Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead - FUCK NO SPORTING GOODS STORES

[The Meowsmith]

I have such a difficult time learning how to play this game and I can't find any real in-depth guides that explain at least how to survive more than a day. I have no real experience with the ASCII games of old, so playing around with games like these is always a source of some frustration.

[Lupin]

[QUOTE=DJswitch;53133074]I have such a difficult time learning how to play this game and I can't find any real in-depth guides that explain at least how to survive more than a day. I have no real experience with the ASCII games of old, so playing around with games like these is always a source of some frustration.[/QUOTE]

Did you check the guides on the wiki?
[url]http://cddawiki.chezzo.com/cdda_wiki/index.php?title=The_First_Day[/url]
[url]http://cddawiki.chezzo.com/cdda_wiki/index.php?title=Beyond_the_first_day[/url]

[kylel999]

[QUOTE=DJswitch;53133074]I have such a difficult time learning how to play this game and I can't find any real in-depth guides that explain at least how to survive more than a day. I have no real experience with the ASCII games of old, so playing around with games like these is always a source of some frustration.[/QUOTE]

The key that I always miss is patience. Don't rush down the middle of the street. Be smart as you move, don't hold down a movement key in one direction and expect not to get spotted.

Make a crowbar by smashing the locker in the evac room with a rock that you can find outside. Take the iron pipe and make it into a makeshift crowbar. Look at your map. If there are a few houses on the outskirts of a town, you can risk breaking into some during the day, or you can read/wait until night and then use the advantage of darkness.

Don't forget you make sound, and be conscious of how much noise you're making. Running cars, fires, dropping items, opening/closing doors, breaking windows and crowbarring doors and [I]firearms and explosives especially[/I] make a ton of noise that attract nearby enemies.

My first priority for new characters is always finding some decent equipment (backpack, a weapon, clothes with good storage but low encumbrance) and then finding a working vehicle. Once you have a vehicle that works, the game immediately becomes a lot easier to survive town raids. It becomes a lot easier once again once you manage to get a welding rig onto your vehicle so you can perform repairs on the go from the battery.

My gameplays always end up in a massive monster RV fortress covered in turrets, and more often than not the starting vehicle is a motorcycle or something :v:

[Anderan]

Also it helps before hand if you decide whether or not you want to play a mutation heavy character so you can take Robust Genetics at char-gen. Unless you want a bunch of negative mutations.

Also try and find a library asap, or at least somewhere with a bunch of books so you can try and find skillbooks. Grocery stores sometimes have a handful.

[StrawberryClock]

Do you guys play with Wander spawns on?

[DaWhatTheFox]

Playing without tiles is lame. I recommend Mshock Xotto+. In fact, here, have it plus some tiles I added/edited myself:

[url]https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/193UNtchPEnuAb62U34gaL8_NYJUFvgCl[/url]

And also have one of Xotto's mods that went missing somewhere in the forums, Hairwigs:

[url]https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xQkxAq7E3ylyMouiyiIblUWliwb7DWwC[/url]

[Lupin]

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;53134883]
And also have one of Xotto's mods that went missing somewhere in the forums, Hairwigs:

[url]https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xQkxAq7E3ylyMouiyiIblUWliwb7DWwC[/url][/QUOTE]

No idea why he removed that from the pack. It really helps spice the npcs up a bit.

I've been thinking about expanding that mod and adding new hairs, and even seeing if I can get stuff like eye/skin color to work too. But who knows when I'll have the free time to mess with that.

[Sleeves]

I remember this game.

I made a base in a gas station only to have a thunder storm burn the whole thing down a week or so into setting up. Que zombies from all corners of the city burning to death in the inferno.

Or another time I found some explosive shotgun shells. I proceeded to blow open every police station and bank I could find.

[DaWhatTheFox]

[QUOTE=Lupin;53135436]No idea why he removed that from the pack. It really helps spice the npcs up a bit.

I've been thinking about expanding that mod and adding new hairs, and even seeing if I can get stuff like eye/skin color to work too. But who knows when I'll have the free time to mess with that.[/QUOTE]

I actually modified the hair sprites and added like a small bunch of new hairdos.

[Lupin]

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;53136048]I actually modified the hair sprites and added like a small bunch of new hairdos.[/QUOTE]

Mind uploading it? Seeing your work might inspire me to try making some as well.

[DaWhatTheFox]

[QUOTE=Lupin;53136380]Mind uploading it? Seeing your work might inspire me to try making some as well.[/QUOTE]

It's the first link I posted earlier. expan.png has the hairdos for the mod and other things, extra.png has the new sprites I made, which are for mods that add items, weapons, clothes, etc. Nonetheless there aren't sprites for all the stuff that might be missing one, since I made these on the fly while playing.

[Chucko Kokos]

[QUOTE=StrawberryClock;53134788]Do you guys play with Wander spawns on?[/QUOTE]

I sometimes do. It's fun to see zombies clashing into fungus lads.

[That2D]

For some reason I never considered that this wall could be loadbearing. Then I knocked a few tiles out and buried half my loot.

[t]https://i.imgur.com/84gMtIE.png[/t]

At least I can use my makeshift funnel inside now.

[StrawberryClock]

[QUOTE=Dr.HAXXXX;53136944]For some reason I never considered that this wall could be loadbearing. Then I knocked a few tiles out and buried half my loot.

[t]https://i.imgur.com/84gMtIE.png[/t]

At least I can use my makeshift funnel inside now.[/QUOTE]

This is why I use the 3rd party launcher to make manual saves. It's a game that takes so long, I don't care about it being a roguelike I just want to experiment with some of the game's behavior without being overly punished.

[kylel999]

[QUOTE=StrawberryClock;53139709]This is why I use the 3rd party launcher to make manual saves. It's a game that takes so long, I don't care about it being a roguelike I just want to experiment with some of the game's behavior without being overly punished.[/QUOTE]

Sometimes I get bored, savescum and crash my vehicle through some walls until it blows up. They can take a surprising amount of punishment when you are trying to fuck them up. I did discover a glitch though, drove my vehicle into a lake once and died, alt f4ed before it could save, loaded the game and my char was where I left him before I saved but my deathmobile was still in the river

[Kickasskyle]

[QUOTE=Kylel999;53141316]Sometimes I get bored, savescum and crash my vehicle through some walls until it blows up. They can take a surprising amount of punishment when you are trying to fuck them up. I did discover a glitch though, drove my vehicle into a lake once and died, alt f4ed before it could save, loaded the game and my char was where I left him before I saved but my deathmobile was still in the river[/QUOTE]

It's something to do with that when you die it saves the world, but obviously not your character since It was going to remove it.

I discovered this once when I mysteriously died when driving my death truck through a city at high speed. I shoved in a backup save and went to check out what the hell happened just to see a giant area inside the city consumed by flaming death. I figured out what happened after putting some thought into it, A shocker zapped my death truck and somehow ignited my mini-nuke stockpile. Cheeky bastard.

[StrawberryClock]

Man, I'm completely out of practice with my early game routine.

[Svinpels]

Same, even had some super lucky spawns, but got too big for my boots waaay too early.
“Zombie brute? Pshaw, I can take him!”
[sp]I couldn’t[/sp]

[StrawberryClock]

being able to run is pretty neat though

[StrawberryClock]

Wander Spawns basically double the zombie count holy shit.

[StrawberryClock]

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/r9GLwcp.png[/IMG]

Wait, can zombies actually swim?

[kylel999]

[QUOTE=StrawberryClock;53149486][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/r9GLwcp.png[/IMG]

Wait, can zombies actually swim?[/QUOTE]

They can, although I think those ones are on shallow water tiles.

Sometimes when you get near deep water sources zombies will explode out of the water

[DrBones]

[QUOTE=StrawberryClock;53149486][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/r9GLwcp.png[/IMG]

Wait, can zombies actually swim?[/QUOTE]

Swimmer Zombies can swim, though it's more like "spawn primarily in the water".

[StrawberryClock]

Gosh, feels like I can't do anything in Wander Hordes even deep in the forest. There's always a Z tile way too close for comfort.

[kylel999]

[QUOTE=StrawberryClock;53150530]Gosh, feels like I can't do anything in Wander Hordes even deep in the forest. There's always a Z tile way too close for comfort.[/QUOTE]

Making noise spawns hordes, try not to use firearms or do a lot of powertool use close to cities

[StrawberryClock]

[QUOTE=Kylel999;53151280]Making noise spawns hordes, try not to use firearms or do a lot of powertool use close to cities[/QUOTE]

Yeah but it seems a bit unpredictable how they converge on you sometimes. Seems like they lose interest somewhat quick but then start spreading out and that's when I'm in trouble.

Do Hordes only respond to sound once they're out of your reality bubble?

[Sleeves]

Watched a review about this game. Didn't know the zombies are actually an alien blob thing.

[Tagger]

[QUOTE=Sleeves;53152774]Watched a review about this game. Didn't know the zombies are actually an alien blob thing.[/QUOTE]

Its all from the blob dimension, man

[StrawberryClock]

I need to relearn how to do the early game.

Anyone got a good strat for standard settings, with wander spawns on?

[kylel999]

[QUOTE=StrawberryClock;53154391]I need to relearn how to do the early game.

Anyone got a good strat for standard settings, with wander spawns on?[/QUOTE]

Only travel/loot at night is my best tip

[editline]23rd February 2018[/editline]

Also Nightvision is an absolute must on any character for that reason. Fleet flooted or Quick will also help at any point in the game