Hello hive!
I've been thinking for a while now and I came up with a 'zombie survival' game but in a bit different fashion. Okay, wall of text incoming!
The basic concept:
Most survival games put a small group of soldiers against a huge amount of zombies and the point of the game is the struggle for survival. What I'd like to create is more of an RTS in which you command multiple squads of soldiers to achieve objectives in infected environment. The survival part would be relatively easy to overcome with proper tactics and planning. The game would take place in urban environment with many houses that can be entered.
Game modes
Single player; zombie hunting co-op; multilayer firefight ([team A vs team B] + zombies)
Systems:
To make the map as fun as it should be it would require a projectile system and ammo count/inventory for soldiers.
- The projectile system would be crucial for the multiplayer as you could move your soldiers to cover and hide behind walls, cars, etc. Otherwise, it's just a nice touch, a little plus for snipers, and close quarter combat. (I never made a map using projectile systems yet so I don't know the technical details. Common sense says that 20 soldiers firing their rifles could cause some lag so the projectile system it might be off the agenda.)
- Ammo would increase the need for proper tactics. Each soldier on the map has a maximum amount of ammo he can carry while APCs would be able to resupply nearby allies. More about this below.
Units:
I'm not sure how it should be.
- The first setup would give you at maximum 4 soldiers (1 squad), each you control on their own.
- The second setup would be a bit more tricky. You get 2 squads or 1 APC. You can issue direct orders to a Squad Leader (SL), and use his spells to issue orders to squad mates who follow the SL. I favor the 2nd one but it could get annoying if not done properly. -> Needs rethinking
Unit types:
Basic military divisions seen in games:
- Fireteam (SL, Automatic rifleman, 2 Riflemen -> all purpose sq, good in clearing buildings, and fighting zombies in general)
- AT squad (SL, 1 AT rifleman, 1 carries extra ammo for AT -> good against APCs, special infecteds, not so good against zombies on it's own)
- Sniper squad (Spotter, Sniper -> good against special infected, enemy infantry)
- Combat engineer squad (SL, 3 combat enigneers -> can place sandbags set explosive charges or lay minefields if supported by an APC; can blow up bridges, maybe buildings walls?)
- APC or IFV (Good against infantry, can transport 2 squads, resupplies nearby infantry. Limited mobility, can't reach every area on the map.)
- Specialist squad (3 specialist infantry equipped with chemical protection suits and a flamethrower -> can clean highly infected areas, good against the mob, invulnerable to infection but has slow walk speed)
- Officer squad (Platoon leader, combat medic, rifleman, automatic rifleman -> Allows the placement of objective marks to help player coordination, medic can establish medical base to cure infection and heal soldiers; possible off-map support?)
APCs might look overpowered in a zombie game, and they actually are. The downside is that they can only move on the streets and take up the place of 2 squads. You will gain an upper hand on the streets, but clearing buildings is harder.
Infecteds:
Dunno. Had the idea of a guy who explodes, doing high damage, someone who infects nearby soldiers trough the air if not shot down in time. Maybe a tough guy like the tank from L4D. Need more ideas.
Objectives:
The objectives would be like missions you can pick at start. Things like, defend an area, clear an area, assault an infected hive/whatever-zombies-have, escort survivors, establish base etc.
For multiplayer, you have to higher score rating by the end of the match while you can constantly call in new units unimitedly, OR you have a limited amount of supplies and need to eliminate all enemies.
Duh. That's a tad longer than expected. Thoughts? Is this project worth starting or should I scrap the idea and go learn Galaxy Editor? ^^
(Note: I suck at map making so if anyone likes the idea, that much, go for it.)
I've been thinking for a while now and I came up with a 'zombie survival' game but in a bit different fashion. Okay, wall of text incoming!

The basic concept:
Most survival games put a small group of soldiers against a huge amount of zombies and the point of the game is the struggle for survival. What I'd like to create is more of an RTS in which you command multiple squads of soldiers to achieve objectives in infected environment. The survival part would be relatively easy to overcome with proper tactics and planning. The game would take place in urban environment with many houses that can be entered.
Game modes
Single player; zombie hunting co-op; multilayer firefight ([team A vs team B] + zombies)
Systems:
To make the map as fun as it should be it would require a projectile system and ammo count/inventory for soldiers.
- The projectile system would be crucial for the multiplayer as you could move your soldiers to cover and hide behind walls, cars, etc. Otherwise, it's just a nice touch, a little plus for snipers, and close quarter combat. (I never made a map using projectile systems yet so I don't know the technical details. Common sense says that 20 soldiers firing their rifles could cause some lag so the projectile system it might be off the agenda.)
- Ammo would increase the need for proper tactics. Each soldier on the map has a maximum amount of ammo he can carry while APCs would be able to resupply nearby allies. More about this below.
Units:
I'm not sure how it should be.
- The first setup would give you at maximum 4 soldiers (1 squad), each you control on their own.
- The second setup would be a bit more tricky. You get 2 squads or 1 APC. You can issue direct orders to a Squad Leader (SL), and use his spells to issue orders to squad mates who follow the SL. I favor the 2nd one but it could get annoying if not done properly. -> Needs rethinking
Unit types:
Basic military divisions seen in games:
- Fireteam (SL, Automatic rifleman, 2 Riflemen -> all purpose sq, good in clearing buildings, and fighting zombies in general)
- AT squad (SL, 1 AT rifleman, 1 carries extra ammo for AT -> good against APCs, special infecteds, not so good against zombies on it's own)
- Sniper squad (Spotter, Sniper -> good against special infected, enemy infantry)
- Combat engineer squad (SL, 3 combat enigneers -> can place sandbags set explosive charges or lay minefields if supported by an APC; can blow up bridges, maybe buildings walls?)
- APC or IFV (Good against infantry, can transport 2 squads, resupplies nearby infantry. Limited mobility, can't reach every area on the map.)
- Specialist squad (3 specialist infantry equipped with chemical protection suits and a flamethrower -> can clean highly infected areas, good against the mob, invulnerable to infection but has slow walk speed)
- Officer squad (Platoon leader, combat medic, rifleman, automatic rifleman -> Allows the placement of objective marks to help player coordination, medic can establish medical base to cure infection and heal soldiers; possible off-map support?)
APCs might look overpowered in a zombie game, and they actually are. The downside is that they can only move on the streets and take up the place of 2 squads. You will gain an upper hand on the streets, but clearing buildings is harder.
Infecteds:
Dunno. Had the idea of a guy who explodes, doing high damage, someone who infects nearby soldiers trough the air if not shot down in time. Maybe a tough guy like the tank from L4D. Need more ideas.
Objectives:
The objectives would be like missions you can pick at start. Things like, defend an area, clear an area, assault an infected hive/whatever-zombies-have, escort survivors, establish base etc.
For multiplayer, you have to higher score rating by the end of the match while you can constantly call in new units unimitedly, OR you have a limited amount of supplies and need to eliminate all enemies.
====================================
Duh. That's a tad longer than expected. Thoughts? Is this project worth starting or should I scrap the idea and go learn Galaxy Editor? ^^
(Note: I suck at map making so if anyone likes the idea, that much, go for it.)
Last edited: