Games by JimD Newsletter – ZE:SH Part 4, True Faith is here!

Welcome to my 55th newsletter!  Happy 420. You may know that as a reference to marijuana, and although I do not partake in that type of leafy green, it is now legal in my state of New Jersey. Who knows? If it’s good enough for Bailey, maybe it’s good enough for me.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 4 is well underway, and I’m getting closer to releasing the first public beta. I continue to update Part 3 with bug fixes and extra content, but that’s slowing down. I will talk a little bit about that below and my plans for the future.

In this newsletter, I will talk also provide a quick note on the True Faith patch for Vampire: The Masquerade - Out for Blood.

Let’s get started.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 3 & 4

Part 3 released on March 3, and I have already released 3 patches to fix bugs and typos, add new content, and balance some of the mechanics. Most recently, I made a change to allegiance and morale calculations between chapters as people were finding those stats were tanking hard. It was always my intention to have a use for everything that you have been collecting up until the junkyard. Items like protein powder and binoculars and even bars of soap now affect the morale of the group.

I will continue to update Part 3, mainly with bug fixes. I’m seeing quite a few reports of previously dead survivors coming back to life. Those are hard to fix, but I am working on it. I should be releasing one more patch this month and, most likely, at least two next month.

Two major things I want to change are as follows:

1. Add a way for non-leaders to influence what is built at the junkyard. Right now, if the leader is Rachel or Jaime, there is no way to help guide production of many of the truly useful buildings.

2. Provide a way to hold a new vote for a leader. Right now, there is no way to change leadership after chapter 5. I am thinking of changing that to add a call for a new vote in chapter 10.

Those are my immediate plans for new content, but they are subject to change based on other factors such as my time and my ability to fix the current list of bugs.

Turning to Part 4. It’s at 68,000 words so far, around 17,000 words more this month. Between the patches for Part 3 and my work on Out for Blood, my time was cut this month on writing Part 4. Still, I should meet my mark of 20,000 per month with no trouble. After this month, I am hoping to at least meet that mark every month. I also want to get back to coding my other side project, Deadbury Academy, though I have no plans on releasing it anytime soon. Part 4 will be my focus.

Vampire: The Masquerade — Out for Blood

I have finished the True Faith patch for OfB. It’s currently being reviewed by my editor, and I hope that it will be released within the next month or so. Lots of people have to look through it to ensure it fits with the World of Darkness and handles the religious aspect of the game properly. I will keep you posted on any developments.

That’s all for this month. Until next time, stay safe and thank you for all of your support!