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Dead by Daylight (1 vs 4 Horror Multiplayer Game) releasing on June 14th

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I noticed that GAF has no thread on this game outside of a trademark register of it from almost a year ago. I thought I might try to amend that.

DBD_Standard_Edition-e1461595746798.jpg


Steam Page
Gameplay video from the Alpha PAX East build by Polygon

Dead by Daylight is multiplayer-based 1 vs 4 horror game releasing on June 14th on Steam. It is developed by Behaviour Digital Inc., who have primarily done outside third-party work for various games, ranging from Dishonored to Far Cry 3, and being published by Starbreeze Studios, who are probably best known for publishing the PayDay games and the Chronicles of Riddick games. There is a chance the game when more developed on PC may also pop up on consoles, but for now only the PC version is officially confirmed. The game costs $19.99 with a 10% discount on launch (and a 20% discount if you own PayDay 2). There's also an option to get a 5-pack, which costs the amount of four copies with one additional copy for free. There is also a deluxe edition, who's content is as follows:
delx_2.jpg

(The beta starts on May 29th and last for two weeks, going into the launch of the game on June 14th.)

The game has what I'm listing as follows on launch, but the developers want to do post-launch support for future killers, locations, modes, and more, and their ability to do so is tied to how the game performs, and they have confirmed they would release future killers/maps/modes as free expansions.

The main objective of the core game is for the four survivors to evade and ward against the 'killer', of which there are three of on launch, and each function quite differently (more on them in a bit). The survivors must go and activate three out of five generators on the map, and escape. The killer meanwhile must eradicate the survivors; but rather than a straight-up kill method, the killers must knock out and drag the bodies to a ritualistic site and offer their souls to a realm beyond ours, meanwhile as they do this, other players can potentially rescue them. Both humans and the killer can use the environment to their advantage, ranging from traps, setting up decoys, and more. Humans also can scavenge the environment for supplies to be used to benefit them, their team mates, or to set-up the monster. Things range from sacrifices to bring back dead players, to medpacks, to methods to fend and defend yourself (though one cannot outright kill the killer).

ae465eeab91ab15e99c170710d447305.png


Dead by Daylight features randomly generated levels, and on launch, it is based around 3 locales with four maps each. How this works is that there is a main 'locale theme' of the map (IE Forest, Nightmare Land, Industrial on launch), and each has four different 'regions' (the forest has a swamp and a sawmill for two of its maps, as an example). The maps randomly generate from the map to place and change-up environmental objects, objectives, generators, ritual sites, death triggers, and more. To note, the players (both humans and killers) have 'blood' they can put into different elements of the match before the game begins, and one such element they can change is things about the procedural generated level, including the ability to spawn more generators, ritual sites, and more. But there is only so much blood each player has, and blood also can be used for character specific abilities.

With the above mentioned blood system, each character (both the humans and the killers) can make certain attributes and use blood to give themselves certain perks. The perks pull from your blood at the start of the match (which you have finite of, again) which can be spent in different areas. On-top of this, both the characters and the killers have an upgrade tree they get from more experience. The upgrade tree can give a player certain perks, but there is a unique mechanic in the game known as the 'engulfing entity', where when picking perks off the skill tree, a 'shadow' will consume other perks, making them unavailable to you, and will grow from a source point and consume more as you upgrade more.

20006905a219b577ab1493567193c2ea.png

(Example above of the 'blood web' skill tree and the shadow consuming skills away.)

Now, below is a list of everything that will be in the game at launch:

deadbydaylight_infographic_May6.jpg


And as you may see, there are three killers on launch. One of them has been kept under wraps (the one to the right in the above content image), but the other two are known.

Killers_trapper_Widecreen_Small.jpg


The trapper specializes in -- you guessed it -- traps. He can lay out different kinds of traps, along with his signature bear traps, around the level. He like the other killers has his own sets of special abilities he can use, one of which includes he has a one-time use (per round) ability he can gain to be the only killer to outright kill a downed human without bringing them to a ritual site. He has far more abilities, as do all the monsters, but he focuses on being able to trick and trap the players, and comes at them more like a brooding straight-up slasher killer.

Killers_Wraith_Widecreen_small.jpg


The Wraith will be more detailed shortly, but what we know right now is he has a boneclub, and his primary function is maneuverability and visibility. He can turn invisible to hunt, and more promised to his supernatural and hunter side to his other abilities we shall learn more about soon.

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You can learn a lot more about the specific details at these four developer diaries (the fifth and final one releases soon, before the beta):
Dev Diary 1 (General Game stuff, basic information)
Dev Diary 2 (The Survivors)
Dev Diary 3 (The Killer)
Dev Diary 4 (Upgrades, Progression, Gameplay)

Screens:

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Anyone on GAF been following it? Sounds interesting? Worried it could get repetitive? First you've heard of it? This game comes out soon, but it's gotten no exposure or discussion here. What say you GAF?
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Sounds interesting. Should be a nice appetizer until Friday the 13th this fall.

The first thing I and many others thought of. I think this game came more into being with the rise of a few games, as this game was announced before the Kickstarter and game came into production, but the comparison is definitely there. While similar in concept, they do sound quite different in execution (Friday the 13th is 7 vs 1, and goes more to pay himage to how Jason works in the movies, and be a playable version of those films, this seems to be more set around gameplay mechanics of horror-stealth and give the players a bit more game-y things to do and the killer more rules to play by.) and I'm looking forward to try both (and inevitably see which one fares better).

I'm hoping it comes together nicely, there are obviously certain pitfalls to be seen if the game can overcome, but I know the PAX and Alpha Testers impressions were positive, and hope they can do some interesting things to ward off potential repetition.

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Speaking of which, you can catch some PAX gameplay of the game at the following links, the PAX demo only had one killer, 1 of the 12 maps, and no skill tree whatevers, but can still catch some footage of the build then here:

IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLLsX79E_G4
Polygon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksnDBy0mVhI
Starsnipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IcCGOeCIDQ
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Is there an offline vs bots mode?

No there is not, the developer has confirmed it is multiplayer-only. Googled it to make sure I remembered correctly, and got this dev response:

Hey all! First of all, DBD is multiplayer only, no AI, no single player and you need to be online.

That said, there are 3 cool ways to play it as a loner or with a limited group.

1-The killer is basically single player experience, you can picture the survivors as not human with the power of imagination! ;)

2-as a survivor you can go in by yourself and be the lone wolf, there is a ton of strategies to be used to survive as a single player.

3-There is an unranked gameplay mode where you can play with your friends even if you are not 5.

Also keep in mind that there is a ranking system in DBD which match you with players of similar skill levels.

Cheers!

So single player is out.
 

JDHarbs

Member
The first thing I and many others thought of. I think this game came more into being with the rise of a few games, as this game was announced before the Kickstarter and game came into production, but the comparison is definitely there. While similar in concept, they do sound quite different in execution (Friday the 13th is 7 vs 1, and goes more to pay himage to how Jason works in the movies, and be a playable version of those films, this seems to be more set around gameplay mechanics of horror-stealth and give the players a bit more game-y things to do and the killer more rules to play by.) and I'm looking forward to try both (and inevitably see which one fares better).

I'm hoping it comes together nicely, there are obviously certain pitfalls to be seen if the game can overcome, but I know the PAX and Alpha Testers impressions were positive, and hope they can do some interesting things to ward off potential repetition.

---

Speaking of which, you can catch some PAX gameplay of the game at the following links, the PAX demo only had one killer, 1 of the 12 maps, and no skill tree whatevers, but can still catch some footage of the build then here:

IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLLsX79E_G4
Polygon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksnDBy0mVhI
Starsnipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IcCGOeCIDQ
There was a third game like this too called Last Year that got Kickstarted as well. Going to be an interesting little competition between them all.

Here's the polygon article on it.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/16/9519741/horror-stalker-last-year-is-quietly-waiting-in-the-woods
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
There was a third game like this too called Last Year that got Kickstarted as well. Going to be an interesting little competition between them all.

Here's the polygon article on it.
http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/16/9519741/horror-stalker-last-year-is-quietly-waiting-in-the-woods

Yup, and right, this was the game I think that got into some copyright trouble for the Jason look-alike, but seems to have been able to get by. I think the match-up will be interesting, hopefully all three will turn out good, though as someone who plans to buy and play all three with friends, I'll be curious which one I think comes out on top.

Regardless, I actually think this was the first one to appear (as Last Summer), but it got in trouble and went on blackout for a while, and it'll be the first to release, so I'm intrigued to see how this goes down. Hoping it can turn out to be fun, and though the launch content all sounds good, I hope they do support it with more content post-launch. I may try to tackle the OT in June, but I thought it might be worth making a thread as a lot of news is trickling out almost daily right now about the game, and realized GAF had no thread on it. I'm not going to be in the beta (I opted to get the 5-pack with the 20% discount to get copies for some friends and myself as I think I can do without the Deluxe Edition stuff, personally), but if anyone is, interested to hear thoughts (buying the deluxe edition does give you two additional beta keys to hand out to whoever to play during that two week period though, so if anyone had spare keys...)
 

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
As a huge fan of asymmetrical multiplayer games this certainly intrigues me.

How long are the matches usually? I can see the game being really boring for players that get killed early if matches last longer than like 10 minutes.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
As a huge fan of asymmetrical multiplayer games this certainly intrigues me.

How long are the matches usually? I can see the game being really boring for players that get killed early if matches last longer than like 10 minutes.

I'm not quite sure, the Polygon match is 20 minutes, but alpha testers I know said matches can vary wildly in how long they take (based on skill of the players, the procedural generated level, etc.). One thing to mention is I know a killed player can actually be revived, if another human player can scavenge and find a sacrifice item and then go to one of the ritual sites (that the killer uses to kill players by making their soul pass on) and can resurrect them with the item. I also know that while there are private 'friend' lobbies, the public lobbies are ranked, to try and put players of similar skill level into games with each other.
 
That alpha build looked a little rough, hopefully it's cleaned up a lot since then, but only a month old doesn't give me tons of hope.

I'll definitely be on the lookout though as this game has a ton of potential.
 

Laieon

Member
I heard about this a few weeks ago while browsing upcoming games on Steam. Looks pretty good. Still more excited for the Friday the 13th game, but this should hold me over until that comes out.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
That alpha build looked a little rough, hopefully it's cleaned up a lot since then, but only a month old doesn't give me tons of hope.

I'll definitely be on the lookout though as this game has a ton of potential.

We'll probably know a lot more when the beta goes live on May 29th from those playing it.

This looks cool. I'm loving this new multiplayer horror genre.

It's interesting to see develop, and as was discussing above, since there were three kind of similar slasher-multiplayer horror games all announced around the same time, I'm curious to see how this one fares being the first one to come out.

I heard about this a few weeks ago while browsing upcoming games on Steam. Looks pretty good. Still more excited for the Friday the 13th game, but this should hold me over until that comes out.

Hoping the same, though also hoping the post-launch support on this game is solid. To be seen, though.

This looks a lot like Evolved.

I think some will make that comparison, but I also think there's key differences here. The first big one is price point; Evolve released as a full retail $60 game, and many didn't feel that the content made up for the pricetag. This game however is releasing as a $20 game. With that, we already have word that post-launch content involving maps, monsters, and modes will be free expansions, while in Evolve they made classes and such paid, and did season pass practices, among other things in a game people already felt the content didn't match the pricetag in.

Gameplay wise they're quite a bit different, as Evolve is more of a tracking down the monster as it evolves and then trying to tear it down (or visa versa for the monster), while this is more of a slasher film in game format. The comparisons will come more to the Friday the 13th game, as that game has been well advertised and noticed, but these play out more to the horror/slasher genre of gameplay. Also, this game doesn't have a season pass, and currently no word on DLC. But even if DLC were to come into the picture, I think how they're handling it is quite a bit different.
 

Thewonandonly

Junior Member
I would get this but I'm not supporting star breeze anymore. Fuck payday 2 on console like for real fuck that. After about a year the multiplayer was still shit on console. Then the developers just say "should have bought it on PC". Like really fuck those guys.

hopefully this is good tho since it's not made by them.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
No female killer?

Not yet, but they said if they have the opportunity too, they have other killers they want to put in, and they want different killers to bring new gameplay experiences.

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And as said by others, the Beta is now live, and some are indeed playing it. It looks fun.
 

pvpness

Member
I like it. It's a lot of fun when you get both a killer and a group of survivors that know what they're doing. Not sure how much I can talk about it without checking the Alpha shit, but the skill/equipment shit is cool. Looking forward to the influx of new players. My experience with the devs has been all good so far. They are easy to reach and they're easy to talk to.
 

Hip Hop

Member
Man, the 5 pack is so cheap right now if you get a group going, at $12.60 a piece.


Might have to do just that. Looks like a fun time.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I like it. It's a lot of fun when you get both a killer and a group of survivors that know what they're doing. Not sure how much I can talk about it without checking the Alpha shit, but the skill/equipment shit is cool. Looking forward to the influx of new players. My experience with the devs has been all good so far. They are easy to reach and they're easy to talk to.

Been hearing good impressions from the gameplay. a few rough sides on the lobby system currently (hoping they continue to sort more of it out by release), a Steam GAF'er was kind and gave me a beta key, so I'll be trying and have my own impressions later.

Man, the 5 pack is so cheap right now if you get a group going, at $12.60 a piece.


Might have to do just that. Looks like a fun time.

Especially cheap if the person who gets it owns Payday 2, since then 20% off as opposed to 10% off (and that's a pre-order deal). If can find 4 other people, I say it'd be a great option for those interested.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
My fear is the game will be dead by next month

It's the risk of any multiplayer-only game, but some will break the mold, and this game will have some competition with the other slasher horror games. This said, I will admit this has never been a big issue for me personally since I have a pretty big ring of games that me and friends play, and since all you need is five people for a game and there's a 5-pack, it's a bit easier.

If they can keep new content rolling and get people on board, it'll be a good thing. It sounds like they're attracting attention right now and giving away beta keys through certain areas for people to try it. Of course, we won't know how it goes down until it goes down.
 
I was on board till I read about the ritual site thing. Feels like that would kill the momentum of the game (especially if you're playing as the killer) and it seems like an excuse to not try to balance things so killing a player isn't a trivial accomplishment. Still gonna look for impressions and stuff but I'm really disappointed about that condition. Just feels like a copout.

I always hate when slasher flicks try and incorporate some sort of "satanism/mysticism" bullshit so I'll be real and say I'm biased against that stuff even outside of this game. Just ruins the fun of slasher stuff for me.
 

kevin1025

Banned
The game also works great with a controller. None of the menu stuff works with it, but once in-game it's almost entirely triggers and bumpers.
 

voodooray

Member
Seems strange that the devs made a point to charge extra to get into the beta on the deluxe package, and yet opened it up to people who didn't even pre order any version of the game on the same day the beta went live.

As someone who has played 'Damned' a lot, it's great to see a fresh iteration of the same format, with lots of new ideas thrown in. I can definitely see myself picking up a copy. There is definitely something panic inducing when trying to repair generators, only to hear the killer approaching :)
 

UberLevi

Member
Managed to get a code for me and three friends with like 0:03 left on the timer. I've never felt so stressed or invested in a promo before. Downloading now.
 

T.O.P

Banned
Watched a couple of streamer play it this morning and i'm pretty much sold, really curious to see the other 2 killers in game

I'm also wondering if the concept for the new Friday the 13th game is pretty much the same at this point
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Watched a couple of streamer play it this morning and i'm pretty much sold, really curious to see the other 2 killers in game

I'm also wondering if the concept for the new Friday the 13th game is pretty much the same at this point

It's a bit different, but that and a third game I keep forgetting the name of are all similar in the slasher vs people camp. The Friday the 13th game is 7 camp counselors vs Jason, though different models of Jason, and locations modeled off of the films. I also believe it's supposed to be a bit more open world, and probably function a bit differently mechanically.

I am interested to see which of the bunch I end up enjoying the most.

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Speaking of that, I played for a few hours yesterday of the beta. I have impressions, but I'll leave them a bit later, may fiddle with some things a bit more first.
 

voodooray

Member
It's a bit different, but that and a third game I keep forgetting the name of are all similar in the slasher vs people camp

Here is a list I've been compiling in the same genre, each in varying degrees of readyness:

  • Friday the 13th, officially licensed from the movie.
  • Last Year which completed its kickstarter in 2014. Not realy much new information to go on based on the most recent comments it has.
  • Kaidan it was a shame this didn't make its kickstarter, but it had some interesting narrative elements that would have influenced the gameplay. Hopefully they can relaunch at some point.
 

voodooray

Member
Game is really fun if you enjoy cat and mouse type games, but definitely needs some polish.


ANNOYANCES
  • Public Ranked co-op won't come until after the game releases but there's no timetable for that (I think the head dev said they're working on it). It's so baffling that in a game that requires teamwork, they don't let you communicate in-game or play with your friends like most MP games. You need to keep joining a lobby until you find each other which is very hit or miss. You can, however, play a private match with friends which you only need 2 players to start (no XP).

Was watching the devs stream earlier, and the ability to join lobbies to earn XP with existing friends is now their #1 issue to implement after launch. Right now, playing with friends is best, because everyone keeps leaving lobbies trying to get into their friends match instead of just using the play with friends option. Not great...

I feel them adding some kind of in-game team chat for survivors is a must. VOIP ideally, but even in-game text chat would be useful right now. Right now, you have to use 3rd party solutions.

Aside from the first 2 on your list of annoyances, I can't say I've encountered yet any of the others. Do they happen frequently for you?

I'm enjoying it though, between trying to repair generators when the killers breathing down your neck, or even trying to stay hidden hoping they won't notice you :)

Thanks for the tips!
 
Was watching the devs stream earlier, and the ability to join lobbies to earn XP with existing friends is now their #1 issue to implement after launch. Right now, playing with friends is best, because everyone keeps leaving lobbies trying to get into their friends match instead of just using the play with friends option. Not great...

I feel them adding some kind of in-game team chat for survivors is a must. VOIP ideally, but even in-game text chat would be useful right now. Right now, you have to use 3rd party solutions.

Aside from the first 2 on your list of annoyances, I can't say I've encountered yet any of the others. Do they happen frequently for you?

I'm enjoying it though, between trying to repair generators when the killers breathing down your neck, or even trying to stay hidden hoping they won't notice you :)

Thanks for the tips!

Yeah it's pretty annoying for people who just want to play though it seems to happen more frequently around night time for me (PDT). Really a terrible decision on their part (time or budget issues?).
 

E-flux

Member
The game is really fun, me and my buddies bought a five pack expecting to be able to play some matchmaking together not as a group of five obviously. It's just horrible to try to get into the same server with friends, i have no idea why they didn't let friends queue in the matchmaking, a game like this is best played with friends.

Also, that hatch that opens when it's a 1 v 1 situation is an easy way to win if you know where it is, you just jump in and win, no waiting or sounds like the normal doors.
 

voodooray

Member
There's a bug when the killer disconnects, or abandons the game, they get a win, and all the survivors in game lose any add-ons they brought in, which isn't cool. Might be worth only playing with friends, or with no items for now until this is looked into to.


Having had a chance to play a few more matches, and learning the mechanics of the game more, I can see the killer having a tough time against a competent/coordinated team of survivors.

I can also see farming blood points being rampant once group team play for ranked mode is added. Will be interesting to see how the devs can balance it out. Maybe there needs to be a separate ranked mode for teams.
 
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