PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

  • A18 Stable is Out!

    Votes: 2 66.7%

  • <img alt=":)" data-src="" src="___base_url___/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Total voters
    3
Status
Not open for further replies.
It has only been 1/2 year 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.
Click to expand...
It's been 3 months, I didn't know 3 months = 1year

 
Speaking of car mods, will dye work eventually work on vehicles too? there is this dance we always have to do in front of the base to figure out which one is ours. assuming the vehicles wouldnt be able to go faster due to loading/performance issues?
Click to expand...
Possibly, I'm not to keen on wholesale tinting so I'd like to make the tech to mask out various bits of it so the rust/dirt/dash/seat/engine doesn't turn bright pink.

 
This is what everyone hated about A17.
Click to expand...
Right, I'm not real keen on the idea. There are lots of intersting mod ideas, like extra seats, storage, paint, more torque uphill, Armor, gas performance, etc.

 
More questions for Madmole/TFP/GOD itself :
1- Is food spoilage on the radar or is it scraped for good? It would be VERY very nice to have it and to be able to build fridges and stuff late game for preserving stuff forever. I know that putting a timer on stuff strains the bigger stuff, but stuffing stuff in the good stuff shouldn't make the whole stuff worse, but better stuff overall.

2- Torches. Unending torches are simple and work, but they feel unaesthetic and lame along the way for those of us who hate generators. Here's the suggestion:

High tech LED torch that lasts forever without input energy and is made out of a bulb light, electrical parts, iron bar,plastic and a battery? Quite difficult to obtain those ingredients but I would LOVE the luxury of having a fitting eternal lightsource, for a price.

Whadcha think?
Click to expand...
Food and light management mini games do not excite me. 1, Balance, 2, They produce some heat map so there is incentive to get rid of them. There is a mining book you find that lets you craft lanterns.

 
Madmole:

There is a mining book you find that lets you craft lanterns.

I love you Mr. Beard.

can we please please please see some screenshots of said lanterns?

 
hey madmole.i cant recall if smell was coming back in a18?

also just faced my first 17.4 horde and they came at me from 3 sides. thats a first for me - was so used to one and a bit fronts that they nearly got in!

ive mentioned it before a long time ago, but with the new framework and all, any possibility of getting a hand held air horn / loud hailer so we can stand in the middle of those big derelict city blocks and call the zds out to play
Click to expand...
No smell. There are means to get zombies to come, tnt, torches, campfires, etc all raise the heat map and get a screamer to come spawn a horde.

 
Madmole any improvements regarding Z density/difficulty in larger cities? Still feel it shouldn't be a walk in the park day 1.
Very excited for all the rest, specifically the urge to loot through all the new stuff, the gun crafting system and the new perk tree!
Click to expand...
Why would people think we are desperate to slow the game down further to give 2000 hour guys a challenge? Our goal with A18 is a smooth landing with potato's rejoicing, not the fps is still in the ♥♥♥♥ter.

 
Speaking of car mods, will dye work eventually work on vehicles too? there is this dance we always have to do in front of the base to figure out which one is ours. assuming the vehicles wouldnt be able to go faster due to loading/performance issues?
Click to expand...
In the meantime I recommend to build a parking lot with signs with the owner's name on them.

 
Maybe because the torch is in one hand and the gun in the other hand is very logical? )))
Click to expand...
Ok, so how do you reload or use a two handed weapon then? Shall we light you on fire when the torch clips through your arm? No means no for many obvious reasons, its a great design giving you incentive to find a better light, if you can use a torch on day 1 like a head or gun light source, you have end game functionality and no incentive to loot and upgrade.

You are asking for a boatload of work and it would take away more than it adds.

 
You could achieve both by being unable to use iron sights and swing slower while holding torch. You also cannot use two handed items, so helmet light is still a HUGE upgrade.
Click to expand...
Ok lets spend three months engineering all of that, changing every one handed animation to show the off hand torch, and then why can't I change weapons bugs coming in, and ugly reloads with a torch clipping. No thanks, it works as intended, you guys ask for stuff that would ruin the experience. We give people problems and tools to deal with it, use the tools and stop asking for features that make the game even easier and keep us from getting bandits, story and optimizations in.

 
I wouldn't call it a sense of accomplishment. More a sense of relief. Walking along in the dark and I can't take a drink without extinguishing and unequipping my light source? It's a gameplay basic and a glaring omission IMO. Also, you can do it in Skyrim :p
Since you said a while back it was possible, you might as well go ahead and implement it...'cause you're never going to hear the end of it. Especially after gold and new people start picking up the game.
Click to expand...
Skyrim avoids the issue as well, you instantly consume food in skyrim at the press of a hotkey, it doesn't change items.

Anything is possible, but this isn't something good for the game. Off hand torches are now officially off topic, we're not doing them so stop talking about it.

 
One major problem is that TFP, in their infinite wisdom, decided to go with the second mouse button for a power attack instead of a long press of the first button. Shields were on the table until this was introduced, there was concept art for them.
Unless the mechanics are fundamentally changed the secondary weapon will be unusable, whether that be a torch, club, or rubber chicken.
Click to expand...
Yes we do have infinite wisdom. You guys think game design is easy? Take a wild guess what happens when you press and hold the mouse button for power attack? You lose the ability to mine unless you want to tap tap tap tap tap tap... its getting old already. Tap, tap, tap... no thanks. People want to press and hold to mine, and not be forced into a power attack and be out of stamina when mining. There would also be a pause between each hit if you had to click it for each tap of the pickaxe unless you had perfect timing. It would take something that is enjoyable and relaxing and turn it into a ♥♥♥♥ show.

 
You just ignored the bulk of my post and focused on "mods" for vehicles, which is confusing because it's the physical size of the 4x4 that causes it to not fit through the GARAGE door. Also how does that change how they like to destroy ramp pieces like those on a bridge when driving over them, or how they stall out on the standard ramp? And I don't really care about "fort pieces" as my big issue here is the fact that we can't build anything larger than a small hut or zombies spawn inside our bases as was the point of noting the size of the base I was building. Also I tried to standardize the size of my base around the land claim block size at max, as I figured it would block the inner area, which is why the inner wall is 54x54. How is building within the confines of a LAND CLAIM BLOCK too large? Why can't it force zombies to spawn outside of it? I'd really appreciate it if you'd acknowledge the issues with spawning as it seems counter to what the game leads you to believe is possible, alongside what you seem to be suggesting with your "multiple outer walls" comment.
Click to expand...
I generally don't talk about stuff I don't know enough to talk about, so when people get ignored its because I don't have the correct answer.

 
Regarding performance. Could adding caves to the world HELP performance because from what im hearing the game is rendering all blocks even if we cant see them. Would having less blocks underground help?

Even a slightly less deep underground maybe?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yes we do have infinite wisdom. You guys think game design is easy? Take a wild guess what happens when you press and hold the mouse button for power attack? You lose the ability to mine unless you want to tap tap tap tap tap tap... its getting old already. Tap, tap, tap... no thanks. People want to press and hold to mine, and not be forced into a power attack and be out of stamina when mining. There would also be a pause between each hit if you had to click it for each tap of the pickaxe unless you had perfect timing. It would take something that is enjoyable and relaxing and turn it into a ♥♥♥♥ show.
Click to expand...
Calm yourself big guy. It's only a little light ridicule, nothing to get worked up about :-)

You made a choice, one of several options, none of which are entirely perfect. Another option would be slightly a different control systems for two-handed mining tools, in the same way that you cannot really power-attack with a hammer. That's still not a perfect system but it would allow for dual-wielding while leaving mining relatively untouched.

 
Regarding performance. Could adding caves to the world HELP performance because from what im hearing the game is rendering all blocks even if we cant see them. Would having less blocks underground help?
Click to expand...
Hah, nope.

It's not about rendering blocks but rendering surfaces. There is no visible surface between terrain blocks so a solid underground costs zip.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top