PC A20 Developer Diary Discussions

i know we already have 2 bajillion books in the game but maybe i have an idea? called survivalists library 

volume 1 learn how to use weapons more efficient clubs have a 15% chance to knock back and stun a zombie for 3 seconds and cooldown is 20 seconds

volume 2 knifes: learn how to slice and dice your foes like mince meat and weaken their attacks after landing 5 successful stabs on a zombie gain a bloodlust effect that makes you hunger for more gain a 10% resistance to any damage type when actively stabbing  with any knife and a 5% power attack damage bonus

volume 3: m60s: the m60 is a powerful yet cumbersome weapon to reload so this book will teach you which parts of it can go and what cannot learn how to craft a more lighter magazine box but at the cost of 25 rounds of the weapons capacity

volume 4: food what's better than having a nice meal in the apocalypse? an added bonus! all foods will give you a 30% total filling bonus for example a can of sham will give you 19.5 food instead of 15 but this effect doesn't go onto the higher quality foods that restore more than 25 points of food

volume 5: the best defence. learn how to craft wooden and iron fortifications at a reduced amount. reduce the material cost by 20% as well as get a permanent 8% increase to all makeshift traps crafted by you.

volume 6: weather is a blessing but also can be a curse. when in any big enough shadow gain a 10% cooled status from heat and for the cold when in any house gain a 10% comfort and sheltered bonus.

volume 6 electricity: in the apocalypse sometimes getting a good enough battery can be troublesome well with this volume you can learn how to better that: all lead car battery's can now be upgraded by one higher tech tier by using mechanical parts, scrap polymers, oil and lead.

volume 7: running techniques. one of the most things about zombies is running away from them so this volume will teach you how to run properly and at the best efficiency. gain a 7% run speed bonus when above 60 stamina and running now uses 5% less stamina.

mastery bonus: master survivalist: when your health hits below 20 you will burst into a rage causing  you to deal 40% more melee damage but each swing will take away 1 hit point and health regenerates faster for 30 seconds.

i know this might be flawed but well i hope it seems partially interesting :)

 
Games are meant to in some way challenge you. Meaning that if something is mechanically difficult (pressing the correct key while under pressure) then it creates a skill division between people who can keep their calm and press the right keys and the people who can't.
IRL people who panic usually don't get stuck duck-waddling. Running away is a very basic skill that should not require being calm. ;)

 
I play with nightmare speed, so yes, of course I'm going to panic and tense up when bikers are coming towards me from around the corner, especially rad bikers, they can kill you within a couple of seconds

 


Establish dominance. Stand your ground. When the bikers run at you at nightmare speed, kill both of you with a landmine planted squarely at your feet. This is human perseverence at its peak.

IRL people who panic usually don't get stuck duck-waddling. Running away is a very basic skill that should not require being calm. ;)
Well, actually people kind of do get stuck duck waddling. Fight or flight kicks in in these situations but some people literally just freeze and get (hypothetically) Krispy Kremed by nightmare speed bikers.

 
I see and agree.

There seems to be a bunch of people (including me) how faced that situations.

So what about getting the camera perspective a little lower than now when crouched, plus making the screen egde darker/dim (similar to the freeze and heat indicators)?


You already get the camera perspective a little lower when you crouch. During standing up or crouching you see the difference, but not when you keep a stance.

Something on the screen edge was my first thought too, but then I thought that for example night-vision goggles already embellish/occlude the screen edges.

Also screen edge again depends on peripheral vision and that is not my strong suit. I should mention that I'm blind on one eye, so my field of vision is probably narrower than usual.

 Git gud dude!
After 5 years of trying that without success I just have to face the facts 😉

 
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it's the panic that makes me crouch and then I can't run away. (because I press both ctrl and shift by mistake)
So it's not a thing of visual indication of crouch/stand anyway,

more a need for a workaround for your failing brain-muscle connection 🤔

I had a similar problem with Skyrim, it didn't let me bind a key I used in many other games.

So I feel your pain, regardless of I myself am more like "damn what's wrong with me, why do I keep pressing the wrong buttons, man focus and get it right finally"

Have you looked for a mod that "fixes" keybindings to your needs?

For Skyrim there was one 😬

 
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I'm usually in the situation where I get the CTRL and SHIFT keys mixed up, in 7 Days or in Skyrim. 😬 "Run, idiot, run!" *Crouches*

Probably wouldn't make a difference in said panic situations.

It was already relatively clearly stated that "the controls should be changed cause player doesn't want to change his muscle memory"

Without wanting to get too philosophical, in fact that's one of the bigger problems mankind faces today. Seen from the perspective of evolution, one had to adapt to the given circumstances to succeed...nowerdays everybody is just complaining that the enviroment has to be adapted to the individuals best pleasure.

I myself have to admit that I have run into those "why is my running speed so damn slow oh I'm crouched...ouch get away zombie" situations.

...then I feel stupid some time and just start over.


Still, a visual indicator of if you've been detected or not would be nice, like in alphas of old.

Establish dominance. Stand your ground. When the bikers run at you at nightmare speed, kill both of you with a landmine planted squarely at your feet. This is human perseverence at its peak.


Seriously though, if you've got a gun and a biker is charging towards you, just crouch to improve your aim (or supposedly) and pelt off a few shots. At least then you're in a better position then being tickled from behind. ;)

 
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MechanicalLens said:
In a burnt biome, such wandering hordes would consist primarily or exclusively of burning zombies.
conga line of fire. Extremely dangerous, cause those will burn extra long, similar to a barbecue minion ring 😄

Just don't let it come too close to a horde of frozen lumberjacks (those will obliberate each other of course)

On a serious side note, 

I would rather see burnt or frozen versions of every zombie according to the different biomes.

But I know it was discussed so many times that it ain't easy to do that sort of variety in zombie models, so won't happen.

I guess I would take your suggestion, although it might look will look weird and repetitive. (I don't care, it's easy XP, so what 😬)

 
conga line of fire. Extremely dangerous, cause those will burn extra long, similar to a barbecue minion ring 😄

Just don't let it come too close to a horde of frozen lumberjacks (those will obliberate each other of course)

On a serious side note, 

I would rather see burnt or frozen versions of every zombie according to the different biomes.

But I know it was discussed so many times that it ain't easy to do that sort of variety in zombie models, so won't happen.

I guess I would take your suggestion, although it might look will look weird and repetitive. (I don't care, it's easy XP, so what 😬)
Always felt the rifle line perks were pretty useless. Being able to fire thru a zombie with a single shot rifle???

How often does that happen even with the perk. How often a two perfectly lined up. Maybe on a horde night but single shot rifle while they are all running seems to be a bad weapon choice.

conga line would change all the above and make that perk totally worth having.

 
Always felt the rifle line perks were pretty useless. Being able to fire thru a zombie with a single shot rifle???

How often does that happen even with the perk. How often a two perfectly lined up. Maybe on a horde night but single shot rifle while they are all running seems to be a bad weapon choice.

conga line would change all the above and make that perk totally worth having.
It really is useful when you have a horde base with elevated corridor design, so they all line up going for you. I always wondered why they introduced that perk because that design was „officially“ stated as „cheesing the AI“

 
It really is useful when you have a horde base with elevated corridor design, so they all line up going for you. I always wondered why they introduced that perk because that design was „officially“ stated as „cheesing the AI“


I'm more curious why they added the robotic sledge. They must have known it was going to become the ultimate cheese machine. Lol

All you need is an extremely tall staircase (about 70 or so meters high at least), a small bridge going off of it where the robotic sledge(s) sit on the side, and they knock the zombies back down to ground level while you stand at the opposite end. If you can put rad removers in the sledges, this means that even rad zombies will eventually die from the bonking and/or from fall damage. Theoretically that base design would be completely AFKable. Lol

 
It really is useful when you have a horde base with elevated corridor design, so they all line up going for you. I always wondered why they introduced that perk because that design was „officially“ stated as „cheesing the AI“


The only strategies that have officially been stated as cheesing the AI were 1) Digging under ground, 2) Driving around all night, and 3) Treading water all night. All three of these strategies have officially been addressed by the developers in that special way they have to destroy "mah playstyle!". I never read a single staff member of TFP state officially that constructing an elevated corridor design is cheesing the AI. Instead, I have witnessed Madmole himself utilize a kill corridor design. Seeing as how we have gone from A17 - A20 and elevated kill corridors still work while the first three mentioned have systematically been dismantled since A17, I think that it is safe to say that forming an elevated corridor to bait zombies into lining up so that AP rounds can be utilized to maximum value is considered a valid strategy by TFP.

As for the community, you will always get proclamations of cheese from one quarter or another. I wouldn't worry about it.

 
I thought the new Hawaiian zombie was grotesque before, but after knocking one down on his stomach I realized his backside is completely brown. Eww!!!  :yuck:

 
It really is useful when you have a horde base with elevated corridor design, so they all line up going for you. I always wondered why they introduced that perk because that design was „officially“ stated as „cheesing the AI“


You may be thinking of zombies endlessly running up elevations in a loop even though there wasn't even a chance to get to the player (this happened in A16). So Faatal changed the AI, now zombies do not go up ramps unless you put yourself up as bait at the end and by introducing destroy mode.

 
Don't try it unless you load up an older version.

Or do try it but make sure to have the Jaws soundtrack playing while you do. haha...
well i hope they will make something like "drowned" type of zombie because it could work good and be natural sign that making bases on water is bad idea

 
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