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It’s here! Grab the Zafehouse 2 combat demo

Crazy to believe, isn’t it? For a while there I didn’t think it would ever happen, but, after a few hectic days of coding I’ve got it out.

A few things, though:

1) It’s a demo! There’s probably 10 minutes of gameplay in this thing, tops. It’s just a taster, a sample. It’s not meant to be a whole game. I desperately wanted to let people know that yes, the game is still in development. The demo is also a platform to deliver feedback on the general feel and direction. Try not to nitpick, but don’t hesitate to offer a comment or two.

2) Read the readme! It contains a list of requirements. Before you start posting that you can’t get it working, make sure you’ve installed all the necessary software and are running the correct operating system. It should go without saying I can’t provide support for anyone running the game under emulation (WINE, VMWare, Mono, etc).

3) Speaking of reading, look at the demo tutorial! If you just jump into the game and are completely lost, be it on your own head. If you read the tutorial and still can’t make heads or tails of things, go ahead and fire some questions.

4) The download is around 8.5MB… just in case that’s going to bust your download limit for the month.

5) Performance. It’s not as fast as it could be, especially when you have a lot of overlapping awareness arcs. Optimising comes much later when the rest of the game is solid.

All I can think of for now. Will probably update this post as I remember stuff.

Download: Zafehouse 2 combat demo

FAQ

When I run Zafehouse 2.exe I get an error about reading game values
Download this replacement executable: http://downloads.zafehouse.com/zafehouse2/z2fix.zip. It should fix the problem.

When I run the game, I get an error about the audio subsystem
To fix this, you’ll need to install the following files:

SlimDX runtime
The latest DirectX 9.0c runtime (note that Windows Vista and Windows 7 do not come with DX9 by default, and having DX10 is not enough!). You can also try the end-user runtime
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 runtime
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 runtime

I’m still getting errors!
We can track down the exact problem using Dependency Walker. If you’re not afraid of a little techiness, download DW, run it and then drag the SlimDX.dll in the Zafehouse 2 directory into the program’s open window. It’ll tell you straight away what’s missing!

~ by Logan on September 19, 2010.

Posted in Zafehouse 2

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28 Responses to “It’s here! Grab the Zafehouse 2 combat demo”

  1. Oh my god, i can’t believe it. Thank you, did not stop on this!

    KONSERVATOR said this on September 19th, 2010 at 6:12 am

  2. An error occurred while trying to read in game values. The game will now exit.
    What is wrong?

    KONSERVATOR said this on September 19th, 2010 at 6:27 am

  3. @KONSERVATOR: Not sure to be honest. I’ve uploaded a potential fix here: http://downloads.zafehouse.com/zafehouse2/z2fix.zip

    Logan said this on September 19th, 2010 at 6:52 am

  4. Thank you very much for sharing.
    And I also have a problem. when I open the Zafehouse 2.exe, it’s jump out a message box “an unknown error related to the audio subsystem has occurred”, I cant open the game.
    I used the z2fix.zip to replace the file but the problem still exist.
    Please help to fix the problem.

    csk244 said this on September 19th, 2010 at 9:03 am

  5. Fantastic, many thanks for putting the time into getting this out so soon.

    TomA said this on September 19th, 2010 at 9:31 am

  6. When the exe is run for me I get the error ‘An unknown error related to the audio subsystem has occured.’ I have the requirements in the readme.

    Thanks

    TomA said this on September 19th, 2010 at 9:36 am

  7. “An unknown error related to the audio subsystem has occurred”

    I dunno what all the complicated stuff in the file ment, can someone help me out?

    murray said this on September 19th, 2010 at 9:58 am

  8. “An unknown error related to the audio subsystem has occurred”

    I got that too :( i have surround sound if thats the problem maybe ?

    Fix soon please !

    I’m Running Windows 7 btw .

    sudget said this on September 19th, 2010 at 2:13 pm

  9. Hey guys,

    Sorry for the audio stuff. I only have two PCs I can test on so sorting out the exact requirements can be a bit hairy.

    Try installing this: SlimDX runtime. Let me know if you’re still having grief afterwards.

    EDIT: Also make sure you have the very latest DirectX 9 version. They update it often: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en

    Finally, try installing .NET 3.5 SP1. You shouldn’t need it, but it’s the only other thing I can think of right now: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=333325FD-AE52-4E35-B531-508D977D32A6&displaylang=en

    Logan said this on September 19th, 2010 at 4:24 pm

  10. I’ve added an FAQ to the original post. Be sure to take a look.

    Logan said this on September 19th, 2010 at 5:23 pm

  11. Thank for helping. I can open the game now.
    Actually, the idea of the demo is good, i can select the combat type or action method. Because of limition of demo, i can’t simulate the whole action and reaction between the zombie and human. I think if the demo can provide action of zombile and human in same time, it will become much better.

    csk244 said this on September 19th, 2010 at 6:41 pm

  12. Glad you were able to play it csk244. If you don’t mind, can I ask what steps you took to get the demo working?

    Logan said this on September 19th, 2010 at 7:05 pm

  13. I use win 7 32bit. I just install the SlimDX runtime, then i can open the game.
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en
    Hope it’s helpful

    csk244 said this on September 19th, 2010 at 8:09 pm

  14. Hooray! Got the game working, i’ll give a better review when I get in from school

    murray said this on September 19th, 2010 at 11:06 pm

  15. OK, first of all, it’s pretty nice, can’t say much about the game because it isn’t finished yet.

    Right, first thing, whenever I click continue, the zombies NEVER attack of move. But if I press conclude then they maul my survivors (is this a bug or is it ment to be like that in the demo?)

    And a suggestion: Instead of putting numbers (like survivor number 1, etc) in the green square that represents the survivor, why don’t you put the name instead?

    murray said this on September 20th, 2010 at 7:56 am

  16. @murray: That’s intentional, yes. If you look at the demo tutorial, it explains the difference between conclude and continue. Basically, as long as your survivors have stamina, you can click continue to have them take additional actions before the zombies get to move. Once you hit conclude, that’s when the zombies get to go.

    A few people have suggested they’d prefer a system where the turns occur concurrently. I’m looking into this. The point of the current system is that it allows survivors to take a number of extra actions over zombies as the survivors are much more agile than their undead foes.

    As for the numbers/names – on the main map screen the characters are far to small (maybe 24 pixels square) to fit something as large as a name. I am investigating other options, such as using actual portraits.

    Logan said this on September 20th, 2010 at 4:10 pm

  17. It works, woot!!!
    1. The zombies score always a hit?
    2. Sometimes bullets fly through the zombie or character icon…intentional?
    3. In the full game the combat will start with zombies outside of the house, right? (When not clearing a buildnig?)
    4.Its probably cause the survivors are so well armed but it seems too easy. I mean i start with survivor scrambled over the room which is filled with zombies and still in 90% i manage to end the turn unharmed.

    kulik said this on September 23rd, 2010 at 11:23 pm

  18. What about an initial instead of a number ?

    Thought the demo was really good :)

    sudget said this on September 24th, 2010 at 4:06 am

  19. @kulik: That’s only because you pressed continue, not conclude, and of course it’s easy because its a demo, and the survivors have unlimited ammo, decent weapons and full stamina

    murray said this on September 24th, 2010 at 10:04 am

  20. Unoptomized and laggy, but still enjoyable. Will I be able to play the full game by Christmas?

    bbad89 said this on September 26th, 2010 at 7:39 am

  21. Thanks for the comments guys. I’m taking everything on board.

    Balance is completely whack, definitely. The demo is more about giving you a sense of what combat will play like and to get feedback on the general direction.

    Still, it’s interesting to hear about difficulty. Later builds will be introducing limited ammo, reduced stamina and other tweaks.

    @bbad89: It really depends on how busy I am at work. There’s been a bit of a break between projects so I’ve had more time to put into Zafehouse.

    Logan said this on September 27th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

  22. @kulik:

    1) At the moment, yes. Already been fixed. :)
    2) Yes. It’s to simulate that bullets can fly over the top of people or inbetween gaps in arms and legs, etc. It also means shooting directly at a zombie with survivors nearby isn’t safe.
    3) Yes. The situation in the demo is more of a worse-case scenario.
    4) No balancing has been done at this stage. Need to lock in some more fundamental details before any serious tweaking can take place.

    Logan said this on September 27th, 2010 at 6:28 pm

  23. *Performs CPR* BREATHE ZAFEHOUSE BLOG, BREATHE!!!!

    bbad89 said this on October 21st, 2010 at 6:57 pm

  24. 2 bbad89
    Dude, this was a big leap, the guy deserves a rest. …but your comment is reasonably funny. :)

    kulik said this on October 26th, 2010 at 3:05 pm

  25. He could at least just leave a post saying, sorry guys, nothing new this week, but *unrelated news topic here*

    bbad89 said this on October 27th, 2010 at 3:15 pm

  26. I now believe that this game is dead…

    bbad89 said this on November 15th, 2010 at 5:40 pm

  27. NOOOOO… WHY? How could it be?

    KONSERVATOR said this on November 29th, 2010 at 3:32 am

  28. I will wait this game for years

    KONSERVATOR said this on December 4th, 2010 at 3:52 am