Looks fun! Online multiplayer will be?

No current plans for multiplayer, unfortunately.

It could be great to have some aggressive-by-default NPCs too so it's not always you who end up being the bad guy.

This is a very good idea

Eventually there will also be lots of other various in the NPCs.

Some won't want to talk, some will be aggressive like you said, some will be crazy, some will be scared/timid.

[Zombox]

This week's addition to Zombox: NPCs!



NPCs can work with you, or attack you, depending on how you treat them.

Here's a more in-depth description of all the new NPC features.

wut do you do in there lol

The sewers are where you interact with other NPCs...buying, selling, talking, etc.

[Zombox]

New updates to Zombox this week!

The world now features an elaborate, underground sewer system that you can explore by entering/exiting various manholes throughout the city. The sewer system features shops, medic stations, etc, and will eventually be filled with NPCs -- the remaining survivors of the apocalypse -- who you'll be able to interact with.

Here's the overall layout of the 3 main sewers (the largest one is still a work-in-progress):



Here's a .gif showing the player entering a sewer, looking around a bit, and then exiting:

Thanks guys!

I'm working on the underground subway system and NPCs now :D

This week's Zombox update:

- more craftable items! Pipe bombs, molotovs, crossbows with explosive and flammable projectiles, and more!

Here's a .gif showing the molotov in action.

Here's a .gif showing the fire bow in action.

Here's a .gif showing the pipe bomb in action.

Here's a .gif showing the boom bow in action.

- now you can barricade doorways! Barricading a door gives it some extra HP, which makes it harder for zombies to knock it down. Here's a .gif showing the player barricading some doors.

- a new food system requires the player to eat at regular intervals, to prevent starvation. Here's what the food notification icon looks like (top right corner):

Here are a couple of teaser images from this week's upcoming progress report, where I'll introduce some new craftable weapons.

Is that a fiery crossbow and a flaming flyswatter? :D

More updates to Zombox this week!

New weapons can be crafted, building supplies can be gathered from fallen debris, the construction tool has been updated with repair/destroy models, and new particle effects have been added.

Watch this video to see all the new features!:

Haha! That is SO awesome!

awesome! Will the play be able to rebuild broken store fronts?

Yup!

Zombox now features building construction!

Players can now create their own fortifications for fending off the zombie attacks.

Also, I'm working on implementing a crafting system, so players can use debris found throughout the world to construct the objects necessary to create walls and doorways.

Click here to read more about the latest changes on the devblog. Or, view the following animations to see the building system in action!

[Zombox]

Plenty of new updates to Zombox over the last couple of weeks.

The zombie AI system was completely re-hauled. Instead of having perfect knowledge of the player's whereabouts, zombie intelligence is now sight/sound based. Zombies won't attack targets unless they can see them, and will wander towards nearby sounds. This means you can do things like distract zombies with sound while heading in an opposite direction, or sneak up on zombies from behind. Zombies will also try to break down the doors of a building if they feel there is a viable target inside.

Zombie swarming was also greatly improved to prevent pesky zombie-to-zombie, zombie-to-player and zombie-to-prop intersections.

Other improvements to the game involve preventing weapons from being able to hit zombies/props through walls, and adding an in-icon ammo counter for active items.

Here are some .gifs showcasing some of the above changes to the game. The first two animated .gifs show zombies chasing the player and breaking down the doors of the building the player is inside. The third .gif shows some of the improved swarming (sped up to 200%), and the fourth .gif shows the active item ammo counters (as well as what happens to the icon when the player runs out of ammo).

Yea, I've been working as an animator for about 7 years...just hadn't dabbled in game design. Now I feel like I missed out on so much, since I didn't start earlier!

Yup! One man show, so far

My first attempt at making a game as well. There was a steep learning curve, but overall it's been a lot of fun.

Thanks guys!

This is brilliantly herpy-derpy

"Herpy-derpy" is the exact aesthetic I'm aiming for, so this is the best compliment I could get

Just don't let the zombie theme inhibit you from making interesting AI.

The zombie AI is getting re-written this week as we speak. The new AI will be sense-based, with zombies reacting to sight and sound, rather than having an omniscient knowledge of the player's whereabouts...among other things

Thanks guys!

As for enemy variety....there will eventually be zombie animals, hostile NPCs, zombies will various attacks (for example, some might puke and leave a deadly trail of vomit you'll want to avoid, etc). I don't think I'm going to go in the route of other monster types like werewolves and slimes, though, since the focus is still a zombie apocalypse.

[Zombox]

More updates to Zombox this week!

-XP system
-Medkits/ammo items
-inventory GUI updated to show ammo counters

Here are two .gif animations and an image showcasing the above changes:

Lots of new Zombox updates this week!

Here's a sample of the changes:

-broken bridges, dead end streets and building fences added to the environment.
-lots of new items added to the world, including rotten/fresh food items, ripped/clean clothing items. The stats of each item is dependent on its quality. A rotten apple, for example, will not replenish as much HP as a fresh one. The game now features over 650 unique items to find and purchase.
-eating/drinking functionality has been added to the inventory panel, and animations corresponding to each action are triggered when you feed your character
-stats are displayed in numeric form in the inventory window
-an HP bar pops up momentarily for anything (props or zombies) damaged in the world, so you can see how many hit points it has left
-the main character now gets bloody when injured.

Here are some images and an animated .gif showing these new features: