New group looking to play 7 days, some thoughts.

[WarMongerian]

3 hours ago, meganoth said:

 

Assume that 99 of the 100 ideas you get have already been posted on this forum in its 10 years of existence. There is limited storage because it makes it a choice what to keep, what to scrap and what to drop. Most survival games have this limitiation implemented. Growing storage through backpacks was as well suggested hundreds of times and the developers decided instead to make part of the storage still available but it hinders you through costing stamina.

 

And TFP has made great effort to make their game very modding-friendly (they have been starting out as modders themselves), why should they be spooked out by people playing the game with mods?

 

 

 

Ok, I'll assume that. 

I know this game has been around for quite some time, but for me there is still undiscovered areas on the map and undiscovered game content to experience for the very first time.  Given also that the few folks I know that played this game back in the day, and all of them agree that the game has changed over the years from what it once was to what is has become today, and what it will become in the future, are you really saying that new players/customers should not come on these forums and enthusiastically share their ideas for what they (rightly or wrongly) think will make this game even better than it already is?  That would be disappointing.

 

On the matter of encumbrance and storage,  I really like the current mechanic where I can choose to overload my little digital dude, and suffer hidouse mobility restrictions, or I can spend a handful of points and fully unlock all 45 of my carrying capacity.  What I don't like is that, as my character becomes more and more powerful (thus being actually able to survive more and tougher enemies), I gain no additional carrying capacity, nor is there any way to gain such, (speaking only of the characters backpack, mind you).  Personally, I see this as something worth calling out to the dev's, as they made a system for low levels to have something to fool around with, going so far as to add in items to the game specifically to allow more unencumbered carrying capacity, (item mods or spending skill points).  This tells me that the low end of this issue is/has been looked at, but what about at the high end, where the more capable character cannot carry anymore than a low level one could do, even though they can kill more zombies, and collect more loot as a result?  The game allows for infinite storage when you bring your loot back to base, but no scaling up of carrying capacity to match a characters growing capacity to loot.

 

Now enter the realm of the mods, where a first time player can start their adventures and carry (encumbered) up to 160 spaces in their stash.

 

I think something needs be done for the folks that play without mods/cheats, and think a discussion about how this could be implemented for those that stick around in basic (unmodded) 7dtd past level 100 would be a good (and entertaining) subject.

 

OTOH, if such is verboten, say so and I'll drop it like a hot potato. 

Edited April 7 by WarMongerian (see edit history)

[Laz Man]

2 hours ago, WarMongerian said:

I know this game has been around for quite some time, but for me there is still undiscovered areas on the map and undiscovered game content to experience for the very first time.  Given also that the few folks I know that played this game back in the day, and all of them agree that the game has changed over the years from what it once was to what is has become today, and what it will become in the future, are you really saying that new players/customers should not come on these forums and enthusiastically share their ideas for what they (rightly or wrongly) think will make this game even better than it already is?  That would be disappointing.

 

The game has been around for a long time but we are always interested to hear thoughts and ideas from players, especially new ones.  It is one reason why we have a pimp dreams section on the forums so players can post things they would like to see in the future.  Although we are at the tail end of adding features for 7D2D, doesn't mean we won't consider them for future content (e.g. DLC, future games, etc.).

 

Edit:  Thank you for posting your ongoing experience.  Will share with others on the team.

Edited April 7 by Laz Man (see edit history)

[Riamus]

12 hours ago, WarMongerian said:

Ok, I'll assume that. 

I know this game has been around for quite some time, but for me there is still undiscovered areas on the map and undiscovered game content to experience for the very first time.  Given also that the few folks I know that played this game back in the day, and all of them agree that the game has changed over the years from what it once was to what is has become today, and what it will become in the future, are you really saying that new players/customers should not come on these forums and enthusiastically share their ideas for what they (rightly or wrongly) think will make this game even better than it already is?  That would be disappointing.

 

On the matter of encumbrance and storage,  I really like the current mechanic where I can choose to overload my little digital dude, and suffer hidouse mobility restrictions, or I can spend a handful of points and fully unlock all 45 of my carrying capacity.  What I don't like is that, as my character becomes more and more powerful (thus being actually able to survive more and tougher enemies), I gain no additional carrying capacity, nor is there any way to gain such, (speaking only of the characters backpack, mind you).  Personally, I see this as something worth calling out to the dev's, as they made a system for low levels to have something to fool around with, going so far as to add in items to the game specifically to allow more unencumbered carrying capacity, (item mods or spending skill points).  This tells me that the low end of this issue is/has been looked at, but what about at the high end, where the more capable character cannot carry anymore than a low level one could do, even though they can kill more zombies, and collect more loot as a result?  The game allows for infinite storage when you bring your loot back to base, but no scaling up of carrying capacity to match a characters growing capacity to loot.

 

Now enter the realm of the mods, where a first time player can start their adventures and carry (encumbered) up to 160 spaces in their stash.

 

I think something needs be done for the folks that play without mods/cheats, and think a discussion about how this could be implemented for those that stick around in basic (unmodded) 7dtd past level 100 would be a good (and entertaining) subject.

 

OTOH, if such is verboten, say so and I'll drop it like a hot potato. 

Inventory space is really trivial as it is.  Making it more so isn't a great option.  As it stands, when you are more powerful like you're talking about, you've gained a drone and vehicles with more storage.  Unless you're trying to scrap an entire large building on your own or trying to loot many POI at once or something, you have a ton of space available and shouldn't be running out of space.  A drone filled with storage mods can hold more than you can.  The 4x4 can hold more than you can as well.  I don't have the inventories open in front of me to get the total numbers, but your total goes up to over 3x what your personal inventory would be.  That is a LOT of space.  And if it's really still a problem, it's trivial to drop a storage chest for some temporary storage until you can move it to your base.  The game should have some inventory management requirements, regardless of your level.  I don't think removing that is good even if it is already trivial.  They definitely shouldn't let you put a vehicle in your inventory that is full of stuff.

 

Consider that they could have made it much "worse" for people and set it up to use weight as the limiting factor.  That would mean no carrying vehicles at all, not to mention significantly less of everything else. 

 

As far as mods go, they have long stood in favor of mods and the vanilla game is pretty much considered a starting place, with the expectation that people will move on to using mods to get the game that they personally want.  Mods aren't bad and there isn't any reason why people shouldn't use them.  And if you really want something like extra storage, there's no reason not to use a backpack mod.  I tend to play games without mods but I use a few in this one, including one I made for myself, just to get a few things changed to my liking.  It works well that way.

 

If someone wants to host your own server for people and have it be vanilla-only, that's an option.  Or if they want to have specific mods, they can do that as well.  Most significant mods require being installed on the server rather than just locally, so it's entirely up to the host of the server to decide what is allowed.

 

There's nothing wrong with posting suggestions or ideas or requests, even if they have been posted before.  But you will find it hard to convince TFP or the majority of players of this game that using mods isn't a good thing or that people should be playing vanilla.  There's nothing wrong with people playing the game the way they want to, whether that is to make things very easily or making things very difficult.

[meganoth]

16 hours ago, WarMongerian said:

Ok, I'll assume that. 

I know this game has been around for quite some time, but for me there is still undiscovered areas on the map and undiscovered game content to experience for the very first time.  Given also that the few folks I know that played this game back in the day, and all of them agree that the game has changed over the years from what it once was to what is has become today, and what it will become in the future, are you really saying that new players/customers should not come on these forums and enthusiastically share their ideas for what they (rightly or wrongly) think will make this game even better than it already is?  That would be disappointing.

 

On the matter of encumbrance and storage,  I really like the current mechanic where I can choose to overload my little digital dude, and suffer hidouse mobility restrictions, or I can spend a handful of points and fully unlock all 45 of my carrying capacity.  What I don't like is that, as my character becomes more and more powerful (thus being actually able to survive more and tougher enemies), I gain no additional carrying capacity, nor is there any way to gain such, (speaking only of the characters backpack, mind you).  Personally, I see this as something worth calling out to the dev's, as they made a system for low levels to have something to fool around with, going so far as to add in items to the game specifically to allow more unencumbered carrying capacity, (item mods or spending skill points).  This tells me that the low end of this issue is/has been looked at, but what about at the high end, where the more capable character cannot carry anymore than a low level one could do, even though they can kill more zombies, and collect more loot as a result?  The game allows for infinite storage when you bring your loot back to base, but no scaling up of carrying capacity to match a characters growing capacity to loot.

 

Now enter the realm of the mods, where a first time player can start their adventures and carry (encumbered) up to 160 spaces in their stash.

 

I think something needs be done for the folks that play without mods/cheats, and think a discussion about how this could be implemented for those that stick around in basic (unmodded) 7dtd past level 100 would be a good (and entertaining) subject.

 

OTOH, if such is verboten, say so and I'll drop it like a hot potato. 

 

I am trying to save you some time. As Lazman said the devs want the opinions and impressions of players (i.e. when you say "backpack space is so limited that my friends don't want to play that way anymore, especially late in the game"). But posting the actual ways how to change it ("increase backpack space, add more space in endgame, ...") are (IMHO) a waste of breath, especially this late in development. In other words, if you want to, go ahead and write a long paragraph about how to exactly increase the backpack space, you will get a nice thank you but most likely what you suggest will have been posted here a few times, thought of, and maybe even implemented at first and changed again.

 

PS: I am a normal forum poster, like you. My side job as moderator has nothing to do with what I post. I am not posting in any official capacity.

 

 

Edited April 8 by meganoth (see edit history)

[WarMongerian]

My time to play is greatly reduced, but still taking place.  Just trying to level up one guy right now, past level 220 the other day, getting ready for a hoard night on day 140.

[WarMongerian]

Date: April 25th, 2024.  0030 hours...

 

I'm  back to play and share some 7dtd experiences!  Some disclaimers and clarifications.

 

Right now, I play the basic game with just a single modification, and that is editing the game file to allow/enforce that all players start by spawning in the exact same point.  Having several games (of brand new players) being spawned in various and scattered locations left ma and those I played/learned with feeling that not enough focus had been spent of making team/party play a thing from the very start.  We also shifted from public servers/24-7 games to private games, where we the players controlled when the game would be running and when it would not, so our characters would be present and playing whenever the game time was running.  Playing on all but one setting setup to allow the easiest starter experience for new players (which was and still is my main focus), I quickly discovered that not everyone likes the same things from their playing of 7dtd, experienced players would find the settings to easy, and some folks just wanted to kill zombies, with nothing else mattering.

 

My own personal goals are to provide new players with an easy intro into the game, and to this end I am looking for suggestions on how best to provide a friendly and mutually supportive playing experience for the new players to learn what is what, and how things are done.

 

All that being said, my current plans are to create a new character every sunday, and then solo or team play that character up to and through a hoard night or two.  I plan to document the highlights and failures of this process, and provide pictures and eventually videos for others to enjoy, even if only to point out what a clueless jerk I am for spending quality playing time on doing this, rather than just killing zombies.

 

To this end I am going to at first just share my screen in a discord voice channel, and folks can watch what I am doing and make suggestions.  Please keep in mind that all this work will be focused on making it a fun and enjoyable experience for new players to start to enjoy the game, not for folks to watch endless and perfectly efficient zombie massacres.  Once players have played enough to know how to order their little digital dudes and ladies about within the game, I"ll be looking for some fellow adventures to share the journey.

 

Eventually, I hope to create a number of videos that cover such minute points as how to build a campfire, place a cooking pot and grill within it, and how to use these to make the basics of murky water cleaning, grilled meat, charred meat, cooked corn and such things.  Such a video will best be created and stored as part of a series, So I'll have to learn how to make these things.  I also want to learn how to teach others how to teach simple things, to the improvement of the player base.

 

To keep the task manageable for a one man show like me, links to sites that do much of this would be a big help.  I'm not looking to cover the whole game, just the first few days of a characters life in the post apocalypse world of 7dtd.  I also want to try team builds/play out, where a somewhat more experienced group can plan their shared play out, once folks have learned how things work, and what they like to do, and how to make the most of each others capabilities.  One thing I already tried was the Intellect/charisma build, but the experiment failed do to the advanced stage of the game and bad coordination.

 

Anyway, I'll be looking to start this project this upcoming Sunday, April the 28th, @1200 hours EDT.  The first few sessions will not be publicly joinable as I get things sorted out, but I will be posting things here, and asking advice.  Keep in mind the focus on new players, private games, either solo or team oriented.  Have fun, and I hope to create a new game/forum thread each Sunday.

 

 

 

 

[WarMongerian]

Test post.

 

For this Sunday's game, I'll post the settings I'll be using, and then a few screenshots from within the game.

 

Note, all these shots and games will be using the EDT modified map for single spawn points, until further notice.

 

A word about these settings, I want the almost easiest settings I can get, playing legit.  Harder setting are more challenging, but for new players are at risk of being more frustrating rather thin rewarding, which is not the goal here.

 

Edited April 27 by WarMongerian
Typos (see edit history)

[WarMongerian]

I was playing when I was unexpectedly hit up for a game, so my friend and I olayed for a bit.

I only made it this far in my solo game test run as a result.

 

[Gamida]

Not sure how many game days you are in but I see you are still using level one tools. I am wondering if you might be progressing too fast as you are level 14 already.

And gamestage 18. Might new players not get some fairly high zombies their first horde night.

If not mistaken zombies are tied to gamestage now and not the day for hordes.

Edited April 25 by Gamida (see edit history)

[WarMongerian]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:02 AM, Gamida said:

Not sure how many game days you are in but I see you are still using level one tools. I am wondering if you might be progressing too fast as you are level 14 already.

And gamestage 18. Might new players not get some fairly high zombies their first horde night.

If not mistaken zombies are tied to gamestage now and not the day for hordes.

Date:  April 27th, 2024. 0449 hours.
I'm not sure about a lot of things.

 

I had a 2nd stroke on good Friday, so recovering from that is taking a toll, mostly I can talk without slurring my speech. 

 

For one thing, I only recently learned that the supposed limit of level 1,000 might only apply to the folks characters on the cheater servers (which is where I spent the first day or three of my 7dtd career, for lack of knowing any better) and this might mean my 22x level guy is much closer to being capped then I thought, if what I am now being told is true about level progression stopping at 300.

 

Anyway, my plan is for a new game each sunday.  I recently played with one of my friends in a game he setup, and he had left the settings at a 60 minute day, and by the time I tried to join him, attempting the Intellect/Charisma build, we were past game day 80, and I only survived the next days Blood Moon by running away as fast and as far as my little digital dude could manage.  It didn't work out well, so I can surely agree that having folks join me in game a week or two in will not be a good thing if that shared game is any indicator.

 

So, for as long as this project lasts, I'll be making a brand new game every sunday, and playing just up to and through a Hoard night or two, and then the next Sunday doing it all again.

So, after I got to this stage, in my first test run of this concept game, a few thing happened.  Zombies came a calling, and I foolishly opened the door, thinking it was just a single zombie (My sound for the game is glitched, and every thing is super quiet---no matter what settings I try to set), and Once the pack of Zombies were in the downstairs level of my starter base, I lead them around away from the door, so I could take the fight outside, and not trash what little I had done.  After disposing of the pack, I came back in and played some more, and then Got hit up for a game by a friend, and stopped playing this game for what I thought was going to be a couple hours.

 

Fate had a different plan for my playing time, as I ended up too sick to play for some time, and only this very early morning am I feeling up to doing some forum postings and some game playing.

 

Here are some images of where this game got to, before my friend and my health stopped me cold...

 

After dealing with thirst and Hunger, I went upstairs and took a look around.  I have to apologise for the poor lighting in these last two Images, but I don't know of any way to fix this.  Anyway, looking out at the roof, my land claim boundaries, and my planted hedge, I think I can claim some small progress.  Looking north, we cannot really see anything due to the lighting effects.

Edited April 27 by WarMongerian (see edit history)

[WarMongerian]

I have to admit, I'm lost with respect to just where/what I was trying to do in the game, 2 days ago.  I know that I can fight Hoard night outside my base, and hope to do that this morning, so I can come back and post the results, so that tomorrows official first weekly game (Solo I think) can have something to compare to, and so folks can offer concerns and suggestions for what they would like to see.  For instance:

1)  Base at first night 2200-2400 hours each day.
2)  Skill tree advancement day by day.

3)  other things of interest.

 

Some folks might not want to see base layouts/progress, while others may want a detailed walkthrough, so I'll try to post a little bit better of what the base looks like day-by-day for the actual Sunday games, but unless there is some way to removes the foggy/blurry visibility conditions, expect some of the images not to be very good.  Please keep in mind I have no experience documenting my 7DTD gameplay and posting the games and their progression here, so the first few weeks are probably going to best chalked up to learning experiences, as I try to figure out what is what, and also find out if my computer is able to run video-capturing software alongside the game

[meganoth]

Horde night after 80 days is definitely hard for a new character, but 2 weeks is not a problem.

 

It seems you have been doing lots of building and practically no looting in the first days of your solo play. That is quite dangerous actually as your equipment only improves through scavening/looting. I would suggest to mix it up.

 

By the way, there is a separate forum section for pictures and videos from playthroughs: "Images and Videos"

 

 

[Catdaddy]

1 hour ago, meganoth said:

By the way, there is a separate forum section for pictures and videos from playthroughs: "Images and Videos"

 

I know this is off-topic, but this comment confused me. No BFD, just a headscratcher...

 

All of the images in this thread are related to this thread. Are you suggesting that the images should be posted in a separate thread, in a different section, outside of the topic they are illustrating? Or are you suggesting that he makes a second thread just to showcase these menu shots? 

 

Either way, that is weird as hell, but thanks for the clarification. 

[Gamida]

I think meganoth is referring to the post above theirs.

Warmongerian is talking about doing a horde night and posting it in the forum.

Also talking of doing a base walkthrough.

I am assuming here (and yes I know about what happens when you assume lol) but it seems to me that is what meganoth was referring to.

[WarMongerian]

I'm thinking that the new games should all have their own threads, and that each such thead will be in another place, so the "Images and Videos" will be the likely spot for each games threads.  Keep in mind, this project is only about running through a Hoard night or two, so will not be getting to day 21 most likely.  Just trying to work out my favorite way of doing things, sharing the pics, and finishing up in time for the next game to start on Sunday.

 

Making a new thread for each game will also help folks to be able to keep track of ongoing developments, both with respect to gameplay improvements and thread writing.

 

Trying to rush this, but better I just cover this as best I can, day 4...

 

I got to level 26 doing home improvements whilr waiting for the trader to reopen, so I could turn in a quest.  He closed right as I was returning at dusk, so had to do something while waiting.  Had some dead body knocking at my door!

 

Day 5...

Got to level 31, and had a small group come by for a visit.

5 minutes ago, Gamida said:

I think meganoth is referring to the post above theirs.

Warmongerian is talking about doing a horde night and posting it in the forum.

Also talking of doing a base walkthrough.

I am assuming here (and yes I know about what happens when you assume lol) but it seems to me that is what meganoth was referring to.

Reading the replies, I think you have the right of it.

 

Tomorrow, I plan to post the opening shots of the first weekly game, and this game will be played out in a full week of gaming, not the late start and 2 day illness break that this game suffered.

Edited April 27 by WarMongerian (see edit history)

[meganoth]

9 hours ago, Catdaddy said:

 

I know this is off-topic, but this comment confused me. No BFD, just a headscratcher...

 

All of the images in this thread are related to this thread. Are you suggesting that the images should be posted in a separate thread, in a different section, outside of the topic they are illustrating? Or are you suggesting that he makes a second thread just to showcase these menu shots? 

 

Either way, that is weird as hell, but thanks for the clarification. 

 

Gamida guessed right. WarMongerian has been posting questions AND narrating his adventures in this thread. This forum section is the right place for questions and discussions, but "Images and Vidoes" is for the latter part, I quote "Show off your screenshots, videos, fan art and other survivor made media here".

 

[WarMongerian]

Ok, last update for the current test game, the tomorrow the Sunday Weekly game will start, and each one will be for their particular game.  A thought occurs to me, would it be better just to make one thread, but clearly mark beginning and end of each successive weekly game within one big thread, or just a pack of little threads, each but around the own separate games?

 

Here is where I am starting off in the last playing session of this starter game.  Playing will be concluded by midnight tonight, but posting it will happen later.

[WarMongerian]

I fell short of a hoard night in the test game, in order to be able to start the weekly Sunday game, but fell ill and will have to wait to post details of that characters 1st day.

[WarMongerian]

I got this weeks game played to end of day 6, have bicycle!  Experiments will Commence.

[Roland]

@WarMongerian keep in mind that we are about a month away from the next major update that will change some of the early game strategies and balance. I would hate for you to put so much effort into documenting all of this for a how to guide that will be outdated next month. Just something to think about. Love your passion!

[WarMongerian]

1 hour ago, Roland said:

@WarMongerian keep in mind that we are about a month away from the next major update that will change some of the early game strategies and balance. I would hate for you to put so much effort into documenting all of this for a how to guide that will be outdated next month. Just something to think about. Love your passion!

Yep, I look at this as a needed experience to learn HOW to do such threads.  I won't get very good at that in such a short time, but I'll be better able to deal with the new stuff if I start learning now.  If my health holds, I  plan to start learning how to stream and post recorded videos.  Just played 1st hoard night for my currant little guy, and like spaceX, best to call ir a "Learning Experience".  Some of my ideas worked quite well, others not to much, but I had a good time and got a lot better return from kills.  I love the game, and really want to be able to showcase the way I play and give folks an entertaining time watching the videos I'll be posting in the future, and reading up on these threads.  Hopefully, if I persist, we may just get some other folks to start doing something like this, and get lots of new players.

[doughphunghus]

On 4/25/2024 at 8:02 AM, Gamida said:

Not sure how many game days you are in but I see you are still using level one tools. I am wondering if you might be progressing too fast as you are level 14 already.

And gamestage 18. Might new players not get some fairly high zombies their first horde night.

If not mistaken zombies are tied to gamestage now and not the day for hordes.

I agree as well...

Just some thoughts:

i have read on the forums that upping the XP setting ( as you have the XP set to 300%  Or just "higher than the default") can cause the player progression to grow too fast, actually making it harder. i have never set this "not the default" but it likely feels really good early game (player leveling up fast, skill points to spend), and then bites you hard at some point early game. Of course, you are playing new games frequently so it might be evening out in the end for your plans/setup.
 

i have also read that the first horde is "super easy" for new players to adjust to, but then after that its more "normal progression" so its possible that if you played a bit longer (3 horde nights) those settings might not feel good for new players. But then again: maybe it might be chaos and destroy them (all die) and its actually fun as it was a short/quick challenging game to play over and over vs "we played 80 hours to get to the hard part where we all died"?

Edited April 30 by doughphunghus (see edit history)

[WarMongerian]

I don't think I actually made it to Hoard night that game, because of a late start and two days of health problem, and then it was Saturday Night, and having to get ready for the Sunday - Saturday game...

 

I've since restarted, playings since Sunday, through 1st hoard night...But here I have to report a problem.  I purchased FRAPS to make videos for the second Hoard night, but the videos don't work with 7DTD, what recording software does work with 7DTD?

 

Actual Game thread is here:

 

[WarMongerian]

Happy News, FRAPS failed, but OBS works, now all I need to do is learn the audio recording stuff, plus learning how and where to post the videos, but oh how good it feels knowing that this is now a given and doable thing.

[doughphunghus]

On 5/2/2024 at 10:45 AM, WarMongerian said:

Happy News, FRAPS failed, but OBS works, now all I need to do is learn the audio recording stuff, plus learning how and where to post the videos, but oh how good it feels knowing that this is now a given and doable thing.

Just a tecommendation: If you plan to stream (or upload) recordings  with OBS: Look up the "recommended" streaming rates for OBS. There are tables online for xyz bitrate = xyz application/quality/purpose/app/service. When i was messing with OBS the default stream/record bitrate was set *really* high and it tanked my FPS.  I dropped it i think down to 25% or less of the default and then my FPS appeared unaffected. My recordings looked the same as i guess the streaming/upload services compress your video down to a certain amount/format /resolution and that allowed amount/format/resolution is only increased (i believe) if you have lots of followers/subscribers and hit some threshold or pay them.