ideas to make combat a lot more satisfying and fun without doing a complete rework.

[ShadowM60]

I have played 7dtd for about 500 hours, my second most played game. i also have played many other shooter type games like gta4/5, tarkov, doom1/2, Doom 2 modded with PB and brutal mod, ravenfield, untured, cry of fear, fc5, ect. after all of my time playing these games along with my knowledge of real life firearms, I feel that 7dtd is lacking in the combat dept. with all of its other issues aside, I feel that this one can be solved relatively easily, as they have shown that they are capable of making a game with working combat, and implementing new models and animations. I feel that the biggest problem with the combat is its lack of satisfaction and feeling rather weak. i want to start off with the things that would be harder to fix to get them out of the way. the animations are really quick, hard to see, and kinda stiff. a semi-slow smoother or harder animation is more satisfying, like in Doom 2016 where doomguy slams the foregrip on the shotgun back and forward to rack it, or in FC5 where the deputy makes a butter smooth flick of the mag and easily inserts a new mag. a slower animation for reloading or cocking guns could balance them out and incentivize the player to swap to a new gun or melee, as well as be more careful about reloading. the models and textures of most guns looks messy and hard to decern. idk if the devs made their own models or received them or whatnot, so all i am going to say on this is that a simpler cleaner model with key details exposed would make it look better. as well as a contrast between shiny metal and rough gouges in the metal. 

now the stuff that would be the easiest and could make the biggest impact, THE SOUND. the sound of the guns got better the newer they were, but are all still pretty underwhelming. the shotguns are the best and pretty much only need to be a bit louder and with more beef to them. for guns like the M9, which has the worst sound in the game, having a low quality "pew" makes it feel so weak and boring. the gun is supposed to be weak being an early game pistol, but at the least proper sounds make it seem more effective and engaging. a sound like this one provided (https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/9u3t5lBVvG/) with a crack from the supersonic break would make it have some substance to it. same pretty much goes to the rifles. if the devs have interest in this, i can record some sounds at a gun range from a M&P 2.0 ez, a RF-15, and some crappy shotgun that i have not seen the name of. possibly others if the range is busy. I am also sure a lot of gun youtubers or fans of the game would gladly help record sounds to implement. with sounds aside, a slight screen shake where the camera tilts slightly, increasing per the power of the gun could make them feel more powerful, along with a option to disable it if it causes motion sickness. allowing guns to fire faster per click of the mouse would make weaker guns more interactive, and a slower satisfying reload would balance out the gunplay and make reloading more tense and thoughtful. i have some other ideas if this becomes of interest and would love to see some of this, (mostly the sounds) put into the game. for reference look at Sgt Marks Brutal Doom 2 v21 mod. it has very balanced and satisfying gunplay. 

[Melange]

I just want to level up enough so that I can reload quicker, and inflict more firearm damage per level. Craft better bullets too.

 

The gun animations and 'boom' won't keep me alive. The 'boom' is what will bring the other idle zeds to the party. 

 

Accuracy when aiming and firing effective ammo are important to me. The 'oh, that's not how it really looks/works' mantra has its place, but not at my zombie funeral as my flesh is torn from my cadaver by some 'oh, this is how it looks' smiling zeds.

 

OK. Maybe your interpretation has merit, but it would not (apart from a vestige of immersion) affect how I defend myself in the apocalypse.

 

Boom. Boom. Out go the lights.

 

 

 

 

[warmer]

As someone that never uses guns unless it's horde night I don't really see a need to change this, but if I did use them a lot I might have a different opinion.

[ElDudorino]

I guess these might be mildly more satisfying but they don't sound like game-changers to me.

[ShadowM60]

On 12/10/2022 at 5:11 PM, ElDudorino said:

I guess these might be mildly more satisfying but they don't sound like game-changers to me.

 

these are just suggestions to spice up the gunplay and make it more satisfying within the limits of what the devs are willing to do. (not very much)

On 12/6/2022 at 11:06 PM, Melange said:

I just want to level up enough so that I can reload quicker, and inflict more firearm damage per level. Craft better bullets too.

 

The gun animations and 'boom' won't keep me alive. The 'boom' is what will bring the other idle zeds to the party. 

 

Accuracy when aiming and firing effective ammo are important to me. The 'oh, that's not how it really looks/works' mantra has its place, but not at my zombie funeral as my flesh is torn from my cadaver by some 'oh, this is how it looks' smiling zeds.

 

OK. Maybe your interpretation has merit, but it would not (apart from a vestige of immersion) affect how I defend myself in the apocalypse.

 

Boom. Boom. Out go the lights.

 

 

 

 

 

i am currently playing a save at level 150 over gamestage 200 day 43 no deaths and i find that the problem is the opposite. early on it is difficult to fight more than a few zombies, and dogs wolves and bears are a Deathwish. but now that i have steel armor, most of the skill tree unlocked and the m60, i dont get even close to dying. i have the settings on nomad and might turn it up for difficulty sake, but i find that later in the horde nights are the only sort of difficulty that i encounter. reloading only takes a few seconds and i keep a pistol shotgun and rifle with me so i can swap to another easily and have an array of ammo. on horde nights i used barbed wire to slow the zombies down drastically and blade traps to reduce their health. plus a sledgehammer turret to knock them back, set them on fire, and put them back into the barbed wire. so i have plenty of time to reload and the damage is cured by using more bullet and possibly more gun. a level 6 m9 can 4 shot headshot a fat zombie with level 3 gunslinger perk. an m60 does not matter because you just rapid fire. and in early game where reloading shotguns is a problem, i carry multiples. two or three pipe shotguns (did the same when they were blnderbusses) and one or two DB's.

[RantingMonkey]

If you're on level 150 at day 43 you've either turned up your xp, are playing 2 hours days, or likely both. If it feels underwhelming to you it's because you're playing basically on easy mode even on Nomad. Set those back to default. If it's still too easy, turn up the number of zombies on horde night. You can also increase the likelihood of screamers by keeping fires and forges going. When you get a screamer, let her scream a few times, you can easily get overwhelmed when you have 5 screamers and the hordes they bring in. 

There are lots of ways to increase difficulty in the game long before you ever increase the game difficulty itself, starting with not making it easier on yourself in the first place. 

[ShadowM60]

On 12/22/2022 at 5:58 PM, RantingMonkey said:

If you're on level 150 at day 43 you've either turned up your xp, are playing 2 hours days, or likely both. If it feels underwhelming to you it's because you're playing basically on easy mode even on Nomad. Set those back to default. If it's still too easy, turn up the number of zombies on horde night. You can also increase the likelihood of screamers by keeping fires and forges going. When you get a screamer, let her scream a few times, you can easily get overwhelmed when you have 5 screamers and the hordes they bring in. 

There are lots of ways to increase difficulty in the game long before you ever increase the game difficulty itself, starting with not making it easier on yourself in the first place. 

yes i have xp turned up. i have played to day 40 when i first started playing without changing any settings and i still was doing fine.