Alpha 20 Dev Diary

[Gobarg]

I have a suggestion that can be completely ignored.

 

I chopped a tree down and killed a zombie.  This should be an achievement! It's awesome

 

Also patiently waiting for some juicy pics of the new build menu despite the death threats   (just to be clear there were no death threats  )

 

[Burrfly]

34 minutes ago, bachgaman said:

Srsly?

Sadly not

 

But @faatal, is there any news on a next dev stream? We haven't gotten these in a LONG time

[faatal]

2 hours ago, Burrfly said:

Sadly not

 

But @faatal, is there any news on a next dev stream? We haven't gotten these in a LONG time

No. We have a while to go yet, but lots of cool work is getting done.

 

I started working on some grass mesh improvements last week, since I have the time and I noticed the code. Hard to unsee code I don't like.

[Matt115]

8 minutes ago, faatal said:

No. We have a while to go yet, but lots of cool work is getting done.

 

I started working on some grass mesh improvements last week, since I have the time and I noticed the code. Hard to unsee code I don't like.

maybe stupid question but why? 😅 well grass looks rly good  in 7dtd

[hiemfire]

20 minutes ago, Matt115 said:

maybe stupid question but why? 😅 well grass looks rly good  in 7dtd

Probably because bad/inefficient code = more bits used to process/display which can contribute to playability issues on our end. @faatal going after it is a good thing.  

[dcsobral]

35 minutes ago, faatal said:

I started working on some grass mesh improvements last week, since I have the time and I noticed the code. Hard to unsee code I don't like.

I should have introduced you to the random gen code years ago...

[Matt115]

5 minutes ago, hiemfire said:

Probably because bad/inefficient code = more bits used to process/display which can contribute to playability issues on our end. @faatal going after it is a good thing.  

 was thinking it going to be change of look of grass

[faatal]

1 hour ago, Matt115 said:

maybe stupid question but why? 😅 well grass looks rly good  in 7dtd

Well now it looks a bit better and is tied into draw distance to add more planes when set to the higher distances. Our artists definitely what to make better art for all plants, but that is more like A21.

 

A big part of it was separating the collision mesh from the visual mesh as this change describes:

"Optimized grass collider generation (Always 2 centered, fixed size and axis aligned planes)."

More complicated grass meshes do not need a more complicated collision mesh and their collision meshes should not stray into adjacent blocks like they did.

1 hour ago, Matt115 said:

 was thinking it going to be change of look of grass

It does that too for the mesh. On the higher grass distances, you don't have 2 planes in a + pattern. It is 3 is an overlapping triangle.

 

And this: "Increased grass mesh variations to 192 (image, scale, rotation, cross/ring)."

[Roland]

2 hours ago, faatal said:

No. We have a while to go yet, but lots of cool work is getting done.

 

I started working on some grass mesh improvements last week, since I have the time and I noticed the code. Hard to unsee code I don't like.

 

[khzmusik]

12 minutes ago, faatal said:

Well now it looks a bit better and is tied into draw distance to add more planes when set to the higher distances. Our artists definitely what to make better art for all plants, but that is more like A21.

 

A big part of it was separating the collision mesh from the visual mesh as this change describes:

"Optimized grass collider generation (Always 2 centered, fixed size and axis aligned planes)."

More complicated grass meshes do not need a more complicated collision mesh and their collision meshes should not stray into adjacent blocks like they did.

It does that too for the mesh. On the higher grass distances, you don't have 2 planes in a + pattern. It is 3 is an overlapping triangle.

 

And this: "Increased grass mesh variations to 192 (image, scale, rotation, cross/ring)."

 

I'm glad that grass is looking better, but I'm a bit disappointed that a plant overhaul is not coming until A21. At this point the plants are the worst-looking thing in the game. It's especially bad with plants like cotton, where it's really obvious that it's just two flat textures in an X shape.

 

Ironically, plants like aloe or saguaro (cactus) have looked pretty good for a long time.

[bdubyah]

I'm still waiting to see those decals that get put on the roads and stuff get updated. Like the old newspaper and the blood splatters. They look rough these days. 

[wolfbain5]

@faatal another feral sense question. I have read that it extends in a 30 block radius. is that along the x and z axis only or also along the y? so basically I am 6 stories up a skyscraper, are zeds on the ground gonna feral sense me since they are technically less than 30 blocks away?

[mikeyscott]

Can someone give me some information all went out for 20 is going to be released

[Laz Man]

5 hours ago, khzmusik said:

 

I'm glad that grass is looking better, but I'm a bit disappointed that a plant overhaul is not coming until A21. At this point the plants are the worst-looking thing in the game. It's especially bad with plants like cotton, where it's really obvious that it's just two flat textures in an X shape.

 

Ironically, plants like aloe or saguaro (cactus) have looked pretty good for a long time.

Patience is a virtue.  Judging from everything shared so far on Twitter, the artists have improved environment art quite a bit already and don't mind grass/plants are a lower priority.

 

Ill take updated gore models, and more deco over updated grass/plants first any day...😅

 

 

[MechanicalLens]

15 minutes ago, mikeyscott said:

Can someone give me some information all went out for 20 is going to be released

 

Hopefully in 3-4 months at least. Maybe by then my new kitten will age beyond the clawing / scratching phase and I'll be able to properly get back into gaming again without her attacking the headphones or the mouse every 5 minutes.

[Blake_]

2 hours ago, wolfbain5 said:

@faatal another feral sense question. I have read that it extends in a 30 block radius. is that along the x and z axis only or also along the y? so basically I am 6 stories up a skyscraper, are zeds on the ground gonna feral sense me since they are technically less than 30 blocks away?

We were told that the feral sense extends in every direction, but not in sleeper volumes. What that means is that you won't enter Dishong tower and instantly wake up 3 floors/stories of Zds. Feral sense would activate only when inside the sleeper volume in that case.

 

So for landscape Zds that don't spawn in sleeper volumes the feral sense would be in all directions all the time when turned on.

 

6 hours ago, faatal said:

Well now it looks a bit better and is tied into draw distance to add more planes when set to the higher distances. Our artists definitely what to make better art for all plants, but that is more like A21.

 

A big part of it was separating the collision mesh from the visual mesh as this change describes:

"Optimized grass collider generation (Always 2 centered, fixed size and axis aligned planes)."

More complicated grass meshes do not need a more complicated collision mesh and their collision meshes should not stray into adjacent blocks like they did.

It does that too for the mesh. On the higher grass distances, you don't have 2 planes in a + pattern. It is 3 is an overlapping triangle.

 

And this: "Increased grass mesh variations to 192 (image, scale, rotation, cross/ring)."

I have a question about crops.

 

Are crops being improved to 3d models in a20?

[stallionsden]

29 minutes ago, mikeyscott said:

Can someone give me some information all went out for 20 is going to be released

Before a21 is released 🙂 I can be certain of that 😄 

[Demonoid74]

Give us a defoliation "bomb" that we can craft in the chemistry bench...that clears an area of grass and bushes! 
Yes yes...I know its a minor thing...but would give more use to the chemistry bench and help us lazy people

clear all the grass around our areas...instead of running around and punching grass for hours and having tens of thousands

of plant fibers! 

 

I really feel like we eventually should get a lot more recipes for chemistry...seems sort of lacking now!

[Burrfly]

11 hours ago, faatal said:

No. We have a while to go yet, but lots of cool work is getting done.

 

I started working on some grass mesh improvements last week, since I have the time and I noticed the code. Hard to unsee code I don't like.

Thanks for your reply
Take your time, guys, it sounds like amazing work so far. I love this game. I'm the most excited for the RWG with the downtown districts and like the actual sidewalks and stuff.

[unholyjoe]

6 hours ago, stallionsden said:

Before a21 is released 🙂 I can be certain of that 😄 

by what percentage are you certain? you never know, we could skip a21.

[Gamida]

2 hours ago, unholyjoe said:

by what percentage are you certain? you never know, we could skip a21.

it's not the same if your text isn't blue.

[Gazz]

73.6 %, I'd say. That's the percentage of statistics on the internet that are just made up so it seems probable.

[faatal]

11 hours ago, wolfbain5 said:

@faatal another feral sense question. I have read that it extends in a 30 block radius. is that along the x and z axis only or also along the y? so basically I am 6 stories up a skyscraper, are zeds on the ground gonna feral sense me since they are technically less than 30 blocks away?

It is in 3d. They can see in the direction their head is and hear all around. Feral Sense just makes the falloff with distance lower, so they see and hear farther.

9 hours ago, Blake_ said:

We were told that the feral sense extends in every direction, but not in sleeper volumes. What that means is that you won't enter Dishong tower and instantly wake up 3 floors/stories of Zds. Feral sense would activate only when inside the sleeper volume in that case.

 

So for landscape Zds that don't spawn in sleeper volumes the feral sense would be in all directions all the time when turned on.

 

I have a question about crops.

 

Are crops being improved to 3d models in a20?

Sleeper volumes don't even spawn zombies until you are near them, then those zombies are passive (can't see or hear) until you are at the edge of the volume, then feral sense matters.

 

Crops have no changes I'm aware of.

[Blake_]

4 hours ago, faatal said:

It is in 3d. They can see in the direction their head is and hear all around. Feral Sense just makes the falloff with distance lower, so they see and hear farther.

Sleeper volumes don't even spawn zombies until you are near them, then those zombies are passive (can't see or hear) until you are at the edge of the volume, then feral sense matters.

Yes, I realized as I said it . Feral sense doesn't "activate" per se. It's just there for enemy entities as a coded property.

I have an inquiry about sleeper volumes. You say that they are passive (blind and deaf) until the player is at the edge. What about their feelings? (lol, I'll explain):

 

What if the player is outside the edge of the volume and sees the sleeper Zd and shoots it? Do they react? I seem to think they do based on experience, but I'm not sure.

So they don't see or hear... but do they register damage? Do they behave like normal once you hit them with a sniper rifle from afar? 

[faatal]

3 hours ago, Blake_ said:

Yes, I realized as I said it . Feral sense doesn't "activate" per se. It's just there for enemy entities as a coded property.

I have an inquiry about sleeper volumes. You say that they are passive (blind and deaf) until the player is at the edge. What about their feelings? (lol, I'll explain):

 

What if the player is outside the edge of the volume and sees the sleeper Zd and shoots it? Do they react? I seem to think they do based on experience, but I'm not sure.

So they don't see or hear... but do they register damage? Do they behave like normal once you hit them with a sniper rifle from afar? 

Damage or now also falling in A20 causes them to wake.