Roland
Community Moderator
In no particular order:
1) Improved pathing: Beginning with A17 the zombie pathing was vastly improved to create relentless enemies that would seek to reach you and unless you carefully plugged holes, removed access points, and perfected your defenses there would be a stream of zombies that would find their way in and wreck you on horde night. The pathing has been modified and adjusted over the past 6 major updates since then to add variety to the ability of zombies to "see" pathways to you so they don't all always follow the perfect path. The result is more thrilling and scary horde nights and POI clearing than ever before in the history of the game. Of course, someone can choose to cheese the system but that would be possible regardless of the AI. Recently, I returned to A16 and the pathing of the zombies was abysmal. They would simply run in circles or endless run up and down ladders and get stuck on corners and blocks. In my opinion the improved AI and pathing that TFP added post A16 has greatly improved the game.
2) Dungeon POIs: Previous to A17 every single POI was an empty shell. You could walk up to the door of a room and see every single zombie laying around. There was no environmental story-telling or frantic room by room close quarter combat. You could simply run through an entire POI as it was completely open and then run outside and kite all the zombies that came pouring out and that was it. With most POIs changing to level-designed locations we have awesome places to explore that have zombie encounters happening as you go-- many times once you get deep enough in it is impossible to just run outside and kill them out in the open. You are constantly threatened as you explore the POI for the rewards you are looking for. The recent remnants that have been added are basically like the POI setups we used to have which is why most people just skip those and focus on the T1-T5 locations.
3) Skillpoint Shopping Perk Mechanic: Skillpoint shopping allows you to play however you want with a lot more freedom than the previous LBD system. If you enjoy mining you can focus on that and earn skillpoints which you can use to improve other areas. If you want to be a purist you can spend your skillpoints only on those activities that earned you those points and really immerse yourself into your character progression. It really is up to you how you wish to play. You can max/min the system by doing those things that wrack up the points the fastest or you can play more organically and just earn skillpoints as they come as you naturally achieve your daily objectives in the game. Whatever your jam is in playing the game, skillpoints can be used to support that and you are never locked in to doing just one thing to improve one skill if you don't want to.
4) Magazines for Crafting: Separating crafting skill from the deterministic way it was tied to perks and skillpoint spending really gave the game some variety and helped the survival element of "Make do with what you have available". Learn by reading is a great way to add uncertainty into the game since you can't exactly plan out when you will be able to craft something better. Scavenging the world for scraps of old world knowledge to progressively learn how to craft better and better things fits squarely in the post apocalyptic genre. Not only that but it gives us two methods of improving instead of just one. We can spend skillpoints for perks and abilities and we can read magazines for crafting knowledge. And, once again, it supports those who like to min/max and just focus 100% on increasing their crafting skills as well as those who like to just play the game and obtain magazines as they come and make do with what they have until they can make or find something better.
5) Dew Collectors: Previous to Alpha 21 the gameplay loop of going from water poverty to water wealth was simply loot for 10 minutes after which you would have about 20 jars which you could fill up all at once at any water source and bring home to boil without needing a pot. Those jars were reusable and within a few days you would have 50+ forever jars and that was even before you start making them in the forge using ubiquitous sand. WIth the addition of the dew collector, a new workstation, the water gameplay became more interesting. There was a new workstation to craft and crafting additional collectors would create in effect a new type of farm for creating and gathering your own water. Keeping yourself hydrated in the beginning wasn't necessarily harder than before but because jars were never returned and empty jars for infinite refilling could no longer be found, it was more of a process getting to the point where you became wealthy with water and had enough for all your drinking and crafting needs.
6) Darkness: Recently TFP responded to community feedback and made it possible to play with truly dark nights and POI interiors. After adjusting the overall brightness of my monitor and turning the game brightness setting to 15% I cannot go out at night or explore the deep interiors of POIs without the use of a light. In the early game I carry a few torches and attach them to walls as I go since otherwise it is pitch black. Obtaining a weapon or helmet light is a fantastic event that brings a smile to my face. The current status with brightness is a great compromise. For those who want to be able to see at all times without having to hastle with a light, they can keep the game at 50% brightness or higher and for those who want it darker and scarier, there is a whole range from 0 to 49% that can be experimented with to find your perfect setting.
7) Outfit Sets: The outfit sets we have now are great. They each have their own bonuses as well as a set bonus if you can find or craft all four pieces. They look much better than the old layered clothing and armor and with fewer mod slots there are actually some tough choices that can be made now whereas before there was no need for choices. You just slotted everything you found in with plenty of slots and more for any mod you could find. You can play the armor by just wearing what you have and make those stat changes a part of your character and play the game with those particular strengths or you can change outfits multiple times a day to get the strongest bonuses for whatever activity you're doing at the time. Both playstyles are supported. Recently, we have been given the ability to make any piece look like any other piece so if you like an armor's bonus but don't like how it looks you can adjust the look to something you like better.
8) Storms: The storms really add atmosphere (literally) to the biomes and create crazy and thrilling moments that never existed before they were implemented. Thanks to storms we sometimes find ourselves literally racing against the clock to get to a location before all hell breaks loose. Thanks to storms we sometimes find ourselves having to choose to risk going outside at times to complete a quest or have the room needed to battle several zombies at once. Thanks to storms we have zombies that get a sudden boost to their speed and awareness meaning that even if you find a safe shelter, there are times you must defend yourself. Yes, some people thought at first that the only response to storms was to sit in a hole with a crate over their head and play phone games for several minutes but as time as progressed more and more people are seeing the storm announcement as a challenge to do something with the thrill of impending danger hanging over them and they are coming away with great stories that were never possible before.
9) Biome Hazards: The hazards have given each biome a great facelift when you first encounter them. The process of acclimating to the new climate and overcoming the hazardous environment is much more interesting than simply walking across the border with no change from the last biome. It is currently undergoing iterative development based on community feedback and hopefully the implementation will continue to improve but just simply as a new mechanic to the game it is a must as a survival challenge and obstacle to overcome.
10) Jobs: Prior to A17 the game was 100% make your own objectives. A lot of people did great with that for 1000s of hours but the addition of jobs for hire gave us additional objectives we could work on in addition to our own. Not only that but the jobs had their own progression in a very LBD-esque format. As you did jobs you got better jobs. The jobs are not the only things you can do in the game but they add to the things you are doing already-- mining, farming, base building, exploring, etc. Plus, they are not even essential. People play all the time completely ignoring the traders and their jobs and they thrive. So jobs are a great additional activity you can choose to do or not. And with over 90% of POIs being tagged as questable by most of the jobs that are currently available, there will always be jobs that need doing.
What do you enjoy that has been added to the game over the last several years?
1) Improved pathing: Beginning with A17 the zombie pathing was vastly improved to create relentless enemies that would seek to reach you and unless you carefully plugged holes, removed access points, and perfected your defenses there would be a stream of zombies that would find their way in and wreck you on horde night. The pathing has been modified and adjusted over the past 6 major updates since then to add variety to the ability of zombies to "see" pathways to you so they don't all always follow the perfect path. The result is more thrilling and scary horde nights and POI clearing than ever before in the history of the game. Of course, someone can choose to cheese the system but that would be possible regardless of the AI. Recently, I returned to A16 and the pathing of the zombies was abysmal. They would simply run in circles or endless run up and down ladders and get stuck on corners and blocks. In my opinion the improved AI and pathing that TFP added post A16 has greatly improved the game.
2) Dungeon POIs: Previous to A17 every single POI was an empty shell. You could walk up to the door of a room and see every single zombie laying around. There was no environmental story-telling or frantic room by room close quarter combat. You could simply run through an entire POI as it was completely open and then run outside and kite all the zombies that came pouring out and that was it. With most POIs changing to level-designed locations we have awesome places to explore that have zombie encounters happening as you go-- many times once you get deep enough in it is impossible to just run outside and kill them out in the open. You are constantly threatened as you explore the POI for the rewards you are looking for. The recent remnants that have been added are basically like the POI setups we used to have which is why most people just skip those and focus on the T1-T5 locations.
3) Skillpoint Shopping Perk Mechanic: Skillpoint shopping allows you to play however you want with a lot more freedom than the previous LBD system. If you enjoy mining you can focus on that and earn skillpoints which you can use to improve other areas. If you want to be a purist you can spend your skillpoints only on those activities that earned you those points and really immerse yourself into your character progression. It really is up to you how you wish to play. You can max/min the system by doing those things that wrack up the points the fastest or you can play more organically and just earn skillpoints as they come as you naturally achieve your daily objectives in the game. Whatever your jam is in playing the game, skillpoints can be used to support that and you are never locked in to doing just one thing to improve one skill if you don't want to.
4) Magazines for Crafting: Separating crafting skill from the deterministic way it was tied to perks and skillpoint spending really gave the game some variety and helped the survival element of "Make do with what you have available". Learn by reading is a great way to add uncertainty into the game since you can't exactly plan out when you will be able to craft something better. Scavenging the world for scraps of old world knowledge to progressively learn how to craft better and better things fits squarely in the post apocalyptic genre. Not only that but it gives us two methods of improving instead of just one. We can spend skillpoints for perks and abilities and we can read magazines for crafting knowledge. And, once again, it supports those who like to min/max and just focus 100% on increasing their crafting skills as well as those who like to just play the game and obtain magazines as they come and make do with what they have until they can make or find something better.
5) Dew Collectors: Previous to Alpha 21 the gameplay loop of going from water poverty to water wealth was simply loot for 10 minutes after which you would have about 20 jars which you could fill up all at once at any water source and bring home to boil without needing a pot. Those jars were reusable and within a few days you would have 50+ forever jars and that was even before you start making them in the forge using ubiquitous sand. WIth the addition of the dew collector, a new workstation, the water gameplay became more interesting. There was a new workstation to craft and crafting additional collectors would create in effect a new type of farm for creating and gathering your own water. Keeping yourself hydrated in the beginning wasn't necessarily harder than before but because jars were never returned and empty jars for infinite refilling could no longer be found, it was more of a process getting to the point where you became wealthy with water and had enough for all your drinking and crafting needs.
6) Darkness: Recently TFP responded to community feedback and made it possible to play with truly dark nights and POI interiors. After adjusting the overall brightness of my monitor and turning the game brightness setting to 15% I cannot go out at night or explore the deep interiors of POIs without the use of a light. In the early game I carry a few torches and attach them to walls as I go since otherwise it is pitch black. Obtaining a weapon or helmet light is a fantastic event that brings a smile to my face. The current status with brightness is a great compromise. For those who want to be able to see at all times without having to hastle with a light, they can keep the game at 50% brightness or higher and for those who want it darker and scarier, there is a whole range from 0 to 49% that can be experimented with to find your perfect setting.
7) Outfit Sets: The outfit sets we have now are great. They each have their own bonuses as well as a set bonus if you can find or craft all four pieces. They look much better than the old layered clothing and armor and with fewer mod slots there are actually some tough choices that can be made now whereas before there was no need for choices. You just slotted everything you found in with plenty of slots and more for any mod you could find. You can play the armor by just wearing what you have and make those stat changes a part of your character and play the game with those particular strengths or you can change outfits multiple times a day to get the strongest bonuses for whatever activity you're doing at the time. Both playstyles are supported. Recently, we have been given the ability to make any piece look like any other piece so if you like an armor's bonus but don't like how it looks you can adjust the look to something you like better.
8) Storms: The storms really add atmosphere (literally) to the biomes and create crazy and thrilling moments that never existed before they were implemented. Thanks to storms we sometimes find ourselves literally racing against the clock to get to a location before all hell breaks loose. Thanks to storms we sometimes find ourselves having to choose to risk going outside at times to complete a quest or have the room needed to battle several zombies at once. Thanks to storms we have zombies that get a sudden boost to their speed and awareness meaning that even if you find a safe shelter, there are times you must defend yourself. Yes, some people thought at first that the only response to storms was to sit in a hole with a crate over their head and play phone games for several minutes but as time as progressed more and more people are seeing the storm announcement as a challenge to do something with the thrill of impending danger hanging over them and they are coming away with great stories that were never possible before.
9) Biome Hazards: The hazards have given each biome a great facelift when you first encounter them. The process of acclimating to the new climate and overcoming the hazardous environment is much more interesting than simply walking across the border with no change from the last biome. It is currently undergoing iterative development based on community feedback and hopefully the implementation will continue to improve but just simply as a new mechanic to the game it is a must as a survival challenge and obstacle to overcome.
10) Jobs: Prior to A17 the game was 100% make your own objectives. A lot of people did great with that for 1000s of hours but the addition of jobs for hire gave us additional objectives we could work on in addition to our own. Not only that but the jobs had their own progression in a very LBD-esque format. As you did jobs you got better jobs. The jobs are not the only things you can do in the game but they add to the things you are doing already-- mining, farming, base building, exploring, etc. Plus, they are not even essential. People play all the time completely ignoring the traders and their jobs and they thrive. So jobs are a great additional activity you can choose to do or not. And with over 90% of POIs being tagged as questable by most of the jobs that are currently available, there will always be jobs that need doing.
What do you enjoy that has been added to the game over the last several years?
