I have discovered a way to make State of Decay not unfun, and that is to manually back up saves so that when the game does something obnoxious*, you can roll back to an earlier save state.
I don’t know State of Decay specifically, but self-deleting saves was/is a hallmark of roguelike games. Using Explorer to back up saves manually is a well known bypass, although “purist” players frown on it. If it increases your enjoyment though, go for it. I play games slowly enough and have less time that I don’t get bent up by things that are “wrong” but make it easier to progress and less frustrating.
I still wish games like that would make permadeath etc. optional like Diablo does. Let’s not talk about Bioshock Infinite’s save system.
Yeah, but people have finished Nethack in an hour. In State of Decay, it takes fifteen minutes just to do the compulsory tutorial. You can’t even skip the cutscenes. There’s too much game between the start and the point where your first juggernaut rips your legs off.
Yes, exactly. I don’t mind permadeath in games where you generate a character in moments and could, conceivably, complete the game in an afternoon. I greatly dislike anything that sets my progress back if I have to sit through a cutscene again.
I’m going back to my previous assessment and stating that State of Decay is shit, even if you cheat to mitigate its shittiness. Despite doing everything right, including setting up anti-horde traps around their homes, the game killed off seven of my twelve neighbours while I wasn’t even playing the game. I truly despise the “social” game genre for seemingly believing that their game should take precedence over your own life and these fuckers put the same bullshit into a single player game.
Thanks, though I missed the sale and got it for $3.74. But I’m like rich and don’t mind spending the extra $0.50/game. 
When I’ll get around to them…that’s a different story.
They actually adjusted the front page after my post, too. It had only listed Wizardry 8 for $2.49. They later lowered it to $2.24, but failed to mention the other two games coming with the package.
This. I very rarely buy games at launch prices in the Steam Sale era, but some of my RL friends wanted to all create cities in the same region, so I figured why not. Well, turned out there were a lot of reasons why not, first and foremost the tiny city sizes and lack of flexibility. It’s the only game purchase I regret from this past year, and that includes several that I’ll likely never play (but were all so much cheaper as to not really matter).
I have Wiz 8 on disc. Discovered that survival is virtually impossible upon leaving the starter dungeon and gave up.
Oh, I made it. I eventually managed to grind until the psionic area-effect attacks creatures from the black lagoon were survivable. Then I suddenly went from obsessed to bored while checking out some city.
I did manage to beat Wiz 8 about 5 years ago, but it was definitely one of the toughest and grindiest game experiences ever. They throw so many enemies at you it’s ridiculous, and there were times when you’d complete a battle, and more enemies would be there right as you finished. I remember fighting some crabs on a beach in a battle that literally took 60 minutes long, because they were incredibly durable and they had me pinned in some little shack. I also think I took a 20 minute break in the middle because I was getting so frustrated.
The thing that annoyed me most about the game is that even in certain friendly towns (a certain treetop village), you’d still get attacked mercilessly by random monsters, while the townsfolk stood idly by. And these weren’t easy battles by any means - I’d often have to go and retreat to rest after 1-2 encounters, which meant making zero progress! In a friendly town!
The combat system is decent, but the overall encounter design of endless, senseless hack and slash is just awful. I don’t know why the game gets so much praise.
Feel free to add me as a Steam friend - Chargerrich
Looking to add some dopers!
I’ve actually completed Wizardry 8, i enjoyed it , but i have to agree with the criticisms.
I took a lot of spellcasters in my party, damage spells aren’t that great in game as opposed to status effects, but if you can spam loads of them it does make wandering monster encounters quicker and easier.
Also i have no idea how you would ever work out where you had to go and how to complete the game without a walkthrough.
On the new sales, Alan Wake is a good punt for 90% off if you can stand the protagonist being a complete tosser it’s not a bad third person action/adventure.
Metro: Last Light is a must if you like FPS’s and have a beefy rig.
Anyone played Outlast? Looks interesting.
Oh also, Mercenaries 2 is on Green man gaming as a PC download for a cup of coffee price at the moment.
It’s like Just Cause 2 only even shootier, with hijackable tanks/airplanes/helos etc and the ability to call in Artillery and Missile strikes.
It got mixed reviews on release, but i personally love it. I’ve completed it twice on Xbox and I can’t wait to dive in again.
I didn’t use a walkthrough, but they did give you hints about what you were supposed to do. I do remember double-backing a lot because it was pretty cryptic at times. Which wouldn’t have been so bad except for all the wandering monsters!
I don’t think I figured out the spamming status effect stuff until I was pretty much done.
Rule #1 of Wizardry 8.
Always take a Bard. The inflict status ailments with their instruments and make the game much, much easier.
Rule #2 of Wizardry 8.
Use Hobbits. They power-up really well for most classes.
If you’re tempted by GTA IV, get the Complete Collection, as it’s the same price.
SO what do I do with these snow globe trading cards?
Do I need to collect them all to make a badge, and if I do what does a badge get me, anything?