Dead Island Tips - Part 2 Getting Started

Past character selection and into the game proper. It does a fair job of a tutorial but some things have been missed out. Below are the very basics needed to navigate the first hotel section of the game; I'll flesh out each part in other entries.

The game screen

Health indicator is top left - white=good; red=bad. Health will not normally regenerate except from the very last bar and then only by one bar.

When running or in combat the stamina bar will appear. Once depleted the character will have difficulty in attacking or running. Stamina will regenerate provided the character is not performing any action that would normally drain it.

Bottom right is the mini-map. The centre green arrow depicts the character; any other green arrows are other players. The white line indicates the most direct traversable path to the current quest goal which itself will be show as a red flag.

The crosshair appears centre screen. When positioned over a manipulatable item it will display an icon indicating the type of action that can be performed and the control needed to perform it.

Moving around

The normal control set with move and turn/look separated so it's possible to move in a direction different to one the character is looking at. The character can duck, but moves at a reduced speed, and can also sprint and jump, but drains stamina whilst doing so.

Breaking down doors

This is something the player will have to do early on and it's not explained very well. The intent is to replicate the actions of someone trying to force the door by leaning back then ramming themselves forward. As such the control is pulled back and then thrust forward. This is represented by a vertical bar with a red splash directly in the centre. A white line will oscillate up and down this bar and the objective is to push forward when it is dead centre of the red splash.

If performed exactly this will open the door in one movement. When performed inexactly it will cause the door to break by an amount equal to the position of the white line as indicated by a red stain spreading inwards from either end of the vertical line and the player can try again until they fill the bar. Provided the character stays within the vicinity of the door it will retain that level of brokenness if the action of breaking it down becomes interrupted.

Collectables

Bags can be opened are shown with a cogwheel symbol and their contents, if any, taken. Everything is useful. There is no limit on the amount of these types of items that can be collected so grab them all.


That is all the information useful to getting out of the hotel. Once out more options become available and I'll deal with those separately as a rough guide to The Resort.