Zombox

So I’m done creating the various zombie types that will appear in the game, and I’m officially sick of painting textures!

Some of these will only be able to spawn in certain areas, but others (the more generic ones) will be able to spawn anywhere.

Next thing on the todo list is to create their various special attacks and behaviors, and incorporate them all into the zombie spawning engine.

(Click the image for a full-size view)

Thanks to everyone for your continued support this year. My New Year’s resolution is to release Zombox sometime in 2013!

Hope you’re all enjoying the holiday break…look for another big Zombox update soon!

(Click the image for a wallpaper sized version)

 

So one of the things I’m currently implementing in Zombox, is a more interesting world and more interesting types of zombies.

Currently, the game features a plain city with a single zombie type of various sizes. I displayed a teaser image of the new zombie animals in the last post, but I’m also adding all kinds of other zombies.

The new city is going to feature more interesting ‘zones’. Farms, shipyards, marshes, graveyards, etc. And each of these zones will feature unique zombies relevant to that specific zone. Some of these zombies will also have special behaviors and attacks to keep things interesting.

Here is a teaser image of some of the new zombie types. I still have about 25 more to make. If you have any suggestions for cool zombie types, post them here and they might make it in the game!

My life has settled down a bit so I’m able to work on Zombox again!

Here’s a taste of things to come…

Hey guys,

Many of you are wondering when the next update will be. The reason for the lack of updates is because I’ve been swamped with work and haven’t had a chance to dive back into Zombox. Because Zombox is just a hobby project and my real job takes priority, that can happen sometimes.

So that’s why there haven’t been any updates lately, and there probably won’t be another one for a little while. But don’t worry…I have big things in store for the future!

In the meantime, check out this awesome Zombox figure my brother made out of wood! My brother also makes all kinds of crazy stop-motion animations, and you can see his stuff on his website www.terryibele.com.

That’s all for now! Thanks for your continued support!

Small update this week!

All items now have a weight (although many light items have a weight of zero), and each character can only carry so much. This will make choices about which items you choose to carry with you more important.

Also, Susan is now able to use guns, and Roy can now used 2-handed weapons. The consequence is that Susan cannot carry as much as the other characters, and Roy’s 2-handed melee attack is much slower than the other characters’ 2-handed attacks. The reason for this change is that I found the no-gun/no-2-handed-weapon limitation that those characters previously had to be quite annoying during gameplay, rather than challenging. By taking away the item restrictions and replacing them with a more flexible restriction, it’s more fun to play as those characters.

The following images show where the item weight data is displayed in the character inventory, as well as the Fitness Center upgrades — one which now allows you to increase the amount of weight you can carry:

As mentioned in the last update, I’ve been working on the new passive item system and now it’s fully implemented.

As a reminder, passive items are stat boosters that can be swapped in and out of the main passive item slot at the top of the screen.

There are 39 passive items in total right now, which fit into the following categories:

Shields: These block or dampen attacks that hit them. Each shield has different properties…some shields just block attacks, some block and deflect damage onto the attacker, some can be used to shove attackers onto the ground, etc.

When using a 1-handed weapon, the shield is held by your left arm in front of you. When using a 2-handed weapon, the shield is carried on your back. Since the shield only protects the area that it covers, how you carry it affects what part of your body it protects.

Watches: These affect the speed at which different things occur in the game. For example, some watches speed up your ability to pick locks, others extend the length of time special attacks remain activated before requiring a recharge, etc.

Music Players: The adrenaline rush from listening to awesome tunes with these players while fighting the undead hordes gives you damage/defense boosts, at the cost of electricity.

Health Monitors: Breathing monitors, heart rate monitors, step counters….these various monitors measure your vitals as you move throughout the environment. The more steps you take, the more bonuses these monitors will provide for you. Depending on which one you’re using, they can earn you HP, XP or both based on the distances you walk.

Bracelets: These bracelets of various shapes and sizes give you a health boost each time you successfully land a critical hit on a zombie.

Necklaces: Necklaces offer a variety of stat boosts. Some increase critical hit strength, some boost defense, and some allow firearms to shoot through multiple targets. Necklaces are sort of a ‘catch-all’ for cool passive bonuses that don’t fit into other categories.

Armor: From wrist guards to historical pauldrons, these armor pieces offer the player various defense boosts.

I also created a lock pick item that can be used to open any locked items in the game. Pete is the only character that can pick locks without using it. A backpack item has been added as well, which allows you to increase the size of your inventory when you start the game, you only have 4 available inventory slots, and must purchase the backpack upgrade to unlock all 12 slots).

I also implemented some of the other upgrades from the upgrade menu….for example, the upgrades which allow zombies to drop HP boosts when killed instead of just dropping coins.

Here are some images and .gifs which demonstrate some of these new features.

I’ve been changing some things and working on a new ‘passive item’ system.

Passive weapons and items are equippable items (similar to certain special types of in-game clothing) that offer a defense/stat boost. You don’t have to do anything other than place them in the passive-item socket to reap their benefit (hence why they are considered passive).

Current types of passive items include shields, protective pads, music players, bracelets, watches, necklaces and more.

So for example, if you have a shield equipped, zombies that hit the shield won’t be able to do as much damage. If you have elbow pads equipped, you’ll have an overall defense boost. If you have a heart rate monitor equipped, you’ll regain a certain amount of HP for walking certain distances. Etc etc… Each one offers a unique benefit to the player, and you’ll be able to swap them in and out like any other socketable item so you can strategically choose the best situation to use them in.

Below is an image showing where they’ll appear in the layout.

 

 

So as I implement all the character upgrades, I’ve been re-thinking a few of them.

One of the changes I made this week was having the special attacks occur after you charge your weapon with zombie hits, rather than at random intervals. This has the benefit of making special attacks a reward for fighting skill, while also allowing the player to strategically decide when to use them (because after you charge your weapon, you won’t go into special-attack mode until you tap the weapon icon).

Here’s an animated .gif showing how this works (the overlay text is for illustration only):

So I’ve been working on getting the upgrade system actually implemented into the game.

The upgrade menu can now be opened by clicking your character in the inventory panel. The various categories in the upgrade menu can be examined by clicking the arrows to the right and left of the category name at the bottom. The actual upgrades for each category can be examined by clicking the arrows under each upgrade animation.

The main guy in the upgrade animations is no longer nude, and instead he adopts whatever clothing your character is wearing.

Also, I’m about half-way done implementing all of the actual upgrades into the game. There are now special attacks you can perform, all kinds of stat bonuses, special items to get, etc…all purchasable with upgrade points within the upgrade menu. And in case it wasn’t clear, every time you gain a level from earning XP (by killing zombies, performing quests, etc), you get a new upgrade point you can spend in the Upgrade Depot.

The following animated .gifs demonstrate how the animated menu looks, and a few of the special attacks (special hand attacks, special 1-handed melee weapon attacks and special 2-handed melee weapon attacks)