PoppaSmirk

Well, We tend to all come together in one Hosted World, at least That had been our modus operandi for several years. With A20 However it seems everyone of Our Friendly group is playing in My Hosted game, Plus they keep 2-3 other game saves running. This is in part because one player doesn't enjoy when zombies run at night, and that same player has been tossing hissy fits over not being able to find certain things, so in their RGW the loot % is set at 300% But when We all do play in My Hosted World, everyone brings back items and contributes to the "loot box" and all share. So if Any find seeds, they all drop them into My box for Farming Supplies. Just as all food goes into the Foodstuff box.. Myself and one other in Our group do tend to be the ones that enjoyed getting the farming up to speed. We share the same base, and work to develop its defenses, but at some point once We find enough tools ( like augers and chainsaws) then everyone seems to also land claim a separate poi as their personal base, but We battle together at the main base for horde Night. So far its simply been that things are very scarce. Such as searching for about 10 days with the goal of setting up a chemistry station. We had an extra beaker since Day 27, so 8 days of everyone being on the lookout specifically for acid, not just for that but to work toward minibikes for all. Since I had LoTL2, I was best suited to harvest crops. The replanting doesn't take a lot of time, just that Myself or anyone would see the sudden downturn in the harvests. Of course I thought it was simply a couple of bad harvests, but thats a bit of the point. You can do everything right, and still find food supplies shrinking.

I will admit, I'm not overly fond of the farming activity now. The unpredictable nature of it when just at LOTL1 and LOTL2 was frustrating. I just recently boosted up to LOTL3 because it was totally necessary for Me at least. At LoTL2 I was able to have an overall positive gain, but by My 5th or 6th harvest My crops were dwindling again, as I had tried running 6 plots for Corn, 6 for potatoes, 4 blueberry, 4 pumpkin, 5 Mushroom, 3 Coffee, 3 Aloe vera. My 6th harvest saw Me having to only have enough pumpkin to replant 2 seeds, Blueberries down to 3 seeds, Mushrooms had dwindled to 3 spores replanted and the potatoes actually gave only a single seed back out of 6 plots. So crafting 5 new seeds left me a yield of only 2 potatoes. Now, I can respect the work on the farming system, but in trying to handle the farming chores for a group of four players, I wasn't fond of feeling FORCED to place every point earned for my last 3 level ups, into only FORT and then Farming to get LOTL3. So, can I handle it? yes, I can and I did. Was it frustrating, yes, and turning farming into less of a desirable use of My play time. So, its a mixed bag for Me, I "get it" that the previous Infinite farm system was too generous. I am applauding the changes to make LOTL2 at least viable; but just combined with other issues such as not being able to craft a chem station due to 35 days in-game and only finding a grand total of 5 acid between 3-4 people searching (we used two acid to make tires to get a minibike), Just a lot of smaller frustrations in the game mechanics and I haven't been overly "joyous" to have farming turn into such a headache. I suppose that I've simply come to expect My "dread to come from wandering hordes" not from, "oh lord, time to harvest again"

Oh, this is an interesting topic. I have had years as a tabletop rpg gamer, and about 14-15 years ago We did a home brew roleplay of a mixed/zombie/alien/mutated animal/fall of civilsation/apocalypse, you know, just your average run-of-the-mill large meteor strikes earth, shockwave causes enough dust and debris to go into the atmosphere to give a short term nuclear winter effect, meteor held some strange alien form of life that was scattered into a zillion tiny pieces by the crash, causing strange mutations and zombie-like infections in humans, but the hook of the Roleplay was that each of the players, was going to play....themselves. The Game master gave us two weeks to write up ourselves as a roleplay character, and the week before play started, we all met, and each had to describe what and why they gave themselves certain stats and skills, the Player got to keep those if the rest of the group agreed that the person did possess such skills in real life. I grew up in a military family so I did have skills in gun use, and as a member of the SCA, blade skills and armor-making. Back then I was pretty agile, ran cross country track and had an interest in Doomsday Prepping, so I know how to can food, dress and cure animal meat and hide, so I felt competent. Right out of school My first job was as a Medical Tech, so I had/have basic medical skills *grin* Oh how 15 years changes us. LOL I still have skills with guns and blades, the running would be greatly impaired after a knee surgery 4 years ago, which also has resulted in some pounds around the waist. I really prefer to not kill cute animals but I do join in with friends every few years and take down a deer using a bow, to augment the freezer with food (and I do enjoy venison, just not all the time). Not a member of the SCA anymore so its probably been 8 years since I engaged in melee combat, and I gave up boxing shortly after finishing school, but those basics remain. I still keep a bugout bag here in My home, with survival essentials, crank radio, crank flashlight, lifestraw, 3 collapsible containers to store 5 gallons of water each, swiss army knife, 3 other small blades, a machete, firestarter kit. bandages, antiseptic, and several bottles of hand sanitiser and much more. Soooooooooooooo...umm...I might be 'slightly' ready for a zombie apocalypse. *chuckles*

I'm not exactly sure how far down a player has to be to be considered as "hitting bedrock". I do know that I am currently using My "lair" located roughly 12 blocks down, and have My crafting benches and forge there. Its working fine, but I do get zombies on horde Night, but then again I do wait for them on Horde night to die on My walls as I rain down "fiery justice from the hand of Gosh Almighty" (thats me) so I can get lots and lots of experience and those yummy Loot bags, yellow and blue? (why is a blue loot bag in the game now, are they better? ) So, I don't suppose I have ever taken the path of , hunkering down and hiding. I enjoy giving those undead savages a taste of armageddon. HooHah !! 😄

buckshot is also very handy as an additive into "roadrunner pellets", and thought by coyotes everywhere to be the method of choice for slowing down roadrunners, so its probably used in this game to attempt to slow down the grand prix chickens. *tongue in cheek*

I'm actually aware of the "trick" to view a different set of "merchandise offered" in the Trading Post on any given day after reaching Better Barter 3-5 and manipulating things by wearing, or removing the nerdy glasses; but I've never used it often ( We tried it out in one Alpha 19 game world, just to see if the story about it was true ) However with Alpha 20 being so fresh and new, Myself and My usual gameplay companion haven't used any trick to my knowledge. Normally We play a fairly vanilla game (with some added mods in Alpha 19 to get some vehicle variety, some better lights; and a chicken coop ) LOL

*smiles8 My situation with the drone schematic happened, around Day 11 (possibly Day 12), and at that early stage of the game, I had My focus on adding combat and engineering and mining skills. I'm not usually one that drops points into barter, over survival. Even now, I am at Day 38 in the current world, and only have level 2 in better barter, and on the day I saw the drone schematic in the Traders Store, I was only occupied with raiding two houses to get enough to trade and buy the schematic.

I suspect that they had done some coding thing, to make it much easier to find when they had the "Reviewer Weekend Pre-Release", so that the Reviewers would find the drone easily and get to showcase it in their Videos and podcasts; then once the general release of the game 10 days ago, they realised it was still being found early on, and dropped the chance of finding it early. But yes, I am worried that its going to be so hidden or so rare on loot lists now that it will be Day 50 before I have a shot at finding it. I just finally located a robot turret on day 35 in-game, so if the drone is much more rare, it might be another week or two before I see it in the game; which is a bit frustrating and sad in many ways. I didn't think that the new drone really had a lot of effect for combat, and other than the medic mod, really seems more of a "survivor quality of life" enhancement. Something to make a player feel not so alone, by having something pleasant gliding around with you, instead of having something following you that wants to eat your brains.

I'm unsure if this situation is a bug, or intentional. I do know that in My MP world ( My only world really, so far with Alpha 20) I was surprised that when a Friend came to join in, I waited, expecting that I would need to bicycle out to them, since normally when someone new spawns in, they wind up at least a kilometer away. But two of My friends that have come to play, have spawned in at almost exactly the same spot that I did right after creating the world, a week ago. My original woodframe with campfire tossed on top has been quite literally within the field of view of both of My friends when they spawned into My world. That spot is roughly 187 meters from the trading post. So yes, I have noticed it too.

I've seen such things too, in the way a few of the POI's are built. I can't place anything on the floors (or rooftops) of some POI's, due to how they laid the blocks when making them. anything I try to place on the floor..will only sit a half block up in the air. So it winds up looking like levitating ----everything. Since I haven't stumbled upon the secret of anti-gravity yet, I have wound up ripping out those flooring blocks and replacing them Myself.

I think I must have been playing on the night they "fixed" that issue. I quite honestly had visited the Trader on I believe it was Day 11, SAW the drone schematic for sale, rushed out to get the coins to pay for it, came back in less than 5 hours in-game time and the schematic was heart-wrenchingly NOT there for sale anymore. Same Day that I saw it, around 11:00 am in-game time, and back to claim that drone schematic before 17:00 pm in-game time, and it simply ...was gone. Since then I have searched and searching in My local areas. I have purchased two schematics for the Morale Booster drone Mod, and another for the Medic Mod for the drone, but no drone to be found and so far, Day 36, no schematic has shown up again yet. So don't feel alone. In the back of My mind I suspect the drone schematic is probably locked in a safe in some POI in the Wasteland and I won't see it until I am Level 70 or 80. Certainly shattering My "Man taking on the undead hordes accompanied by his trusty sidekick, his sanity preserver, just a Boy and His robot, taking on all the odds". Which is sort of sad, because if I have to wait until I am literally a HIGH Level Survivor, then the special nature of the drone, turns it into more of a trophy or a trinket, to find it very late into the game.

Hmmm, what an interesting topic. I have to say that I have never had a Horde night when I didn't try to dismember, disembowel, decapitate or otherwise defenestrate every undead that came at me. Sitting in the base letting them amble freely just never crossed My mind. I find horde nights such a great time to pump up the adrenaline rush and gain several or more Player levels as well, and usually some semi-decent loot. So, I suppose that as a simple suggestion, I recommend, if simply looking to "hop into" a POI to use on Day 7 or 14, find one of the smallish construction trailers. The walls are metal and by placing a few wooden spike traps around the corners of the building, the zombies seem to weaken themselves, then place a double ring of spike traps around the single entrance to the construction trailer. Normally by Day 7 I have scouted to find a location with a good roof, and simply take on the zombies of Horde night with arrows (in the first Alpha 20 experience, I didn't think ahead enough and only had the "pipe shotgun" which didn't have enough kill power at range, so I went to the old classic, bow and arrow.) But this topic is intriguing to me, as I have never used "infinite ramps?" or any method beyond a good "seige survival strategy" on a Horde night. Normally our strategy consists of, A; have lots of ammo B: have some wood, or cobblestone to reinforce doors as zombies try to break in on places, that you don't want them breaking into (by the 3rd or 4th horde night we carry a hammer, some cement mix, and forged iron to do the quick repairs) C' carry a few spike traps on your toolbelt to drop down if the zombies manage to start coming at you in a large cluster and you need some delaying tactic to slow them down D; Wipe out every groaning Mona, snarly Moe, decayed Delores, and in short, every zombie you see, and curse the "rot-weilers' and ankle-biters for being such a royal pain. E: highfive your friend after 4 am. or if playing alone, have a beer. Of course things do change as We start to move into mid-game. Walls built to a minimum of 5 blocks are fairly standard, Overwatch Positions with turrets placed down, and auto turrets guarding the open spaces at the back of the base to handle any zombie that manages to get through, or over the wall. An auto turret positioned on the roof, with firing arc covering our backs, to POP POP POP any vulture that swoops toward the Living Defenders. Blade traps triggered to run for 6 seconds when anything walks over the trigger plate catch many of the zombies trying to assault the front entrance. We always "choose" the location that we provide for the zombies to come at us. barb wire placements narrow the wandering path of the zombies, for best cluster for a sweeping blast of machine gun fire. These are a few of my favorite things.

Since I often play with at least one other, (its usually the weekend before the 3rd or 4th player jumps in for awhile), We tend to work together on the 'Main Base" but then start looking around for a prospective base location for the Other Player to lay down their own Land Claim Block. I'm still hoping one day to play with 3 others that want to take over an entire single block of the map, with 4 Land Claims practically touching. Create a nice "No Zed Zone" Last week when Alpha 20 first dropped, TDR was the very first building that We hunkered down in. of course that gameplay only lasted 4 days, as I realised that I really needed to delete all My older A19 game world saves, to prevent corruption of the A20 world. But I can share one thing about TDR. be careful in placing farm plots on the roof. It "looks" like cement on the roof, but it turned out to be only wood, and on day 3 of playing, the roof fell in under the weight of 7 farm plots placed up there the night before. (our day 3 of playing was 'Day 8' of game time). So I lost My seeds that I had planted and the farm plots had to be remade -- AFTER I rebuilt the roof and upgraded it to cobblestone. A BIG learning experience for Me.

The one you call, Drug Lord Mansion. I think I have seen that one. Our little group simply tagged it on our maps as "The Estate", since it seemed like a home for a Hollywood type celebrity, but thinking on it, Drug Lord mansion fits as a description too. We never installed a base there, due to the huge size, but its a definite "maybe" to use as a base after We get some decent tools and armament (auger, and auto turrets, etc) to try to make a stand there, without it being destroyed before proper defenses can be added. I can totally understand, as I tend to start out thinking 'defense, defense, defense', and as the game progresses, turning My little domain into something that I feel a survivor would want to call "home" and depending on the location, fostering thoughts of inspiring movies such as "Last man on Earth" (sans the garlic to repulse zombie-vampires?), and Omega Man ( I would love to have a decor piece that looks like a chess board to add to my POI's); and leaning into more modern inspirations such as "I am Legend" (which We did name a Farm based POI that we took over in an Alpha 19 game world, called it , in big bold letters on the rail fence along the roadside, the "I am Legend-Dairy" (with a tip of the hat to "How I met your Mother") and once using a strip mall as our Base, inspired by "Dawn of the Dead", so by end game, each of our little group has usually staked out a small section to decorate as they see fit, and some of us get very intricate. I REALLY wish for a decent 'clean bathtub, and bed, to build into My POI bases? Why should it still look like debris, if I made it myself --- new? )

Oh, I've used the 'Barts Salvage Poi" as a base before. it has a lot of what appeals to me, a starter wall, an interesting compound and a nice little underground space to turn into a "quasi-home" I thought it was a great location for a base.

The Red and Black One is nice, but I haven't used it yet for more than an Overnight "jump base" keeping a campfire with cook pot there, and 1 security chest high on a wall, leaving a few meat pieces and some water. Do you worry of not having a wall around it? (for longer stays and horde nights?)

I recently spent some time in TDR, I did like the building a lot. I also used the new "cellar shutters" to cover the top of the staircase leading down, and a day later I climbed onto the overhang roof, and knocked away a few letters, renaming it "The Roost" A really good mid-size base POI, I agree.

I heard somewhere that Alpha 20 is sporting approximately 129 brand new , never before seen POIs'. So far I'd have to guess that I have encountered possibly 20 that looked "new to Me" and I am looking forward to seeing and visiting more; but of course during the first few days I was searching for a good location to at least have my "starter base" until I could decide on a location "worthy" of investing time and effort into, for a longer stay. I've had my eyes open for some of the "prime real estate" that I have used for my bases in the past, and a few seem very noticeably "nowhere to be found" --- yet. One in specific that I have enjoyed building up and defending is one that I call the 'County Jail' which is literally a small correction facility, complete with nice high catwalked walls, towers at each corner, a fenced in central yard, and two floors of cells and offices to be converted into "Survivor Nirvana' but so far, 32 days into my Alpha 20 world, and I haven't seen the 'County jail" yet. of course with so many buildings now, I might have just missed it. So for right now, wanting something a bit smaller as I learn My way around Alpha 20, I chose a 'Pass N Gas" location, the one with the small outbuilding in the back, with the trap door leading underground to a cave with a vault-doored room attached. This is My current Alpha 20 Lair. Just curious what buildings others are using to make their bases in. Anyone trying something really radical or different; like carving your base into the side of a mountain? ( which I admit, I am seriously thinking of trying once I get an auger) Is anyone making their base in middle of one of the new cities? high atop a tall building; " cause you just adore a penthouse view" Maybe using a bit of beachfront property to try to have only one 'side' to defend during Horde night? I'm just very curious, "Where is your Lair - Base - HQ, - Command Center - Hidey hole - Batcave - Fortress of Survivortude -or- What locations have you set your eyes on having, but simply waiting until you get proper equipment before claiming it to make your "Little Slice of heaven, in the middle of Zombie "Heck" (opted to not use the word I was thinking , In case the forum might prohibit such, afterall "Manners maketh the Man")

So far, In the Random World that I created, I have had "most" of the trader missions to be a nice reasonable distance, ranging from 136m to 670m, when doing the Tier 1 and Tier2 missions. I did have one pop up in the missions offered that listed as being 4.6 km away, but that was just one, which I obviously didn't opt to choose. Maybe once I have a motorcycle and want to expand My "areas discovered" I will take one of the longer missions if another gets offered, but right now, I'm on Day 32 and still making smaller treks trying to locate the other biomes. Poppa needs some oilshale!!!!

One of our intrepid group found the recipe in a restaurant site POI, but for Us, usually spaghetti and gumbo is the popular "end game meal"

So far, for My little Random World, acid is"fairly rare" took 2 days of specifically hunting it down to actually come up with some, and that was with 3 players scouring the land. needed the acid for wheels, and chemstation. Also beakers are very rare for us. Actually had two drop in a air supply crate, after hunting for some for five days.

I did have some issues at first with the farming changes, and I admit, i was very accustomed to the previous system of Step 1, create farm plots Step 2 plant seeds, Step 3 return in two days to reap harvest. But I must admit, having the variable factor does seem to play into the uncertainty of the post apocalypse world.. After the update by TFP last week, I might not be getting a completely predictable harvest, but I am getting enough to survive with more than just grilled meat or bacon and eggs. This is not to say that its not harder to manage when using a server with several people playing. But I am satisfied with things until I reach LOTL Level 3, when I feel that farming will stay plentiful enough to keep our little quartet of players decently fed. I did notice an occasional slight variable in crop ripening time in A19 also, but so far I'm not really seeing that in Alpha 20, but thats probably due to my habit of planting, wait two days and then check for plants to be ready.