Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven -- set for release 10/28/16

Hosted Games Works In Progress
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exactly a reaction I hoped for surprisingly enough :smile: there would be many a times your group would want to boot them, possibly even ignoring your views and getting rid anyway. I wouldn’t say untrustworthy, they will show loyalty to the group even if they don’t like half the people in it because they want to survive and the best way to do that is in numbers, a lot of other survivors won’t believe this and will be suspicious. This character will be difficult but not insufferable, I wouldn’t want them to be a massive inconvenience else they would be gone straight away, they would only react when they see a choice has to be made, tease survivors when provoked and not lashing out for the hell of it. Like I said they will be a social pariah and most likely not socialise with anyone without being approached first, they just get on with what needs to be done for their group. If they respect the MC or some others they will calm the hell down and be more open to what they would call compromise, they’re a pain but not so much they can’t be tamed, if they see the the group is working well and everyone contributes they will back off a little. it’s more of if there’s somebody who isn’t doing ANYTHING or there isn’t enough work being put into important tasks at hand. What I meant about intentionally annoying people is if somebody doesn’t like them then they will make remarks about them, completely ignore them if they try to question or talk to them, and butt heads if they retaliate.

I wouldn’t want to make this character one huge negative else there is no point because they will be thrown away by players upon first glance. Positives,
good survival of course.
They’re not violent towards anyone in the group, just snarky.
They have no reason to betray or force decisions, yes they will voice out their views on it but not like ‘if they do this then I’m taking half your supplies and burning them’ they will just bite their tongue, have a decrease in player relationships and just get on as normal, they won’t go all crazy and start harrassing these people until they leave.
If high enough relationship, as time goes on they just chill out a little bit. Keeping their opinions on survivors to themselves and try not to make it difficult on morale.
They will tackle more dangerous tasks, I imagine some survivors will either have little skill for these or too frightened by it. This character will never refuse and always take on errands, big or small.
No complaining about lifestyles, they’ve accepted the world will never be the same as before and just get on with it, shortages won’t lower their mood but make them more determined to fix this issue.
I also want them to have a hatred for raiders and bandits, saying that they’re incredibly unstable groups and likely to gun one another down for a bottle of water.

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That about the best way of survive is in numbers, It’s a totally lie. There are a maximum number you can maintain in a waste land situation. Inuits had a max number people in tribes and same in some nomadic groups in all the world. Malthus was right in a society of scarce resources, population growth is exponential and resources grow geometrically. There are studies about the best number of population in an apocalyptic hypothesis. I think it was around 20 with mixture of ages and more women than male.

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@poison_mara Lol :smile:

@Nathan_Faxon Your character’s motivations are self contradictory. They want a stable group but intentionally destabilize the group by being a huge self obsessed asshole towards everyone. They are willing to do anything for survival, even at the lost of other survivors, but won’t ever betray the group because there’s safety in numbers… That’s completely at odds with itself.

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Shoelip that character is an egocentric delusion guy, It reminds me a cult sect leader is essentially same autodestructive dynamic. And that frequently ended with a massive suicide or a civil war that tore the group appart.

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The survivor’s sacrifice part was a contradictory on my part, my bad.

I think I should refine and think about this character more.

They hate instability yet they don’t want to socialise. Maybe they know that they aren’t a people person and just stay out of people’s ways and avoid socialising when possible. Some survivors may see this as ‘creepy and unnerving’. But they won’t not engage in conversation, if somebody approaches them to speak they will comply, perhaps open up a little to these select few after awhile

Their ‘survival of the fittest’ ideals is a strong feeling of theirs, they won’t let go of this. Whether people disagree with it or think it’s a sham does not bother them, of course they will respect anyone who views are the same and will expect many to go against it saying that they must help everyone out, but they will not care as this is something they can’t let go of, something they cling to. Making them arrogant but determined.

They will want to turn down survivors who they view as a liability. Anyone with a serious injury or health problem or just plain useless. This will make them appear ruthless, they will argue about this referring to ideals. Maybe this does make them ruthless in the end. But if the MC accepts them, they won’t like it but hold their tongue and move on. Perhaps they will later see that the ones they wanted to shove out are very capable, allowing people to take refuge more often, but keep an eye on them to see if they pull their weight. Similar to the Temperance ending, how the town remove anyone who does nothing or creates conflict.

The character doesn’t want to cause friction but won’t back down to anybody. If they butt heads with another survivor they will avoid them as much as possible, and make little jabs at their suggestions they disagree with, and agree with ones they do but are too arrogant to be open about it.

Overtime and if they get on with the MC, they will be a little more calm and try to get to know their fellow members for the sake of the group. If the MC openly agrees with their ideals they will openly support them, but only if they stick to the ideals.

They aren’t afraid of their current situation, low supplies would make them more determined to find some more rather than lower their morale. They’ve accepted the world is gone. So they won’t accept comforting words or reminiscing on the old days, instead they are blunt about their situation and don’t panic as easily about the world and will always accept tasks.

Many survivors will want them gone because of their suggestions, attitude and lack of compassion for people they encounter, the MC will be able to make the decision to keep them as long as possible but if they can’t make the character calm down and back off then they will be forced to leave regardless how the MC feels.

I threw it altogether a little too quickly and didn’t think through it much. If I do want this character suggestion to work out I gotta make them appear a rough but acceptable character rather than absolutely insufferable and dangerous.

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I mean, you don’t HAVE to make them not seem insufferable. They only seem insufferable to me because Social Darwinism is one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever encountered on multiple levels and I really don’t want to see the game turned into a farce by portraying it as something legitimate. I don’t think Jim D will do that though, so it seems like the character will not be all that worthwhile in that regard. But it could be entertaining to have a scenario where you can actually go fully on board with this NPC and end up alienating everyone and dying surrounded by zombies raging at the universe itself for being prejudiced against you just because it refused to admit the truth.

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I didn’t want a totally insufferable character, but a difficult one which has major benefits and major downsides.

Now THAT does sound entertaining :smile: CURSE YOU WORLD FOR MY POOR, UNSOCIALISED DECISIONS.

Nah I was hoping for if the character gets close to them they will become more easy going and the group accepts them, and if they choose not to this character will be forced out.

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@Bugreporter I found that error and have it fixed. I’ll update the version online later today.

@NJG no scope provided. It’s an add-on. No bayonet either but again, it can be crafted later. I have a lot to add to crafting.

@Nathan_Faxon I will definitely have a character who people dislike but need based on skillset.

The concept of a Mary Sue brings up another idea I’d like people to help with. What are some main character templates I should use to write and test Safe Haven? When developing choices, I like to ask, “what would X type player do?”

For example, Driver sits outside the school in his jeep. The next choice relates to how the MC gets by him.

What would Rick Grimes (TWD) do?
Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)?
Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs)?
What would Jack Bauer (24) do?

These aren’t the ones I use (well, maybe some of them), but I need to find a good representation of main characters so I can playtest.

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I assume Jack Bauer would beat the crap out of him then torture him for “information”.

Never watched any of those things actually, not even 24. I suppose Catherine Tramell Would attempt to seduce him to lure him into a false sense of security and take his weapon, bu that might result in her being shot on the spot considering how trigger happy he seems to be.

I don’t really know anything about the other characters at all, and actually my Jack Bauer one was just a joke about Jack Bauer being a sadist.

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Sorry No idea about The walking dead. And about the others , there are pretty easy to know what they could do? You want I made a playthrough as them or something? Sorry I didn’t understand what do you want.

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I loved it was like I was there can’t wait for more will there be at least one old character or no

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@JimD Sorry I’m not much help here. I’m never good with referencing characters things from shows >.<. Maybe instead, do something vaguely like Dragon Age 2 does:

What would mean spirited character do?
What would serious character do?
What would clever character do?
Ect ect…

OR OR OR you could think of some interesting death/capture whatever scenarios for Driver and think “Now how can I get here with choices?”

That might help a bit? Hrm… Well, that’s what I’ve got!

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I’m only familiar with Starling. Most likely get close to Driver under a guise of whatever Driver would be comfortable with and find his weaknesses and then exploiting it, but at the same time puts our MC under the threat of Driver finding their weakness too or seeing through the ruse. More suited for a con artist MC

@FoxalypticWorld it’s funny I referenced to Dragon Age a few replies back, coincidences are entertaining.

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Our basic instinct Black widow would use people surrounding her. For instance, make Jil that sneak in x direction while she goes over. She would prepare a sound trap or throw a stone near other npc to make Driver get occupied and escape safe.
Starling is brave and with a great autosacrifice sense, She would try to convince him to stop raiding she is a great shooter in academy so a clean heat shot.
24 Jack just go surrounding him and kill In a flashing explosion

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@JimD I found some more errors.
Playing as a Social worker in chapter 1 I noticed that both the doctor and the nurse professions have BMW’s, whereas the social worker has an unspecified.

Playing a bank robber near the end of chapter 2 i chose to kill dillian and this text came up. [quote]The two of you need to leave, and this is dragging things out. You raise your foot and stomp down onto Dillan’s head. [/quote] I had a glock equppied both as a primary and secondary weapon.
Playing as a teenager in chapter 1 when i selected, attack them with my compound bow, this text came up.

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To be honest, I first thought the game was insulting you. Calling you a dummy and giving you instructions how to kill Lyle :smile:

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I think you will definitely need to play as some kind of badass super soldier. For some reason, a lot of people seem to enjoy that. You’d have to be able to solve any challenge the game throws at you by using superior firepower and/or superior combat skills, while never being emotionally affected by anything. Think Chuck Norris.

Then I suggest playing as someone who possesses no combat skills and finds violence abhorrent. The character will try to find peaceful solutions and cooperates with other survivors. They will not murder anyone regardless of circumstances, but will instead try to save them. Think Starr from ZEX.

One of my favorite templates is the self-serving, cynical rogue who solves problems either through manipulation, cunning, or intellectual prowess. While they would kill someone if the situation required this, they generally lack the combat skills to make it happen, which is why they tend to avoid physical confrontations. They should be heavily punished in any challenge that does not allow them to outsmart their opponents.

Oh, and then you need one “I kill everyone in sight for no reason whatsoever” character. Again, some people really enjoy playing violent characters even if the violence serves no purpose. Think Natural Born Killers.

Last but not least, you could play as someone who is an emotional wreck and not adjusting at all to the apocalypse. It may give you new ideas about different ways in which the MC can fail skill challenges. This character would be hesitant to act, overly emotional, and poorly responding to external pressure. Think Charlie Brown.

Hope this helps.

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It’ll (or do I write it’d) be good if there was a hardcore mode in this (every challenge activated and more zombies/bad guys)

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“One of my favorite templates is the self-serving, cynical rogue who solves problems either through manipulation, cunning, or intellectual prowess. While they would kill someone if the situation required this, they generally lack the combat skills to make it happen, which is why they tend to avoid physical confrontations. They should be heavily punished in any challenge that does not allow them to outsmart their opponents.”

You have just described Mara with high detail, She is happy than someone wants to play with her you only forget poison. :wink:

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@JimD
While playing as a teenager in chapter 2 who was rescuing Jaime from the school , I came upon the gunner and when I chose “use another entrance”, i entered the building and this text came up.

However the option to select the compound bow remains available, despite it being out of ammo.

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