Alpha 20 Dev Diary

[KingSlayerGM 71]

17 hours ago, faatal said:

Each pregen world adds 300 MB to the install size, so we would probably stick with shipping just 3 for now.

Perhaps you could remove the alpha channel from biomes.png and splat3.png to save space? Moreover you don't actually need RGB channels for each pixel, do you? I mean, you could encode the same information in just 1 byte per pixel, instead of 3 (or instead of 4 if you use the alpha channel)...

Also I've noticed that the RAW format that you use for the heightmap ('dtm.raw') uses a lot more space than a 16bit png... And png is lossless

What do you think?

[faatal 1,466]

2 hours ago, KingSlayerGM said:

Perhaps you could remove the alpha channel from biomes.png and splat3.png to save space? Moreover you don't actually need RGB channels for each pixel, do you? I mean, you could encode the same information in just 1 byte per pixel, instead of 3 (or instead of 4 if you use the alpha channel)...

Also I've noticed that the RAW format that you use for the heightmap ('dtm.raw') uses a lot more space than a 16bit png... And png is lossless

What do you think?

Sure, we could do a lot of things, but that is low priority.

[rngchiefbob 3]

Hopefully ya can find more programmers to help you out, keep up the good work man

 

[Blake_ 357]

6 hours ago, faatal said:

Sure, we could do a lot of things, but that is low priority.

I'm sure you don't hear this often, but I'm very thankful that you are part of TFP team. When you are around, features magically pop up . You should be called a "Programming Fairy Sasquatch", 'cause you grant wishes like vehicles, Zd AI and optimization while being a rare breed of methodic worker. I still remember A16 with all the pain it gave to my PC. 

 

Hell no to the 1 fps hordes. +1 for the future. 

[Adam the Waster 715]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:15 PM, faatal said:

The pregen maps will be regenerated using the newer RWG, so they should be totally different.

but will Navezgane get more buildings in the areas we could not go in A18.  but got extended during A19 

[roughgalaxy 4]

Got a pair of questions today,

 

1: Is Stealth going to get an update at some point?

• I know having poi triggers for ambushes are important for a good scare, but I also see people with really good stealth loadouts get totally boned by established abmush lines. I've also noticed these same people with a suppressed pistol wake up an entire POI taking one sneak shot. Is that a bug with suppressed pistols? I would think that good stealth skills/gear that you could roll through a POI with a suppressed pistol and wipe out everything Sam Fisher style.

 

2: Are traps going to be getting a rework/any plans for new traps?

• Blade traps take a lot resources to make and maintain, and currently break down really fast compared to the upkeep cost. I think a lot of people would like to see some addition trap options as well such as flamer traps or hammer traps (more to push zombies around than damage). I know many players who complain that they don't get xp from spikes (yes I know this is a problem with the ownership of the object because of its block type) but something like powered spike traps (think of the classic trap where the spikes jut out of the ground when walked on) could be a really fun higher tier to the spikes. Wood > Iron > powered could be an interesting track to follow.

That's all I got for today. Looking forward to seeing some more info on A20.

Edited Thursday at 04:56 PM by roughgalaxy
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