EDIT: The developer has patched in some changes since this OP. While I still disagree with a lot of the game design for a lot of the reasons listed, the patches sound like they reduced some of the negative impact of some of the design choices, and the overall play experience has probably improved. I would like to play the patched version sometime and see for myself.

I had hopes for this game after liking Rebuild on Kongregate, and... Rebuild is just better and totally free.

This is one of those games which is, to a large extent, a craps shoot, and has a "guess what the developer wants you to do to win" sort of logic to it.

So you'd think that scouting around, keeping your supplies in a base, and fortifying your base would help. But not really. This is pretty much the opposite of what you want to do.

You'd think that if a rescue helicopter were on the way, then you would be able to turn on a radio and the pickup information would be broadcast non-stop all day every day. Nope, for some strange reason, people like to collect sentence fragments about this information on their refrigerators, and you have to go around collecting clues like the irrepressible Blue to win the game, only at any totally random time, someone in your troupe could get infected and die, and your reduced combat capabilities quickly dominoes the game away from you. If you don't like this game mode, though, there is some luck: You could play the alternate scenario, in which apparently it's 1910 and you vaguely know about some guy who owns the only automobile in the whole town, but it randomly breaks down in five different ways and needs fixing... that's some bum luck there.

Look, guys, there's bending plausibility for the sake of making a fun game, and then there's dashing it to the ground for the sake of making a tedious and frustrating game. (ok, the fact that any random person off of the street can decapitate a zombie with a switchblade several times in one week no sweat is sort of cool maybe, but I just wish people didn't inexplicably own weapons and ammo of completely incompatible types all the time.)

There are also random events, which wouldn't be so bad if there were more than one viable strategy to the overall game, and if the best strategy at any given time depended on circumstances. What actually happens is that you have to read the forums to get past the counterintuitive nonsense, and then reroll your game when something goes wrong, because if the wrong event happens too soon, you just can't win anymore.

There's also the annoying interface and its "no really, click once per round of ammunition each turn" backwardness.

This game could be more fun if they balanced things and added patches or whatever. I hope this review eventually becomes outdated, because there's enough of a core there to patch it into something fun and playable with meaningful decisions to make.

For now, play Rebuild on Kongregate if you haven't already. It just has more and better. In that game, you can recruit more survivors, your strategic options are intelligible, difficulty modes exist, and there are multiple possible victory conditions in a single game mode. If you've exhausted Rebuild, there's a chance you might get something out of this game in its current state, but it's a rough package.

Hey mothwentbad,

My name is Logan Booker, one of the two developers behind the game.

Sorry to hear you haven't enjoyed Zafehouse: Diaries -- it definitely satisfies a certain niche and we understand it's not for everyone. We do provide a demo however, so players are free to try the game before they buy. I'd post a link, but for some reason I can't, so anyone who's interested, just visit the Zafehouse website -- the demo link is on the right of the page.

There is something I'd like to quickly correct: "There's also the annoying interface and its "no really, click once per round of ammunition each turn" backwardness."

You can right-click on items to move them ten at a time, and you can save loadouts for future use using the suitcase buttons on the right-hand side of the equipment screen.

The right-click sounds useful. I think I tried right-click in other situations and it never seemed to do anything, so I eventually forgot about it.

The loadouts I tended to not use, since you always take everything with you, and you're always finding one or two things different, and end up re-evaluating all decisions based on weight limit.

I really don't think all of my quibbles are just personal taste. There's a lot that just doesn't make sense and is straight-up counterintuitive. As far as I can tell, base-building is useless because you're trick-or-treating for Blue's Clues with no methodology for adapting to individual circumstances whatsoever - you just have to hit as many houses as you can; stealth isn't even an option, so you have no choice but to bring everyone and pummel as many houses as possible because all the other buildings are going to be swarming anyway.

Who would go searching every house in the whole neighborhood collecting newspaper clippings in a zombie apocalypse? Why is there literally only one almost-functional car in the whole town?

I feel like this could be a lot more fun if the game objectives were designed to do something other than force the player to play Blue's Clues in the zombie apocalypse.

I think there is potential for the game, but it needs a lot more meat and options for the player. For example, we currently can only tell how many zombies may be at a location, the general purpose of that place, and how many entrances it has. This is bad, as it doesn't really tell other things that may be of importance. Adding in various details to more fully flesh out the judgement of a location is crucial, in my opinion.

We currently have just "stores" in the game. If I was a survivor, I would be asking: Is it a hardware store, a grocery store, or one for clothing? This distinction tells the player what kind of supplies can be found. That is incredibly important. The other thing that a survivor would want to know is how does the store look? Has it been untouched by the zombie apocalypse, or has it been thoroughly ransacked? This also allows for the developers to 'weigh' how often certain types of stores would have been raided for supplies, as some may be of more obvious use than others to survivors - a sporting goods store wouldn't attract attention like a grocery store.

To sum up the past two paragraphs: More information about locations, please. These keywords come to mind, too:

STORE TYPES
Grocery Store
Hardware Store
Dollar Store
General Store
Weapons Outlet
Clothing Store
Auto Dealership
Sporting Goods
Pharmacy

LOCATION CONDITION
Pristine
Untouched
Intact
Looted
Ransacked


Another thing that bothers me is the way resting is handled. Currently, survivors go and rest whenever they feel like, which is really bad from a realism and gameplay standpoint. For example, I had somebody on zombie spotting duty and sent another survivor out on patrol. The spotter decided to take a nap, which meant that if the patroller got ambushed, that may have been a survivor down. We currently can't assign when people are free to sleep or relax, so we can't have survivors rest and switch out like we would in real life. I can buy that a hotel would allow for an nice rest, but to only be able to control resting when at the hotel? That is weird.

Hey Sabin_Stargem,

We knew that resting would be difficult to get exactly right, so we went with a compromise between realistic and "gamey". So, when a survivor is "resting", they will still fight and defend themselves if the group is attacked, eat if hungry and they can still be moved if the need arises. The only major disadvantage from resting is that the survivor cannot be assigned to orders.

Think or it more as an order "cooldown" period, rather than someone lying in the hallway unconscious as their group desperately tries to defend them. :)

Regarding the hotel -- each unique location has a secret, which can be bad or good. Allowing the player to force survivors to rest seemed like a good fit for the hotel. Again, this is where we try to balance realism with more standard gameplay mechanics.

Your suggestion regarding different stores types is interesting -- thanks for the suggestion!

I understand that locations should have special features - that is part of what makes them interesting, after all. In any case, I have an issue with one particular area of the game: Food. While it is true that food should be at some kind of premium, it is far too rare and my survivors end up starving if I try to fortify a location. This is partially why I previously suggested store sub-types, because a store oriented around food should offer some kind of stopgap to keep my survivors from starving to death.

However, adding locations, extra sources for food, and so forth would be key to allowing the game to last longer in my opinion. Adding more sources of food and possibly giving methods to forage for it would be a good step forward, in my opinion. Here is some suggestions.


FOOD-CENTERED LOCATIONS: The Greenhouse and The Farm.

Greenhouses are glass buildings, constructed to enable the growth of plants. This means that you can potentially grow crops out of season, provided that you keep the temperature of the building properly regulated, fertilize the soil, and keep them watered. I think they would often be located in urban areas, poorly suited to defense, but mostly unnoticed by other human survivors because most people don't think of greenhouses. Greenhouses don't produce much in the way of crops, but should still be enough to mostly cover a small group's needs. Takes awhile to make a greenhouse produce food, but potentially good if you want to keep your group within an urban area.


Farms on the other hand are often located outside of town. While relatively exposed to invasion, farms may come with some work vehicles, have cellers, attics, and may offer good defense if developed. They also come well stocked with tools and general supplies. Farms can produce a tremendous amount of food, but are not ideal during a zombie invasion because it can cause a racket if survivors attempt to mass-produce crops. (Tractors, planes to use pesticide). Being outside of town can be a good thing for a farm, as the zombies are focused on well-populated areas. Groups of survivors often occupy farms, as they are the first thing often thought of when people think about long term survival.

There can also be different types of farms. A meat farm would probably be swarming with undead unless there are humans there to protect their livestock. If they do manage to survive against the zombies, they might find the idea of exchanging food for resources a favorable thing. Farms dedicated to vegetables and fruit wouldn't be as attractive to zombies, but zombies and enemy survivors can easily hide due to the orchards and cornfields that are adjacent to such farms. As such, harvesting food from this kind of farm can be especially dangerous.


FOOD-CENTERED ACTIONS

Foraging: The idea of this action is to tell a survivor to search a district for food to bring home. They will take whatever they can find and bring it back home with their spare carrying capacity. Foraging is all about finding the veggies and fruits that define a good meal, so survivors will search for gardens, farms, greenhouses, and so forth in the area that they are assigned to search. The resulting food would last longer than meat would, but isn't as hearty. However, some sources of fruits and vegetables may regenerate over time. As ever, zombies or other survivors may pose a threat, especially the latter if you steal from other humans.

Hunting: Just as the name implies, survivors sent on this mission will search a district to find some form of meat. Animals like rats, dogs, cats, and racoons are popular meals in zombie apocalyptica. Most animals can be found underneath porches, in cellars, and the attics of buildings. The local animal shelter and pet shops may have a surviving population of animals, if the zombies haven't yet gotten to them. More dangerous than foraging, as the zombies may also be hunting for the same food. Some survivors may not have the stomach to deal with hunting and gutting animals.

Trapping: It is possible to set up traps that are not focused on zombies, but for snaring food instead. Racoons and rats are the most common victims of such, but traps designed for birds like pigeons are also possible. May require some kind of food that is ideal to these animals, such as dog food. (Pet food may also serve as a source of food for humans, but obviously is displeasing to stomach.) A limitation of this option is that for every trap dedicated to snaring animals, that is one less trap that can be employed against zombies at that location.

Gardening: In a greenhouse, farm, backyard garden, rooftop garden, or a flower shop, it is possible to cultivate plants with the intention of having additional food to draw upon later. Requires some initial setup, and then a daily ritual of attending the plants. Gardens that are located outdoors may potentially thrive without assistance. If other human survivor groups spot a working garden, they may consider taking it for themselves if they lack a secure food source. Trade may also be possible.

When is there time to fortify? You can do nothing but explore, search once for clues/weapons per location before moving on, and still run out of time in the end. Zafehouse as it stands now doesn't want you to build a safehouse at all. It wants you to throw the dice at randomized Blue's Clues.

I went for Roadkill mode instead of Rescue, but...I suppose your point stands, because you really can't build a base due to not enough food. All said, I am still making suggestions about the gameplay because I want Zafehouse to be the best game it can.

There is a lot of weak points to the gameplay, but through a lot of thinking and hard work, Zafehouse 3 could be awesome. We just have to figure how to make the gameplay work better - to make it more sensible, fun, and meaningful.

This is the feeling Im getting from the game. Plus let me add the breaching thing.

If you take it slow is a game over. Cant take it too fast because almost every breach equals a game over.

In one play I tried to take it slow but I heard the chopper coming... so I missed it and didnt even get to explore 20% of the town. Tried to take it fast and just died to my 4th breaching because one of my survivors told me that in a place there was only 1 zombie inside... guess what... there was 14... how the holy heck he missed by that much I will never know. Supposedly, knowing info in advance helps your survivors and having great equipment but it doesnt matter how much info you have or how many times you make upgrades to your combat equipment, shortcuts, they will die to a breach.

Not even in FTL I had so much displeasure dying to random events but this game, the breaching really takes the cake. At first I tried to do the suggestions, snipe the place (this is a leisure since if you cant find ammo for it or dont have the right survivors at the start sniping will not work), investigate the place multiple times, upgrade equipments, take tools but it just take too much time and you will end up dead because of false info or just that the game decided that in this breach you will die. As you can read, I have a real beef with breaching.

Investigate a place, I go ahead and snipe it (sometimes I just cant snipe either survivors I rolled sucks or weapon/ammo related problem), got a bunch of beefed up modified items... go inside and lose the game... rinse and repeat. Everytime!!! Every game over I get is because of the breaching!!!

No one wins you just get a little better but not ahead.

If you ask me the breaching thing needs a look at or a mod to get it balanced out so strategy can win over the high luck of getting killed everytime no matter what you do to prepare for it.

Game can be fun the first hours trying to fiddle and trying out the new stuffs but after you reach this wall... it stops.

Hey guys,

I just wanted to let you know we are definitely listening to your feedback. Of course, we can't implement everything that everyone wants, but we will be releasing a patch soon that (along with bug fixes and tweaks) will:

1) Make investigating significantly more accurate
2) Provide players with options when faced with overwhelming odds during a breach
3) Improve the nutritional value of prepared food
4) For certain dilemmas, an assessment of your chances of survival
5) Balance tweaks to certain difficult dilemmas

Thanks for your support and understanding so far.

(Quote deleted by personal request. I don't know the reasons.)

It's ironic that it's called "Zafehouse" when building a safehouse is the least viable strategy for actually winning. In reality, you just have to hit all the houses like it's trick or treat and hope you find the right clues before the clock runs out. You just have to rush it and hit the least dangerous nearby target as often as you can, and even if you have perfect food/combat/ammo luck, you can still lose because you don't get the right clues in time.

There's no point in fortifying anything unless you just happen to get all of the good clues early on. The game was more fun to me when I thought I was trying to survive, because then I made the mistake of fortifying a base and so on. After I figured out that was just hitting every house and store on the map and rolling dice to see if I lived and if I found anything, it stopped feeling like I was trying to learn any strategy at all: Hope no one dies. Hope that you don't find a rifle and 12 crossbow quarrels for the eighth time. Hope that you get a clue. Hope it's not a useless clue, etc.

There's no flexibility in the winning condition, and no way to adapt to anything or play off of relative strengths/weaknesses. Is the pickup point totally secured and zombie-free? Too bad, the pilot is totally blind and can only communicate by two-way radio. Is the pickup point totally swarmed with zombies and no longer a good pickup location? Too bad, the pilot is going to land in the middle of the horde anyway, and there's no convincing him to land elsewhere.

Complete information about the pickup should be really easy to get. It should be posted everywhere, and it should be really easy to get, broadcast 24/7 on one-way radio stations, and at least half of all houses should have a one-way radio. Every police station and hospital should have two-way radio. You shouldn't need two-way radio to get picked up if you're already at the location. At most you should need some kind of signaling to get their attention.

If the goal were just to survive for a week or two, and then the town was going to be cleared out by an army, then base-building would be meaningful and satisfying. Maybe the overall difficulty of just staying alive would have to be tweaked to compensate.

If there were multiple victory conditions, maybe the helicopter victory should take less time, but require crossing some dangerous lines to achieve. Perhaps the pickup location actually does contain a large number of survivors, but they're boarded up and swarmed on the outside and out of ammo. Maybe they won't let you in because they don't trust that you're not infected, but if you can make contact, they will tell the pilots your address to make another pickup. Or you can invade a dangerous location to get a two-way radio and contact the pilots directly yourself.

In general, getting around town shouldn't be as safe as it is. It doesn't make sense that zombies leave you alone altogether except for when you are inside of a building or attempting to enter. Scouting shouldn't be 100% safe; if an area is too dense, then at best you should get messages like "John only made it partway before having to turn back because too many zombies were about", with options to tweak how much risk they're willing to take on a mission before aborting.

On my first play through I got the radio, the frequency, and the location early. I boarded up inside the church...I sent a runner out to make distractions in buildings I'd previously secured, and I ended up winning with 4 of my team alive.

In my current game, I've got a great base...a fortified store and 3 secured warehouses around it. Unfortunately I was trying to keep my team fairly quiet and so I used mostly close combat weapons...I was quite surprised at how fast and randomly they died since I'd had great luck with hardened baseball bats before...I sent a runner to make a distraction and without any info it just said he must have died since no one's seen him since.

Anyways, I've got 2 team members left....I know everything about the pickup except for the EXACT location, I know it's a warehouse, but not which one, and I have no radio, and no frequency...

I went with the two guys and using distractions I breached EVERY house on the map, searching at least once, and cleaning corpses at least once. Nothing. I even got the event with the girl showing up, but she had no belongings after they killed her.

I wonder how the game calculates battles...I would be SO interested to get a bit more of the calculations from the developers so we're not just guessing on our strategies.

Also is the placement of notes truly random or is is split between houses and special buildings?

I like what the one guy said about having more ways to win...I have to agree...I like the tension of having to get to the chopper in time, but I wish it wasn't entirely dependent on the radio...there should be special buildings which always provide you with radios or have a high chance at least. Plus I like the idea of being able to make a signal for the helipcopter somehow...

Imagine how much better the game would be if there were enough desperate ways to get on the chopper that you would have an option...ya know? I like your philosophy that you have to play with the cards you're dealt, but there need to be alternate ways to win even if the cards aren't in your favor.

@mothwentbad: Craps shoot game... enjoy the picture!

And if you dont help the stranger theres a chance that either way someone or some of your survivors will die because the super zombie will attack(already had this happened).
BEWARE! If you get this chance card. All the effort of my game just went down the drain.

I think if this randomly happens to you and you happen to be sitting in a totally fortified building and sitting on top of tons of guns, ammo, and traps, then you can win. This happened to me once, but I lost the game because I wasn't running all over town looking for clues. So... you'll lose one way or the other if you get this one, probably. If it happens late enough, then you can hope that 0-2 of you die in the fight even if you're not boarded up yet, but if you're not basically already at the pickup site with all the supplies you need, you're a goner if you lose two. It's an exceedingly narrow situation in which you can get this event and not die.

The Piper one actually wasn't so bad... he took a fire axe and some binoculars or something. He's actually not that hard to buy off. Considering that the alternatives are a monster swarm or losing a survivor...