MichaelL.

I'll be putting together several video tutorials on some of the interesting tricks I've stumbled across using the 7D2D Prefab Editor. This is not meant to be an introductory series on using the Prefab Editor - though I will try and provide detailed instructions on how I'm accomplishing these particular tricks. This first episode covers how to include hidden noise traps into your POI's.

Weird - just got this same question over on Nexus... 😉 I'll just copy and paste my answer from Nexus here..... I'm in the process of doing several video tutorials on this and several other nifty Prefab tricks I've discovered to enhance POI game-play (hidden noise traps, sleeper spawning under water, hidden mines, etc.). But the short version is that this is supported by columns of terrain blocks that have had their 'density' manipulated in the Prefab Editor (using the down arrow key) to the point where they are no longer visible. In this state, they still have SI, and neither the zombies nor the players can directly interact with them. Zombies will not agro against them as they don't even know they are there. There is a particular property with terrain blocks that makes this possible - which I will explain in detail in the tutorial.

Did somebody mention bandits on blimps? (sorry - it dosen't actually fly.... 😄)

Thanks!

Doh! Thanks Brad!

So, I've just completed my first 'mod'. It's nothing very fancy - it's just one of thos little environmental things that I've felt has been missing from the game (hint, hint TFP.. ). It randomly spawns downed trees in the various biomes (which you would normally encounter in the real-world). They are harvestable - just like regular trees. Simply unzip the folder into your "Mods" folder (If you don't have a Mods folder, create one in the root 7 Days To Die Folder, making sure it's spelled exactly Mods - with an upper case 'M'. This can be run on existing maps you've previously generated - you would just need to start a new game. Or, your can start off with a freshly generated map - your choice! [NOTE: you will see a lot of red error lines in the console view. This is simply from where the trees are spawning into an area that is already taken up by some other object - such as grass, trees, rocks, etc. This is normal when spawning in as decoration blocks that take up more than a 1x1x1 space. It will still work fine.) Enjoy! Please let me know what you think of it...... Thanks! https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1947/

I've just uploaded an update to this trader pack - I stupidly neglected to edit the tag that will allow these to show up once you've completed your initial quests. My sincerest apologies! 😧

My complete "fantasy" trader pack is now available. This would be a good addition if you are using one of the overhaul mods to create a more 'fantastical' environment. Enjoy! (Unfortunately, the water in Trader Joel's 'grotto' is borked. Hopefully when Pille get's a chance to update his wonderful editor, I'll put out an update.) https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1931/

If people want to learn how to do this, they can simply ask me. I have provided this information freely on both discord and Facebook anytime I've been asked. Individuals on the TFP crew are also aware of this technique. My position has always been: I have a lot of fun in making unique POI's for other people to enjoy, and I'm always open to suggestions and criticism in order to learn how to do better for future projects. If you are a prefabber, and want to learn how somebody does something - simply ask. The vast majority of people downloading mods/prefab honestly don't care about the technical details as to how they are done. They simply want to experience something different and have fun playing the game. This is why I (and practically every other creator) normally dosen't get into the nitty-gritty details on how it was done - they just give a basic description to let the users know something about the project. So please, simpy sit back and enjoy what folks are spending long hours on for other people to experience. This isn't a competition. If you have any criticism about the POI itself, I'm all open for it.

I've finished up on my dirigible POI and it is now available on Nexus. Enjoy! https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1925

Has there been any progress getting the XML tags fixed for limiting prefabs to specific biomes?

So I've got a rather large ( ) multi-trader POI that I built for A19. It's too large to fit in the A20 trader/portal marker. I've been trying all kinds of combinations in the XML to get it to spawn in the wilderness (yes, I've added a road exit to the POI). I just feel that I haven't come up with the secret tag combination to get it to work. Anybody figured this out - or is it no longer possible to spawn traders in the wilderness?

First, let me apologize for the video - I'm having to use a little NUC PC until I can get my main rig fixed up - this little thing dosen't have a lot of oomph to it.... So, this is a WIP I've been working on. There's no mod being used - this works in Vanilla. It is using an exploit in the game - which hopefully TFP won't take away. It can only be done in the Prefab Editor, so folks won't be able to use this trick in-game. This is not the glass sheet or the two-layer floating tricks - it's something more stable and allows you to provide support to your builds that are invisible to both the players and the zombies. It can be exposed if you use weapons that have area damage (grenades, molotov's, cop spit, etc). This exploit is really useful for prefabbers when you need to span long distances with blocks - that by themselves - do not have the required structural integrity.

Streamers generate revenue. Non streamers do not. Yes - TFP is a group of enthusiasts making a game - but they all also have to pay the bills. Welcome to the real world where folks gotta make a living.....

LOL! Already there... 😉

This is the very first Prefab I worked on - the Rose Abbey, which is inspired by the book/movie "The Name of the Rose." https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1618 This prefab is a multi-trader which was inspired by the Mount Fanjing Temple in China. https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1620 This is a fun little POI that I call the Flying Wallendas Homestead - consisting of deep, water-filled ravines that have to be traversed via tightropes. https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1626

I figured I should share my POI's here on the official forum. Here is a link to my Nexus page - I'll post them individually below. Enjoy! https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/users/118370333?tab=user+files&BH=0 This is my most recent POI - The Maunsell Forts https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1656 . This has bee my most popular one so far - a pseudo-replication of the final temp in Indian Jones and the Las Crusade. Don't want to give too much away with the screen shots, but being familiar with the movie will be beneficial.... https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1619 Here is also a very popular one - the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. https://www.nexusmods.com/7daystodie/mods/1621

As an example: This is my latest POI build, which is a replication of the WW2 Maunsell Forts off the coast of England. I've had to resort to using straight poles to replicate electrical lines between the different tower forts - constrained by the 90 degree block placements. But it would be SO much better if I could 'drape' electrical lines between them at odd angles - adding to the overall realism and visual impact of the POI....

So.... I consider myself to be a fairly decent prefaber. Now.... I understand why TFP dosen't want prefabs to have existing/operational electrical systems. You don't really want a Day-1 player come across a POI that is ready and wired to handle a day-100 blood moon hoard. I get that. But..... For the benefit of all of us prefabers (and ultimately the players of this game) - could you PLEASE add the capability of having "decorative" electrical lines that we can drape across our POI's? They don't have to be functional. I get why you wouldn't want that. But I don't think you fully appreciate the impact of these random 'clutter' decorative aspects to a game. Yes, we've all used the thin "pillars" to crate some electrical lines. But the visual impact of having that point-to-point wire (with gravity sag that isn't at all constrained by a relegated, 90 degree block system) is absolutely, mind-bogglingly transformative. When you have something that defies the existing 90 degree block-to-block connections, it literally transforms the scene. I tend to look at building POI's from a cinematographic viewpoint - It's not just the playability of the POI - but the visual impact that I'm always working towards. It's that "WOW" factor that I get when players go through my POI's that really makes this worth-while for me. And this is something that I feel is directly in line with what y'all are doing with the outstanding new tile system you've developed. You've got all of these power poles that are now part of the RWG - wouldn't it add to the visual impact even more if you had actual power lines draping between each of them? I mean - you've already got the technical part of the programming already built into the system with what we have for the existing electrical system. It should only take a bit of work to make this something that is purely decorative - connect line between point A to point B. To quote one of my favorite shows as a kid - "We have the technology - we can rebuild him..... "

A little playing around with heightmaps.... 😁

Ah yes.... I see that now!

What are the dark brown and grey areas?

So, who's this handsome fellow lurking in the background? Is this an updated businessman?