Alpha 21 Dev Diary

[Code6]

On 3/20/2023 at 10:49 PM, Alloy1 said:

 

The fact that they made sure to include the names of their existing candy and food items is a major attention-to-detail +1. Absolutely love it, I applaud the Fun Pimps for that small but, imo, significant thing.

 

I think it should appear empty or nearly empty.  I've never seen an in-game vending machine with that many available items.

The current vending machines hide the contents and I have to access it to see what happens to be inside.  This makes sense given the changing inventory.

The static picture of so many goodies makes me want to smash through the glass with my stone axe and take everything.

 

[meganoth]

1 hour ago, Code6 said:

 

I think it should appear empty or nearly empty.  I've never seen an in-game vending machine with that many available items.

The current vending machines hide the contents and I have to access it to see what happens to be inside.  This makes sense given the changing inventory.

The static picture of so many goodies makes me want to smash through the glass with my stone axe and take everything.

 

 

Please do smash. And show us a video how that worked out 😁

[Kyoji]

On 3/22/2023 at 11:15 AM, Guppycur said:

Really?  @%$#ty art isn't considered poor quality?  Because I've seen what, almost a dozen art changes to the same items since I've begun playing the game, all in the name of "quality".

I personally do not care about the buttons on the vending machine. Also, I don't think the buttons /=/ poor graphics. I would rather the art asset developer work on new art assets or updating outdated assets than working on minimalistic things such as button placement/arrangement.

 

It's ok to solicit such requests, but I think others are also correct to point out that there are better projects that could be worked on such as replacing all of the voxel objects such as cranes, tractors, etc with actual 3D models (as they have been).

Edited March 24, 2023 by Kyoji (see edit history)

[ShellHead]

I’m looking forward to the new crafting system, it looks like a good blend of the Learn by Doing and Looted Schematic systems. Really curious to see how the perks are going to be rebalanced now that the crafting aspects are getting stripped out.

[Roland]

3 hours ago, meganoth said:

 

Please do smash. And show us a video how that worked out 😁

 

As long as he uses a wrench it works perfectly fine.

[Jost Amman]

2 hours ago, Roland said:

As long as he uses a wrench it works perfectly fine.

Are you talking from experience? ...  

[retrogamingdev]

Vending machine looks cool as heck! Love seeing new stuff. Minor gripe about it may be that it looks super stocked with goodies, does that visual change at all based on what is actually available?

[Riamus]

19 hours ago, Kyoji said:

I personally do not care about the buttons on the vending machine. Also, I don't think the buttons /=/ poor graphics. I would rather the art asset developer work on new art assets or updating outdated assets than working on minimalistic things such as button placement/arrangement.

 

It's ok to solicit such requests, but I think others are also correct to point out that there are better projects that could be worked on such as replacing all of the voxel objects such as cranes, tractors, etc with actual 3D models (as they have been).

Although true, mistakes shouldn't be ignored and something like this probably takes 15 minutes at most to fix.  If it would take a long time, then I would agree to just forget it for now and work on other things, but since it is just changing numbers or perhaps duplicating two buttons, it should be fixed.

[adny]

I survived myocardial infarction!
I wonder if I'll live to see Alpha 21!
:)))

Edited March 24, 2023 by adny (see edit history)

[SnowDog1942]

39 minutes ago, adny said:

I survived myocardial infarction!
I wonder if I'll live to see Alpha 21!
:)))

Glad you survived!

 

Im 43 and in perfect health as far as i know.  I also wonder if ill live to see it!!  

[Roland]

7 hours ago, adny said:

I survived myocardial infarction!
I wonder if I'll live to see Alpha 21!
:)))

 

You will if you start laying off the Sham!

[ShellHead]

So have we seen the retooled spear perk yet? I’m really curious how TFP are going to bring it in line with the other melee perks now that the throw has been axed

[Nimeni]

I have not posted here in while, so here we go.

I m no sure if it was asked before ( i m not gonna read 200+ pages), Will this be the biggest alpha so far?  I mean this alpha is 3 months overdo (so far), the usual releases was around Christmas, and no, i m not gonna ask when its out...( When it s done!)

[rateds2k]

58 minutes ago, Nimeni said:

I have not posted here in while, so here we go.

I m no sure if it was asked before ( i m not gonna read 200+ pages), Will this be the biggest alpha so far?  I mean this alpha is 3 months overdo (so far), the usual releases was around Christmas, and no, i m not gonna ask when its out...( When it s done!)

I don't believe that there was a promise date?  How can it be three month overdue?

[Jost Amman]

1 hour ago, Nimeni said:

I have not posted here in while, so here we go.

I m no sure if it was asked before ( i m not gonna read 200+ pages), Will this be the biggest alpha so far?  I mean this alpha is 3 months overdo (so far), the usual releases was around Christmas, and no, i m not gonna ask when its out...( When it s done!)

We don't have enough details to know if this will be the biggest alpha yet.

 

From my (not professional) understanding, the more they get near the release of 1.0, the more stuff they have to fix, check and rebalance when they make ANY change. So, my educated guess is that it's taking more time because they need to be more careful with each change they make and test if it hasn't broken something else.

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Jost Amman (see edit history)

[meganoth]

1 hour ago, Jost Amman said:

We don't have enough details to know if this will be the biggest alpha yet.

 

From my (not professional) understanding, the more they get near the release of 1.0, the more stuff they have to fix, check and rebalance when they make ANY change. So, my educated guess is that it's taking more time because they need to be more careful with each change they make and test if it hasn't broken something else.

 

 

It is similar to building a galley of a specific size for a ship: It is just the time to build one when you start out, but if you try to insert a galley once the ship is almost finished you have a lot more work to do. From removing all the stuff of the old galley to putting every part of the new galley at the right place. And it is even more work when the size or location of the new galley is different

 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by meganoth (see edit history)

[Nimeni]

20 minutes ago, meganoth said:

 

It is similar to building a galley of a specific size for a ship: It is just the time to build one when you start out, but if you try to insert a galley once the ship is almost finished you have a lot more work to do. From removing all the stuff of the old galley to putting every part of the new galley at the right place. And it is even more work when the size or location of the new galley is different

 

 

So basically, its a big alpha coming up. Nice!

[meganoth]

29 minutes ago, Nimeni said:

So basically, its a big alpha coming up. Nice!

 

Not what I was trying to convey. But I would agree that it is a big alpha, like all the later alphas have been.

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by meganoth (see edit history)

[Melange]

Not being a sailor, though I have sailed on some decent-sized vessels, I'm not onboard with the galley analogy as a model for 7DTD.  IRL, if one wishes to cram 8kg of new galley into a 5kg compartment after the fact, then step back and realise that it ain't gonna happen without annoying the cooks. Or else tear into the hull at the expense of some other part of the ship.  TFP are not constrained like this. Lest they have now determined that the ship isn't as seaworthy as envisioned, leave the galley be, paint the hull and sail on. Maybe they need a bigger boat...🦈

 

 

[Jost Amman]

4 hours ago, meganoth said:

It is similar to building a galley of a specific size for a ship: It is just the time to build one when you start out, but if you try to insert a galley once the ship is almost finished you have a lot more work to do. From removing all the stuff of the old galley to putting every part of the new galley at the right place. And it is even more work when the size or location of the new galley is different

Ok, now I'm confused... thanks!  

[meganoth]

3 hours ago, Melange said:

Not being a sailor, though I have sailed on some decent-sized vessels, I'm not onboard with the galley analogy as a model for 7DTD.  IRL, if one wishes to cram 8kg of new galley into a 5kg compartment after the fact, then step back and realise that it ain't gonna happen without annoying the cooks. Or else tear into the hull at the expense of some other part of the ship.  TFP are not constrained like this. Lest they have now determined that the ship isn't as seaworthy as envisioned, leave the galley be, paint the hull and sail on. Maybe they need a bigger boat...🦈

 

 

 

Which cooks are already on an unfinished ship on the docks?

 

Yes, changing the galley around is much more of a task than changing anything in software. But similarities remain, changing something in software often makes adaptations to surrounding structures necessary and inserting code isn't as easy as starting with that code from the beginning would have been. It costs more time the more the rest of the code already is done.

 

In a vessel you simply wouldn't do most of the changes because of the costs, the magnitude is certainly different. Changing around plans after starting the work is almost never done. But if it were done you would need more time replacing a galley with another one than building that galley from the start.

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by meganoth (see edit history)

[Old Crow]

45 minutes ago, meganoth said:

 

Which cooks are already on an unfinished ship on the docks?

 

Yes, changing the galley around is much more of a task than changing anything in software. But similarities remain, changing something in software often makes adaptations to surrounding structures necessary and inserting code isn't as easy as starting with that code from the beginning would have been. It costs more time the more the rest of the code already is done.

 

In a vessel you simply wouldn't do most of the changes because of the costs, the magnitude is certainly different. Changing around plans after starting the work is almost never done. But if it were done you would need more time replacing a galley with another one than building that galley from the start.

 

 

 

 

Boats confirmed for A21! XD

Just kidding. But it would be cool to see some more derelict/wrecked boats in the game as environment, beyond the little fishing boats Navezgane has at the big lake near Trader Joel.

[Melange]

15 minutes ago, meganoth said:

Which cooks are already on an unfinished ship on the docks?

Aye, Cap'n. 'tis a minor oversight on me part, since we're comparing an unfinished non-floated vessel with a project that's been riding the waves of Steam for quite a few voyages (alphas) now. No cooks then...

 

So, intended humor aside, are you suggesting that TFP has kind of coded themselves into a corner, and is having to rewrite a vast part of the game logic to satisfy a new envisioned direction for the game?  Have TFP changed the game engine? Arrgh!  I mean, A17 was a kick in the jewels, and it was expressed as such by many players. I didn't play again until A18 was released. 

 

It may not be perfect, but A20 isn't really broken, IMO. Apparently it seems TFP thinks otherwise. I truly hope that A21 is going to be worth the major overhaul they're working on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[meganoth]

2 hours ago, Melange said:

Aye, Cap'n. 'tis a minor oversight on me part, since we're comparing an unfinished non-floated vessel with a project that's been riding the waves of Steam for quite a few voyages (alphas) now. No cooks then...

 

So, intended humor aside, are you suggesting that TFP has kind of coded themselves into a corner, and is having to rewrite a vast part of the game logic to satisfy a new envisioned direction for the game?  Have TFP changed the game engine? Arrgh!  I mean, A17 was a kick in the jewels, and it was expressed as such by many players. I didn't play again until A18 was released. 

 

It may not be perfect, but A20 isn't really broken, IMO. Apparently it seems TFP thinks otherwise. I truly hope that A21 is going to be worth the major overhaul they're working on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was trying to convey a simple fact of programming to a non-coder.

 

I was suggesting that the bigger a project gets the more time you need to add or change a part (of the same size).

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by meganoth (see edit history)

[ParadiseLostUK]

My guess is that the reason this update is taking longer than a lot of previous alphas is that they're getting the code ship shape for the console release.  Whether that's also why the announced features for a21 seems a little light remains to be seen (not that I'm complaining, I'm looking forward to the new stuff).  All the same to me though, got plenty of other games to play in the meantime - I'll just make time for a21 when it does arrive.