And now for something completely different..

[Lanadon Conners]

The THRILL..

 

Many of you have restarted 7D2D dozens and dozens of times, sometimes because of a new version, sometimes to try a new map and other times, just for the hell of it after 120+ days.

 

Is there any better thrill than the first few days of 7D2D?

 

 

For myself, even after reaching 100+ days several times, All gear maxed, POI 5's little more than a chore than an adventure, Gyrocopter on the launch pad and a base bristling with turrets, restarting on a new map on day 1 still gives me the greatest thrill.

 

 

For me, it's the search for that first gun. You have 35 shotgun shells in your bag but only a near broken level 1 9mm with 15 in the mag and 3 rounds in your pocket. 99% of the map is unexplored and yours to conquer. Do you push into the wasteland for more frequent cars to loot, or press on towards a town in the distance?

 

 

What is the "Thrill" inducer for you folks? Finding the perfect base location? Building your first forge? Wacking your first annoying Vulture out of the air with a club? Your first Zombie kill? Your First POI? Standing tall on day 8 raising your middle finger and yelling "YOU HAVEN'T KILLED ME YET MFers!! "!!

 

Are you a Week ONE lover or do you prefer week 20+ ?

[RipClaw]

I rather belong in the category week 20+.

 

I love building large bases and experimenting with bases. I also have a big production going on to have a constant supply of building material. Therefore I avoid every restart to avoid having to rebuild everything.

 

In the Alpha 17 there were only 2 moments for me that are worth remembering. The first one was when I saw a Q6 Auger at the trader and also the coins to buy it. And the moment when I finally found the iron breaker mod.

[Ghostlight]

Very interesting topic. And here is my somewhat depressing answer....

 

Prior to A17....YES! The THRILL of the restart. Of having nothing and making do with what you picked up over the first few days. Crouching on a roof on the first day, keeping as quiet as possible. The rush to get my 10x10 Flagstone box up and functioning by day 7. Desperate for food and eating crap to survive. Pumping the air if I found a Shotgun! Making do with as many wood spikes as I could muster in the time, and standing ready on my box base with the scant few bullets I would have scavenged for the crappy Pistol I had - if I was lucky. LOVED IT. Absolutely my favorite part of any run.

 

Then A17 hit.

 

Now I cannot stand the first 2 weeks. I find them a real chore, and I have to force myself to keep playing. Especially in solo play. It is just a tedious nightmare of frustration, boredom and being out of stamina. It is also incredibly bland because I know the order I must put the first 40 points to avoid gimping myself even further, and therefore I know exactly when I will be able to craft all the initial early game stuff. So goddam boring to know that in advance every single run - the same stuff in the same order at the same level. Awful. Truely awful. What a step backwards for the game!

 

I hate the beginning now. And that is SO SAD.

[RestInPieces]

Early weeks are still my favorite. But as Ghostlight said, game could use more rng on progression, like it used to have.

[akram22]

The THRILL..

 

Many of you have restarted 7D2D dozens and dozens of times, sometimes because of a new version, sometimes to try a new map and other times, just for the hell of it after 120+ days.

 

Is there any better thrill than the first few days of 7D2D?

 

 

For myself, even after reaching 100+ days several times, All gear maxed, POI 5's little more than a chore than an adventure, Gyrocopter on the launch pad and a base bristling with turrets, restarting on a new map on day 1 still gives me the greatest thrill.

 

 

For me, it's the search for that first gun. You have 35 shotgun shells in your bag but only a near broken level 1 9mm with 15 in the mag and 3 rounds in your pocket. 99% of the map is unexplored and yours to conquer. Do you push into the wasteland for more frequent cars to loot, or press on towards a town in the distance?

 

 

What is the "Thrill" inducer for you folks? Finding the perfect base location? Building your first forge? Wacking your first annoying Vulture out of the air with a club? Your first Zombie kill? Your First POI? Standing tall on day 8 raising your middle finger and yelling "YOU HAVEN'T KILLED ME YET MFers!! "!!

 

Are you a Week ONE lover or do you prefer week 20+ ?

 

exactly the same feeling nothing better than the first few days on a new world . its actually fun to search for your starting goods,

its searching and taking extra caution from the zombies , but after some time the game changes to run and gun play style no matter what do you prefer .

it can be developed for the whole game long ,, things you need some luck with , but they always fail this task hahaha TFB comon we need some game features not more decorative blocks.

[Lanadon Conners]

That first week for me is a week of strategy and planning even for the simple things. Week 20+, if you spot a Wild pig, you quickly consider if your need of the extra meat and leather is worth finding a flat area to park your 4x4. In the first week, those pigs can be nasty so you have so much more to consider. Safe spot to attack from, use arrows or use your few bullets and risk attracting Zombie attention ..

[Roland]

The THRILL..

 

Nergaoul is on the move...

[Lanadon Conners]

Nergaoul is on the move...

 

Voidspren are the new POI Bosses? <LOL>

[FA_Q2]

Bah - I HATE the start. This is the only thing that stops me from restarting. I like the mid game a LOT. Once I get some Iron tools and some basics in combat the game really grows on me. The stone tools just push my patience to an extreme degree.

 

I play one life so mayhap it is just because I have played the start to damn many times. That first quest to make plant fiber cloths - ya tired of making those lol.

[pApA^LeGBa]

The thrill is gone since you have firearms so early on like now.

[LuckyStar]

I'm a builder.

 

I admit I like the beginning of the game for the "thrill" as you say but i still prefer building.

 

I tend to make very large projects that take me into days 75-100 to complete.

I scavenge and buy every bit instead of using creative.

 

The thrill for me is completing a large build.

I take pictures, make vids and share the build with friends.

 

Each to their own I suppose.

[Guppycur]

I'm a builder.

 

Bob?

[USSF06]

Week one is absolutely the most fun, in my opinion. I go on the hunt for my first shelter, either a rooftop or multi-storied building. The thrill is clearing it out, and then finding ways to zombie proof it. From there I loot the area, trying to find lucky tools like an axe or hammer. As Day 7 approaches I begin to gather wood. Spikes are a necessity, because I usually don't have a horde base by then. After Day 7, it's just a grind to build a home and horde base, which I do enjoy, but the thrill of finding initial safety is gone.

[Lanadon Conners]

Week one is absolutely the most fun, in my opinion. I go on the hunt for my first shelter, either a rooftop or multi-storied building. The thrill is clearing it out, and then finding ways to zombie proof it. From there I loot the area, trying to find lucky tools like an axe or hammer. As Day 7 approaches I begin to gather wood. Spikes are a necessity, because I usually don't have a horde base by then. After Day 7, it's just a grind to build a home and horde base, which I do enjoy, but the thrill of finding initial safety is gone.

 

As I play, and the days go on, I eventually find that the Z-dogs are now more of an annoyance than a real threat, the Vultures are easy targets and the Zombies are EXP rather than a danger to avoid, and I realize.. "The thrill is gone.... " <insert BB King vocals here>

 

 

I think this game playthrough, I am going to try a "Nomadic" approach and not stay in one location more than 7 days. It means I will have to carefully select what I have room for to carry with me and make sure that as the weeks progress that I leave time to prepare a defense against the Blood horde. Just to see if I can keep that "Thrill" going longer

[Gas]

I think this game playthrough, I am going to try a "Nomadic" approach and not stay in one location more than 7 days. It means I will have to carefully select what I have room for to carry with me and make sure that as the weeks progress that I leave time to prepare a defense against the Blood horde. Just to see if I can keep that "Thrill" going longer

 

That's pretty close to how I play now. Wanderer, perma-death, scavenger. I don't craft much more than arrows, food and frames. With the customizable hordes in 17.2, having random hordes is a lot more of a "thrill" for me than the clockwork hordes. To keep that thrill going, I do what thrills me. I remember the deaths, I remember the successes, I get a lot more out of the game that way.

[Jackelmyer]

Weeks 1-2 have always been my most exciting.

 

Weeks 10+ have always been the most rewarding.

 

First two weeks. Absolutely. I'm fighting for my life. And it is, incredibly thrilling. A16 and prior more so. Because the RNG was like Christmas every hour of play. And I LOVE PRESENTS! lol

 

Day 70+, my mad scientist is out in full force and I'm trying something I've seen on YouTube or something I designed myself after hours of grinding resources...

 

I will NEVER forget how brutal my A16.4 pit base was.

 

An 11x11 hole, 40 blocks deep, with reinforced concrete pillars walls at 9x9, down to near bedrock making a 7x7 floor, with flipped upside down metal log spike traps, electric fence wires run from outside the pillars of the basement 15x15 room. And shotgun turrets placed in each corner of the pit death trap room at 5 blocks high and pointed to cover the entire floor. FYI, turrets maintained SI. :-D

 

The first night I loaded those turrets, fired up the generator, and flipped the switch, I will never forget.

 

It didn't matter what kind of zombie fell in there. Everything... Just... Died. In a fury if absolute shocking hell. And... I always had minimal repairs. It. Was. Brutal.

 

Ma baby. I love and miss you.

 

That was probably the only playthrough where I genuinely felt like I won. Hands down.

[Lanadon Conners]

Weeks 1-2 have always been my most exciting.

 

Weeks 10+ have always been the most rewarding.

 

First two weeks. Absolutely. I'm fighting for my life. And it is, incredibly thrilling. A16 and prior more so. Because the RNG was like Christmas every hour of play. And I LOVE PRESENTS! lol

 

Day 70+, my mad scientist is out in full force and I'm trying something I've seen on YouTube or something I designed myself after hours of grinding resources...

 

I will NEVER forget how brutal my A16.4 pit base was.

 

An 11x11 hole, 40 blocks deep, with reinforced concrete pillars walls at 9x9, down to near bedrock making a 7x7 floor, with flipped upside down metal log spike traps, electric fence wires run from outside the pillars of the basement 15x15 room. And shotgun turrets placed in each corner of the pit death trap room at 5 blocks high and pointed to cover the entire floor. FYI, turrets maintained SI. :-D

 

The first night I loaded those turrets, fired up the generator, and flipped the switch, I will never forget.

 

It didn't matter what kind of zombie fell in there. Everything... Just... Died. In a fury if absolute shocking hell. And... I always had minimal repairs. It. Was. Brutal.

 

Ma baby. I love and miss you.

 

That was probably the only playthrough where I genuinely felt like I won. Hands down.

 

I had one of those "Frog in a blender" Builds in A16 myself, and I admit I giggled like a little school girl the first time I flicked the power switch and watched the "Zombie Smoothie" down below. I just made sure I shot all the cops before they fell in so they had no chance of exploding to save on repair bills. It was satisfying to watch Eradiated Spiders try to jump at me.. miss and slam into the wall.. fall down and become Green goo.

 

 

Yeah, that felt like a WIN

[Ghostlight]

Frog in a blender bases absolutely destroy A17 AI as well, just saying.

[Kalarro]

For me it's when I finally start building my "good" base, which usually is my second or third one.

[art1336]

Very interesting topic. And here is my somewhat depressing answer....

 

Prior to A17....YES! The THRILL of the restart. Of having nothing and making do with what you picked up over the first few days. Crouching on a roof on the first day, keeping as quiet as possible. The rush to get my 10x10 Flagstone box up and functioning by day 7. Desperate for food and eating crap to survive. Pumping the air if I found a Shotgun! Making do with as many wood spikes as I could muster in the time, and standing ready on my box base with the scant few bullets I would have scavenged for the crappy Pistol I had - if I was lucky. LOVED IT. Absolutely my favorite part of any run.

 

Then A17 hit.

 

Now I cannot stand the first 2 weeks. I find them a real chore, and I have to force myself to keep playing. Especially in solo play. It is just a tedious nightmare of frustration, boredom and being out of stamina. It is also incredibly bland because I know the order I must put the first 40 points to avoid gimping myself even further, and therefore I know exactly when I will be able to craft all the initial early game stuff. So goddam boring to know that in advance every single run - the same stuff in the same order at the same level. Awful. Truely awful. What a step backwards for the game!

 

I hate the beginning now. And that is SO SAD.

 

I'm with Ghostlight. Back in alpha 16 the early game was my favorite part. I played on a server that we restarted a few times, around day 1000-1200 or so on two hour days. That was great for my huge builds, but sometimes I would start a solo game just for the early game grind.

Alpha 17 is much different. It seems more like a first person shooter with mild rpg elements thrown in instead of the sandbox survival builder crafting game it was. Now early game is a grind of a different kind. Run out of stamina and you're unable to swing. I think I liked the lower effectiveness of swings at lower stamina rather than at max stamina you swing for X, half stamina you swing for X, and 1% stamina and you can't swing. I'm sure it was a balancing thing and they had a great reason for it, I just don't have to like it.

 

I'd say right now maybe week two to ten would be my favorite part. Still leveling up a bit, still prioritizing a few perks over the others, and still looking for your favorite mods.

[Lanadon Conners]

For me, I think it comes when I place the Mini Bike down for the first time. For me, it opens the world up to so many possibilities, makes scavenging and exploring the map a thousand times easier and trips to the Traders are no longer a day long trip.

[PoppaTot]

For me, I think it comes when I place the Mini Bike down for the first time. For me, it opens the world up to so many possibilities, makes scavenging and exploring the map a thousand times easier and trips to the Traders are no longer a day long trip.

 

Agreed, I don't even mess with the bicycle. It's good for those that like it, just not for me. I also love it when I build my 1st cement mixer, that's when I know it's about to get real in here lol.

[Ranzera]

I used to really enjoy permadeath server roulette in A16. Every new server was a completely new experience and I never knew what to expect. The thrill of early game was fantastic. I'd consider a server won if I reached level 200 and start the roulette all over again.

 

A17 removed this experience completely. What's worse, I actually hate the early game in A17. It's so formulaic and repetitive that once you've done it a couple times (which for me, happened during the rapid fire releases of experimental) you really don't get anything out of the experience anymore. As if that's not enough, level 300 is at 52 million exp on vanilla now? Even if I somehow did manage to enjoy the same repetitive experience every restart, that ridiculous grind ruins the win condition for me.

 

It's my opinion that A17 damaged the replayability of the game substantially.

[Ranzera]

edit: Somehow double posted? Go go gadget internet >.>;

[fishjie]

hard to recapture the thrill when i first played in a15 and had no clue wtf i was doing. so of course i died a lot. i made the mistake of starting out by building a base at my starting point, rather than finding the nearest town first lol. this was back when 0,0 coordinate was the hub city, but of course i didn't know about it.

 

turns out i was in the middle of nowhere. in one direction was desert, the other direction was winter biome. both were brutal, and very scary treks as i ventured further and further out to explore, and sometimes i'd die and it was night time and it was scary for me (at the time) to venture out to retrieve my backpack. one such death i was in winter biome, exploring a cabin, triggered a bunch of zombies, jumped out the cabin to escape, broke ankle, then saw a supply drop, ran to supply drop, but lost track of it, with angry zombies still on my tail. i eventually died to lumberjack. it was night time and i said - nah - gonna wait until day time to go back.

 

eventually i started making outpost bases. at the outposts i'd do looting/wrenching runs on the nearby POIs, and then on horde night i'd run back to my main base, trying to squeeze out as much loot as possible from my outpost bases as possible before rushing back

 

took forever to craft a minibike but it was exhilarating to finally be able to explore the entire map.