SCUM

[Kick Frenzy]

Hey there, Treefers!
I was about to post some new info about SCUM over in the What's Yer Game thread, but realized it's better to calve it off into its own thread.
So, here we are and here we go!

SCUM is currently in "Early Access" and subject to major changes and updates.
However, it's not just for squashing bugs or infusing cash into the company.
They're developing the game alongside the community's involvement and feedback.
Or, in their own words:

“SCUM is a next generation, story driven survival game featuring extremely complex game mechanics and unrevealed survival features. Gamepires is an experienced team oriented towards innovation and perfection in game production and have decided to develop SCUM side by side in collaboration with its community with the goal of making the best possible survival game yet.”

But let me get into the game itself...

SCUM is an open-world, survival game.
The basic premise is that Supermax prisoners are let loose on a large contained area of land and must do their best to survive, whatever that means to them.
There's crafting, building, scavenging, etc... the normal stuff.
And while there aren't any zombies, there are re-animated prisoners who died, called "puppets" (so ok yeah, basically zombies).

Resource and bodily management are a heavy parts of the game.
You have to pay attention to things like having to poop or pee, making sure you're hydrated and fed, with tons of...
you know, I can just show you a picture:


So, there's just a couple things to pay attention to, lol.
But really it's nowhere near as demanding of your attention as you'd think.

When you load up the game, you choose a server to play on (there's a ton).
It shows ping time and population of each one.
There are both official servers and player-made servers, where rules and settings for the game can be changed.
(With names like "Holy Fuck Why" and "boobies".)

Fair warning: It's not uncommon to take a few tries to log in.
And there's a memory leak when closing it, for me at least anyway.
(I Windows key out and force close it through the Task Manager or it never let's me out.)
That may have been fixed though, because...

Update 0.4(.84.24.699), AKA "Lock n Load" just came out.
It has a bunch of great updates!
Some are realism updates (using car doors for cover, getting flat tires, weapons jamming if you don't clean them, spatial audio, weighted head bobbing, etc), but it's largely a bunch of weaponry updates.
Including shooters ear! (mitigate with ear plugs, combat helmet, or attaching a suppressor)
(Holy shit people.. I was just watching a video about bow and arrow mechanics and the attention to realism will blow your mind!)

Anyway...
I'm going to leave it here before this turns into a novel.
If anyone has questions, please ask and I'll do my best to answer!

If you're interested, it's on sale... BUT ONLY UNTIL JULY 30TH!
Normally $29.99 (US), now $17.99 at 40% off.
(I believe it's only through Steam and only on Windows... for now.)
LINK: https://scumgame.com/en

Alright, time for me to go see what this update is like!
(And rebuild a character, since everything was wiped with this update.)

This was my most developed character (1 per server):
(My cabin, with a bunch of heads on sticks around the place, was up the hill to the right.)

[Undies]

at this point, i'm most curious what happens if you don't poop when you need to?

that stuff is tough to balance. i like games that have a lot of detail and a lot to think about, but on the other hand sometimes that stuff can just get in the way of the game if it's poorly implemented. like nobody wants to be fighting a boss at the end of a long dungeon and suddenly have to run away to find a corner to poop in. but if they do get it right, that's ideal.

[mallyboppa]

I thought you meant SCUM ! Brilliant film

Ahhh Just seen "Video Games" ignore me !

[Kick Frenzy]

Never saw it, but I did notice it coming up when I was searching for stuff about the game.
Looks interesting!

[mallyboppa]

Full film if anyone wants to watch it !

[Kick Frenzy]

at this point, i'm most curious what happens if you don't poop when you need to?

that stuff is tough to balance. i like games that have a lot of detail and a lot to think about, but on the other hand sometimes that stuff can just get in the way of the game if it's poorly implemented. like nobody wants to be fighting a boss at the end of a long dungeon and suddenly have to run away to find a corner to poop in. but if they do get it right, that's ideal.

Lol, yeah... no, it's not that bad.
Like, you can go a really long time before you have to poop.
Of course, that also depends on how much you find to eat.
Like, sometimes I eat mostly mushrooms, maggots, and rose hips for awhile.
(I avoid olives because they're WAY high in salt.)

I've never let it go long enough to see what happens if you just don't go.
But apparently, if you go long enough without peeing/pooping (or vomiting, if needed), you're ability to function will deteriorate over time.
Go long enough and you won't be able to do anything.

[Din Djarin]

at this point, i'm most curious what happens if you don't poop when you need to?

that stuff is tough to balance. i like games that have a lot of detail and a lot to think about, but on the other hand sometimes that stuff can just get in the way of the game if it's poorly implemented. like nobody wants to be fighting a boss at the end of a long dungeon and suddenly have to run away to find a corner to poop in. but if they do get it right, that's ideal.

Lots of people already found all the details you have to care about in RDR2 too much, and frankly it also took me awhile to get into and used to it (stamina, food, weight, horse, guns, etc. )
Once i was i found none of them too much. But i couldn't take that amount of details to watch out for and maintain in every game. That was definitely the max for me.

[Undies]

Lots of people already found all the details you have to care about in RDR2 too much, and frankly it also took me awhile to get into and used to it (stamina, food, weight, horse, guns, etc. )
Once i was i found none of them too much. But i couldn't take that amount of details to watch out for and maintain in every game. That was definitely the max for me.

i agree that that game was near my limit too. although it didn't take me long to realize that you can ignore a lot of that stuff with little to no noticeable consequence. i guess that's one way of balancing it, you give a ton of stuff to think about but make it not very important. on the other hand, if you're someone who wants to deal with all that, it's probably frustrating to know that it doesn't really matter if you do or not.

[Din Djarin]

Definitely! What made such a system bearable is that 1) once you got into it half of it was automatically done (like if you regularly shop or hunt and know what to buy and upgrade), and 2) that progress was generally not completely halted if you ignored a few aspects, you were just at a small disadvantage (guns suck sooner, less stamina, etc.)

[Kick Frenzy]

In SCUM there are definite effects, but they aren't sudden.
And many symptoms are easy to fix or heal.
Using rags for bandages takes care of a lot of stuff I've experienced.

It's a challenge and sometimes frustrating.
Like say, just randomly speaking here, going afk while facing the wall in a bedroom and coming back just in time to see yourself being killed while the guy is talking shit over his mic.
Then, over an hour later, while still searching for your old body to loot your old shit, you decide it's time to turn it off for the night.
So, you come down from the attic and go to lay down, but... while you're in the middle of laying down, someone comes up behind you and kills you.
Then you gotta start again.

You know, just off the top of my head.

?

(I'm still having a great time though and will probably be turning it on in a little while.)


OH SHIT, I DIDN'T TELL YOU!!
Character creation is a little limited in looks, BUT you can adjust a bunch of skill type stuff.
The points for that are based on your physique, age, and penis size.
Yes, penis size.
(For men, you can be a woman... where boob size matters.)

Small dicks have a higher Intelligence, while large dicks have a lower Dexterity.

[Din Djarin]

Lol @ the uhm limb specifics :-D Sounds like it tries to do a lot, give a lot of options, which can be hit or miss. Especially when the game is still in an unpolished state (not really my thing, altalthough i definitely see why others are interested. I'm also rarely interested in mods myself, like they added to a game like Skyrim).

Hey Frenzy, ever heard of Fade into Silence? Also an unpolished (survival horror) game that tries to do A LOT

[Kick Frenzy]

I don't remember hearing of Fade into Silence before, but I just checked out some gameplay footage.
It's not bad looking, but seems more "video game" than "realistic survival".
Not that that's a bad thing, it's just a different beast... with similar scavenging and looting, but it doesn't look quite as extensive.

But yeah, SCUM has a lot to track... although there aren't many options during character creation.
Certainly no more than any other RPG usually gives and less than most.
And that'll still hold true after they make more options available, such as Flaws or adjusting Skin Color beyond what the starting option is.

Here's a video showing some character creation from when the 0.3 update first came out in January.
So, a few things have changed since then, but it'll give a good idea of what it's like:

[eggsprog]

The website says that it is sold out!

[Kick Frenzy]

That's weird.
When you go through Steam, it shows as still being available.

So, here's a direct link to the Steam site: https://store.steampowered.com/app/513710/SCUM/

I gotta get back in there.
It's been a few days and the last time I tried, I couldn't connect to my chosen server.
(Not that there aren't countless others to choose from.)

[Din Djarin]

How can a game be sold out on steam anyway? Isn't it digital copies? :P

[eggsprog]

Probably something to do with server capacity?

[Din Djarin]

eggsprog that's probably it

[Kick Frenzy]

Maybe, but I highly doubt it since there's tons of servers and most of them usually have 0 people on them.

[eggsprog]

My laptop isn't powerful enough to run it anyway, apparently.

[Kick Frenzy]

That's a bummer, eggs.
But speaking of that, it's probably worthwhile to post the system requirements.

This is taken from the Steam page:

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• MINIMUM:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 / AMD FX-6300
  • Memory: 10 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB / AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Storage: 50 GB available space

• RECOMMENDED:
  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Storage: 50 GB available space