New group looking to play 7 days, some thoughts.

[WarMongerian]

Hi everybody, I got the game on 02-01-2024, and have so far gotten 5 others to play games with me where one of us acts as the game host, and the world starts and stops when we get together to play.  This is the only way we will be playing this game while we learn, and we have some questions.

 

First things first, we only plan to play our (group) characters in a party, on private games that one of us creates and serves as a host, so that no one gets left behind.  We all also have single player characters that we play between group play sessions of course, but our group characters will all be present when the game is active.

 

Why does the program insist on scattering our party about the landside, instead of all in one place like we want?  How hard is it going to be to get a 'party spawn' into our private games?  We need to all be in he same (or very near) spawn points, as we plan to document our journey through the wilderness, all the way to the trader, with many a 'group picture' taken along the way.  This isn't going to be a thing if we all get scattered all around the place, and none of us like this aspect, so how long will it take to get an option for a single (party) spawn option into the game?

 

The reason I ask this question is that, the first time we did a multiplayer private game, both of us started in the same spot, and we all thought that that was just the way the game was set up, but all games since, we all get scattered all around the place.  All of us are rank amarutes, and will only be playing together, and having at least one character over a klick away isn't good if we are looking to all start, if not right on top of each other, then within a couple 100 meters of each other.  We always seem to be having one character that is out of food and drink, just from getting to the trader, with nothing left over for the adventure to even begin.

 

Our shared, common playing times are are most limited resource, and having to play with one or more team members exhausted/injured isn't a good start for us and our quest to play and document our "ongoing voyages" type of playthrough.  How do I submit a pic here on these forums?

 

So, how do we get the problem of random spawning under control?

 

Next, is there a way to have our accounts track our progress, so that we can skip the initial quest chains, and just have out points/gear once we have been through that one time, rather than wasting the first 5 minutes of each characters life repeating such?

 

Also, as we are planning to take many images in-game while playing, can anyone recommend a good image capturing software that won't impact gameplay?

 

Thanks, and very much looking forward to our first adventures in 7 days to die.  I currently, at the time of this posting, have 332.2 hours in game, since buying it one the first.

[Banginurz]

I don't know the answer to your question, but want to make sure I am reading this right.  Since buying this game, you have averaged over 16 hours a day playing?  Not throwing smoke, just wondering if I'm not understanding.

[doughphunghus]

The only way i know is to remove all the spawn points but 1. I think all the spawn points are in the "saved game" folder, in a file called spawning.xml (i believe it was spawn in the name). 
 

there may? also be a teleport player command someone hosting the game can run (to just teleport all players to a location). Ive never used it though. Probably Use it in the debug console (hit FI, then type "dm" (without the quotes) to enter debug mode, then type "help" to list all commands. To exit debug mode, type "dm" again, then hit the "close" button to exit the console.

For image capture: i would just use your computers "screenshot" button (F11 or F12 i think.  Im not sure which one is steams vs the OS). Just hit the button and it takes a screenshot. 
 

alternatively? I have used "OBS" (its free) to stream the game. I believe you can stream it to a file, then maybe you can Edit the stream for video/pics (though i have not done that). You may want to turn down the "streaming quality" as the default in OBS is very high. There are recommendations online as to what to set it to, depending on what quality you want (and the cpu power you want to limit it to, or network bandwidth.)

[meganoth]

The teleport command is available in the console even without using debug mode. And it has a mode where you simply teleport a player to some other player. If not, the "list entities", short "le", command (or something similar) will show you the location of everyone. Careful, the middle number of those coordinates is the elevation, don't mix it up with x and y coordinates.

 

There is no way to get the initial 4 perk points and the trader locations without doing the initial quests. But the initial quests are done in 3 minutes at most if you know what to do. When the rest of the game takes you 40 hours usually that isn't that much of an inconvenience. You always have the option to simply ignore or delete the quests instead

 

 

[Gamida]

10 hours ago, doughphunghus said:

The only way i know is to remove all the spawn points but 1. I think all the spawn points are in the "saved game" folder, in a file called spawning.xml (i believe it was spawn in the name). 
 

there may? also be a teleport player command someone hosting the game can run (to just teleport all players to a location). Ive never used it though. Probably Use it in the debug console (hit FI, then type "dm" (without the quotes) to enter debug mode, then type "help" to list all commands. To exit debug mode, type "dm" again, then hit the "close" button to exit the console.

For image capture: i would just use your computers "screenshot" button (F11 or F12 i think.  Im not sure which one is steams vs the OS). Just hit the button and it takes a screenshot. 
 

alternatively? I have used "OBS" (its free) to stream the game. I believe you can stream it to a file, then maybe you can Edit the stream for video/pics (though i have not done that). You may want to turn down the "streaming quality" as the default in OBS is very high. There are recommendations online as to what to set it to, depending on what quality you want (and the cpu power you want to limit it to, or network bandwidth.)

 

I just checked one of my worlds and this is the folder it was in...

 

C:\Users\HomeUser\AppData\Roaming\7DaysToDie\GeneratedWorlds\GAMEWORLDNAME

 

GAMEWORLDNAME being the name of the world I was in. My example one was Zehayu Territory

 

This was what was in the spawnpoints.xml file.

 

 

I would say that the host could pop in the game. Then close game and find that file with Notepad++ and then delete all the spawn points except the one that he spawned at. I don't think it is that hard to find out which one by checking his position on map ingame first.

Or they could do the teleport thing as mentioned.

 

 

Edited February 21 by Gamida (see edit history)

[Vaeliorin]

8 hours ago, meganoth said:

There is no way to get the initial 4 perk points and the trader locations without doing the initial quests. But the initial quests are done in 3 minutes at most if you know what to do. When the rest of the game takes you 40 hours usually that isn't that much of an inconvenience. You always have the option to simply ignore or delete the quests instead

I believe there are mods that will reduce it down to just clicking a button (or maybe picking up some stone?  I've never used them.)  Personally, I appreciate them because I can never find nests or stone on the ground until I don't need it anymore, since I seem to be blind in the early game for some reason.

[doughphunghus]

I tried to find a "skip the tutorial" mod for a21 and i cannot fond one. I find them for other versions though. Weird. Its a popular request... maybe the a20 one works in a21? Anyway, there is one nexusmods for a20 called "Tutorial Skip". Ive never used it.

[BFT2020]

I thought I did one for someone in the past, but couldn't find it where I store my mods for download.  I probably just told them how to do it on their end.

 

I can whip something up real quick.  I think with a few lines of code I can change the gameevents file to give 4 free skill points on first spawn and set the first quest up to finding the local trader.

[Riamus]

10 hours ago, Gamida said:

 

I just checked one of my worlds and this is the folder it was in...

 

C:\Users\HomeUser\AppData\Roaming\7DaysToDie\GeneratedWorlds\GAMEWORLDNAME

 

GAMEWORLDNAME being the name of the world I was in. My example one was Zehayu Territory

 

This was what was in the spawnpoints.xml file.

 

 

I would say that the host could pop in the game. Then close game and find that file with Notepad++ and then delete all the spawn points except the one that he spawned at. I don't think it is that hard to find out which one by checking his position on map ingame first.

Or they could do the teleport thing as mentioned.

 

 

You don't even have to join the game too so this.  Create a new game, then open the game folder before joining the game and remove all but one spawn point in the spawn points XML file.  Then everyone who joins will be at the spawn point without having to determine which one the host spawned at.  Just wait to join the game (including the host) until after editing the file.

[Roland]

Honestly just skip the quest and forego the four points. They are the easiest and quickest four points to earn just while playing and it can be enjoyable starting from zero and finding the trader on your own without a gps beacon. 
 

I always cancel the starting quest and forego the points and can’t recommend it enough. 

[Vaeliorin]

If you didn't start within viewing distance of the trader most of the time, I might be willing to cancel the find the trader quest, but I'm not giving up my 4 points.  That was one of the nice things about A16, you started off in the middle of nowhere and just picked a direction until you found a road (I usually looked for the highest point around) then followed the road until you found a town.

[WarMongerian]

21 hours ago, Banginurz said:

I don't know the answer to your question, but want to make sure I am reading this right.  Since buying this game, you have averaged over 16 hours a day playing?  Not throwing smoke, just wondering if I'm not understanding.

With today's playing time added in, I'm now up to 344 hours played, since Feb 1st.  Can a screen shot from my computer be uploaded using "insert image from URL" feature, or do I have to find an image hosting site?

 

Yes, in the 21 days I have had this game, I have played 344 hours.

 

So if I am correct, I can create a new game, don't join it (somehow) and then delete all but one initial spawn points?  If I always use the same base map, couldn't I do that before game creation, or is that not a static list?

Edited February 22 by WarMongerian
Made a correction. (see edit history)

[WarMongerian]

I'm pretty knackered out, and need some solid sleep.

 

The roof view of my 2 story greenhouse, or at least what I so far have had the resources to make so far.

Edited February 22 by WarMongerian (see edit history)

[Riamus]

1 hour ago, WarMongerian said:

With today's playing time added in, I'm now up to 344 hours played, since Feb 1st.  Can a screen shot from my computer be uploaded using "insert image from URL" feature, or do I have to find an image hosting site?

 

Yes, in the 21 days I have had this game, I have played 344 hours.

 

So if I am correct, I can create a new game, don't join it (somehow) and then delete all but one initial spawn points?  If I always use the same base map, couldn't I do that before game creation, or is that not a static list?

The file is created when you create a map (not a save).   So create the map, then just stay on the main menu after creating the map (not creating a save for the map), or exit the game, and go to the GeneratedWorlds folder to edit the file.  You and others can then join the game and you'll spawn only at the point or points that are in that file.  If you're always using the same world with new saves, the spawn points will remain the same.  If you create a new map, you'll have to edit the new file.

Edited February 22 by Riamus (see edit history)

[Gamida]

9 hours ago, Riamus said:

You don't even have to join the game too so this.  Create a new game, then open the game folder before joining the game and remove all but one spawn point in the spawn points XML file.  Then everyone who joins will be at the spawn point without having to determine which one the host spawned at.  Just wait to join the game (including the host) until after editing the file.

 

ok. I didn't think the spawn points were created until the game was "officially" started. Good to know.

 

[WarMongerian]

I'm new to this game, but I see a problem that really should be an opportunity instead.  The game designers recognized the need for new players to have a helping hand with some very basic controls for the game, which is a goof thing and I would like to see more of that, to be honest.  The problem is when, experienced players, that have already learned the lessons being taught, have to jump through the hoops with every single character that they create.

 

Folks are talking like the choice is to:

1)  do the quest, and get the 4 skill points, or

2)  opt out of the quest, and not get those 4 points. 

 

My own solution would be to just flag a players account, making all new characters being created there to be set to where they would be after completion of the quest.  Playing time is after all the main concern, as every fan only has so much time to play, so why would we want to either annoy folks with (endlessly) doing the same boring actions at the start of every character's life, or needlessly punishing a player that doesn't want to waste a few precious minutes of irreplaceable playing time in order to get those 4 skill points.  So, just flag a players account, after they have successfully completed the quest line, so that all their new guys and gals created on that account, start off with their 4 points, and let the adventure begin!  Best way to implement this would likely be a check box, where players could simply click on the "opt out" option and get their points, and not have to run through the process.  If they ever wanted to take a refresher course, they could just uncheck that box and do things as currently.

 

If I am understanding things correctly, the way to all spawn in one spot it to make my own map, and then delete all but one spawn point?  If I want to reuse a custom map, is that possible?  And if so, I could then play the map several times, and just start deleting the further out spawn points?

[Riamus]

9 minutes ago, WarMongerian said:

If I am understanding things correctly, the way to all spawn in one spot it to make my own map, and then delete all but one spawn point?  If I want to reuse a custom map, is that possible?  And if so, I could then play the map several times, and just start deleting the further out spawn points?

You can with any map.  Just delete the extra spawn points if you don't want them.  You do this one time per map.  All saves on that map will use the updated spawn points you set.

 

As far as initial quests go, this has been suggested many times and maybe they'll move these initial quests into a tutorial mode before gold.  If not, it really takes only a few minutes to complete, or you can cancel it or use a mod to change it remove it.  So there are at least choices.

[zztong]

4 hours ago, WarMongerian said:

Folks are talking like the choice is to:

1)  do the quest, and get the 4 skill points, or

2)  opt out of the quest, and not get those 4 points.

 

Modlets would provide other options. For instance, I have a modlet that puts everything needed for the starting quests in the starting inventory. I don't mind the intro quests and some of the items are useful, but I don't need to repeat the gathering part anymore.

 

I could just as easily put the resulting starting gear in the starting inventory and give you 4 points.

 

All of that stuff is in game XML and making a modlet to change it is pretty easy. I guess I'm suggesting...

 

3) use a modlet to alter the game start

[BFT2020]

Bottom of my first post, new modlet - removes the starter quests but keeps the 4 free skill points and trader starter quest

 

 

Edited February 22 by BFT2020
Forgot to paste the link (see edit history)

[Banginurz]

23 hours ago, WarMongerian said:

Snip

I didn't mean  it in a bad way.   That's dedication!  I miss being able to play that much lol

[WarMongerian]

4 hours ago, Banginurz said:

I didn't mean  it in a bad way.   That's dedication!  I miss being able to play that much lol

Thanks.   In my group, my own playtime far exceeds my group's joint playties. sp for now. I'll have to post about my solo playthrough.

[Roland]

22 hours ago, WarMongerian said:

Folks are talking like the choice is to:

1)  do the quest, and get the 4 skill points, or

2)  opt out of the quest, and not get those 4 points. 

 

Yes, because that's how all quests in the game work. Do the job and get the reward. Have you tried canceling the quest and just starting from zero points and earning those four points playing how you want and finding the trader on your own? I think it is far superior to doing the quest anyway. 

 

The 4-point headstart and the trader beacon are designed for new players. Experienced players should easily be able to handle the challenge of starting from 0 points and searching for the trader on their own. 

 

As an experienced player why do you feel you need a 4-point headstart and guidance to the trader?

[Roland]

maybe the best solution would be to treat everything at game start as optional new player tools that could be toggled:

 

Starting food & water.  On/off

Starting tutorial. On/off

4-point head start. On/off

First trader beacon. On/off

Debuff Immunity  On/Off

 

people could choose which items they wanted and it wouldn’t be set up like a quest and rewards. 

Edited February 23 by Roland (see edit history)

[Riamus]

2 hours ago, Roland said:

As an experienced player why do you feel you need a 4-point headstart and guidance to the trader?

 

Personally, I don't really enjoy spending a lot of time at low levels, so a faster start is good.  At this point, I often even give myself some extra stuff to start a new game just to get out of that early game period faster.  For me, the game doesn't really start until you're in mid to late game.  Finding the trader is irrelevant to me but the points are something I don't choose to get rid of.

 

2 hours ago, Roland said:

maybe the best solution would be to treat everything at game start as optional new player tools that could be toggled:

 

Starting food & water.  On/off

Starting tutorial. On/off

4-point head start. On/off

First trader beacon. On/off

Debuff Immunity  On/Off

 

people could choose which items they wanted and it wouldn’t be set up like a quest and rewards. 

 

Similarly, it could be that these things change based on difficulty level.  Lowest has everything and then maybe only some at the default difficulty (the second lowest) and then none for the higher difficulty levels.

[theFlu]

2 hours ago, Roland said:

The 4-point headstart and the trader beacon are designed for new players. Experienced players should easily be able to handle the challenge of starting from 0 points and searching for the trader on their own. 

Something is this line of argument is a little off. Mainly "is designed" .. maybe it's designed as something, but for now the implementation fails to deliver a difference between new/experienced. Thus making that claim about its design is outside the scope of things we can experience.

 

Can we play the game without ever spending a skill point? Yes. Not exactly a problem. But as long as the game doesn't actually remove the "newbie-buffs", we have to assume the skill system is designed and balanced With those points, not without them. Not that the balancing is even able to be strict enough to really care about 4 points, at best it'd become a question of how much cheese is ideal.

 

Then again, the starter quest - especially the current streamlined version - takes about a minute, so the "jumping thru the hoops" -claim is rather mundane in itself. It costs you a couple pebbles and splinters, just spam thru it to get going.. consider it testing out the controls for your new session...

Edited February 23 by theFlu (see edit history)