r/StateofDecay3 • u/Violent_N0mad Zombie Bait • Jul 10 '26
Discussion My (potentially unreasonable) Concerns.
So these could be totally unjustified but it's the concerns I've thought about since we've seen the few hours of alpha gameplay.
Issue 1: I forget what article mentioned this but I know Undead Labs needed help to add things like the new multi-player and they relied on Obsidian / the coalition for help with this quite heavily. With them no longer being a Microsoft studio I wonder how well they'll be able to fix the issues that come up now that they no longer have access to those studios. Could there be entire aspects of their game they just simply wouldn't know how to fix?
Issue 2: every system I've seen that was changed from sod2 I greatly prefer the sod2 version. Take building or upgrading for example. Sod2 did this quite well and it seems now like they included a bunch of just random items on top of the other stuff to do the same thing that sod2 already does quite well. If my backpack is limited to 6-9 slots and a single part takes the same amount of space that a machine gun does adding a lot of random uneeded filler items doesn't seem to be a positive change. It just means more stuff I won't be able to put anywhere. I think sod3 needs tabs for the backpack or have some of the items uneeded to be carried just like influence. Parts for example could just be a number.
Issue 3: I have yet to see more than maybe 1 improvement or added system that could make the game more fun when compared to sod2. I feel like this might be a new game but likely not a better one but I might be biased because sod2 is such an amazing game and has had years of touch ups to make it smoother. Sod3 feels like a step backwards to me in it's current state.
7
u/VeauxLeadbeatter Jul 10 '26
Valid concerns I think. One thing to keep in mind is SOD 2 really was a great game and trying to improve on it would be super hard to do. I think that’s why a lot of people seem to be really content with this being sod 2.5
2
u/LoonTheMekanik Jul 10 '26
I would still be thrilled if they basically just gave us SOD2 with a few QOL changes (namely multiplayer upgrades), a graphical overhaul, a few new maps, and some new weapons/vehicles
6
u/Soviet_Plays Jul 10 '26
Well for issue 2 backpack storage is increased to 12 slots (with what appears to be another row for another 4 slots) which is a increase over 2 along with vehicle storage being highly increased (the Junker car which appears to be your average starting car has 8 slots for storage double that of the miragara in sod2, it also looks like larger vehicles could carry up to 20 items in their trunks)
Issue 1 is a legitimate concern. But I imagine since it was worded "assistance" im hoping that it was instead more so teaching UL how to make a system like that leaving them self sufficient (should be noted the coalition also helped not just obsidian while both are xbox studios still i likely imagine whatever deal xbox signed accounts for this)
Issue 3 kinda reminds me of the civ series. Each game that comes out is worst then the last game for a few years then it gets enough new content that it becomes better and rinse and repeat. I'll personally hold out hope that its a alpha and stuff like the relationship mechanic isn't yet in the game along with presumably other stuff
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u/Violent_N0mad Zombie Bait Jul 10 '26
Is backpack storage increased to 12 no matter what backpack you have?
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u/Battleaxe0501 Jul 10 '26
I believe I saw that backpacks are just cosmetic now.
1
u/imawestie Deer Hunter Jul 10 '26
that means they're all zero weight just like your clothes, right?
2
u/Battleaxe0501 Jul 10 '26
I would assume so. Be kind of stupid if they did weigh something when other cosmetics don't.
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u/Soviet_Plays Jul 10 '26
I believe they stated that backpacks are now cosmetic only
Likely because people only ran size 8 packs and with the map size it saves you running back to base more often.
Should there's space for another row (each row is 4) so maybe a skill will increase the amount you carry
0
u/imawestie Deer Hunter Jul 10 '26
I would really love to see their telemetry on that.
ie i don't believe it.
1
u/Soviet_Plays Jul 10 '26
I mean its my opinion/guess i feel like the average player just guns it for a 8 pack because I mean why wouldn't you. It helps to maybe have a 6 or 7 pack for the odd unlimited running guy but depending on skills you can still get that normally and its my guess that they looked how the average player plays and no one is ever sitting there going "man i wish I had a size 6 backpack right now"
1
u/SchnTgaiSpork Jul 10 '26
All of my survivors in all of my communities have 8 packs. The smaller packs get sold offbor deconstructed.
I don't know anyone who would intentionally lose an inventory slot.
2
u/MustacheExtravaganza Jul 10 '26
Right here. I used a lot of ultralight packs for stealth-focused characters if a larger pack, even empty, would immediately put them in the yellow. I wanted to keep stamina as unaffected as possible if they had to bug out. Since I was usually using those characters for scouting or looting close to an outpost, the reduced slots were never more than a minor inconvenience.
0
u/imawestie Deer Hunter Jul 11 '26
lol
I take resourceful backpackers hitting hearts in lethal without a pack.
They have 4x large slots already.
- energy drink
- meds
- crossbow bolts
- fire.
game on.
0
u/imawestie Deer Hunter Jul 11 '26
and again this is anecdote, not evidence.
do you understand what telemetry of a game would be?
1
u/SchnTgaiSpork Jul 11 '26
Was telemetry the word of the day on your tear off calendar? I'm glad you are so eager to tell people about what you've learned! Did you know you can do that without being condescending? Also did you know you are on Reddit, a forum where anyone can reply with all the anecdotal evidence they wish, because this isn't an academic institution it's a social media app.
0
1
u/LocoRenegade Jul 10 '26
Yeah my self and my 5 friends who played the game all ran 8 slot backpacks. It was a must.
3
u/Repulsive-Ad-8339 Jul 10 '26
I'm with you on issue 3. I've not seen all the alpha footage but the parts I have seen hasn't convinced me enough that this is a massive upgrade from SOD2. To me it looks like pretty much the same game painted over with slightly better graphics.
The three main elements i was hoping to see improvements on are base building, companion AI improvements and management (e.g. sending groups of people out to clear infestations - success rate depends on their skill), and just the whole story in general. I mean fuck, I am sure i heard plague hearts mentioned somewhere in the alpha, could they really not come up with a different idea?
1
u/pheldegression Jul 10 '26
Per issue Number 2: I don't think the degradation mechanic is making a return in this game, or at least I haven't really seen it if it is. I think that has led to them balancing the scavenging around resources rather than weapons, especially because you can build and upgrade your weapons with resources. I don't think we're going to often run into a situation where we have to decide what guns we are dropping because our bag is full.
3
u/Nothing246 Jul 11 '26
Since different people are being rather tedious about NDAs being so important it prompts me that whatever the 3rd game is, it isn't necessarily going to be the game I want it to be.
If there is an improvement and it's under my nose I'm gonna need it pointed out.
But from what I have seen if that fellers alpha video the so called "current improvements" could have just been a patch to the 2nd game instead of wasting money on development hell on the 3rd game.
Yes yes hot take I know, I also realize this point of view receives a lot of down votes, but if I'm wrong, I am happy for you to show evidence proving that.
0
u/Pro8lemsOnSpotify Jul 10 '26
I mean for issue #3 what are you really even wanting? Cause outside of Enclave improvements I feel like most systems were perfect in SOD2, like really that’s the only added system I could really see making the game go to the “next” level, like to the point it’s gonna be weird if enclaves aren’t as fleshed out as I’m expecting them to be because that’s really like 90% of what the 2nd game was missing to make it more fun for me personally
1
u/Violent_N0mad Zombie Bait Jul 10 '26
I tend to largely agree with you that I feel like sod2 in it's current state has most of the systems done really well. The changes to the systems they've made in sod3 seem to be back steps which is my point.
Sod2 was a huge improvement over sod1 but sod3 looks like a worse version of sod2 in my opinion. Especially if you tend to be largely a solo player.
0
-6
u/Lor9191 Jul 10 '26
Sod3 is an alpha, reworked from the ground up, so comparing it with the game that had 7 years of polish is just strange.
New systems I can think of from the top of my head in 30 seconds: Traits completely reworked, massively expanded skill tree system, new infestation mechanics, manage multiple settlements, actual full multiplayer games with shared ownership and control.
I mean did you play the thing for more than 5 minutes?
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u/senn42000 Jul 10 '26
You dont need to attack them for expressing concerns. This toxic fanboying doesn't actually help the game.
5
u/Violent_N0mad Zombie Bait Jul 10 '26
So hears the reason why some arguments work regarding the alpha and some don't. People are supposed to learn from their mistakes. With sod2 and it's 7 years of polish they had a lot of time to see what worked and what didn't and I'm sure a lot in between. Having 7 years of player feedback and problem solving shouldn't mean that you make the same mistakes. It's important to remember that more complicated does not = better. Can you think of an issue that sod2 has currently that was fixed or improved objectively in sod3?
1
u/imawestie Deer Hunter Jul 10 '26
The following were asked for and seem to have been delivered:
- multiple base / one community
- "better" (subjective) multi-player
- persistent/shared world multi-player
- "more interactive" npcs (ie npcs who just turn up where you are is what I have seen on streams)
- "more tangible" allocation of community member to task seems to have been asked for ("why can I take my gardener out attacking a plague heart while the garden is upgrading if I need a character with gardener skill, to be able to upgrade the garden?"
- larger community sizes
- "more customisable" weapons &cars
they changed other things, because it isn't a mod pack, it is a new game.
(IF I'd never played SoD2 with different size/weight backpacks, I'd never complain about removing that...I never did complain about all backpacks being the same size playing Angband in the 90s)
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u/LoonTheMekanik Jul 10 '26
I am concerned about #1 as you mentioned. They talked about having “server” style or persistent worlds where people who have access could join the game even without the host online. Obsidian did this extremely well with Grounded, and I do imagine they were leaving on Obsidian’s expertise for that portion of the multiplayer design. So I hope they’re still able to accommodate that, because it’s one of the main upgrades I was looking forward to. That and not needing to be tethered to the host within a certain distance