PoppaSmirk

Don't forget Undead labs

I was thinking of making a topic on this Myself, since My group played on My server yesterday, (3 players) and I have junk turrets stationed at both the front entrance and back entrance of Our Main base, the junk turret at the front door sank down one block, and about an hour later the sledge turret at the back entrance sank down a block too. I noticed that the one at the rear entrance "dipped its head" and looked as if I might be able to snag it if I could keep a different turret "active" so I dropped My junk turret at My side then moved forward, hoping to collect the sledge at the back door without having to destroy a block to get it. I still had to destroy that block but when I turned around to reclaim My junk turret. It had sank into the ground also? Whats up with this? I'm now on Day 52 in My RGW and this is the first time running into this in A20.

I tend to do a lot more..."prairie -dogging" now when I am on a buried supplies quest. I dig and dig....then POP my head up and do a 360 scan, then dig and dig some more. I stay alert for that first snarl or growl, then pop fully back to ground level and dispatch the undead with malicious abandon, then resume the digging.

I have made comments on this general topic before, but not on this specific one. So, Just from My perspective, I have a base with a limited amount of available area for farming, so for Me the "huge Farm Concept" wasn't going to be ideal. I have enough Farm Plots to plant 34 seeds. I place 6 each corn and potatoes, 5 for mushrooms(+1 open for when I can craft an extra mushroom 'spore'), 4 for pumpkin, 4 for blueberries, 3 yucca, and 4 aloe vera, and 1 plot that I tried to plant some super corn in, but added 1 normal corn this last harvest. So after some really bad harvests while at LoTL2, I finally ranked up to LoTl3, and I am now still having a slight struggle to make enough food for 4 players; My last harvest yielded enough that I could make a total of 5 meat stews and 2 steak and potatoes. I'm still unsure how the corn crop varies so widely. My last harvest I had to re-craft 5 new corn seeds; but I still had a surplus at the end of 9 corn. 4 pumpkin plots yielded no seeds, so end result there after re-crafting new ones was a whopping 3 pumpkins, small but still a surplus. Blueberries however went wild. I only had to re-craft 1 new seed so surplus was 11 blueberries. I still find the new farming a bit of an aggravation. But I am eating cooked foods using LoTL3 I'm looking for ways to expand the number of farm plots, to "work the odds" a bit more in My favor. I mentioned that I have 4 players, but usually the 4th one only jumps in on weekends, so other times there are only 1 or 2 playing, so less mouths to feed. Last night We played 5 hours of Real Time, so I didn't have enough to feed everyone on cooked food, but between farming and scavenging, no one went hungry. I think the largest aggravation is having to deal with the unpredictability at this point. The extra time to replant is only taking 2-3 minutes from play each time I harvest, so thats not a big issue to Me. It is a big change from A19, when I "knew" that each harvest I would be able to cook X amount of meat stews, and Y amount of Steak and Potatoes, and Z number of pumpkin or blueberry pie. It's simply a new feature I will have to get accustomed to, like buying a new car that doesn't have rear window defoggers, when your previous car had it as a 'standard feature' *grin*

So, I am not a coder or a 3D graphics designer by any means, My coding knowledge went toward the "obsolete" pile with DHTML. But I have often wondered, How much of a coding issue it would be, to have a base model zombie, Lets say The Fat Cop. Right now He looks fairly "spiffy' all awesome in his nice HD skin. But what if a somewhat random template could be applied over that base, so that each 'Fat Cop' that spawns gets an outer layer of grime or gore added. Since the base Model would be the same, and the "grime templates" sort of like a new layer to just drape over the base Model, I've often wondered if that would be a much more efficient way to add variety. Then the Players Might see..."Fat Cop with dirty face", then Fat Cop with the big jelly stain on the front of his uniform, or 'Fat Cop with the blood splatters" These are just things that cross My mind.

*le sigh* I do know why, but I can only think "what if", as My system (which I know should get an upgrade) runs at an average of 29-31 FPS, and dips down to around 19 FPS around the city plots. I'm just at a point of not wishing to pay inflated prices for a GPU that should only cost $469, but the market is now so crazy due to crypto currency miners that My desired GPU is priced at the mid $900 to $1100 price range.

My Hosted World that We generally play in, is set for normal defaults, with a few exceptions. Zombies are faster at night, and the Night doesn't start until 22:00 p.m. Other than that and Bdubs magnificent vehicle Mod, and a Mod allowing loot bags to remain onscreen longer, thats the only changes I have in My game World currently. So when I get a chance to play again later, It will be...end of the Day 40, going into Morning of Day41, so after I work on some tree chopping and mining a bit, I will once again try to do some looting (fingers crossed to find acid) . But I do have a motorcyle being crafted as I closed out play last night. Maybe today will be an ACID DAY !!!

Old Cash is, just that, currency issued before the fall of civilisation due to the zombie menace/apocalypse. The traders buy it at a slightly inflated rate of Dukes, with the probably reasoning that whoever the "Duke of Navezgane" really is, He doesn't completely control all trading, which means that somewhere, there is a supply chain that still only accepts Old World Dollars. hence, that still gives cash currency a value in this new world of zombie chaos.

Oooooooooooooh !!! I hadn't seen THIS list of Mods, just the ones I have viewed on nexus. I am trying to stay just vanilla insofar as obtaining vanilla items. I usually do add a Mod to allow the creation of "jail doors" that work, because that is something not offered in the vanilla crafting. I very much agree with many of those Mods line-of-thought however. I simply try to only add Mods that the rest of My usual playgroup feel good about. But in My current world setup, if the acid remains so elusive for another few days , We might add a Mod to compensate. I also try to not replay much about how much acid others have found, since I don't know if their Loot percentage is setup higher than Mine, which is set at the normal game default. But one of My regular Teammates also has a 7D2D world that she plays in when not with the group, and she constantly messages Me that she is finding "acid by the barrel-load" *grin* but then again, her Loot and experience percentage is set to 300%.

*chuckles* Sort of like telling Rapunzel, "hey no worries, SOME day you will get someone to climb up to the tower to rescue you" Hmmm, how many years went by before that happened? And seriously, its not like I am stopping the search, but it is a big change to My gameplay, and there is some frustration and aggravation to it. Ironically, it doesn't seem "a universal constant" as evidenced here: In addition I have seen the posts from Others, where they share that their "fly in the ointment" is the sewing kits, now those, I have 14 of them in stock, and thats after I used some to craft some pocket mods to reduce encumbrance.. SO I know there "might be" *grin* some more acid somewhere in this world, but its doing a fine job of staying out of My hands.

I completely have that vibe too. making gunpowder for instance. Still using hand tools for mining, is much slower and gets less of a yield than with the auger, so I would love to be able to get that "efficient" creation of gunpowder from using the chem station too. And making antibiotics as well. I've only found 2 antibiotics in 40 days (but I have hunted down 6 honey (from tree stumps). This game World is just feeling..... held back, by the diminished quality of loot....and the reduced "quantity" of the location to find items. And no Workstations active unless I build them. So no workarounds until I do.

I certainly thank you, and while I do use MODS, Our small group agreed to only use those that can add a missing feature or effects that enhance the current gameplay. Even in A19, Our hosted Game World only ran with a total of 8 Mods. Right now My A20 game world is using just 2 Mods. Of course if I can't get a crucible, or a chem station running to produce gasoline, its going to make using Bdubs Vehicle Mod a lot LESS attainable, since I need lots of steel, plus our group would need to have more gas supply ( can't make gas without a chem station) Normally if there is a lack of something needed to build a chem station, you could at least find one that worked "SOMEWHERE", but in A20 with all of the workstations having been disabled, if a player can't create one of the workstations, then they are simply S.O.L. which is another reason I am bristling about the increased rarity of acid.

Not that its something anyone is dying to know, but I made another try. Went back in, did some base preps , cooked then waited for morning. Left with a destination set for an area of the map I hadn't explored yet. I thought I might find a wasteland biome and try to scoot in along the edge and try looting some junk piles and hopefully get acid. I found more woodland and desert biome, so I drove north along the border of the 2 biomes. Then, I started bleeding, and the RAD warning went off in vivid lime green across My line of sight. Sooooooooo .... not going north anymore today So I spotted a cluster of buildings in the desert and I headed SW. I went through a total of 5 POI's out there, three seemingly military locations, thought this was excellent, they have the tents with gurneys and medical piles, plus a few had the blue barrels ( I still haven't found ANY green barrels yet) I went through everything and other than a Level 5 Pistol, and the prize of the day, a wheel. The rest was pretty much the standard junk, and no acid. So I still can't make a chem station, but at least I can use My scavenged Forged Steel and make a motorcycle. Gas will be My next issue, plenty of cars everywhere but more time consuming to have to break them down to get the gas inside. So once again, one step forward and another step back until I can locate 2 more acid. Searching since the last bottle We found on Day 28, and its now Day 40. My minibike can be passed along to one of My teammates so they have more than just a bicycle to travel on. Definitely not giving up, but the need to constantly search for a single item is putting some other elements of the game on the back burner, meaning I will be less prepped than usual for Horde Night. If TFP places a poll anywhere on the site to ask about the scarcity of acid, I will be sure to express My feelings , that this has been ridiculous. Its not like I am needing to locate a Flux Capacitor, its simple acid in a bottle. Its a COMMON household item. Its even MORE COMMON in the industrial sector. I guess the part that rankles me most is that My brain keeps trying to apply logic to this situation, and logic isn't working.

I very much do thank you for taking the effort to share that video. I gave it a once over and I didn't know about using the wrench on the Med Chest that hang on the wall. However, in every other aspect I have been "scouring the POI's" and well, not to sound shameless but after I exit a POI, the interior looks like it was stripped down by a swarm of giant locusts. I don't miss checking ANYTHING, and one of My Teammates is so ..umm...'thorough' that there is usually little to no furniture left in a POI when she exits it. I am always on the lookout for every perk book, so the WT3 Tip wasn't new, but the message overall was very appreciated. Thank you for sharing that vid.

Oh, I very much do enjoy just "overcoming and surviving" too; but I suppose that I would enjoy a different activity to be added. As I said, more of an end of game activity, once I am feeling "hard-nosed and Nigh-Invincible" to the zombie scourge. Thats usually the time in the game when I really dip into either making My base a Fortress, or renovating the surrounding area to be "fit for other survivors that make it to My area --- one day" I've made a demolished building over into a Pizza parlor, and turned a Days End Hotel into an "Aeroport" once I reached the point where I had plenty of resources and high level tools to play with. So something a bit more roleplayish to be added in , to be an added feature for mid-to high level play, would be welcomed by Me. I'd really LOVE an option to build a base that would attract "NPC survivors" that would come and ask to be allowed in. I wouldn't expect them to really join into combat, but to just enter My base and walk around having minor interactions with objects (sitting, tending to the garden (without actually harvesting anything, just for looks) I suppose that I would enjoy having something that would make it seem that the work I put into 'surviving" had made My area of the world into a safer place.. I know this has somewhat been added as a feature of at least one other zombie genre game, and I had enjoyed it, but it wouldn't be something I personally would want to have to manage for the entire playthrough. Just daydreaming a bit I suppose.

So, a few minutes ago I saw a post from someone, saying they want "rails and ziplines". That got me thinking. Signs of railway travel are missing from the 7D2D world. So, not making any kind of a demand at all, Just chiming in to say: Yeah , that would be cool. I 'feel' that the timing is right to place some focus on developing in-game interaction also. The 'bandits' idea would be a very good addition. I don't think that the 'bandit' even needs to be a 'scummy criminal' either, maybe someone just as frantic as you have been, trying to survive, and ---- you leave your bicycle or minibike out in the open. The 'bandit" can be the NPC that runs up, hops on and rides away, while your jaw is left dropped open. Maybe something that came to me also, its a smaller scale NPC interaction, where you find a note, or possibly it might be a Trader quest, of someone needing a rescue?? Your interaction with the NPC might consist of just getting a "thank you" as they run off ( or a few blood-curdling screams followed by sounds of zoms munching down if you don't get to the npc in time) I'm curious what thoughts and ideas others have also.

*smiles* go to your nearest light fixture, reach out and touch the bulb. Come back and tell me if you got "frostbite" ( wait, don't do that, I might wind up liable for some lawsuit chicanery --- lol ) My point is, lights Do produce heat, Fluorescent Iighting is minimal enough to be relatively cool to the touch, however the most common lighting item is 'basic light bulb" and that rascal will get hot. I've also never been able to "warm My hands over a candle at a distance of more than 6-8 inches", and I certainly don't sense a change in ambient temperature if I light several candles in My bedroom for some.... mood lighting for a date. So, a zombie detecting a few candles in an enclosed room, from 25-50 feet away or MORE seems very ...mysterious to Me

Cheerleader would look a bit out of place now with the new zombie models, but I too miss the "macho man zombie" with his wide brim hat and big glasses. (wait, did he actually HAVE glasses/shades on? ) I always thought a Velma-esque zom would be a perfect "School Teacher Zom". I miss the Footballer just because He defied the normal limits on a sprinting zombie --- ALL the time.

Supposedly Electric lighting doesn't produce "heat" because they supposedly don't flicker the way a fire/flame does, to catch the eyes of Zoms. How this explanation works when even enclosed or underground rooms with torches, adds to the "heat map" is something of a mystery.

*chuckles* Our little group still RE-Tells the story (maybe a bit too frequently) Of how one of the women that plays with us often, just had it in mind they HAD to have a motorcycle and the way to get the dollarinos to buy it, was to "frame up" the side of the big Shamway building, enter it on 4th Floor and easily 'snag" the best goodies from Up top. The rest of Us declined with warnings of.... "Its Day 16, you're not ready". She went anyway, a few minutes later, screams come across from her microphone; "Help Help Helllp...can anybody come and get Me out of here??!!!! I'm dying!" Two of Us were in somewhat near proximity so We did start toward her, but I watched as her health kept dipping...lower and lower. Then...... XXXXXX has died. A somewhat pouty voice came over my headset "I guess maybe I wasn't ready afterall" We still ask her when We go past a Shamway building, if she wants to go in. She just replies..."Shuussssh Up!" and keeps on going past it. LOL

I would just like to add something that might not have occurred to you. once the zoms start going into a frenzy to get to you inside a building, I have had one situation where I came out of a Quest POI to see a Zom wailing on My ride, and as I raised My pistol to nail him with a shot, a sudden ...'crash-boom" as My 4x4 exploded. everything gone. In My situation I did at least have a bit of chassis left over, but with a motorbike I'm not sure how much if any debris would remain. So it might not have been a game glitch that your vehicle was nowhere to be found, just an idea.

I very much enjoy and appreciate the effort thats gone into improving 7D2D. I started out playing it on consoles, and once I tried the Alpha 18 version I've never played 7D2D on console again. I've enjoyed the work to improve graphics, as I realise this isn't a product from a game company with "studios" in Montreal, Blackpool, and Madrid, to parse work out. This game comes from a smaller team of what I imagine are "dreamers working toward bringing their vision to life". In the process of doing that, they do of course hope to find it profitable in the short and long term, its a dream being applied within a business venture. So, I would imagine there are equal parts of " I would love it if we could add in "X", but reality may be limiting how far TFP can push things with limited resources and budget. I have loved the graphical enhancements, and I really respect the efforts to improve facets of the game to enhance gameplay. Yes, after reaching Game Day 140, I feel like I've been in a world where cloning ran rampant with all of the Sheldons, Amy's, evil Penny's and Bernadettes, Howards, and Howards Mother (What? You don't name your zombies in your world too??), so after seeing the same faces over and over that I have killed (is it killing though? are they even still alive as zombies); But back on point. I appreciate they are improving the game, with the aim that for a NEW PLAYER, waking at 7:00 a.m. naked for the First time ever, the 7D2D world can seem even more fantastic, than it was the first time I played 6-7 years ago. A lot of the improvements are geared toward enhancing the current gameplay, but in reality the end game IS ... still the same as it was when I first started playing. TFP have worked , in My eyes at least with keeping the game up to a standard where a New Player can come in, and NOT feel as though they are playing something made with the limitations in graphics and design that were present from 2015. How many times have you gone into Other older games, even if it was the first time you played it, and instantly felt the game was "dated" by the graphics? Right now, with the exception of some of the Player Avatar graphics still looking, ummm "less detailed than one might expect", the overall look and feel when playing 7D2D is that it is a Modern game title. While I might hope for some game play mechanics to continue to evolve a bit, as I still have some qualms and reservations about how some aspects of the game are handled; I still very much love playing, especially with friends. I applaud the work especially in the weather systems, and choices and implementation of game sounds, from background noises to the activity sounds of the zombies themselves. Work on the POI's has been magnificent in bringing the game world, toward a feeling of..."Look at it! This could be a real place" and making the game world more immersive. Voice work with the NPC's is very solid and unlike a LOT of other games, Multiplayer play is overall, smooth and enjoyable. While I do respect that your feelings aren't the same, I can't say that I share them. I hope that you are able to find your 'Happy Place" again when playing 7D2D though.

Hmmm, I'm really running into this problem , Day 39 now, with a group of 4, (but most nights just 2 players during the weekdays) We have two bicycles, and one minibike, and for the past 11 days sitting on just 3 acid, so unable to craft a chemistry station. The Hunt for its becoming a big issue. One of our "normally" regular players declined to join in last night, saying "I need to relax and not get stressed, so I'm going to just play xxxxx car racing game name not included out of respect for this games forums XXX". Of course I know that everyone needs a break and change of pace now and then, Our little group has been punching at A20 since it dropped on that Monday, about a month ago. The current "world" I am hosting is the 3rd One generated since A20 came out. I abandoned the first one after having suspicions My game might be corrupted because I still had two older A19 games saved (for Nostalgia); so then We started in on a second world. Then after hearing one of our favorite Mod Authors updated his Mod for A20, We started this current world, with just two Mods added. But now on Day 39 and the frustration over item scarcity seems to be bringing the mood and the enthusiasm down a notch. As the 'Host' for My friends, I suppose I feel a bit of responsibility to try to make the time together enjoyable, In trying to find acid, We have tried logic --- first targeting places that seem logical to find acid. I ------------- really should have known better than to suggest that, as logic really doesn't seem to have anything to do with item scarcity in 7D2D, and honestly I don't think it ever has. But still, We have gotten to the point that We never wear nerdy glasses anymore, everyone is too worried that they will miss "any chance" at finding acid so those that have loot goggles wear them constantly. Last night two of Us went through Day 35 horde, then the next day set out ---- as usual, with the goal of finding acid. Only one minibike, so we set off in different directions to cover different areas. building after building with more of the same items, rocks, wood, paper, empty jars et al. I've made every sink surrender its contents for a 3 km radius...lol visited Waterworks, Toilets-2-Go, Every Pass-N-Gas, and visiting each of 4 traders we have uncovered each time a trade restock day hits. really at the point of NEEDING the use of a chem station, but our second priority is finding or buying wheels also. I saw from an earlier post someone checking the code of the loot lists and acid only showed up on 4 "junk lists" Did I read that correctly? Really feeling I need some inspiration, or maybe just a "hang in there' to keep My grin in place. I'm starting to believe I am going to wind up having to locate the Wasteland and forage there ........... just to find a stupid freaking few bottles of acid. *sigh*

*grin* Reality is that I call out over voice chat "Time for Harvest" then I start off reciting how much yield I get for each food type and how many (or most cases how few seeds returned), do quick math in My head of how many I have to use use crafting new seeds, then run inside to the farming box to check for any drop off looted seeds, then go back outside quickly and replant, then as I stop at the Foodstuff box, I call out what the final yield was as I deposit the food; then listen to the groans in response from the rest of our group. usually a 2-3 minute process overall, but the frustration, now ....Thats priceless. *smirk*

I just took the LoTL3 skill yesterday after finally getting My FORTITUDE stat up to 5 a day earlier. So I should harvest the first LoTL3 level crops on Day 36, when We all go back into play it will be prep for Horde Night. I think my frustration came in feeling that I had no option other than spend My last 3 skill points toward just getting LoTL3. its been very strange that when I first took LoTL2, I had a fair surplus, enough to replant the same number of crops, with 4 to 9 food items left in each of the crop types. Then after the 3rd harvest it seemed I was getting less and less seeds back after each replanting.