PC Alpha 21 Dev Diary

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When is streamer weekend supposed to take place? It's been about a month now since the applications have opened, yet there has been no word as to when they will close the applications/announce the event.

 
Its looking more like June all the time. This weekend is most likely out if it hasn't been announced yet and next weekend is a big holiday in the USA (which TFP observes) so...yeah.

 
I would like to see some radioactive terrain blocks for developing Wasteland POI's and the Radioactive suits actually block the radiation for a short time.

 
They are unlikely to say, because it would be super embarrassing to admit that a show-stopper bug made it all the way to immediately before release without being found or fixed.
Just because something isn't fixed isn't cause for embarrassment.  They have even given us rough numbers for the MF bugs.  It is even expected to still have some of those remaining when experimental is released, with the plan to have them completed before stable gets released.  And bugs are found all the time in games (and other software) long after release of even gold, let alone an alpha release.  Hardly unusual and not even embarrassing even then.

They have said before some of the bugs they've been working on, so there's no reason to think they might be unwilling to comment on the current bugs, but there is also no reason that they need to comment on them.  Whether or not they do is up to them and is not something they need to do if they don't want to.  Some bugs may even relate to future features they aren't willing to comment on and those unfinished features may have been started and may be causing a bug in something else.

 
I don't see the disadvantage for using a prefab. You save a lot of material and time and if it is a quest POI it will even be repaired with the quest reset. All you have to do is remove the ladder and the POI is ready for the next horde.
That is compelling evidence that you and I have verrrrry different play styles.  I would hate a base that auto-repaired. 

 
That is compelling evidence that you and I have verrrrry different play styles.  I would hate a base that auto-repaired. 


I wouldn't even call it auto-repairing since any and all reinforcements, pathways, funnels, fall-backs, crates of backup supplies, etc that you worked into the POI would be erased. It wouldn't repair your enhancements, it would remove them and you would have to rebuild and resupply all of them. If I ever got a quest to the POI that I was using for a horde base I would cancel it as soon as I saw the exclamation point sitting in my front yard...

But I think he was assuming that most players who take over POIs do it because they just want to quickly destroy access to the second floor and simply shoot from above and not enhance anything or add any defenses.

 
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Its looking more like June all the time. This weekend is most likely out if it hasn't been announced yet and next weekend is a big holiday in the USA (which TFP observes) so...yeah.


The lesson to be learned for TFP is: Don't set a date (if you have to, give a loose percentage of completion).  Creating disappointment is not conducive to a good image.

I decided to find another game to play that was considered similar to 7D2D.

So, I bought "Project Zombiod" because some sadistic person told me it was very close to 7D2D...

No.  No it is not.  

The graphics are 1980's look down and I didn't realize just how immersion breaking and clumsy that is for what should be a FPS.

The game goes out of its way to kill you.   Which I kind of like.

 
The lesson to be learned for TFP is: Don't set a date (if you have to, give a loose percentage of completion).  Creating disappointment is not conducive to a good image.

I decided to find another game to play that was considered similar to 7D2D.

So, I bought "Project Zombiod" because some sadistic person told me it was very close to 7D2D...

No.  No it is not.  

The graphics are 1980's look down and I didn't realize just how immersion breaking and clumsy that is for what should be a FPS.

The game goes out of its way to kill you.   Which I kind of like.
Project zomboid is a great simulation game.  Another big plus is that game manages huge number of zombies.

It has actually been in steam EA a similar amount of time as 7d2d.

Similar genres, but two drastically different types of games imo.

 
They are unlikely to say, because it would be super embarrassing to admit that a show-stopper bug made it all the way to immediately before release without being found or fixed.


Nothing embarrassing about new bugs cropping up.  It's common for new bugs to unexpectedly come up due to another change.

There is one particular nasty bug  where the quest rally marker will disappear after it is activated (and not progress).

Not sure if it's a MF but it's really annoying and would require the player to log off the server.  Thankfully, one of our testers may have stumbled on the cause so that one might be fixed in our current build now

We are definitely getting closer day by day, just have to cross our fingers no more unexpected MF bugs crop up...

There is at least one bright side to the alpha taking longer....

...you guys get more POIs generally as the level design team can normally continue working on new POIs due to their modular nature.

This week, i'm cranking on another one of those new roadside checkpoint POis that was shown in one of the dev streams.  If it doesn't make it in during the experimental launch, hopefully one of the point releases afterwards...😎

 
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Nothing embarrassing about new bugs cropping up.  It's common for new bugs to unexpectedly come up due to another change.

There is one particular nasty bug  where the quest rally marker will disappear after it is activated.

Not sure if it's a MF but it's really annoying and would require the player to log off the server.  Thankfully, one of our testers may have stumbled on the cause so that one might be fixed in our current build now

We are definitely getting closer day by day, just have to cross our fingers no more unexpected MF bugs crop up...


THIS! 

This is exactly how "Damage Control" should be handled if a release day (or month) is missed.  (An approximate percent complete would prevent the need for it)

Like the police quote: "Just the facts, Ma'am".

No need to troll or counter-troll people who are annoyed and disappointed and vent something less than helpful.

 
But I think he was assuming that most players who take over POIs do it because they just want to quickly destroy access to the second floor and simply shoot from above and not enhance anything or add any defenses.
Exactly. At least that is what I saw a lot of times. At best they place some wood spikes but that is it. No further reinforcements. Often gas stations or POIs like the working stiff are used because they are sturdy and have only one way to lead up to the roof.

 
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Nothing embarrassing about new bugs cropping up.  It's common for new bugs to unexpectedly come up due to another change.
I am never embarrassed if the testers find a bug in my code.

I am embarrassed if an end user finds a bug in my code during User Acceptance Testing, as it shows the testers and I did not do enough Unit Testing / System Integration Testing.

But that is nothing compared to what I feel if a bug makes it into production (where my system 'tracks' ore worth ~US$3.6 million in profit / hour in real time).

['tracks' = contextualises operational infomation from IOT devices / SCADA, via a historian, into business information, and communicates / persists that information as required.]

 
There is one particular nasty bug  where the quest rally marker will disappear after it is activated (and not progress).
Is this the one where the quest marker disappears as soon as you are 10.0m or closer and will reappear if you move more than 10.0m away from it?  That one is always frustrating.  Of course, so is the one where it just disappears and stays gone.  Both can be fixed by starting the game again but that's usually not worth it and I just cancel the quest or at least leave it until another day if I don't care about doing more quests for that trader.

I actually saw a *blue* quest marker recently.  Never saw that before.  It was next to the yellow one.  The other player on the game was indicated by blue and I don't know if that just happened to be that they also had a quest there but that has been the case before and I've never seen a blue quest marker before.  Very odd.  Gotta love odd stuff.  :D

 
Exactly. At least that is what I saw a lot of times. At best they place some wood spikes but that is it. No further reinforcements. Often gas stations or POIs like the working stiff are used because they are sturdy and have only one way to lead up to the roof.


I think this will stay a possible way to fight horde night, at least in early and mid-game. TFP could  put weak blocks into its most sturdy building. Either as damaged blocks or fake-blocks (i.e. wood blocks that look like concrete). That would make this take a little more work.

I don't see how TFP could change this any other way without changing the rest of the game fundamentally. It would be a fix similar to the horde-night vultures attacking players on vehicles (with probably the same level of complaints about "destroying my playstyle")

 
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