What do you want the Bandits to be like?

[geengaween]

I'd like them to be insane savages who scream abuse at you before they attack. Give us a justification for shooting them on sight, make them scream that they're going to cut off our @%$#ing head, mount us on a spike, and similar threats. The writing of Trader Rekt already shows that TFP like to insult the player. More of that would be great as it fits the world. There should be no moral ambiguity about shooting bandits. It's them or us.

[NukemDed]

honestly if they take my stuff and there is no option to stop that i will cease playing this game. there are enough a s s h o l e s irl taking my stuff that it does not appeal as a game play mechanic 

Edited August 17, 2021 by NukemDed (see edit history)

[MechanicalLens]

1 hour ago, NukemDed said:

honestly if they take my stuff and there is no option to stop that i will cease playing this game. there are enough a s s h o l e s irl taking my stuff that it does not appeal as a game play mechanic 

 

They'll probably shoot us on sight and send a guy to spawn camp our bedroll, loot our stuff, and then destroy our base with dynamite and rocket launcher ammo.  Nothing to worry about!

 

In all serious though my two biggest fears are that they become so prevalent in the game that the zombies themselves become an afterthought, or we just get a bunch of bandits running in perfect rows with running gates as stiff as planks yelling "mother#@$%#@" over and over again. *Shrug*

[meganoth]

The interesting question will be if their AI will be good enough to launch attacks at your horde base. In that case they would have the advantage of being able to open doors and climb ladders like the player so they would be able to enter a base that can't be easily entered by zombies. Plus better sniping than the cop. If that works, they might even be added to late-game horde nights or only act as a late-game wandering horde

 

At the moment independent NPC movement in the game is not recorded at all. So wandering bandits or a wandering friendly NPC will probably be simulated through spawning exactly like zombies. This will always be possible but they might confine that to snipers, i.e. bandits that don't move, just to make it easier for the KI

 

Since stationary gun man is the easiest and least error prone task I assume their main use would be as guards in bandit camps with the camps being target of high-level quests or the main story in Navezgane.

 

The only problem with that assumption is that a guard usually should be behind a cover. And if that guard doesn't move into a new cover when you go behind its back it would look silly. So TFP may be forced to give them movement AI even if it only is used to jump from cover to cover. Designating static "cover areas" would be possible but in a fully destructive world that can get silly when they try to duck behind a cover that doesn't exist anymore. In that case the bandit AI probably needs a sizable upgrade to the current zombie AI.  A simpler solution would be bandits never going into cover, but I think TFP wants something better than the NPCs they had inactive in the game in A15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2021 by meganoth (see edit history)

[TWORDY]

5 hours ago, NukemDed said:

honestly if they take my stuff and there is no option to stop that i will cease playing this game. there are enough a s s h o l e s irl taking my stuff that it does not appeal as a game play mechanic 

Am I one of them for clarification? Why won`t we openly name everyone at least by the forum nickname 😦 involved. You should speak with someone who`s in charge here directly then if You haven`t attempted already. I`m not for everything what`s being done/implemented in the game. Could You name the stuff and mechanics that is being taken/neglected so far? But I don`t see the reason to bite the hand that provides at some point.

 

My top 10 concerns.

 

I would like the bandits to have a variety of inclusions so nobody is left behind, unmentioned, starting from RGB...T... The range might be from typical savages similar to Mad Max movies and we might end up with private proxy-war militia like banditos. No bloody idea... If I ever see a pink outfit for bandits I uninstall the game or mod it.

 

My only concern with the bandits is their potential 10 000 HP bar. Pre-snapping, aimbotting before even leaning out of cover. Headshotting me across the map just right after I spawn near the bedroll. Having visible signs of dementia, or 5G navigation, charging with fists after me at my position exactly where I was good 10 minutes. The rest with bandits I may survive.

 

Have a wonderfully productive day.

[BFT2020]

5 hours ago, MechanicalLens said:

 

They'll probably shoot us on sight and send a guy to spawn camp our bedroll, loot our stuff, and then destroy our base with dynamite and rocket launcher ammo.  Nothing to worry about!

Don't forget that they will constantly teabag your corpse.

[TWORDY]

13 minutes ago, BFT2020 said:

Don't forget that they will constantly teabag your corpse.

That would be the best thing out of worst to happen.

[Laz Man]

4 hours ago, BFT2020 said:

Don't forget that they will constantly teabag your corpse.

I wouldn't put it past the devs to repurpose the zombie dogpile/corpse eating animation but just offset it a bit and call it teabagging lol....

[Fanatical_Meat]

Guys, guys, guys.

Calm down and get reasonable expectations to avoid disappointment.

Bandits will likely be another horde mechanic. They will likely act similar to zombies maybe a little smarter. They likely will be able to shoot at you. I imagine random bandit hordes attacking your base or maybe attack you while out exploring.

I highly doubt they will be breaking into places and stealing stuff.

I highly doubt they will track you overland great distances

I highly doubt they will be yelling at you with tons of words or sensible diction

they won’t be building stuff or their own bases

There won’t be sniper bandits shooting you from 3000 blocks away

 

Game and Unity just don’t seem up to those tasks. Keep in mind zombie variety had to be minimized just so they have space for the bandits.

 

Stop making up fantasy scenarios on how awesome the bandits will be then complain to the end of time when they don’t live up to your expectations.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Fanatical_Meat (see edit history)

[BFT2020]

14 minutes ago, Fanatical_Meat said:

Stop making up fantasy scenarios on how awesome the bandits will be then complain to the end of time when they don’t live up to your expectations.

Are you new to the forums?  😁

[pApA^LeGBa]

Hopefully they will provide a challenge for me in SP.

 

And for MP i really hope that we have the option to turn them off seperatly so we can play with zombies but no bandits. It would suck to need a mod to remove them while keeping the zombies.

 

Unless they are dumb af and have the shooting skills of storm troopers. Then our builders propably don´t care if we have them in our MP or not.

 

 @TWORDY I guess he is talking about people on PvP servers raiding his base and not about TFP taking away mechanics.

Edited August 17, 2021 by pApA^LeGBa (see edit history)

[MechanicalLens]

30 minutes ago, Fanatical_Meat said:

Guys, guys, guys.

Calm down and get reasonable expectations to avoid disappointment.

Bandits will likely be another horde mechanic. They will likely act similar to zombies maybe a little smarter. They likely will be able to shoot at you. I imagine random bandit hordes attacking your base or maybe attack you while out exploring.

I highly doubt they will be breaking into places and stealing stuff.

I highly doubt they will track you overland great distances

I highly doubt they will be yelling at you with tons of words or sensible diction

they won’t be building stuff or their own bases

There won’t be sniper bandits shooting you from 3000 blocks away

 

Game and Unity just don’t seem up to those tasks. Keep in mind zombie variety had to be minimized just so they have space for the bandits.

 

Stop making up fantasy scenarios on how awesome the bandits will be then complain to the end of time when they don’t live up to your expectations.

 

Hey, come on, let us have our fun. 😜

[TWORDY]

At least we may fantasize a bit. If some bandits might have the same features as a zombie stripper... then I`m all in. Only women as a bandit faction.

 

Ahh shait yeah, Nukem talks about bandits... f&@k sake my bad...

[Roland]

They'll only be cool if they are all always asleep and they stay asleep until I shoot them...

[SnowDog1942]

I want them to be naked and look like Asian babes.

[doughphunghus]

1 hour ago, Fanatical_Meat said:

Bandits will likely be another horde mechanic.

I hope it goes something like this:

- bandit = smarter AI, with capacity to shoot you

-zed = current AI, and some can shoot goo

- animal= attack or run away AI, like today. Vultures can spit goo.

 

which hopefully gives us all

of these mechanics, but we can swap out the skins! Like today, except the bandit AI could be “used” for animals, or zeds too!  Basically you could “reskin” the bandits for zeds or animals, which might be nice for “AI variety”…a zed could act like a bandit, or a bandit an animal (shoot him and he just runs away)

 

and since I’m being reasonable and not attempting to dream: we need bandits to drive up and get out of cars/bikes and attack. Not only super cool and they could “chase” you with the vehicle while you were foot or on your vehicle (obviously) but ….because you can reskin them with mods… as we can today…. [an example)
] you’re being chased by bears driving bicycles. Who don’t just “clumsily hop off while clipping graphics” but who stop, put the kickstand down, and get off the bike like a civilized bear but with a grudge. Or a walking bobcat with an eyepatch, armor, And a shotgun. So , as everyone can see all really all we need is the extended AI support, and the bandit skins can be for a21 or later. I really want the bandits, but I feel the bandit AI is more important to release over trying to get bandit graphics finished. 

oh: and if driving cars/bikes is bad because it leaves cars and bikes around for players to take, the obvious solution is for the bandit AI to be able to parachute in from the sky and home in on you, so the bears/zeds/vultures/chickens/etc will be invading like that too, should this be allowed

 

TFP please do this. You’re our only hope. 

[Darthjake]

I want them to always drop the weapon and ammo type that they are shooting at us with.

 

And when they can drive vehicles we should be able to find and use them.

[warmer]

2 hours ago, Fanatical_Meat said:

they won’t be building stuff or their own bases

There won’t be sniper bandits shooting you from 3000 blocks away

Have you ever played Subsistence?

The enemy AI in that game is pretty aggressive and build bases. Granted they are aim bots, but I think have been toned down a bit. Subsistence is also a 1 man show and TFP have quite a few brains in the pot. I am sure they can figure that bit out. Easiest way to me would be giving bandits prefab bases POI based on game stage that can spawn a given distance away from you out of site. That would be the simple way to do in my opinion. They could code them creating them piece by piece like subsistence does. Either way. It's not a stretch by any means.

[Viktoriusiii]

Well I'm back with some negativity:

If bandits don't have at least SOME amount of base usage and daily routine, I will just flip the sh*t again at TFPs.

Bandits were first teased in A12 I think?
Since then, modders have integrated them weeks after the models have been released.
I haven't played those mods... but if we have to wait like 5-6 years for a feature that is taking modders weeks... it better be worth it.

I am not hating (yet) I get that official integration is harder than just modding...
BUT if they are just zombies with guns, aimlessly wandering around the place with no ryhme or reason... OHHHH you better not integrate them at all!
If that is the best you can do, do the behemoth ziplines and scratch it!

I am still waiting for the "RPG" features that were teased 3-6 alphas ago (honestly, the alphas just blend into oneanother for me)... but to this day it still is not... not even hinted at.
And no, just because you can act like you are a cowboy does not make it an rpg.
I can act like I'm pyro from TF2 in TF2, but it is still just a shooter.

This game is a survival shooter.
RPG elements are interactions with the world. NPCs, story, narrative.

So yeah... if bandits actually give a story, I will be all for them.
If they are just moving loops with guns... or are just at a single premade poi that respawns them like they were zombies...
if they can not interact with the world (repairing stuff, maybe even building stuff), honestly... just scrap them and work on passive npcs.

[ElCabong]

I want them to look like Justin Bieber for when I make headshots using a scope.

[7daystodierocks]

2 hours ago, Roland said:

They'll only be cool if they are all always asleep and they stay asleep until I shoot them...

Mad max style bandits would be nice have to go the whole 9 yards tho on em

[warmer]

58 minutes ago, Viktoriusiii said:

RPG elements are interactions with the world. NPCs, story, narrative.

So yeah... if bandits actually give a story, I will be all for them.

To me what makes a game an RPG is being able to build out your character as you see fit, which enables you to assume the role of your choosing. 7D2D does that for me already.

And as far as bandits go, I would think you'd remember the association with Duke, as these bandits are supposed to be his underlings. Duke being the Negan of 7D2D universe. 

Before we all make assumptions, lets wait to see their offering.

[Roland]

1 hour ago, Viktoriusiii said:

I will just flip the sh*t again at TFPs

 

Oh noes....remember all the repercussions LAST time. Wait....what were the repercussions again...?

 

1 hour ago, Viktoriusiii said:

BUT if they are just zombies with guns, aimlessly wandering around the place with no ryhme or reason... OHHHH you better not integrate them at all!

 

I don't get this stance at all. Something in the way of range combat enemies that have justifiable intelligence is better than nothing. If you end up hating them then you can easily mod them out. But even if they come as basic ammo fodder they will still add something new and many people who are not you will love them. Most likely they will be more on the basic side at first and then get more complex over time-- to which people will flip the @%$# at TFP because  "in Alpha 21 they were predictable and you could use stealth against them 100% of the time but now in Alpha 22 the AI changed and now we have to change our playstyle! Why did TFP have to take away what I liked!?!"

 

"Do it 100% the way I like it or do not do it all for anyone" has got to be the most selfish phrase I hear on the forums. I hear it about other stuff too--not just this.

 

1 hour ago, Viktoriusiii said:

if they can not interact with the world (repairing stuff, maybe even building stuff), honestly... just scrap them and work on passive npcs.

 

What are passive NPCs going to do for the game that will be better than bandits with guns running sentry loops, spawning at certain POIs, and acting like new but basic ranged attack enemies? Don't get me wrong, I would love for bandits to interact with the world and build and repair stuff and make changes to the environment. But it's either that pie in the sky dream, or nothing at all? But then replacing it all with.....passive NPCs is somehow better? 

 

How about we just call a bandit that spawns in a POI and runs around with a gun in some kind of an AI loop-- a passive NPC instead of a bandit. THEN it will be okay...

 

 

Welcome back Vik

Edited August 18, 2021 by Roland (see edit history)

[NukemDed]

let me be clearer 🙂

i work hard in real life and have most of what i earn and work for taken in taxes, interest, rates, fees, commissions, levys etc. then there are the corporates that saturate us and our children with advertising crap to try and get what is left.

 

if there is a mechanic in a game i am playing to enjoy, that takes away what i have spent my precious time and energy to build up  (eg saving up dukes to get the 4x4 accessories to finish off the vehicle) that takes that resource  earned after so much effort away...

 

that is simply not fun

 

@madmole - havent heard from you for a while bro, can you please calm me down

[Ramethzer0]

I'd like to see them roll up 4-6 deep.  They approach player camps/bases with a big white panel caravan.   They empty the contents of these vehicles in the form of about 12-20 zombos of various types and unleash them on the players.   While we are busy dealing with the zombos, they are attacking with a plethora of different weapons both ranged and melee, possibly molotovs.  The zombos do not attack the bandits, only players.

 

It will feel like a really real raid.  But, that's just me.