Update from inactivity [cross-post]

Man... it's been too long. 

It's way more than 8 months of inactivity here, but I've already made an update post earlier on the other blog. Just gonna cross-post it here:

Well this is just... bad.

EIGHT MONTHS + without a single post... it's almost as if I've completely forgotten about the blogs that I've had...

Last update was in April, and its even worse over at the other blog, with the last post on January 23rd. Why the long inactivity? What's the reason this time round?

A few things, actually... One: the unfortunate and 'unavoidable outcome' that has befallen on 2020 as a whole; leading to drastic changes in life... studies, work and whatnot. But it was actually reason number two that affected me more: shifting focus on some old, yet somewhat new experiences and hobbies.

Hell, even then it only lasted for a short while before something else took the reign...

Been at it since last year September, the earliest. Skill so far is not that great, and there's still a lot to learn and improve... so this means tonnes of practice and research. It's not video editing as I put that on hold since April to focus on this new thing... well, 'things' to be more specific; as its actually 2 of them at the very least.

All those months passed and I did have thoughts of updating the blogs, posts and also editing/uploading videos... but was hit with a combination of interest/focus on other things, followed by coping with enormous changes in life due to the state of the world in 2020 plus general laziness after getting invaded with waay too many assignments, projects and work.

In reality, the one thing that really screwed up my time was the abundance of work and changes that had happened lately... lots of sleepless nights and chasing deadlines... after all that ordeal, I just got tired and lazy... especially when there's like 2 different sets to worry about.

Now I took out some time from my schedule to give myself some free time, but its not that long though; only less that 2 weeks. Afterwards its back to endless assignments and work! Still adjusting to the new things that's been going on in my life; hopefully I can make Saturdays/Sundays free days next year, and not the mess that happened this year with too many nights staying up late and shit.

Sadly even with the 2 free weeks, I still have some work left to be done. Gonna shift those towards the weekend if I can for now.

Well... better late than never, I guess... and that's enough ranting for today I suppose.

But! There's some good news. I still have 3 videos from Acceleration of SUGURI 2 recorded back in March/April waiting to be edited and uploaded, plus some other games that I've recorded that can be posted here AND also the other blog. I think I can get at least one AoS2 and the other game posts before this year ends. Posts for the other blog might need to wait slightly longer though, but it will be plentiful soon, judging by the amount of zombie-like games recorded. Will be cross-posting this there, though.

Speaking of games... I think the World of Tanks stuff might be coming to a halt for now; my interest in the game has steadily been dropping off. Guess that means no more World of Tanks videos from now on. Like how Dead Frontier videos are no longer a thing in the other blog, too.

And I guess that's all that I wanted to type down as of now. Funny thing is, I was expecting this year to be the year that really change me... wasn't expecting all of this in the slightest....

So from that whole shebang of text, posts will be made here too... but much more later as I'll be posting all that I needed to on the other blog. Not to worry, though... there's a lot of videos recorded that were specifically zombie-themed games, and I specifically chose those types to be recorded just for this. I counted about 7 videos stocked up, while the rest is for the other blog... 

Been thinking about updating both blogs at the same time with the video editing/uploads and blog posts, but not sure how that will turn out. The only exception is posts like ones here as they're mostly around for updates.

Here's hoping I stick to my planned schedule, so that these 2 weeks will be smooth sailing...

-Lonesome Survivor-

Trial Run

Finally, some fresh content for this blog...

Been slowing down on playing any games as of late; pretty busy with school and work... but it's been the norm for me for every December and January for now, as those months are usually where work will start to pile up, or making preparations.

Things are easing up now, so I have some time to do the things I want. So I decided to play the Resident Evil 2 (2019) "One-Shot" Demo.

Now... I'm no stranger to the Resident Evil franchise, but I never really played much of the games they have to offer... even back when the original RE,RE2 and RE3 was around. I was more of a spectator, watching my older siblings or uncle playing the game. Same can be said for RE4.

Other than that, it's viewing parodies of Resident Evil at good ol' Newgrounds...

The only ones I did play however were Resident Evil 5 and 6. They were geared more towards action rather than survival/puzzle/horror. RE 5 was more tolerable than 6, as I HATED those Quick-Time Events. So much deaths...

Anyways, enough backstory... it's time to show the gameplay...

This would obviously be my first time trying out a Resident Evil game at it's most 'original form' as it can get, although the 2019 version of RE2 still has tons of changes/differences compared to the original.

Played this back in January 14th, but lacked any free time to publish the video to YouTube, or to make this post right here...

Well, things went pretty... horrible. Blind playthrough, and was playing this while I was extremely sleepy/tired, too... staying up till 4AM can do that.

And a quick check online seems to indicate that I missed out on a ton of stuff. Probably best if I didn't waste most of my time in the demo doing puzzles... but what's done is done.

And those dumb mistakes I've made while playing the demo... ugh...

I guess that'll be an indication that I'll probably suck at this... as I'm planning to play/buy the full game once it's released. Not sure about recording any gameplay of it, though. Maybe little bits of it here and there?

The only thing that similar to this [that I played before] was Dead Space. Back then, you could get it for free on Origin when it's "on the house". They don't do that anymore, though.

With only a couple of days away from it's release, it's gonna be a blast to play. Here's hoping that I don't do too terrible at the game...

-Lonesome Survivor-

2 Months Gone...

Ugh... it's been too long.

I'm just gonna go straight into it now; lack of updates for this blog as Dead Frontier 2 hasn't really been doing well about a month plus...

Lack of interesting updates in that game, and also the fact that Admin decided to shift focus back to Dead Frontier 3D instead of nurturing his new game kinda ruins it a lot for folks... of course, that ain't the only reason why it flopped.

Number of active players are dropping like flies, and it won't be long before it'll be a boneyard...

I don't really have any videos about DF2 planned, or even recorded in the past... unless ya count the various bugs I've found instead. Not sure if I want to record more videos for DF2, or try putting something else up in this here blog.

Well, I'll have time to think and plan about that once the finals blow over. Yes, been pretty busy lately... but once this is done, I should be able to have enough time to spread around in these various places that I've missed out on/neglected. So until then, stay tuned...

-Lonesome Survivor-

The First Dead Frontier 2 Video!

Welp... supposed to get this done yesterday, but oh well...

Finally; the first ever Dead Frontier 2 video that I've recorded thus far. Pretty long, but that's because I chose the worst building to enter for my first time in DF2.

Worst way to die, period.

And now, the explanations...

So what took me +3 weeks to get just one video out? Well, turns out I ran into some "technical difficulties" when I finally had some free time to do the video edits/processing; the damn software ran into some errors that took me quite a handful of work to get it fixed.

See, I'm no longer using Windows Movie Maker for my edits... it's great, and provided me with the basics that I needed. But it also has a major drawback: constant crashing/lags and a significant drop in video quality once processed, no matter how much you adjust.

Been using another software, it's been a pleasure to use thus far.

It does hang/crash occasionally, but it at least it's not like... for every 30 minutes or so. Plus, I can do plenty of other stuff that I can't do over at WMM... it's just a massive upgrade for me.

Anyways, the problem that I ran into prevents me from even launching the software... so figuring out the problem is much more tougher there. Too many days spent doing nothing but searching for solutions online, making sure they're legit and not outdated.

I could just use WMM back again for video processing, but I'd rather not suffer through the pain I had from previous uses just for that.

Found the solution at last, but it requires adjusting some other software that the video editing software uses. No problem there...

...except that it broke plenty of other things instead. *sigh*

Well then, now we got a multitude of other software problems to handle. Plenty of re-installs and restarts later, everything seems to be working as intended. But that's not the end of it...

Nvidia decided to fuck up for some reason, preventing me from using it's 'record current game/program' feature. Then we got the computer's fan 'software problem' to fix as well...

These past two weeks has been a pain. I felt like a damn tech support, except I have questions, but I had to find the solutions myself and also fix them. At least everything's back to normal again... I hope.

Aaannd by then, it's already the 29th of September. Took about 3-4 hours to get this video processed, and was already late in the night [or early in the morning?] at 4 AM. Time to hold off the post till tomorrow, then...

And then here we are! Video processed, uploaded to YouTube, and blog post is done, with added rant at the end, too...

Well, all just in time before September ends. No need for anyone to wake me up for that [props if you get the reference!] There's still another two videos left, but I'm not sure I want to post them here, let alone process and upload them; they're just me going through the starting areas, doing simple missions.

Yeah, I think it's better if I upload something else instead... maybe boss fights. I've been leveling up pretty steadily since the video, so it could work out. Can't promise on whether they'll actually be done, though...

Wow, that's quite the wall-o-text I've got here... I think that's enough for now. Stay tuned for an update, but since the busy period's back, it'll probably be a while before another post drops...

-Lonesome Survivor-

Upcoming Dead Frontier 2 Video Batch

It's been about two days since the game's initial launch...

Figured I might as well put out some Dead Frontier 2 posts here... currently, I have 3 videos in waiting for process.

Two of them are just me exploring the starting areas' many buildings, while the last one is a rather huge one: an hour-long video of my first gameplay in Dead Frontier 2. That last one's gonna take hours to process, though.

The other two shouldn't take too long; about 8-13 minutes.

The game had a shaky launch, but at least it wasn't anything catastrophic... just minor hiccups that got fixed in less than a day.

Don't know when these videos will be done/put up, though. Hopefully not too long...

-Zombie Sniper-

Dead Frontier 2 Development Updates Recap: May - August

Welp... there's a lot to cover here, so let's get on it.

May 30th, 2018

Technically June, but whatever...

Dead Frontier 2's Early Access launch date was revealed, and it's on the 31st of August. AdminPwn wanted to release it sooner [July or possibly June] but decided against it. The game still required some more work before it can be released with acceptable quality.

And now, the Alpha Test. Testers will be picked from the Dead Frontier 2 Discord server, and it'll most likely be those that are somewhat active. The Alpha Test phase will begin around the middle of June.

Then there's the Dead Frontier 1 > Dead Frontier 2 Cosmetic Rewards. The rewards can be earned by reaching several milestones in the game, like getting a Dusk Enforcer if you have a maxed level DF1 account.

Looks slick; really captures the DE's look from DF1 quite well.

The most basic milestone rewards is the Nomad Armor set. You get the boots and gloves at level 20, the leg piece at level 50, the body piece at level 100 and the mask at level 200.

Not a bad looking set; will be seeing plenty of these during release.

So yeah... even those who didn't spend a dime in DF1 can earn something outta this. I have yet to reach a certain level which I've planned to get to for a long time, so maybe I'll make a small push towards it now...

...if I have the time, that is.

Plenty more screenshots of the rewards over at the Creaky Corpse blog post, linked below.

Gameplay Footage, Rewards, Release Day & More!

6th July, 2018

A trailer for the game has been created...

Admin was hard at work with the game during the last few weeks. Most of it was bug fixing and polishing up the game.

There were some features left to be implemented before Early Access arrives, just some non-essential items like support system, the DF1 reward system, name reservation and achievements. Closed Alpha Test would begin the next day.

He originally planned the EA version of the game to be 100% completed as of that date, and that he can place his focus on marketing and hyping the game up. But this wasn't achieved as he had stuff left to do, like bug fixes and responding to Alpha Test feedback.

Then we have some new screenshots, they look good as before.

More over at original post, so I recommend checking that out. Links below...

Official Trailer, New Screenshots and More

5th August, 2018

A 10-ish minute video of raw gameplay footage was posted, showing what many people people wanted to see.

Alpha Testing went well, and any problems, issues or bugs found/encountered was quickly taken care of.

About less than a month away from the game's release, and there's still stuff to be done. The game is still slated to be released on 31st August regardless.

DF1 > DF2 reward system is currently his main focus, and should be ready within a few days.

8th August, 2018

The rewards system was done, and now DF1 players can link their emails and receive milestone rewards.

It's mainly a set of instructions and additional info on how to set up the link, and also some important info about the link-up.

29th August, 2018

And here we are at the most recent update...

Basically, the game was pushed back to September 5th. Issues with the servers caused for some extra work needed to be done, and releasing the game either way on 31st August will be a very bad move. So in order to avoid disaster on launch day AND to properly set everything up again, the game will be delayed.

Most of the time was used to clear out as many bugs as he could find. He could rush and still make it to the promised launch date, but that'll be devastating to him and his game if things go south.

As he said, "Releasing on the 31st will probably mean super slow servers, tons of bugs that could lead to lots negative reviews. It's just not worth risking it."

So it ends there. There's about a day left before the game goes live, so there's that.

Pretty excited to see what's in store for us. I know there's plenty of DF2 videos around already, but I prefer to experience everything first-hand. Don't wanna ruin the first few moments!

And that's all there is to it. Sorry if this post seems very... empty. It's currently 2:30 AM here, and I haven't really been getting regular sleep since I had a rather busy moment these past few days.

Nevertheless, I'm still waiting for the release of Dead Frontier 2. Should be a good one... I wonder if I should record some gameplay to be posted here? Maybe I'll think about it...

Until then, stay tuned. Here's to the release of DF2 soon!

-Zombie Sniper-

Dead Frontier 2 Development Updates Recap: February - May

Aaand we're back...

I'm already up to date with the current posts/updates for Dead Frontier 2 even before these recent posts, it's just that time wasn't on my side to make posts about them here. Nevertheless, I feel like taking a dive down the updates and posts so far from February till August. Now, let's take a trip down history...

Let's start from where we left off...

February 18th, 2018

It seems like there was an update just 8 days after my post, and it's about Dead Frontier 2's Steam Page going live.

AdminPwn then had to make a short gameplay video, as per Steam's requirements. You can check it out at the Creaky Corpse Blog, link below.

DF2 Gameplay Video, Steam Page & Release News

And here's the Steam page for Dead Frontier 2 below...

Dead Frontier 2 Steam Page

The release date was changed from April 2018 to July 2018, or somewhere close to that. As stated in my February 10th post; a delayed game to make it complete is better than a rushed mess, but we also can't be placing too many delays.

Not everyone is patient, and some are quick to flip out when even the slightest hiccup happens. Luckily, no one was angry about delays for a much completed/polished game.

Option B was chosen, which is to release a 'closed alpha test' in April and have a small group to test the game. We'll get back to this later in June...

Anyways, the game's got some progress done. Some improvements are: Active skills such as kicking/sneaking/dodging, Missions and NPC/boss systems were complete and the game's UI and menu designs has been finished.

Kicking is pretty useful to give yourself some breathing room if the zombies get too close, dodging is self-explanatory and sneaking is something I imagine working out like Fallout 3/NV/4 type sneaking mechanics.

March 30th, 2018

The most interesting update to the Dead Frontier 2 development blog; potato mode.

What is it? Well, it's basically the most basic graphic settings available in the game; disables most of the settings available. And lemme tell ya, that's a life-saver right there.

If I was still using my ol' craptop, the last option will come in useful...

I'm not even joking... throughout my years of living, the games I've used to play were pretty low-spec. Granted, I did play Fallout 3/NV on a freaking netbook once... but that's beside the point.

The point is that not everyone has a beefed-up supercomputer that can run everything at 60 FPS 4K. The laptop I'm using should be able to handle the game around Medium settings, but it's always nice to have a backup "basic" mode lying around.

Now, to the other set of news...

Servers. This is also a pleasant thing to see, now the servers used should be able to handle up to 20K [that's 20,000] players at launch.

But the best part about this update is multiple servers across the globe. No more will we have that damned "no-hit" lag which caused me to play Singleplayer Mode while playing DF3D. Servers located in North America, United Kingdom, Poland, South America and Singapore. That's quite a lot of coverage; missing only the Middle Eastern/African areas, Russia, China, Canada and of course, Australia.

Not sure if these other zones will have their own servers, but it'll probably be implemented only if the playerbase in said areas are quite big.

Work on the game is going well, as written by AdminPwn. There's only a handful of features missing from the game, and he plans to complete them by Summer. The missing features were Clan Systems, Competitions, Item-to-Item Trading, Outpost Attacks and Barricading.

So far his focus is on the game's core aspects; like looting, hunting zombies, missions, boss fights and level ups. This is to make the game as fun and engaging as possible on release.

And then we have some screenshots. The game's looking good as from previous screenshots...

I think the rain effects look amazing, same goes for the fire FXs.

A sneak-peak at the character screen; note the multiple characters you can have.

5th May, 2018

We're greeted to a sneak peak of a boss players might encounter out in the game; the Tendril.

These 'painfully fast' freaks are back again in DF2...

A DF3D enemy that's notorious for being a pain in the neck, along with Spiders due to it's speed and quick attacks. They also deal quite the damage, too...

And now the Tendril's here in DF2 as a boss. This is going to hurt...

Anyways...

Some changes in the plans; AdminPwn decided to launch the game as an 'Early Access' tittle on Steam, as he doesn't want to delay the game any further. The plan is to have an Alpha Testing period first to for bug-fixes/internal testing before rolling out the Early Access. The missing features from March 30th's post will be done later down the line.

I suppose this is okay, at least there's a closed Alpha Test before the Early Access release. Think of it as "Open Beta" for the Early Access that's free and not one of those DayZ types of 'Early Access'.

Then there's the Dead Frontier 2 Discord server that was set up to interact with players/fans better. I wanted to join in on this, but busy schedule kinda got in the way... plus, I don't really use Discord nowadays... unless I'm playing/chatting with friends.

And then there's some other development news: the amount of players in multiplayer instances was increased from 4 to 8, effectively doubling the amount. This is to make it feel more like an MMO rather than a co-op survival game.

There was also a sale at the one of the server companies' Singapore data-center, so Admin took the chance to get some extra servers. These new ones should help with the ping for folks over in Australia and East Asia.

Last but not least; some awesome concept art. There's quite a selection, but I'm gonna go ahead and pick just one that I fancy...

Looks like an early 'Reaper'... 

Check out the rest of the concept art over at the Creaky Corpse blog post, link below...

Dead Frontier 2: Tendril Boss, Concept Art & More!

And that's all for this post! There's still a bunch to cover, so stay tuned for that.

-Zombie Sniper-