RadZakpak

Hey everyone, really long time no see. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, despite the hiatus, I am not giving up on this project. Honestly, I think about potential story threads and character encounters all the time. But, with every yin, there is a yang, and the truth is I am overwhelmed with school work more so than previous semesters, and for that reason the hiatus will probably continue. It seems worrying that I have not released a full chapter since July 26th, if you could even count that Monty intro as a full chapter. But there is a multiverse chapter centered around Takeo that I did some work on during a short bout of free time, but I have had very little of it since to finish it.

I hate to just pop in, empty-handed, to say that I'm busy again. So I will leave you with some behind-the-scenes preliminary stuff I've written that will hopefully spark some interest in the project again. As always, criticisms and suggestions are encouraged. Better to get them out now than after I've already written them I suppose.

First I present a rough draft of the first chapter of Honor's Suffering. It is meant to tell Takeo's story at Division 9's Island facility right up until the events of Zetsubou No Shima. You will notice it ends very abruptly because I had to go to class and never got around to finishing it. So note this is a first draft and partially incomplete.

This is the outline for chapters 1-7 of Honor's Suffering, going into detail on the plot of each chapter. I was really looking forward to writing this one and hope to at some point soon.

Here is the outline for the first 8 chapters of Book 3. I wrote these out when I was really invested in Victis' story, and I really did look forward to expanding on them since they are not characterized in the game very well and I have a lot of freedom to take them where I want.

Here is the outline for all 45 chapters of Book 1 after chapter 7. Yep, I planned that far ahead. These are fairly basic but that is mostly because I based it around the events of the timeline.

I also have the last set of chapters for Book 4 planned out in detail. Why am I not showing them here? Well, they're too awesome to be shown as just an outline. I think the experience would be spoiled if I just revealed what I had planned for them as they have me very excited. So maybe a while down the road when I get around to Book 4 and get to the end, I will be able to write out those chapters.

Anyway, I hope this all made up for the hiatus, just a little bit. I am not giving up on this project. I am already too invested. Let's just hope Treyarch's next game doesn't flip everything I think I know upside down again

I'm hoping real-life conspiracy theories start being integrated into zombies again. As much as I love the story as it is, I'd like more tie-ins the fans have to find themselves like these. Very interesting thread.

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out! I am interested in joining, but no guarantees with my schedule.

For people that have done this before, does anyone know the steps that need to be taken to save a stream through twitch? I've streamed directly through my xbox one before but I don't know how to save the stream, and I will need to if I want to participate in this.

I'm actually really enjoying the beta. But maybe I'm being cynical in thinking that it's just because it's new and I will grow to hate it as the game comes out and begins to age. Either way, I can't really get the game at launch with the limited money I have now, not to mention the other games coming out I'll want before it. Here's hoping WWII Campaign and Zombies manages to exceed our expectations like MP has.

18 hours ago, anonymous said:

Great! I like it how Monty's story summarizes the events happened prior, in Book 1, 2 and 3. In this way, Book 4 will continue the Anthagony excellently.

 

Oh, one small request. In the old chapter of Extraterrestrial, the Apothicans in Richthofen's head say "Coming home". That quote gave me the chills, really. Would you mind putting that quote back into it? Furthermore, awesome work as always, Rad

Thanks! And I do vaguely remember the Coming Home line but the latest version of the old storybook doesn't have the line either and I'm not sure why. Where was the line specifically? I'm guessing near the end as he's trying to talk to the natives. I think my reasoning for changing that was to add in the "destruction of your world" line since we now know the Shadowman is in his head. But I'll fit in that line too because I agree it was fitting.

EDIT: I looked through the original and the line was actually in the Rebellion chapter when they complete Griffin Station.

Hey guys, I'm back with some new chapters I've been working on (Shocking, I know.)

Here's Chapter 5: "Infernal Rite", Chapter 6: "Great Science", and Chapter 7: "Extraterrestrial".

ALSO, here is Chapter 1 of Book 4, entitled "A Guide To The Universe". I wouldn't consider this an official start to the Primis story, as I am still mapping that out. But I went ahead and made this introductory chapter starring Monty, and I really just wanted opinions on how I portrayed Monty and if I did a good enough job in establishing how the multiverse works in layman's terms. I want the chapter to be a good explanation of the Keepers, the Apothicons, Agartha, the Aether, and the fractured multiverse, and I am no expert on the subject. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable on the subject can offer a better way to explain it.

As always, I will be back.

Nice. I'd really like to join the 100 club one day and could have on a couple of occasions if not for tired carelessness. My highest is 74 on BO3 Ascension which could have gone on longer but it was so late at night it's like my brain was trying to let me die. But I will one day get that 100, and it will probably be on BO3 Ascension because there's just something about the map that makes it fast and very easy to train.

With or without gobblegums?

With gobblegums and all the perks I'd say 30-35 is a round that means you're pretty well experienced in the map overall.

Without gobblegums maybe 25-30, but even then the perks and the thundergun make the map very doable.

My philosophy has always been a good round is subjective based on how well you do on most other maps. To me getting to 40 on a Black Ops III map means I've "completed it" and any rounds after that are just endurance. With Black Ops and Black Ops II that round was 30 because the game was slower and harder then.

57 minutes ago, CerealBro1 said:

For me that map is Five.

 

1. It is so fun to simply plop down on the sofa and play through a game of zombies and there really are no difficult easter eggs to do to get to things

2. Many different ways to play the map, and the elevators and Defcon switches is extremely innovative and the Thief definitely makes things difficult on early rounds

3. The story was not very direct in this map but it was still there. It showed how the Americans were aware of Zombies and all of the Tech from group 935, and you could see all of their efforts to re-engineer their technology including Rayguns, Wunderwaffe, and the teleporters.

 

Plus this was the map that made me love zombies so I will always be biased about it and all my memories from this map

Bold choice but I agree Five is awesome. Definitely in my top five maps.

I think of all the maps Der Eisendrache has the most harmony and flow to it. It's a map that lends itself to so many different ways to play, from camping to training and everything in-between. It's simple enough to be enjoyed by anybody and the easter egg and bow upgrades make it have enough depth for a zombies veteran. Much like the staves, the bows are a key point on this map and are a major appeal for it. Each is unique and useful for certain situations and adds variability to the map. The upgrade process for all of them is also fun and not so tedious like running around the map for the upgraded staves. The map can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it. The Panzer Soldat is better balanced on this map and can be a force to be reckoned with under the wrong circumstances. The easter egg is akin to the classics in terms of steps and for the most part they all make sense. The end boss fight is the best one we've had in Black Ops III in terms of balance. Finally, the end cutscene and story of the map are a major stepping stone in the story of Black Ops III and have resonated with many fans like myself. The only complaint I have is I wish we got to know Dempsey 1.0, or Primis Dempsey for that matter, a little better.

So great flow, gameplay, immersion, story, replayability, music, and graphics. For an objective view I think it is one of the best if not the best zombies map to date.

However, subjectively for me, Moon will always be my favorite.

Ended up with 39/63. Like you said, I was kicking myself on some of these.

Map: Ascension

Highest Round: 73

Players: Solo

Strategy Used: Classic Widow's Lander Train using Dingo w/ Dead Wire

Gobblegums used: Just Immolation to get the Thunder Gun.

Have had the staff getting stuck glitch like many others as well. Only solution to that is not switching staves, instead returning one before picking up another.

Another one I had on Origins was one of the robots' feet killing me while in the trenches stepping over me.

Not really a glitch but I want to be able to return WW with the hacker on Moon.

Played my first game getting to round 54 a couple nights ago and I started off thinking it was much harder considering the speed of the zombies and how fast they hit you, and I went down a couple of times. I eventually realized Widow's Wine was more of a hindrance than a useful perk, and ended up on 54 getting tired and going to bed. Since then I'm avoiding Widow's Wine when I want to run circles, which is most games. I think the perk might have made me worse honestly, and the maps are much easier to train without it constantly messing with your horde.

So minus Widow's Wine I'm finding the maps easier and much much faster to get to high rounds.

I love this analysis. While I think Jimmy Zielinski should have just stuck with TranZit and improved upon it on its own, I admire his ambition. The idea of multiple game modes is something I could see being explored in the future if they ever did a zombies-based game. There's a lot they could do there. It could have the main survival map as per usual and a remake/side map as DLC. There could be a zombies campaign, maybe following Victis between Die Rise and Buried or just a completely new set of people separate from the main story, kind of like Nightmares but designed specifically for zombies. Multiplayer could have maps based on the campaign missions and zombies maps of the past, with all the usual game modes, killstreaks, and create-a-class. Then they can add bonus games like Grief, Turned, Meat, and any more they desire. I think it is doable with the team they have now, I'm just curious how the general audience would react to a zombies-centric game since many are so focused on gritty and realistic again.

13 hours ago, anonymous said:

I had a very good read. I am really fund on the scientific explanations (elemental composition from radiation of an element holding 115 protons) and that part about their school years. Was fun. Looking forward to a next chapter, does not matter what book. I am curious to any story (Ultimis, Victis, Primus, etc). What book do you feel like working on the most?

I'm most intersted in doing Book 4 (Primis) and Tales right now. But I may mix it up just to keep myself from getting into a rut.

It depends what you'd rather have in a map. To me, Die Rise is a more vertical TranZit, with a lot of map to explore. Personally I dislike the map, and it's the only one I do. But don't let that dissuade you, because that's just me. The wonder weapon is really cool, and the map can be very fun with the trample steam, sliquifier, and guns like the AN94.

If you're looking for something simple and charming I'd go with Nuketown. There's not much too crazy here, it's pretty much just nuketown but with zombies running in. About all the weapons are the same apart from the LSAT and M27. It is decently challenging to train on this map. The only problem is perks randomly spawn in every 5 or so rounds along with pack a punch, so you can potentially get to round 20 and still not have jugg. But it provides some variability everytime you play.

So just consider what you want from the map and consider the price difference.

As for Call of the Dead, I think the map is great and would take it over both. It has a lot of ways to play and George keeps you on your toes, preventing the map from being too easy.

Well folks, here is chapter 4 of Book 1, Success: http://www.callofdutyzombies.com/story/book1ch4

I'm sorry for the really long wait and very slow releases. Truth is I think I'm a little burnt out writing about Ultimis, probably because it's pretty much all I've written about so far. I think I'm going to start writing in a non-linear fashion, just writing what I feel most interested in at the moment, because I think that makes them better and I should write more often that way. I also want to slow down the releases a bit, and try to release several chapters at once. Starting a chapter then dropping it for something else can be frustrating and jarring for the reader and I want to try and release clusters of chapters that make something satisfying rather than one at a time with a completely unknown amount of time between.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't worry, I will get back to Book 1 when I'm back in the mood. I have a basic outline of every chapter I want in the entire book.

1. Moon

2. Origins

3. Shadows of Evil

4. Der Eisendrache

5. "Five"

I agree Maxis is not as innocent as he seems. I'd even be willing to say he is responsible for Richtofen's descent into madness when he was unimpressed by Richtofen and Schuster's work on the MTD. I think all his time working with 115 to create an undead army drove him mad, making him just as manic and unpredictable, i.e. killing himself in front of his daughter and having him murder all his former colleagues for some sick revenge.

I was also of the belief Maxis was evil ever since Moon when he cackled maniacally as he launched the rockets. Sure he was trying to undermine the evil Edward Richtofen, but he did not care about the loss of life whatsoever.

Honestly I can see how he could have been evil since the Der Riese radios where he screams at Richtofen for simply speaking, calling him a fool. No wonder Richtofen wanted him dead in the end.

As for unleashing the Apothicons, I can see that being a motivation, however I'd be more inclined to say he just wanted to undermine Richtofen and reunite with the only one he cares about, Sam, no matter the cost.

Speed Cola should always be there in the MP40 room, but Mule Kick will only appear on all the maps except Moon if you are playing online. Playing offline makes it disappear.

The Dead Flowers music video is probably the most unique and I love it for it. For me it was when the storytelling became really abstract, and it also made me love Takeo's character development in Zetsubou. Not to mention the creepy vibes.

I just want something different from the normal Treyarch mode to mix things up. I'm hoping something between Extinction and Survival from MW3. Also hoping the story isn't phoned in like Exo-Zombies and IW Zombies.

I also nominate @Blurryfacewho has been active nearly every day in nearly every forum, even when no one else is.

20 minutes ago, anonymous said:

Yeah, that and the fact that the Eagle's Nest is basically the bridge between Earth and Griffin Station: The Launchpad's, the rockets, the projector showing images of GS and Area 51 are all way too obvious to keep secret from Maxis.

I agree that would be hard to hide, however, consider this from the timeline:

Quote

December 20th, 1942

• Accompanied by Sophia, Maxis is transferred to the Kino facility to focus on creating Germany's undead army. Samantha is left in Richtofen's care.

Quote

July 15th, 1945

• Richtofen travels to the Siberian Facility to do further research on "live specimens". As her temporary guardian, he takes Samantha with him. Group 935 begins transferring three test subjects for experimentation: Nikolai, Pablo, and Takeo.

Every mention after December 20th, 1942 of Maxis refers to his work on trying to control the undead. Then in:

Quote

September 24th, 1945

• Maxis returns to Der Riese. He orders Richtofen to do likewise so they may continue their work on the Matter Transference Device.

The timeline implies Maxis was stationed at the Kino facility for almost 3 years. I believe he would have left every so often, but not for long periods of time, and probably not as far as Der Eisendrache, more likely to Der Riese, or to wherever his daughter was at the time. 1942 is also the year Griffin Station is completed and likely when operations between it and Earth were established. I think in the three years time Richtofen's people could have made all the additions that we see in the 1945 version in-game. Maxis had really no idea what Richtofen was doing for that entire time, entrusting him with many responsibilities, even allowing him to take custody of his own daughter (idiotic move, to be honest). I actually wouldn't be too shocked if Richtofen told Maxis that Griffin Station existed, but that it was somewhere on Earth.