Jump to content

Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!


madmole

Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!  

3 members have voted

  1. 1. Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

    • A18 Stable is Out!
      2
    • :)
      1


Recommended Posts

It is serving me well. The streamers are in essence an extension of our testers. I've spent hours watching new players of A18, in SP and MP, deal with all the changes. I get to see their reactions, play styles and difficulties. I get to see how they handle the current AI and make BM bases. This is different feedback than I get from our testers, since I can't mindwipe them and see first reactions.

 

Other devs are also getting valuable feedback and we are discussing and making changes. This will help make it smoother for us and the players, when thousands of people start playing on Monday.

 

That's good news, andIf they wouldn't be streaming otherwise it would make sense.

 

The the thing is though they would be streaming without the exclusive weekend. It's rock solid enough where where everyone could have been playing, you could watch the streaming, and then taken the full next week to make your tweaks instead of trying to push hard for last minutes changes for Monday.

 

I didn't see anything I couldn't live with at all in all the time we watched, and the only niggle is not having skyscrapers in rwg, forcing a restart once they are put back in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i am sure the patch notes said all pois were in rwg

 

edit*

just looked at patch notes

 

"All locations are working in Navezgane and Random Gen worlds."

 

That's what I figured, but someone asked Joel during Pokket's stream specifically about skyscrapers, and he said they weren't in for now.

 

He may have misspoken (Like us, he's excited and had also been watching streamers for hours.) Orbit could be for performance reasons they were pulled.

 

I've asked for clarification several times in several different areas, and no one has clarified the statement...hence my concern.

 

(The biggest concern is having to restart because the rwg has a significant change.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Frankly it has been good to see Gazz, faatal, Joel, Rick, Lathan, and all the QA crew participating and having fun the last couple of days and getting the validation that people are finding it fun. It will help once the inevitable complaints start coming in once thousands have it and not everyone is happy with the changes.

 

 

Maybe the streamer weekend wording is just wrong. Viewed in the above context, as a pre launch party, I'm on board 110% it IS good to see them enjoying seeing people play, and I don't think they would get that luxury with the full public release.

 

As I said in my comment, I can see both sides of the coin. Thanks for this post and perspective!

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

I haven't watched any streams, and i still haven't finished the witcher 3.. so take your time TFP!

 

Yer looking at 100-200 hours there...lol!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Except the forum is still going to fill up with messages that someone has to go through.

Players could still use RWG to make a bad map, then be stuck with it or have to start a new game after we fix it in a few days. We did find some floating buildings in our PREGEN maps.

 

Streamer video event is whatever I get out of it. If it helps marketing great, but I've got bugs to fix.

 

Plenty of info: Saw the garage door exploit in action. Glancing blows doing some odd stuff to groups. The vehicle shoot to the sky bug, which no tester has caught a video of before it launched you. FPS drops which we only tonight have found a repro for. Rage boosts in action, which I am tweaking. Stair jump designs, which I plan to adjust destroy area for. Some AI standing around. Why? BM kiting (and complaints) that I am further increasing Nightmare speed for. Disappearing trees that I made an adjustment for.

 

That is some awesome news faatal. I witnessed in a few streams some FPS hitching when looking towards cliffs or sky in the desert. Im comforted to know that guys like you are out there watching that stuff. In my eyes streamer weekend is a success no matter the outcome because it brings a more solid experience to everyone on release day.

 

And i bow to you good sir at the stair jumping fix! Its exhausting watching horde night after horde night of jumping zeds. I mean im not against using things to your advantage but man that one is cheese heaven.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

And i bow to you good sir at the stair jumping fix! Its exhausting watching horde night after horde night of jumping zeds. I mean im not against using things to your advantage but man that one is cheese heaven.

 

I just watched Grumbles day 14 stream, and saw that as well. The other thing of note is I thought bms were changed to a drip feed after the bm hoard had been completed? In Grumble's video, he hit like 2am and was done with only a bow. (Granted it was just day 14 and I think he only had 8 alive on, and IMHO Joel's night 48 with 12 or 16 max alive looked a LOT more threatening.)

 

The only other thing I saw was some noob players like Pokket having a bit of trouble finding the spear after throwing it in shadows.

 

Maybe the spear could not be affected by shadows if not held to make it easier for them? (Or maybe a book or perk could add that effect?)

 

There's an enchantment with levels in Minecraft on the trident called loyalty that makes it boomerang back with different shorter delay speeds at higher levels that might add more fun to spear toss use, though unrealistic.

 

I can imagine someone using the boomerang spear effect at a distance on a BM horde night, for example.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i am sure the patch notes said all pois were in rwg

 

edit*

just looked at patch notes

 

"All locations are working in Navezgane and Random Gen worlds."

 

FYI, Joel said skyscrapers are not in RWG. So All locations working does not mean all locations are in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

POSSIBLE BUG:

 

 

Timestamp: 3:47:27 (could not link the Twitch video that goes to this timestamp)

 

The bug in question: Are you really supposed to get 450+ gas from a car with an iron pickaxe? :p

 

Edit: Also in the stream, Games4Kickz was getting radiators, engines, and batteries from cars when hitting them with a pickaxe. Is this also an oversight / bug? :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Except the forum is still going to fill up with messages that someone has to go through.

Players could still use RWG to make a bad map, then be stuck with it or have to start a new game after we fix it in a few days. We did find some floating buildings in our PREGEN maps.

 

Streamer video event is whatever I get out of it. If it helps marketing great, but I've got bugs to fix.

 

Plenty of info: Saw the garage door exploit in action. Glancing blows doing some odd stuff to groups. The vehicle shoot to the sky bug, which no tester has caught a video of before it launched you. FPS drops which we only tonight have found a repro for. Rage boosts in action, which I am tweaking. Stair jump designs, which I plan to adjust destroy area for. Some AI standing around. Why? BM kiting (and complaints) that I am further increasing Nightmare speed for. Disappearing trees that I made an adjustment for.

 

Your ai stands because it goes into rage mode the same time it dies.

 

/Backseat hypothesising since 1971

 

...but yeh, you also have "if you send an item to repair (stone axe) and start swinging it the instant it comes back into slot, without waiting for the full equip animation, you get this weird half hand flail half axe hit animation", which is quite hilarious.

 

Items with ammo seem to sometimes unload their ammo... Noticed it with the bow, I'm like "did they have to switch ammo types?" but then saw it with a gun I *know* was loaded.

 

Then you have rage mode short range teleports if it's being hit the same time it rages, which looks like network lag catching up but to positioning, but some of these guys are in single player games so dunno.

 

Anyway, I know when I was doing my medieval mod, I had a certain idea of how things should play out. Watching streamers was a great way to show what works as intended and doesn't.

 

...having to watch streamers AND read a forum full of posts like mine started off as, would have been information overload and I would have been chasing ghosts.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

And if they normally stream other games, they are still showing our game to an audience who might not even know that it exists. =)

 

Well more importantly, it's best to look at people who have not played the game because the newbie is the target audience who is more likely to not have bias in their decision-making from experience in playing, and can find the weird stuff that's wrong... Weird stuff that the experienced player has been dealing with for months or years and unconsciously doesn't do as a result.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and it's hard to say because of some of the streamers have ghastly "on screen" effects, Heather ugly bugs in the way, or have shrunk the screen to add a border around the game, but do some of the icons turn brown after a while sitting in a chest? Is this some sort of precursor to spoilage?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

POSSIBLE BUG:

 

 

Timestamp: 3:47:27 (could not link the Twitch video that goes to this timestamp)

 

The bug in question: Are you really supposed to get 450+ gas from a car with an iron pickaxe? :p

 

Edit: Also in the stream, Games4Kickz was getting radiators, engines, and batteries from cars when hitting them with a pickaxe. Is this also an oversight / bug? :p

 

I think the fuel economy has changed. I think Joel said vehicles use significantly more fuel than they used to, like 10x as much. So 450 in a18 is like 45 in a17 if I read all the notes and comments correctly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and it's hard to say because of some of the streamers have ghastly "on screen" effects, Heather ugly bugs in the way, or have shrunk the screen to add a border around the game, but do some of the icons turn brown after a while sitting in a chest? Is this some sort of precursor to spoilage?

 

I really want to be entertained by the streamers, but I do find all the extra stuff on the screen really takes away from the experience of watching someone play. I also get annoyed by the sounds that automatically play when some of them get a new sub. It interrupts them while they are trying to talk about something interesting sometimes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So... instead of getting information overload from having to watch streamers and sorting through forum bug reports, which is we use bug tracking software in the first place. TFP now have to watch streamers while having to sort through forum bug reports about the issues seen in the streamers videos?

 

I'll buy that it's good marketing but what I won't buy is "it's too hard".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the fuel economy has changed. I think Joel said vehicles use significantly more fuel than they used to, like 10x as much. So 450 in a18 is like 45 in a17 if I read all the notes and comments correctly.

 

Ahh okay. I thought Joel said he nerfed the amount of gas you get from cars in A18, but maybe I was mistaken. (Still, I find it a bit odd you can get that amount in with a pickaxe, as well as engines and batteries with a pickaxe, but *shrugs*.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahh okay. I thought Joel said he nerfed the amount of gas you get from cars in A18, but maybe I was mistaken. (Still, I find it a bit odd you can get that amount in with a pickaxe, as well as engines and batteries with a pickaxe, but *shrugs*.)

 

It is odd, agreed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is odd, agreed.

 

I still think it is a bug though, with the gas. What's the point of increasing the fuel tank in vehicles if you get much more gas from vehicles than you used to, so that it evens out in the end? You were definitely not getting 500 gas from a car in A17. (Again, maybe I'm missing something, and I'm willing to accept that I am.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So... instead of getting information overload from having to watch streamers and sorting through forum bug reports, which is we use bug tracking software in the first place. TFP now have to watch streamers while having to sort through forum bug reports about the issues seen in the streamers videos?

 

I'll buy that it's good marketing but what I won't buy is "it's too hard".

 

I think it's the "right combination" of things for them, that makes it easier for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Feedback so far.

 

Brawler feels weak. Might just need to perk up or get used to it but atm I find it pretty hard to use.

 

Spears on the other hand with zero perks or skill are AWESOME!

 

Looting so so damn fun I have done zero building so far.

 

Junk turrets are great.

 

All the added info the game tells you now is FANTASTIC!

 

I can turn shadows on and the framerate is good. That's HUGE!

 

Now back to play the best alpha to date. Kudos fun pimps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Come on guys release it now so at least we get to play a little bit this weekend.

 

And this is probably the best argument against *how* they do streamer weekend...

 

People have jobs, go to school, so by releasing on Monday you're really saying "y'all masses don't get to play until next weekend... sure, you can load it up for a few minutes to check it out but your real time is still a week away".

 

Streamer "weekends" could be moved up a day, and maybe if it looks good enough, release to the masses on Sunday...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...