PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

  • A18 Stable is Out!

    Votes: 2 66.7%

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    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Total voters
    3
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Stop cheating big guy and go do some quests. No such thing as easy dukes. Just kidding. Jealous I can't test too. Every update is like a new game. Thank you guys for the years of alphas. Still my go to game. I get itchy if I don't play for long periods.
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Quests are pretty easy dukes IMO :)

 
Double barrel is pretty cool. Knives are getting worked on to be very fast but do less damage so they don't feel like poor man's clubs. You'll run in slash them up fast and get them bleeding then be able to watch them bleed out or go for power attacks to kill. Sneak damage with knives will be increased too.
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Nice, will there be a visual indicator that lets us know they are bleeding out? Like a blood gushing out or something. Right now we have no idea.

 
Double barrel is pretty cool. Knives are getting worked on to be very fast but do less damage so they don't feel like poor man's clubs. You'll run in slash them up fast and get them bleeding then be able to watch them bleed out or go for power attacks to kill. Sneak damage with knives will be increased too.
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A18 is sounding more awesome each post I see.

Are knives getting the stone/iron/steel treatment as well or does the current bone knife/hunting knife/machete fill this purpose?

I ask mainly because I was wondering if the bone knife was getting adjusted a bit to deal a tiny bit more damage and be more viable as a main weapon until later upgrades.

 
I think there is. Coming in as a new player nobody cares tbh. Meat is ounces now. We used to harvest "LOGS" back in the day. Now nobody talks about it, they accept getting wood in granular bits and no longer have to craft logs into planks. Just get it in your head its a meatball not a steak and you'll feel better about it.
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You say meat is now ounces, are you meaning to just think of it that way, or does the meat now actually show that if you examine it? If so, very good idea and should put an end to any confusion.

 
...You gain 1 HP and one Stamina each level, and stamina costs are not a problem any more you can left click all but two handed weapons endlessly at level 1.
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I’m curious - do your health & stamina max out before your level does (e.g. max health is 200, but max level is 300)? If so, do you earn some other benefit after level 200?

...TBH I don't farm until mid to late game, I find plenty of food. Recipes unlock foods now, so the perk is optional.
A18 is more about playing how you want to play, not using what you are given. Sometimes you do that a bit but eventually you get what you need to play your style....
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Just remember, “using what you are given” is the survivalist’s creed. :D You say there’s plenty of food and also that it's better balanced in this state. Separate from combat, I hope the player is genuinely challenged by food survival, water survival, weather survival etc. in the early game.

It looks cooler [when spikes are always bloody].
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I agree with Garee that maintaining even a modest spike field is tedious in A17, because the damaged spikes are hard to spot. "It looks cooler" sounds like you went out of your way to put aesthetics ahead of the visual language we used to have. If so, that's disappointing. :(

Double barrel is pretty cool. Knives are getting worked on to be very fast but do less damage so they don't feel like poor man's clubs. You'll run in slash them up fast and get them bleeding then be able to watch them bleed out or go for power attacks to kill. Sneak damage with knives will be increased too.
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Sounds lovely! I think this'll improve how it feels to play as a more agile, back-stabby type character.

 
Nearly everything can be harvested so you'd be seeing icons all the time. I think its ok to experiment and harvest stuff and find out the good old fashioned way. LBD !
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How can I know for sure that I will hit the mine with a wrench or I can put it into inventory with a wrench? ))

 
On the idea of being able to find recipes OR spend perks, doesn't that mean skill points are only going to be useful until you find the same recipes those points gave you?

As in, you spend points on chef but shortly thereafter find the same recipes you just unlocked, creating a feeling of regret for having spent those skill points that now feel wasted.

I know with the old LBD system many people felt it was a long-term waste to put too many (any?) points into skills you could level up with practice and points were saved mostly/only for those skills and perks you couldn't unlock through LBD.

Is there anything being done to try and lessen this effect? Perhaps things that you can unlock with points are the rarest books/recipes to find and therefore the chances are very high you'll enjoy the advantage of those spent perk points for a long time?

 
Just get it in your head its a meatball not a steak and you'll feel better about it.
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Maybe a couple low-level recipes that use less meat would help with portions and also the every recipe uses multiples of 5 meat issue:

Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe:

&lt;recipe name="foodSpagAndBalls" count="1" craft_area="campfire" craft_tool="toolCookingPot" tags="learnable"&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCanPasta" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodRawMeat" count="2"/&gt;

&lt;/recipe&gt;

Yuccatash Recipe (revised):

&lt;recipe name="foodYuccatash" count="1" craft_area="campfire" craft_tool="toolCookingPot" tags="learnable"&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCropYuccaFruit" count="2"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodRawMeat" count="2"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCropCorn" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCanPeas" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="resourceAnimalFat" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;/recipe&gt;

 
I’m curious - do your health & stamina max out before your level does (e.g. max health is 200, but max level is 300)? If so, do you earn some other benefit after level 200?
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We haven't really decided. Max level might be 100 simply because 100 perks is OP, but currently I don't think there are any restrictions, but you can keep leveling past 100 but hp and stam will stop at 200.

We've slowed leveling some so its more meaningful when you level up and you can loot fast enough to keep up with your level abilities. Like what good is unlocking things there is no way you have resources for yet?

 
How can I know for sure that I will hit the mine with a wrench or I can put it into inventory with a wrench? ))
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No idea what you are talking about. Go harvest something and see what you get is what I'm saying. Experiment, not get a magic menu that tells you what you might harvest. Just harvest it and LBD.
 
On the idea of being able to find recipes OR spend perks, doesn't that mean skill points are only going to be useful until you find the same recipes those points gave you?
As in, you spend points on chef but shortly thereafter find the same recipes you just unlocked, creating a feeling of regret for having spent those skill points that now feel wasted.

I know with the old LBD system many people felt it was a long-term waste to put too many (any?) points into skills you could level up with practice and points were saved mostly/only for those skills and perks you couldn't unlock through LBD.

Is there anything being done to try and lessen this effect? Perhaps things that you can unlock with points are the rarest books/recipes to find and therefore the chances are very high you'll enjoy the advantage of those spent perk points for a long time?
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Its called instant gratification. Most perks that unlock recipes give you some improved ability. We haven't got that far with the cooking perks yet, so yeah there could be that feeling of oh I wasted a point. But each rank unlocks at least 4 things so finding all 4 recipes might take some time. I'm on day 7 and have none yet, but I haven't found very many bookcases, most the pois are construction and I'm in a wasteland so you can't exactly browse the streets.

 
Maybe a couple low-level recipes that use less meat would help with portions and also the every recipe uses multiples of 5 meat issue:
Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe:

&lt;recipe name="foodSpagAndBalls" count="1" craft_area="campfire" craft_tool="toolCookingPot" tags="learnable"&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCanPasta" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodRawMeat" count="2"/&gt;

&lt;/recipe&gt;

Yuccatash Recipe (revised):

&lt;recipe name="foodYuccatash" count="1" craft_area="campfire" craft_tool="toolCookingPot" tags="learnable"&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCropYuccaFruit" count="2"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodRawMeat" count="2"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCropCorn" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="foodCanPeas" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;ingredient name="resourceAnimalFat" count="1"/&gt;

&lt;/recipe&gt;
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Na, nobody will have all that and complain they are still starving and cannot eat the 4 meat they have. Its easier to just make a meatball recipe or something.

 
Na, nobody will have all that and complain they are still starving and cannot eat the 4 meat they have. Its easier to just make a meatball recipe or something.
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Then they should get off their ass and get it

 
Most perks that unlock recipes give you some improved ability. We haven't got that far with the cooking perks yet, so yeah there could be that feeling of oh I wasted a point. But each rank unlocks at least 4 things so finding all 4 recipes might take some time.
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Those two bold points will already mitigate the "oh crap I JUST spent skill points on this thing I found" effect, especially giving some other improved ability. Like, not only does another point in chef give you new recipes but you can cook faster, with slightly less ingredients required, etc.

I love that you're allowing even more for specialization. I already feel like A17 lends itself well to that and don't feel forced to invest points in anything really.

I'm playing primarily Perception/Agility and with no base at all, just a shack where I have a sleeping bag, campfire and a couple chests. I only have some INT points for cooking and extra trader/quest perks and a few STR points for pack mule but I didn't NEED either one.

I fight in an open field on horde night, I save Mega Crush! for when I want to travel long distances, I use a working forge I found to make iron for tool repair and repair kits, and otherwise I'm out looting and fighting 90% of the time. First time I haven't had a big fortress and spent tons of time mining, crafting, etc. It's a blast! Really excited to think A18 will be even more friendly to unorthodox, specialized play-throughs like this.

AND SO EXCITED FOR THE SPEAR!

 
Those two bold points will already mitigate the "oh crap I JUST spent skill points on this thing I found" effect, especially giving some other improved ability. Like, not only does another point in chef give you new recipes but you can cook faster, with slightly less ingredients required, etc.
I love that you're allowing even more for specialization. I already feel like A17 lends itself well to that and don't feel forced to invest points in anything really.

I'm playing primarily Perception/Agility and with no base at all, just a shack where I have a sleeping bag, campfire and a couple chests. I only have some INT points for cooking and extra trader/quest perks and a few STR points for pack mule but I didn't NEED either one.

I fight in an open field on horde night, I save Mega Crush! for when I want to travel long distances, I use a working forge I found to make iron for tool repair and repair kits, and otherwise I'm out looting and fighting 90% of the time. First time I haven't had a big fortress and spent tons of time mining, crafting, etc. It's a blast! Really excited to think A18 will be even more friendly to unorthodox, specialized play-throughs like this.

AND SO EXCITED FOR THE SPEAR!
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It has SO much freedom compared to 17, I think you will love it.

The penetrator perk is in. It allows snipers to shoot through targets. So lining up several targets and killing several with one shot is possible. The magnum has collector perk (find all 7) that does the same thing but only 3 not 5. Its so much fun now lining up several zombies and knocking them on their ass with a single shot. There is an enforcer book that also does double damage on the last round. Did I fire five shots or 6? well the last shot does double damage so its epic. Risky too because the only way to get that double damage last shot with the 44 is to shoot 5 first and only have one left.

 
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