Dead Age 2 Wishlist event will continue until the full launch!
Dear survivors,
we are going to launch Dead Age 2 into Early Access TOMORROW! Can't wait to see you all play it after such a long time of developing the game - and we are really looking forward to your feedback!
Our Wishlist event will continue until the full launch later this year, but we will adapt it slightly. To ensure that the former wishes of buyers are not lost, we will sum up the current state of the Wishlist and the sold units at the full launch to a final number.
This will ensure that nobody gets lost.
See you all at the zombie apocalypse - starting TOMORROW! ːsteamhappyː
All the best and stay healthy! Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team
30,000 Dead Age 2 Wishes Unlocked: 10 Additional Zombies!
Dear survivors,
We have good news about the Wishlist event today: We have reached 30,000 wishes! ːsteamhappyː Thanks to all of you the next feature was unlocked: 10 additional zombies in the combat.
With the additional zombies we can create even more variety in the different areas of Dead Age 2. Each zombie has several skills to make it difficult for the survivors. Some zombies can even infect the survivors when they are weakened.
The next feature that can be unlocked is "10 additional variid rogue-like events". Events are important to provide additional challenges while exploring the different areas. We already implemented many events but even more bring additional variety.
As we keep the wishlist event active during the Early Access phase and sum up purchases and wishes during that time, there is a high chance that these additional events are unlocked as well.
But what exactly is the Wishlist event? With your wishes you can unlock new optional features. Just think of Kickstarter and you know how it works.
Dead Age 2 releases into Steam Early Access on 16 July 2020.
All the best and stay healthy! Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team
Dead Age 2 Wishlist Update: We are close to 30k Wishes!
Dear survivors,
We have good news about the Wishlist Event! What is the Wishlist Event? You can help to integrate new free features by wishlisting Dead Age 2! ːsteamhappyː
With your wishes we have the assurance that we can make these features happen. Just think of Kickstarter and you'll know how it works. Currently we are about to reach the 30,000 wishes mark to unlock the "10 new zombies" pledge.
We already have a lot more zombies in here than we had in Dead Age 1, but more enemies can never hurt (or… I guess they can 😅). Only a few hundred votes left and you'll get the extra enemies and more variety in combat.
Meanwhile we are fighting bugs Starship Troopers style.
All the best and stay healthy! Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team
There are so many new features which were also very interesting during development and how they came together in harmony. This is especially true for the survival elements.
The world map with over 80 different locations, for example, offers much more detailed possibilities of survival. But while you try to get water and food, you must also train yourself in combat at the same time. There’s a significant amount of new skills that are relevant in combat, also team play among party members has an important role. Overall, Dead Age 2 is more strategic.
[previewyoutube="DRVlFq1J7Uw;full"] The new 3D base gets the survival feeling across better. With the help of speech bubbles, you can also react to the problems of the survivors, e.g. if they have nothing to do, are offended or need food/water. Besides building or expanding the rooms in the camp, weapons and armor can be modified this time more specifically.
Furthermore, we have, of course, many new events and enemies which test the will to survive of Jack's Camp. We've been working for 3.5 years to improve the quality and vision of Dead Age 2 and hope the players like it as much as we do!
All the best and stay healthy! Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team
Dear survivors, Dead Age 1 brought something new to the indie market in 2016. It connected survival and rogue-like with storyline, perma-death and turn-based combat. We found it interesting that our "Final Fantasy 10"-esque turn-based combat system had perma-death and survival management, so that the risk was always there at all times for the survivors to bite the dust.
3.5 years later we arrived at Dead Age 2 with many, many new features. The combat system has become much more complex and strategic, but still retains the advantage of its speed over tactical role-playing games. We can definitely stand the comparison to Darkest Dungeon because of its new tactical options.
[previewyoutube="Pdcgivr4DdM;full"] The exploring and survival thrill has been greatly improved with a large map and over 80 locations, giving it a bit of an open world feeling while being very compact. The base remains the center, this time completely in 3D.
There are completely different fighting factions with whom you can trade or solve quests to reach their respective leaders. Dead Age 2 therefore feels much more like an RPG, e.g. with numerous quests and different consequences depending on the decision.
So, we've been working for 3.5 years to increase the quality and vision of Dead Age 2 and hope that players will like it as much as we do!
All the best and stay healthy! Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team
Dead Age 1 had a very positive rating of 84%, but we wanted to find improvements for Dead Age 2 in as many gameplay aspects as possible. Today you'll get more information about the combat system.
The fighting system became much more complex and flexible. For example, you can perform a normal attack twice in one round and collect adrenaline points.
Front-row survivors can protect allies standing behind them in the ranged-attack-row, or you can choose a more complex skill like Brute Strike and use your increased adrenaline to deal higher damage.
You could also focus / recharge and use your strongest skills in the next round which do a lot of damage or are very effective against enemies with certain debuffs. Team play is very effective e.g. when a survivor uses the shotgun to shoot zombies unconscious and another survivor then does extra damage against unconscious enemies with their jump attack.
Of course, the enemies also have some nasty tricks. Instincts make sure that some zombies strengthen each other, hit each other to make themselves angry, bite to gather life energy or summon zombie hunters' undead animals. This time the zombies can even infect you with the Virus. So be careful!
In return you have new special skills: you can use mobile turrets, summon a dog or even later, if you find one, a hungry tiger.
What is more to say? Oh, we are really close to our next wishlist goal: With 30,000 wishes you will unlock 10 additional zombies to the world of Dead Age 2!
Optimization of Dead Age 2: Graphics, animations and more!
Dear survivors,
I want to give you more detailed information about the further development from Dead Age 1 to Dead Age 2 in this and the upcoming updates.
It is rare that indie titles get successors and even rarer that the successors are more successful than their predecessors. Often because predecessors and successors are too similar. That's why we can proudly say that we have added so many new ideas and features that will make Dead Age 2 a completely new experience! This update is all about technology.
Graphics
Dead Age 2 has over 7GB of files, which is more than 4 times the size of Dead Age 1. That’s needed for the many, many 3D scenarios which are also scrollable, a lot more enemies, and also a lot of NPCs and quest givers matching the three factions, which are spread everywhere in the areas from Dead Age 2.
Soundtrack
Also with the soundtrack of Sven Gerlach, we have 21 tracks by now which is a lot for an indie title. The tracks are great and we will probably also have a soundtrack DLC. This soundtrack really deserves it!
Animations
In contrast to part 1, we were able to work with motion capture for some animations, so that the animations look much more realistic. We also spent a lot of time with the outposts, to make them feel vivid as you explore them. The successful wishlisting from your side, brought us additional animations which provide for more variety:
Also new are the animated portraits which breathe more life into the characters, as there are significantly more quests and dialogues in Dead Age 2.
Shader techniques
We use many of the most important techniques, such as SSAO and Depth of Field, to look more modern here as well.
Overall, our 4-person Silent Dreams team has worked hard to ensure that you are graphically and acoustically satisfied. In the update next week you will learn more about the many new gameplay features.
What is more to say? Oh, we are really close to our next wishlist goal: With 30,000 wishes you will unlock 10 additional zombies to the world of Dead Age 2!
Good news: Our Wishlist Event for Dead Age 2 is showing further results!
During the last weekend we reached 20,000 wishes for Dead Age 2 and unlocked the additional animations for humans and zombies in combat! But not only those, also additional animations for jobs and atmosphere:
Our animator is heading to work to create and implement all the additional animations to the Dead Age 2. Thank you very, very much for wishlisting our game, for your ongoing support and also for your feedback. Everything is very much appreciated! ❤️
And what's next? With 30,000 wishes you will unlock 10 additional zombies to the world of Dead Age 2.
As promised in our developer update yesterday we just released the Announcement Trailer for Dead Age 2 - including some fresh, post apocalyptic footage and a track from the brandnew soundtrack by Sven Gerlach!
But enough words - let's just have the trailer speak for itself:
[previewyoutube="KNpg7oLeK10;full"] Oh, and in case that you don't notice it on the endslate of the trailer: We finally have a launch date for Dead Age 2! We will be released it into Steam Early Access on
June 3rd 2020
So what to do in the meantime? The 20,000 wishes goal of our Dead Age 2 Wishlist Event is in reach and will unlock additional animations for humans and zombies in combat! And also be sure to join the other survivors on our Dead Age Discord channel!
See ya all at the zombie apocalypse! Rayk & the Silent Dreams Team
Dead Age 2 is around the corner and with this update I want to show you who is actually working on the game! I am Rayk Kerstan ("Holy Avatar" in the steam community and "Dawnclaude" on Discord), I am the CEO and Creative Director of Silent Dreams – a small developer located in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. My story - and also the story of Silent Dreams - actually began in a very classic indie way.
Together with the programmer of Gothic 1-3, Carsten Edenfeld, and a highly motivated team of boys and girls we developed “Grotesque Tactics”, “Grotesque Tactics 2: Dungeons & Donuts” plus “Holy Avatar vs Maidens of the Dead”. All three are parody roleplaying games that had their success, even if not everyone could handle with the weird humor.
In 2016 we released Dead Age to Early Access on Steam and this Survival RPG became our biggest success! Over the years we ported it to all major platforms you guys are using to play on. As we love our zombie apocalyptic universe a lot that we created with the game, it was really about time to tell more stories of the Dead Age.
And that brought us to the decision to work on Dead Age 2! Another Survival RPG based on the strength of its predecessor, but with many cool new features and extensions. At this point, thanks again to our community for the many great suggestions and ideas - you guys are awesome! ❤️ Currently I am spending many hours developing the fine tuning of Dead Age 2. Just doing this while you read those lines on Steam.
Dead Age (2016)
And all the other members of Silent Dreams are working very hard right now to launch Dead Age 2 to Steam Early Access in time. We will finally announce the release date at the end of this week! But back to the Silent Dream(s)-Team:
Matthias Eisenlohr is our lead programmer. He is fast, competent and always polite and kind. I hope we will work on the upcoming games from Silent Dreams for many, many years to come.
Our graphic designer is Adam Sprys [Twitter]. He became known through Knights & Merchants. A very successful strategy game, even though he unfortunately never saw much of the revenue himself... He is currently working on animations, particles and characters for Dead Age 2!
Beside these 3 central persons, we won an apprentice with Jason. A short fun fact: The new main character of Dead Age 2 is also named Jason. So, who was there first - the hen or the egg?
Dead Age 2 (2020)
Sven Gerlach [website] is our musician and will provide you all with a great soundtrack, which is even better and more extensive than in Dead Age 1. You will get a first taste of his work within this week with the first Dead Age 2 trailer. I promise!
And apart from that we have worked together with other graphic artists, among others Max Wittig and Kai Meinen, who are responsible for all outposts of the new factions: Smugglers, Independents and U.S. Army.
As you see, we are a small but fine team. We'll do our part to show why indie games have a special touch with ideas of their own that Triple A games would probably never create.
