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Bandicoot

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Psst

 

I have a secret for everyone.

 

I'm going to share it. Because I'm feeling generous.

 

My mod (sorry Guppy, unavoidable :D )didn't become popular because I reinvented the wheel. It became popular because I added a ton of ♥♥♥♥ to do. New models, new storage, new weapons, new tools. All unlocked every 5-10 levels so players kept getting SOMETHING for their work. Starvation. INSANE Popularity. Why? Things to DO. Things to COLLECT. Farming. Workers. War of the Walkers. Same Thing. Classes, collecting and new weapons and tools.

 

This isn't rocket science. Honestly I don't think the game even needed a perk overhaul. Like AT ALL. You want to make EVERYONE happy? ADD CONTENT! Add guns. Add weapons. Add more zombies. Add new build blocks. Add More Farming. Add Fishing. Add Research. Add 20 vehicles with the SAME EXACT MECHANICS but add different models, different years. Add 100 new pieces of clothing so players can dress the way they want.

 

I know it sounds ridiculously simple right? Players LOVE rewards. They love the DING. The UNLOCK. Add a ton of content, space out the unlocks, add over 50 new quests to get some of them, add 100 to traders and i GUARANTEE you people would love the ♥♥♥♥ out of it. With ZERO complaints.

 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We already LOVED 16. We just wanted fixes. The new AI, nicer Random Gen. And CONTENT.

 

Well, you just nailed it sir :)

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So you don't like zombies (a non-existing thing that's purely mythical) sensing you through earth and digging through earth quickly is stupid and non-sensable, but being able to dig to the core of the world by hand is something that's fine? o.O And how are they going to figure that out by digging two random holes lol.

 

Haha sorry I shouldn't laugh but that makes way too much sense.

 

Hahaha still laughing.

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I'm a tunneler, but I don't think digging should be optional, I just think it's OVERDONE. I actually spend most of A16 scared that the zombies were going to dig down to me. If I dig down for Bloodmoon, I would dig a run and stay on the move to keep them moving up top. I only learned that you could dig down far enough that they couldn't even sense you about a month or two before A17 (no more, as far as I know). I think these developers just need to get together and go dig an 8' hole in the backyard by hand. Once they're done with that, they should go to a limestone quarry and try a 2' hole (no tools for the first hour). Zombies being able to sense JUST PRESENCE through so much earth/stone gets ridiculous. Sniffing out the way you went in would be one thing. Digging through solid rock so quickly gets stupid too now that they can go straight down.

 

Ok, if they dig those holes... will you spawn some zombies to see if they can sense them?

 

also.. you couldve dug 3 blocks down, put a block above you and you'd be perfectly fine on the first 2 horde nights ( as long asyour game stage wasnt high enough. Zombies didn't dig in A16.)

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So many people want their hand held tightly. Remember that time you had to go out and LOOT and LOOT until you found the skill book to make the forge?

What do you mean? Needing to find recipes instead of level capped perks is exactly what most are asking for.

 

Ah wait, you are one of the typical posters who just think all the constructive feedback just wants the game easier, not more fun, without caring to read well. Ok,move along.

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Psst

 

I have a secret for everyone.

 

I'm going to share it. Because I'm feeling generous.

 

My mod (sorry Guppy, unavoidable :D )didn't become popular because I reinvented the wheel. It became popular because I added a ton of ♥♥♥♥ to do. New models, new storage, new weapons, new tools. All unlocked every 5-10 levels so players kept getting SOMETHING for their work. Starvation. INSANE Popularity. Why? Things to DO. Things to COLLECT. Farming. Workers. War of the Walkers. Same Thing. Classes, collecting and new weapons and tools.

 

This isn't rocket science. Honestly I don't think the game even needed a perk overhaul. Like AT ALL. You want to make EVERYONE happy? ADD CONTENT! Add guns. Add weapons. Add more zombies. Add new build blocks. Add More Farming. Add Fishing. Add Research. Add 20 vehicles with the SAME EXACT MECHANICS but add different models, different years. Add 100 new pieces of clothing so players can dress the way they want.

 

I know it sounds ridiculously simple right? Players LOVE rewards. They love the DING. The UNLOCK. Add a ton of content, space out the unlocks, add over 50 new quests to get some of them, add 100 to traders and i GUARANTEE you people would love the ♥♥♥♥ out of it. With ZERO complaints.

 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We already LOVED 16. We just wanted fixes. The new AI, nicer Random Gen. And CONTENT.

 

I really can't add anything to this other than get rid of the traders as well.

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Ok, if they dig those holes... will you spawn some zombies to see if they can sense them?

 

also.. you couldve dug 3 blocks down, put a block above you and you'd be perfectly fine on the first 2 horde nights ( as long asyour game stage wasnt high enough. Zombies didn't dig in A16.)

 

Zombies DID dig in A16, just not quite straight down. I had a kill pit with scrap iron hatches at the top to close it off (because I had other players dumb enough to fall into it and die multiple times), and there was steel around the hatches on the surface, about 3 blocks wide away from hatches on all sides. The whole pit and bunker underneath were steel. The terrain around all this was fairly flat, but there were a couple of spots where the terrain was SLIGHTLY uneven.

 

Had a horde night where someone hid in my underground bunker area of the kill pit, with the hatches closed at the top. The zombies must have hit some of that slightly uneven terrain a few times to destroy a block somehow, because when I saw the damage, they had dug into the ground on one side of kill pit, and started widening the opening and digging even deeper. They ended up digging out the ground on three side of kill pit, and about 7 blocks down into the ground all around.

 

My kill pit survived just fine, although the blocks had been damaged and a few broken. I designed its structure to never fail on a single horde night and allow zombies to break into the bunker beneath, so that zombies would always fall into the same spot. Never had one instance of failure, but they DID try to few times to dig through the ground, especially this one time mentioned. Again, the terrain was flat...but not wooden-frames-placed-level flat. They must have got hung up on a tiny spot and started there.

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What do you mean? Needing to find recipes instead of level capped perks is exactly what most are asking for.

 

Ah wait, you are one of the typical posters who just think all the constructive feedback just wants the game easier, not more fun, without caring to read well. Ok,move along.

 

"Most"?

 

Can you state your source?

 

Also.... your idea of fun may not be the same as others.

Do you presume to speak for everyone?

Do you assume your ideas of fun are the same as everyone's?

Are you saying someone who disagrees with you should go away and not debate you?

 

 

Hmm..... sounds a like like fascism to me but.... maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're saying.

 

Feel free to clear that up.

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Zombies DID dig in A16, just not quite straight down. I had a kill pit with scrap iron hatches at the top to close it off (because I had other players dumb enough to fall into it and die multiple times), and there was steel around the hatches on the surface, about 3 blocks wide away from hatches on all sides. The whole pit and bunker underneath were steel. The terrain around all this was fairly flat, but there were a couple of spots where the terrain was SLIGHTLY uneven.

 

Had a horde night where someone hid in my underground bunker area of the kill pit, with the hatches closed at the top. The zombies must have hit some of that slightly uneven terrain a few times to destroy a block somehow, because when I saw the damage, they had dug into the ground on one side of kill pit, and started widening the opening and digging even deeper. They ended up digging out the ground on three side of kill pit, and about 7 blocks down into the ground all around.

 

My kill pit survived just fine, although the blocks had been damaged and a few broken. I designed its structure to never fail on a single horde night and allow zombies to break into the bunker beneath, so that zombies would always fall into the same spot. Never had one instance of failure, but they DID try to few times to dig through the ground, especially this one time mentioned. Again, the terrain was flat...but not wooden-frames-placed-level flat. They must have got hung up on a tiny spot and started there.

 

the only time they "dug" in A16 was if the terrain wasn't flat. If they were digging, its because you hadn't flattened it before. I've always had a fall pit in A16, never had anyone dig. I took the time to make sure everything was flat

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the only time they "dug" in A16 was if the terrain wasn't flat. If they were digging, its because you hadn't flattened it before. I've always had a fall pit in A16, never had anyone dig. I took the time to make sure everything was flat

 

That's exactly what General Lee said "The zombies must have hit some of that slightly uneven terrain a few times to destroy a block somehow, "

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big POI's like messiah

 

What?

 

You can take out messiah or working stiff on day 1, solo, normal settings (nomad, 60 minute days, etc). You don't even need to get lucky, just an iron club and wooden bow and lots of arrows will do fine so long as you're fed and watered, some extra iron for putting barbwire fence at the one entrance you leave easy to breach and you can hold off a fairly major assault (as day-one wandering hordes go) that night. The big stores aren't the scary POIs for me, their layout's too simple, you can't get surprised clearing them. The scary ones are the big farmhouses and the militarized camps with drywall and corners and all screwing up your sight lines, where watching your back gets iffy.

 

 

Get messiah and you've got a forge, or at least both times I've done it the forge has been live. Get stiff and you're all tooled up for the duration, with a wrench you'll never hurt for forged iron either until you've leveled up enough to afford the perk point spend yourself.

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"Most"?

 

Can you state your source?

 

Also.... your idea of fun may not be the same as others.

Do you presume to speak for everyone?

Do you assume your ideas of fun are the same as everyone's?

Are you saying someone who disagrees with you should go away and not debate you?

 

 

Hmm..... sounds a like like fascism to me but.... maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're saying.

 

Feel free to clear that up.

 

 

Lucky you misinterpret on purpose!

Most has never been everyone.

Also you who is engaged in basically every thread can't deny that there are a lot off suggestions on changing parts of perksystem to recipes.

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Psst

 

I have a secret for everyone.

 

I'm going to share it. Because I'm feeling generous.

 

My mod (sorry Guppy, unavoidable :D )didn't become popular because I reinvented the wheel. It became popular because I added a ton of ♥♥♥♥ to do. New models, new storage, new weapons, new tools. All unlocked every 5-10 levels so players kept getting SOMETHING for their work. Starvation. INSANE Popularity. Why? Things to DO. Things to COLLECT. Farming. Workers. War of the Walkers. Same Thing. Classes, collecting and new weapons and tools.

 

This isn't rocket science. Honestly I don't think the game even needed a perk overhaul. Like AT ALL. You want to make EVERYONE happy? ADD CONTENT! Add guns. Add weapons. Add more zombies. Add new build blocks. Add More Farming. Add Fishing. Add Research. Add 20 vehicles with the SAME EXACT MECHANICS but add different models, different years. Add 100 new pieces of clothing so players can dress the way they want.

 

I know it sounds ridiculously simple right? Players LOVE rewards. They love the DING. The UNLOCK. Add a ton of content, space out the unlocks, add over 50 new quests to get some of them, add 100 to traders and i GUARANTEE you people would love the ♥♥♥♥ out of it. With ZERO complaints.

 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We already LOVED 16. We just wanted fixes. The new AI, nicer Random Gen. And CONTENT.

 

I finally signed up for an account here because I'm so unhappy with the direction the game is taking. I agree with everything JaxTeller718 had to say (especially the last part) with a few more things to add.

 

What happened to RWG?! It's a shadow of it's A16 self! The roads in every seed are practically a cookie cutter. Biome diversity is massively impacted by the removal of plains (and Maple forest, but less so). I used to like exploring for the sake of exploring. I'd look down a random winding road and maybe see an interesting terrain feature on the way. Now there's no point, everything is same-y and boring.

 

Gore blocks. Single worst change you made. I liked cleanup being a logical consequence of dealing with zombies. I liked making gas from animal fat. I liked making glue and tape. I liked making fertilizer. I liked the concept of using everything available to you, including the bad parts, to survive.

 

Progression changes. You guys really jumped the shark. Do you want me to explore the world or not? I don't need manuals anymore. I only need to go to a working stiffs enough to get an iron pick to get through the early game. The literal best way to proceed now is to make a screamer signal and whack zombies until I can perk up enough to do all the things I used to need to explore to get. I don't mean that in the "best min maxer" way, I mean that in the "best burn out avoidance" way. This progression system is anti-fun. I remember when zombies were obstacles to your goals, not the goals themselves.

 

Punishment. I went into a Crack-a-book HQ. Before I got ganked by a zed wildly above my gamestage, I noticed that more than half the creates were replaced by the new useless blocks. Why would I ever go into this place again, knowing what I know about the progression system?

 

Empty loot containers. At first these sounded neat... until I noticed these never spawn loot. They were pitched as a visual time saver. In reality they are another reason to not bother with POIs.

 

 

Why explore? Why? You've made an assault on every reason someone might want to do it. People who don't explore get bored and quit.

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Why explore? Why? You've made an assault on every reason someone might want to do it. People who don't explore get bored and quit.

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Why explore? To find new stuff i suppose, and to find out how the new POI's work. The old ones we

kinda know, they may be a bit nerfed lootwise, but mostly the same. To some extent, learning the ins

and outs of the new POI can be a good reason to explore.

 

And the new POI's are actually quite good looking and well made too. Not just the dungeon and gameplay

aspect, but also their build. I can spend entire days just studying some of them , finding out what story

they can tell. Like the one where a car had crashed into the living room and caused a fire.

 

Of course, as an added bonus, one learn the NEW pois better, how to get to the loot more efficient and

such. But yes, they are quite nice. Deathtraps, sure, but well made deathtraps.

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Psst

 

I have a secret for everyone.

 

I'm going to share it. Because I'm feeling generous.

 

My mod (sorry Guppy, unavoidable :D )didn't become popular because I reinvented the wheel. It became popular because I added a ton of ♥♥♥♥ to do. New models, new storage, new weapons, new tools. All unlocked every 5-10 levels so players kept getting SOMETHING for their work. Starvation. INSANE Popularity. Why? Things to DO. Things to COLLECT. Farming. Workers. War of the Walkers. Same Thing. Classes, collecting and new weapons and tools.

 

This isn't rocket science. Honestly I don't think the game even needed a perk overhaul. Like AT ALL. You want to make EVERYONE happy? ADD CONTENT! Add guns. Add weapons. Add more zombies. Add new build blocks. Add More Farming. Add Fishing. Add Research. Add 20 vehicles with the SAME EXACT MECHANICS but add different models, different years. Add 100 new pieces of clothing so players can dress the way they want.

 

I know it sounds ridiculously simple right? Players LOVE rewards. They love the DING. The UNLOCK. Add a ton of content, space out the unlocks, add over 50 new quests to get some of them, add 100 to traders and i GUARANTEE you people would love the ♥♥♥♥ out of it. With ZERO complaints.

 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We already LOVED 16. We just wanted fixes. The new AI, nicer Random Gen. And CONTENT.

 

Here is a secret I’ll add. The reason we can easily have tons of new stuff in Ravenhearst, Starvation, War of the Walkers, Medieval Mod, Valmod, True Survival, etc. is precisely because the developers are making a hub that can be grown in several different creative directions.

 

By reinventing their hub there are now several new launching points for modders to add all sorts of fun stuff. If all they’d done was fix what they had with A16 there would be no chances for modders to create new quests, new gun, vehicle, tool, and armor mods, new buffs, new attributes and perks.

 

I recently asked Joel how he felt about the fact that people give glory to modders for all the content they create while calling the devs lazy because they focus so much on the systems. He responded, “That’s fine. We are fine with doing what we do and letting modders get the glory for what they do”

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Psst

 

I have a secret for everyone.

 

I'm going to share it. Because I'm feeling generous.

 

My mod (sorry Guppy, unavoidable :D )didn't become popular because I reinvented the wheel. It became popular because I added a ton of ♥♥♥♥ to do. New models, new storage, new weapons, new tools. All unlocked every 5-10 levels so players kept getting SOMETHING for their work. Starvation. INSANE Popularity. Why? Things to DO. Things to COLLECT. Farming. Workers. War of the Walkers. Same Thing. Classes, collecting and new weapons and tools.

 

This isn't rocket science. Honestly I don't think the game even needed a perk overhaul. Like AT ALL. You want to make EVERYONE happy? ADD CONTENT! Add guns. Add weapons. Add more zombies. Add new build blocks. Add More Farming. Add Fishing. Add Research. Add 20 vehicles with the SAME EXACT MECHANICS but add different models, different years. Add 100 new pieces of clothing so players can dress the way they want.

 

I know it sounds ridiculously simple right? Players LOVE rewards. They love the DING. The UNLOCK. Add a ton of content, space out the unlocks, add over 50 new quests to get some of them, add 100 to traders and i GUARANTEE you people would love the ♥♥♥♥ out of it. With ZERO complaints.

 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We already LOVED 16. We just wanted fixes. The new AI, nicer Random Gen. And CONTENT.

 

**Slow clap develops into thunderous round of applause and panty throwing**

 

Couldn't agree more, and the spike of negative reviews since 23 December on Steam proves your point.

 

I loved A16. If asked what I wanted, I'd say:

- Better performance

- Better Graphics

- More loot and clothing

- Bandits

- Boats

- More block types

- Bugs fixed

- Lock picks

 

That's it. Happy to go to final release with that.

 

And after that I have a fantasy of The Fun Pimps making a game based on the same mechanics, but with an alien invasion theme.

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Psst

 

I have a secret for everyone.

 

I'm going to share it. Because I'm feeling generous.

 

My mod (sorry Guppy, unavoidable :D )didn't become popular because I reinvented the wheel. It became popular because I added a ton of ♥♥♥♥ to do. New models, new storage, new weapons, new tools. All unlocked every 5-10 levels so players kept getting SOMETHING for their work. Starvation. INSANE Popularity. Why? Things to DO. Things to COLLECT. Farming. Workers. War of the Walkers. Same Thing. Classes, collecting and new weapons and tools.

 

This isn't rocket science. Honestly I don't think the game even needed a perk overhaul. Like AT ALL. You want to make EVERYONE happy? ADD CONTENT! Add guns. Add weapons. Add more zombies. Add new build blocks. Add More Farming. Add Fishing. Add Research. Add 20 vehicles with the SAME EXACT MECHANICS but add different models, different years. Add 100 new pieces of clothing so players can dress the way they want.

 

I know it sounds ridiculously simple right? Players LOVE rewards. They love the DING. The UNLOCK. Add a ton of content, space out the unlocks, add over 50 new quests to get some of them, add 100 to traders and i GUARANTEE you people would love the ♥♥♥♥ out of it. With ZERO complaints.

 

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. We already LOVED 16. We just wanted fixes. The new AI, nicer Random Gen. And CONTENT.

 

I don't anyone who doesn't like more content. That's a no brainer. However, there is a time for that and were not there yet. If adding more variety was all they focused on we wouldnt have the improved quest system and POI dungeons. Quality is better than quantity.

 

I for one like the new system and think it's the right direction. Unless someone can figure out a system of diminishing returns, A skill system by doing will be difficult to balance.

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Here is a secret I’ll add. The reason we can easily have tons of new stuff in Ravenhearst, Starvation, War of the Walkers, Medieval Mod, Valmod, True Survival, etc. is precisely because the developers are making a hub that can be grown in several different creative directions.

 

By reinventing their hub there are now several new launching points for modders to add all sorts of fun stuff. If all they’d done was fix what they had with A16 there would be no chances for modders to create new quests, new gun, vehicle, tool, and armor mods, new buffs, new attributes and perks.

 

I recently asked Joel how he felt about the fact that people give glory to modders for all the content they create while calling the devs lazy because they focus so much on the systems. He responded, “That’s fine. We are fine with doing what we do and letting modders get the glory for what they do”

 

First Happy Holidays to all.

 

And as a modder, Im VERY excited by all the things you just listed. Im grateful that the Pimps have embraced its very talented modding community and allow us the tools we have to take an amazing game and make it even more amazing.

 

But at the risk of farming more rep (thank you guys) I'm going to do something that some members here do not do. Take the modding hat OFF for a few minutes and speak as a player. There's a reason RH is not deep into development. Because me and my team are first and foremost fans and players.

 

I fired up A17 as a player, not a modder. And as a player by the end of the Experimental phase I was disappointed. Disappointed in the slimming down of activities, disappointed that I'm forced to JUST kill zombies to advance, disappointed that "roles" are no longer as important to a team (like farming or cooking or an ammo maker or a base upkeeper) but most of all disappointed by the fact that while I was excited to see all the huge steps forward like AI, POIs and the mod system there were so many steps back.

 

The thing is 7 Days chose ME as my favorite game. It crept up on me almost unexpectedly. And the ride has been amazing. But that ride COULD conceivably end. Yes there are numerous things to be excited about for the future of 7 Days modding, but as a player first and foremost if the base game is uninspiring and disappointing, there's no real reason to continue to contribute to its future. I've seen quite a few games come along and offer fresh new ideas, complexity and offer the same promise to modders to open the world up. Dead Matter, Fear the Night and Jaws of Extinction are just a few either released or upcoming zombie survival games that offer complex progression with a promise to modders. If I, as a player, feel uninspired to even play this latest update, all the tools in the world to mod it are useless to me. Because as a modder I take my inspiration for how much the game excites me. If it is no longer exciting, and I am no longer engaged, it isn't hard to move on and find another.

 

It makes absolute sense to embrace modders. Joel knows this as a modder himself. Skyrim is kept ALIVE by the modding community there. Hell even Sims games are kept alive by modders. What i NEVER expected was the reliance on mods for content that should be in the base game. The reliance on modders to keep the game fresh is a new wrinkle added this Alpha, one that I'm certain was formed during the downtime between 16 and 17 when the modding community exploded and the various mods being released kept 7 days thriving far after any content or fixes were being released. And I'm honored to be part of that future. The brutal reality is that in order to continue to be a part of that future I have to love what it is I'm doing and who I am doing it for. If the base game no longer captivates me, then my future as part of it is in doubt.

 

But that's the entire point of every single one of my posts. Maybe some see it as trolling but I LOVE this game. But recently its not exactly loving me back. I used to be excited to sit down at my desk for the day and dived into modding. That excitement is still there but I can tell you its diminishing. And it is diminishing for a LOT of other players as well. Just a look around every form of social media tells that story clearly. As a player I expected so much more from this Alpha because every single Alpha before, even if it tore down the system, added so many new things to extend gameplay. This is the first time in this games history that I feel like that love affair is coming to an end. Too many other games are taking ideas that this game used to excel in presenting to us and they understand that people want complexity, they want horror, they want discovery and rewarding gameplay and actions.

 

As a modder I can tell you that for MY mod 17 has NOT given me more opportunity. Its removed it. Gun Parts and Quality and Action Experience were instrumental in my mod. 17 opened the door for modding to be easier. And it did indeed add more options for armor and buffs. But it being BETTER? That is VERY subjective since Im spending half my modding time trying to figure out how I'm going to adapt my mod to all the things that were removed.

 

Please don't take this as a doom and gloom or some sort of angry reactionary post. I'm not angry. I'm sad. And I cant help or change how I feel. If I could somehow force myself to be positive I would. I tried. As a modder there's plenty to be intrigued by. As a player, there just is not much to be excited about anymore. And for me to devote hours of time into being a modder I have to be a fan. And the fan in me is desperately trying to find a way to NOT move on.

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I don't anyone who doesn't like more content. That's a no brainer. However, there is a time for that and were not there yet. If adding more variety was all they focused on we wouldnt have the improved quest system and POI dungeons. Quality is better than quantity.

 

I for one like the new system and think it's the right direction. Unless someone can figure out a system of diminishing returns, A skill system by doing will be difficult to balance.

 

The new quest system and POIs are part of the new content I was mentioning. If they devoted more time to even just those 2 things instead of gutting and redoing progression, think how many more POIs or quests we may have gotten instead.

 

Spam crafting was fixed in 16, and action by doing was not broken by any means. SOME skills needed a tweak like Medicine etc of course, but those are just balances and tweaks. It certainly didn't need to be completely ripped out and thrown away in favor of "pew pew pew kill zed buy skill". There is literally NO strategy in that. Its simplistic to a fault.

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Zombies are not a resource, they are a threat. They are risk.

 

I get that some people want a minimum/no risk approach to leveling so they can the go get a bit of risk but when they are already geared and equipped how they want to deal with it. Essentially the zombie horror survival movie but the hero starts out in a fully equipped survival bunker loaded to the brim with zombie killing stuff.

 

Which is okay. It's largely a SP game and you should play it how you want. Same approach to the MP side of it - make a server that plays how you want and that always needs to be in the cards.

 

However the question becomes what's the default experience. Is the environment risk-heavy or risk-light? Some people like RNG mechanics, some hate them. I mean a lot of people buy lottery tickets and enjoy it. That's great, do your thing. However, again, we come back to what's the default experience? Do you advance and take risks and succeed or fail based on random chance or your personal performance?

 

TFP seems like they've gone toward a more risk-heavy environment that's driven by player performance and choices rather than RNG. For people who either like RNG over performance or who want risk-light vs risk-heavy, that's going to be dissatisfying. However that doesn't make it a bad choice for game development.

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I haven't posted in... years, and I've not had cause to regret that decision. I see little point in it. These forums really only seem to drown any enthusiasm I feel for the actual game in a wave of unfocused loathing, but that's a whole other problem

The problem, right now, is A17.

A17 took a long, long time to get here. No one can reasonably dispute that. Because of this reality it's release was going to be controversial no matter what. People wait this long for something and they expect the moon and stars.

Realistically nothing is going to match the expectation. People are going to grumble.

Realistically the dev's are going to resent that. I mean, look at how long this took, a ton of work went into this, and these ingrates don't appreciate that at all! WTF man?!

 

That said... WTF man?!

What the unholy ---- is going on here?

 

Madmole asked us to treat A17 like a new game or a sequel... and... I suppose that's the only context in which A17 is possible to view in a wholly positive light.

A17 is... very different from what I've come to expect from 7 days to die. It's now some sort of action shooter/modern action RPG... but it's not an RPG because there's still no story to invest in and thus no point (however illusory) to anything we do except for having fun.

Now, in all honestly A16 had a lot of that action shooter/RPG feel too. Mechanically it had a Morrowind meets (the original) red faction sort of vibe. You grow your character and abilities, and you can totally reshape the world. That's pretty cool.

It wasn't perfect, but, I wasn't going to let selection wheels and item consolidation ruin the game for me, not with all the other improvements.

In A17 however... I don't even know what to say. Morrowind is gone, and Fallout 4 has taken it's place. Words cannot describe how low an opinion I have of Fallout 4. It is not even suitable for use as fertilizer, but this is not the place for me to dive into that pit of effluvium.

 

This is a place to talk about 7 days to die, and to cut to the chase I am vastly disappointed with A17. Not so disappointed as I've been with certain other games, but that's not really relevant.

What is is why I'm disappointed, and that distills down into two core problems.

1- Simplification.

A17 is a simplified version of previous alphas in many regards.

Yes, combat is much more fleshed out and fulfilling, but I don't care. Better combat and pretty graphics in no way makes up for what is lost, and what is lost in complexity in crafting. We lost a lot of that in A16, and even in previous updates... and I wasn't happy with that either.

Crafting now feels more like I have an invisible magical imp floating behind me that eats material and poops finished goods than, well, crafting. It's felt like that for a while, not just A17. I get that this is the direction things are going, but I don't much care for it.

It feels like crafting had to be simplified to make time for all the combat.

This is another simplification problem. From a practical standpoint combat is the only effective way to advance now. No matter what you want to get better at the best way to do it is to go kill zombies. This is... boring. For all the combat improvements, combat in this game is sort of dull, especially when you have to do so much of it.

As things stand the most valuable resource is XP, and the best source of XP is zombies. This means that zombies are the primary resource, and the player is going to have spend most of his or her time either farming zombies, or doing something which is comparatively pointless from an advancement viewpoint.

Crafting 10,000 stone axes in A15 has been replaced with killing 10,000 zombies in A17, and then killing more zombies for whatever the next thing I want is, and... then do it again for the next thing, but kill some more because you need more and more xp to level as you progress.

I'm not saying the old way was wonderful, but at least there was some variety to what you had to do to level up. Right now, the game feels dumbed down. Very dumbed down. No matter what you want to do, kill zombies.

Enough about that, I suppose, because thing brings me to point 2.

2- railroading.

A17 forces the player to “play the game the right way”

It does this constantly. It does this more than A16. It does this more than a bad tabletop GM inflicting his terrible story on a pack of players who would rather smuggle imaginary goats across the imaginary border to sell to imaginary wizards.

I find that pretty impressive for a game that has basically no story, but it doesn't do it with story. Instead it uses mechanics.

Hoard night is a prime example. You must do hoard night. If you want to avoid hoard night then you're wrong and dirty and shouldn't play the game at all, apparently.

Why?

Personally, I liked hoard night, for a while. Running around dealing with a massive swarm of running zombies was fun for me. I would even start fires just to attract more zombies. Then... it got kinda boring.

Been there done that set in, and hoard night became a chore. Bigger hoards and tougher zombies didn't really help. Neither did A17's “smarter” zombies. The challenge is long gone, and (A16) zombies are simply annoying things in my way. (A17 zombies are the be all and end all of everything and all must be harvested, as I mentioned earlier.)

Hoard night ceased to be fun, and digging to bedrock was a lesser chore than fighting all the zombies every seventh day.

That option is gone now. Because, I'm apparently wrong to not want to deal with the hoard, and I must be forced to do things the “proper” way. Why? Because “Nowhere is safe!” is it?

Why is that a good thing?

Why are increasingly absurd zombies that can tear down concrete and steel walls with their faces and fists a good thing? To make sure that nowhere is safe?

No, it's because we must fight zombies at all times, or we're wrong. That's what nowhere is safe means. It means that if you want do -anything- but kill zombies at all times, well, you're wrong.

Passive defense is wrong, apparently.

Semi-active defense with a trap base is also wrong, apparently.

It's not the same old tedious busywork, it's the new fun! The -only- fun you're allowed to have!

I don't like this decision any more than a mysterious plague that kills all my imaginary goats. Maybe I'm not doing what you want me to be doing, but dammit I'm having fun doing it! Or, I was. Now... not so much. Now I'm just sort of irritated and looking for another outlet for my leisure time.

 

Alpha 17 is a simplified, railroaded version of 7 days.

It's not a bad game, but it's a game that's all about killing zombies. Once you get bored of killing zombies, then the game is over. The fun is at any rate, and that's a real shame.

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Zombies are not a resource, they are a threat. They are risk.

 

 

No they are a resource. If you want to progress you MUST go out and find them and kill them. GOOD survival horror games don't force you to kill everything. They employ decisions, risk vs reward. Sneaking past zombies shouldn't be detrimental to your progress and it 100 percent is.

 

If you tried to play a game where you tried to avoid zombies, like EVERY single zombie media available to us, you would hardly advance in anything. Even if you cooked 1000 meals, and mined for 90 days you're STILL at a disadvantage. The only advantage you have is going out, finding zombies and killing them.

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No they are a resource. If you want to progress you MUST go out and find them and kill them. GOOD survival horror games don't force you to kill everything. They employ decisions, risk vs reward. Sneaking past zombies shouldn't be detrimental to your progress and it 100 percent is.

 

If you tried to play a game where you tried to avoid zombies, like EVERY single zombie media available to us, you would hardly advance in anything. Even if you cooked 1000 meals, and mined for 90 days you're STILL at a disadvantage. The only advantage you have is going out, finding zombies and killing them.

 

Me playing a17 when realizing Jax will fix it.

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There is literally NO strategy in that. Its simplistic to a fault.

 

So true. Yet there is another post right besides this were somebody says how everybody not likeing a17 is just a casual, lazy player who doesnt like complexity... while a17 lost complexity everywhere like you say.

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First Happy Holidays to all.

 

And as a modder, Im VERY excited by all the things you just listed. Im grateful that the Pimps have embraced its very talented modding community and allow us the tools we have to take an amazing game and make it even more amazing.

 

But at the risk of farming more rep (thank you guys) I'm going to do something that some members here do not do. Take the modding hat OFF for a few minutes and speak as a player. There's a reason RH is not deep into development. Because me and my team are first and foremost fans and players.

 

I fired up A17 as a player, not a modder. And as a player by the end of the Experimental phase I was disappointed. Disappointed in the slimming down of activities, disappointed that I'm forced to JUST kill zombies to advance, disappointed that "roles" are no longer as important to a team (like farming or cooking or an ammo maker or a base upkeeper) but most of all disappointed by the fact that while I was excited to see all the huge steps forward like AI, POIs and the mod system there were so many steps back.

 

The thing is 7 Days chose ME as my favorite game. It crept up on me almost unexpectedly. And the ride has been amazing. But that ride COULD conceivably end. Yes there are numerous things to be excited about for the future of 7 Days modding, but as a player first and foremost if the base game is uninspiring and disappointing, there's no real reason to continue to contribute to its future. I've seen quite a few games come along and offer fresh new ideas, complexity and offer the same promise to modders to open the world up. Dead Matter, Fear the Night and Jaws of Extinction are just a few either released or upcoming zombie survival games that offer complex progression with a promise to modders. If I, as a player, feel uninspired to even play this latest update, all the tools in the world to mod it are useless to me. Because as a modder I take my inspiration for how much the game excites me. If it is no longer exciting, and I am no longer engaged, it isn't hard to move on and find another.

 

It makes absolute sense to embrace modders. Joel knows this as a modder himself. Skyrim is kept ALIVE by the modding community there. Hell even Sims games are kept alive by modders. What i NEVER expected was the reliance on mods for content that should be in the base game. The reliance on modders to keep the game fresh is a new wrinkle added this Alpha, one that I'm certain was formed during the downtime between 16 and 17 when the modding community exploded and the various mods being released kept 7 days thriving far after any content or fixes were being released. And I'm honored to be part of that future. The brutal reality is that in order to continue to be a part of that future I have to love what it is I'm doing and who I am doing it for. If the base game no longer captivates me, then my future as part of it is in doubt.

 

But that's the entire point of every single one of my posts. Maybe some see it as trolling but I LOVE this game. But recently its not exactly loving me back. I used to be excited to sit down at my desk for the day and dived into modding. That excitement is still there but I can tell you its diminishing. And it is diminishing for a LOT of other players as well. Just a look around every form of social media tells that story clearly. As a player I expected so much more from this Alpha because every single Alpha before, even if it tore down the system, added so many new things to extend gameplay. This is the first time in this games history that I feel like that love affair is coming to an end. Too many other games are taking ideas that this game used to excel in presenting to us and they understand that people want complexity, they want horror, they want discovery and rewarding gameplay and actions.

 

As a modder I can tell you that for MY mod 17 has NOT given me more opportunity. Its removed it. Gun Parts and Quality and Action Experience were instrumental in my mod. 17 opened the door for modding to be easier. And it did indeed add more options for armor and buffs. But it being BETTER? That is VERY subjective since Im spending half my modding time trying to figure out how I'm going to adapt my mod to all the things that were removed.

 

Please don't take this as a doom and gloom or some sort of angry reactionary post. I'm not angry. I'm sad. And I cant help or change how I feel. If I could somehow force myself to be positive I would. I tried. As a modder there's plenty to be intrigued by. As a player, there just is not much to be excited about anymore. And for me to devote hours of time into being a modder I have to be a fan. And the fan in me is desperately trying to find a way to NOT move on.

 

+1

 

Great post. I share your concern over the direction of the game.

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No they are a resource. If you want to progress you MUST go out and find them and kill them. GOOD survival horror games don't force you to kill everything. They employ decisions, risk vs reward. Sneaking past zombies shouldn't be detrimental to your progress and it 100 percent is.

 

If you tried to play a game where you tried to avoid zombies, like EVERY single zombie media available to us, you would hardly advance in anything. Even if you cooked 1000 meals, and mined for 90 days you're STILL at a disadvantage. The only advantage you have is going out, finding zombies and killing them.

 

Good survival horror usually has protagonists who are no match for more than a couple of zombies and scrape by on what they can scavenge. You can do that. You're just not going to get as far as the guy who smashed zombies day and night.

 

Also, this is a game. Not a movie or novel. It's not got plot armor or the like. In this game there is a connection between risks you take and the rewards you get.

 

As I said before there's different ways to make a game and different things people want from games. Some people want more control over risk level for the reward. I hope they are able to create some difficulty options to let players pick that for themselves.

 

However if you look over various polls on the topic you'll find the results split 50/50. I hated A16. Uninstalled right after it came out. I found it dull and pointless, I could max everything for almost no risk. Go kite some zombies out of the book store, get blueprint. I was never in any real danger, no real risk. I could just never fight a zombie until I had a backpack full of ammo and tons of top tier firearms. I could make a base and just grind crafts and ignore zombies. May as well play Sims or turn god mode on.

 

However what I want isn't the only way to do things and I hope as we go through alpha we get options to scale the experience. In the same way however right now it looks like TFP is testing a more risk heavy approach to the game and I enjoy it far more, apparently about half the other players do to. Ideally the end result let's us pick where the pendulum falls.

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