PC Listen up Fun Pimps!

The dev's goal is to make a game, not 20+ games.  So while each alpha has some new stuff, it's totally understandable that you may have already sucked the 'marrow' out over many hours of playtime in previous alphas.  For instance, there are an increasing number of POIs that I know like the back of my hand now.  Should they keep redoing these POIs, or churning out more of them, so that they're fresh and entertaining for us year after year?  I mean, that'd be nice for us veteran players.  But as others have said, that would be operating as a live service, instead of trying to get to 7 Days to Die 1.0.  Every version you've played is alpha: it's short of 1.0.

It does still puzzle me how some people (not singling you out), when they say "content," don't count things like weapons and vehicles, and anything other than story & NPC stuff isn't content to them.  Maybe this has to do with coming from different game backgrounds?  A20 has new quests, new weapons, new zombies, new loot containers, a ton of new block shapes, vehicle mods, and new RWG infrastructure like highways, traffic lights, sewers, etc.  "Yeah, but we're still waiting for the content."  That all seems like content to me!
Damn - they increasing number of poi but- this don't change a lot because... you can still find this same zombies or weapons. This is like saying-  in shogun 2 rise of samurai  you have 100+ maps. Ok that's will be true but most of them are just change number of  trees.  increasing numbe of poi can't help because this is not l4d2 or cod when design of poi mean a lot. I give you example- l4d2  you have few special infected- charger, tank jockey smoker,splitter witch - they have special abilities so  witch can you easy kill you in narrow place but you can easy go around on parking , charger can be easy killed on open space but he can one hit kill from high place etc. in 7dtd you have normal zombies, toughter zombies, screamer , cop, dog and birds and this new one ( i don't mention demo zombie because this is blood moon only) - so this don't matter if you are in poi outside etc because if you don't fall  int o pit with zombies poi don't influece a lot. 

You are right we have new quest and guns but honestly - only 1 new zombie - rest of them are hd models. We get new RWG but honestly - if this change a lot? no- because you will see this same zombie over and over-  in first 15 minutes you can find this same zombie 2- 3 times sometimes. and if new  traffic light can change something? no.  but let say behemot, sleeper demo or zombie similar to witch could change a lot.  Right RWG looks cool but - cod vanguard der anfang maps looks cool too and... whatever because you have small number of zombies, no special weapons etc. you know what i mean

I feel i could write abput what is wrong  like gecko but i don't feel this would have any sense- if this could change past? no. If this allow to release 7dtd faster? no. So this would be just pointless. I'm almost 100% sure we can't expect something like 7dtd  in future but with medival or sci fi setting. Why? because i think devs can be tired with this type of game

 
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*wall of text*


You clearly play a lot of games and have strong opinions about what is or is not sufficient "change" in 7D2D. But none of that rebuts the point that every change to 7D2D over the years has been towards the 1.0 release. We're all just along for the ride. We can offer - and I'm sure TFP appreciates at least in some cases - our opinions on which changes work and which don't, but there really isn't much basis for a "you aren't changing enough!" argument. These are not DLC packs, these are evolutions towards the very first release of 7D2D. There are, hopefully, a couple/few million potential customers out there who've never bought nor played 7D2D. They are the target for all of this, not us. We are the hecklers sitting in the auditorium taunting TFP before the real show has even started. Wow there sure are a lot of us.

( i don't mention demo zombie because this is blood moon only)


Minor point: Demos will appear in downtown areas. More likely in Wasteland downtown than others.

 
Well only things left from kickstarter :

1. story

2. bandits

Npc - traders are npc so we have them

I don't think anything more is missing from kickstarter

So bandits were finished they could just add them.  Behemot was quiet unfinished. Well true they neved added them but still - they were complited .
NPCs are interactable, have/add to the story and fill the world with life.
Now they are just a blackboard of quests. A poi with a moving blackboard. Can't kill or interact with it besides that.
That is not an NPC. I am sorry.

 
It does still puzzle me how some people (not singling you out), when they say "content," don't count things like weapons and vehicles, and anything other than story & NPC stuff isn't content to them.  Maybe this has to do with coming from different game backgrounds?  A20 has new quests, new weapons, new zombies, new loot containers, a ton of new block shapes, vehicle mods, and new RWG infrastructure like highways, traffic lights, sewers, etc.  "Yeah, but we're still waiting for the content."  That all seems like content to me!
Adding more loot is not "content".
We need stuff to do. Goals to achive.

This is not minecraft where it is all about building.

It CAN be. But then its not a survival game.

"Content" I mean:

We don'T need more weapons or even different vehicles (although new skins would be a nice little addition)

We need content. A story. Bandits that have been in talks since A12 I believe.
I just want my NPCs and a story. And coming with that a late game. (building an NPC defended Fort and stuff like that)
Everything else are minor addition and balancing issues.

 
NPCs are interactable, have/add to the story and fill the world with life.
Now they are just a blackboard of quests. A poi with a moving blackboard. Can't kill or interact with it besides that.
That is not an NPC. I am sorry.


The definition of NPCs is very subjective.  For me NPCs are non playable characters that add life and character to the game worlds they exist in.

Could they do more?  Sure, but that doesn't take away from what they are imo.  Rekt and Jen are probably this games best NPCs.  Rekt triggers hatred in most players while Jen "triggers" people's inner Snowdog....😁

 
If anyone played the original DayZ mod for Arma 2 they may remember the random military/bandit camps. 10-20 well armed men around a central tent. Best loot in the game if you could take them out. These would pop up randomly and last for several days or until they were killed. 

 
The definition of NPCs is very subjective.  For me NPCs are non playable characters that add life and character to the game worlds they exist in.

Could they do more?  Sure, but that doesn't take away from what they are imo.  Rekt and Jen are probably this games best NPCs.  Rekt triggers hatred in most players while Jen "triggers" people's inner Snowdog....😁
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-player_character

 

They do not have dialogue. They do not move. They do not enhance the world, because they do not live in it. They have no character except a few witty, always repeating lines. Oh and also boobies :3
I am sorry, but even if they are very much three dimensional, they are still as flat as a blackboard :'D

 
NPCs are interactable, have/add to the story and fill the world with life.
Now they are just a blackboard of quests. A poi with a moving blackboard. Can't kill or interact with it besides that.
That is not an NPC. I am sorry.
They are npc- npc works in that's way in for example in mmo. You can trade and ask for quest. Bandits could be npc too -if they can be looted. in old games it was normal that npc just sit somewher and talk/trade/give quest only

You clearly play a lot of games and have strong opinions about what is or is not sufficient "change" in 7D2D. But none of that rebuts the point that every change to 7D2D over the years has been towards the 1.0 release. We're all just along for the ride. We can offer - and I'm sure TFP appreciates at least in some cases - our opinions on which changes work and which don't, but there really isn't much basis for a "you aren't changing enough!" argument. These are not DLC packs, these are evolutions towards the very first release of 7D2D. There are, hopefully, a couple/few million potential customers out there who've never bought nor played 7D2D. They are the target for all of this, not us. We are the hecklers sitting in the auditorium taunting TFP before the real show has even started. Wow there sure are a lot of us.

Minor point: Demos will appear in downtown areas. More likely in Wasteland downtown than others.
well that's something new

 
They are npc- npc works in that's way in for example in mmo. You can trade and ask for quest. Bandits could be npc too -if they can be looted. in old games it was normal that npc just sit somewher and talk/trade/give quest only

well that's something new
Even in an MMO, the one with the least interactable NPCs, they give you a story. They explain the world and what is happening. Quests might be "go here and collect 'x' " but there is a whole story about a sick pig that needs the medicine, but she is too old and her niece is currently on a trip to the next city. And later you meet that niece and she gives you a reward for helping her aunt.

Here it is literally just a blackboard "clear POI 'a'" here is your reward.
"Clear POI 'b'" here is your reward.
"Clear POI 'a' again" ...
 

 
Even in an MMO, the one with the least interactable NPCs, they give you a story. They explain the world and what is happening. Quests might be "go here and collect 'x' " but there is a whole story about a sick pig that needs the medicine, but she is too old and her niece is currently on a trip to the next city. And later you meet that niece and she gives you a reward for helping her aunt.

Here it is literally just a blackboard "clear POI 'a'" here is your reward.
"Clear POI 'b'" here is your reward.
"Clear POI 'a' again" ...
 
You ever play ultima? :p

Ultima-Black-Gate_Featured3-e1522518892335.jpg

 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-player_character

 

They do not have dialogue. They do not move. They do not enhance the world, because they do not live in it. They have no character except a few witty, always repeating lines. Oh and also boobies :3
I am sorry, but even if they are very much three dimensional, they are still as flat as a blackboard :'D


I would love for more interactive NPCs and I would be just as disappointed as you if TFP points at the traders and says, "NPCS: Check"

However.... you opened the door with your link and this is quoting from the top definition from your link:

A non-player character (NPC) is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player.[1] The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster or referee rather than by another player. In video games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer (instead of the player) that has a predetermined set of behaviors that potentially will impact gameplay, but will not necessarily be the product of true artificial intelligence.


Traders:

Characters: Check

Not controlled by players: Check

Controlled by the computer: Check

Predetermined set of behaviors: Check

Use impacts gameplay: Check

Not the product of true AI: Check

Let's just hope the devs don't find your link, Vik, because if they do then they probably will go "NPCS: check!"

 
I would love for more interactive NPCs and I would be just as disappointed as you if TFP points at the traders and says, "NPCS: Check"

However.... you opened the door with your link and this is quoting from the top definition from your link:

Traders:

Characters: Check

Not controlled by players: Check

Controlled by the computer: Check

Predetermined set of behaviors: Check

Use impacts gameplay: Check

Not the product of true AI: Check

Let's just hope the devs don't find your link, Vik, because if they do then they probably will go "NPCS: check!"


Would be great if the traders at least wandered around their POIs.

If I ever get the chance, I would love to make a trader POI of any of the existing traders.  That way it might be more believable when you bump into another Jen but in a different POI....😄

 
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Would be great if the traders at least wandered around their POIs.

If I ever get the chance, I would love to make a trader POI of any of the existing traders.  That way it might be more believable when you but into another Jen but in a different POI....😄


Hey Laz! Why are you peeking through the window of that POI over there?!?!

 
Traders:

Characters: Check

Not controlled by players: Check

Controlled by the computer: Check

Predetermined set of behaviors: Check

Use impacts gameplay: Check

Not the product of true AI: Check
Define "character".
They do not have stats and do not interact with the world.
Just because they are in human form and repeat the same 3-5 voicelines does not make them a "character".
They do not have behaviour. None that a blackboard couldn't do :D
Use implements gameplay... debatable... but fine :D but I could have done that poi without it as well :D

Would be great if the traders at least wandered around their POIs.

If I ever get the chance, I would love to make a trader POI of any of the existing traders.  That way it might be more believable when you bump into another Jen but in a different POI....😄
Quest idea:
"make POI 'x' livable"
5 different trader pois (one for each queststage all in the same city)
clear it and the trader will move the next morning.

Should be easy to script as well.

You now just need 5 stages of traderpoi.
Then you could even add patroling guards and stuff.

All they need to do is shoot zombies and move from predetermined poin A to B.

BOOM already much more worlddevelopment than the last 5 alphas (15 was dishong tower with the behemoth sized hole right?) combined :D

 
Define "character".
They do not have stats and do not interact with the world.


They interact with you and since you are the center of that universe that is by far the strongest interaction an NPC can have.

Many NPCs in games didn't have stats. Because they were elemental to the story they were made immortal and unchangeable. Many quest givers and traders in computer-RPGs. In old RPGs you often had NPCs like that ultima lady that Lazman showed. Or NPCs with exactly one line that just wandered around in exactly one location and doing nothing else. Or NPCs that simply had a short menue of stuff to buy and sell.

Just because they are in human form and repeat the same 3-5 voicelines does not make them a "character".
They do not have behaviour. None that a blackboard couldn't do :D
Use implements gameplay... debatable... but fine :D but I could have done that poi without it as well :D






Ever played FTL? All the stories in there are told in a few sentences, after having played the game a few dozen times you know that every encounter is the same static text just randomized. Every NPC you meet has the same lines and after some random roll one of a handful different replies.

And still the game creates a story. And you don't want to leave the poor slave in the hands of the pirates even though you KNOW it is just a random event with always the same short text and the poor slave is just a few pixels on the screen.

There is not much text necessary to tell a story.

You don't read the quest descriptions anymore in 7D2D, sure, they don't contain anything useful. But just by adding a few special quests with relevant text you can give the traders a backstory, involve them in the story and advance the story. I don't know if TFP will do it that way, but a possible tapestry to paint a story on is already there and can easily evoke emotions if you have a good writer.

 
Well only things left from kickstarter :

1. story

2. bandits

Npc - traders are npc so we have them

I don't think anything more is missing from kickstarter

So bandits were finished they could just add them.  Behemot was quiet unfinished. Well true they neved added them but still - they were complited .


Bandits were good enough for you. They were good enough for the modders who re-enabled them. But obviously they were not good enough for TFP.

I don't know the criterias on which TFP decided this. But it is like a soccer game where the referee says this was no goal and you as spectator say it was a goal. You can say it as often as you like but the newspaper the next day will print there was no goal. End of story.

 
You don't read the quest descriptions anymore in 7D2D, sure, they don't contain anything useful. But just by adding a few special quests with relevant text you can give the traders a backstory, involve them in the story and advance the story. I don't know if TFP will do it that way, but a possible tapestry to paint a story on is already there and can easily evoke emotions if you have a good writer.
never said it needs to be complex additions. :D But right now, we have nothing.

But there is nothing in 7D2D we only know of a duke. Nothing more.
I said this a lot. This isn't an RPG because there is no story to play a character in.
It is an empty world. You can pretend to be cheeseman McFly in Fifa, that doesnt make it an RPG :D

I will refrain from telling you that these old games shouldn't be a standart because they were limited by their times.
But what I will tell you is that...
honestly I don't know anymore xD I just wanted to say that without hating on these old classics.

If you can replace an NPC with a questboard, it is not an NPC. Not even by MMO standarts (where they can't move bc of syncing)

 

 
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