Games by JimD Newsletter – ZE:SH Part 4, Bug fixes. (Patreon)

Welcome to my 56th newsletter! Spring is finally here, but in my area of the world (New Jersey), we will be hitting the 90s this weekend. I can’t believe the heat is already rising to those levels. It makes me think about Safe Haven where the temperature in Colorado is rising for our group of survivors. As some of you know, I am planning a time skip for Safe Haven. I would like readers to experience survival in different types of weather and temperature. Being chased by zombies through snow with 0 degree wind chills seems terrifying and challenging.

I continue to make progress on Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 4. This month I will easily add over 20,000 words to chapter 13. I had hoped to have a public beta by now but I am planning on posting the first 80,000 words towards the end of this month. I have been so busy with fixing bugs for Part 3 and the True Faith patch for Vampire: The Masquerade - Out for Blood that my time working on a public beta for Part 4 has been pushed back. It’s not as simple as posting the files and putting up a post on the forums. It takes watching that forum post, responding to feedback, and fixing all the errors reported. So I need to set aside time to do all of those things. I’m hoping to do this on Memorial Day.

In this newsletter, I will go over my progress this past month and discuss my current games in development. Let’s get started.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 3 & 4

Part 4 is currently at 88,000 words, around 20,000 words more this month. I have a few more days before the next Patreon Beta test, so I expect to fix some errors previously reported.

As for Part 3, I still have quite a few bugs to fix. One issue that continues to elude me is variables being tracked from earlier parts. For some reason, some of the earlier stats are not reflected in the story. For example, I am getting numerous reports that readers have killed members of the Silverthorne Militia at the end of Part 2, only to have them reappear in Part 3. These are very simple variables that are correctly set in Part 2. However, they are creating continuity errors. I’m hoping to work on this more next week and have a fix put in soon.

Other than bug fixes, I still want to work on adding ways to influence Rachel or Jaime for those not leading the group as well as adding age to the story. I’m envisioning a customization where you choose your age during character creation, and that age is reflected as you go through the story. It will also open up different romance options.

For Part 4, I have also started coding a major trade section. This will be code that can be used at multiple times whenever the group wants to trade with other groups. You will be able to specify items that you would like to put up for trade and those items you wish to trade for. Items will have different values based on the group. For example, the River Dogs may value food more than weapons or may value blankets more than batteries. The Red Mamba Biker Club may really need antibiotics and painkillers while they have very little need for solar panels and vitamin supplements. Getting to know the various groups will help guide trade. Skills will also affect the outcome. Using your social skills may come in handy with getting better prices.

As you can imagine, a trade system is a monumental undertaking for anyone writing in Choicescript, so I’m not sure when I will have a chance to showcase this new feature.

Vampire: The Masquerade — Out for Blood

I have finished the True Faith patch for OfB and have already received feedback from a dedicated beta tester. I’ve been going through that feedback and making changes and additions. I’m hoping this free patch will release in the end of June. It will be over 20,000 words of new content that you can freely download if you own the game. I’m also excited to say that you will be able to use faith as a weapon against vampires and will also be able to eradicate all vampires from Jericho Heights.

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