Scythe-Messiah

I just read through the chunk reset option and related and I really like the concept of it and very very greatly appreciate it's upcoming addition. While I currently use loot respawn, chunk resetting is far superior since terrain, blocks, and challenge get restored rather than say loot rooms made accessible via previously activated shortcuts. I know in an MP environment I'll want the setting enabled so that everyone can experience everything in a shorter playtime window and help keep longevity/replayability/accessibility on the server. Ideally, I'd love for the chunk reset to be tied to horde nights. Sort of like how in STALKER games, some degree of resetting/variability occurs in the zone after emissions. This would also potentially allow for high traffic areas to get chunk resets as well (assuming you're okay with that). Question: Would it be possible to add an option toggle to reset chunks to the day after horde night vs static day amount? (specifically, I'd want to have compatibility with horde day dynamic ranges). Two options I was thinking of was either reset ALL chunks (save the bedrolls/landclaims) after horde days or just chunks that weren't visited before previous horde day ranges (e.g assuming 7 day hordes, if it's day 15, anything that was visited day 1 through day 7 gets reset -- but anything visited between 8-14 stays. Next horde night on day 21, those areas 8-14 gets reset, but 15-21 is good until day 28). Syncing chunk resets to the day after horde nights is an interesting immersive option (imagine survivors re-barricading a building we cleared before horde night but still turned into zombies afterwards when we checked) -- But also has the concrete benefit of "I better grab the stuff I stashed before horde day hits" vs. guessing at when a chunk may reset when I can't remember the last time I visited it. In my playgroup, we'd spend the days before horde night preparing, and exploring afterwards -- so a fresh world after horde nights makes sense with an MP playgroup IMHO. Thanks!

Question: SMG Turrets and Shotgun Turrets no longer seem to set off demolishers, but junk sledge and junk turrets still do. I didn't see mention of this on either the patch notes nor on the Public A20 KI List yet. Is this a bug? a balance change? intentional difference between turret types? I appreciate base turrets helping to kill demolishers, but if intentional, it seems odd to me that the *placed* portable turrets weren't also included.

Man, I feel you. My friend and I have experienced this bug as well, it's been especially brutal since I'm an INT main. He's had it as the host and I've had it happen as the client connected to his game. When he's reported his turret as having fallen, I was still seeing it still where he placed it, but inactive even while he was "standing next" to it. We've had it drop through POIs and player made horde bases. I'm not completely certain why/when since it happens infrequently, but it's often enough it puts a damper on fun. It feels like it happens more often when zombies charge, I drop it, and it falls through floors leaving me scrambling. It was awful early game without auger/miner 69er when it sunk through POI floors to ground level. Sometimes if lucky, it only drops 10-15 blocks down and lands on a lower floor. It seems like it occurrs with busier POIs, chunk loading, and lower framerate situations -- skyscrapers, sleepers waking up, hordenight, players in different parts of the map, heavy zombie pathing, or leaving and returning to chunks where the turrets were previously deployed. I haven't been able to witness a connection between this bug and vehicles teleporting though. On hour hordebase, I have seen zombies fall, ragdoll, and then get knocked below blocks collision and get stuck in crawling animations in blocks below the top level. Not sure if that's directly related to turrets dropping or not though.

I'm excited for the drone, but I'm also confused by lack of documentation/communication regarding it. I had to wait for streamer weekend for more info and I still feel in the dark. I understand the drone was originally built as an INT class weapon, but it's been changed so that it's effectively a 'vehicle' companion for everyone. But I can't clearly see where it falls in perk progression and what benefits an INT specialist gets with it -- other than crafting item levels. Are the patch notes incorrect here or is there some functionality that will be present in future experimental builds that's not present currently / still undecided? i.e. tie-ins with INT perks: robotics, physician, grease monkey, daring adventurer, engineering, etc. Some of the content I've seen didn't answer some of my concerns: Does the drone count as a vehicle? or does against the total robot limit? E.g. If I'm fully spec'd in robotics, am I reduced to 1 turret + 1 drone? or is it 2 turrets + drone? (as in drones don't count towards limit). IMHO Being limited would be brutal since an INT builds viability is tied to turret count while other classes would simply get added utility without perk points spent. (especially if I build my drone to be used for team medical support and use my turrets a as backline.) Great to see the drone automatically apply healing. Does the drone only target it's owner? or does it also automatically heal nearby allies? (if so, can that be changed by locking it? if the ally enters the password they can be a valid heal target?) or will they need to manually interact and request healing from it every time? To reiterate: I believe a physician perk tie in to the drone would be fantastic for an INT player as a team support role -- healing effectiveness and/or reducing the drone's heal cooldown for example. Anyways, I've been enjoying seeing the streams and really love the RWG work, POIs, zombie models, and feral sense. Looking forward to playing it, seeing it hit stable, and hearing about what comes next.

The backend work TFP has done on major systems are solid examples that this update is just the size is needs to be: The work done on blocks, building menu, distant imposters, and RWG is a framework that will impact every update that comes after it. This kind of system engineering and coordination between teams has been great to see. This is a good direction to see and I hope this methodology is applied when overhauling other legacy systems. Incremental creative process is about maintaining a currency of momentum and setting a course knowing it can be adjusted based on actual needs. The act of creating isn't always logical, binary, or linear -- art is never truly 'perfect' or finished, it just gets released. Creation can sometimes be messy and feel unproductive. Failure is not just a key part of refining process or technique; sometimes in the flash of a single errant line soon to be erased you can see the clarity of vision that will dictate all future strokes. Taking a step back holds meaning when you know it lets you take another several steps forward. It's even more meaningful when you know others can take the path you've blazed or know to avoid. It's not the size of the updates that gets people agitated, its the length time between them. TFP may not be winning any sprints, but they're still in the marathon.

Correct. While it's a great perk, it only impacts the player who took it. I'm thinking more about the player applying the benefit of their perk. Though honestly, I've mostly done SP recently. I can't even recall trying to use a splint on someone else in recent memory.

Seriously appreciate all the detail work you guys do. Good data reporting = better decision-making and more efficient use of time. As much as people are clamoring for a release, much rather you guys have time to find those show stopper bugs and the smaller bugs that wreck immersion -- like the first person hand model desyncing from weapon models. @faatal Would you happen to know if the Physician perk is shared with the done and its heal? I haven't seen any information on it in any of the streams. If it's not implemented yet: is it planned, not planned, separate planned interactions, or is it just not considered yet? I'd really love to see the "Medical healing items heal 25%/40%/55%/75% more health over time" apply to the drone's heal (or even just a reduced portion or reduced drone heal cooldown). It'd be a really cool option for co-op support folks who aren't the best at gunplay but want to contribute -- provided you guys can work out an agreeable balance on it. Secondary question is does drone heal currently confer XP gain to the owner when applying bandages to self/friends? And if so, does the Physician perk's XP bonus also apply to the drone's heal? Lastly, while thinking about the physician perk: It'd be great to see the perk reduce time needed for healing a splinted broken arm/leg just enough so your friends will bother the physician to make a house call before horde night.

It sounds like the emotional core of your argument is about feeling disrespected, jealous, and entitled to having the experimental update they are choosing to artificially allow access to. I get that that it sucks, I really do. There's nothing wrong about being passionate about wanting something you enjoy. Sure, the first streamer weekend I thought "Man, this is @%$#ty, let me just play the damn game". In my mind, jealously was about taking, entitlement was about it being owed, and disrespect was about not getting what was deserved due to loyalty. Here's the thing right? To get BEYOND those feelings It requires an emotional reframing for proper understanding and wisdom: Do I want the game to be even more successful? Do I want TFP to keep developing the game? How do I even support development when I bought my copy YEARS ago? How can TFP keep solvency without exposure to new audiences to expand the player base? Can the core 'loyal' audience pay the bills of development alone? Am I willing to delay my gratification so the devs can get their needs met while they work on the game? Am I saying their needs really aren't okay with me? There's no DLC for the game and there's no monthly subscription. My dollar per hour is a little more than pennies at this point. To not express my gratitude for that fact alone is utterly shameless and absurd. I've gifted easily a dozen copies of the game, like I've done with other games where my dollar per hour is fractions on the dollar because I'm the one who owes them. Gotta respect what you put your time into. Streamers, youtubers, and modders all do their part. I never would have found the game had I not seen a stream then watched a lets play and thought with a sense of trepidation "Man, I can't wait to play that".

Oh yeah. I completely agree on my points not being about salient or mechanical game balance. Personal feelings don't always make for intelligent design or for unbiased balance considerations. (however, feelings can inform how people derive fun/enjoyment or stumbling blocks to immersion/accessibility). Half the fun I get from playing is treating the game like a SP permadeath roguelike, mixing and matching from the different trees, and seeing where the run takes you until death and then starting fresh on a new seed. Limiting yourself to a single tree can be a fun challenge, but good design is about tough choices that make want to try out something else 'next time'. Junk turrets absolutely have their utility as both a safety net and a temporary force multiplier, but they aren't a 1:1 replacement for a primary ranged weapon from other trees (and they shouldn't need to be). That said, Sledge turrets are exceptional workhorses and at times I feel like durability degradation like electrical traps might be needed for proper balance. I really like seeing more support potential added to the game and I would love to see more design for the MP/Co-op crowd. I really hope the Physician perk works with the drone's heal.

For the INT tree, My big question is: does the drone's heal get impacted by the drone owner's Physician perk? e.g. 25%, 40%, 55%, 75% added healing? Does the player who owns the drone also get the XP from the heal? and if so, is that XP boosted by Physician bonus? That synergy is going to be really important co-op for folks who want to double down on supporting their friends. Regarding INT tree balance; Personally speaking, I've always felt like 'Demolitions expert' should be in the INT tree. IMHO The tree with advanced engineering better reflects someone who's actively producing explosives and has the know how that best reflects how to maximize their effect. Perception makes sense with hand eye coordination of tossing say, a grenade -- but is hand eye coordination really more important than the knowledge and act of preparation for chemical/electrical/mechanical components of explosives? If the explosives aren't made well, it doesn't matter how good your hand eye coordination is if the explosive doesn't go boom (or goes boom too soon). Sledges and junk turrets can hold the line, but explosives are the perfect supplement to support when they get overwhelmed or you need to repair/reload them. Plus, IIRC INT has 8 skills and PER has 10. Arguably not much of a stretch to move it. Plus, Demolitions expert is already pretty asymmetrical vs. other weapon groups and it 100% fits the base defense/support aspect of INT. Toss in some tools for demolition/area denial and it really reinforces INT as a base defender. A flamethrower for example could also have the added utility of clearing out plants/trees/grass from an area in the wilderness for a build or quickly clearing sight lines before a horde. INT weapons feel like they need some balance tweaking. I've never found the baton useful enough to warrant putting points into it. If the stun had a guaranteed proc that recharged every 5 seconds(reduced time required on perk spent), I'd use it more often. I wish there was a ranged taser or another ranged weapon with high stun chance/duration low damage for co-op(bean bag cannon). My other major concern on the INT tree is ammo efficiency on the junk turret. I wish the turret perk had a much higher damage vs. fire rate ratio (which would help with ammo efficiency). Sledge turrets have greater utility since they're more reliable and don't hemorrhage resources.

Really loved the Random gen stream. The tile system is fantastic and I'm really looking forward to seeing just how expandable it is. I know it's by no means finished and that more is always better for making a random world feel less 'empty' and more alive. What I'm most excited for is the part system. The ability to have 'parts' fill in and flesh out the all of the little unused spaces in the world will add considerable variation, immersion, and replayability -- not to mention great opportunities for emergent story telling; showing the player just how quickly society deteriorated as people abandoned everything to try and escape with their lives. I think the most jarring to me from the stream was how roads and parking lots just felt way too empty in the current build. Though I do recognize that cars need to be a finite resource and there's a limit to how many wrecks should be allowed. However, with all the bus stops I guess I was expecting to see some busses (I think I only saw them in the editor). With the addition of warehouse / package hub POIs, I was also looking to see some branded 53' trailers on the streets and especially in the commercial districts putting those loading docks on the stores to use. The part system sounds like it will let roads and parking lots have some great things to explore: survivor last stands, traffic jams, jackknifed 53'ers, military check points, abandoned construction/utility job sites, medical triage tents, power crews that never dispatched, rows of shipping containers/trailers, and all manner of human tragedy that the player gets to witness before inevitably scavenging from (or hopefully, questing to).

During some of the teaser videos of the tile system, we saw examples of the tiles rerolling POIs from their corresponding bucket of prefabs based on zoning type. It got me wondering: Would it be possible to set up a system where when taking a new trader quest you could have an option to keep or 'reroll' the quest's prefab? (ideally, non-player selected from a list of valid candidates remaining in the tile's bucket for that size category) Or was the RWG tile rerolling system only for testing tiles in the editor? (e.g. tile buckets only roll once during initial generation, generation system is not exposed, and POI performance considerations per tile and with adjacent tiles take precedence) I recognize It's hardly realistic, but it could be a system that would allow people see all the hard work put into POIs without needing obscene map sizes or breaking the gameplay loop. Even if it's a developer mode option only, having the ability to keep or reroll POI's around you that you've already run a couple of times or maybe really enjoy but haven't seen might be a nice way to mix it up for folks who have put a lot of time on their gameworld. Anyhoo, just a thought. Excited for the stream and seeing the new tile system, parts, and buckets in action.