Alpha 19 Dev Diary

[Adam the Waster]

1 hour ago, Galifrey1965 said:

Thanks for your extremely helpful reply captain obvious....

[MechanicalLens]

8 minutes ago, madmole said:

Not true, you don't get brass without the book and a wrench.

That's gotta be a recent change then.

[madmole]

1 hour ago, Ralathar44 said:

I partially agree and partially disagree.  If everything is fun and viable then I think it's acceptable.  However if you have one attribute that's way better or worse than the others I do think it drains away some of the fun once you've played other things and realize how far behind something is or how far ahead something else is.  That being said in current state of the game I don't have a problem with the balance of any overall attribute.  Some are stronger/weaker but not by enough to matter much unless you crank up the difficulty alot.

That being said "feel" does matter too, which is why we all discussed sniper rifles before.  Even if perception as a whole is totally fine, and I disagree personally on people insisting spear is bad, Snipers definitely feel lacking compared to other weapons.  They can do the job, but after you play other weapons they definitely don't feel as fun because you're aware of just how far behind they are.  I still enjoy them, but it's a factor to be sure.  Also, perception is heavily carried balance wise by the explosives line since explosives are completely OP even without the skill line.

I never said Perception was fun. I know first hand that STR, FORT and AGILITY are fun. The others need love yet.

[Gazz]

2 hours ago, meganoth said:

Very unfair how you treat us newbies. I may have only a few hours in the game, but I'm still a human being that should be treated with respect.

 

Seriously though, I assume that means there is a block in the game (toilet?) that gives a guaranteed small iron pipe? I had thought even those had some RNG.

Yes. =P

Toilets, sinks, obvious things with plumbing.

[STyK_]

@GazzSo I'm pretty sure you've explained this before but I'm not going to know if the loot is working right if I don't ask and your the guy. Things change in a year, could have even been two years since I last asked, I forget stuff.

 

On 25% loot does that mean that 75% of the boxes/safes ect. I open should be empty? Supply drops, buried treasure, everything. Or should I be getting 25% out of 100% of the loot I would get out of each box? In which case everything I open shouldn't be empty it would just have less in it.

 

Not alot of people play this, just trying to help.

[Kattla]

Going through my video archive, i caught this demolisher dancing during horde night. Are they supposed to do that?

 

[Gazz]

1 hour ago, Ralathar44 said:

I partially agree and partially disagree.  If everything is fun and viable then I think it's acceptable.  However if you have one attribute that's way better or worse than the others I do think it drains away some of the fun once you've played other things and realize how far behind something is or how far ahead something else is.  That being said in current state of the game I don't have a problem with the balance of any overall attribute.  Some are stronger/weaker but not by enough to matter much unless you crank up the difficulty alot.

There are still those with their blinkers on who can only look at direct killing power of the attribute's weapon and nothing else must matter. They will never be happy because the balancing we are doing is simply on a larger scope.

The ability to take less damage, heal damage, and heal crits faster than anyone else does very much factor in whether the weapons of a perk are viable or not.

 

I don't even disagree with some of the analyses I saw here but I understand that they are based on achieving a different goal.

[Adam the Waster]

9 minutes ago, Gazz said:

Yes. =P

Toilets, sinks, obvious things with plumbing.

i never got lead and brass from toilets! even with the books!

[Gazz]

56 minutes ago, Jost Amman said:

So about balancing...

 

For most people game balancing means making things have the same overall value/power.

For me is quite the opposite... for me it's making things work (fit) in the game environment, but not necessarily making them comparable.

 

That's why I think there should be a balanced way of playing the game that is however unbalanced in the premises.

Yes and no. Balance is essential or a game is terribly boring or frustratingly unfair.

That said, making everything the same power is rookie balancing. Definitely a good starting point and probably fine for a quick mobile game but you have to go deeper with a game like this one.

[madmole]

1 hour ago, Jost Amman said:

So about balancing...

 

For most people game balancing means making things have the same overall value/power.

For me is quite the opposite... for me it's making things work (fit) in the game environment, but not necessarily making them comparable.

 

That's why I think there should be a balanced way of playing the game that is however unbalanced in the premises.

I think each one should have situational benefits and disadvantages, and they do.

[meganoth]

21 minutes ago, Adam the Waster said:

i never got lead and brass from toilets! even with the books!

Change your diet and you too will find lead and brass in toilets 😇

[madmole]

59 minutes ago, MechanicalLens said:

Just curious, when does the production of the next alpha begin after (or before?) the release of the former one? Asking out of curiosity here and not impatience.

Both. Some guys are on A20, some are still on A19.

57 minutes ago, MechanicalLens said:

Is bleeding considered a critical, or is it in its own isolated category?

It isn't a critical unless you get deep laceration.

[Jost Amman]

9 minutes ago, Gazz said:

Yes and no. Balance is essential or a game is terribly boring or frustratingly unfair.

That said, making everything the same power is rookie balancing. Definitely a good starting point and probably fine for a quick mobile game but you have to go deeper with a game like this one.

I understand... but hear this example: there have been several games in the past that offered to players to unlock new classes that are more powerful than the "basic" ones but also much more unbalanced. So, when you start out the game with this new, advanced, class you'll be severely at a disadvantage but you can also compensate because you know that game mechanics inside-out.

 

That's just one example out of many of what I mean: willingly putting in the game something that is unbalanced but that can still make sense and be viable.

[Adam the Waster]

2 minutes ago, meganoth said:

Change you diet and you too will find lead and brass in toilets 😇

when you salvage them!

 

i only get the brass and lead from sinks! not toilets!

 

 

i think a toilet counts as "plumping" right

[DerValiser]

Any ideas if there will be another update today? last weeks the update just dropped in while streaming

[meganoth]

7 minutes ago, Adam the Waster said:

when you salvage them!

 

i only get the brass and lead from sinks! not toilets!

 

 

i think a toilet counts as "plumping" right

If you eat more spinach, you should get more iron when salvaging the toilet. Really. I swear. May lightning strike my dead hamster if I'm lyin!

 

[Adam the Waster]

2 minutes ago, DerValiser said:

Any ideas if there will be another update today? last weeks the update just dropped in while streaming

i think they said they would scrap that build.

 

 

idk!

[Vintorez]

I think shotguns and rifles will both be more balanced once there are more ranged threats in the game, be them bandits or new zombie types that try to stay at and attack from a distance.

 

For spears, I'd suggest that Javelin Master's higher ranks give it increasing headshot damage bonuses on top of the AGI bonuses to reward precision. It would also be cool to have a rope mod to automatically retrieve spears as long as they land within a certain distance. 

[Adam the Waster]

1 minute ago, Vintorez said:

I think shotguns and rifles will both be more balanced once there are more ranged threats in the game, be them bandits or new zombie types that try to stay at and attack from a distance.

 

For spears, I'd suggest that Javelin Master's higher ranks give it increasing headshot damage bonuses on top of the AGI bonuses to reward precision. It would also be cool to have a rope mod to automatically retrieve spears as long as they land within a certain distance. 

with shotguns and rifles!  i think it would be cool if

 

 

Shotgun does more damage upclose, Duh (mins slugs)

 

and marksman rifles deals more damage from a range the farther the shot! the more damage!

[Laz Man]

57 minutes ago, Kattla said:

Going through my video archive, i caught this demolisher dancing during horde night. Are they supposed to do that?

 

Love the double sledges btw... Only real men spec Robotics 5/5

[MechanicalLens]

4 minutes ago, Laz Man said:

Love the double sledges btw... Only real men spec Robotics 5/5

Looking at that demo figure skate along the pathway, that's how I think demo's should work. They go into full figure skater/break dancemode and you must kill them before their dance is over and they slap the right side of their chests.  

[Perlin_Worm]

I do like the new tiered approach to loot tables, but what is really missing is that very rare chance of looting something awesome. That is what drives looting.. the chance of scoring something really good that is hard to come by. Please consider.

[Jugginator]

1 hour ago, madmole said:

Those of you saying you never get crits? Are you playing MP or SP?

In fact I was just talking with friends who play on their own MP server and they say they never get crits. They are on default difficulty, unsure if that really has a part in it or not. I certainly see crits in SP and have seen it in some MP play on higher than default difficulties *shrug*

[MechanicalLens]

Just now, Perlin_Worm said:

I do like the new tiered approach to loot tables, but what is really missing is that very rare chance of looting something awesome. That is what drives looting.. the chance of scoring something really good that is hard to come by. Please consider.

Loot toilets then. Toilet pistols are still a thing.

[STyK_]

@GazzI assume you are not going to answer so I'll tell you what it seems like is happening.

The description in the options says 'the percentage of loot to spawn in containers and zombies' which means I should get 25% percent of the loot out of each box.

What is happening from a player perspective is 75% of the loot containers are empty. Empty safes, empty supply drops, empty zombie loot bags, nearly empty everything. There is no point in opening a safe cause its going to be empty, there is no point in going for the supply drop cause its always empty.

Is this by design or is there a problem with the loot tables? You probably won't answer but it should be looked into.