Probably one of the biggest aspects of the game will be the base. Heading out to explore, scavenge and fight will play an important role, but without a base you are going to have an extremely hard time surviving for any length of time. (Although we are looking forward to seeing people do timed runs of their survival experiences without a base!) So with that in mind, let’s delve a little deeper into where the base started, where it is now, and where we plan to take it after the Kickstarter.
Pre-Alpha Demo Static Base
In the beginning… well the base was a static thing. We initially built out the base, in our pre-alpha demo to hold specific, pre-selected locations where you could build a couple different base items. This helped to demonstrate the idea of the base, but this was by no means where we wanted to end with the base. Over the last 6 months we have been working hard to get the base closer in line with our vision. The first step was making the base more dynamic. Want to start a base out in the middle of the woods? You can do that. Want to build your base in the pre-existing shell of what used to be a home, school, office, resturant, … the list goes on? You can do that too. Want to try and build a base that walls off the whole town? You can TRY to do that also.
New base using a pre-existing structure
Building a base out of nothing.
This is the first major step in base building. Find the place you feel like setting down roots and go to town building it up. Now, currently in the Alpha you can build your base where you please and it is a quick process just sit get the resources you need and click to build. As we move forward in the alpha this is going to change. The base is going to take you some time to build and you are going to make important decisions about do I go out to try and find more supplies, find more survivors, or get a better layout of the city or do I keep key people back at base to make sure I have a safe place when a horde runs through town? As you recruit more survivors to your cause this not only gives you a greater range of options to go out and explore with but more importantly more individuals to help you build and maintain your base while you are away.
Upgrading your base
As you survive longer you will continue to attract more and more undead to your base and in the future possibly other hostile groups of survivors. Your junk walls and weak barb wire aren’t going to hold them off forever. Eventually, you’re going to have to upgrade your base in order to survive the continues threats of this brutal world. As you explore the world, find new pieces of knowledge, or recruit new survivors with knowledge of their own you will be able to start upgrading aspects of your base. From the type or power you use, the quality of the fortifications you build, the technical levels of the crafting options you have, and the types of defenses you will be able to employee these are all aspects that you can learn to upgrade over time. These are also things that are going to keep you alive just one more day longer!
Early design - to be expanded
Base Activities
The base isn’t only about creating a bunch of walls and traps to keep the horrors of the world out. It is also a place to rest and recover from both physical and mental injuries your survivors receive while out exploring or from the night before while defending the base itself. Maybe you have some survivors that are really depressed and you decide to have them do some entertainment for the day rather than slaving away all day in order to increase their morale. Maybe you are running low on food and you need to setup some means of growing your own food to keep everyone fed and stop them from getting weaker and losing morale. Maybe you are running really low on equipment to explore and you need to have some people work on building new items, repairing broken thinks, or even upgrading items to be even more useful. These are all things you will do back at base and you will need to have survivors there to help you do it. It’s hard to survive the Zpocalypse alone!
Design image for future base functionality
With that we will leave you with a GIF of a base being built in the current version of the game.
are you planning on releasing a beta version? please do :D :)