Developer Discussions: Alpha 17

[graphite]

Well I am talking about the fact that all hand held weapons float out and away from characters

and the fact that our arms and hands are still showing as bare when we equip long sleeves and gloves.

The zombies and players jump animation being stuck.....I'm sure you have seen the zeds and I am sure when you jumped out of water or on top of a hill the jump sound and animation plays repeatedly for a few seconds.

I could go on a bit more, but I am not asking for extremes here. Just things existing in the game that are not implemented completely or are bugged and break immersion.

 

The STOP part is (IF I am Correct that they want to see what people want most in this next alpha) then the 3 things most people are mentioning SO FAR are what they will add, and I think there are a lot more important things that could be added or fixed or changed.

 

Also I am thinking of all the skills that make up a game Development team and trying to give suggestions so its spread out for everyone to have something to do during down time and waiting for the next phase etc.

Usually the artists are left waiting and in the past they spent there time changing icons and things that really did not matter.

 

Ok I admit i didnt take enough time or thought to reply to your post.

 

The events that you describe that break immersion are just known issues and bugs to me and not the usual thing of demanding realism rules proritised over everything else in design choices.

 

So i am sorry i jumped to conclusions and didnt consider that these issues where breaking immersion for you.

 

Maybe i got carried away when reading the stop bit as i believe people can make reasonable requests or discuss points even if it is a feature that can easily modded.

 

I understand you want to move on from things that have discussed in length and detail and its not unreasonable to suggest to keep things on topic and and actually relevent to improving the game in general in a healthy manner.

 

I have not viewed a alpha disscussion thread before this one was started and didnt understand myself the hype and influx of pandemonium from the very begining starting with ziplining off carriers and polaris missles.

 

Honestly i was expecting a highly technical talk that would go way over my head but instead things are different.

 

I would personally rather have a higher rate and wider range of open minded development disscusion but dont mind the light hearted jokes or banter in the thread.

 

But it seems this thread behavior is contagious , because i have been making wild suggestions and writing sarcastic replys and not adhearing to correct forum etiquette or subject matter guidelines of original post.

 

So i apoligise in general for my behavior and will refrain from OTT sarcastic replys to opinions i dont align with in future.

[Roland]

I think the thread is going well. The dev diary has always been a place for fans to hang out while waiting for Madmole to make an appearance and there is nothing wrong with that. Also, regardless of whether any particular person believes that backpacks, ziplines, or minbike physics are important to talk about or not the fact is that those topics gained traction with enough people that discussion emerged. Let's not try and force conversation into specific areas. Let people bring up whatever they want to see in A17 and it will either create a spark of interest or it won't.

 

When Madmole posts I will put a link in the OP to it so people who are bothered by community socializing can skip it all and only use this thread as an announcement board.

[Wjiiv]

The a16 list also had a list of things that (might slip into a17) so I'm assuming some, most, or all of those items are in progress for a17.

[Guest]

I just wish they would make core systems like combat, spawning and AI work properly before expanding on the late game or adding new cosmetic stuff. New features are cool, but I'd rather see a more coherent vision for/implementation of the base systems, instead of the placeholders we have now. I don't mean they should be fully optimized and completely bug free, but after all these years, it would be nice to have melee combat that doesn't feel like hitting the air, hit boxes that make sense and zombies that can navigate around a rock lying on the ground without getting stuck in some AI loop.

 

As it stands, my fear is that TFP will keep adding half-working features and by the time "beta" rolls around (if ever), it will turn out there's just too much to fix in the core game to ever reach proper release status.

 

I guess we'll have to wait and see what the new team members bring to the table, and to be fair I had quite a bit of fun in this game already, but after all these years I'm growing quite skeptical of TFP's ability to chew through what they bit off.

[KronosKronight]

I think the devs should be fixing the bits that are still not quite right with the game. Stick in the stuff that did not make A17.

 

After that I think they should start pushing to clean up the game ready for a beta run. Also with better mod support and server support.

[Rashnudamz]

I'ld just be happy with raiders/npcs with different weapons who you can either attack or they attack you randomly.

 

If talking blocks/buildings/new items though then new things i think would suit this world would be ..........

 

1) Science lab with zombies in cages where the scientists were looking for a cure.

 

2) Scientist zombies [chance for beakers, paper, goggles etc as loot]

 

3) Buildings with self defence systems in place. We have blade traps, auto turrets etc so put them in established buildings for that extra fear factor. We already have some with mines/fake floors so having rooms with auto turrets or blade traps would add to the immersion that this world used to be populated and people defended their buildings at one time.

[Roland]

Here are some official images from A17 that Madmole posted on his twitter feed. I'm reposting them here since they are A17 related and I will place a link in the OP so that people will see how this thread will work going forward:

 

Here is a new wallpaper that Joel created for A17.

 

 

 

Here is the model for a new trader going into A17.

 

[legendfire77]

Thanks for the information Roland

[Gilthanaz]

Zombie probably ate my eyes, can't see the images...

[meganoth]

1) Science lab with zombies in cages where the scientists were looking for a cure.

 

2) Scientist zombies [chance for beakers, paper, goggles etc as loot]

 

3) Buildings with self defence systems in place. We have blade traps, auto turrets etc so put them in established buildings for that extra fear factor. We already have some with mines/fake floors so having rooms with auto turrets or blade traps would add to the immersion that this world used to be populated and people defended their buildings at one time.

 

Idea 1 is already in the game, in a building I always call nakatomi tower (you probably can guess which one I mean). The other two ideas are excellent and I want to quote them so that they get burned into the memory of everyone reading this thread.

 

As it stands, my fear is that TFP will keep adding half-working features and by the time "beta" rolls around (if ever), it will turn out there's just too much to fix in the core game to ever reach proper release status.

 

Just to post a different viewpoint: I have played lots of games with proper release status and many of them gave me a fraction of the fun 7days delivered till now. I'm pretty sure beta phase will be the most boring phase of the game development and probably most players that post here will have lost interest by the time it releases, better hit boxes or not. I'm pretty sure I will be fed up with A16 in a few weeks or months, but the new features of A17 will bring me back into the game. This "refresh" will be permanently lost once beta comes around.

[Spectral Force]

Hi Guys, I just wanted open up discussion of Alpha 17. Sorry we have been tight lipped about it, but I wanted to try something different this time where we talk about finished or work in progress features rather than stuff we simply planned. This leads to less frustration because usually once something is started we finish it, where its easy to plan a bunch of stuff and have it slip through the cracks, which is disappointing for all of us.

 

I will say we're ramping up the team, we've hired two new senior programmers, a concept artist, an environment artist, a designer, and we have about 5 new full time world builders. I'll begin showing stuff on youtube real soon. I have two keyboards hooked up at the same time now so I can annoy people if I want, or use the quiet keyboard if I want

 

 

 

A17 News

 

Wallpaper and Trader Bob Images

 

I would like the inclusion of the mechanical keyboard! Also if you go to alpha 18, I would like to request a middle ground of information sharing from the dev team. As a friendly suggestion, maybe a list of goals that them would like to accomplish. If the goal is met, strike it through and post your video. Everyone understands this is an alpha, some better than others. People love to complain, it's just human nature. It's gone from one extreme to other. I understand your frustration when you don't make a goal and people cry about. Having an idea of what might be coming in each next release always keeps me engaged. I truly appreciate the personal time you've spent creativing those videos to share. I've enjoyed them all. There are many more people happy about the progress then there are complaining, the complainers just scream louder, and since there's laws against using cattle prods on people... Hope this is something you consider for the next alpha. Thanks for your time.

[CptLaserPants]

Honestly I kinda hope they aren't too set on a bicycle or Harley. We already have a two wheeled vehicle, and as much as they refer to texture space I'd prefer something different.

 

Simple and diverse is all I care about. A mini-bike, 2 seater buggy, a boat, and *maybe* a gyrocopter. That's all I really ask for.

[69WithAzombie]

So pumped for the new wall paper <3 Im hyped

[Survager]

 

 

More screenshots and video is needed, my lord!

[Royal Deluxe]

 

Spoiler

 

 

they exists for a reason

 

 

I am 2 Seasons behind in that serie

 

[graphite]

Random thoughts...

 

I would like to explore a sidecar for the minibike that you can detach and launch as a boat.

 

But i understand if water mechanics and physics need to be in a better place than they are currently.

 

Working on making water conservation more difficult for all game stages to increase the difficulty by making choosing base loactions more important than they are currently.

 

Adding different water types so some are only used in recipes i think could be a way forward.

 

I think the abilty to channel and flow water and use it for power and /or mining (High pressure blasting) is a bit much of an ask but you never know.

[rdunham3]

Son talked me into starting a new game last Friday. Normal difficulty. Day 3, mid-day, sneaking (about to start digging for a treasure, but hadn't so much as broken the first dirt block yet) and pounced upon by a dog horde. At least 5. Wasn't "hunted" nor even detected. The howl came at approximately the same time as the attack, in that I turned to face them but hadn't quite stood up when I was mauled to death. (was expecting one, not a whole pack...day 3...)

 

Seriously, can we go back to the animal packs not appearing so early in the game, and adjust day hordes to not vector straight at the player? Especially when they're running and the player is stealthed, it's really obnoxious and unfair. I'd go so far as to say an animal horde shouldn't even be a thing until high game stage. Maybe a bunny horde wouldn't be so bad, chased by a single wolf? I digress.

 

Remember, it's a game. It's supposed to be fun.

 

As I've said before, elitists feel free to NOT dispense your advice. I've read it all before and won't be impressed by you one bit. I'm campaigning for the future new players whom this will most affect.

[Magoguitarrista]

Google "carriage doors". Also, the doors in game are 3 blocks wide, perfect size for the cars which are 2 blocks wide I believe?

 

Yes I know but they are too "tight" I mean, you can clearly can see that ingame while entering some military bases and stuff, the simulated "garage doors" they make wit iron bars are much bigger, also in "family" houses you can see the garage doors (made in wood) not functional being the model I told you, the ones that opens from down to above like this one;

This is much bigger than 3 blocks, clearly, they'r also pretty weak, they are nowhere near a normal door, they should rework that, or add tiers, or sizes.

[Magoguitarrista]

Here are some official images from A17 that Madmole posted on his twitter feed. I'm reposting them here since they are A17 related and I will place a link in the OP so that people will see how this thread will work going forward:

 

Here is a new wallpaper that Joel created for A17.

 

 

 

Here is the model for a new trader going into A17.

 

 

Is that a new couch ? Or it seems better than the old one

[unholyjoe]

Yes I know but they are too "tight" I mean, you can clearly can see that ingame while entering some military bases and stuff, the simulated "garage doors" they make wit iron bars are much bigger, also in "family" houses you can see the garage doors (made in wood) not functional being the model I told you, the ones that opens from down to above like this one;

This is much bigger than 3 blocks, clearly, they'r also pretty weak, they are nowhere near a normal door, they should rework that, or add tiers, or sizes.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=garage+doors+were+not+always+overhead+style&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSlNbRh8HWAhUHsBQKHYclDB4QsAQIOQ&biw=1479&bih=948

 

not all garage doors are or were, overhead and for those of us who were around... they used to be simple 1 and 2 swinging doors on hinges and some garages didnt have doors and.... we didnt have to lock our house doors back in the day. ooops sorry, didnt mean to share something that most of you dont care to know or believe.

[Dagzambie]

I would like the inclusion of the mechanical keyboard...

 

Mad Mole Troll: Add the mechanical keyboard sounds to the game! Agro-ing zombies and players alike!

[CyKoSYC]

OMG!!!..... if they can't be placed with a Bow/Crossbow.... It will be a waste of time to make work right.....

 

just in case you go "why?"

 

Scenario:

 

You are on a building with tons of Zombies surrounding you..you want to go from one building to another "with your Zipline"

So because you can't place it with a well placed Crossbow or bow shot...you have to run all the way to the bottom of the building "With a Tool anyways" to place it then run all the way to the top again just to use it.

 

Mind you in turn your running threw Zombies anyways...you might as well not place it.....and just leave......

 

So unless its done right..its worthless.....

and if i hurt anybody feelings putting it this way...too bad..get a life...

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

 

 

the Modding forums have Awesome programmers also...but you know.....

 

 

 

i like your scenario and i would assume its for one player, but how about if you are playing with a group and the fastest person or someone that can run longer without getting winded go and do it while the others are still on the roof....

[Death2gnomes]

https://www.google.com/search?q=garage+doors+were+not+always+overhead+style&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSlNbRh8HWAhUHsBQKHYclDB4QsAQIOQ&biw=1479&bih=948

 

not all garage doors are or were, overhead and for those of us who were around... they used to be simple 1 and 2 swinging doors on hinges and some garages didnt have doors and.... we didnt have to lock our house doors back in the day. ooops sorry, didnt mean to share something that most of you dont care to know or believe.

 

I do think the swing door on garages look better, easier to fix and less parts that break, just a couple hinges and a latch.

[Ouch Quit It]

Back to garage doors...I feel they need to be enlarged to 4 blocks to be the same width as the drawbridge....

 

 

Carry on

 

Coughs * Video * Coughs

[Royal Deluxe]

Additional a 4 Broad 3 High Door would be cool btw.