PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[Dimpy]

Only for you because you start with the assumption that you can not play the game if you do not have the maximum ability in harvesting.That is objectively false so... problem solved. =)

Players can pick the strength attribute for the weapons, the easy carry capacity... and the harvesting.

No one but yourself actually forces you to do so.

In A18 the attributes will be balanced with respect to the gunplay mechanics; every attribute has an associated gun. It will be balanced with respect to crafting. A17 is balanced with respect to the dungeon looting mechanics; each attribute directly helped loot POIs and kill zombies. It was not, however, balanced in the same way with respect to the building mechanics: Only STR and INT significantly change base-building abilities. STR makes bases bigger by increased resource gain, INT makes them more advanced by adding fancy traps and the electricity system.

Not only is harvesting and placing blocks a core mechanic of the game, the destructible voxel environment is one of the key things that makes it different from something like Fallout.

Nobody is saying the game is unplayable without the STR harvesting perks, but the fact that they are disproportionately useful to people who like building means those people are still being being markedly discouraged from trying a more diverse set of builds.

I'd rather have each attribute add something unique to the experience rather than comlpetely nuked STR mining perks though.

 

[Roland]

You guys are trying hard to get builders to be seen as the persecuted group but that distinction will always reside with PvPers....



Kidding aside...

Strength: Faster block destruction

Fortitude: improved harvesting

Intellect: crafting base traps

Perception: increased HP of crafted blocks

Agility: faster block crafting

Something like that?

 

[Star69]

Move harvesting to Perception.....“Nobody is saying the game is unplayable without thePER harvesting perks, but the fact that they are disproportionately useful to people who like looting means those people are still being markedly discouraged from trying a more diverse set of builds”

I can repeat your statement for each perk category. Your argument doesn’t hold water. You don’t want harvesting in strength because you don’t want to spec into strength. Harvesting has to go somewhere. Regardless which category it’s put into, it will bother a certain segment of people. Also, MM said there is a book on harvesting so find that and you won’t need to spend any points in STR. My suggestion is to wait until you actually play the new perk system before saying it prevents diverse builds.

 

[Dimpy]

You guys are trying hard to get builders to be seen as the persecuted group but that distinction will always reside with PvPers....

Kidding aside...

Strength: Faster block destruction

Fortitude: improved harvesting

Intellect: crafting base traps

Perception: increased HP of crafted blocks

Agility: faster block crafting

Something like that?

Kind of. I just started a thread on it here.

https://7daystodie.com/forums/showthread.php?119610-How-could-more-attributes-support-building&p=986389#post986389

 

[ieuri]

I feel from enough posts that we are confident that each perk has been balanced from a combat perspective across each ability. I believe what people are worried about is that they are not balanced for other game mechanics. Harvesting is a core game function and should be balanced in the same way. STR = more block damage, AGI = faster hitting, INT = more resources, ect. What I would love to see is also tier 1, 2, and 3 of each crafting station be tied to a perk, so that if you only spend a point, you can craft a campfire, but if you max that ability you can craft smokers and later an oven to cook better food with. STR 3 = wood fired forge, STR 5 = gas powered blast furnace, ect. Really speciallizing each attribute. I can put 3 points into everything to do everything just ok, but if i want the best mats i need to specialize.

 

[Dimpy]

Move harvesting to Perception.....“Nobody is saying the game is unplayable without thePER harvesting perks, but the fact that they are disproportionately useful to people who like looting means those people are still being markedly discouraged from trying a more diverse set of builds”
I can repeat your statement for each perk category. Your argument doesn’t hold water. You don’t want harvesting in strength because you don’t want to spec into strength. Harvesting has to go somewhere. Regardless which category it’s put into, it will bother a certain segment of people. Also, MM said there is a book on harvesting so find that and you won’t need to spend any points in STR. My suggestion is to wait until you actually play the new perk system before saying it prevents diverse builds.

I disagree. The process of looting is much more complex than just pressing E on a box and taking what's inside. You have to gain access to the container, and all of the attributes have associated perks that help you achive that goal more efficiently, safely and quickly.

I can repeat your statement for each perk category. Your argument doesn’t hold water.

If you would like to try again, I would be happy to oblige you. :fencing:

 

[Shineblossom]

In A18 the attributes will be balanced with respect to the gunplay mechanics; every attribute has an associated gun. It will be balanced with respect to crafting. A17 is balanced with respect to the dungeon looting mechanics; each attribute directly helped loot POIs and kill zombies. It was not, however, balanced in the same way with respect to the building mechanics: Only STR and INT significantly change base-building abilities. STR makes bases bigger by increased resource gain, INT makes them more advanced by adding fancy traps and the electricity system.
Not only is harvesting and placing blocks a core mechanic of the game, the destructible voxel environment is one of the key things that makes it different from something like Fallout.

Nobody is saying the game is unplayable without the STR harvesting perks, but the fact that they are disproportionately useful to people who like building means those people are still being being markedly discouraged from trying a more diverse set of builds.

I'd rather have each attribute add something unique to the experience rather than comlpetely nuked STR mining perks though.

Why? I don't see any problem with it being in STR. I am builder. And i pretend STR perks don't exists. Still works.

I feel from enough posts that we are confident that each perk has been balanced from a combat perspective across each ability. I believe what people are worried about is that they are not balanced for other game mechanics. Harvesting is a core game function and should be balanced in the same way. STR = more block damage, AGI = faster hitting, INT = more resources, ect. What I would love to see is also tier 1, 2, and 3 of each crafting station be tied to a perk, so that if you only spend a point, you can craft a campfire, but if you max that ability you can craft smokers and later an oven to cook better food with. STR 3 = wood fired forge, STR 5 = gas powered blast furnace, ect. Really speciallizing each attribute. I can put 3 points into everything to do everything just ok, but if i want the best mats i need to specialize.

Yeah, so every single spec will be useless for harvesting. Gonna catch them all to be good at it?

 

[The Gronk]

never going to understand why some folks need a massive base. if zombie spawns and stuff are an issue for large bases why not just make it smaller with multiple floors? just seems insane to build a base larger than 16x16...heck even a 11x11 base is considered large to me. speaking of multiple floors. I really would like an elevator put into the game eventually.

Spreading the attacking force over as large an area as possible reduces the amount of damage they deal per square metre and maximizes the effectiveness of your spikes.

Not quite as an effective tactic with the improved AI but it still worth doing.

 

[FA_Q2]

A large base is not necessarily made for practical reasons. Often you just want to be creative. If I take a look at the huge bases of Z Nation then of course this is complete overkill but from a design point of view it is impressive.

Bingo.

I like my base to have some room so that I enjoy the aesthetics of it as well as functionality in defense and finally a design that makes sense.

Practically speaking - I can make an effective horde and storage base with 30 blocks - even less if I can dig it out - but that is just downright boring.

 

[Aldranon]

Bingo.
I like my base to have some room so that I enjoy the aesthetics of it as well as functionality in defense and finally a design that makes sense.

Practically speaking - I can make an effective horde and storage base with 30 blocks - even less if I can dig it out - but that is just downright boring.

With A17, if you don't want to gimmick the zombie AI, waste resources on the flimsy spikes or waste ammo THEN have a big strong fort that can absorb more damage than the zombies can dish out in one night.

So a large, damage sponge of a fort is actually the smart way to go. Remember gaining exp without loot is a minus and big forts reduce the "Non-loot experience trap" that is the bane for most players*.

*Until you have all the max gear, weapons, mods and more ammo than you will ever need.

 

[DaVegaNL]

I don't care about which attribute governs what.. I just want to see a darn video!

We haven't had a single one yet for A18, right?

 

[Jay_ombie]

I don't care about which attribute governs what.. I just want to see a darn video!
We haven't had a single one yet for A18, right?

Well I caught a post from MM above saying it's pretty much ready for experimental, with that in mind I rather have my mitts on that instead.

 

[Crater Creator]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjT_7GD7-ziAhVkUt8KHYXfDzwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickeringmyth.com%2F2018%2F06%2Fjoel-hueninks-latest-7-days-to-die-video-provides-an-alpha-17-update%2F&psig=AOvVaw2eAj72_KGy3ZFtyBpRvaLQ&ust=1560735488373913

...Context? Why did you link to a year old post?

 

[Crater Creator]

A discussion emerged regarding child zombies. If you're looking for it, I moved it to Pimp Dreams because it threatened to derail the Dev Diary here.

 

[Gamida]

A discussion emerged regarding child zombies. If you're looking for it, I moved it to Pimp Dreams because it threatened to derail the Dev Diary here.

For those who needed it.

https://7daystodie.com/forums/showthread.php?119626-Child-Zombies

 

[Katitof]

Soooooo, I'd like to ask what happened to "no more 1 year wait for next alpha release" thing?

Because working on A17 for 10 months and then releasing A18 2 months later is still 1 year wait in my book.

I'm completely confused as to what and when to expect?

More A17 versions? A18? How many more months? What happened to the claim it won't take a year again?

 

[Onarr]

I feel from enough posts that we are confident that each perk has been balanced from a combat perspective across each ability. I believe what people are worried about is that they are not balanced for other game mechanics. Harvesting is a core game function and should be balanced in the same way. STR = more block damage, AGI = faster hitting, INT = more resources, ect. What I would love to see is also tier 1, 2, and 3 of each crafting station be tied to a perk, so that if you only spend a point, you can craft a campfire, but if you max that ability you can craft smokers and later an oven to cook better food with. STR 3 = wood fired forge, STR 5 = gas powered blast furnace, ect. Really speciallizing each attribute. I can put 3 points into everything to do everything just ok, but if i want the best mats i need to specialize.

I really like the idea of crafting stations tiers. And if it would be tied more into building specialized rooms that would be EPIC. Like for example chemistry - starting with campfire, then chemistry station and than for the best recipes you would need to create laboratory, that would be totally enclosed, have ventilation and specialized heat requirements (you cannot have forges nearby). These incentives to build specialized rooms would be nice. Higher end recipes would require you to increase the size of your base and would need more fortifications.

Or kitchen, where high end crafting station would be stove. Each kitchen block (fridge, cupboards, sink, ) neaby would then increase the crafting speed or nutrition of the produced item.

 

[unholyjoe]

Well I caught a post from MM above saying it's pretty much ready for experimental, with that in mind I rather have my mitts on that instead. ��

ah but... you are hearing about some things that work... and again... he is expressing his opinion and did not state that it is 100% ready or you would be playing (i mean testing it) right now. right?

still some needed balancing IMHO happening. we want those "oh" "ah" moments and not those damn "this isnt right" i quit...

hang in there... we are sure a lot of people will give it a try and actually like it.

 

[Trankitas]

Soooooo, I'd like to ask what happened to "no more 1 year wait for next alpha release" thing?Because working on A17 for 10 months and then releasing A18 2 months later is still 1 year wait in my book.

I'm completely confused as to what and when to expect?

More A17 versions? A18? How many more months? What happened to the claim it won't take a year again?

They said no more 1 year wait when they started this post.

 

[AtomicUs5000]

It has only been 1/2 year (correction: 3 months) since that post and by the sounds of it, it seems pretty close to experimental.

Not to mention, we've had a few A17 updates that would reset this time frame.