Some thoughts for the next gen version.

[Bulldog44]

On 9/18/2020 at 5:32 PM, Jysen said:

Ever play The Forest?

 

It's a but more straightforward in terms of looting and crafting is limited to simple structures. World isn't voxel like 7d2d, but looks great, runs smooth, and controls feel good as well.

 

But, you are stranded on an island constantly surrounded by Cannibals and at night, freakish mutants emerge from the caverns below.

 

Still it has survival, have to eat, drink. 

 

I had a lot of fun when I was playing with a friend to be honest. Even when I played solo. 

 

There's also that recent one called Stranded I believe? Ported over from PC. Never played it myself tho, so can't say good or bad.

Yeah I was hyped about The Forest and I think they made a similar mistake that 7DTD has/is doing. The fanfare around it lost its steam by the time it was finally available on the consoles. It is an ok game, not as good as 7DTD IMHO but ok. I got Stranded Deep as well, it is fine but again lacks certain elements for me.  7DTD was a shocking surprise for me. It has so much that I love about it but have just grown tired of. I want the survivalist non cartoony part, I think Zombies has been ( no pun intended ) done to death. I am just a gamer, I don't know anything about the industry except what I enjoy. Gone are the days when I will drop 60 bucks on a may be type of game. I bought all 3 of those mentioned for less than 60 combined. The only potential game on my horizon right now is the Mafia remake. But seriously thank you for the suggestions. If you have any other ones let me know please.

 

[Jysen]

I've never seen what The Forest looks like on the PC side, so I don't know if anything is missing.

 

It was fun with a buddy of mine back when we use to play it. Been well over a year so that tells you how interested I'm still in it lol. But it had some pretty nice aspects to it.

 

7D2D is beyond different, which is why I became obsessed with it. Never played Minecraft, and to me that's far more cartoony. The only thing missing on console IMO is what the last update would've potentially gave us. Paint/POIs/Navezgane/Zombie Skins.

 

Truth be told, I love the concept of gun parts. It's another aspect to the game that keeps me looting. And being one to like building creatively, I learned to play on Creative in order to "craft" items we normally can't craft. (I'll craft bottom fridges and toss them to get machine consoles you find in bunkers/factories, or wooden frames for ceiling drop block that's the closest to a solid black block we can get, but only in creative, etc etc).

 

Oh... How the hell could I have forgotten. Have you ever played The Long Dark? That game made me lose my mind lol. 

 

If you haven't played it or seen it, I'd definitely recommend it. Perma death, brutal survival. Crafting is a challenge as nothing respawns, and unless they changed it recently, can't craft ammo. Only "enemies" is wolves, bears, and the brutal enviroment. No compass, so if you get lost in a snow storm, might be how your game ends. No game has ever made me scared and hesitant to explore lol. I remember they did an update, think they called it the Ranger update that did include a pistol, but there is a hunting rifle, (if you can find ammo), and bow and arrow (once you find the right wood material and scrap metal and a workbench to craft it into arrows), or craft the metal into fishing hooks, intestines from animals you kill (have to lay it out in a closed house/cave to cure and then you can make string. Leave meat/fish outside in the snow to decrease spoil rate, limited matches (loot generated is random game to game), etc.

 

I'm going on a rant per say, so Ill stop , sorry about that lol. It's not a voxel world like 7D2D, but the visuals some could say cartoony, but more like brush stokes, and looks actually good still. Hell of a game with decent options to toggle for customized experience. Like stopping the world from getting colder (all animals would eventually die, and then game over pretty much). 

[Bulldog44]

Thank you for your reply, I am a nitpicker I will admit and the visuals have been the only thing stopping me from investing in the Long Dark. I have seen a variety of different videos on it but that is the main and really only reason I haven't purchased it. Thats why I say 7dtd really hit so many areas so well for me and why I have invested good Lord knows how many weeks ( no need to say hours or days at this point , heck months may be a better measurement source ) into it. But I certainly do appreciate your suggestions and your "rant" ( which I am grateful for ). 

[Roland]

On 8/24/2020 at 7:54 PM, Jacked-survivor said:

1st, the PS4 version is poorly optimized. The game is not visually striking and looks like a mid tier game from the ps3 era.  Some of that can be overcome by playing around with the settings. However that should be handled on the offset by the company (either TFP or the port company). The PS4 has static hardware, optimization should already handled.

2nd, the lighting effects, even with tinkering, are poor. The system leans too hard into the creepy monster movie effect. It's neat the first time, but bothersome every time after that. Needing 6 lighting fixtures for 10 by 10 room is over doing things.

3rd Improved enemy abilities, new enemy types and AI. As is, they just march or charge  forward into my traps and die. Watching YouTubers play, they do the same thing on computer in A19. Or put simply, evolved undead aren't. Some undead with new abilities or maybe even some non-zombie monsters could add something new to the game.

4th N.P.C.s  Me, my wife's character and 2 traders there is no one else. The world is absolutely devoid of anything or anyone else. It's dull. It'd be neat if a few N.P.C.s could wander in to my fortress. They could deal with stuff like farming or filling preset production orders/quotas. It'd give me a reason to hang on to stuff like the guns I don't use and all the clothing I keep for some reason...

5th end game content. Once you hit the end of the Tech tree and have built your fortress of solititude, there is nothing left to do. A four meter deep moat around my castle with concrete walls and the Zeds will never get me. So something at the end of the rainbow gives me an objective to work towards.

6th Boats and water physics. I build around water locations. In my first play through, about a third of the drops from the airplane ended up in the lake. A boat would go a long way towards sorting that out. Also adds new play styles to the game. On the same note, I want to weaponize water and use it in my construction. Fountains and water filled moats add ascetic beauty and defensive measures. Also Zeds don't seem to be slowed by moving through water. If that's the case, it needs to be addressed.

7th Community engagement. The current disengagement of 7d2d leadership from the console players disheartening. It should feel like leadership is here trying to work with console players. The situation with ttg is what it is, but that doesn't mean it has to end in hard feelings. Let console players know the 7 days team is aware of them. It would go a fair distance towards keeping those players as customers for the next TFP project the company puts out.

8th keeping with the last point. Our moderator is abrasive. It's poor customer service. Most responses express frustration on the mod's part for the community member not being up to speed on the events with ttg and TFP's decision to abandon the current console players. Depending on the situation of that community member, how they clicked to this board, how recent the news they have is and if English is their first language (or what dialect of english they speak) all factor in. A wall of frustration from the only point of contact with the fun pimps is unlikely to make then want to purchase a future game from this company. I would suggest that the mod have their title changed from "made up internet name 7241" to "real first name TFP mod" this way we know whom we are addressing and they know they are doing a real job as well. Same idea as a name tag on a salesperson at a brick and mortar store. Regardless of other considerations, the people posting here spent their hard earned money on a TFP prodcut and deserve to be treated with respect. Perhaps a pre-written note about the situation with appropriate sorry about the xyz of it that they can just paste up as needed.

9th Lean into console sales rather then away from us. 7d2d doesn't break any new ground. But on the console, it's a great couch co-op game. My wife and I can sit back and spend an evening building forts. That's fun and it's something hard to come by these days. 

 

If and when the next gen console version comes it will be a straight port of the completely finished PC game, period. So really, by watching and following the developments of the PC version you will be seeing the changes and differences that will differentiate the next console version of 7 Days to Die compared to the current version. You brought up great points for improvement so what I would do is watch to see whether the PC game is making inroads in those directions you desired. For example, you mentioned boats. If the PC version gets boats in its final version then most likely so will the console version. If the PC version doesn't get boats then no amount of wishing will bring boats to the console version.

 

So watch the development of the PC version because the end product of that will be the model off of which any potential console version will be based.

[Jysen]

On 9/22/2020 at 12:54 PM, Bulldog44 said:

Thank you for your reply, I am a nitpicker I will admit and the visuals have been the only thing stopping me from investing in the Long Dark. I have seen a variety of different videos on it but that is the main and really only reason I haven't purchased it. Thats why I say 7dtd really hit so many areas so well for me and why I have invested good Lord knows how many weeks ( no need to say hours or days at this point , heck months may be a better measurement source ) into it. But I certainly do appreciate your suggestions and your "rant" ( which I am grateful for ). 

Truly, look past the graphical aspect of The Long Dark for not being ultra realistic. It's actually quite beautiful of a game once you start playing it. The immersion level it brought in truly feeling isolated was top notch, and the overall game play is challenging, fearful, and rewarding when it's said and done.

 

There is a story mode to it, but to be honest, I played it for just short time and never got really far into it. So there are other survivors and such in that mode.

 

I only played in the sandbox. Mystery Lake is an ideal location for new players, and even then easy to die lol. The learning curve is harsh, but again, well worth it when you do learn. 

 

No loot respawning does make it to where you have to travel to new locations, which is nerve racking. Permadeath lol. My 1st game (well 3rd since I died trying to learn what to do in the 1st two attempts lol) lasted 101 days or so. I was so proud, I made it to where 1 of 2 forges exist in the game, set up camp, and then proceeded to get myself stranded in thin ice, wet, hypothermia set in and died. So mad, so sad, but damn, amazing experience.

 

If you ever see it on sale, are bored, I sincerely recommend it. It's definitely a hidden gem.