Version 1.0 (Alpha 22) Dev Diary

[XCOUNTRY]

I’m really hoping we get dynamic sound changes to match what we’re wearing on our feet since we can’t see them.  
 

flip. flop. flip. flop. 

[SylenThunder]

20 minutes ago, Annihilatorza said:

Like the decision to remove burnt forest and now a whole bunch of hours are been burnt to reintroduce it and get it up to scratch again.

Roland can probably correct me on this if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that the intention was always to bring burnt forest back. They just set it aside for the time being so that they could focus on other aspects first.

[Adam the Waster]

1 hour ago, Matt115 said:

Ok so i have alternative which would both shoes and partialy barefoot : just change skin into fiber. I think it's sensible alternative to flip flops

 

This would be realy.... normal. Trust me - after seeing guy with sword, guy in Plague Doc, guy who had only shirts while carry road sign then... i could consider as student 

 

IT'S NOT WORKING THAT WAY ! 😜

 

To be honest - i woudn't mind fiber footwear in foot guard style. I think it would looks realy good : example

 

 

We get it you like feet! Snowdog agrees

 

BTW I hope we get a hunter set of armor like this that will be baller. I want to wear bones and @%$#

8 minutes ago, SylenThunder said:

Roland can probably correct me on this if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that the intention was always to bring burnt forest back. They just set it aside for the time being so that they could focus on other aspects first.

From what I remember.  Faatal said there was a error bring it into random gen.  And it's getting fixed in alpha 22

 

At least I can see My favorite crispy zombie 

Edited February 23 by Adam the Waster (see edit history)

[Matt115]

1 hour ago, Roland said:

 

I like that alternative a lot but I'm also not against flip flops. With the set already completed, I doubt they will take time to redo the footwear since they most likely like the flip flops at least as much as the style you shared.

 

Besides, we know they only redo entire gameplay systems not single items.  

1.Yeah... probably it would take a lot of time unfortunatly - so i undestand that.  let's say how newsstand give good vibes that no heels shoes ( flip flop , crocks, slippers) give me realy bad vibes ( short background - i think nobody like to be forced to doing something + i don't like someone wearing them because many people who were toxic/bad was wearing them). 

 

2. If i went to Madmole with good polish vodka not only you this redesigned but zombie kids, tanks and even zombie guys in fursuit for Snowdog  🤣 it's just Grandpa's awsome Sauce but much more effective 

12 minutes ago, Adam the Waster said:

We get it you like feet! Snowdog agrees

BTW I hope we get a hunter set of armor like this that will be baller. I want to wear bones and @%$#

Nope. it's more... i hate shoes. I had few bad situation with them so i don't like them. So it's not Snowdog style unfortunatly ( unfortunatly because if it was my life would be muuuuuuuch simpler)

[faatal]

37 minutes ago, Annihilatorza said:

With that said I am extremely disappointed that we still won't be getting them this year, it's nearly March and we don't have A22 and it was promised to be a quick update but as usual massive scope creep again. 

 

Like the decision to remove burnt forest and now a whole bunch of hours are been burnt to reintroduce it and get it up to scratch again.

What happened to a quick A22 was what often happens to an alpha. A single large feature ends up taking a long time. The new player models, shaders, hair, animations and outfits was a big undertaking and has caused a lot of bugs. We have had two major programming issues and now the game play programming portions of it are left to Lathan and I to finish. I am currently fixing helmet lights that got screwed up by how equipment objects are built vs events being fired. Player hand/feet IK is broken on vehicles due to using a new Unity IK system, which I need to port our code over to. We have a ways to go.

 

Burnt forest was never removed. The biome was removed from RWG and adding it back only took a few hours and that includes code cleanup, so there is that benefit too.

[Annihilatorza]

Thanks for the feedback Faatal always appreciated it,  would it be possible to explain the two major programming issues that you mentioned?

[XCOUNTRY]

With the new armor are all clothes being removed (I’m thinking of all the new clothing racks/piles/shoe pile containers) or is the loot now cloth scraps with a chance to find armor pieces?

 

From a immersion standpoint I could get behind it if I imagine most of the clothing is unwearable due to rot and moths so you only collect the useable “scraps” to then serve as ingredients for better gear. 

 

I think it would be cool if some of the survivor corpse assets became containers where you would find dukes or lock picks. 

[Riamus]

6 hours ago, Gamida said:

 

Isn't there already a mod to make the helmet look like a cowboy hat or something along those lines? Maybe someone will make a mod that makes the flippy floppy thingys look like hiker boots or something that looks more not flippy floppy.

 

Yeah, there are mods to change helmet/hat to specific hats but not to remove them altogether.  There aren't any other mods to change how clothing/armor looks and I doubt we'll see such in vanilla, though who knows?  A mod could do a variety of different things to hide/remove/change footwear and doing it as that could work.

 

3 hours ago, Ricowan said:

I'm kinda glad bandits are being delayed.  I don't want them in my zombie survival game and I will disable them (if it's an option) or mod them out as soon as a version is released with them in it.

 

 

3 hours ago, beerfly said:

Why is that, just curious ?

It adds another form of survival element that we have deal with for many of us. 

 

I am another who isn't really interested in bandits being added.  Maybe they will be good and I will like to have them in the game.  I won't know until I see them in the game.  But, at least for me, I play this game for the zombies.  If I want to fight people, there are many other games that I would choose before this one.  I think bandits will just be "in the way" to me and not something I enjoy, but we'll see.  I do hope there's an option to disable them, though I doubt it.  There will probably be a mod that does, though.

[FramFramson]

For me, adding bandits is not so much about bandits and new fights per se as it is just adding any NPCs, including neutrals.

 

We have the traders and the airdrops and the White River/Cassadores rivalry and such which clearly establish that there are a fair number of other survivors, but we never see them. Maybe we fight with them, maybe we don't, but not having other humans around is a big giant hole in the game right now.

 

I hope we see a couple idle NPCs in trader compounds, or the occasional visiting survivor NPC. I hope we see random non-bandit NPCs you can interact with, even if it's just minimally. Things like that.

[TWORDY]

I wonder only if the bandit`s corpses can be looted by the player. Are there going to be bandits cruising in vehicles? How about small camps occupied by the bandits in the open spaces with a huge bonfire at the center? How about bandits in random buildings on the outskirts not only in their fortified bases, caves, and bunkers? Bandits could be a game-changer in the early stages of the game, and a challenge. Could bandits raid players' bases after accomplishing certain tasks or getting a reputation in the game? So many questions and no answers 😁

[Matt115]

49 minutes ago, FramFramson said:

For me, adding bandits is not so much about bandits and new fights per se as it is just adding any NPCs, including neutrals.

 

We have the traders and the airdrops and the White River/Cassadores rivalry and such which clearly establish that there are a fair number of other survivors, but we never see them. Maybe we fight with them, maybe we don't, but not having other humans around is a big giant hole in the game right now.

 

I hope we see a couple idle NPCs in trader compounds, or the occasional visiting survivor NPC. I hope we see random non-bandit NPCs you can interact with, even if it's just minimally. Things like that.

I hope nope. 7dtd is just good without more npc, just you vs zombies. That's why i hope bandits will be pretty rare enemies

Edited February 23 by Matt115 (see edit history)

[Riamus]

20 minutes ago, TWORDY said:

I wonder only if the bandit`s corpses can be looted by the player. Are there going to be bandits cruising in vehicles? How about small camps occupied by the bandits in the open spaces with a huge bonfire at the center? How about bandits in random buildings on the outskirts not only in their fortified bases, caves, and bunkers? Bandits could be a game-changer in the early stages of the game, and a challenge. Could bandits raid players' bases after accomplishing certain tasks or getting a reputation in the game? So many questions and no answers 😁

It is unlikely bandits will raid player bases, with a possible exception of on blood moon or another similar new event.  This is because only areas where players are located are loaded, so if you aren't there, they won't be either.

 

Right now, it sounds like bandits will probably be limited to specific POI that include them, such as new outpost or camp POI.  It is possible they will wander, but it doesn't sound like that from the bits of info I have seen.  It wouldn't be random buildings either way because then the POI tiers will change and they aren't likely to want that.  But if a POI has a bandit spawn volume, then they could be in that POI.  Maybe they'll add some to existing POI, or maybe only in new POI.

 

None of this is official and it's only based on info I have seen that isn't complete or confirmed, so keep that in mind.

[Crater Creator]

On 2/21/2024 at 3:57 PM, Matt115 said:

Who knows? maybe it will be like - 30% more crops during harvesting so you will be forced to change for that armor. So you will put it on just for harvesting

 

On 2/22/2024 at 12:56 PM, Matt115 said:

But without crafting it you won't get set bonus. So... pretty force you to craft it

 

4 hours ago, Matt115 said:

(short background - i think nobody like to be forced to doing something + i don't like someone wearing them because many people who were toxic/bad was wearing them). 

That’s three times you’ve said players will be “forced” to wear the shoes, so I’m going to call it out.

 

If I go to a fast food restaurant, they typically have prices resembling this.

Entree: $5

Side: $3

Drink: $2

Combo meal (entree, side, & drink): $9

 

All of the items separately have a combined value of $10, but if you buy them all together it only costs $9. To phrase it a different way, the restaurant gives you 10% off as a ‘set bonus’ if you have all the parts.

 

I usually don’t want a drink. I only want the entree and the side.

 

Do I get the combo meal anyway for the sake of the discount? Do I grumble that the restaurant is forcing me to get the drink, because otherwise I don’t get the set bonus?

 

No. I just don’t get the drink that I don’t want. I pay $8 for the entree + side and I’m happy.

 

You’re free to not like the shoes, and you’ll be free to not wear them. But no one is “forcing” anyone to wear anything (besides the underwear the base model has). The bonus is a player choice and choosing whether to miss out on it is not the same as being forced.

Edited February 23 by Crater Creator
formatting (see edit history)

[Matt115]

5 minutes ago, Crater Creator said:

 

You’re free to not like the shoes, and you’ll be free to not wear them. But no one is “forcing” anyone to wear anything (besides the underwear the base model has). The bonus is a player choice and choosing whether to miss out on it is not the same as being forced.

Ah - this part of comment it was offtopic why i don't like shoes not directly connected with game. I was forced to wearing them that's i don't like them. 

[MechanicalLens]

It's about time. Great to see the yearly tradition is continuing.

 

With the change made to combining clothing/armor into outfits, I'm curious if the Heavy/Light Armor perks will influence their drops, or if they'll be tied to other skills. (Ex. The farming set will be more likely to drop in loot if you've perked in Living Off The Land.)

Edited February 23 by MechanicalLens (see edit history)

[TWORDY]

So, the animal kingdom wasn`t enough with Necro-goat-mancery.

 

Here comes tactical crocks and an all-out feet fetish warfare...

 

Sorry lads, it`s Friday.

[Adam the Waster]

19 hours ago, Adam the Waster said:

My pick would be

 

big horn sheep

Bison 

 

It would be neat too see a Bison farm

 

 

 

I FORGOT HORSES! 

[XCOUNTRY]

On 2/21/2024 at 2:03 PM, Adam the Waster said:

 

AND WERE IS THE NEW CHICKEN 

Hope the chicken is removed and we get a turkey or scaled quail instead. 

[Adam the Waster]

3 hours ago, XCOUNTRY said:

Hope the chicken is removed and we get a turkey or scaled quail instead. 

Same or add both

[NukemDed]

On 2/23/2024 at 10:05 AM, Roland said:

 It’s the absence of a set piece and you’re just not going to convince anyone on the dev team or otherwise to pretend that (set-1) cuts it for the set bonus. 

sorry again - mostly because i am feeling stroppy

set -1 in diablo still gave partial SET bonuses

semantics i know, but i wasted 3 years at university and the only thing that i learnt that was worthwhile was 'higher education' is another term for arguing semantics 

the rest of the world was getting on and doing it

6 hours ago, XCOUNTRY said:

scaled quail 

whazzat? sounds tasty

[Tete1805]

17 hours ago, faatal said:

[...] now the game play programming portions of it are left to Lathan and I to finish. [...]

Can you tell us how many programmers are still working on 7 Days?

[Hells_Janitor]

18 hours ago, Riamus said:

I am another who isn't really interested in bandits being added.  Maybe they will be good and I will like to have them in the game.  I won't know until I see them in the game.  But, at least for me, I play this game for the zombies.  If I want to fight people, there are many other games that I would choose before this one.  I think bandits will just be "in the way" to me and not something I enjoy, but we'll see.  I do hope there's an option to disable them, though I doubt it.  There will probably be a mod that does, though.

 

Yeah, I'm with you on this. Just from reading some of the posts regarding bandits, specifically "story" and "end game", I'm a little concerned that bandits will be integral to the game, AND that we're getting a story and an "endgame".

Concerning, because I don't want "story" and "endgame", especially if it's done similarly to other survival games, where you reach end game, and there's nothing left to do.

 

The thing that keeps me playing this game (for thousands of hours now), is the very fact that it doesn't have an endgame. It's beautifully open-ended, and the endgame becomes "keep playing this map until I'm bored with it".

 

That being said, I do hope lore and backstory are coming; knowing the history of the world we're in would be great.

 

Hopefully, all these concerns are misplaced, and I'll be able to carry on enjoying playing, even with bandits. For now though, I guess I'll just have to "wait and see".

[Arez]

1 hour ago, Hells_Janitor said:

Concerning, because I don't want "story" and "endgame"

I don't know if I necessarily want a progressing story but I do like the idea of lore. And I don't understand why people want an endgame. I've played 3 survival games: this, Conan and Sons of the Forest. It took less than a week to reach the end of Sons of the Forest and I haven't been able to get back into it since. It completely killed the vibe for me. 

 

I don't care if any of this stuff is added, as long as I have the option to remove it if I don't like it.

[Ricowan]

On 2/23/2024 at 8:01 AM, Ricowan said:

I'm kinda glad bandits are being delayed.  I don't want them in my zombie survival game and I will disable them (if it's an option) or mod them out as soon as a version is released with them in it.

 

On 2/23/2024 at 8:08 AM, beerfly said:

Why is that, just curious ?

It adds another form of survival element that we have deal with for many of us. 

 

On 2/23/2024 at 8:14 AM, SylenThunder said:

 

I'm sure a mod will be available to disable them. However they are rather critical to the story of the game, and you won't be able to do the main story questline without them.

 

 

OK, I'll try to keep this short.  

Zombies in this game, for the vast majority, are melee.  Their AI is melee focused (as it should be, cop vomit is stupid).  The code logic for this is fairly simple, and internally consistent with how I feel zombies should behave.
 

Bandits will, as I understand it, be ranged focused.  EVERY game that has ranged NPC enemies have to cheat in order to make them a challenge.  They shoot through terrain and/or objects, often they *see* through terrain and/or objects.  They see you instantly, etc.  I hate them.

Maybe it's possible to make them challenging without resorting to these things, but I'm biased by the last 20 years of games doing me wrong.   

 

I don't care about a story line, especially in a sandbox game.  Background lore is fine, and we don't need bandits to exist for lore to be filled out.

 

Edited February 24 by Ricowan (see edit history)

[Riamus]

3 hours ago, Hells_Janitor said:

 

Yeah, I'm with you on this. Just from reading some of the posts regarding bandits, specifically "story" and "end game", I'm a little concerned that bandits will be integral to the game, AND that we're getting a story and an "endgame".

Concerning, because I don't want "story" and "endgame", especially if it's done similarly to other survival games, where you reach end game, and there's nothing left to do.

 

The thing that keeps me playing this game (for thousands of hours now), is the very fact that it doesn't have an endgame. It's beautifully open-ended, and the endgame becomes "keep playing this map until I'm bored with it".

 

That being said, I do hope lore and backstory are coming; knowing the history of the world we're in would be great.

 

Hopefully, all these concerns are misplaced, and I'll be able to carry on enjoying playing, even with bandits. For now though, I guess I'll just have to "wait and see".

Unless I am mistaken, the story will most likely be limited to Navesgane, though you might get some lore bits (like that starter quest note we have now) in other maps.  This is actually a good thing because any story they come up with, no matter how interesting, will be boring after the first game or two and this game is intended to be replayed many, many times.  I think the same will be true for any kind of "end game" they have.  It'll be tied to the story, which is most likely only in Navesgane, and it will not really end the game but just end the story line.  So I wouldn't worry too much about that.  Besides, it will probably be modded out pretty quickly if it's anywhere other than Navesgane.