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A jam submission

9 DayzView game page

You have 9 days to reach a ship that will save you from the hell the world has turned into.
Submitted by Humane Tiger (@HumaneTiger1) — 7 days, 13 hours before the deadline
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9 Dayz's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Art / Graphics#164.0004.000
Overall Fun#233.7503.750
Sound/Music#283.5003.500
Controls / UI#313.0003.000

Ranked from 4 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

If you have competed before, how has your game changed?
Added back the fog of war, as I finally found a performant way that doesn't fry the GPU.

Game Genre

Strategy

Turn-based | Card Games | RTS | 4X

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Comments

Well then, look who's back! Thought you'd escaped me the first time, huh? Well, I had time to spare and thus I did a longer playthrough! This time, I actually beat the game! This makes it the perfect time to come back here.

Since people mentioned UI stuff, I want to instead focus on the gameplay and presentation. I'm going to focus on the first one, since I think it matters more.

Before I get into it, I do want to note that the issue I brought up before about the card stack isn't fixed. Put some 200 items in your inventory and you should see what I mean. :P

To begin, how big of an area would you imagine this place is? Like, how far do you think the player is traveling? The reason why I ask is because the map itself isn't all that big. Like, if I look at the size of drawings and roads and try to extrapolate it into an actual walking area, I'd wager it'd only take a day to go the long way to the boat.

One thing I had been feeling when I played it is that the world should be "bigger" with time passing more slowly when you're not performing actions. This, in turn, would spread enemies and obstacles out. It'd also allow for a lot more options in terms of new paths. This brings me to the next issue: replayability. Right now, once I've beaten the game there's nothing for me to play again. It's not like the map changes or locations of hordes and enemies change. I think this is where things need to be worked on next, to make it fun to keep changing.

Next, there should be more info to explain to the player what the crafted items are for. I don't want to waste items on a campfire if I don't know how it'll benefit me. In a similar vein, a bit of explanation of how combat works (specifically what the numbers mean) would also be good.

One thing that I found infuriating while playing was the high chance for luring away to fail. I had a time where I attempted to lure four times and every one failed. Given the amount of energy and time this takes, it can be infuriating for it to fail. I'd say the failure rate should be lower, or that the cost to energy and time should be less so it's not putting the player on the backfoot so easily.

I loved the option for points where you can easily recover water. Thanks to these, I don't feel like the speed in which water drains is a problem. However, I do feel the speed for food is. Just thinking in general about how long a person can survive without food makes me feel this should be changed. Since the game is supposed to take 9 days, here's what I would recommend: making the food meter drop a little slower. When the meter empties, it begins to drain energy faster. This would feel more realistic to what the body is capable of. This would, in turn, allow the player to strategize when they eat. Similarly, all food should provide some energy no matter what.

And just for context to the above, I have personally gone 3 days without drinking anything, but I've gone a week without eating anything. When I had nothing to drink, it had a toll on my body. However, the most that happened when I wasn't eating was I felt more tired. This is why I suggest things the way I am.

I also think maintaining health should be a bigger deal. It wasn't until I began making huge use of sleep and rest that I noticed that doing either recovers HP. However, the amount gained felt way too big to me. I'd say make those gains much smaller, but in exchange make enemies a bit weaker. This would then allow for more strategy.

Finally, there should be a combat option if you run out of items. In fact, I would argue that the player should always have a non-card option for combat though with a drawback.

Developer (2 edits)

Oh wow, hythrain, thank you so much for coming back, giving my game another try and leaving me this huge amount of valuable feedback. You make me really happy man! Have you recorded your playthrough - would love to watch it again.

First things first: Congrats for beating the game. This isn't an easy one - very well done! 🏆🏆🏆

I have some feedback for you - let's see, how much you like it, and well it meets your ideas and points for improvement.

Your feedback for the card stack: How is this related to the number of items in your inventory? Is there a bug coming up, when there is a critical amount of them? Sorry, can't see the relation, but maybe it is just too late here - time for bed soon ;-)

The area in reality (I have some reference) is roughly 15x15 km. But I shortended the length of  the roads by a lot to make walking the roads less tedious. So your idea here is to make a more detailed / zoomed in map? So players have to walk longer from one house to another, even if it is in the same street, so to speak?  Currently have another plan for replayability - or better: continues playability: There are more maps and tasks following. So the first 9 Days are just the prelude. On the current map there is a whole town  located in the north west, which players don't get in touch with. So the story could continue like this: You reach the boat, but it turns out, they have too many passengers and too little food for everyone. So your next task is to reach out to that town and collect a certain amount of food and drinks. Another plan for replayability: Different characters  and progressive character improvement - here you can find the first UI concepts for this: https://humane-tiger.itch.io/9-dayz/devlog/586768/feedback-quest-5-ui-designs  Players have to reach certain goals to unlock more characters  and their special abilities. If I go really fancy, each of them will have their own story (maybe in form of a diary), which can be discovered while exploring the world. I am working on the characters next - introducing at least 2 of them for the beginning.

More information is just about to be released. You will be able to right-click every item slot and crafting option - an in-game Almanac is then showing  all the details for that item, cooking- or crafting-recipe.


The current state and idea is documented here: https://itch.io/jam/imgj29/topic/3163246/a-list-of-improvement-ideas-for-this-ja...   You can even  test the Almanach in this pre-release: http://humane-tiger.com/9dayz/ So very soon you will e. g. get  an extensive answer for:  "What is this Glue good for, which I can cook from bones and water? Is it worth doing that?"

The chance for successful Luring is 60:40 (60 being the success here). But luck is a slippery thingy ;-) That's why I will replace "gambling" by a mini game. Isn't easy to implement though, so I am pushing this one in front of me.


There will be other minigames for Fishing and opening Safes as well. Here is  the concept for the Luring minigame: https://humane-tiger.itch.io/9-dayz/devlog/586068/feedback-quest-5-upcoming-impr...

Uff, what next... :-D

For the balancing and stats, you will be able to choose a character that suits your expectations. Time for a wish, if you like: Have any idea for the character you describe, having a slow metabolism? What pros would such a character have? And what cons? See the "Tree Hugger" in the linked devlog above as an example.


To your last points: Haven't really got into the health/healing topic, as you probably figured out. It will be part of a coming balancing and ist also a candidate for individual character properties. You are the 2nd player mentioning the non-card option for battles (others wished they could run/flee), so I am taking this also as a strong signal for some future change.

Alrighty. Hope I was able to pick up some of your ideas already  to your satisfaction. I am curious to hear how well you image these improvments will fit your feedback.  I promise that none of your feedback gets lost - on my Milanote board there is still lots of space - will compile everything to have it in view. Can't promise to take care of everything exactly, but it will influence my decision process.

(+1)

I'm just gonna comment on the card stack part for now, as I think the VOD will do a better job covering everything else.

So first, put 200 items in your inventory using the game editor tool. Now get into a fight. On the bottom half of the screen where it shows your cards, the stack of cards on the left side (which are face down) will have now expanded to cover several of the cards you've drawn.

Developer

Aaaahh! Okay, now I get it. Yes, yes - the battle card stack isnt limited, alright, will take care of that.

Developer

https://humane-tiger.itch.io/9-dayz/devlog/612029/feedback-quest-5-feedback-by-h...

(+1)

You have a VERY FUN game here. The strategy in the actions flow nicely.

The only turn off for me was the UI clutter and the card presentation. I'd prefer just seeing the map, centering the character, and hovering over icons and get drop down menus instead.

A few things I noticed that should be fixed:

  • Sleeping or resting doesn't show what my penalty will be for hunger and thirst.
  • The jetty drink action should just get me 100% thirst since there are no penalties or at least none that I saw, this way I'm not clicking unnecessarily. 
Developer(+1)

Thanks, your feedback is appriciated. I like  the points you noticed. Both make sense,  they are now on my list of improvements.

The cards however, they will stay. It was  my whole reason of starting  9 Dayz, to explore how a survival and exploration game  can be played  when cards represent locations, actions, events etc.

Developer(+1)

May I ask how far you  came in your run? Was it the jetty at the first camp side in the west (Lake Campside Resort)?

(1 edit) (+1)

I got to the next town after the jetty

Developer(+1)

Well done! This is roughly 1/2 of the way to  safety.

Developer

One more question came to my mind. Would you consider the UI of such a game also being too cluttered? If not, can you name the difference to the 9 Dayz UI?


If I am getting too annoying with coming back to your feedback, just ignore this  comment - I  could understand.

(1 edit) (+1)

Yeah, that's pretty cluttered. The top and bottom panels are okay by themselves since they're neatly tucked aside. Of course the windows and tooltips can be closed and opened when needed so that shouldn't be an issue.

9 Dayz UI cards just felt like an unnecessary layer that defeated the experience for me. The map was what I was interested in, but I had to dig through the cards to find out what something was and vice versa.  The map felt crushed to give room for the cards. 

The way I would've done it was to just have the map centered and hover over icons to reveal the cards.

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Alright,  thanks again. Think I understand what you mean. Stumbled over this game just this morning and  was remembered on your feedback. It is a completely different setting, but the map   in this game is in the center of attention, together with stylized troops, different icons and players giving commands in context of that environment. https://macondos.itch.io/command-control-3

Submitted(+1)

The graphics are very nice, going with "everything's a card" is a gameplay touch I like too.

It's pretty amusing fighting the zombie hordes with a "throw everything at them!" strategy, even if not exactly optimal running out of food.

A bit evil to make the player wait for the zombie to finish them off if they run out of cards, may be more mercyful to just make it an automatic game over.

Good game overall!

Developer

Thank you for  your feedback :-) I noted a fix for the "evil bit" - noticed that in the past myself (a rat with one attack takes ages to bring you down) - your reminder is very welcome.

Hello! Welcome to Feedback Quest 5! It's nice to meet you! My name's Hythrain. I'm part of the FQ team and a hobbystreamer. I'm writing this review live after having played your game.

On start up, I was a little shocked at the game's presentation. I went into the tutorial, but when the game seemed to be just up and going, with time ticking away, it immediately felt like I was told nothing at all. As such, I would recommend that when a tutorial dialogue box pops up, it should do so as a focal point and pause the game so the player can read.

Once I had gotten an idea of what I was doing, I restarted and tried again. I immediately realized the challenge of this game as both the items you find and the strength of zombies was completely random. I could have the first few fights go easy and I get a lot of strong items, or they could be a slog and I'm deprived of items and unable to continue. I'm all for a challenging experience, but it's felt incredibly painful to get anywhere without cheating for cards. Speaking of, if you have too many cards you end up covering the usable cards in the UI. Not really something that should happen in normal gameplay, but worth knowing.

I want to play more, but for me it's hard to dedicate the time when it's so heavily reliant on luck (That and I have a lot of games to cover). If you can make the game balance out so rounds with a lack of items = weaker enemies, it'd help to make things feel more achievable.

Developer (2 edits)

Hello hythrain, I wanted to check out your Twitch stream, but can only find recordings being around 6 months old. Any hint where I can see you playing the game? https://www.twitch.tv/hythrain

It would be much easier for me to see how you actually play. The points you mention from my perspective I adressed already, so having an inside look at your gameplay would be preferrable.

Some questions upfront:

  • The game presentation shocked you? Why? What are you referring to - is it plain shocking ugly, or shockingly good or what?
  • You felt like nothing was told at all? What you mean by that? Have you missed some information to make the start easier (tutorial teaches you how to move, what to do first, what to take care of, when to craft, how to fight, what the symbols mean...)?
  • Finding items is not completely random, but to a large scale, yes. Over the first 2 days everything balances out - there are so many items to be found, sooner or later you will get everything you need - in more than plentiful numbers, once you get a hang of it.
  • The covering card issue should be fixed, as you can see in one of my devlogs https://humane-tiger.itch.io/9-dayz/devlog/585215/feedback-quest-5-spreading-car...

It's not a game you can rush into or through (I added an intro mentioning that, as I am aware that many Jammers feel forced to play a lot of games as quick as possbile in a short time). 9 Dazy doesn't serve that need - and will never do. It feels painful  - that's okay tbh. It is designed to feel harsh and unforgiving, again, the intro is mentioning that - and so it mentions the good and bad luck. You will need time to get the hang of it - quite a lot of time, maybe 5 attempts at least - depends. If your time is short, there is no chance to come even close to success. At the end of the world, there is no surviving for rushers ;-)

I see 9 Dayz in one line with harsh and brutal games like The Long Dark, DayZ, Project Zomboid and others. In these games new players die like flies - dozens of times, before they start mastering to survive at least some little time. That's my inspiration - I will polish the pain, I will give players a choice of what items they want to start with, but I won't change it to "quick and easy". Made it easier already - thinking about making it harder again :-D

(+1)

So before I provide a link to where you can find the VOD, I do want to note three things:

1. I may have had consumed cannabis by the time I played your game.

2. I won't be able to answer your questions just yet. I'm about to go live for another FQ5 stream as I'm writing this. However, I do plan to later on.

3. My overall experience is I liked it a lot. No matter how you may see my feedback, I want that to be at the forefront.

With that in mind, my VODs can be found on YouTube. My brain can't remember which VOD it was right now, but I can dig in afterwards to find the specific VOD for you.

Developer (1 edit)

Don't worry, found the recording, thanks or the link. It seems to me like you were kind of in a rush - trying to play all the entries is an ambicious goal, I understand that. As I said, 9 Dayz is not made for a quick experience, so we can let it rest on that.

(+1)

Yea, I do give a limited amount of time. I usually cover every game (FQ4 was crazy, when we had 100 games and yet TotK dropped early into it), so I do need to pace it. Of course, things are working out in a way where I'll get more time for certain games later on to explore them more, so I'll get to see what more time looks like.

I really liked the presentation of the game, the graphics are great and it felt pretty intuitive to move around.  I did feel like the train wreck might need to be moved over to the left a bit, as it feels like I should be able to continue north here.

I'm not a huge card battler, and I may have been somewhat out of my league for the way combat worked here.  I didn't see much of a point in crafting things since they appeared to be one use items.  I did only craft the dagger/knife, so I'm not sure if that is accurate.

I found it odd that I couldn't perhaps use my fist/kick during combat, as getting into combat meant I would lose several items each time.  It didn't look like I could avoid combat, so it felt like it was inevitable that I'd lose everything no matter what.  

Overall I think it's a really cool concept, but personally find the short-lived nature of the items we find to be a bit too short.  It's hard to have motivation to push forward when I have to make a decision on eating or saving the food to use as an attack item, and water, etc.  

9 Dayz is in the first part of the VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1920629393

Developer (2 edits)

Hey vmeezo, thanks for giving 9 Dayz a try. As you noticed yourself, the game is pretty rough. I would add: brutal and unforgiving - by intention ;-)

Watching your stream clearly shows the need of a better battle tutorial. Its still on my todo list.

Some hints: You can try to Lure single zombies into a fight, when successful, fighting them one by one makes things much easier. Attacking will make all other zeds around join into the fight. Ignoring the first 2 in the beginning almost always is the better choice. Crafting an axe or club makes sense: they have durability and can be used 3x. You need an axe to break building doors, stones won't be enough for that. Managing your items is a big thing, as you also figured out. Game will let you constantly walk on the edge - its intended to be like that. However, an easy mode for slowly getting into it might also be a thing I should consider - otherwise it will leave many players frustrated (which is pretty typical for such types of harsh survival games, though).

As you can see in my answer in the other comment below, surviving as totally possible - but I need to find a way to teach all these things in tutorial mode. It is just so much information, not sure how to package all of it without writing walls of text.

(+1)

A very, very enjoyable game for me. I've never been one for card games, and barely have played any Turn-Based games, outside of a select few games. So my enjoyment for this game, came out beyond expectation. It was engaging, tactical, and had you going. The game is brutal, and that is fine, it's meant to be that way, however some things do need to be tweaked in my opinion. Equipped weapons should be drawn first in combat, if it's equipped, it should be at the ready. RNG might have to be changed just a little, as sometimes, you can just get acorns or 2 rocks, one of which can create a far bigger impact than the other. Maybe other ways to get inside houses, as a whole axe swing to break down a door feels too much, considering some houses visually look like they have windows. Careers/Occupations for starting could be a way to further spice up the game, selecting a character giving different buffs/debuffs, starting gear, things of that nature. A journal would be great, every day the character can write down lore on the journey, something like the game 60 seconds, it would also be a great way to have recipes and crafting information written down so you don't need those items to have to check what to keep. Luring to the minigame is good, as it stands, it's a 50-50 and with someone with bad luck, it felt like it was pointless to even try to lure sometimes. Repairs are coming so that is nice. As for the character, giving them more background would be great. Or even just having the player have the options to give them background and a name would work as well, especially for those who wanna do some type of RP. Lore, and or story would be wonderful as well, while searching houses, you have the option to read something that may have been found during the search, giving lore as to what happened to the family, the world, such as the start of it all, all depending on the location you are getting this information from. All and all, a very solid game that look forward to seeing more from.

Developer (2 edits) (+1)

Standing at the entry of Rocksprings on the morning of Day 4. Fully geared, full health, my bags full of loot. Think the game needs a hard mode😁 There are some tricks I haven't shared with you yet, like sharpening most of your branches (they can serve as decent weapons). Also in your very first play I think an older game version was sneaking into your browser (not sure how that happened). In the current version, gathering the first big tree will always yield stone and branch (it did from your 2nd attempt on). Together with the tape that can be found in the first building/car, the crafted axe provides a nice momentum for your early game. You last game was really enjoyable to watch, as you had already learned quite a lot of tricks. There was drama, near death moments, desparation, relieve, good and bad luck - just everything! And if the demon bug wouldn't have come out of the shadows of the maps edge, I am pretty sure, you would have made it to the ship just in the last moments :-)

I like so many of your ideas, they are truly inspiring and will shape the future of 9 Dayz in a great way.


Developer(+1)

Your  Careers/Occupation idea was sparking a lot of ideas in my head. See the last screen in this devlog - even without the Lore it would be a great  addition to the gameplay. Thanks!

https://humane-tiger.itch.io/9-dayz/devlog/586768/feedback-quest-5-ui-designs