Unfinished: State of Decay 2 4/27/2018

Doesn't an Xbone with instant on enabled essentially let you pause any game? Could just use that to pause.

I just reinstalled it cause of this quick look. I wouldn't say it's complicated, but like Brad said, a LOT of stuff is not very intuitive or clear in the UI. I beat State of Decay about 4 years ago, coming back to it I just realized that there is a skill system where you can buy skill specializations. Base management is pretty simple, but awkward. I was trying to build facilities in my base and ended up building an extra sleeping quarters instead of a storage area. I didn't see an option to build a storage area because the game didn't tell you that you needed to build a workshop first. A lot of it is just UI stuff and surfacing that information better. Glad to see it's clearer in SoD2, but I just hope they don't go too overboard with the base management where it becomes tedious micromanagement.

Looking forward to this. It seems like what I wanted Metal Gear Survive to be more of.

I don't personally see why the pause thing is bothering people so much. Wasn't it like that in the first game? Yes, there are lots of menus, and you do occasionally see people get hit out of them. But, generally speaking, zombies don't invade that often and you get a warning when they are coming. You can also set defenses around your base, etc. etc. This is already way better than having the game simulate EVEN WHEN YOU'RE NOT PLAYING - like it was in the first game.

Also, I have had few issues with the windows store. I know that people have had issues downloading and running stuff, but it has worked fine for me overall.

(from the "Designer on State of Decay 2")

Brad's character's hair keeps changing color constantly and it's freaking me out

Glad to see you can pause it when just playing single player, random

You absolutely can pause the game, you just have to set it to single player only in the options :-)

Oh man. The lack of a pause option may have just totally ruined my hype for this game. If it's not online, why not offer this functionality? Just seems like a really foolish decision. Most folks with kids won't be able to enjoy what could be an otherwise solid game.

@big_denim: from twitter "For the record, you CAN pause the game if you turn off multiplayer"

They just talked about the lack of pause again on Bombcast, this is going to be a hard to correct misinformation (devs get most of the blame, since this wasn't clearly presented) ...

*cough* Metal Gear Survive *cough*

@francium34: I wish comments could be "stickied" to the top, so other people can see your post before commenting themselves...

I'm so done with zombies.

Pretty much this, with the exception of windows store exclusivity, which means I won't be getting this at release. Still, some complaints in these comments are straight up weird, nobody knows if the system level menu might actually pause the game, yet everybody already complains.

Just like complaints about combat: Combat depends on character, not every character in State of Decay is supposed to be Joe-Bad-Ass who can take down whole hordes on his own. Mowing them down with a car is way more fun anyway due to the car physics.

@francium34: That is GREAT news. Thank you for replying and filling me in. Back to being stoked for this game!

@nethlem: To be fair, they do state in the video that it doesn't look like the game can be paused. Can't really fault the listeners if the duders didn't get that part right. As someone else has said though, the developers may want to make this more clear so other outlets don't also get confused from this.

This kinda looks a little too much like the first game. Maybe there's more going on under the hood, but other than the UI being a little different you could have told me this was DLC for the first game and I wouldn't have questioned it. The animations have the same cartoony jank, the map looks like the same place or the same assets at least. If this is just the same game but with co-op then I'm not interested.

As someone who has never owned an Xbox, hates PC's and traditionally doesn't like survival games;

This looks rad. Funny how that happens. Oh well. Hope it does well, it has a certain vibe to it that just kind of feels cool to me. Bad dialogue notwithstanding.

But it's funny seeing this so soon after Metal Gear Survive which, while also all about running and hitting that search button to pick up abstract resources, immediately turned me off. Two games that at a superficial glance seem pretty similar and yet...

yea boy!

I like a management game with some action. I'm looking for a 3D factorio.

So its Metal Gear Survive minus the Metal Gear

In addition to your very unfortunate situation, it also fucks over people who have kids, loved ones, or pets that need attention.

I kind of get it from a "vision" perspective, but it falls apart for me when there isn't really a good reason for it (ex: always on multiplayer that is integral to the game). It's fucking lame.

@ssully: FYI, the devs tweeted these:

"One of gaming’s greatest honors is good-natured mockery by @giantbomb :)"

"For the record, you CAN pause the game if you turn off multiplayer (an absolute necessity for a dad like me), and you CAN funnel as many items as you want to your home base when you’re playing as a guest :)"

@francium34:

You're going to be posting that response until the end of time.

He shits on what's warranted... sorry that hurts your delicate sensibilities?

donno, seems like he was shitting on something that he was just ignorant about (pausing) or the management which he doesn't like (other people do), what was warranted?

Fuck this looks cool.

Oh, so you can pause it? Nice, Brad.

@upperdecker: this is usually because the game looks really bad

I agree with those saying that the first game actually wasn't that complicated, and I say that as someone who hates games that don't explain themselves very well. The simplicity of the mechanics was actually my problem with the first one, it seemed like it had a lot going on but it was actually a series of simple missions, just: go to house, swing at zombies, get some fuel, leave, go to another house...etc... I wanted there to be more of a reason to survive, hopefully this game builds those missions out more

That's good to hear, not having a pause seems like a cool option for people who want it but not something to force on anybody offline.

Looks good. SoD was very neat already and this seems like it adds the polish.

It's been a few years since I played it, but I recall the first game only seeming more complicated than it really was. I feel like most of the systems they put in there were largely just window dressing, an illusion of depth, because you really didn't have to engage with them on the granular level they presented. The management sim and survival elements weren't really a major factor, which I found really disappointing. I went in hoping for GTA: Zombie Apocalypse meets Sim City Survive - totally unfair, I know, given it was a budget game - and while the game dabbled in those waters, is was a really shallow dip. And, sadly, I'm not getting the impression this game went deeper on those systems in a meaningful and satisfying way.

Also, am I remembering correctly that not only could you not pause the first game, but it simulated the game world continuing on even when you weren't playing? Because I seem to recall taking a couple days off only to come back and find that one of the first characters you start with, who I'd kept alive for three quarters of the game, was just dead and gone, along with my bases being on the verge of collapse because they were nearly out of supplies. I'm not crazy, right? That was a thing?

@cursethesemetalhands: Yup, the first game kept on simulating even when you didn't play. But afaik they changed how that worked after release (no more suvivors dying), it also wouldn't just keep on running, it had diminishing returns.

I played the PC GOTY version last year and I didn't have any problems with not playing a couple of days and coming back to a ruined savegame.

@nethlem: Glad to hear they fixed that - and that it wasn't just some mad fever dream on my part - because I damn near quit playing when that happened. I happily embrace the permadeath concept, but having it happen off the clock like that was just insane. If they wanted to go that route, at the very least they should've given characters a survivability stat that would improve with use/experience or something. I played through the bulk of that game almost exclusively with Marcus and Maya, so if anyone could handle themselves while I was away, it should've been those two.

@mrstohzuki: Yes to what you said, but even for people without disabilities, sometimes you want to go eat dinner with people, or perhaps take an important phone call. It's probably a decision they made because of the online co-op. But it would be cool to have an option where the host pausing also freezes the entire world even for the guest. I wonder if there's a way to force a pause at the console level by pulling up the xbox guide menu or something. I would guess that because of the co-op, it would just obscure your screen while you're dying.

These comments are rediculous. Guess that's what happens when the generation switched to PlayStation. I didn't go into the God of War quick look and comment, I wish this wasn't on the Playstation store. It's an Xbox exclusive with the cross by benefit of playing on PC. Jesus. Everyone dumps on Microsoft for not having first party titles but when they do, there's always something.

Also, shame on Brad for not double checking that pause option. You clearly can. It seems like something you'd wanna ask.

And thank you Ben for not knowing what an Xbox game is. "can you press the Playstation button?" Yowza.

I wish Brad would have gone into more details, kinda hollow Unfinished. Feels like this video was for the fans of the first game who already know what's up.

Those who are wondering about the combat... At least in the first SoD the melee felt very good and impactful.

Windows Store is very different from GFWL. It's basically the same as the Xbox store. It's so passe to bring out all this Microsoft Store hate. What's next, Windows ME sucks comments?

@willyod said:

It's not "passe" at all to point out how MS still uses exclusivity to force people into upgrading to their newest Windows version, not just with games, but also with hardware.

I'm happy with my Windows 7, yet Microsoft refuses to support its own hardware (wireless elite controller) and its own software (games) on its own OS.

For decades it's always the same crappy story with MS: They declare how important PC is for them, and then follow up with half-arsed stuff like that. Originally they didn't even want to give wired support for the elite controller on Win7, only after quite some outrage they enabled Win7 support, but only if you connect the controller with a cable and then you won't be able to change any settings at all (no options in Win7) and using the elite controller crashes the driver for the 360 wireless dongle, so I can't use the elite controller and my 360 controllers at the same time, the Xbone wireless dongle still only works with Win10 and doesn't even support the old controllers.

For extra "pissed off" points: After not even half a year of using the elite controller, its micro USB port now has a loose contact and won't connect to the PC unless I keep pushing the connector in place, so now I can't use it at all unless I upgrade to Win10 and get a wireless dongle. Worst gaming investment in a while, which is really sad because the controller itself is really good.

I have no problem with the Elite Controller. I broke one of them too. Left thumbstick started drifting on its own, I think I had it for 8 months or so. But that's why there is a warranty. I got one replaced, why don't you get yours? I've also lost numerous Xbox One and 360 controllers. Also I've already broken two PS4 controllers and I've had Pro for less than a year. I could list broken hardware and software for days...

Windows 7 is old... I know it works... you might be 100% happy in it. Even older versions of Windows work just fine. But people do not seem to have even the slightest idea of how complicated and time consuming it is to create an operating system and support it for a decade. Do you realize Windows 7 is close to 10 years old? (I know, it seems just like yesterday...) Microsoft does not have infinite resources even though they are a big company. How about you get with the times and just upgrade to Windows 10?

Microsoft is trying. Xbox is trying. I think they've been doing a good job. They are doing things on a bigger scale and it takes time, they're headed in the right direction. Have there been failures, yes, but they haven't given up. Do you think Microsoft wouldn't make their customers as happy as they can immediately and make everything perfect if they could? Behind the name Microsoft is still people... and they have to do everything, but they're just humans.. they cannot solve every problem at light speeds.

I've personally haven't had any problems with the new Windows Store since last fall. Also, buy a game for PC and get it free for Xbox - and vice-versa. That's pretty freaking cool and other companies should follow. Backwards compatibility? Heck yeah. Microsoft is doing lots of good stuff in my books and I would hope people weren't so fast to judge them just because they've had problems in the past and they EXPECT everything to work out of the box.

@cyrribrae: Thanks for addressing that, the reason I never finished the first game had a lot to do with the fact that you couldn't leave it for more than a day or two without characters dying. I got pretty close to finishing on my second or third playthrough only to lose my two best characters, causing me to want to take a break, but then it's not really feasible to rebuild. I can deal with not pausing but I mostly game on the weekends and the first version wasn't very friendly to that.

If they manage to smooth over some of SoD1's annoyances and improve the moment-to-moment gameplay this could be a fun experience.

@willyod: I tried registering the controller with my XBL account (or whatever those are called these days) to check for warranty status, sadly the site does not accept any serial number from the controller, which seems to be a known problem. So I gotta track down the local MS hardware support for Germany first.

And Win7 might be old, but as I said: It works fine for me.
Been doing this for pretty much forever, I stuck with Win2k until it wouldn't run any newer games anymore then I switched to XP, didn't stick with XP but made the mistake of installing Vista, for DX10, that didn't last long and I went back to XP until that wouldn't run the games I wanted to play anymore, then went straight to Win7, skipping that Vista mess for good.

I just really don't like change and sadly MS has the habit of turning everything upside down with a new Windows version, forcing me to relearn where to find the most basic settings and figuring out how to make it look and behave the way I want it (big fan of the QuickLaunch bar).

MS trying to force me into that change, trough artificial game/hardware exclusivity still just feels shitty. They already did that with the, rather crappy, PC ports of the first GoW and Halo 2, Halo 2 didn't even have proper mouse aiming but would rather emulate a controller.

It's not like I'm expecting something unthinkable here: I'd be already happy enough if MS would at least properly support their hardware on an OS which is still actively supported, like the Xbone wireless dongle for Win7. But for whatever reason MS really wants to give people the impression that their own OS doesn't even support their own hardware and a controller is such a complex thing that you'd need to install a completely new OS to properly support it.

Considering what a big deal they make out of 360 backwards compatibility, it's simply mindboggling how they are still treating their PC end with a total disregard for proper support.

Move the mouse cursor please.

Wow I stopped paying attention to this game back when they announced they were skipping co-op for 2 and would put it in the next game. Good to know that's a thing now.

I played a good bit of the first one, and then got to a part of the game where the trigger for the next story mission would just not fire at all and ended up stopping there. Scavenged an entire town waiting, making a ridiculously large safe zone in the process, and then fucked around for a few hours more while looking up possible solutions which never worked.

Still, it was fun enough up to that point.

Man this is the first GB video I've watched in maybe months and Jeff's apathy and cynicism reminded me partly why I haven't watched a lot of GB lately.

Dude, if you don't want to do this or you're not interested in the game, just don't be in the video.

bummed this is Windows 10 only for PC

Sounds like it's still unfinished at launch and pretty buggy. I have Game Pass and am downloading it, but I think I'll wait to start it until it gets a couple of patches.