Alpha 21 Dev Diary

[Lostyouthkhat]

1 hour ago, Riamus said:

They said they'd all be craftable but they are not.  You have to use the creative menu to add in most of the new doors.  I don't understand why they won't just let us use them.

Oh thats really disappointing. I was happy to to see all the new doors i can put into my base but now it seems that the only new thing to craft are the double doors. Thats just a very small improvement for base buildings, which mods covered long ago anyways.

[hiloboys]

Just wanted to update my post here about the game running worse than A20. I just realized when launching the game client, I guess my steam beta settings were default set to use Vulkan to render. I changed it to direct x 11 and the game now gives me 25+ fps instead of 8-12.

[Merida_]

Just testing some stuff atm. Not really playing per say. But I have two nit picks for the moment:

 

- When looting birds nest and it goes poof! Why does it sound like I just smashed a wooden fence? The bush harvesting sound would seem more appropriate.

 

- There are many bundles available for different weapons but none for Bows/Crossbows. (Bow + Arrows + Magazines).

 

Thank you and keep up the good work.

[Riamus]

2 hours ago, BFT2020 said:

 

Is this including the doors that have the shape menu option to change it?  I haven't gotten far into my games yet to craft any special doors, I just crafted a wooden door for my base to replace the one that the zombies destroyed.

 

The reason all of them are not yet craftable might be a very simple reason.  Each door or variant door block has to have a recipe to craft.   With all the other things going on, it might not have been a priority to get them all done for Alpha 21 released.  If my count is right, they have 9 recipes for specific doors and 13 recipes for door blocks variant in the current iteration.

 

Yes.  The metal doors are just colors variants.

 

2 hours ago, doughphunghus said:

I don't know for these specifically, but In "the past" a reason (i believe i read this) given for not allowing players to craft "everything" is because some blocks/things are special in some way (like they play sounds, or have a high poly count, etc) and in multiplayer a bad actor/troll could craft 1,000 of them and cause the game issues (like cause FPS drops or other things). So therefore those items were removed from crafting/buying and only accessible from dev mode, or mods if the game owner allowed it. Having a few of the items "per chunk" was ok just not excessive amounts of them, which is why its ok for pois to have them as they have ways to testing each/entire POI for things like total poly counts.

 

then again, maybe they are just brand new new assets and  haven't been fully vetted for "player crafting" yet, so the default is "cannot craft"/buy.

Yeah, I've heard that as well.  I think a server admin can warn and/or ban anyone abusing blocks.  I don't think the game needs to limit blocks just because this might happen in very limited times.

 

For that matter, just put these into a section like dev blocks and have the game settings determine whether or not to enable those so servers can have them disabled if they are having problems with abuse of them.

[HB_H4wk]

I'm playing on a pre-gen map and running around at night I came across this named pre-fab. Anyone else see this?

 

[Old Crow]

I guess Bob fired me.

[NekoPawtato]

I've noticed a couple people having issues with buildings showing up as pink/purple with the fix being to remove "-force-feature-level-10-0" from the launcher options

I did a quick google search and a lot of old troubleshooting articles online tell the user to add this launcher option to fix issues with the game crashing, so while it might have fixed their issues before, it's causing new issues now.

 

Here are some example articles

https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/7-days-to-die-crashing.html

https://appuals.com/7-days-to-die-crash/

https://thedroidguy.com/7-days-to-die-keeps-crashing-1163111

 

I dont know if it's worth posting an announcement/psa about it? Does wiping stuff through the game launcher or verifying files clear this out?

[Exxodous]

I'm not sure if this is a bug or intended but when my repulser mod "fires" in the stun baton it sends not only the Z's flying but also my teammates?  It's actually quite funny and they even seem to do a little breakdance but it is starting to irritate my wife lol.

[ItsRileyNJ]

Any chance we will be able to power the POI lights in game with a Generator or Battery bank? You can buy things lamps from the trader, but they are useless. Also, all the old models of POI lights like the boob lights and sconce lights can't be crafted anymore(Or Powered).  Really limiting to us people who play primarily for building houses and stuff. Also maybe allow us to power POI lights that already exist. Make it so that we can fix flickering lights or dim lights with Electrical parts or Mechanical parts. Just some ideas that would really boost immersion that wouldn't be hard to implement.

[Dtfauss]

38 minutes ago, Exxodous said:

I'm not sure if this is a bug or intended but when my repulser mod "fires" in the stun baton it sends not only the Z's flying but also my teammates?  It's actually quite funny and they even seem to do a little breakdance but it is starting to irritate my wife lol.

Give her the baton and let her have her way with you.

[yamahi1610]

I suppose that loot from car is broken or not suitable for gamestae.

I got tier 6 IronPickaxe and  IronFireaxe from car in 20~30 gamestage without Miner 69er.

[Laz Man]

On 6/19/2023 at 11:25 AM, meilodasreh said:

Yeah the first days are really a struggle now.

On the second start I was thrown into nowhere in a generated world,

only 2 pois in the vicinity (one tier 1 with really nothing useful, and one tier 3 (+desert multiplier) that was waay above what I could handle at that point.

I had to go almost 2km to get to the trader (nothing but forest/desert borderland on the way)

Having arrived there and spending 1st night on a small roofing for a tractor,

I was literally down to 0 water within the 1st quest, and therefore wasn't even able to raise my weak hand to destroy the block where the quest satchel was hidden behind.

 

I didn't die in the end. Just because of pure luck.

 

It didn't feel rewarding when I overcame it.

It felt like unfair and unbalanced, my survival being pure luck. 

You find enough water, good for you...you do not, meh, just die one or two times at first, who cares, that's life in the apocalypse.

 

As someone with (slightly) over a thousand hours in the game, and therefore more or less know exactly how to get things going in the game,

I'm really wondering what a newbie player must get as a first impression of A21.

 

If I was new to the game, I probably would have turned away and say "no thanks, not a game for me".

I know the devs are aiming for a bigger challenge in survival aspects, but I'd say they got it a lil too far.

 

Maybe add one free dew collector in the lower end difficulty settings, to keep things more accessible for a newbie player would help?

 

 

 

 

 

I saw a fix to spawning too far away from the trader get committed recently. If QA isn't already testing it already, they will be in the next build.

 

[Riamus]

2 hours ago, Exxodous said:

I'm not sure if this is a bug or intended but when my repulser mod "fires" in the stun baton it sends not only the Z's flying but also my teammates?  It's actually quite funny and they even seem to do a little breakdance but it is starting to irritate my wife lol.

Yeah, it's a known bug.  Umm... how many times did you do this to your wife?  Once is because you didn't know.  Twice might be an accident.  More starts to become purposeful.  Lol!  

 

2 hours ago, ItsRileyNJ said:

Any chance we will be able to power the POI lights in game with a Generator or Battery bank? You can buy things lamps from the trader, but they are useless. Also, all the old models of POI lights like the boob lights and sconce lights can't be crafted anymore(Or Powered).  Really limiting to us people who play primarily for building houses and stuff. Also maybe allow us to power POI lights that already exist. Make it so that we can fix flickering lights or dim lights with Electrical parts or Mechanical parts. Just some ideas that would really boost immersion that wouldn't be hard to implement.

No, you can't power the POI lights.  They are a different object that doesn't use power.  As far as lamps, it would be nice if they made a version you can craft so you can power it.  It wouldn't be possible to change this easily like you think.  If they make them require power, all POIs would need to have a power source that includes wiring, which they do not have.  That's a lot of work.  And they don't want you to place lights in your base that don't require power for obvious reasons.

 

I agree that they should let us craft (or at least buy) anything that you can find in a POI without needing to use the creative menu.  The reasons given for why that isn't an option are easily addressed by grouping these objects into a category that can be enabled or disabled in the game settings.  But I would not include non-powered lighting in this.  All lighting we use should require power.  But if there's something like a lamp that can be lit in a POI, then it should be possible to make one that can be powered for your base as well.

2 hours ago, yamahi1610 said:

I suppose that loot from car is broken or not suitable for gamestae.

I got tier 6 IronPickaxe and  IronFireaxe from car in 20~30 gamestage without Miner 69er.

In what biome?

[Ralathar44]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:05 PM, Ralathar44 said:

So far in my two runs my workbench was up on day 21 in my completely unspec'd run with no trader quests.  My spec'd run with trader quests is on day 5 and already has 7/10 magazines needed for it.  Prolly on track for a 7 day workbench, 10 at worst.  1 point in advanced engineering, 1 in lock picking (also raises workstation magazine chances!).  This run I've pretty much just been straight looting and doing POIs starting out.  Though I spawned right near a POI with a zombie dog and while I killed it I've been infected for 5 days straight, currently at 42% infection.   FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU  lol.

EDIT: Achieved Workbench on Day 5, but Oh Jesus it got wwwoooorrsssee.  How am I still alive? :D. That is literally the most hp I'm allowed to have through the injuries haha.

s://imgur.com/wcNa

Survived the infection, got my last honey to cure the final bit on day 7.  Ate it.  This apparently summoned a dog pack.  I saw a dog chasing a deer and I laughed instead of instantly running to safety and that's all she wrote lol.  For bonus points I ran to the nearest POI (too late) and there was another @%$#ing dog there waiting near his dog house to see what Hello Fresh Meat had delivered him.

Survived ludicrous odds and 50%+ infection to die to the paw patrol.  Would do again :D.  Literally next POI, scratched by a pig, up to 10% infection again, GD IT lol.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Ralathar44 (see edit history)

[Mungo]

11 hours ago, HB_H4wk said:

I'm playing on a pre-gen map and running around at night I came across this named pre-fab. Anyone else see this?

 

The basement is my very 1st A21 home base. In hindsight, I wish I'd not opened the final door switch considering those gates are like 30k HP.

[Philipp]

I have the feeling, that food / Drinks are no problem since day 1.

 

I find way enough cans / water. 

Sell some junk I find without rly searching for it, do 2 Missions and have always enough money to buy more food / drinks. 

 

So in General, I dont have the feeling that theres a "food Problem" I Need to fix myself within a few days to survive. 

 

Do you experience the Same guys or is It just me? 

 

[ScipioAsmodean]

On 6/13/2023 at 12:07 AM, LostBoy said:

 

It's been reported by many players that it will hang around 8x% for smoothing, but it will eventually finish.

 

Had the same thing happen to me, sat at 84% for a few minutes but did complete (10k map).

 

 

The only problem we have with Alpha 21 is this. So simply waiting is the solution? Is the source of the problem already known? (e.g. high percentage of hills/Mountains?)

[spacepiggio]

32 minutes ago, Philipp said:

I have the feeling, that food / Drinks are no problem since day 1.

 

I find way enough cans / water. 

Sell some junk I find without rly searching for it, do 2 Missions and have always enough money to buy more food / drinks. 

 

So in General, I dont have the feeling that theres a "food Problem" I Need to fix myself within a few days to survive. 

 

Do you experience the Same guys or is It just me? 

 

Yea...it didn't take long for me to figure out water & food updates & I didn't have a struggle with anything but the water filter. You have to buy it & my play style usually ignores the Trader after the beginning quest. I usually play a Nomad survival theme & live off the land mining & scavenging plus you are constantly fixing fortifications for hordes so I don't have time for quests.

I found starting a camp near water to drink out of & I noticed the water towers have water in them again so I look at early game like this now.

@%$#s & Giggles, you can't avoid getting the @%$#s early game until you learn some recipes & get the water filter from the Trader. It's what I like most about the early game & after I get the water going its easy early game to crouch around on a bright early night & hunt chickens & rabbits for collecting the food you will need to start some mines.

I'm really liking this build, really playable & still has that chill up your spine effect going on...stable build coming soon I hope so I can really start playing.

[falloutcloud]

42 minutes ago, Philipp said:

I have the feeling, that food / Drinks are no problem since day 1.

 

I find way enough cans / water. 

Sell some junk I find without rly searching for it, do 2 Missions and have always enough money to buy more food / drinks. 

 

So in General, I dont have the feeling that theres a "food Problem" I Need to fix myself within a few days to survive. 

 

Do you experience the Same guys or is It just me? 

 

If you are allocating your resources towards food & water then yes it will not be an issue. However, it is resource management so you may find you need or want other things. To me this is good gameplay if you have to make hard decisions. If the resources are too abundant then it waters down the experience.

 

For example, the crucible does not unlock until you find 75 magazines. You may find yourself wanting to craft items with steel long before you reach that many. I have taken the 25 steel bars as a quest reward several times at the cost of a reward that would have given me more food or water.

[spacepiggio]

I had a problem finding mechanical parts too but I could have scrapped the engine I found in a cars loot instead of going to the Trader. I opened a lot of working stiffs crates & didn't get anything but electrical.

[Philipp]

1 minute ago, falloutcloud said:

If you are allocating your resources towards food & water then yes it will not be an issue. However, it is resource management so you may find you need or want other things. To me this is good gameplay if you have to make hard decisions. If the resources are too abundant then it waters down the experience.

 

For example, the crucible does not unlock until you find 75 magazines. You may find yourself wanting to craft items with steel long before you reach that many. I have taken the 25 steel bars as a quest reward several times at the cost of a reward that would have given me more food or water.

 

I also dont choose food / water rewards. 

Didnt even take the Filter since there never has been a problem with food etc from day one. 

 

I just do my casual looting and find enough. 

I stell Some stuff that  I find and dont Need to the trader, use the money for the vending machines and still have a lot money left. Besides that (maybe I am lucky) there a Tons of animals running around. 

 

I settled down on a roof in the City near the trader and had 3 deers in one night coming along. 

 

 

 

[zztong]

1 hour ago, Philipp said:

I have the feeling, that food / Drinks are no problem since day 1. I find way enough cans / water.

 

Yes, I think if you can get to a Trader and run a couple of missions then you're well on your way and water scarcity will be alleviated completely once you either have funds to consistently buy drinks from the trader or make a dew collector -- often Day 2. If something delays that then you could end up running a rather difficult hydration debt depending on the map, your play preferences, and some luck.

[Exxodous]

6 hours ago, Riamus said:

Yeah, it's a known bug.  Umm... how many times did you do this to your wife?  Once is because you didn't know.  Twice might be an accident.  More starts to become purposeful.  Lol!  

 

Well...the fact that is pretty funny might have played a factor in how many times it "accidently" happened.....

[retrogamingdev]

On 6/19/2023 at 8:32 PM, falloutcloud said:

 

The Iron Gut perk will decrease the rate your food and hunger go down. The perk has other useful bits such as extended buffs but if you nerf the hunger and thirst you'll dilute the perk and some of the challenge.

Oh yeah, I know you can deal with it - played plenty. Generally a few days into any game I play I am set on food/water (pre A21, that is). So far A21 is no different. BUT, I do think with all the gameplay sliders they give you - one that modifies the consumption rate would be nice. That way you can have a game focused on building/fighting zombies - not so worried about food. Just another customization option I guess. 

22 hours ago, meilodasreh said:

exactly what I'm saying.

An experienced player's (as I may humbly call myself) survival shouldn't really depend on being lucky or not.

 

 

My point is that you had a very bad draw, but in my experience - it generally isn't that bad. So, instead of nerfing the entire game for edge case bad RNG, just accept the fact that occasionally, when you do RWG and then spawn in, you MIGHT have a rough go of it. Basically, it is a random gen survival game - you might once and a while die. Even an experienced survivalist (in real life) may run into rough patches where they can't find what they need. There is a bit of luck in real life too. Are you in the right place at the right time to stumble upon an animal you can hunt. Are you in the right place at the right time where you can find fresh water (in the scenario you are lost in the woods). 

Now, show me this is happening a lot - then I may change my tune. 

Edited June 21, 2023 by retrogamingdev (see edit history)

[meilodasreh]

Well I have to assume you didn't even read through my entire post, but stopped after the first sentence to start argue about it 🤨

Whatever, you have made your point, as I did too.

We have different points of view and different understandings about things, which is also ok.

Nobody has to convince one another, or show anything to prove their point.

It's fine.

And one of the devs already stated that it might be a bug that you are thrown into the middle of a barren nowhere (which seems to happen strangely often)

and it's going to be fixed. This is a good thing.