apple for a reason. Idk this is just a wild guess

  25. Z-BoX says:

    This game is going to be Awesome!! Keep up the great work!

  26. Illuminati says:

    So 2014/2015 I take it?

  27. Anonymous says:

    will the game run on ipod 4th gen?

  28. TachyonicCookie says:

    So Tyson..
    Do you think the new minecraft styled zombie game “7 days to die” may affect the sales of your game? Do you think maybe more people would have gotten a little impatient of waiting for this game and gone to get that instead? Can you give us any idea when you’ll release the game? I’ve followed you since the very beginning. I remember several release dates, and also remember estimates like “sometime in January”. I don’t want to come off as a jerk, but I myself have grown weary of watching only game updates. You haven’t released the game to anyone. Very little gameplay I’ve see. All I’m asking for is a release date, and the rest of the updates you can have over apple. Seriously consider this, because I don’t want to wait for a game that may never come.

    • Fadi98n says:

      I just checked the trailer for the game you talked about and it’s a good game and i don’t think it would effect Zombox and if i had to choose between them i’m sure that i’ll pick Zombox so i’m not worried.

  29. Fadi98n says:

    Hey that wasn’t me Tyson please do something about the guy that is impersonating everyone on the blog

  30. Tyson Ibele says:

    Sorry guys…the offending comments have been removed.

  31. Pepper123 says:

    Ok so I have a few suggestions/ dislikes, so Im really not liking the fact that thers rounded shapes in the game like the zombie heads and such whjich really takes away the feel of Zom-BOX also like the spikes and the helmets, its just it doesnt fit! Also is this game going to be co op because if so that would be really really really freaking awesome, because me and my friend have been looking for a game like this for a long long time and this is what weve been looking for! so please make this co op. and agian please change round shapes! THEY DONT FIT WITH THE ZOM-“BOX” TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  32. bparker says:

    Yes I enjoy the login system a lot. Thanks Tyson though it is too bad that we had to resort to this.

  33. G2401 says:

    Sooooooooooooooo exited!!!!!

  34. Fadi98n says:

    Hey Tyson
    You might want to consider adding a “God Mode” IAP for any one who wants to be invincible, and who ever buys it can choose if the world that he creating to be played in “God Mode” or not, because i was just looking at the Preview Videos and “God Mode” looks really fun.
    Thank You for reading πŸ™‚

  35. Sergio117v2 says:

    this game will only ios or leave for android too?

  36. I like what you guys are up too. This kind of clever work and reporting!
    Keep up the excellent works guys I’ve you guys to my personal blogroll.

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