A20 Developer Diary Discussions

[pregnable]

37 minutes ago, Jost Amman said:

I actually agree on Charismatic Nature, I posted something along the lines a couple of months back IIRC.

My idea, at the time, was to use it also to help with animal taming (yes, it was still a possibility back then), so it would make sense and be used both in SP and MP.

 

But that's all water under the bridge now.

 

What did you think about my idea of having the last rank extend your melee range?  I can not see it objectively because it would fit my play style too well, heh. 

 

Or did you have any other ideas?  I figure that whatever it is it should only benefit the player on the last rank... and that it should be something interesting, like parkour or something. 

 

Animal friend would be cool, but no way that would work, heh. 

[Jost Amman]

3 minutes ago, pregnable said:

What did you think about my idea of having the last rank extend your melee range?

Frankly, I don't see the logic behind it. 

[pregnable]

2 minutes ago, Jost Amman said:

Frankly, I don't see the logic behind it. 

 

Well it was kinda like how the shades used to make you cooler, and reduced heat, heh. 

 

I think there might still be a few things like that in the game. 

 

The extended range would be be based on you being charismatic and being able to reach people, as in communicating or reasoning, but apply it directly, as being so charismatic that you can reach people better intellectually and physically, heh. 

[wolfbain5]

well, not really your place to questions others either, but if you must know, I am in the group that does the CP pack. I am trying to stream line lag and such. server zombie count for dedi vs coop, range to trigger zombie population, texture streaming and the like all contribute. so, If I know the range, I can better tweak the prefabs for smoother game play for the many that use it. as it is zeds stay in memory for a certain amount of time after triggering them. overload that and you get wonky zed spawns  and empty volumes that spawn after you enter if not done right.

Edited March 5, 2021 by wolfbain5 (see edit history)

[Jost Amman]

57 minutes ago, wolfbain5 said:

well, not really your place to questions others either, but if you must know, I am in the group that does the CP pack. I am trying to stream line lag and such. server zombie count for dedi vs coop, range to trigger zombie population, texture streaming and the like all contribute. so, If I know the range, I can better tweak the prefabs for smoother game play for the many that use it. as it is zeds stay in memory for a certain amount of time after triggering them. overload that and you get wonky zed spawns  and empty volumes that spawn after you enter if not done right.

I was talking more in general, I just picked your question as an example... but I see you're actually more "deserving" of an answer than most other people, as your purpose is not of exploiting the game or just idle chatter, but make the game better for others. 

[wolfbain5]

6 minutes ago, Jost Amman said:

I was talking more in general, I just picked your question as an example... but I see you're actually more "deserving" of an answer than most other people, as your purpose is not of exploiting the game or just idle chatter, but make the game better for others. 

ah, when I ask for official, I just mean I am asking for those who dont know to not post guesses and cloud up the answer. TFP are adults who can decide for themselves whether or not they will answer. sometimes a fanboi will get in my face thinking they are defending against an attack when it is merely an honest question.

[uncle.heavy]

4 hours ago, pregnable said:

 I can not see it objectively because it would fit my play style too well, heh. 

Well, who can?

Alright, I am gonna fall for that trap.

Almost exclusively playing MP for the last year and to be honest, somebody pulling a bard instead of getting his active contribution in order is not sitting well with me.

There is a reason why, contrary to tabletop, bards and their like in video games almost  always end up with some completely out-of-role, end-game martial skills that make them OP as hell on their own because otherwise noone would be willing to have them join in the first place.

Raids of multiple dozens of characters notwithstanding. 

I honestly do not think the world urgently needs another ham-fisted attempt at incorporating this model where it does not easily fit - and then making the same mistakes again.

CN is a niche skill because it is absolutely harmless and borderline useless, apt for "the one that always slows the group down anyway". That's an OK niche; why make lazyness a virtue? 

 

I am all for support characters that excel nowhere but, working twice as hard as others, are able to achieve 80% of the efficiency of experts in several fields.  

But the part of the player working twice as hard, then is not optional. Which I do not propose because I have a queer understanding of justness but I consider it an actual part of the fun in playing these characters. 

 

Sorry, I had to vent here. Disclaimer: my opinion and all, not necessarily shared by my government or medical institution.

 

The perk is a must for every self-respecting group enacting Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, though. 🙂

Edited March 6, 2021 by uncle.heavy
Was not long enough (see edit history)

[SnowDog1942]

2 hours ago, wolfbain5 said:

 sometimes a fanboi will get in my face thinking they are defending against an attack when it is merely an honest question.

 WTF MAN!!!!  

[wolfbain5]

2 hours ago, SnowDog1942 said:

 WTF MAN!!!!  

your fanboi'ism isn't what you try to shove in people's face... regardless of gender

[Jost Amman]

@faatal Someone posted on Steam this short video claiming that by changing a couple values in the Windows Registry they can solve the "FPS drops" some people have while playing the game. Since I'm no expert, I'd like to know if this makes any sense to you and also maybe it can help you understand some other way (if it works) to crank up performance even more. Thanks (it's just 5 minutes)

Spoiler

 

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Jost Amman (see edit history)

[Naz]

1 hour ago, Jost Amman said:

@faatal Someone posted on Steam this short video claiming that by changing a couple values in the Windows Registry they can solve the "FPS drops" some people have while playing the game. Since I'm no expert, I'd like to know if this makes any sense to you and also maybe it can help you understand some other way (if it works) to crank up performance even more. Thanks (it's just 5 minutes)

  Hide contents

 

 

 

Game dvr is windows 10 built in screen recorder for recording video of your gameplay. If it's actively recording during gameplay it could lower performance.

 

However I think by default it only records if you press the record hotkey. Also you can turn it off in Windows setting, no need to mess with the regestery. 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Naz (see edit history)

[Xtrakicking]

18 hours ago, Moldy Bread said:

Will we ever see the return of the terrifying hub cities? I miss the scary and oppressive atmosphere. I feel like these could be like end-zones.

They were the best. That's where you had to go if you wanted the good loot, but you always had to be prepared, since you couldn't just clear them out. Miss them.

[Guppys Fur]

1 hour ago, Xtrakicking said:

They were the best. That's where you had to go if you wanted the good loot, but you always had to be prepared, since you couldn't just clear them out. Miss them.

 

i think Madmoles mentioned Wasteland overhaul will come close. Places/Cities there will have a higher gamestage and with Gold´s optimisation, we might have more walking/Roaming Zombies.

They do work on walking sleepers for example wich might be a step towards this.

[Thecolours]

Any plans to overhaul the non trader missions?  Maybe, make them a little bit harder but also buff their reward.  

[Jost Amman]

2 hours ago, Guppys Fur said:

i think Madmoles

Hmm, so the cloning experiment continues... 

[MechanicalLens]

14 minutes ago, Jost Amman said:

Hmm, so the cloning experiment continues... 

 

Further development is needed. The clones' lifespan is limited to a few weeks.

 

[Xtrakicking]

4 hours ago, Guppys Fur said:

 

i think Madmoles mentioned Wasteland overhaul will come close. Places/Cities there will have a higher gamestage and with Gold´s optimisation, we might have more walking/Roaming Zombies.

They do work on walking sleepers for example wich might be a step towards this.

I do pray you're right.

[Jost Amman]

@faatal Sorry for reporting stuff on a Saturday! But someone on Steam just posted a video that shows one instance where the AI is broken. Maybe by watching this short video you may be able to understand what's happening. Thanks!

Spoiler

 

 

He himself said he recorded this as "rant" while playing, so don't mind the cursing lol 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Jost Amman (see edit history)

[Blake_]

53 minutes ago, Jost Amman said:

@faatal Sorry for reporting stuff on a Saturday! But someone on Steam just posted a video that shows one instance where the AI is broken. Maybe by watching this short video you may be able to understand what's happening. Thanks!

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

He himself said he recorded this as "rant" while playing, so don't mind the cursing lol 

I believe faatal is already aware of this issue.

 

It's not that they don't notice the player, as a matter of fact they do as you can see towards the end and with a few of them at the start of the video.

The problem here is that they update their pathing/behaviour too slowly and they are following the general direction that they took on spawn and therefore they won't disengage from the incorrect behaviour even after a few shots.

 

For performance reasons they update in groups and slowly, so these things can happen not only on horde night, but with also with a single Zd that saw you while you were inside a building and you go outside to face him and he is still hitting the wall while you're sniffing his hair.

 

This is one of those issues that can make the game pretty boring pretty fast in some situations. Faatal clones are on the way to be delivered, so no problem here.

[JCrook1028]

23 hours ago, Old Garyman said:

Is anything like this planned for Alpha20?

You can already do that in A19 vanilla as well. So glad Subquake finally got around to including it also.

23 hours ago, Old Garyman said:

Is anything like this planned for Alpha20?

You can already do that in A19 vanilla as well. So glad Subquake finally got around to including it also.

[JCrook1028]

1 hour ago, Jost Amman said:

@faatal Sorry for reporting stuff on a Saturday! But someone on Steam just posted a video that shows one instance where the AI is broken. Maybe by watching this short video you may be able to understand what's happening. Thanks!

  Hide contents

 

 

He himself said he recorded this as "rant" while playing, so don't mind the cursing lol 

Lmao. They dove give a f about me.... as they start pounding on his face. They are hitting the structure he is on just as much as the wall. When they can't get to you they will hit anything in sight. This guy has no clue what he's talking about.

[MechanicalLens]

On 3/2/2021 at 6:31 PM, Roland said:

 

A21 at the soonest.

 

So about 5 years. Gotcha.

[meganoth]

25 minutes ago, JCrook1028 said:

Lmao. They dove give a f about me.... as they start pounding on his face. They are hitting the structure he is on just as much as the wall. When they can't get to you they will hit anything in sight. This guy has no clue what he's talking about.

 

Exactly. The behaviour is as expected (they hit a random block if they can't reach you).

 

On the other hand it could hint at a possible improvement to the AI to make it look more "intelligent". If Z wants to hit a block it should prefer blocks nearer to the player.

 

[MechanicalLens]

2 minutes ago, meganoth said:

 

Exactly. The behaviour is as expected (they hit a random block if they can't reach you).

 

On the other hand it could hint at a possible improvement to the AI to make it look more "intelligent". If Z wants to hit a block it should prefer blocks nearer to the player.

 

 

Then all the player would have to do is move from one side of their base to the other. Technically speaking though, this is already achievable - have multiple bases connected by bridges.

[meganoth]

1 minute ago, MechanicalLens said:

 

Then all the player would have to do is move from one side of their base to the other. Technically speaking though, this is already achievable - have multiple bases connected by bridges.

Zombies don't need to change targets every few seconds. Their chances to destroy your structure increase anyway if they continue to hit blocks until destroyed (and only retarget if they actually have a path to you.

 

If you have more real estate than the zombies can destroy in one horde night you haven't anything to fear anyway.