Allowing 50 players =/= rust/dayz. We are here for 7 days. Player count has no bearing on the games identity, especially when we could have those player counts in the past in the same game. There is a reason we stayed here instead of going to the other games you mentioned, because they are different games. Everytime I've seen your replies, you seem to treat the desire for higher player counts as an assault on the way you play this game. It would not affect you at all.
As for the honey and vinegar metaphor, I worry that many taking the side of expanding multiplayer come in here with an axe to grind. If I were a dev, I'd be less willing to listen to these people being as abrasive as they are. It's not helping. We need to stop being mad/angry and instead focus on helping those able to make change understand our plight.
Madmole talking about hiring a programmer for netcode gave me hope, and I made the mistake of thinking improvements would show up within months after him saying that. I should have realized most development takes a long time and such a thing would not show up until probably a21. So here's to continued hoping.
In the meantime, I'd also hope people upset over multiplayer stop being angry and hostile, and others stop spitting on the wish for higher population servers with no solid reason to do so.
Do you know that this game will have a sequel in future right? So that will affect me.
Why? well some things don't have be directly connected with offical stuff to influence about game series. So let's say that 7dtd became know as game with big servers. Devs see what people are talking/writing about 7dtd. So they can focus to make 7DTD2 PVPE game for bigger groups.
Why ? people would have opinion that "7dtd is like rust mixed with rust" - they will not know that more that 8% wasn't offical supported.
So to well get more buyier of 7dtd2 they can focus to created game for "50 players" groups but this will mean something will be "simpler".
If you focus more on X then there is less options to create something else - more players = less props. That's why big maps games are pretty poor about props - check Cod SP maps then MP then Warzone ---> less players more details because performance.\
Why i'm so sure about that?
I will give Company of heroes 3 as example.
Some people were complaining about.... "too edgy" COH2. Coh 3 will be released in this year and looks like... kid was playing with ww2 action mans - colourful, "plastic" models, strange vehicles proportions and battlegroups instead commanders.
So as you say - that's why even "not directly" things can influence on others things too. So - in short period it can be nothing for me but in longer period this can hurt a lot
So there is solid reason for this. COD looks now like.... fortnite. Check how WaW looks like and then how looks Vanguard. this happens because some people were saying "historical accuracy don't matter , this is a game broo so you know fun" and now because of that we have anime skins and railguns. And this don't change because Acti get more money using microtransations. Ofc there are games like hell let loose or squads - but this is not cod ( too long to explains)
So as you see can influence about diffrent stuff. The biggest Diffrence is ... there is no alternative for 7DTD series - i don't even mean voxel games. Dead matter is abbadoned. project zomboid is not fps but isometric, dead of the night looks too much like asian F2P shooter (check traps and zombie models). So well this is important at least for me too keep this "sp/coop" "opinion' of community about 7dtd.
I will use cod again as example -> there is now warzone in cod and because of that zombie community get hurts. Why? less maps, maps take from MP , lack of orginal maps because some devs are now working on warzone. So... you don't have cookie and eat cookie. If warzone was mistake that would mean better cod zombie content.
This is example have thing in one game can influence on other games from this same series
