I let Marcus get killed. No room for him in the New Society I'm building.

Ah, Marcus was the man in my community until said tearing apart.

Marcus has a drop kick move that immediately immobilizes zombies and makes them vulnerable to a finishing attack.

I miss Marcus, my other guys are not a patch on him :(

Just finished the final mission today, got pretty crazy by the amount of zombies you have to kill, you definitely want to stock up on supplies. The end obviously leaves it open for a sequel, it will be interesting to see whether they make it or not.

I'm now trying to mop up the rest of the achievements I haven't gotten yet. What's the best way to gain fame? I seem to be stuck on 472 for ages.

Did you at least let him become an hero so you could pop the achievement? I did that with one lazy slob in my community who didn't really seem to have any incentive for me to keep him around... he sucked, and kept getting trapped somewhere, and didn't have any upside to building him up.

The final mission was a bit easier than I thought it would be, but that's partially because I had a SAW. And more importantly, game scripted help. I think the "Memento" mission was waaaay harder, and I went up there with two artillery strikes prepped, copious ammo, and what was left of that truck.

I only need one more achivement, and I apparently screwed that up by being leery of the Wilkersons' intentions. I have to start a whole new game just to get it... but I don't want to nuke my game to do it. :(

I've just realised that Big Un's genuinely scare me, I always run away from them when I hear them roar and never try to kill them. I'll even ignore the zombie hunt missions for them.

I've tried killing them with a car for the achievement but just cant do it, the car/truck always ends up losing.

I usually ingore them too, when I can. I hear that roar, or see one pop up on the horizon, and I go "fuck that noise!" and alter my course drastically. Especially on foot.

To get the achievement though, you gotta soften them up first. The stronger the weapon the better. Plugged it a couple times with a grenade launcher, then backed into it with the "tank" (modern pickup truck). The first hit will ALWAYS pop both back tires, but just ram them again when it's down. If it ain't dead after a third hit... ABORT! A full "health" modern pickup blows up after backing into that bastard 4 times, less if you drive straight into it, use a damaged truck, or use a smaller vehicle.

It's one of the reasons I love that truck so much. It's one of the easiest vehicles to handle in reverse except maybe the modern sedan so you can run over zeds with less engine damage over longer time, can take a ton of punishment, and can get you out of an escort pinch by providing 5 places to hop in for passengers. It's also one of the less noisy vehichles, and it seems they actually took vehicle engine noise into account in attracting zombies much like gun report.

when I had to kill one of the big ones I through a bunch of molotov cocktails at it and then beat it to death with a bat or something

But killing it with a bat isn't killing it with a car. Neither is blowing one up that is standing next to a propane tank.

I hate the molotovs in this game. Yeah, they do hella damage, but rarely seem to go where I'm trying to throw them and always seems to damage my allies more often than my intended targets. Funny because I can shoot straight through a friend's head (unless its one of the army missions, then I get trust hit for "friendly fire"), but a firebomb seems to hurt them without fail even when they're not in the area I threw the thing.

I'm starting to wonder if actual time progression plays a part in the difficulty, or if it is completely random chance.

I restarted so I could 100% with that Wilkersons' achievement I missed. This time, the "Memento" mission was infinitely easier... as in, I didn't get mobbed while in the Ranger Station after I cleared the infestation, which was all of about 20 zeds total and a single Screamer, and found the macguffin.

On my previous playthrough, it took forever to clear out the infestation even AFTER 2 artilery strikes, then mowing down most of what was left in the pickup truck. When that was done, I was rewarded by being beseiged on all sides and completely surrounded by zeds perpetually spawning out of the woodwork and entering from nearly every side with multiple specials approaching. However, I only took a few hours to get to that point in the story this time as opposed to days.

In fact, much of the game has been easier... Wilkerson's farm only had 1 Big Un attack it, as opposed to the 3 I had to kill the first time- and without the second one, the battle didn't include the banter between Mickey and Job about "Goddamn! How many of them Harris boys are there?/I buried 'em once, I'll bury 'em again!"

I know the dynamic feature has changed up what I find where, to the point that on this go-round, I managed to stockpile a metric ton of shotguns and barely found anything else besides them and 9mm pistols until the last time I played. Also, the spawning neighbors are kinda dynamic as well. Aside from the usual suspects (Marcus, Ed, Maya, Jacob, Sam) who spawns in where is kind of random. I didn't get Ismiael this time, but I got some chick named Nicole Spivey who, quite frankly, worked out better (cardio bonus, high carry weight, powerhouse, no detrimental character flaws, and Sam's NPC voice actress). Found a couple of the people I had before on previous games but some of them, no. Makes me wonder how many NPCs are actually programmed in the rotation besides the hard scripted ones?

I'm guessing it was a glitch on my last game, but anyone with "Powerhouse" traits seems as though should be able to carry 4 consumable items. Last time, only Marcus could carry 4s. EVERYONE ELSE could only max at 3, even with the trait.

I decided to hole up in the farmhouse this time instead of the trucking company. Granted, it isn't as big as the warehouse or the fairgrounds, but it's pretty square in the center of the map, and once you get a hang of navagating the farmlands, it's a pretty decent place to be able to have a decent amount of time to reach missions before they expire and still hit everywhere the story takes you... though I personally had to park a few shitty cars in strategic places as landmarks for getting around at night. Running to find said cars helped build up cardio, though, so win/win.

Been continuing my save and noticed a lot of hordes forming and attacking my home base which I never had during my 'first' play through. It's nice that everyone comes out and starts smashing heads.

Working my way through some remaining achievements, still got to kill a Big Un with a car and clear five infestations in one day. May have to restart to get that one as they aren't showing up much now. How do you get the double handed kill one?

TU3 dropped the other day, I really like being able to get someone to watch your back on missions or running around now.

The "double handed" thing is a skill you can get from fighting, but I don't remember what trait builds to it (I think powerhouse people give you the option between this and "pro wrestling"). Once you pick that perk, just get in a sitch where you get to use it; fighting a small group of 2-3 zeds and use the skill. Just don't try it with a horde without support (or at least the "combat endurance" trait. They're too fast and too many and your biggest enemy will be the massive stamina drain from all the dodging.

Like I said before on the Big Un, soften it up with a gun/explosives of your choice, then back into it 2-3 times with a modern pickup. Don't use an airstrike (instakill) and don't do it near home (the watchtower guard seems to plug it in a few shots no matter what gun they have; you might not even be able to start the car before its dead).

The 5 infestations I got with help from that Law mission. 2 in the mission before the search and rescue inturrupts going to 3, went back to clear the 3rd one that appeared, then I helped a friend clear one on the map and had one brewing that I had passed on the way to the mission in the first place. I guess an easier way would be just not to clear them when you pass them until Lily complains about having too many, THEN clearing them, THEN doing the first Law mission. That should net you the 5 in one day.

Nice, will give it a try and see. Thinking I'll still have to restart for it though once I've got everything else.

Wish the PC version of this would come out already.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/09/20/st...utm_medium=emp

Finally coming to steam!

NO keyboard/mouse support so far.

:lol:

So, bumping this because Lifeline. And I guess Breakdown as well.

I like State of Decay as a whole. Even with sup-par graphics in this day and age and glitchfests, it still manages to be a pretty fun romp into the zompocalypse. The one thing that manages to piss me off about this game, however, is getting people killed not from lack of skill or planning or "whoops, I fucked up" mistakes, but cheap bullcrap. And the expansions don't seem to correct this issue. In fact, it seems to be worse in Lifeline.

I had a whole diatribe detailing my issues with the expansions, but they were too numerious and lengthy. To try to make a summary, I would have to simply say that:

1) the core mechanics of stat building and influence points doesn't work as well in Lifeline as it does in campaign or Breakdown. Military weaponry is too expensive and heavy, and influence is harder to come by, so you can end up with a ton of weapons or ammo you can't use because you don't have the points to take them out the box.

2) the cheap spawning has gotten worse, and it no longer applies just to ferals spawning directly behind you from a spot you JUST had the camera and there was nothing there. Now, normal zeds will magically pop in 10 feet away, and not just in Lifeline's "Danger Zones" where they intentionally perpetually spawn. I got trapped in a building once because they kept appearing at the window and climbing in to rush me. The more I killed, the more would spawn.

3) the NPC AI sucks in Lifeline. I guess they tried to make it "more challenging", but just standing there getting gangbanged by zeds, being downed easier, and not getting back up without 100% player intervention is more of a chore than a challenge, especially when someone will just let themselves die because you ran out of stamina fighting off 6 or 7 zeds, and the last one still gets to chow down because you are unable to act and they don't get back up unless you kill all the threats to them while downed.

Disappointing. Was thinking of getting back into this game too.

Yes, as a major fan who was looking foward to Lifeline, I was gutted. So much potential, too. I got it with Live Rewards points instead of actually buying it, so it lessen'd the blow, but still.

Breakdown is still ok, though. It's basically the campaign, but the survivors you gain are randomized (except "Heroes"- most, but not all, of which are storyline characters with boosted starting stats that are unlocked by completing challenges). The supplies don't respawn, and after you've pilfered all you can, you have to "move on" in the RV with theoretically 7 of your best (there's an exploit around that, though, and you can pretty much bring everybody, but the more people you have at a home base, the more your resources drain when you stop playing and come back). Zeds get tougher, and vechicles seem to get weaker on each increasing level.

In short, Breakdown is worth going back to. I'm going to suffer through Lifeline because I want to 100% this game. Again.

Besides, I found an exploit that helps out. The first couple of missions are semi-scripted, and you don't suffer a seige at any point. If you have the patience to grind building up the base and going supply fetching with a truck, you can stack up some influence by gathering supplies and weapons you're not going to use, and trading them for things you actually will be using. You can have most of the neccessary facilities up and running, and your first starting character pretty well stacked in stats, if not maxed, by the time you finish the first mission and finally let the game save. It's a shame you have to cheat the system to have any kind of fighting chance, though.

That reminds me, they did add a new mechanic in Lifeline of being able to load cargo into vehicles. This includes rucksacks. My favorite tank, the Modern Pickup, has the awesome capacity of "6" slots. And rucks only take one like everything else. And the cargo stacks like supply boxes, so that 3 item limit you have in your personal inventory can be circumvented with a nearby vehicle that will stack more in the same slot. And vehicles don't deal in influence trading, so you can keep a small arsenal on you in a grabable spot. I haven't gone back to see if this has been added to campaign or Breakdown, but if it is, that's a total game changer. Especially for Breakdown.

Addendum: it *DOES* apply to the main game. Just tested the theory.

So, I'm bumping this because of the XBONE re release. I reserved it. Cool giving a discount on the preorder for owners of the previous version. Here's hoping the cheap nonsense has been fixed along with the fresh graphical paintjob.

Waiting on gameplay vids to make my decision. Wanted to get it on 360, but it was pretty messed up :(

Meh. I'll take the good with the bad.

There are things that still could have been improved besides how the game looks. However, some tweaks made:

-Everyone now has an emergency unarmed melee attack. If you get caught with a weapon break, you don't just do that dumbass shove all the time. Instead, you have a knife/icepick/screwdriver/shank that you stab zeds in he head area with. There seems to be a mechanic involved with direction pressing along with the attack button to overpower the target, or they bite back, but there is no explanation, so I haven't quite gotten it down. Especially since I don't make it a habit of not having an actuall weapon.

-I've yet to experience the "Feral spawning right behind you on an empty road" thing this time. Major plus.

-Backing into Big Uns don't explode a truck in exactly 4 hits anymore. In fact, the structural integrity of heavier vehicles seems improved. Wheels also don't warp into the ground causing vehicle damage by just driving around normally.

-Lifeline now does away with the Influence system for items in the box. You still need it to improve basecamp and keep the defences up, but you dont get hamstrung trying to get a better/replacement gun or ammo.

-You also get a little more breathing room on how fast the Seige timer elapses. You have a chance to complete more than one task before having to rush home to defend.

-You're able to continue playing previous saves from 360... provided you fire it up one more time to export the save so you can import it on the One. Helpful if you don't feel like starting Breakdown over again.

-CLEO drops are a nice extra challenge, but its best t8 send someone with heavy artillery and already halfway decent to maxed wits, because the beacon is loud as fuck, and attracts loads of zombies, and each one usually has at least two specials hanging around (not counting SWATs as specials, even though they are. Specifically mean the problematic ones.) It doesn't shut up until you search it, and if a zed is too close, it'll inturrupt you from shutting the noise off.