PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[Gmad03]

A18 is definitely looking better than a17 imo. All the new stuff looks good

 

[canadianbluebeer]

Is there any reason to bother building a base out of Wood or Scrap? The Wood-through-Scrap block upgrade tree is expensive and costs a lot of materials I'd rather use elsewhere, while rocks and clay for Flagstone/Bricks are much easier to work with, and it seems like they're just flat-out more durable anyway? What's the deal?

Not entirely.

You can harvest enough mats to make flagstone blocks on day one before dark, at least for the first 3 or 4 block levels.

You can then use wood for the walls above that, floor and ceiling.

Upgrading those, is up to you. Either upgrade those through scrap-cement, or leave as basic blocks, then chop out and replace.

If taking over a poi, then again, maybe. Ranger house is flagstone bottom, wood upper. I upgrade the flagstone to cement, the walls of the second floor scrap to cement, and the roof I strip off and replace with rebar/cement. Floor gets upgraded to scrap more for SI than anything else.

Ground floor though? Nope, not unless you can't find any boulders or a pickaxe. (or the blue things to harvest with a shovel)

 

[FerMeister]

I completely agree and you make a very strong point about how the human brain isn’t nearly as detail-oriented as one may think so high resolution is not nearly as important as contour, color and contrast.

I Agree, but it's just icons, they can be easily modded, the sounds on the other hand really need work.

 

[FerMeister]

Is there any reason to bother building a base out of Wood or Scrap? The Wood-through-Scrap block upgrade tree is expensive and costs a lot of materials I'd rather use elsewhere, while rocks and clay for Flagstone/Bricks are much easier to work with, and it seems like they're just flat-out more durable anyway? What's the deal?

I always go for flagstone, it's better and less expensive to upgrade to concrete in the long run, Flagstone>Cobblestone>Concrete>R.Concrete. Save the Iron.

 

[AlabasterW]

Do terrain blocks ever heal themselves if left alone for a long time? The game has to keep track of which blocks are damaged and what their HP is at, and that means keeping track of gradually more and more data, right? I hope there's some kind of cleanup protocol, because when I think about how many random blocks in the world are at 247/250 because of stray arrows... Someone tell me to help quell my OCD! :miserable:

 

[Haidrgna]

Do terrain blocks ever heal themselves if left alone for a long time? The game has to keep track of which blocks are damaged and what their HP is at, and that means keeping track of gradually more and more data, right? I hope there's some kind of cleanup protocol, because when I think about how many random blocks in the world are at 247/250 because of stray arrows... Someone tell me to help quell my OCD! :miserable:

Luckily Arrows deal no damage to any earth terrain block, so they are safe from that at least. Explosions however, or random missed punches

 

[Star69]

Is there any reason to bother building a base out of Wood or Scrap? The Wood-through-Scrap block upgrade tree is expensive and costs a lot of materials I'd rather use elsewhere, while rocks and clay for Flagstone/Bricks are much easier to work with, and it seems like they're just flat-out more durable anyway? What's the deal?

I always start with flagstone. If you spawn near a city/town, there are sooo many houses & buildings with cobblestone and cement that by day 3 I can make a base where the first 3 block layers are reinforced concrete while the rest is upgraded flagstone. To save on concrete, I break each upgraded flagstone and put in rebar before concreting as I get more rebar frames made. Usually by day 7 my entire base is reinforced concrete (20x20 blocks). Coat the outside blocks with barbed wire, surrounded by 5 rows of wood spikes and more barbed wire then I have a ‘nearly inpenetrable’ base. The only thing wood is the roof since I rarely get zombies up there. Skip the wood base now that cement & cobble is everywhere.

 

[Roland]

Do terrain blocks ever heal themselves if left alone for a long time? The game has to keep track of which blocks are damaged and what their HP is at, and that means keeping track of gradually more and more data, right? I hope there's some kind of cleanup protocol, because when I think about how many random blocks in the world are at 247/250 because of stray arrows... Someone tell me to help quell my OCD! :miserable:

That’s funny. I don’t like potholes so I usually dig some from several terrain blocks to gain clay but leave the surface intact.

Especially now that they’ve “fixed” the final hit bonus there’s no reason to chop or dig something to completion other than psychological ease.

 

[LionsDen]

I always start with flagstone. If you spawn near a city/town, there are sooo many houses & buildings with cobblestone and cement that by day 3 I can make a base where the first 3 block layers are reinforced concrete while the rest is upgraded flagstone. To save on concrete, I break each upgraded flagstone and put in rebar before concreting as I get more rebar frames made. Usually by day 7 my entire base is reinforced concrete (20x20 blocks). Coat the outside blocks with barbed wire, surrounded by 5 rows of wood spikes and more barbed wire then I have a ‘nearly inpenetrable’ base. The only thing wood is the roof since I rarely get zombies up there. Skip the wood base now that cement & cobble is everywhere.

This is what I do, find a town and use a shovel (even stone) to get cobblestone and cement and build a good base when I find a good spot.

 

[Odetta]

@Madmole

Thanks for fixing the landmines. They're a blast to use again and they feel super powerful. I'm one-shotting cops with pressure plate mines and taking out multiple enemies with one mine.

 

[unholyjoe]

This is what I do, find a town and use a shovel (even stone) to get cobblestone and cement and build a good base when I find a good spot.

yup and is by design so its not an exploit. all you have to do is just ignore the occupants and harvest away.... constructions are excellent for this as well.

 

[Star69]

This is what I do, find a town and use a shovel (even stone) to get cobblestone and cement and build a good base when I find a good spot.

A17 has made base building extremely easy. I no longer panic about having enough time to make a sturdy base. It has taken the grind out of it.

 

[unholyjoe]

@Madmole
Thanks for fixing the landmines. They're a blast to use again and they feel super powerful. I'm one-shotting cops with pressure plate mines and taking out multiple enemies with one mine.

we need to tone it down... cant have you having that much fun. glad you are getting a bang out of it now.

- - - Updated - - -

That’s funny. I don’t like potholes so I usually dig some from several terrain blocks to gain clay but leave the surface intact.
Especially now that they’ve “fixed” the final hit bonus there’s no reason to chop or dig something to completion other than psychological ease.

oh i miss driving around in the dark and falling into a damn pothole... those were the good ole days

 

[TSBX]

The layer in the desert under the sand is chock full of stones.

 

[AtomicUs5000]

Do terrain blocks ever heal themselves if left alone for a long time? The game has to keep track of which blocks are damaged and what their HP is at, and that means keeping track of gradually more and more data, right? I hope there's some kind of cleanup protocol, because when I think about how many random blocks in the world are at 247/250 because of stray arrows... Someone tell me to help quell my OCD! :miserable:

No, not more data. If the voxel is an object, the health of the voxel is a variable. Whether that variable has a value equal to 100% or 99% doesn't add or remove the existence of that variable. Another value represents it's rotation. Another for its texture. There are probably more.

 

[The Gronk]

That’s funny. I don’t like potholes so I usually dig some from several terrain blocks to gain clay but leave the surface intact.
Especially now that they’ve “fixed” the final hit bonus there’s no reason to chop or dig something to completion other than psychological ease.

By the brass bearings of Babbage! Do you have any idea what that system would do to my OCD? You'd have thousands of small, half finished jobs and no way to find them all.

<left eye starts twitching>

 

[Ezed]

How does your OCD deal with a stam bar that only ever goes too 99/100, 109/110, etc?

I've resorted to a piece of tape over the number portion myself...

 

[FA_Q2]

I always go for flagstone, it's better and less expensive to upgrade to concrete in the long run, Flagstone>Cobblestone>Concrete>R.Concrete. Save the Iron.

Why? I have WAY more Iron than crete when actually building. By the time I have a virtual infinite supply of crete there is not a whole lot more to build and I have more than enough Iron by then as well. Frames are way better than upgrading though flagstone. One of the reasons I hate using it - I don't want to waste the crete if I will upgrade that block.

 

[faatal]

I'm fairly certain 7 days already has AO on the grass and other things. But to think is hasn't shows it needs some tweaking(I do believe Fataal recently did some fixes as it wasn't always turning on). Distant grass look like blobs and with A18 showing increased performance could add some headway for improvement.

The AO fix was for when you turned AO off, it was still on.

 

[betam4x]

Why? I have WAY more Iron than crete when actually building. By the time I have a virtual infinite supply of crete there is not a whole lot more to build and I have more than enough Iron by then as well. Frames are way better than upgrading though flagstone. One of the reasons I hate using it - I don't want to waste the crete if I will upgrade that block.

Flagstone doesn't require concrete, it requires clay + rock.