Project Zomboid

[Paingod]

I started this back up and in my character creation list, I want to amend that Obese seems more lethal now than it used to be and Hemophobic seems worse now that you get covered in zombie blood and need to wash yourself to get it off. My poor character was constantly in a panic until I figured out I was dripping with gore and needed a bath.

[Cylus Maxii]

I've been thinking of giving this a go since I watched a streamer playing it some.

[Octavious]

I like how I don't check it for years and they still have things listed that they never have done. People seem to like what is already there so for the price I guess it's not a problem.

[Paingod]

I like how I don't check it for years and they still have things listed that they never have done. People seem to like what is already there so for the price I guess it's not a problem.

To be fair, it's a very playable "Early Access" - so much so that I'd call it a release that's simply under continued development, like Starsector.

I've only gone as far as beginning to explore the map and dabbled with making my own base. Some folks end up building out larger areas and putting together farms that let them last months in-game. The game map is HUGE. You feel like you may be concerned with running out of resources, but it's more likely you'll die before that ever happens - and the Sandobx mode lets you adjust ALL the rules, from respawning supplies to zombie spawns to how lethal infections are. You can really tailor the game to suit your enjoyment levels.

[Paingod]

I had forgotten how very easy it is to die in this game. Each time I die, I restart. There's something about returning with a fresh character to find a house stuffed with supplies and every kind of book as well as all the weapons and bags that just feels like cheating.

When a zombie hits you ... "Scratched" is a 25% chance to die by zombie infection, "Lacerated" is a 50% chance, and "Bitten" is 100% guaranteed zombified. If you have the "Thick Skin" trait, I think it becomes 12.5%, 25%, and 100%. Wearing good, sturdy clothing is essential to turning aside a bite or two if you get surprised - but you're going to overheat easily.

I make a personal challenge out of getting as many skill points as possible in the first few days while the "Life and Living" channel plays skill boosting shows. This is still an accurate guide, too. This challenge compels me to quickly ransack an entire neighborhood to scavenge for skill books. Doing anything quickly in this game can be fatal. As a result, I haven't had a character actually make it to the end of what I call "The Prelude" - the time before the helicopter comes and the skill gains from TV stop. After that it's genuine survival and skill gain by action alone.

For such a simple game in theory, it builds good tension as you search for what you need to survive. Opening a door to discover two or three zombies behind it or turning a corner and bumping into a small horde are great "Oh shit!" moments and sometimes I get jump scared well enough that I actually jump a little. I've taken to using the "Shove" command immediately when I open a door now, regardless of whether or not I hear a zombie behind it.

[Paingod]

I've finally had a character survive the first week, after several evenings of false starts. The issue is rushing to maximize skill gains from books using the TV shows that play in the first week. Because I was so eager to scour the neighborhoods for foraging/trapping/fishing/farming level 1-4 books and cooking/carpentry levels 1-6 books, I was often taking a lot of bad risks.

It's day 8 now, dawning on a good day. My home base is stuffed to the gills with food and medicine. I have a station wagon in good condition with 25 gallons of fuel in reserve. I'm outfitted with a hard-hat, leather jacket, padded pants, and military boots - fair bite protection, but it could be better. In short, it feels like I'm ready for the apocalypse to begin. I've also even gained weight and moved up from "Very Underweight" to "Underweight" and on my way to a normal weight with no Fitness penalty. Stuffing your face is a lot easier than losing weight from "Obese", despite having the same point value in character creation.

All I need to do now is figure out where I want my "forever home" to be and work towards that. Maybe I'll stay where I am and build an elaborate wall?

Well... that and not get cornered in a home. I did almost get bitten last night when a small gathering of zombies followed me into a storage unit and there was no way out except to push through them. I had even made sure I cleared the area, but these buggers must have walked all the way around a chain link fence from where they had seen me in order to catch me there.

2021-03-31 Edit: Arthur Dent continues to do well, but power has been cut to the neighborhood. In his scavenging, he had found several generators and a couple Antique Stoves. With a little effort and some trunk space - along with a full day of clearing zombies at each location to make them safe enough to move through slowly - he was able to bring these things home. The Antique Stove in particular is nice, allowing cooking with firewood - finally a use for that Scrap Wood from practicing Carpentry.

A minor concern is that with no power, a generator will need to be found and attached to the gas station nearby. Minor concern. Several generators have been found while scavenging, and some are nearby in a storage facility. It's just a matter of loading them into a car and moving them.

He opted to stay in the base he started in Muldraugh - the brick two-story home with no ground floor windows on two sides. So far a garage area has been made to store cars and a portion of the back yard has a wall growing across it. The question now seems to be how big does that yard need to be for good gardening and not going insane? The lot has a substantial open area and a lot of trees to work with, so it may just end up being a huge fenced in field. He's got time.

2021-04-05 Edit: This game still has me gripped. Arthur Dent (above) was put on hold since he was doing well and I hadn't really given him much of a good vs. bad build. To put it mildly, he had it easy.

I've been trying a different build where I utilize almost all the potentially useful perks and hammer the negatives in so deep it hurts. It was inspired by "Mister Lamprey" on Reddit with my own twist in there as I obsess over skill books and Life and Living TV in the first week. By taking Obese, Unfit, and Weak you get 30 points to work with - but you're wildly underpowered. The plus side is that this combination can be worked off with diet and exercise, giving you 30 free points if you survive that long.

Fun fact: You can tell your character to actively work out by going to the Health screen and clicking the Fitness button. Burpees have a good "whole body" effect and improve Strength and Fitness, but leave your whole body sore the next day for several hours. Not bad if you plan for it and use that time for gardening or reading, could be lethal if you're out and about and getting swarmed.

Fun Fact 2: Crafting spears is supposed to rely on your Carpentry skill to determine their starting durability. You can craft them with a Tree Branch (Foraged) and a Chipped Stone (Foraged) - netting 3 spears before the Stone breaks. However, if you make a Stone Knife out of that first, you'll get maybe 10 uses out of it. 3x the spears for the cost of another Tree Branch and Ripped Cloth. As long as you're facing ONE zombie, your character may perform an instant-kill on a zombie that's coming at you when you attack and it's not within shoving distance.

Notes about Moodlets in 0.41; typically each stage increases penalties:

• Anxiety: Diminished damage and accuracy, leads to Sadness if left untreated, caused by Fear, Infection, Illness, Smoker, etc.
• Bleeding: Persistent health damage, drop blood on tiles, zombies can track by "smell" of blood. Bandage quickly.
• Bored: Sitting still or being inside too long, leads to Sadness.
• Encumbered: Move slower, eventually take persistent, recurring damage from crushing weight.
• Exhausted: Accumulates through activities, faster while Encumbered. Walking/Sitting/Resting/Sleeping restore this. Penalties to Strength and Speed.
• Overheating: Drink more, sweat, reduced spacial awareness, possibly fatal.
• Injured: Just a visual representation of how badly damaged you are
• Has a Cold: May 'sneeze' and attract zombies (keep a Tissue in hand)
• Hypothermic: Reduced spacial awareness, possibly fatal.
• Hung Over: No impact
• Hunger: Swings positive and negative, impacts carrying capacity and healing rate (if Sick, stay Well Fed).
• Pain: Increasing impact on accuracy of all attacks, incl. shooting.
• Panic: Weakens melee attacks and Aiming with firearms. Characters naturally become more immune to panic from zombies, but never from things like Hemophobic. Brave trait ensures you've got the best chance against more than 2-3 zombies.
• Sick: Can lead to Fever and death. Sleep and Eat a lot.
• Thirsty: Impacts carrying capacity, possibly fatal.
• Tired: Impacts Stamina Regen, Leads to Boredom, eventually planned to include "Passing Out"
• Unhappy/Sad: Actions take longer, but has no other effect.
• Wet: Lowered movement speed, increased chance of natural illness (Has a Cold or Sick)
• Windchill: Experiencing temperatures lower than normal, can lead to Hypothermia. Go inside to cure.