PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[Guppycur]

700 horses is a terrible thing for tires. TBH the anti traction keep it from burning too much rubber like the old mopars I had. It pretty much just shoves your head back into the seat and you go.

I raced a hellcat once. Sort of. I'm in a modded '06 GTO and didn't realize he was next to me so he took off and I didn't. So the next light I did the same to him.

That counts, right? He was gaining on me, but not as quickly as I bet he would have liked. =)

 

[Ayrton]

Madmole, are you planning to add alchemy to the game, right? So are there plans to add more plants? Maybe medicinal plants with various effects? and what do you think of some aquatic plants? What would be ingredients for alchemy? or silvers that only grow in the desert and in the snow? that would be great, what do you think about the idea?

 

[Trankitas]

Thanks. Its more about being responsible than being told no. Its so easy to keep adding new stuff, that is fun. Fixing all the bugs and finishing things to a AA quality not so much, but that is what will get us to our sales goals and make everyone the happiest. Mods I might make might be quest mods, vampires, add new npcs you can recruit (if TFP never gets to it) and maybe some hardcore survival version, stuff that interests me I suppose. Power armor anyone?

Ok. Then extraterrestrial beings or vampires. #I'mNotKiddingDon'tBanMe

You know...that vampire stuff was just a joke...

 

[Trankitas]

Cool, but I feel like a 'before' shot would really drive it home.

Fataal, can you show with a screenshot how putting a torch in a wall doesn't makes light to slip through the other side of that wall?

If you have the time of course, I imagine you are working your ass off every day.

New reflections are looking much much better, before they where too bright.

 

[Locusta]

Special abilities

I’m curious to know if special abilities are planned. I’m not sure how you could implement them, but I think they would really add more of an RPG feel to the game. Maybe an ability unlocks for different weapon types? Or an attribute on different gear that could be randomized?

An example of some bow abilities:

I especially like the “hail of arrows” example :smile-new:

 

[Aldranon]

I’m curious to know if special abilities are planned. I’m not sure how you could implement them, but I think they would really add more of an RPG feel to the game. Maybe an ability unlocks for different weapon types? Or an attribute on different gear that could be randomized?
An example of some bow abilities:

You could do "Special Powers" based on various combinations of stats and/or perks (even certain items). So your character is not so two dimensional but has some gestalt to them.

Example: Max Strength + Max Dex + Max parkour + (Special?) Sledgehammer = "Leap of Doom!". You leap forward 20 feet and hit the ground with you sledge hammer stunning and damaging everything within a 20 feet radius. High stam cost?, Recharge timer?

Something like that would be interesting.

Edit: To keep it simple, you could base the power on what the character is holding, then press the "Z" key for example and the program checks if a special power is triggered, all based on what the player holds.

 

[Trankitas]

You could do "Special Powers" based on various combinations of stats and/or perks (even certain items). So your character is not so two dimensional but has some gestalt to them.
Example: Max Strength + Max Dex + Max parkour + (Special?) Sledgehammer = "Leap of Doom!". You leap forward 20 feet and hit the ground with you sledge hammer stunning and damaging everything within a 20 feet radius. High stam cost?, Recharge?

Something like that would be interesting.

Edit: To keep it simple, you could base the power based on what the character is holding, then press the "Z" key for example and the program checks if a special power is triggered based on what the player holds.

Pretty cool idea, but i think it is mod material not core game, sounds too arcadey doesn't it?

 

[Aldranon]

Pretty cool idea, but i think it is mod material not core game, sounds too arcadey doesn't it?

It does, but the Special Powers should only be gotten late game. Just when your getting ether bored or overwhelmed depending if you play "dead is dead" or not.

 

[madmole]

Well that was a little toxic! My potato plays just fine FYI.

Ark makes super pc's feel like potatoes.

 

[madmole]

Im trying to stay on topic here but it feels like all the known A18 info has been discussed to death. Dont get me wrong..I cant wait to play it. Is there any new info we can argue about next?

Dyes no longer do increase damage, and have a dedicated dye slot, and I am desaturating them so they aren't so cartoony and are more believable.

I added cosmetic mods that do take a mod slot. Your army helmet can now look like a cowboy hat with a cowboy hat mod. It also adds the weather protection that a cowboy hat would provide to the army helmet. So you can look cool but have good armor rating.

 

[Trankitas]

Ark makes super pc's feel like potatoes.

That's true lol

 

[RipClaw]

Dyes no longer do increase damage, and have a dedicated dye slot, and I am desaturating them so they aren't so cartoony and are more believable.

A good decision. It was always a bit strange that dye increases the damage. On the other hand, the dye was often the first mod to be installed in the weapon as it fitted into every weapon and tool.

That the colors don't pop anymore will surely please some players who have complained that the weapons look like toys.

I added cosmetic mods that do take a mod slot. Your army helmet can now look like a cowboy hat with a cowboy hat mod. It also adds the weather protection that a cowboy hat would provide to the army helmet. So you can look cool but have good armor rating.

Sounds great. I know some players who will be happy that they can change the look of their character without losing their armor rating.

 

[madmole]

Dont look down on us fluffers. Its a valid career path.
I have a 12,000 dollar sofa.

Nice

 

[madmole]

Will you be updating the water?

I won't be. Some unlucky programmer will when we decide its a priority.

 

[Tete1805]

"Some lucky programmer will solve this problem when he has done its squats." #DontSkipLegDay

 

[madmole]

Joel I think what you are seeing are the people that enjoy a more Minecraft type experience vs People who want a PvP or hardcore FPS. The issue that the you guys are having is that you are attempting to walk the line between both crowds, especially as they argue between each other on the forums.
Some of us like a more relaxed experience. Build a base, deal with a few zombies, scavenge for supplies, etc. Others want a constant arcade style in-your-face type experience. Maybe a good solution here is having a preset that pertains to each crowd. "Relaxed" and "Hardcore" or something. An "Advanced" button could be provided for those who want to tweak things. Relaxed would lower the amount of zombies, and make things more adventure/exploration focused. Sleepers could be cut by 50% or maybe more, and more emphasis placed on scavenging/survival. Hardcore would have the normal amount of zombies/sleepers/things that want to kill you, with less emphasis on scavenging/survival. Just a wild thought.

Other thoughts: I still would like to see XP for discovering new towns, and having other 'survivor' NPCs that are friendly that give out quests or general gossip would be pretty cool as well. Maybe incorporate traders/npcs into cities/towns along with zombies. They would just live inside barricaded buildings or something. Could also have bandits as well.

There are options. I think you can disable blood moons now. Turn down the difficulty if there are "too many" sleepers IMO. Exploration XP would be cool, but we need to define a trigger on the bounds of a city or whatever. I'd say the problem with traders in cities is they are invulnerable.

 

[JamesKirk]

700 horses is a terrible thing for tires. TBH the anti traction keep it from burning too much rubber like the old mopars I had. It pretty much just shoves your head back into the seat and you go.

Acceleration is when the tears of delightment run horizontally to the ears (says Walter Rِhrl, german rally driver).

What is the exact purpose of tallow? Only making alcohol?

Remove it, it's an unnecessary step. Change recipe for alcohol or others to use animal fat directly instead.

 

[Trankitas]

Videos.

 

[Odetta]

Videos.

It's Friday, looks like another video-less week. Maybe there is nothing to show as stuff is still being worked on? :indecisiveness:

 

[SnowDog1942]

Dyes no longer do increase damage, and have a dedicated dye slot, and I am desaturating them so they aren't so cartoony and are more believable.
I added cosmetic mods that do take a mod slot. Your army helmet can now look like a cowboy hat with a cowboy hat mod. It also adds the weather protection that a cowboy hat would provide to the army helmet. So you can look cool but have good armor rating.

All good stuff. Moar moar moar.