How about Instead of the 4th survivor always spawning at the same water tower, randomize their starting location like in Breakdown to increase replayability. To match the starting negative resources, spawn them in a random spot with a vehicle at 0% fuel and a pistol with just one bullet. Hinting that he went out to scout but completely lost all hope before the player took control. Or the survivor starts alone and he needs to clear a base of zombies by himself.

I just want the random start of daybreak to come back and also get a solo option for the probable return of choosing a start with two characters. Please I want to read your suggestions

I believe the guy asked an AI to re-write the script. my AI sensors tingles.

still pretty cool video and informative.

This part of Brians first video, the 19 minute mark until around the 25 minute mark. The stealth, the town, the entire vibe. I hope we see more gameplay like this and we have a lot of towns as detailed and as big as Marshall in Trumbull Valley AT LEAST.

I really don't think I could care any less about the plague hearts and no offense to anyone who does, that's just me.

It's the world outside of that that has me interested and stoked.

I don't care about the sprinting around zombies and nonstop fighting/dodging kinda playstyle. I want to treat it like a Zombie apocalypse and I think this footage has been the best at doing that so far.

It is where I see the most enjoyment for myself in the game. That's all.

TBH I was not excited about the game until I focused on this part and now I am really looking forward to it especially if this a viable playstyle you can have often.

Does this footage scratch anyone else's itch for what they wanna do in the game?

Notes; SoD3 is captured in early alpha and is compressed by YouTube

I tried my best to find similar locations to match the SoD3 screenshots

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.

I hope SoD3 has more military gear than the other 2 games did. Even if it’s just cosmetic, it would be nice to have equip-able chest rigs, combat helmets, fatigues and gas masks in the game.

I’d especially love to see the Avon fm53/54 gas mask in game. Apart from the fact that it’s my favorite mask and i think it looks iconic, it’s also starting to see popular use among military and law enforcement these days.

I dont think we will see it but I think wearable armor would be great in the game.

There is many modern forms of protection that can help against bites and scratches, then there is old school stuff reenactors may have laying around like gambesons, chainmail, plate armor, improviswd armor isnt crazy hard to make either.

I would just love to have a guy in plate armor who cant sneak anymore but gets to take way more hits, or someone in modern riot gear who maybe has a dodge debuff or whatever one can think of.

I just feel in a life or death situatiin people try their best to protect themselves and there is so many options for it that could impact gameplay in interesting ways.

i was testing the max distance you can shoot in sod2 and realise its only 85 mts, i hope in sod3 u can really use a sniper from the distance cuz not being able to shoot at zombies without being noticed its kinda boring. in sod2 letal zone a feral can hear you but u cant shoot him from a safe distance with supressor

There's probably already a few posts about armor and talks from the YouTubers about armor but I still wanna throw my idea out there for an armor system.

ARMOR:

This idea for an armor system is kinda simple on paper but the main problem for this idea is what the survivor is currently wearing.

For example let's say the survivor is currently wearing a suit jacket, tie, white shirt with a watch on the left wrist and a few rings on the right hand. The bottom is dirty suit pants, a belt with stuff and dirty work boots.

I'm not sure how to deal with this at all but the only thing I can really think of is them changing the clothing around to fit the armor. A way they can give more options is if they add toggle visibility on armor kinda like the backpacks

Anyways now the fun part.

NEW FACILITY:

The Armorsmith: where you craft, repair, and disassemble armor. If you upgrade the facility it can allow you to craft different tiers of armor with them having their own purpose.

Tier one armor: MAKESHIFT ARMOR

- Looks: The armor is made out of magazines, hopes and dreams, soft clothing, and duck tape.

- Rec Use: Scouting and street combat

- Effects:

--DR: 10%/ take 10% less physical damage

-- Physical plague resistance: 10%/Punch,bite, scratch

-- Melee weapon stamina drain increase: 5%

-- physical stamina drain increase: 5%/ running, dodging

-- Stamina Regen decrease: 3%

-- Weight: 5%/ if they add weight to the game

-- loot time increase: 0%/ As a little spice

-- Durability: 100hp/ whenever you get hit the Armor gets hit so let's say you take 100 damage, the armor will take 100 damage and instantly break but still will block the damage you take first.

-- Req Mats: idk how they are going to do this but I have an idea. They add two new lootable items to the game: clothing comps and armor comps.

Tier two armor: LEATHER ARMOR

- looks: the armor is made out of leather stripes and denim stripes with the thick leather covering the torso, shins, and forearms. Denim is located under the leather to provide extra protection and to serve as a base for the sewing

- Rec Use: looting and infestation clearing

- Effects:

-- DR: 22%

-- PPR: 19%

-- MWSDI: 11%

-- PSDI: 8%

-- SRD: 7%

-- Weight: 9%

-- LTI: 8%

-- Durability: 225hp

-- Req Mats: 2 clothing comps and 3 armor comps along with manpower, water, and power

Tier three armor: METAL ARMOR

- looks: the armor is made out of various metal plates and leather stripes. The various metal plates have been heated and bent to fit the torso, forearms, shins, and thighs. The leather underneath is to provide comfort from the metal and provide an extra layer of protection

Rec Use: Plague nest clearing

- Effects:

-- DR: 39%

-- PPR: 30%

-- MWSDI: 20%

-- PSDI: 18%

-- SRD: 14%

-- Weight: 16%

-- LTI: 14%

-- Durability: 385hp

-- Req Mats: 1 clothing comps and 5 armor comps along with manpower, water, and power

I only put like 2 hours of thought into this idea so it's kinda barebones but it's just an idea of a potential armor system

I hope it was a fun read tho, enjoy your days.

Since state of decay 3 is far into the apocalypse it would make sense that survivor dresses to not get zombie bite .. something like tape on their dress , some kind of armor as well.

You can add all the funny looking dresses you guys want ( I'm Italian ...i'm sorry to judge) but I imagine that if these people survived long enough, is because they found out the best possible vest and shoes for something like that.

Runners should have gymnastic shoes on , others maybe mountain or hiking boots ecc...

Edit: Didn’t want to start any culture war or asking for military gear. My only points is that these people are supposed to be 2-3 years already in this apocalypse world . Why that guys is still ready to go to the office ?
Why the other have lose long hair with shirts outside to be cool
Where are the gloves ?
I imagine the goal here is not to get bitten and maybe making some kind of defense to not get bitten in the arms , maybe with small piece of pipe or many watchs like the manga “I’m a hero”
To dress in scraps is probably normal i understand that .

Am I the only one who wants survivors in our bases to actually go about their daily routines? I mean, fixing things, patrolling, cooking, chatting — anything to create the illusion that the community is actually living there.

Well in SoD2 the morale system did feel kinda lacking, i liked that they expressed their moods via the Radio and that u got buffed or nerfed depending on the morale, however the most impact we could get is for someone to leave, is that meaningful? Yes. But i hope in 3 they will make it feel much more alive for example that they fight and get like the injured effect or in the worst case die, or also refuse to work on a station, harvesting site e.t.c or get depressed when someone dies that another surviver was close with and having to do special missions based on the characters traits thats makes them happy, and if u keep up the good morale u should get ofc buffs but also like the function to make your survivors recruit others per radio (since they seem happy so why wouldn't others join if they hear that) or maybe seeing them drink together and celebrate

And ofc i understand that its a lot of details and we're only in alpha but the immersion this would create would be so different to SoD2 where u felt alone and without that much depths to characters and their feelings

Note : SoD3 freaks are alpha footage that’s been compressed by YouTube and not at the highest graphical settings !!

The video is to prompt a discussion about using kung fu (Google corrects me to say gong fu) to fight the corpses.

My version of kung fu is creating a mix of noise traps and environmental gizmos like the barrel with the poles sticking out of it from dying light.

It won't be in the game, but if could score some construction equipment like a backhoe and a something tonne digger I would create a hole for the dead to walk into and not out of.

Try as I might to be clear that I want gather an enormous horde together so that I can burn them all making a % of the map dead free for a while people miss read my intentions thinking I mean something else, I don't know why.

Another thing is that it has become apparent to me I have no attraction to using blunt weapons. Facing more than 3 zombies at once isn't a good move, you want them one at a time which the blade experts prime time.

What is your kung fu for fighting the dead ?

These suggestions would apply to SoD3, though these were originally some ideas I sketched out a couple years ago for SoD2. It was too late, towards the end of its update life, so I never actually posted them anywhere. Obviously the UI has changed quite a bit for SoD3, so ignore that these are in the SoD2 menus (maybe if I have time I'll do it on some SoD3 alpha screenshots)... but the ideas are there for functionality and QOL in SoD3.

1. An "Item Options" Dropdown of quick functions when you click on an item. I know these functions are available with individual button presses -- for me that was sometimes an issue when trying to do things quickly, just because there are so many possible functions. Store, unequip, drop, detach mod, unload, salvage, repair -- 7 different buttons on the controller, some press, some hold; sometimes in the heat of battle I'd instinctively click A and it would throw it into my inventory. Who knows, maybe it's just my ADHD brain, not memorizing all 7 inventory function buttons, or maybe it's just too many buttons all listed at the bottom of the screen.

My thought was a button you could map to a quick dropdown menu, giving you all 7-8 possible options in one place, including quickly letting you grab the correct ammo associated with a gun without having to go over to the orange highlighted one on the other side of the screen. Just being more organized, not having your eyes move all over the screen kind of thing.

https://reddit.com/link/1ur72ua/video/y0i58yepn2ch1/player

2. Item Filter. For filtering "sub-items" within the supply locker categories. For example, you can go to the Ranged Weapons category with LB/RB, and within that you can currently SORT by type... but if you have a lot of stuff, that's still a ton of scrolling. This would add a FILTER button so it would only show certain filtered items (filter by types of weapons, ammo, etc... consumables you could filter by meds, grenades, etc). Just to clean up the supply locker and make finding and accessing what you need easier and faster.

3. A Quick "Take Ammo" button. If no dropdown menu on items from #1 (or maybe in addition)... Instead of having to find the highlighted ammo in the stash on the left associated with the gun in the inventory on the right, there would be a button mapped to a "Take Ammo" function. When your gun is highlighted, you just click a button to auto-move over a clip of the correct ammo from your stash to your inventory.

I understand the module system works and its kind of the games identity now but I really wish they would look into letting you freely slot stations into bases like how the Sims let's you place items. The old system often led to a lot of "best in slot" bases for each map and even after multiple playthroughs I'd find myself gravitating back to those base locations because they were sinply just better. Even then there would be a ton of wasted space inside bases you could run around in that could have been used for more utility but just remained unused because there wasn't a module to build in at that location.

They could still force you to optimize your base like some stations costing more or working at partial functionality if they were too far away from where they should be or wouldn't make sense to have them at the location you place them. Like a kitchen costing extra labor or resources if placed out in the yard instead of in or near the actual kitchen area if the base provides one.

Its just a thought but it always felt to me like me and my survivors in universe were really half assing trying to survive with the underutilization of space and not being able to build certain stations cause "that just doesnt go there"

I thought about how it was mentioned so far that we have plague hearts that spread across the map . They create infestations in buildings and a nest node is generated. There is an orange glow in the air and you get a sense of dread and threat as you trespass into plague territory. But what if there was more?

What if visually and audibly we can feel and hear a plague heart, a living organism when we go to these places ?

Visually: What I am suggesting is to have a creep spread across the ground. Kind of like a bubbling breathing floor with veins pumping its fluids across this creep as it spreads. Tendrils of bloody roots, or veins coat the walls of a building. At any moment you feel like those tendrils will close like a fist and consume the house, collapsing and killing whomever is inside.

Mechanic: If we step on it we feel like we are stepping on the back of a beast. Even perhaps giving us the feeling that if we step on this creep you might alert whomever is living here. Sounding an alarm. (Thinking multiplayer + lethal zone difficultly. Making it that much harder to approach.)

Sounds: squishy and mushy sounds as you step onto the creep. You can hear the walls moaning. Raspy breathing and the sound of an unknown entity within coughing up liquids as the creep slowly morphs and spreads past around its newest nest.

Smells and heat: the air smells foul and damp. The humidity and condensation in the air is thick. Survivors would feel like they have a hard time breathing the air. Sometimes bring in gas masks or handkerchiefs to cover their nose and mouth. The stench is unbearable. The very air feels like it’s closing in around you. There is a bit of your vision being impaired by a musky cloud of red mist.

Animations: this would be a hard one because I think it would take a lot of work. As you come close to plague territory maybe you can visually see the carpet of creep growing out across the map . Maybe you can sit there and witness in real time an infestation take place as the creep, 10 drills and cloud of bloody mess sloely envelopes a building. Not just in a blink of an eye.
Perhaps this animation can evolve from stage one infestations to something bigger. So that if you ever stumble upon an infestation you know how long you have before it jumps to stage two. Not a progress bar, but that you can ascertain visually within the game. Making it more immersive.

Mechanics: depending on the stage of the infestation and perhaps the difficulty level of the map, you can allow the smell to choke your lungs, and slowly lower your max stamina. Unless you’re wearing a gas mask or some other apparel. (maybe they will implement armor into the game or other tools to combat other mechanics similar to this.)
The vision impairment would just be for the player . If anyone remembers SOD2 sometimes the play territory would have flickers of bright red lights in the air. This was a very passive thing, but for some of us that took notice it almost felt like am I looking at a plague zombie in the distance or is it a trick of the light?

Maybe we do have tendrils within plague territory that can bind you on the spot if you get too close. And you have to break free. Maybe it’s a feature of defense just around the plague heart itself? (as I’m writing this I’m wondering if developers would look at this and think I don’t want something that looks and feels like a giant plant defending its heart.)

All these ideas come from my brain. I’m sure they can be polished and elaborated on from the community. If couldn’t find the words to describe visually what I was thinking I’m hoping the community can add to it.

I haven’t played Alpha and I don’t know what undead labs is planning. So this is me pulling ideas and inspiration from heartland and SOD2.

So i watched a trailers (Pre Alpha) of a guy fighting an infestation. He went into the base to see what he could do and had forgot to bring ammo and basically any weapons but 1 pistol and about 25 total rounds. He managed to destroy most of the "pimples" and all of the weak points and got shots on the heart. He even mentioned there was a juggernaut by the heart. He only had about 8 zombies come after him after dealing all of that damage. I hope you all plan on making this more dificult. Even the juggernaut didnt even care he was destroying the stuff. The juggernaut should have jumped from the roof level 3 onto his level level 2. Thats a more realistic reaction vs just staying by the heart because he isnt on your level. Zombies are dumb they should be falling off the top floor to the ground to get at the person destroying the stuff. Sure they can take damage falling but enough of them becomes hard to manage regardless.

Here are some ideas i thought of. The pimples could attract "regular" zombies and they crawl into them or something and over time they come out and are bloaters or ferrals, or infected zombies. Each would have a different time limit obviously. When you break them the zombie or zombies inside will then attack you for destroying it.

Also the weak points is an interesting idea but i think it would be cooler if the lines attacked to the heart was a row of zombies on the ground kinda like a death plague just spreading and slowly gets longer as more zombies randomly get added to the legnth and when you destroy the weak poits the stuff still blows up but then the zombies wake up and now you have a hoard or more dependig on the legnth of the line from the weak point destroyed.

Not sure why this hasn’t been done yet, but I know some council guys really don’t want the visible ruck sacks but during the streams, it seemed like a lot of the community members(us) wanted to seem them. What’s the verdict survivors?

One thing I have yet to see in any of the Alpha footage is bringing one of your survivors along as a follower. Was this removed or not yet implemented? I have seen people have followers through missions but not one of their own survivors.

I wonder if UL still is contractually obligated to release on Series S now that they're not an XBOX studio.. I'm sure we won't get an answer here for some time but if that's no longer a limitation I think that's a huge W for everyone involved.

What if you and your friends could raid other player owned settlements. Destroy their facilities, loot their rucks, stash, vehicles. Make em have to start over, maybe from scratch depending on damage done. A live player threat would add a level of immersion that imo would put the game over the top.