PC Alpha 21 Dev Diary

[Blake_]

The constant stream of DLC makes me not want to buy the game. Maybe someday if they package everything together for 20 bucks, they can have my money.

On the other hand, I find I never play the extra gameplay type DLCs in most gold editions of games I buy, as I am sick of the game by the time I finish...if I even make it to the end.

I do agree that many 4x games bombard the player with dlcs and even though they can have beefy content if put together, most of the time they do not add much in the form of a brand new experience. 

That said, I do not feel that way for most rpgs, as exploring new places and doing new things sometimes extend the fun way beyond the title's lifespan.

To put a direct example:

It's not the same to add a new faction in Stellaris than to add a new faction in Skyrim. 

It's not the same to add 30 new quests in X4: Foundations than to add 30 new quests in 7dtd, (even with a minimum of quality being : "kill that animal and bring me 2 pelts").

I also think 7dtd is waay inside that YES_DLC spectrum, as its replayability is so intense that, if maybe we do not experience the DLC in one 200-hour gameplay session, then we will have the interest to play it for the next one.

I'm talking gameplay dlcs here, not "skin" or " cosmetic fluff" ones of course.

Also there's the quality that makes 7dtd a multiplayer jewel. The moment you change (real life) companions/partners/friends after a long and satisfying 200 hour game,  you feel like starting again, even in the hypothetical case of a future solid end game.

Would you restart a session with your daughter or wife  if after weeks of living in a virtual world you found out that your favourite rpg game has 30 new random quests and a couple of new factions but requires a new map? I would. And I would probably play close to the same amount of hours for that one too.

 

[Larry_Flynt]

What i do wonder:
-Bandits are postponed, okay

But why there are no POIs with automatic structures like turrets left as challenge? Would be easy to implement as new turret entities (which should have unlimited ammo).
Would be something in between of "no bandits" and "bandits with pathing" and should be easy to implement. Could be an option for more more T5 POIs.

As far as i know only mines have been incorporated in POI Structures so far (and the trap doors).

Maybe design them as more sophisticated ones for military high level  compounds too.

Edit: Could be expanded to all traps, e.g. POIs with working dart traps, trigger plates etc.
Would be another level of puzzle to solve and would be an incentive to try and scrap the parts intact as ressources instead of destroying them. They should not be buildable by players.

Maybe these traps could also defend trader areas instead of an invincible area, but thats another step.

 

[Dimasic-Colbasic]

Dear developers, I like your game. This game is one of my favorite games in the world. But this masterpiece lacks pets (dogs, wolves). I beg you to please add pets. I am ready to pay you as much as you say. So, in my opinion, the game will really become much more enjoyable and interesting for most players. And please tell me, are you planning to add an animation of the finishing blow and crushing the zombie's head with a boot? I think it would look pretty cool and brutal.

 

[Fanatical_Meat]

Dear developers, I like your game. This game is one of my favorite games in the world. But this masterpiece lacks pets (dogs, wolves). I beg you to please add pets. I am ready to pay you as much as you say. So, in my opinion, the game will really become much more enjoyable and interesting for most players. And please tell me, are you planning to add an animation of the finishing blow and crushing the zombie's head with a boot? I think it would look pretty cool and brutal.

There will be no pets, drone is the pet. This has been covered many time. There are too many sacrifices that have to be made to have properly pathing pets. 
Seems the choice is add pets and have fewer zombies, add pets and decrease frame rate or a bit of both.

Maybe the next game will have pets. This game will not unless it is modded in.

 

[Riamus]

I do agree that many 4x games bombard the player with dlcs and even though they can have beefy content if put together, most of the time they do not add much in the form of a brand new experience. 

That said, I do not feel that way for most rpgs, as exploring new places and doing new things sometimes extend the fun way beyond the title's lifespan.

To put a direct example:

It's not the same to add a new faction in Stellaris than to add a new faction in Skyrim. 

It's not the same to add 30 new quests in X4: Foundations than to add 30 new quests in 7dtd, (even with a minimum of quality being : "kill that animal and bring me 2 pelts").

I also think 7dtd is waay inside that YES_DLC spectrum, as its replayability is so intense that, if maybe we do not experience the DLC in one 200-hour gameplay session, then we will have the interest to play it for the next one.

I'm talking gameplay dlcs here, not "skin" or " cosmetic fluff" ones of course.

Also there's the quality that makes 7dtd a multiplayer jewel. The moment you change (real life) companions/partners/friends after a long and satisfying 200 hour game,  you feel like starting again, even in the hypothetical case of a future solid end game.

Would you restart a session with your daughter or wife  if after weeks of living in a virtual world you found out that your favourite rpg game has 30 new random quests and a couple of new factions but requires a new map? I would. And I would probably play close to the same amount of hours for that one too.

You make good points about the value of DLC changing based on the type of game.  For a game that really can't expand beyond what it already is, like 4X or FPS or management sim, DLC have little to offer.  They usually feel like they are only skins and cosmetics even if they offer some new gameplay because they have little real impact on the game.  For an RPG, DLC can offer far more given the story centric nature of the game and how new factions or other DLC can really change up the game.

For this game, there is a good replay value and any DLC that adds new mechanics or other content that provides more varied gameplay will certainly extend the interest in the game.  There does come a point where you've done basically everything so many times that the game gets dull and a DLC that gives you new things to do can really make a difference. We do, of course, have mods to provide more gameplay as well.

 

[Laz Man]

What i do wonder:
-Bandits are postponed, okay

But why there are no POIs with automatic structures like turrets left as challenge? Would be easy to implement as new turret entities (which should have unlimited ammo).
Would be something in between of "no bandits" and "bandits with pathing" and should be easy to implement. Could be an option for more more T5 POIs.

As far as i know only mines have been incorporated in POI Structures so far (and the trap doors).

Maybe design them as more sophisticated ones for military high level  compounds too.

Edit: Could be expanded to all traps, e.g. POIs with working dart traps, trigger plates etc.
Would be another level of puzzle to solve and would be an incentive to try and scrap the parts intact as ressources instead of destroying them. They should not be buildable by players.

Maybe these traps could also defend trader areas instead of an invincible area, but thats another step.

Definitely would be cool to have but would require a good design and probably rework of various POIs in order to not feel rushed / tacked on. Probably too much scope creep before gold.

Would be a great feature for 7dtd2 though...

Maybe people won't think too much about wanting turrets when walking turrets enter the game...(bandits)...

 

[Aldranon]

The only changes are us using never versions of Unity in which they sometimes fix issues. We recently updated to 2021.3.16, but may end up on .18 or .19 for A21.

Sooo, Unity build 2021.3.19 will probably be out next month....

Are you trying to "Roland Hint" us?

I'm OK with March 30 or April 1st for a release date!! 

 

[Fanatical_Meat]

Sooo, Unity build 2021.3.19 will probably be out next month....

Are you trying to "Roland Hint" us?

I'm OK with March 30 or April 1st for a release date!! 

Steam has its Spring Sale sometime in mid March….

 

[faatal]

Sooo, Unity build 2021.3.19 will probably be out next month....

Are you trying to "Roland Hint" us?

I'm OK with March 30 or April 1st for a release date!! 

I'm using .18 for testing now and our console devs need a fix in .17 for an occlusion bug and since they are parallel developing, we try to stay on the same version, hence the stop at .18 or .19 if that drops soon. Release wise it will come down to how fast bugs get fixed, which depends on when we stop finding major bugs.

 

[gunner1912]

@faatal do you think this new crafting change will not just change the standard method of progressing from grind xp for crafting to grind quest bc why not when i can get t6 loot in a week doing quests vs lootings for 3 weeks for a t4 lower tech lv item? or is the quest system going to be reworked to balance this new system as well?

 

[Aldranon]

Steam has its Spring Sale sometime in mid March….

The pieces of this puzzle are fitting together, quite well.

Quite well indeed...

 

[Dimasic-Colbasic]

Домашних животных не будет, дрон - это домашнее животное. Это было рассмотрено много раз. Слишком много жертв приходится приносить, чтобы правильно ухаживать за домашними животными.
Кажется, есть выбор: добавить питомцев и иметь меньше зомби, добавить питомцев и уменьшить частоту кадров или немного того и другого.

Возможно, в следующей игре будут домашние животные. Эта игра не будет, если она не модифицирована.

You are already the third person who tells me that animals can only be seen in the next game from the studio. But you have to understand that I would like to see them in this particular game. Because this is my favorite game and I really love the zombie theme. I don't know if you've played games like conan exiles and fallout 3, new vegas. In the game conan exiles, pets do not bring and discomfort and also work well with a large number of mobs. In the games fallout 3 and fallout new vegas, the pet also runs after you and I think it would not be too critical for him to teleport to you if he could get to you. This is not a game about parkour like dying light. You won't be constantly jumping on roofs and climbing rope. For the most part in this game you are on the ground. Therefore, I will pray to the developers and believe in the dream that they will be able to add time wolves or dogs

 

[Zodiark69]

You are already the third person who tells me that animals can only be seen in the next game from the studio. But you have to understand that I would like to see them in this particular game. Because this is my favorite game and I really love the zombie theme. I don't know if you've played games like conan exiles and fallout 3, new vegas. In the game conan exiles, pets do not bring and discomfort and also work well with a large number of mobs. In the games fallout 3 and fallout new vegas, the pet also runs after you and I think it would not be too critical for him to teleport to you if he could get to you. This is not a game about parkour like dying light. You won't be constantly jumping on roofs and climbing rope. For the most part in this game you are on the ground. Therefore, I will pray to the developers and believe in the dream that they will be able to add time wolves or dogs

It aint happening chief. They've already said no.

 

[Fanatical_Meat]

You are already the third person who tells me that animals can only be seen in the next game from the studio. But you have to understand that I would like to see them in this particular game. Because this is my favorite game and I really love the zombie theme. I don't know if you've played games like conan exiles and fallout 3, new vegas. In the game conan exiles, pets do not bring and discomfort and also work well with a large number of mobs. In the games fallout 3 and fallout new vegas, the pet also runs after you and I think it would not be too critical for him to teleport to you if he could get to you. This is not a game about parkour like dying light. You won't be constantly jumping on roofs and climbing rope. For the most part in this game you are on the ground. Therefore, I will pray to the developers and believe in the dream that they will be able to add time wolves or dogs

Those are all different game engines. For example I’ve played fallout and Conan exiles, you cannot destroy buildings or dig a hole anywhere in those games. They are better at having multiple things on the screen and worse at being able to alter the world like you can in 7D2D.

 

[Jost Amman]

that they will be able to add time wolves or dogs

I'm particularly interested in this "Time Wolf" of yours... is that a wolf that can travel through time?

That would be cool!  :madgrin:

 

[Rabbitslovecactus]

@faatal do you think this new crafting change will not just change the standard method of progressing from grind xp for crafting to grind quest bc why not when i can get t6 loot in a week doing quests vs lootings for 3 weeks for a t4 lower tech lv item? or is the quest system going to be reworked to balance this new system as well?

One fix would be to get rid of all the loot rooms. The only time a loot room shows up is if there is an active quest for the poi. Maybe even make it random so you may or may not get one, and the location is random too. That would spice up the game a lot. 

 

[kexes]

One fix would be to get rid of all the loot rooms. The only time a loot room shows up is if there is an active quest for the poi. Maybe even make it random so you may or may not get one, and the location is random too. That would spice up the game a lot. 

Some of the POIs still not involved in quests. Otherwise in this case, if you not using traders then most of the places become worthless to visit and loot.

 

[Rabbitslovecactus]

Many POIs still not involved in quests, that means if you not using traders then most of the POIs simply become worthless to visit and loot.

Just the loot rooms, not random loot.  the least the could do is randomize the chance and location  if the don't remove them. 

 

[Aldranon]

Some of the POIs still not involved in quests. Otherwise in this case, if you not using traders then most of the places become worthless to visit and loot.

Realistically POI's would not respawn with stuff (at least useful stuff) in a situation like the player is in.

But 7d2d and realism are not close friends anyway, so I don't understand why all POI's are not used. 

EDIT:

My two pet theories on why it could be "realistic" are:

1) The player is in a coma and will wake up for the Part 2 of 7D2D.

2) The player is in some level of Hell and must find a way out and escape.  (The POI's that the player is not sent to are potentially key to find clues on how to escape)

EDIT2:

-In BOTH cases, AIRSHIPS are a critical for the game!

 

[Dimasic-Colbasic]

Меня особенно интересует этот ваш "Волк времени"... это волк, который может путешествовать во времени?

Это было бы круто! : мэдгрин:

I'm sorry, I may have misspelled it. Since I do not live in an English-speaking country and I do not know English perfectly, so I can write incorrect phrases. I meant my own personal wolf or dog that can be tamed. By the way, your phrase made me laugh and smiled))))