PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[Demonoid74]

you might want to look at the Party system. you can have a level 1 join up with several high level players and get 10-20 levels in on horde night.
I tested this level 5(me) with 4 level 80-120 players and I got to level 20 and another 10 levels the next BM.

maybe allow a parameter in config for servers like MAXPartyLevelSpread = X or do like WOW does and diminish XP as the level between players increases.

or do like Everquest did and if you were 9+ levels lower then the highest level in the group , you got Zero exps…

so a 41 could group with a level 50 and still get exps and so on...

 

[Grue]

Harvested a deer and boar after decapitating the heads. I can also still harvest after dismemberment hits on a corpse.

For me, since I got the headshot perk, they are completely disappearing after being shot in the head. No corpse to harvest.

This has happened with vultures, dogs, wolves, dire wolves, pigs and even Grace thus far.

Describe FUBAR? I think A1-16 was fubar, now it is really great pathing and much improved.

They no longer act even remotely like zombies, they are well-organized demolitions experts with X-ray vision who magically know more about the structural integrity of my base than I do.

 

[Damocles]

Instead of making the zombies vanish after being killed, have them leave a low poly corpse.

That does not need to be some gore block. It can be non interactive (no looting) And can account for local destiny (dont spawn more than a certain number per area). And could vanish if any block nearby changes (placed or removed).

It should suffice to have one inanimate model per zombie model in a standard pose. (curled up lying face down). Non animated, low poly low res, short distance LOD models dont take a whole lot of resources.

I really dont like that sudden vanishing of corpses. And if there are gameplay problems with corpses (gore blocks, too much loot, slowing down player) just dont have them interactable. And make them removable like grass with a simple smack.

Having the remains of previous battles really improves the impression of a dynamic and alive world. It shows history of a location. Suddenly vanishing large entites do not. It feels arcady. They might as well blink before vanishing like in an oldscool sidescoller then..

(For weaker clients there can always be the option to turn persistent corpses off, as they dont have a specific gameplay effect).

 

[TSBX]

For me, since I got the headshot perk, they are completely disappearing after being shot in the head. No corpse to harvest.
This has happened with vultures, dogs, wolves, dire wolves, pigs and even Grace thus far.

They no longer act even remotely like zombies, they are well-organized demolitions experts with X-ray vision who magically know more about the structural integrity of my base than I do.

He's saying it's fixed in the build they are working on. Devs aren't playing 17.2 .

 

[Tin]

Instead of making the zombies vanish after being killed, have them leave a low poly corpse.
That does not need to be some gore block. It can be non interactive (no looting) And can account for local destiny (dont spawn more than a certain number per area). And could vanish if any block nearby changes (placed or removed).

It should suffice to have one inanimate model per zombie model in a standard pose. (curled up lying face down). Non animated, low poly low res, short distance LOD models dont take a whole lot of resources.

I really dont like that sudden vanishing of corpses. And if there are gameplay problems with corpses (gore blocks, too much loot, slowing down player) just dont have them interactable. And make them removable like grass with a simple smack.

Having the remains of previous battles really improves the impression of a dynamic and alive world. It shows history of a location. Suddenly vanishing large entites do not. It feels arcady. They might as well blink before vanishing like in an oldscool sidescoller then..

(For weaker clients there can always be the option to turn persistent corpses off, as they dont have a specific gameplay effect).

I would opt for the body just ash with some blood after awhile. Something like:

and just leave an ash/bloody decal outline on the block it was laying on.

Just my pick is all

 

[Damocles]

I would opt for the body just ash with some blood after awhile. Something like:

and just leave an ash/bloody decal outline on the block it was laying on.

Just my pick is all

That would at least leave SOMETHING behind. Not just fresh air and a fading memory....

 

[Tin]

That would at least leave SOMETHING behind. Not just fresh air and a fading memory....

hehe, I've been pushing the decal option for awhile. I just hope they pick up on it, or something at least.. Right now I just get a "That's it?!" feeling every time I kill a zombie It get's even worse after a big wandering horde is dispatched, or horde night happens..

 

[ecv]

For me, since I got the headshot perk, they are completely disappearing after being shot in the head. No corpse to harvest.
This has happened with vultures, dogs, wolves, dire wolves, pigs and even Grace thus far.

They no longer act even remotely like zombies, they are well-organized demolitions experts with X-ray vision who magically know more about the structural integrity of my base than I do.

Well, just see it as the most intelligent zombie the game can create currently. Dumbing it down and removing abilities is easy most of the time, dunno how the behavior is coded in this game of course

I'm happy with the funny death animations, like slumping over, but some sort of remnants of dead zombies would be interesting. Small pile of intestines, small patch of blood. Ribcage. Having some visual victory after a long hordenight. Seas of blood. Mountains of skulls!

But please do not make them lootable again. I'm done with playing cleanup crew :')

 

[DaVegaNL]

About the same chance as me sleeping with you and Roland in the next two months.

Great! Looking forward to A17.3 and A18 then

- - - Updated - - -

Caught between a rock and a hard place

You know.. Geologists make the bedrock.

 

[DaVegaNL]

I updated the main post:


New Dynamic Music System (DMS)

Its been in the works for a long time and the first version is finally here. We now have a dynamic music system that plays a variety of tracks and can combine them so you never hear the same song twice. Right now they only play during exploration or a non combat moments. Future updates will detect your threat level and introduce combat music. Users can disable the system entirely or define what percentage of the day music can play for and adjust the music volume.

Very nice!

 

[Jay_ombie]

That would at least leave SOMETHING behind. Not just fresh air and a fading memory....

Totally agree. The corpse only needs to flash before vanishing and it be a something lifted from Mario.

The David Blaine effect in a 2019 game looks blatantly naff.

 

[xyth]

I always wanted a cd player of sorts you could find and load music from disk to play sound at your base.

It's available as an SDX mod Sphereii and I made for the WinterProject. Feel free to load it into your test games, but you might want to swap out the Christmas media. :wink:

 

[Spectral Force]

I updated the main post:


New Dynamic Music System (DMS)

Its been in the works for a long time and the first version is finally here. We now have a dynamic music system that plays a variety of tracks and can combine them so you never hear the same song twice. Right now they only play during exploration or a non combat moments. Future updates will detect your threat level and introduce combat music. Users can disable the system entirely or define what percentage of the day music can play for and adjust the music volume.

Will this work for say modding our own music in to use with radios? I'm working on a radio mod, just have to add a little animation and do the sound editing for the current way to implement it.

 

[Syrex]

Heya Madmole, couple things I wanted to ask.

1) in a video you did in the past you introduced a way to choose from a radial menu (or a blocks shape menu similar to Empyrion) where you can choose the shape you want the block to be -- versus just creating that specific block we need, like we do now. Is there any mention of this coming to light or was that idea can-x'd. I imagine it would be hard to do, maybe, with the different tiers of blocks (wood, iron, steel, concrete, etc) but thought I'd ask.

2) Any new block shapes or textures/paints in the works?

3) Any way to make the hitbox of the workbench slightly smaller so that we can paint under/behind/beside it. Right now there's no room to get the brush to paint in those areas unless you pick up the workbench, paint, replace workbench.

 

[The Gronk]

Will this work for say modding our own music in to use with radios? I'm working on a radio mod, just have to add a little animation and do the sound editing for the current way to implement it.

From what I can tell with the brief description it's a generative music system for the ambient background instead of a traditional playlist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_music

If they open the base tracks and generation algorithm to xml then you could possibly mix your own. For combat I'd just have Donna Summer's "I feel love" on a loop. Seriously, try it. It's better than the "Guile theme" for fitting in with any action sequence.

 

[Snowydeath]

When it comes to music. I really like the way you implemented this (with options to tweak in game!!!) that being said. I want a radio in the game too. One with a radio host that o can listen to in the morning right after sun up. A little wasteland radio host piping up about events that have happened or just random stuff, then some music playing for a bit before he logs off for the day. I’d mod the crap outta that and make my own little radio host with news and stuff.

 

[gpcstargate]

@ Fun Pimps .. Good day

I SURE Hope you are working on the Maps .. RandomGen is terrible and even Nave is not all that great anymore, but it is better than RandomGen. So much went bad on the generation of maps in A 17 .. it is SO Hard to believe it was the same Game.

But Thank you for a FUN Game .. having over 3600 hours in it between Vanilla and Modded .. the Old Gamer .. :02.47-tranquillity:

PS: Please bring back Stainless Steel as a standard .. AND .. maybe Wireless Junction Boxes.

 

[madmole]

Kurt Russell didn't coin the phrase. It has been used in the military for *long* before Kurt Russell did any acting.
(yes I am playing catch-up today)

Yep, but he mainstreamed it to noobs.

 

[Gareee]

I updated the main post:


New Dynamic Music System (DMS)

Its been in the works for a long time and the first version is finally here. We now have a dynamic music system that plays a variety of tracks and can combine them so you never hear the same song twice. Right now they only play during exploration or a non combat moments. Future updates will detect your threat level and introduce combat music. Users can disable the system entirely or define what percentage of the day music can play for and adjust the music volume.

YAY! Music can add a lot of immersion.

Please have it play mp3s or some other easily converted format so we can swap in our own music, and allow servers to push it!

 

[spacepiggio]

Well duh, anyone born before 2000 should probably knows what fubar means. I remember when Kurt Russell coined the phrase.
What I meant why does he think the zombies AI is fubar?

Actually I think it is getting better, when you ride tooooo close to a Z on the Bicycle & run out of Stamina they should be able to grab you off of it.

Got my Back Injection last week, feel it comin back in the tail bone, hope it keeps me from feelin FUBAR...for a little while at least...