With SurrounDead releasing today I thought it would be good to go over the vision I have for the game. From near future, to far future and ideas I have that aren't set in stone.
As well, Discord: https://discord.gg/FYhmFTdwhN
Near Future
Vehicles
I've been making good progress with a complete rework to how vehicles worked previously. While before you couldn't open your inventory, map, etc when in a vehicle, everything you can do when on foot you can expect to do in a vehicle (with limits). Implemented at the moment is; a fuel system with custom amounts for each vehicle, a repair system, a refuelling system, kill enemies by hitting them with your vehicle and all the standard vehicle stuff (eg. get in vehicle, get out, etc). Further work still needs to be completed on; a damage/health system, AI reaction to the vehicle and vehicle sound.
Quests
I will be adding a quest system where you'll be able to interact with characters over the map and be able to help them out, their community or help random survivors. As well, this will tie into the narrative and give you more lore of what happened in this world and how it became how it is now.
Skill/Level System
With a levelling system already implemented, I will be expanding this system with skills. Each time you level up skill points will be given which will allow you to improve your stamina, health, hunger, thirst, improved parkour and the list goes on. I want to make this system fun and rewarding with the ability to customise your player. Something I'm unsure about is whether this system should be linked to the quests system, eg. to do some certain quests you would have to be a certain level (I'd love to hear feedback on this).
Map System
While the current 'Longdown Valley' map is being worked on, smaller areas outside of the current map will be made available via certain locations on the map. These locations could go from a small caravan site, to a forest, a beach or an enclosed city. This system can really expand the narrative of the game and just generally be more fun.
Miscellaneous
Other features I'll be working on range from actual animations that play when you fire a weapon, to continuing with level design of the map, improving current locations, fixing issues and adding steam achievements. Furthermore, bigger additions will be AI bandits that roam the map and wandering traders.
Far Future
Farming
Tired of living off loot you find in the world, why not go into the forest and start your own farm. Simply put, you'll be able to place dirt patches down that you can then put seeds in, overtime it'll slowly grow. Who knows in the future this could even go to animals, but I doubt that at the moment.
Fishing
Find a fishing rod and go to either the sea or a small lake/river and you'll be able to cast to the rod and wait for fish to grab onto that bait. I would want to keep this system quite simple and it would likely be a luck system for catching certain fish.
Clothing System
I'm using Synty Studios assets for the models of character to buildings, Something they're working on is a customisable character mesh system (Timeframe for this depends on when they release these assets). This allows me to implement different types of clothing and so while you could start with a police uniform you could end up getting a full military outfit and body armour. The choice would be yours!
AI Bandit Camps
Discover inhabited camps around the map/s. Bandits will be roaming these encampments and will shoot on site, get some good loot from them and help people out by getting rid of them.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is a question I expect I'm gonna be asked a lot, while there is no multiplayer yet, I definitely plan it. My plan for adding this will be start with a separate roguelike mode where you and friends can take down hordes of zombies and traverse a custom map, unlocking locations and weapons. Once this part of the system is in a good state, tests will be set up so that multiplayer can be implemented into the main game. While I want multiplayer to be more like Valheim or State of Decay 2, I will not stop players from being able to attack each other in their worlds.
Miscellaneous
Improvements to the boss zombie AI, at the moment all they have is a melee attack, I want to give them a ranged attack to make them more deadly against the player. A temperature system, however this will only be implemented once the clothing system is and item rarities.
Conclusion
While some of these features may never see the light of day, I'd as well like to hear what you think should be added, changed or even removed.
There is as well a Trello page, available here: https://trello.com/b/RiofWR3h/surroundead-trello
Thank you and I hope you enjoy the game!