MileStone 1 - 05/28/2009 - Rough campaign sketch + Timeline

I will draw a rough plan and timeline for the entire campaign. Please post in the forums for suggestions. See you next week!

Crescendo Ideas:
- explosion/fire
- Jukebox. Ironic music guaranteed!
- School bell
- Helicopter-crash, in the middle of the city.
- Ambulance passing by.
- House-alarm. (survivors try to open a door, but that activates an alarm!)
- A ladder that leads to a roof, collapses. (lots of noise)
- Reuzenrad. It starts turning! Funny music and lights included.
- A lift that drops down, while the survivors are in it. Makes a lot of noise.
- Phone call!
- A radio. How original.
- A misthorn on the shore.
- Arriving boat's motor.
- A gass leak
(- Fol the lols. A chinese fast-food guy allives on his motolbike: "You oldeled Bami-Special?" AAaarrlgh zombies!)


Updated:
- newer ideas to come here!



please say your thoughts and give suggestions etc.

- DBP

Campaign Layout Sketch

Chapter 1
Start in "Abandoned Building" (what is it? mountain observatory could be interesting), travel through forest to village/crossroads and safe room.

Chapter 2
Leave crossroads, travel through forest along road towards coast. Survivors get to a walled, gated community called "Mountainside Private Community". They try to use the fancy electronic panel to gain access, but it tells them in a recorded voice that they are unknown users and entry is unauthorized. When they try again, it sounds an alarm that starts the first crescendo event. At the end, it short circuits due to damage, and the gate opens. Survivors enter community and go to the safe room.

Chapter 3
Survivors travel through the rest of the community. The people obviously thought they were safe in their walled off neighborhood, and tried to keep the zombies at bay, but failed. Out the other side of the community (there's a big hole in the wall there), the survivors travel through a short bit of forest to a resort hotel built on the side of the mountain. After making their way through the hotel, they get to the hotel-exclusive cable car lift. Starting up the machinery causes the second crescendo event while the survivors wait for their car to arrive. After, they travel down to town at the bottom of the mountain. There is a short run down the street, and then they find a safe room.

Chapter 4
Survivors go through a back alley into a public school. For some reason they need to turn the power on, and as soon as they do, the school bell sounds, causing the third crescendo. They find that the gymnasium was set up to be an evac center, but like everything else it was clearly overrun. The school is a big place with a lot of obstacles and barricades set up, but they eventually get out of it. There's a bit more action on the street heading towards the beach, and then there's another safe room.

Chapter 5 - Finale
Leaving the safe room, the survivors turn the corner to find themselves at the pier. There is a small amusement park with a couple rides, a ferris wheel, and various game booths. The survivors radio for help and find there's a ferry waiting that's been taking survivors out to "clean" islands. The finale begins and the survivors have to wait it out until the boat shows up.

very very cool, but what causes the crescendo in the finale? the ferris weel?

3 of the four official campaigns don't explain the finale horde. I've always seen it as "we're forced to sit in one place for ten minutes and the zombies we've been running from have finally caught up to us". In any event, we could do something specific, like Dead Air's pump, but players won't feel anything is missing if we don't overtly explain it.

Thanks for the input everyone! Here is what I managed to do:

The timelapse:



And the (half finished) map of the abandoned building that is actually a luxury hotel. The cable lift is indeed for the hotel itself!