We hope you are having a great time out in the Dust Bowl, and with the summer starting up you would think we are about to sit back and relax, but you would be VERY wrong!
We are continuing our efforts to collect as much of your feedback as possible and use it towards making Decision: Red Daze an even more comfortable experience for every player out there!
A new update is in the works, and we are preparing to release it in the upcoming weeks. Here's what you can expect it to address:
Improvements of the AI of survivors in settlement defense scenarios.
Balance changes, including warehouse capacity adjustments, weapon damage balancing, skill growth speed increases, and more!
Very many QOL changes, among them the ability to craft WAYY more materials at once, the ability to access all buildings' menus from a central location, and a way to make looting much faster and less tedious, among many, many other things!
A lot of bug fixes, including the fix of the dreaded few steps after rolling ;)
ULTRAWIIIIIDEEEEE
The full list of patch notes will be available on the update launch, we hope that these changes make for a more enjoyable gaming experience! :)
As always, please don't hesitate to share your feedback and ideas, each one helps us make Decision: Red Daze just that tiny bit better! :)
-The FlyAnvil Team
Update #1 is Out Now
Greetings Survivors!
Welcome to the First Update of Decision: Red Daze!
During this time after the launch of the game, we gathered all of the bugs, suggestions, and other useful notes you offered us in the Community Hub, social media, and both Discord channels for both the Developer and Publisher servers.
And we worked our butts off to deliver this update with various fixes and improvements. So here we go!
The patch notes for Update 1:
Balance
We received a ton of feedback regarding the Sleep and Stamina and their effect on gameplay, and made some balancing changes accordingly:
Sleep and Stamina depletion rates have been reduced;
Reduced Roll and Attack Charge stamina cost;
Completely suspended Stamina and Sleep depletion in Settlements;
We also took a look into settlement defense and ammo:
Adjusted maximum values of all Settlements' defense;
Increased the number of generated ammo in loot;
And made some overall balance improvements:
Tweaks to charisma growth rates.
Reduced enemy firing range;
Reduced probability of getting knocked down when a Werewolf lands on the ground after jumping;
Quality-Of-Life Improvements
Changed hotkeys for using first aid kits and food. Now the [3] and [4] buttons are responsible for this. Now you don't need the long fingers of a pianist to eat quickly and regain your stamina;
Accelerated the weapon removal animation to speed up access to the loot;
The player will no longer stop when changing weapons using hotkeys while running;
Putting an item into a survivors' inventory will automatically equip that item;
We improved the image quality of all characters and window icons;
Resource management was also improved;
We added a control tips screen at the beginning of the game;
AI Enhancements
We improved the AI of Survivors in battles;
Fixed zombie behavior when changing squad leaders in some situations;
Bug fixes
Fixed the count of enemies killed by a high-level turret for the "Tower Defense" achievement;
Fixed merchant's behavior when interacting with the player in some non-standard situations;
Fixed the generation of high-level mutants. You can now get the "Kill 'Em All (Mutants)" achievement;
Fixed interruption of weapon reloading when starting other actions. Now, if you start another action, the reload is canceled;
Fixed the bug of walking through walls and at different heights by shooters leaving or climbing on the turret when switching characters;
Fixed a bug with not being able to use [Esc] and [Space] during video clips at the beginning of the game in some non-standard situations;
Fixed black screen and freezing after loading the game due to problems with the weapon in the hands of the current character;
Fixed Dr. Listov's behavior. Now he will not follow the player until the lab has been taken over and the quest has been started;
Fixed an issue where you could loot seriously wounded team members instead of healing them.
Fixed the absence of zone names in the description of some tasks;
Fixed the generation of the Shotgun "Urban". Now it can be bought only from the chief merchants.
The large merchant Expedition backpack "Shire" is no longer available for sale. It is only used by merchants to store anything you are willing to sell them;
Fixed the ability to get the "Employer" achievement after completing the game. Now you can find mercenaries even after cleansing the Dust Bowl;
Fixed the game progress indicator in the menu window after you restart the game or start over;
The double-click icon in the inventory tooltip line has been restored. Double-click gives you information about the item;
Fixed the ability to move a character when the inventory screen is opened;
Fixed an issue where you could loot seriously wounded team members instead of healing them;
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused settlers to vanish from settlements;
Other minor fixes;
We hope you have fun playing the game with the latest patch, and please do keep sending us your impressions, suggestions, and any bugs you notice! We are continuing to improve the game with more updates based on your feedback, along with further improvements to AI, balancing, and more to come in the future <3
The FlyAnvil Team
News on Update #1
Happy Friday survivors!
It hasn’t even been a week since the release of Decision: Red Daze, and we already received a great deal of constructive reviews, suggestions and we want to make it clear we are paying attention to all of them, and are working on an update to address the major bugs and suggested improvements to overall enhance the gameplay experience you’ll have out in the Dust Bowl!
Here’s what you can expect in the upcoming update to the game:
Improvements of the AI of survivors in desert and city battles.
Decreases of the roll distance and reduced stamina cost.
Decreases of the stamina drop rate.
Decreases of drop rate of Sleep (daytime fatigue).
Increases of the number of generated ammo in loot.
Acceleration of the weapon removal animation to speed up access to the loot.
The player will not stop when changing weapons using hotkeys while running.
Addition of a window at the beginning of the game with control tips.
Fixes of other bugs based on gathered feedback
Alongside all of this, we will continue to review and address your feedback, and help you out with any potential issues you might encounter! For the quickest support, feel free to join Discord channels for both the Publisher and the Developer of Decision: Red Daze, or leave your feedback in the Community Hub. All of your input helps us make Decision: Red Daze better! <3
-The FlyAnvil Team
Decision: Red Daze is AVAILABLE NOW!!
Greetings Survivors!
Can you believe Decision: Red Daze is out today?! We certainly can't.
All of the hard work the team has put in over the years, which sometimes felt like decades, is finally in your hands, and we could not be more excited.
We hope you enjoy mowing down hordes of zombies, building your own little safe havens, and making the Dust Bowl safe again <3
- The FlyAnvil Team.
Decision: Red Daze is AVAILABLE NOW!!
Greetings Survivors!
Can you believe Decision: Red Daze is out today?! We certainly can't.
All of the hard work the team has put in over the years, which sometimes felt like decades, is finally in your hands, and we could not be more excited.
We hope you enjoy mowing down hordes of zombies, building your own little safe havens, and making the Dust Bowl safe again <3
- The FlyAnvil Team.
Decision: Red Daze Development Log #7: Weapons. Part Two
Welcome back, survivors! Time to expand on our weapons, some of which we already talked about in a previous devlog: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1621760/view/3146323379896888486 This time we’ll be talking about some of the more high-end tools of destruction out there in the Wasteland, the challenges we faced while implementing them, and more!
Starting off with something SPICY!
When developing the flamethrower, we were obviously concerned with its functionality, but we also had its visual effects in mind. Our main challenge was a programming one: the flamethrower does damage gradually, unlike every other weapon. In addition, all flamethrower animations include fire effects. Other major questions we needed to address were the damage particles that would be emitted by the weapon, their rate of fire and cone of damage, and even how much damage the flamethrower should do. In the early stages of the game, our main approach was to showcase it as a heavily modified version of an assault rifle with custom animations, balancing nuances and models. But for this one weapon, we decided to create a whole new framework as a starting point for models of different versions of the flamethrower. We are also working on improving the animations and particles of the flame, so it looks etter and stronger by the time the game reaches your hands! Since flamethrowers deal damage to everyone, no matter your allegiance, we also created models of incendiary knapsacks to help you distinguish all your flamethrower-wielding teammates!
We managed to solve this puzzle, but some of the other puzzles ahead of us are more difficult and will take way more time to crack.
For example, the rapid-fire machine guns and assault rifles required us to pay attention to the game’s performance and frame rate. The first few tests we ran showed us all the weaknesses that we had to fix, some of which were EXTREMELY delicate. One of the most memorable bugs we encountered when working on weapons was that fire rates of most automatic weapons were tied to FPS. This bug is not that uncommon. You’ll notice it in many games that have been launched recently, and it’s clear that this issue can very easily break the game for most players if not dealt with promptly. It took us a while, but we managed to resolve this issue by making some major tweaks to the game code. So by the time the game launches, you shouldn’t notice this bug. HOPEFULLY.
As for machine guns…
The machine gun charge bar also has its own features. While you hold the charge bar to increase the power of the shot for single-shot weapons, machine guns get more powerful as you fire them. This required us to make some changes to the mechanics of the machine gun charge bar. We solved this problem by increasing the power of the shots for as long as the attack button is held. This is perfect for machine guns because now their effectiveness scales properly. The more you fire, the more damage your enemies take, but we’ve compensated for this by increasing ammo and stamina consumption as well.
While guns are undeniably fun, explosions are WAAYY more cool and satisfying, while helping get rid of WAVES of monsters instead of forcing you to deal individually with every little critter that jumps at you.
The Deacon grenade is the best grenade you’ll find in the Dust Bowl, and its explosions are HUGE. This thing can raze any patch of land you deem unworthy, but we balanced this out by making every grenade use up a bunch of ammunition material when thrown. These high-power explosives are great for dealing with oncoming Mutants and will turn most Zombies into wet paste or a bloody smear. A bullet might have your name on it, but grenades are addressed “to whom it may concern”. Check this out!
If you haven’t trained your throwing abilities in a while, a rocket launcher may be more your speed. The Buzz rocket launcher is essentially a tube with a faster and more deadly rocket projectile in it, and it’s awesome. Using an anti-tank rocket launcher on a Zombie, Mutant, or Human is something you don’t really see talked about much, but it’s a little insane, and well worth your time and money! We picked a simple one to showcase here. It’s the most basic rocket launcher in the game, but as you’re about to see, its power is unquestionable. Observe!
Plans for the future
Now on to the ideas board. This is where we theorize about some of the weapons we’d like to implement in the future, plus ones we’re already working on. Since most of these are in the planning or early development stages, we’d love to hear your ideas on them, what else you’d like to see, etc.
The first one, which we’re working on right now, is the shield. Seems simple enough, right? But we have some new mechanics that might make our shields a tactical mechanism instead of a throwaway loadout choice. Shields will, of course, increase the wearer’s defense. Simple, and you’d think that was it. But we’re not done. We want the shield to attract the attention of enemies, so that anyone with a shield acts as a tank in the player’s squad, giving you a bit of extra depth and strategy in squad planning, as well as in the actual gameplay. We’ll need to keep in mind that this tank can also deal some damage to enemies, so we’re planning to put a gun in their free hand, but who knows how the development will go? :)
Another weapon on our minds is the mine. Given the structure of the game, mines would make a great addition, add an extra layer of strategy, and spice up any battle (especially settlement defense missions) with a little tactical thinking. Players would be able to plant a few mines before the enemies approach and leave a big, deadly surprise for them! This one is also in the very early stages of planning. We hope to have it in the launch, but knowing how complex coding these weapons will be, it remains to be seen how the development will shape the path we take.
That’s it for the latest devlog. A lot of cool new mechanics are being worked on all the time, and we really want to add even more awesome things before the launch. What would you like to see? Perhaps, a spaceship? No wrong answers here. Your suggestions will help us make the game the best it can possibly be, so please do let us know your thoughts and ideas!
Thank you so much for reading,
The Decision: Red Daze team
Development Log #6: Weapons. Part One
Greetings, survivors! Welcome to our latest Development Log.
One of the essential elements of Decision games has always been a variety of weapons for destroying hordes of enemies. Some might even say it’s the most essential element, but we cannot confirm that as our “unarmed” players might quit the game, and we won’t have that. You know we love you, even though you’re crazy.
When designing weapons, we had to consider that the game is viewed top-down (close to isometric, but in a three-dimensional, modern perspective). For some weapons, this was very important because their use depended directly on the distance to the target.
For example, Sniper Rifles and their unique ability to aim at long distances. Since this particular mechanic has to work waaay more differently in our top-down game, we had to engineer the entire mechanic from scratch. Now, when aiming, you’ll get a reticle that, while reminding you of the regular sniper scope you’re used to from other shooter games, will also feel new, fresh, and incredibly difficult to explain. Good thing we have a visual aid, or this devlog would feel awfully dull. OBSERVE!
If, however, you prefer a little bit of an older spin on warfare, the BOW might be more to your liking. As fans of the series know, the Bow has been prominently featured in another one of our games, Decision: Medieval. While we meant to create three different bow styles, each one with different looks and play styles, we just, uhh… [insert random excuse, something about a cat, idk]. But who knows, maybe they’ll still make it to the game once it’s been released? ;)
To work the bows, you’ll have to hold and charge them. The longer you charge the arrow, the further it’ll fly and the more damage it’ll deal to your enemies. We tried to keep the bow as simple and as fun as possible, so there aren’t many complex mechanics to contend with while using it, just a lot of fun. The bow is good to use in the game’s early stages, as it has a longer range than other starter weapons if you’re too chicken to take on the monsters head-on.
Finally, we come around to the guns a real soldier (one who’s not afraid of a little Alpha Zombie) would use — SHOTGUNS! A true classic, there’s not much to improve on here, but we still like to mention them as much as possible, just because.
With great stopping power comes great responsibility, and our responsibility was to balance these bad boys so that they wouldn’t just become sniper rifles that you simply aim in the general direction of an enemy and watch them turn to dust.
To achieve that perfect “oomph”, we created several small projectiles with different trajectories, which created an area damage effect. There were uhm… difficulties in adjusting this. We had to consider the parameters of each shell and its probability of hitting the target, as well as the impact the range would have on their damage. Having stayed up a few nights with a spreadsheet and all kinds of simulations open, we got the effect down nicely, and the shotgun is now powerful as all hell, but not so powerful that it’ll play the whole game for you.
Now, you may be asking: “CAN I USE ALL THE WEAPONS RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE I REALLY WANNA GET A MINIGUN ON THE FIRST NIGHT!11!!1!1”
And the answer is… uh… kind of?
You have to know how to use them in order to, you know, use them.
For context: weapons are divided into three main classes: Melee, Firearms, and Heavy weapons. To utilize the full potential of any weapon, your survivors must have the appropriate skills at the necessary level. If your skill for, let’s say, firearms is coming up short a few points of the required amount for your shotgun to be effective, it will not be as powerful. This will not prevent your survivors from using these weapons, mind you, but it will massively reduce their effectiveness.
Your weapon skill increases as you use a weapon, but you can also improve your weapon skill with the appropriate equipment. For example, a combat helmet will increase your skill in heavy weapons. Each weapon requires a different skill value, with more powerful weapons requiring a higher skill level.
So there you go. No miniguns at level 1.
There are more than 30 weapons in our game. We tried hard to balance this many different weapons, and we knew that balancing so many just by eye wouldn’t work, and we couldn’t adjust them by experience either. We had to create a massive table with all the parameters and formulas to help us distribute the values for the different weapons. For example, we considered parameters such as damage, rate of fire, reload time, impact radius, range, ammo consumption, etc. All of this was taken into account when calculating the effectiveness of each weapon. When adjusting efficiency, we carefully changed all parameters to evenly distribute the weapons from the weakest knife to the most powerful rocket launcher!
Each weapon has to be useful at different stages of the game, and each weapon also has to have compelling and exciting mechanics. To that end, we worked hard to create each weapon, sometimes facing difficulties when developing more sophisticated weapons such as the flamethrower, which you’ll get to read more about in a later devlog!
Since we simply cannot cram all of the exciting weapons into one Development Log, we’ll have to end this one here, and in the next devlog, we’ll talk more about the less conventional Dust Bowl weapons, like the Flamethrower, Grenades, and even a sneak peek into some weapons that we plan on adding to the game later on in its development cycle! ;)
Thank you for reading, we hope to see you in the next one!
Decision: The Red Daze team
Development Log #5: Leaders and bosses
Howdy!
Halloween may be over, but who said the spookies have to end? We've been thinking long and hard about that very question for a while now, and have decided that the spookies stay. And what is more spooky than zombies, you may ask? Umm… Mega Zombies, of course!
That being said, welcome to our newest Development Log, where Big™ things are the order of the day. Big™ Zombies, Big™ Mutants, Big™ Trolls… you get it. Here we go. If you played any of the previous Decision games, you know that there were no bosses in any of them, but they all featured (and still do feature) large-scale horde attacks on your settlements. These levels were a relatively small part of the games, but we and most of our players really enjoyed them. They reminded us of the Tower Defense minigames, although less nuanced and more involved: you were the one doing the shooting and the defending on your own, like a real soldier, instead of staying back, upgrading buildings and giving instructions about where to place them (we're not babies here).
They were good mindless fun and played great on Flash, but as our technology improves, so must our game. Hence the improvements to the Assault system, Bosses, and Red Daze. Around most of the settlements you’ll come across in the Dust Bowl, there are Hideout camps. DO NOT GO CHARGING INTO THEM HEAD ON! These locations are incredibly dangerous, and inhabited by Leaders and Bosses of various hostile races: in the northwestern part of the map, the land is ruled by Zombie Bosses, while Mutant Leaders roam the southeast. Their skill sets and appearances differ. While they may look like a nice little challenge, trust me, they WILL take you down if you're not well prepared.
That said, the bosses are not meant to be ignored entirely. They're responsible for every attack your settlements suffer. As a boss's army grows, the Red Daze and the area of influence widens, restricting players’ movements in this area and making a larger zone around the settlement unsafe for survivors. The longer you let a boss summon forces, the larger the area becomes and the greater the threat of getting attacked. With each passing day, bosses attract more and more wild monsters to their side. They bide their time and gather their strength before unleashing all of their might upon the settlement nearest to them.
That’s where the aforementioned settlement defense kicks in, and you’re thrust into the madness that is making sure a HUGE horde of monsters does not get through your defenses and wreak havoc throughout your settlement.
Successfully defending your settlement and taking out the boss's army will leave him weakened, and gives you a window of opportunity to strike back before they gather their strength AGAIN. If you miss your chance to take down the boss, they’ll keep regrowing their army and hitting your settlements until you learn your lesson and go over there to finish him off.
Now, killing bosses is no easy task, and you’ll need more info on them if you want to have even a CHANCE of taking them down. So here goes.
Although bosses can't use long-range weapons like some regular enemies, they are good with melee weapons, which are designed specifically for them. You might end up facing a pipe wrench, the back axle of a car, or other heavy things.
In addition to regular hits with these things, bosses can make a series of hits that are unstoppable. These are called Combo Hits. There are also Heavy Area Strikes, which are even more dangerous because everyone nearby will almost certainly be knocked down or seriously wounded and require medical care. Sometimes bosses will strike after taking quick and dangerous leaps toward your squad. This is perilous because you don't know at what point the boss will make that deadly Charge. Bosses are also capable of throwing heavy objects at your squad, such as barrels, tires, or wooden cases. With all these features, you'll have to keep your guard up: you won't get bored, even if you keep the boss at a distance and use firearms. And don't forget that the boss still has the rest of his loyal army.
Since the bosses are the most ferocious and like the Red Daze the most, it's also easy to distinguish them visually from regular enemies thanks to their enormous size and the vibrant blood red color of their skin and equipment.
Bosses are what we call the antagonists that pose the greatest threat to the Dust Bowl's inhabitants. As developers, we are really glad to have found a good, simple way of explaining things to players who are agonizing over the mystery of all of these periodic attacks on their territory. And the guys from the screenwriting team came up with great unique names and backstories for each boss, taking into account the sprawling history of the Decision world. We hope all our players enjoy battling bosses and bringing order to the Dust Bowl!
