[WIP] The official Sunshine & Slaughter, welcome to Dead Island 2 Thread!

[Daedalus51]

Hey guys,

hello and welcome to sunshine and slaughter…ehrm…I mean this hopefully informative and thread about Dead Island 2!

So first of all, the development of DI2 is still heavily under NDA, so I can not share a lot of stuff with you guys just yet, however this will get better over time as we will release more material on the game anyways, and I am also constantly checking with the Project Board (all the Heads and Directors etc.) to make sure I can still water your mouths (can you actually say that in english?^^) with some cool insights into the development of the game without giving away too much!

I will answer questions, however, please be aware that there are just a ******* lot of things I am not yet allowed to talk about^^ So please keep that in mind (especially if I dont want to go into certain details).

Lets start out with some background info first

We are YAGER, a Berlin based studio and before we started with DI2 we did Spec Ops: The Line, based on the Unreal Engine 3. I am working as a Technical Lighting and Material Artist on the game and so far, it has been quite a blast working on such a cool project with the power of Unreal 4. Right now, one part of the team is working on Dead Island 2, and another part is working an a very cool project called Dreadnought, check it out! Its powered by UE4 as well https://www.greybox/dreadnought/en/ ?v=LYs-fK_b8BE&hd=1

So what is Dead Island 2?
When it comes to the apocalypse, it is all about your attitude. Set after the events of Dead Island and Escape Dead Island, Dead Island 2 takes you to a sunny California in the aftermath of the zombie outbreak. This is Dead Island as it was always meant to be – an intense, visceral romp through the sunshine state with you and your friends in a seamless multiplayer experience. Choose from an elite crew of heroes who are immune to the zombie virus and eager to run headfirst into the apocalypse. Craft thousands of weapons, upgrade your vehicles, hunt for epic loot and live the dream in the ultimate zombie slayers´ paradise!

What character classes are there?
We have 4 different character classes – Berserker, Hunter, Speeder and Bishop – with their individual skills and weapons. More details on this will follow in the months to come.

Seamless multiplayer? Wait, whuuut? Can´t I play in Singleplayer anymore?
As in the original DI, DI2 also will be best experienced in coop together with your friends. However, you can of course play the game in singleplayer and offline.

How many Zombie types will there be in the game? Can you name some of them?
We definitely increased the number of Zombies compared to any of the previous games. Plus we are giving every single one a very individual look, so that no Zombie looks the same. Of course, you will encounter well-known types like the Walker, the Runner or the Thug, but there will be many many more.

There are rumors about a cat!
And they are true! Since technology was pushed so hard and we were so inspired by what could be achieved, we said ****, we need to motion capture a cat! Next Gen and…yeah…you know^^

On which platforms is it going to be available?
DI2 will be out on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Lead quality for development is PC, but target quality is the same for all platforms (Challenge Accepted!! :D).

Where can you find Dead Island 2 on the internet?
://deadisland2.deepsilver/
://twitter/deadislandgame
://facebook/deadislandgame
://instagram/deadislandgame

On Facebook we use a Global Page system. That means that there is one “Global Page” (/deadislandgame) and based on the country you visit the Page from, you get automatically redirected to a Local Page (e.g. /deadislandgamede).

So if you want to receive all english main updates, change to the Global Page

And finally, when will it be out?
Wait for spring 2015^^

So this was just some basic info on the game. Lets some cool videos that can express more than just words (sorry, screenshots are rare :D)

This is the announcement trailer that was shown at E3 this year at the Sony Press Conference. It was done by the amazing team of Axis, that also did the very first Dead Island trailer. Enjoy!

?v=vdiq5wtNl0Y

[Daedalus51]

Now this one is the first gameplay trailer we released in preparation for Gamescom 2014. Please be reminded that its still Dead Island…so lots of Blood & Gore incomming!

v=1IKsV5EOV5U

[Daedalus51]

And finally, is an interview with Jörg, our Design Director, combined with some more gameplay footage!

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Hope you guys like it and have a bloody good time!

Cheers

[anonymous_user_923c79df]

Looks really cool! + good to see a game from a german game dev. studio that uses the UE4

@;151857

There are rumors about a cat!
And they are true! Since technology was pushed so hard and we were so inspired by what could be achived, we said ****, we need to motion capture a cat! Next Gen and…yeah…you know^^

Good idea. Exactly for such cases we need progress in technology

Question: Do you probably know which programs were used to create the trailer? (I just know that some parts where made in the UE4 and some in other programs -> e.g the explosion)

[Daedalus51]

If you mean the announcement trailer, that one is completely prerendered and in which tool, I dont know. Sorry^^

[anonymous_user_923c79df]

Ok, thx for the answer

[Jacky]

I dont like zombie games but if i have to talk about the looks, especially the second screenshot with the zombie crowd, it looks . :eek:

[anonymous_user_d829b65b]

I don’t like zombie games neither, but I do like these screenshots, and the overall work put into this! AMAZING stuff

[AlwysAnrchy]

I am super excited about the release of this game. All of the trailers and screenshots that I have been seeing look fantastic!

[Daedalus51]

Haha…thanks a lot guys!

Yeah…I know not everybody is into that kind of game and especially Zombies^^ But its still a very interesting and challenging project to work on. Have learned tons of new things since being at Yager

Cheers!

[starseeker]

Good choice of Engine.

Looking great! I waste of opportunities NOT to have a Zombie game that is not base in Germany instead.

[alvarofer0020]

Oh boy dead island 2! Since the trailer my hype has reached very not healthy levels

[GFlare]

When you talk about seemless multiplayer, does that mean there is a possibility for drop-in / drop-out? Not many games have incorporated that (Saint’s Row being a pretty good example of successful integration), and I guess it would also depend on the openness of environment you have in the title.

I can’t wait to see more screenshots and hear more dev diaries. It’s really interesting to follow the progress of such a complex UE4 project.

[Daedalus51]

@GFlare;152643

When you talk about seemless multiplayer, does that mean there is a possibility for drop-in / drop-out? Not many games have incorporated that (Saint’s Row being a pretty good example of successful integration), and I guess it would also depend on the openness of environment you have in the title.

I can’t wait to see more screenshots and hear more dev diaries. It’s really interesting to follow the progress of such a complex UE4 project.

So the multiplayer works like this: by default, you are connected. So if you start up the game and start walking through the world, you are automatically put on a server with 7 other guys. So you dont really meet up with them instatnly, but they are wandering through the world like you do…and at some point, you might just encounter them and decide to join forces. If you have friends online, it preferably matches you up with them, otherwise it will be strangers. Its a lot like what you have in journey, but just with 8 players in total. If you however decide to stay offline, you can just play the game in single player.

Hope that gives you more insights on this!

Cheers!

[n00854180t]

So one of the drawbacks of the first game was the nature of the missions, which mostly amounted to fetch quests or fairly linear story missions… will we see some improvement on the missions for DI2?

BTW it looks .

Psst… no one would fault you if you didn’t disable the engine’s Oculus Rift support… hint hint.

[Daedalus51]

@n00854180t;152766

So one of the drawbacks of the first game was the nature of the missions, which mostly amounted to fetch quests or fairly linear story missions… will we see some improvement on the missions for DI2?

BTW it looks .

Psst… no one would fault you if you didn’t disable the engine’s Oculus Rift support… hint hint.

There will be all kinds of different quests (lots of them will have some kind of event flavor to them as well), so I think variety should be given plenty of opportunity

[anonymous_user_138c2332]

What lighting are you using for the world?

[anonymous_user_adcf0aef]

@;152686

So the multiplayer works like this: by default, you are connected. So if you start up the game and start walking through the world, you are automatically put on a server with 7 other guys. So you dont really meet up with them instatnly, but they are wandering through the world like you do…and at some point, you might just encounter them and decide to join forces. If you have friends online, it preferably matches you up with them, otherwise it will be strangers. Its a lot like what you have in journey, but just with 8 players in total. If you however decide to stay offline, you can just play the game in single player.

Hope that gives you more insights on this!

Cheers!

The question is, can you be killed by other players? lol

[TimeSpirits]

Blood and splatter effects are really well done- any insight on how those were made?

[anonymous_user_b563ab12]

The game is looking great. Interesting multiplayer idea as well