11-24-2010, 03:18 PM
Die2Nite is a real-time browser game where you're dropped into a zombie-infested zone with 39 other people. Each day, you must work with the other people to create defenses and supplies to survive the onslaught of the zombie hordes at night. Repeat ad infinitum until the town is dead, and the town will die.
The mechanics are simple enough; each person is allotted a short amount of action points, which they must share with the town in order to guarantee survival in the short term. You must use these points to build structures to increase the defense of the town or to find resources out in the desert. Every approaching night, the city gates must be lowered to prevent the zombies (and anyone else!) from entering the city and tearing it to pieces. Teamwork is heavily implied to relate to your survival, but in the end, the best rewards and score only go to the last person standing in a town, and achieving that recognition may require you to screw your neighbors.
An interesting concept, and pretty well developed at this point in the (English) release. I'd recommend a playthrough for those that are fans of social games (Mafia/Nomic). While the rules are more defined than other social games, there is still a fair amount of leeway in what you can do in the game, and communication still remains key above all else. Currently, the game is in a beta invite period, so anyone who does get in, share your keys with the others who want to play (you get 3 every two days after you sign up).
As new keys come in, I'll put them up here. If you don't want to wait, try searching around the internets for a key. If you're a goon, especially, there's a thread in the MMO section that may be of some help...
Sign up at http://www.die2nite.com
==WHAT TO DO ON YOUR FIRST DAY==
-Everything on your checklist: When you are overviewing the town, you have a checklist of things you should be doing. Follow it. This includes:
-Get a water ration: One of the primary ways to die is thirst. Not only that, but drinking water refills your AP. After that you should:
-Read the town forum: At the beginner towns, people will usually post a list of what you're expected to do and not to do. Among them is the directive to:
-Build a tent: Costs 2 AP and no materials, provides 1 defense to yourself, plus half a point to the town itself. Defense is important to your town, the higher it is, the less zombies break through. While you're at home, you should:
-Open your gift bags: You start with one random item and food. If the item is a decoration (something you can add to your house for STYLE POINTS), keep it or else give it to the bank. The food will restore your AP in full. After that, if a Watchtower is built, you should:
-Survey the wastes: It gives the town an estimate of how many zombies will attack the following night. It's free to do, and is VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION. You do it before ever wasting AP (aside from the tent, that's a given). Finally, after all that is done, it's time to:
-Spend AP: Something will need to be done. Either a Workshop needs to be built, or some materials need to be scavenged from the desert, or some poor sap has walked headfirst into a bunch of zombies and you need to rescue them. THE FORUM IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR FIGURING OUT HOW TO USE YOUR AP. Always consult it. You can read it even out in the desert.
-If you're scavenging, search and mark every zone you move through: Searching a zone is a free action you can take every 2 hours. Whether depleted or not, do it just to find something, and drop it if you're about to find better things. Other people will pick it up and take it back. Once you're at your destination, kick back and wait a few hours. You automatically search a zone regardless if you're online or not.
==WHAT NOT TO DO ON YOUR FIRST DAY==
-BUILD A HOVEL: DON'T FUCKING DO IT. The fastest way to bantown is to waste a board on a Hovel day 1. Hovels only provide 1 Defense to the town, waste a board that could be used for a workshop, and are home to douchebags (aka you). It's never a good idea to make yourself a target for banishment.
-BUILD SHIT WITHOUT ASKING: The second worst offense possible, and possibly even a quicker way out of the town. Aside from a tent, which no one cares if you build, every other construction costs resources. If you decide, past everyone else, that the town needs a pump Day 1 before even a Watchtower the town will make every effort to HANG YOU.
-Waste AP: Thankfully excusable when you're trying to maximize AP but don't exactly know how. Things that waste AP are constructing projects some douchebag started without permission, eating food and drinking water before you've spent all your AP, fighting zombies with your bare hands, traveling to depleted zones to scavenge, and other various things that would be a minor annoyance. Speaking of that zombie thing.
-Fight zombies empty handed or flee: Either one can get you wounded, which can disable you, lead to an infection, and eventually kill you. Fighting bare handed also wastes AP and has a low chance of success. It's a better idea to call for help on the forums and have someone rescue you (if you have equal or more townies in a square than twice the amount of zombies there, EVERYONE can leave the square for 30 minutes after someone has left). If it's 22:00 game time, though, you should probably flee unless you know someone is coming to get you. Always consult the forums.
-Take items without asking or having a very good reason: Read the forums. Ask to take something. Check the bank thread for any standing orders. If you NEED something to live to the next day, no one will fault you for not asking, but it's best to err on the side of caution.
-Stay outside at midnight: Zombies attack at 23:00 game time (about 5.P EST). People close the gates about 22:30. Check the forums, and make sure you're back by curfew. Getting stuck outside is an instant death, and worth less points than dying in a zombie attack.
And when in doubt, consult the wiki.
And the other wiki.
The mechanics are simple enough; each person is allotted a short amount of action points, which they must share with the town in order to guarantee survival in the short term. You must use these points to build structures to increase the defense of the town or to find resources out in the desert. Every approaching night, the city gates must be lowered to prevent the zombies (and anyone else!) from entering the city and tearing it to pieces. Teamwork is heavily implied to relate to your survival, but in the end, the best rewards and score only go to the last person standing in a town, and achieving that recognition may require you to screw your neighbors.
An interesting concept, and pretty well developed at this point in the (English) release. I'd recommend a playthrough for those that are fans of social games (Mafia/Nomic). While the rules are more defined than other social games, there is still a fair amount of leeway in what you can do in the game, and communication still remains key above all else. Currently, the game is in a beta invite period, so anyone who does get in, share your keys with the others who want to play (you get 3 every two days after you sign up).
As new keys come in, I'll put them up here. If you don't want to wait, try searching around the internets for a key. If you're a goon, especially, there's a thread in the MMO section that may be of some help...
Sign up at http://www.die2nite.com
==WHAT TO DO ON YOUR FIRST DAY==
-Everything on your checklist: When you are overviewing the town, you have a checklist of things you should be doing. Follow it. This includes:
-Get a water ration: One of the primary ways to die is thirst. Not only that, but drinking water refills your AP. After that you should:
-Read the town forum: At the beginner towns, people will usually post a list of what you're expected to do and not to do. Among them is the directive to:
-Build a tent: Costs 2 AP and no materials, provides 1 defense to yourself, plus half a point to the town itself. Defense is important to your town, the higher it is, the less zombies break through. While you're at home, you should:
-Open your gift bags: You start with one random item and food. If the item is a decoration (something you can add to your house for STYLE POINTS), keep it or else give it to the bank. The food will restore your AP in full. After that, if a Watchtower is built, you should:
-Survey the wastes: It gives the town an estimate of how many zombies will attack the following night. It's free to do, and is VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION. You do it before ever wasting AP (aside from the tent, that's a given). Finally, after all that is done, it's time to:
-Spend AP: Something will need to be done. Either a Workshop needs to be built, or some materials need to be scavenged from the desert, or some poor sap has walked headfirst into a bunch of zombies and you need to rescue them. THE FORUM IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR FIGURING OUT HOW TO USE YOUR AP. Always consult it. You can read it even out in the desert.
-If you're scavenging, search and mark every zone you move through: Searching a zone is a free action you can take every 2 hours. Whether depleted or not, do it just to find something, and drop it if you're about to find better things. Other people will pick it up and take it back. Once you're at your destination, kick back and wait a few hours. You automatically search a zone regardless if you're online or not.
==WHAT NOT TO DO ON YOUR FIRST DAY==
-BUILD A HOVEL: DON'T FUCKING DO IT. The fastest way to bantown is to waste a board on a Hovel day 1. Hovels only provide 1 Defense to the town, waste a board that could be used for a workshop, and are home to douchebags (aka you). It's never a good idea to make yourself a target for banishment.
-BUILD SHIT WITHOUT ASKING: The second worst offense possible, and possibly even a quicker way out of the town. Aside from a tent, which no one cares if you build, every other construction costs resources. If you decide, past everyone else, that the town needs a pump Day 1 before even a Watchtower the town will make every effort to HANG YOU.
-Waste AP: Thankfully excusable when you're trying to maximize AP but don't exactly know how. Things that waste AP are constructing projects some douchebag started without permission, eating food and drinking water before you've spent all your AP, fighting zombies with your bare hands, traveling to depleted zones to scavenge, and other various things that would be a minor annoyance. Speaking of that zombie thing.
-Fight zombies empty handed or flee: Either one can get you wounded, which can disable you, lead to an infection, and eventually kill you. Fighting bare handed also wastes AP and has a low chance of success. It's a better idea to call for help on the forums and have someone rescue you (if you have equal or more townies in a square than twice the amount of zombies there, EVERYONE can leave the square for 30 minutes after someone has left). If it's 22:00 game time, though, you should probably flee unless you know someone is coming to get you. Always consult the forums.
-Take items without asking or having a very good reason: Read the forums. Ask to take something. Check the bank thread for any standing orders. If you NEED something to live to the next day, no one will fault you for not asking, but it's best to err on the side of caution.
-Stay outside at midnight: Zombies attack at 23:00 game time (about 5.P EST). People close the gates about 22:30. Check the forums, and make sure you're back by curfew. Getting stuck outside is an instant death, and worth less points than dying in a zombie attack.
And when in doubt, consult the wiki.
And the other wiki.