I agree, finding too many high level items early isn't good for the state of the game.... but there is a middle ground. It doesn't even have to be middle.... just a little tilted away from where it is. There was great game play in early alphas where you lucked out with an item early and tailored your game play around that lucky find. I'd like to see a little of that come back (but only with item degradation)
But, as others have said, the biggest gripe I have is the overlap of performance in the different tiers. It's incredibly frustrating to finally find an iron tool, only to realize the stone axe you've been using is actually superior to it. Just my opinion, obviously, but I feel that a higher tier item should always be superior to a lower tier no matter what their quality
100%. A18 let you find too much loot way too early, but now there's just virtually no surprise. No lucky find that lets you take a shortcut in one area of the game, like a proper vehicle, a proper tool, a proper firearm, etc. Everything follows a linear curve and if I start over there's going to be absolutely no element of surprise from what I'll get in loot.
Regarding the "overlap in efficiency", madmole stated it's a wanted design, so that you have to make choices (use that Q1 iron pick with coffee, -10% stamina drain mod, maxxed out sex rex and be 20% more efficient or... use that Q6 stone axe). I find it terrible, because the stone age is already so stretched out that the ONE thing that would bring back that "woohoo, finally!" moment
would be the moment you finally find an iron tool. But it's not, you left stone age and entered the no man's land until you start dropping Q3+.
I think stone age tools should be capped to Q4, and the whole stone age duration shortened by 25%, and the transition would feel A LOT better.
Many dint like the gun parts, I loved it
So do I, the new steady & slow progression would feel so much better by finding parts everywhere until you finally find the missing piece, and then upgrading it piece by piece. Instead, there's no gun to be found and all of a sudden, out of a toilet, the breakthrough of power is real.