Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[NukemDed]

@mm

kinda wonder if z spawns in the wilderness could be concentrated into groups rather than reduced over all. stealth players and early gs can sneak around the mobs while the gun ho mob can rip into them to their hearts content.

how well would that work?

i dont really give a s**t for fps as my first obsessive game was moria. game play trumps graphics in my world.

id take em on if i felt like it, or avoid them if i was on a mission...

[beerfly]

Sorry to be that guy. but I really like the sleepers and dont need strays at all in the wild.

 

As it has been said: They add nothing. Just a inconvinience.

I do would prefer bigger/more frequent wandering Hordes, scaled in Size and strength to Gamestage.

 

But Sleepers? Now looting POIs is a real challenge.

 

Sleepers are not bad at all, but its a nature`s instinct for an animal to go out and look for food and water, or brains, wandering around. It is not inconvinience, it is how life works. Its nonsense that they will clear them from streets.

I won`t talk about that anymore. Lets move on.

[ozzysfang]

how about you tie some sleepers to cars? or even boulders? just lying on one side? you might miss sight of them as you approach to harvest.

[archergod]

I would definitely count A17....

 

Me too, A17 is better is so many ways.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

MM, do you plan to make the camera shake in explosions in the game?

 

Please no.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Has the paper mill POI been adjusted in A18? Currently, you can get thousands upon thousands of paper from that place. (Aka many, many stacks.)

 

And what of the Clunky Oil POI? I think there's 25 barrels in there in A17... Has that POI been nerfed? Just wondering.

 

(I'm asking because, imo, both of these POI's are... quite unbalanced, to say the least.)

 

I don't agree to you point. POI are not very much in number as per new RWG anyways, so if you get 3-4 paper mill it won't be of that bad, and with all the Guns MM using in his game play video I don't think he need paper that much (we need paper for shotgun shells, not for 7.62, and he is getting those a lot ) so having extra paper in one poi didn't unbalance anything.

[Aldranon]

Oh no

But if it is for better FPS I can live with it.

 

 

 

Disclaimer, this not an insult.

I dare you to do that in RL. I DO grow my own vegetables in RL btw.

 

Although you are basically right about RL gardening and MM was talking about what he thought he could do IRL (you could get something to grow using your hands, but not very well).

 

It's still about a game and as enraged as others were acting, it's REALLY is about what kind of game TFP's think is fun. It's GOT to be that way or the game will be crap or not finished because THEY don't like it and stop developing it.

[Gazz]

Loads but I'm trying to get the guys to make them all dead crops for this very reason.

 

In 18 they are already a helper block where the spawn % can be controlled by a single number without having to edit POI again.

[Noctoras]

I added Joe’s video link to Madmole’s initial posts on this subject so we can hopefully avoid catchup reactions from people who feel they must reply before reading the whole thread and eventually getting to Joe’s video. I think the video demonstrates that the new system is worthy and if people can watch it at the moment that Madmole originally stated “the hoe is gone” it will spare us a whole lotta angst over the next few days.

 

Farming is different but the video shows there’s nothing dumbed down about that process compared to the old one. They are equally complex in their own way.

 

Sorry, I was on a 24hr shift (doctors over here have to do that) and couldn't keep up. Should have completed reading before posting, so sorry replying before catch up.

 

As for the rest, I will wait and see, will have to get my fingers on A18 before stating pros and cons.

 

Generally (farming aside) I love the variety the game offers - with the current strong focus on guns I am afraid the survival elements might suffer after all; actually it seems the game is getting centered on guns, guns and more guns, lately. IMHO that is a waste of potential, this game can do it all!

[RipClaw]

Loads but I'm trying to get the guys to make them all dead crops for this very reason.

 

Is there at least a small chance to get seeds from the dead plants ? The chance should be small but so high that you get at least one or two seeds from a small field. That would be enough to start a little farm.

[Jost Amman]

About Dart Traps...

 

We buffed dart traps too, but I have no idea how much. TBH I think my design was bad, I could have made 4 traps in a fork gauntlet much more effective than what I had done.

A quick thought... PLEASE allow placing Dart Traps diagonally like we do with Iron/Wood Bars.

It will help to have more variety in base defense construction strategies IMO. Thanks.

[Spatch]

Regarding early-game deaths, would it be possible to implement a "drop-nothing on death" for the first few levels or maybe the first full day on a server for a new player?

 

That is the only thing I have not liked about an early death is losing all my stuff that was given to me as a new player. That drink and can of food are important along with the torch. Losing that early-game stuff forces me to go try to find my bag and that gets me into the multi-death scenario.

[Prisma501]

Give yourself some peace of mind mister MM (play some more, but dont record it. Have some fun). Let this forum piss on itself and deal with the stink. I would have given up on being interactive with this kind of crowd long long ago.

 

Cheers

[DaVegaNL]

Sorry to be that guy. but I really like the sleepers and dont need strays at all in the wild.

 

As it has been said: They add nothing. Just a inconvinience.

I do would prefer bigger/more frequent wandering Hordes, scaled in Size and strength to Gamestage.

 

But Sleepers? Now looting POIs is a real challenge.

 

Inconvenience? Because sleepers in POI's are not inconveniences?

[Guest Rassilon]

Inconvenience? Because sleepers in POI's are not inconveniences?

 

Exactly. Those are a threat.

 

Keep in mind the casual player who might attract them all at once. Not us 5k Hour "pros" who know the game in and out^^.

 

My point was simply that i dont mind strayers gone if we might get bigger random hordes.

[Gamida]

You need some way to let new players know that they can throw away that LCB when they spawn to save that important slot for more useful loot in beginning game. I keep forgetting to get rid of it myself sometimes. After all it just takes 5 stone to make one. A campfire takes 8.

[SrslyGTFO]

@MM

I will gladly give up one-use hoes for a tool that can cut grass/level large sections of land.

 

Do you think you will add to farming's late game, like growing mutant crops for advanced farmers, or adding new crops and more cooking recipes with unique effects?

[unholyjoe]

@MM

I will gladly give up one-use hoes for a tool that can cut grass/level large sections of land.

 

Do you think you will add to farming's late game, like growing mutant crops for advanced farmers, or adding new crops and more cooking recipes with unique effects?

 

everything you suggest has either been done by modders or can be done by modders and most modders want to do them themselves... (not knocking on your suggestions as those would help).

 

i would rather see tfp working on bandits, ai improvements, bosses for dungeon crawls maybe or for quests and performance optimizations.

[Genosis]

Holy hell, that took a while to catch up on. Ok, so... not to kick any dead horses, but I had to sleep and the forums kept buzzing without me. Farms and wandering zombies...

 

Farming: I love farming. Creating a fully stocked farmland is one of my milestone goals to becoming self-sufficient. Making an oasis, life where there was once death. A source of food that didn't required RNG code to sustain me.

 

That being said, when I saw the farm plots I was like GREAT! I love it! Above-ground plots that snap together for nice clean roof-top gardens. But when I read "you cannot till soil" and "the hoe has been removed" it immediately felt WRONG. I watched the video graciously provided by UnholyJoe and saw him place plots in the ground, surrounded by the dreaded block-terrain trench. OCD triggers, and I hate it. Yeah, I could put plates or sheets around the edges to smooth, but meh.

 

If you could finally solve the terrain-block snapping issue, I am on-board with it. I am no real-life farmer, but I never questioned the wisdom of till soil, plant seed, wait to harvest. It was never clunky to me, no more than build a door, open it. It was a fact of life. I don't need to try A18 in order to disagree with this as a solution. I actually miss the A16 version of farming where you could till soil, but the yield sucked until you upgraded it with fertilizer. No, this is not a "farming simulator", its a Zombie Survival Crafting game. There are zombies, yeah we get it. But I also want the meta game of survival and crafting, and that always included making a sustainable farm.

 

How about a compromise? Make two farm plot blocks. Farm Plot (block) that is for above-ground planting, and Farm Plot (terrain) that meshes with terrain, minus the wood component for the recipe. I don't care I have to craft a farm plot and use nitrate/rotten flesh like fertilizer used to be, but I do care about ugly, immersion-breaking farms. I still prefer to use a hoe (which, really, isn't more complicated than getting a pick axe to mine), but if the powers that be are putting their foot down then perhaps we can settle on something in the middle.

 

Reducing wandering Zombies:

 

Not a fan. I know "tons of zombies" isn't something the technology is capable of, and it's a shame. I would rather fight 20 zombies that I shoot once in the head to kill than 5 zombies that took 4 shots in the head to kill any day. But, this is not that kind of game. I get it, I still enjoy it. If I want to fight "hordes" of zombies outside of horde night, I will play a different game and I have my eye on a couple other games to scratch that itch.

 

Though, wandering zombies isn't out of place as some have implied. It's an apocalypse. Everyone has turned, and yeah they will wander if that's the kind of zombie mode we have. There should be scant few in the wilderness, much more wandering in cities, if you were to ask what the ideal would be. Cities have more loot, more danger/risk, and since that is where people live, more zombies. Living out in the woods should be the double edge sword of fewer zombies/less loot. However, LOAD up cities with wandering zombies. I should look at a city in the distance with a mix of dread and hope.

 

Anyway, those are my 2 cents from a moderately veteran player (2500 hours).. Here is the TLDR;

 

Farming change: not necessary because that's how farming actually works in simpler terms? But if you insist, perhaps make a variation of the farming plot to be a terrain block in order to mesh with in-ground farming. I would miss the "legitimacy" of tilling the soil with a hoe, but I only really hate the terrain-block gap we still have.

[4sheetzngeegles]

Unholy Joe

Playing as a scavenger what is your personal impresssion?

[mr.natural]

Although you are basically right about RL gardening and MM was talking about what he thought he could do IRL (you could get something to grow using your hands, but not very well).

 

It's still about a game and as enraged as others were acting, it's REALLY is about what kind of game TFP's think is fun. It's GOT to be that way or the game will be crap or not finished because THEY don't like it and stop developing it.

 

I know that, it's just a shame that a game in a game gets deleted. As many pointed out you don't HAVE to farm to 'conquer' the game. I also read that different roleplays were supported. this is slowly going to the opposite way is my fear.

[unholyjoe]

Unholy Joe

Playing as a scavenger what is your personal impresssion?

 

i did answer that a good while back but as time has passed... the old nomad style i like is getting refined... i will not go into long winded explanation but i now look forward to looting as now we can find amazing stuff and the gear i currently have is from looting (just dont forget to spec a point or more into looting enhancements), finding mods like special glasses and goggles is fun... or pair of boots that decrease fall damage.. sneakers that make you quieter or faster.

 

but a serious note is... i tend to put points in whatever gives me the thing i want (i just like a tad of everything... i dont have to be rambo or arnold... i just have to enjoy the game and i do).

 

oh hell... i'll stop there or it will end up long winded... hang in there for the exp... you will be pleased.

 

 

 

 

 

[sillls]

ok peeps.. i decided to go ahead and jump back a build or so and show you a tad bit about the farm plot..

 

i hope it shows you what you are asking about, i thought i covered what was needed... one thing i forgot to show you was.. you can paint the plots too.. i did do a screen shot. enjoy

 

the plot is a 1 m block.

 

 

 

video:

 

 

painting:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29094[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

video is public now!

 

I finally had a chance to see the cool video that unholyjoe took the time to make, thanks joe.

 

I wanted to know Madmole, have you considered planting the boxes into the ground?

 

You select the area that you want to place your farming plot.

Execute the placement.

The ground voxel changes into the farm plot.

 

1. This removes the need to gig up ground.

2. Also removes that ugly looking lip that forms between ground voxels and blocks.

 

Also this could work on a static ground as well.

[ieuri]

How is improving farming bad for the survival experience? Sorry but we don't want players to crawl over broken glass to do things in the game. Now its easy to understand, how does that make it bad? Try explaining to someone new how to farm. Just do it. Please respond to me and lets watch how ridiculously long the conversation is going to be.

 

We've been through this before. Its a sharp stick. Now its usable by anyone, without a wiki and a 50 step process. FFS its farming, not rocket science. Why should I need a forge to start a farm? WHy would I need a cement mixer to make fertilizer. That ♥♥♥♥ was lame, now its fun, simple and easy to learn and use. Some people are just married to clunkly old crap and like crawling over broken glass I guess. If that one thing is a deal breaker to play this game you need your head examined or to download a mod that restores legacy farming.

 

So what you're telling me is that I cannot plant crops in the ground, I can only plant into a box that I craft. Peoples complaints about simplification are valid. Why have different tier weapons? It's all about progression. Planting in soil was Tier 1, watering the soil, Tier 2, fertilizing the soil, Tier 3 to get better harvests. Yes, I know harvest is by perk points now, but you keep removing things that players like. No one is complaining about the farm plot blocks. Like most, it is an attractive addition for internal base farms, but I had fields and fields of farms with every type of plant.

 

It seems you are making an Action RPG. The Survival, Horde, Crafting game is losing those characteristics. RPGs are about choice, different builds play differently. Now your choice is less about play styles and more about which weapons to choose. Crafters, and survivalists, even miners are getting less and less each alpha until everyone is just a shooter. This is all my opinion of course, but I also find the reduction in complexity saddening.

[4sheetzngeegles]

@Unholy Joe

I like that. That is the basis of a scavenger, Adapt and overcome, or in this case adapt to survive.

Thanks for the answer

[Tin]

delete

[unholyjoe]

I finally had a chance to see the cool video that unholyjoe took the time to make, thanks joe.

 

I wanted to know Madmole, have you considered planting the boxes into the ground?

 

You select the area that you want to place your farming plot.

Execute the placement.

The ground voxel changes into the farm plot.

 

1. This removes the need to gig up ground.

2. Also removes that ugly looking lip that forms between ground voxels and blocks.

 

this is good idea but.... i prefer to dig because there are quite a few reasons to dig up the clay yourself like.. to put in the forge, to make cobblestones and shotgun slugs, mushrooms and more that i just dont remember atm.