[ToomaMcC]

Going under the name Class 3 at the moment

Class3 will give players the chance to live out a zombie apocalypse in the virtual comfort of an MMO setting, complete with “sweet guns, fast cars, hand-to-hand combat, and copious amounts of zombie gore.” Players will also have to join together to design and build settlements, embarking on raids to secure food and ammunition, and rescuing other survivors.

Linkage

I'm already sold.

[darkthunder35]

That sounds exactly as someone from DS's idea.

Take a look http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1426189

[Octopus_Prime]

Sounds really good......will have to keep an eye on this.

I remember reading that Darkthunder35, lol.

[Mr Obseen]

Originally Posted by darkthunder35

That sounds exactly as someone from DS's idea.

Take a look http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1426189

I remember that.

I'm sold on the game too.

[darkthunder35]

I've been waiting for a game like this. My PS3 breaks so have to buy a new one. I sold the 360 to cover the costs and now they go and make it exclusive

[ToomaMcC]

Some Artwork too.

I'm confused though because they also have a Class 4 in development as well.

From their website:

What’s the difference between Class3 and Class4?
‘Class3′ is the codename for the ambitious zombie-survival open world game currently under development at Undead Labs for release as an Xbox LIVE Arcade title. ‘Class4′ is the codename for the subsequent zombie-survival online world game that we will develop by building on the Class3 platform. In other words, Class3 runs on your Xbox 360 and supports 1-2 players via Xbox LIVE or on the same screen, while Class4 will provide a much larger server-hosted world for thousands of simultaneous players.

[He4rt]

My cheque must be in the post..........

Just did a bit of research on undead games and it seems that Jeff Strain is the founder. Jeff used to be the lead programer for world of warcraft,so this could be promising.

Still my idea though.

[Smiirky]

This sounds so good!!

[Red Arrow]

Oooh this sounds really good! Hopefully they can deliver what they have promised.

[Speedloafer]

Class 3 seems to be single player, co-op game while Class 4 is the MMO

[Feed The Reaper]

Class 3 and Class 4 are the same game but Class 3 is a cut down version.

Think GT5 and GT5 Prologue for an example.

Class 3 will come first on XBLA and will offer co-op mode and the gameplay mechanics with a few features.

Once Class 3 is launched they will gain feedback from players about the way the game plays, things they love and want more off, things they hate and want rid off and then they will incorporate these requests and feedback into the much bigger and much more feature rich MMO Class 4.

What will then happen is Class 4 will be released which will be the same game but massively larger, more items and features and strategy building involved and will drop Co-Op in favour for thousands of players all online and intereacting at once.

The reason they are doing two versions like this is because they want Class 4 to be incredibly huge and successful that changes the future of online games on consoles, but they also know that they need to pay bills and want to give the gamers something to actually play rather than just read about what is going to be coming. And so they will make a cut down, "beta" version of the game, launch it on XBLA within the next 2 or 3 months and use the feedback to help shape Class 4 which will already be in a basic working order and using the same game engine and gameplay, but just waiting for the improvements.

The studio bringing it out has actually been working on it for over a year now that I know off having been watching them for a long time, but only in the last few weeks have they cranked it up a few gears and really pushing hard on development now they have MS as publisher. They already have Class 3 virtually finished and already know most of the details about publishing it and that it is just a very short time away from launch. But they haven't any ideas or discussions going on about launching Class 4 as although the technical side of having thousands of players online in the game at once is achievable, they have not yet talked to MS about how they can do this and fit it in with Xbox Live, particularly as the main focus of games such as this is to make money from subscriptions to the game, and Xbox Live already has its own subscription model already charging gamers to play games.

[Red Arrow]

Thanks Reaper, that has cleared up a lot of my queries.

[Feed The Reaper]

They go into so much more detail on their blog but it takes a lot of reading going back a long time to find it all out.

I just like to think of it as this equivalent:

Class 3 = Call Of Duty Beta with 3 maps 10 guns and 8 perks in a Co-Op with a few bot NPC's in the mix, to give you a flavour of what the main game will be like when it is launched.

Class 4 = Full on Multiplayer COD with 30 maps, 60 guns, 50 perks and thousands of real players all playing the same game and joining your parties a bit like World Of Warcraft.

Thats the best way of explaining it I think

[He4rt]

Update:

A new Q & A is up on the site with more details about the game and more concept Artwork

Intrestingly,the game will be 3rd person, and they also mention in the comments that they can't dedicate to a release date but they can say that it won't be this year

http://undeadlabs.com/2011/02/news/q...tyle-and-more/

Many readers ask: “Will the game be in first or third person?”
The game will be in third person. This was a big decision for us and not something we chose lightly. Both first and third perspectives definitely have their strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, for us, we wanted to pick the right perspective for not just shooting but also melee combat and world interaction. There is a nice sense of panic you can get being surrounded by zombies in 1st-person perspective, but 3rd-person is better for making those moments playable.

There will be plenty of shooting in the game (and we’ve put a lot of work into making tuning our 3rd-person shooting to feel awesome). Melee combat and stealth are also huge elements of the game, and 3rd-person was the right choice for them.

Creating a great 1st-person or 3rd-person experience is about more than just the camera position. There are a lot of touches and design choices that go into doing things right so that they’re awesome — not just functional. Are there some games that can support both? Sure. Are there many games that are better off as one or the other? Yes, and ours is included.

[Feed The Reaper]

If it plays 3rd Person like Mass Effect then I am sold! FPS would have too many similarities to the Left 4 Dead genre, it would be good to have a different take on it.

Strange how they dont predict it will be a 2011 release, they were saying recently that Class 3, which is the Arcade Lite version, would be with us a lot sooner than we thought with hints it might be in a month or two. Maybe a wishlist by Microsoft over what is expected for it to release on XBLA has postponed it.

[He4rt]

got the undead labs site as a favourite now.

These two snipits of info make the game sound awesome.

Monkey Timelord asks in an article comment: “Will there be crafting? Maybe taking a truck and a load of players to building sites and scrap yards to look for raw materials that you then take back to your safe zone and break down and make stronger doors and fences and armour for vehicles and body armour?”

Hell yeah! We’ll keep the mechanics for things like this pretty simple in Class3, but you’ll be able to drive a truck to a construction site, load it up with materials, and then go back home to reinforce your base’s perimeter. At least, you’ll have that option. And we highly recommend doing so.

Daniel asks in an article comment: “Will there be trading among other players or AI characters? Or will there be currency?”

There will be some kind of commerce, but it won’t involve the kind of money you’d find at a bank. We wouldn’t care if someone threw a backpack full of hundred-dollar bills at us after the zombie apocalypse, and we don’t expect your characters to either.

[ToomaMcC]

New Q&A about the game here, but still no release date