Alpha 20 Dev Diary

[n2n1]

4 hours ago, faatal said:

A correct random number generator gives you random numbers. We use an industry standard random number generator, so it does work. Truly random does mean you could get the same thing many times in a row, which people often don't like and want something less random.

Now the seed used for the random generator could cause issues if not varied enough or reused/repeated.

This is all clear.

But what about the nearest repeating events? It doesn't matter what's in the reasoning - now we get another negative result of work this new system.

Agree - that if something is repaired by breaking something else - this is not a good decision.

 

In addition, if this system works to get something few times successively - i suspect that it works and in the opposite direction, not allowing something to appear...

 

 

 

[Tahaan]

11 hours ago, faatal said:

A correct random number generator gives you random numbers. We use an industry standard random number generator, so it does work. Truly random does mean you could get the same thing many times in a row, which people often don't like and want something less random.

Now the seed used for the random generator could cause issues if not varied enough or reused/repeated.

 

The problem is this:  If you make a copy of your save before you loot a house, and then loot it, then restore the saved game and loot it again in the exact same order, you get the exact same loot.  So it isn't very random.

 

FWIW I only know about this because it was reported in the Bugs report section by someone.

[Toy truck]

For character overhaul we talkin about character customization, beacuse im tired of the limited options we have or is this something that is not important right now.

Assuming  the only thing that makes a difference is the armor sets.

 

 

[petruherro]

@faatal Hello! Was the game upgraded to use the unity job system/burst compiler?

[JamesKirk]

On 12/29/2020 at 9:18 PM, faatal said:

A correct random number generator gives you random numbers. We use an industry standard random number generator, so it does work. Truly random does mean you could get the same thing many times in a row, which people often don't like and want something less random.

Now the seed used for the random generator could cause issues if not varied enough or reused/repeated.

So it is intented that each party member gets the same reward?? I just noticed it again in my multiplayer. My buddy and I got exact the same reward in the last four quests.

[irongamer]

On 12/29/2020 at 12:18 PM, faatal said:

A correct random number generator gives you random numbers. We use an industry standard random number generator, so it does work. Truly random does mean you could get the same thing many times in a row, which people often don't like and want something less random.

Now the seed used for the random generator could cause issues if not varied enough or reused/repeated.

 

Any chance there could be a weighted roll or exclusion list in the future?  POIs that have been used in a quest recently could either have reduced weight in their roll or they are added to an exclusion list and added back in after 2, 3, or X number of quests.  And obviously if no POI is assigned due to those rules just fall back to randomly picking one.

[BobbyLee298]

Is that advance forge gonna make it in A20, my FPS takes a hit with 8 forges running.

[4sheetzngeegles]

Faatal

 

I have a question regarding loot distribution and randomization. Actually it has to do with
randomization in all aspects of the game.

 

Would it add undue amount of overhead to processing if, there was a database monitor added
for the acquired inventory of each player?

 

What I mean is if you open inventory you see whats in the backpack, If you open what is in
any storage box either game produced or player placed the inventory there remains the same.
So there is a form of database in play.

 

The type of monitor I am writing about could be incorporated into or use the difficulty modifier.

 

Example: there are specific necessities needed for survival, immersion fun-factor, and replay-ability,
Food, water, ammunition, weapons, discovered resources, danger situations.

 

These are already being monitored now in a sense because otherwise if you stored things in a box they
would just disappear. Can the random algorithm be tied into what a player has, vs what they need, and
use the game difficulty modifier in the setup screen? Using a similar indexing setup that you used to
allow multiple spears to return to their original slot in the tool-belt, apply a weighted value based
on necessity and already attained, append it to the unopened containers potential yield.

 

Inventory is already grouped, a weighted value "based on current inventory held" could decide if more
or less items of that group would be possible in the unopened container. It could work simply in SP by
the difficulty selection. In MP it would mean the group forager would find better quantity or quality,
than a team mate that invested in hunting.

 

The possibility is a simplified version of pseudo randomization, creating a customized play-through
each restart, depending on difficulty, and what the player hoards.

 

Example: SP mode, Heath below 50%, and I'm infected, I have one can of peas that I've stored. I need
food/water and medical, I am going to look for food and antibiotics. At default setting the cabinets would
be bountiful or noobified allowing for introductory play-through. Raising difficulty level would lower
the chance of finding anything usable. Meaning more foraging and greater desperation as my health drains.
It would lower the chance of friendly animals and raise the chance of enemies.

 

Opposite end of the spectrum, I have enough food acquired to keep me at max health, but no ammunition
I would best be served by finding a munitions depot, and a hospital for potential help. Just random hunting
in cabinets would yield cans bottle unusable garbage.

 

It is more subtle than bull in china shop, and would contour to each player as they continue. The only thing
that would change is the numeric modifier for potential yield, depending on what the player has acquired.

[art1336]

On 12/22/2020 at 9:39 AM, madmole said:

Console sold great with ugly UMA presets and zero customization. If we have a similar amount of heads it should be just fine. The CPU savings deleting all those bones/morphs/bloat data wouldn't hurt either. Anyhow this is months out as we've pushed new characters to A21 so even I don't have an answer as to what we're actually doing.

I haven't heard anything but the rwg new rivers look promising. I wouldn't expect much from water only that it won't be buggy af anymore and will be optimized. There won't be awesome waterfalls or anything too fancy.

No because it's fine how it is and this is some weird idea better handled with a mod.

Console did sell great...but then it got dropped and console players felt extremely shafted for paying money for a product that was never delivered.

I get what you're saying, and it's true that it "did" sell great before the Great Shafting, but it might seem callous to some to point that out,

[Blake_]

Hi @faatal , happy new year. Can you throw some fish stick for us to chew? I have prepared a few blunt yet sensual and direct questions regarding a20, I hope you don't mind.

 

1.  What are you working on at the moment ?

 

2. Are you allowed to talk about special infected ? Specifically stuff like : how many are in the works, how far ahead is the AI ... etc.

 

3. Any news about RWG ? Anything will do.

 

4. Any info about POI, models, weapons or general stuff  that is curently being adressed by the programming team that you know of?

 

Thanks in advance.

[ltbrunt]

I feel like the game is perfect as is and every few updates gives me a whole new experience. If it was up to me they would stay an alpha game for the next ten years. Saying that I am looking forward to 

 

1. Bandits (Future updates): Bandits will take the game to a whole new level. All us long time players will probably have to change up are gameplay.

 

2. Engine updates: I find myself just staring at the screen sometimes. Since playing from the beginning I absolutely appreciate how beautiful the game looks now. I have mad respect for Unity but I sometimes daydream about what 7 days to die would look like running on Unreal Engine...That is as long as I could dig a deep whole and live in it. I have an affinity for living underground in 7DTD. 

 

3. Random gun fights between NPC factions all the while having to evade and fight zombies. I want the game to stay intense, stressful and scary. I think something like this could raise the blood pressure.

 

4. Roaming hordes: If the game performance allows it bring back the roaming hordes. I used to have to crouch in a corner waiting for them to leave. I miss the level of in game stress this used to cause. 

 

Keep up the good work. I look forward to everything the Fun Pimps release. 

 

[khzmusik]

On 1/5/2021 at 8:32 AM, Blake_ said:

3. Any news about RWG ? Anything will do.

 

Seconded, but I have a specific question.

 

I know there will be a lot more options in the new RWG. Will one of those options be POI density in cities/towns? By which I mean the physical space between POIs.

 

If you go to a large city, there is almost no space between buildings. I live in a residential neighborhood just outside of Boston, and there is probably less than six feet separating my house from my neighbor's house. If you go to a commercial neighborhood, usually entire city blocks have buildings with no space at all between them.

 

I've never seen anything approaching this in a 7D2D city, no matter how dense with POIs. I realize that there would have to be some tetris involved, but IMHO it would be worth it. (Especially in wasteland cities - an entire landscape of ruined POIs, even remnants, is something I'd enjoy.)

 

Is this even on the roadmap for RWG?

[Outlaw_187]

I'm glad RWG is getting some love but how about Navezgane....will it receive anything in the future in A20 or beyond? 

 

Specifically the roads are pretty wonky in spots. For example the road leaving trader Rekt in the wasteland...this road is...well..Rekt!! Quite a few roads are actually like this. 

 

Actually something else I just thought of, why does the map not show red anymore indicating radiation zones? 

 

[Kosiam]

6k, 8k, and 10k map sizes planned ...

 

What happened to the unlimited we were promised?

[Crater Creator]

I've been doing more prefab building recently, and I had two questions on the future of textures.

 

I understand that you can't just go adding world textures whenever, because the texture atlas can't get too big. Given this constraint, and that you're expanding tinting to vehicles in A20, have you considered tinting for world textures?

 

I estimate you could free up space for about 20 more world textures, if you strategically converted the ones you could to a base texture plus a tint (e.g. "concrete white" + tint = "concrete purple"), and possibly more if you allowed decals (e.g. "storage crate" + explosive icon = "storage explosives").

 

With recent emphasis on beautifying character art and more, it feels like the time has come to give world textures some love.  The freed up texture space could be used to provide some additional options I find lacking, such as an oriental rug, white or off-white carpet, and a map of Navezgane (arguably more usable than, say, Madmole's gravestone).

 

My second question is, what determines if a block is paintable?  For example, it's cool that the old wooden chair is paintable, but the black wooden end table isn't.  Would making the end table paintable be a simple matter of checking a couple flags in Unity?  Or would an artist have to mess with the UVs and re-export the asset?

 

 

[Adam the Waster]

*cowboy mode activate*

is this a Marksman or assault?
@madmole
 

Spoiler

 

 

[BobbyLee298]

can we please get a stream this weekend im dieing out here for INFOO, i neeeed it

[Adam the Waster]

BBQ anyone?

 

[Danidas]

46 minutes ago, Adam the Waster said:

BBQ anyone?

 

Now that's a well done zombie dogo.

[thisjrodriguez]

good news! thank you for the work! 

[Blake_]

22 hours ago, Adam the Waster said:

i don't think its burned.

thats just the way Doberman look. 
the flesh is just showing. same with the skin. but i could be wrong

I like it

Spoiler

@madmole my dog companion is ashamed of that concept art (edit: it looks like a 3d model ready to go though). Lol.

 

Dobermans have clear brown paw colouring as well as in other places. The concept should aim for a general-purpose dog. That one has the wrong colour because a charred Zd doberman can only be used coherently in Wasteland/burned forest area. That means they will look out of place in any other biome. 

 

There's always the "whatever card" aka  "Alien virus changes fur pigment", but based on the rest of the Zds  IT DOES NOT change fur pigment of the infected (they are just cadaver-coloured entities). 

 

So I hope the actual final texture has, at the very least, some clear brown pigment on the paws and around the mouth. The rest of the area colouring varies between individuals, usually some have clear brown on the shoulders, chest and under the tail/ thighs, but the one thing that never changes in a doberman  is some paw colouring and also in the fur in the mandible/around the mouth. Other colours can happen, but always with the same pattern as long as it is still a doberman.

 

Like these:

 

Spoiler

 

[jenniann]

Love the look of the new dog model, looking forward to seeing more of A20. Keep up the awesome work guys

[4sheetzngeegles]

No matter which models are made available.
Can the quadrupeds and the vultures have the addition of colliders please,
this would include rabbits, and chickens even though chickens are biped.
For the quads the collision with fauna, and the tick tick sound of enemy
nails on the terrain, the rabbits and chickens scurrying through the brush .

For snakes just a simple sliding across terrain.

For the Vultures increased volume to the flapping of the wings and possibly

the pecking/scratching sound of block attacks.

Last addition if possible can vultures be allowed to smash through glass windows.

[Crater Creator]

The surface treatment seems lacking.  The whole surface looks like skin: blackened rubbery skin in some places, but nowhere does it have a furry texture.  The whole surface glistens, which is fine for the bloody parts but the coat should have a more diffuse reflection.  The way it catches the light will stick out even when seen from long range and not scrutinizing a static image.  And with a body that's been that bloodied and torn, we expect to see some fur matted with blood.  I know it's a short coat, but is this going to get the fur shader we've seen on other animals?  By the way, @Astronomical, this isn't called a "concept" on Twitter - one must assume it's the game-ready asset.

 

Edit: I offered a thoughtful, constructive art critique with references, and Madmole reacted with poop.  Reacting with poop is something chimpanzees do.  I remind you there's a perfectly good 'dislike' button to express disapproval without being crude.

[Astronomical]

12 minutes ago, Crater Creator said:

The surface treatment seems lacking.  The whole surface looks like skin: blackened rubbery skin in some places, but nowhere does it have a furry texture.  The whole surface glistens, which is fine for the bloody parts but the coat should have a more diffuse reflection.  The way it catches the light will stick out even when seen from long range and not scrutinizing a static image.  And with a body that's been that bloodied and torn, we expect to see some fur matted with blood.  I know it's a short coat, but is this going to get the fur shader we've seen on other animals?  By the way, @Astronomical, this isn't called a "concept" on Twitter - one must assume it's the game-ready asset.

 

Yeah you're right, I assumed it was a game ready model as well. I just used the wrong terminology.

 

Honestly I think the new model is good and will probably look better once we see it in game. I thought some of the previous hd zombie models looked shiny when they first showed them off but I don't see that anymore. It's definitely scarier and captures that charming, murderously undead look everyone loves.