Alpha 19 Dev Diary

[Blake_]

On 9/8/2020 at 5:46 PM, madmole said:

I totally agree with this. Min maxing is natural, yet the most unnatural thing to do to your game and is assured to kill the fun after the first time or two. The fun is building a memorable character who HAS character. It is mostly pre RPG people who bought it for survival, zombies etc. The people now coming on board buying it for the RPG factors seem to love what is possible with the perk system and the role playing you can do. I'd call it a light RPG, but just like with building you can build a box to live in or a castle. You can choose not to role play, or do some very creative things with it, that = fun game play.

Styx's whole thing is role playing whether he knows it or not. He still min maxes, but he self imposes some things that make the game fun for him. The same can be done with role playing. Limiting what guns you use, deciding what food you are allergic to and can't eat, maybe you get too hot in heavy armor or it's itchy. Maybe you are claustrophobic, or need to have 4 concrete walls to sleep. Maybe you are a total nomad. Whatever you choose, it helps make each play through unique and fun.

I can fire up Skyrim, after 9 years and 1000's of hours and as long as I role play some new stuff I haven't done 20 times before, it can turn into a lot of fun. Once I start min maxing it though it goes to crap quick then I want to quit or start  new character.

I disagree. I always min max. And I have fun IF the game offers the following:

 

-No gameplay-blocking choices ( like a door that requires you to have 100 lockpick, or a choice that punishes you by substracting permanent-hard-earned stuff)

 

Organic quests that you don't feel like "coming back later" to do them, unlike for example, the cute Skyrim's main quest that we usually never do the first time.

 

Emergent gameplay everywhere and random events on roads ( I'm talking hundreds, no 2 dozen variants like in Skyrim).

 

Endless or very long lasting scalable item progression and enemy progression that gives gameplay a way to keep up with the player.

 

If, as a min-maxer  I get plenty of those, then I will enjoy the game playing the "same way" every single time because it won't really be the "same" as the emerging experience is brand new every time .

 

Skyrim offers some of that. I have my hundreds of hours there.

 

Mount and Blade series offers some of that.

 

7dtd offers some of that and the promise of better even though you insist that a short lasting naked pugilist(100 hours) can extent the duration of the game. It really doesn' t as much as your most efficient self just having fun. 

 

So in the end, a game that doesn' t bore a minmaxer after 500 hours is the higher bar, not the ugly fatarse pink-haired elf that does double wielding with forks.

 

Roleplaying is short lived adrenaline, cool for streaming and telling somebody how cool X build is compared to a wholesome and rewarding game that favours min-maxers.

 

[wolfbain5]

3 hours ago, ThacZer0 said:

Long time player - first time poster?

 

I love this game. I've got almost 600 hours on Steam... and I have played almost every build since 16 I think? 

 

I have 2 suggestions for the current iteration and I'm hoping that this is the right place to put them?

 

1) When staring down the 8x scope - it would be nice to see the XP if something is killed and I want to scope to another target.

2) The ability to make my default "loot all items" to "loot all I don't have a complete stack of" (which was a GREAT addition by the way)

 

The uploaded picture is from a Mansion I found - I love the "story" it tells without words... I hope it becomes drive-able one day ☠️☠️☠️ along with the tanks and helos... more great additions!

 

That is all,

--THAC0

that is not a vanilla prefab, so you prolly wont get their attention other than to annoy them. and no, I dont recognize it as a CP prefab either.

[ThacZer0]

I'm not sure which packs I have installed, honestly I didn't think I had any - and the screenshot isn't meant to annoy anyone... just a cool Double-Z (Zombie Zamboni )

 

[Darthjake]

8 hours ago, Phoenixshade35 said:

As long as he sells pickled eggs, mega crush and beer we are good, ill take some moonshine too lol

What about fishing bait, food and ammo?

[SnowDog1942]

34 minutes ago, Darthjake said:

What about fishing bait

What about Master bait?

[wolfbain5]

42 minutes ago, SnowDog1942 said:

What about Master bait?

you would be that, so gonna have to hide your tweezers and magnifying glass to break you of the habit before you go blind.

[Danidas]

58 minutes ago, SnowDog1942 said:

What about Master bait?

You would need to find a fishing rod first to use it...............

[Adam the Waster]

16 hours ago, Roland said:

Have teeth, need cash.

 

 

i have 52 teeth! 

i need that cash!

[SnowDog1942]

1 hour ago, Danidas said:

You would need to find a fishing rod first to use it...............

I have an ugly stick

[Phoenixshade35]

2 hours ago, SnowDog1942 said:

What about Master bait?

Welcome to Master Baiters Fishing Emporium, we come stocked with the best bait you masters can throw on your rod, our rods shrink and extend for your baiting pleasure, we also have a house recipe for pickled eggs, love them or hate them the fish like to bite those eggs as well, so come on down - cause even the end of the world will not stop someone from being a master baiter...

 

On a side note, i wouldn't mind seeing fishing in the game, we don't need to physically see fish swimming but to cast a line and relax and sometimes pull up armor, zombies, fish among other junk would be kinda cool

[Promethean Winchester]

Zombie literally ragdolled onto this chair in a trailer POI after I clubbed it lol. I named the photo "Zombie Resting" lol

[Phoenixshade35]

This is the front of my base in my knifing world, im liking how its turning out and i didn't even have a plan for it, i do kinda wish the lighting had a multi block selecter like our building blocks, cleans up menus and gives us lighting choices lol

[gpcstargate]

12 hours ago, JCrook1028 said:

CompoPack POI right?

 

14 hours ago, ThacZer0 said:

Long time player - first time poster?

 

I love this game. I've got almost 600 hours on Steam... and I have played almost every build since 16 I think? 

 

I have 2 suggestions for the current iteration and I'm hoping that this is the right place to put them?

 

1) When staring down the 8x scope - it would be nice to see the XP if something is killed and I want to scope to another target.

2) The ability to make my default "loot all items" to "loot all I don't have a complete stack of" (which was a GREAT addition by the way)

 

The uploaded picture is from a Mansion I found - I love the "story" it tells without words... I hope it becomes drive-able one day ☠️☠️☠️ along with the tanks and helos... more great additions!

 

That is all,

--THAC0

 

 

@ Two things wrong here .. Prefab "Mansion and Tracker" is from the War3zuk Mod or the Combo pack or one of the other many mods out there, it is not a Vanilla mod ... and ... long time player with only 600 hrs since A 16 .... ( Long time Players since A 15 of over 5000 hrs would be consider a Longtime player and not a newbie at only 600 hrs ) 

[NukemDed]

3 hours ago, SnowDog1942 said:

I have an ugly stick

one of those ones with a jelly tip?

[ThacZer0]

4 minutes ago, gpcstargate said:

 

 

 

@ Two things wrong here .. Prefab "Mansion and Tracker" is from the War3zuk Mod or the Combo pack or one of the other many mods out there, it is not a Vanilla mod ... and ... long time player with only 600 hrs since A 16 .... ( Long time Players since A 15 of over 5000 hrs would be consider a Longtime player and not a newbie at only 600 hrs ) 

Ok... Thanks for the feedback on my screenshot.  Am I in the wrong place to post suggestions?

 

I thought this was the right thread.  I wasn't looking to start some sort of 'bash this guy because he's a scrub with only 600 hours' - I wasn't claiming to be some sort of amazing player - I'm very casual and play my own way (for example - I don't use the Blood Moon feature - I like scavenging and exploring).  I just love the game and as a "long time" WoW player - I relish the gameplay of 7D2D.

 

To the Devs: Thank you for such an awesome game!  Call it ignorance on the screenshot and mod-packs - I didn't install them (probably my kids) - but I just wanted to give you 2 suggestions as a "newbie"... with 600 hours.

[wolfbain5]

5 minutes ago, ThacZer0 said:

Ok... Thanks for the feedback on my screenshot.  Am I in the wrong place to post suggestions?

 

I thought this was the right thread.  I wasn't looking to start some sort of 'bash this guy because he's a scrub with only 600 hours' - I wasn't claiming to be some sort of amazing player - I'm very casual and play my own way (for example - I don't use the Blood Moon feature - I like scavenging and exploring).  I just love the game and as a "long time" WoW player - I relish the gameplay of 7D2D.

 

To the Devs: Thank you for such an awesome game!  Call it ignorance on the screenshot and mod-packs - I didn't install them (probably my kids) - but I just wanted to give you 2 suggestions as a "newbie"... with 600 hours.

ignore stargate.

 

and this is the right place for suggestions, questions, and feedback, just nothing mod related. I mean look at snowdog's posts, and he is still in here.

[Guppys Fur]

1 hour ago, gpcstargate said:

 

 

 

@ Two things wrong here .. Prefab "Mansion and Tracker" is from the War3zuk Mod or the Combo pack or one of the other many mods out there, it is not a Vanilla mod ... and ... long time player with only 600 hrs since A 16 .... ( Long time Players since A 15 of over 5000 hrs would be consider a Longtime player and not a newbie at only 600 hrs ) 

Sorry mate but this is not a pissing contest.
Who cares if he got 100, 500 or 5000 hours. everything above 50h playtime is to be considered an experienced players.
What you experienced in A10, 15, or even 18 is not relevant anymore.

[Darthjake]

7 hours ago, SnowDog1942 said:

What about Master bait?

/tips hat, and backs away c_y_a

[beerfly]

Just wanna add, going hunting after 22h ingame with bought 2nd tier rifle and a wooden club is THE best. And that after 4th day.  

 

The smell of charred meat early in the morning while seeking for another spot to go for, from a mountain top self made shed, is a good start of another day out there. 

Awesome addition. 

 

Don`t wanna sound like Internet Explorer, first days with stable version here, and can`t hide that. 🤕

[Blake_]

Hi @faatal , have a look at this:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=280&v=RYxG7ySkt2A&feature=emb_title

 

It's already in the bug report forums; even though it is in a "pretty advanced form of french" the video is short and highlights the AI exploits quite well.

 

[Outlaw_187]

8 hours ago, ThacZer0 said:

Ok... Thanks for the feedback on my screenshot.  Am I in the wrong place to post suggestions?

 

I thought this was the right thread.  I wasn't looking to start some sort of 'bash this guy because he's a scrub with only 600 hours' - I wasn't claiming to be some sort of amazing player - I'm very casual and play my own way (for example - I don't use the Blood Moon feature - I like scavenging and exploring).  I just love the game and as a "long time" WoW player - I relish the gameplay of 7D2D.

 

To the Devs: Thank you for such an awesome game!  Call it ignorance on the screenshot and mod-packs - I didn't install them (probably my kids) - but I just wanted to give you 2 suggestions as a "newbie"... with 600 hours.

You're good man. Yeah there's people on here who post stupid sh*t all the time and are quick to attack others. 

 

This is where we all come together and share stuff, ask questions, give feedback, etc. 

Welcome to the forums!

[Eko]

On 9/5/2020 at 3:39 AM, NightRanger said:

@anyone does anybody know if the recent FPS issue is being looked into? Since A19:B169 I have had some pretty severe low FPS. I went from being able to run on near Ultra settings with between 60-100 FPS and am now looking at 30-70 FPS on mid-low video settings. I know this isn't game breaking, but my wife's computer is running it even worse when in LAN co-op at a max of 45-50 FPS, but more commonly 15-25 FPS. Just wanted to see if it is being looked into and if we as a community could do anything to assist in the process. Thanks everybody.

I can run almost everything at high and ultra, except for terrain quality. There's something up with that maybe I'm not an expert, but there is probably a better forum thread for this kind of post. I'd post it in the bugs thread, personally.

[Eko]

On 9/7/2020 at 11:32 PM, hiemfire said:

 

That said, holy crap the Wasteland eats frame rate.

Try lowering your terrain quality setting. Also on my old card I had issues with anti-aliasing where the destroyed stone texture would glimmer and glow like mad. I turned in game AA off and turned in on in nvidia control panel instead. Seemed to fix it for the most part. Hopefully that helps

[Games'n'Grumble]

7 hours ago, Blake_ said:

"pretty advanced form of french"

 

ouch..

[Eko]

On 9/8/2020 at 11:46 PM, madmole said:

I totally agree with this. Min maxing is natural, yet the most unnatural thing to do to your game and is assured to kill the fun after the first time or two. The fun is building a memorable character who HAS character. It is mostly pre RPG people who bought it for survival, zombies etc. The people now coming on board buying it for the RPG factors seem to love what is possible with the perk system and the role playing you can do. I'd call it a light RPG, but just like with building you can build a box to live in or a castle. You can choose not to role play, or do some very creative things with it, that = fun game play.
*snip*

DISCLAIMER: I might be testing or playing wrong, but this is the way the current system makes me feel. I am playing the game organically, as in, not trying to mod the @%$# out of it by using minimal or non-gameplay mods, and not using the admin commands. I'm not trying to play any particular way, just doing what I enjoy and what feels rewarding to me. I don't want the game to be like xyz game, and that's not my aim here. I'm just interested in seeing the game become more immersive. I'm not a dev, so all I can do is tell you how I feel about the game's mechanics as a player, and what I would like to see in the future. Edited for formatting.

From The Shadows shall henceforth be referenced as FTS. I think we can all agree that Hidden Strike is an effective skill, even with a short knife if youre quick, which an agility build should be!

Does this mean you disagree that FTS is ineffective, or that you don't care if it is or isn't?

Because you're right - stealth right now is pure RP for me because its not worth putting points into it for the minimal return. The reason for that appears to be in the way that sleepers and POI's operate. Sure, sneaking is a bit of RP fun, but that is all it is. Having FTS kind of indicates that it's intended to be viable at least some of the time, but my argument here is that its just not viable... 

 

Why I don't think FTS is a viable skill:
Without pumping any points into stealth skills, I feel just as effective with my bow, silenced pistol, and knife, as I do with maxed out stealth skills and the same tools (in POIs). Heck, pop a squat (or don't, there's not much difference) with a shotgun and take a POI with no points in stealth or shotguns and you will be more effective than a bowman with 3 levels in archery and from the shadows. Because the hard-coded wake up sleepers don't care about your stealth, nor do the outside zombies, and the sleepers that are SUPPOSED to wake up don't until you're basically on top of them anyway - at which point the proximity wake up goes off and springs you regardless of stealth. 

My suggestion: 
If you really don't care about stealth skills being effective, get rid of FTS. As it is now it feels like false advertising to me  it's a trap!

If you want stealth skill trees, make it possible for the player to sneak past zombies hiding in wardrobes and other traps. Make sleepers react to sound more, but still less than a wandering zombie if you want to keep the feeling of sleepers being dormant. Something like this incredibly creepy scene from one of my favourite horror movies of all time  (0:46 - 1:50 for the juicy bit)

 

Implement a skill tree for detecting other traps like loose boards and sneaky mines.  Make it possible to open containers without alerting outside zombies through walls, but perhaps reduce the loot in them (you were being careful not to knock things around so maybe you missed some things) or stick to the current hamstring of increased search time (but imo that would need to be increased to offset being able to avoid zombies).

You might be worried that its too easy if you can sneak past the zombies all the time - but remember, those players would be missing out on a good chunk of xp from killing those zombies. Plus, it takes so much longer to sneak through the POIs so your loot+xp/time ratio helps offset the ease of avoiding zombie conflict again. 

Side note - are there any plans to bring in audio occlusion? If zombies are a floor above or below you there is no difference in volume that I can tell, so when this happens in a POI I basically have to sneak allllllll the way back down to ground floor to see where they got in and execute them if I dont want surprises while looting.

 

Idea - I think that outside noises being muffled while you're inside would really increase the atmospheric tension, especially if you create a special sneaky zombie that climbs in through broken windows without making a sound, smacking you with a sneak attack of their own! These ones could have heightened senses that counter act the from the shadows perk, so if you want to try sneaking past THIS zombie, you better max it out  see where I am going with this? Reward the stealth gameplay without reducing the game's difficulty and you will build a game that appeals to a wider market - as a dev, I suspect you have already thought about these points and I don't intend to imply that you don't know what you're doing, only that there are players out there who would be keen for this kind of thing (me for one obviously lol). This one is possibly too hard to implement but I like the idea anyway: the special Sneaky Boi could have an ability to slide through certain blocks, like the windows with broken glass but the steel frame still intact, and some of the building blocks with wider gaps like the 1/4 blocks. I would hate this because I love using those blocks as a floaty fence, but it would feel more diverse, immersive, and challenging! I'm picturing a child-sized creature (not actual child but the size), skin like the Wight, but all sinew instead of muscle. Limbs that are too thin and disproportionate to the body, with pointed ends for hands... perfect for back stabbing the unwary player!

Side question - The perk From The Shadows ... is it meant to function as a heat map reduction? Because I honestly don't feel any different with it pumped or not, squat or not. 

If you made it this far, thank you, Almighty One! :P