The Good:
1) Graphical updates (except that one zombie with the hanging eyeball... Her head is too big, scale it down a bit)
The game really looks much better, and feels much more immersive. (But only after I disabled the on screen/map markers for a few things in the data files)
2) The loot progression is awesome! I really feel the steady progress towards becoming stronger and stronger, and the times I land a lucky item that pushes me a bit farther really is enjoyed. Overall 8/10.
My one caveat with the loot progression is how is works with multiplayer. It should not increase your allies loot table if your friend has a higher game stage than you. I found it strange that when my buddy joined my server, and grabbed his first few boxes, his whole loot progression was ruined because he was getting loot from my gamestage. Right off the bat is getting steel gear, ak47 tier 4, etc. And it's even worse that the gamestage loot effect is distance related. So depending on how far you are from your friend, his loot can change drastically. This means that playing with friends who aren't at your gamestage can totally ruin this entire new progression system. (hence the -2)
3) New zombie actions. From the head motion tracking (which at times still feels a little off), to zombies sometimes stumbling as a door they're smashing on breaks, all these little details really add to the immersion. It's so funny when a group of zombies drop from above, and one falls right on his face, one sprints at you (feral) and a few slowly walk to you. It makes the zombies feel more individualized. Which is a good thing when you encounter so many. Little details like this are much appreciated.
4) Hit detection. Need I say more? Thank you!
5) New traits & books. I think a few things could change (I'd honestly put heavy armor back in fortitude), but it's overall a big improvement. There's still a few books I'd like to see though (efficient stacks of gunpowder and gas cans).
Generally the progression feels great! (And that includes stamina use, since with everything maxed, and a stamina buff going, you can swing forever, which makes sense to me that you can achieve perfect form with all the buffs (it's 5 minutes too, so it's not so bad to drink a pure mineral water before mining or a coffee)
6) Trader direction quest. Neat!
7) Zombie Ai and pathing changes. And improvement from alpha 18.
Wood wedge tips! Thanks and goodbye Tablesaw, you will not be missed.
Mixed:
1) The addition of new weapons and tools is great! It's just that I sort of wish the animations had been fleshed out a bit more before getting them out. I'm stil hopeful an update will come before I reach the new sniper rifle or auto shotgun, both of which have strange scope issues. Although the shotgun only has a visual issue, whereas the sniper really needs a pass to be usable without a scope. If it needs a scope to be used, implement that better. Blocking your view with a giant non-usable scope is silly.
But growing pains right?
I'm really glad to see the additions. Looking forwards to some more polish on them.
2) The new battle music is really cool. I enjoy it actually, and all the auditory updates have been enjoyable. I've only put this here, because I think there needs to be a setting to disable the battle music only. Just a checkbox for it. I haven't figured out how to disable it yet. (working on it) But I don't think everyone wants to fiddle with the game code to achieve the immersion they seek. That should be an option in game settings. (Like brightness)
3) The new marker system has a lot of potential. I think it's a big improvement actually, but I couldn't stand how in your face some of it was. I was able to disable the parts I didn't like in the data files, but there needs to be some settings for this. I think this will help new players a lot, but it can break immersion. I even wish there was a button (enable markers) that you could press to switch this on/off in a giffy. It would be the perfect solution (if there was also settings to control what is and isn't worth showing), allowing the utility of the update to be used, but without the visual noise, that along with the battle music can break immersion at times.
4) The new critical injury system is interesting for sure. I've played to day 12 and I've still yet to even get a sprain on warrior difficulty. I've been hearing all about them though, but I guess if you never get hit (except a few swings here and there) you don't really have much a chance to get them. So I went into creative mode in a new map and testing fighting large groups of 25 zombies, and wow... It's a bit harsh. But my opinion is not really that the debuffs are too strong, but rather the duration is too long.
I'm fine with items being used to remove critical injuries, but I don't think they should last up to an hour if not managed. This is terrible for new players, and leads to veterans having more inventory clutter. I like the idea, but I think critical injuries should last 5 minutes MAX, with most only 30 seconds. When you get a critical injury, you should think: "Oh crap, I better retreat for now and tend to my wounds." If the duration of the debuff without treatment is longer than 5 minutes, they can really negatively affect gameplay when the player is not carrying the appropriate item. I think the system needs to change to lessen how long it punishes players for not carrying (antibiotics, pain killers, bandages, water, food, lockpicks, bullets, candies, sowing kit, stilts, etc. It starts to become a bit much you need to carry with you on excursions and takes away from the enjoyment.
5) I will start by saying that unlike some of the people here, I really enjoy the new food/water drain speeds. I think it makes getting food feel more difficult. Although I can understand some people's feelings that it's non-immersive, and a system where the players finds way less food, but only eats 1-3 times a day would be more immersive. However, given the pace of the game, and the volume of loot, it's hard to stop players from collecting or making large amounts of food and drinks, so if each one gave a significant benefit, it would be too easy again. So I really like the new degradation speed.
However, I think the stamina penalty from thirst and hunger was much better in alpha 18. Gradual stamina loss as you get more hungry feels a lot better than arbitrary points that suddenly drastically lower your stamina. I don't think I need to say more on this. Just please, go back to stamina = min food/water. It was a good system, and didn't need to change.
The Bad:
1) That zombie with a eyeball hanging out has some head scaling issues. And two of the other new zombies (redhead, and blonde dude have odd hair. It looks out of place. (And it doesn't help that it stays on the body once she's lost her head... haha)
2) Great work, not much to hate on.
