PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[Mechanimal]

So excited for Alpha 18. Good thing it dident get released before summer or i would not have gotten any color on my skin hehe. When I read threw 100s of pages here and i am wondering about a simple thing that I cant find info about:
Q: Will flowers and mushrooms be able too be looted by the simple "E" command again in A18?

Keep up the awesome work, hoping for more pictures again soon ^^

I vaguely remember this coming up, probably a few hundred pages back, can't remember where it ended up. I sure hope so, after playing a few vanilla games I tried a mod that brought it back and it made me so so happy. I did understand the logic behind the change, since they upgraded farming so that it left a seedling to regrow after you harvested a crop, in A16 it always took the whole thing and you'd have to replant it every time. So I dig that part of the new system. But for the most part losing the E harvest was a huge QOL downgrade. I used to grab a lot of stuff while I ran around the map with my bow out. Having to stop and switch to a different tool so I could hit a flower just made me not collect them anywhere near as much, and get irritated when I did have to do it.

I think a blend of the two might be best, bring back E for harvesting, and then with planted crops you'd have to hit the seedling to pull it out. That would also solve the frustration of accidentally pulling half your damn seeds out by accident while harvesting, which I kept doing in A17, so I just stopped farming altogether. I do hope it is addressed somehow, we'll see, I miss farming.

 

[Trankitas]

Okay guide. The release date ?

It shall come, when the pimp stars align in the skies, and the rocks in the ground tremble and... I don't know.

 

[Angeleus]

What i really wonder is the looting aspect of the game.

In this version its not really viable to go out and loot buildings anymore after you reach like lv 30-40.

In the beginning you can go in as a group shoot down or bash a few zombies get hurt or maybe killed and then you can enjoy the looting.

But after the mentioned Lv the zombies just get to numerous and strong. And i really like the aspect of making the enemies stronger. But there must be a better way to make them more difficult then just making the bullet sponges. It´s not really worthwile going in a building wasting 500 bullets to clear the house and find a coat, some scrap iron and an orange pistol and 10 bullets.

 

[SnowDog1942]

It shall come, when the pimp stars align in the skies, and the rocks in the ground tremble and... I don't know.

Im thinking 4 to 6 weeks

 

[archergod]

Somewhat offtopic. Any news on networking? Are there reasonable estimates you can give on max. playercount/server for the final release?

I have seen with 20-30 online player at a time, The estimate is how much you can send on your network server. If you can buy that $5000 machine then you can support 40-50, if not then you can support maybe 2-3 player. It depends on your server and network speed.

 

[crazywildfire]

This. I used to play games with my son all the time, he's the one who got me into Minecraft when he was 8, we had so much fun. Then he got into Roblox, eh, it had it's pros and cons, but some of those got him into shooters, and naturally he moved on into a ton of those. He got me into R6 Siege, which is the first FPS game I have gotten into since I burnt out on most of those in the 90's, Doom, Quake, Halflife, etc. But we kind of split as he got into CS:GO, COD, PUBG, etc. But he got really good, he single-handedly took out Dr. Disrespect and his squad in a PUBG game when he was 11(he's about to turn 13 and still won't shut up about it, ha). He often tops the list in his matches. He won't touch Fortnite, too cartoony he says, he's all into the more serious stuff(though recently got back into the new MC a bit, me too.

Sorry to get off topic here but just wanted to say I remember back in the day getting into some of those but the 3 shooters that got me hooked back then was unreal tournament, counter strike and swat 3/swat 4. Man I miss the Sierra Swat games lol. Not sure who bought them out but wish they do a swat 5 as long as they kept to the same type of game as 3 and 4 was with a few changes.

Anyway back on topic A18 is really looking great. I'm really hyped about it. Looking forward to testing it out.

 

[KingSlayerGM]

Nah! Nothing major like that. Just a gridsystem is enough. This isnt minecraft where its about creativity. Its about effectiveness.

And not beeing able to connect two powersources or to make an electic fence go in a circle is unintuitive.

Nah.. this is also a sandbox game, so it is also about creativity. Hoppers, droppers and dispensers are the base for automation.

I suggested making the generators bigger so you don't need to connect 2 together and don't need any grid system.

I want logic gates not because of creativity but because of necessity. For example currently it is impossible to have an "and" gate between 2 sensors. And I needed this in a recent build.

 

[legolas141]

We must be playing different games. Or you games broken. I got lots of zombies in my cities. They are definitely not just "loot boxes"
Maybe not a ton of zombies out on the roads but there are in the buildings. And that's where the real loot is. I would argue that on higher gamestage some of those buildings aren't even worth it. The amount of ammo you use doesn't justify the buildings loot.

Disclaimer, I don't watch any youtube videos hardly on the games I play (mostly just dont have the patience to spend the time to watch them when I could just as easily play lol) so if this is a well know thing already then I apologize in advance.

A "trick" I managed to work out helps with some of the large loot POIs(hospital, pharmaceutical building, etc) . Specifically the ones with the clustered loot containers on or near the roof. I was in my SP game and was traveling to one of the traders in my Gyrocopter and noticed that there were 3-4 sky scraper type POIs that had the flat space on the roof where the loot boxes were.

Now normally I cruise in for an extended landing, so landing on a relatively small surface was something I wasn't sure if I could pull off. However, I practiced some landing maneuvers and discovered for myself that if you come in at a really steep angle and then pull way up right before your landing zone, that you cut out almost all of your speed and have next to zero forward momentum. Done just right the Gyro stops a few feet above the surface and then gently floats down that last few feet. Doing this properly you can pretty effectively land the vehicle on a dime.

After practicing this several times to improve my accuracy and timing I went back to those tall POI buildings and managed to land right beside the loot boxes I was trying to reach. Sure there were multiple zombies sleeping on the roof but I had plenty of time to hop off the Gyro and pick it up (so it was safe from random swipes) before they finished getting up and I just kited those few around the roof until they were all dead. They were mostly all irradiated as well so it was a bit touch and go for a minute but I survived and only had to deal with that small hand full of zombies.

I was feeling super accomplished for figuring out a quick an easy way to access the roof top loot area (without resorting to nerd poling) when I realized there was now a large POI filled with zombies between me and the ground and I could already hear them getting angry on the first floors below me. Now I decided since I was a bit reckless getting on the roof initially I should go ahead and try out a different method of escape. So I cleared the roof of obstacles and broke the railings and planted my gyro on one side of the roof. It wasn't long enough to actually take off but I was hoping the elevation would help. Sure enough I got to the end of the roof and dropped off but soon after the Gyro started climbing and I soared away feeling very satisfied with myself. I then proceeded to practice on several other POIs and got pretty good with it. Even going back to my base or the trader I now use the dive and pull up landing strategy because it makes it so much easier to land where I actually want to land at.

 

[Ayrton]

Not trying to hype here at all. My son is a big Rust, Ark, Day Z fan. He's played 7 days in the past but usually cheated stuff in and never took it too serious and doesn't have a ton of hours in it. I gave him access to A18 and he played a good 8 hour stretch and loves it! He liked doing quests and loved random stats and all the loot, and specializing. He built a big fort even though I told him not to and that its better to wait until you get better tools. He did 5 quests in a day, I was impressed, but the dig quests are easy, only 300 meters away at tier 1. I think the improved animations made combat feel better to him, he plays fortnite a lot, so having better firearm mechanics and animations is important to him.
Anyhow I thought it was great he liked it a lot and I could tell he was totally immersed because he kept wanting to show me his base and gear he found. He didn't really get into A17. Drove the new vehicles (cheated them in) but didn't really get sucked into it. So this is awesome.

You can't always put your finger on what is wrong or off on something. But playing it a LOT myself revealed what it needed bit by bit. Its been a mountain of work for me personally but I know it will pay off. I'm super proud of A18 and I can't wait to get it out.

Madmoles you are a good father

 

[Trankitas]

Not trying to hype here at all.

Well, you failed at "not hyping us". Sorry.

 

[Guppycur]

For me personally it's too much of one gameplay mechanic. I have been playing borderlands mod. 100% all zombies all the time. Balance. I'm just speaking for myself mind you but too much zombie slaying makes the game feel put of balance.
Some may like it, and that's cool. But it would annoy alot of people.

- - - Updated - - -

This is the solution. Roland strikes again!

No, tin has the right solution... Biome the cities like they used to be so that you can increase the count only there where it actually makes sense. And no, my game isn't broken (and neither are the other people's who are saying the same thing), cities are loot fests. Zero additional zombie count from any other poi, and zero additional zombie count from any other biome.

Just, more pois, which means more loot boxes. And unfortunately, the same loot.

 

[MajorMunchy]

well its august and my pants cannot stay on with the excitement.

 

[Trankitas]

Get off your ass and release the Kraken. :banplease:

 

[SnowDog1942]

well its august and my pants cannot stay on with the excitement.

Do not get your hopes up for August.

 

[Trankitas]

Im thinking 4 to 6 weeks

I really hope is less than that...I'm starving.

 

[legolas141]

well its august and my pants cannot stay on with the excitement.

Thanks for the mental image of your pants just spontaneously exploding off your body lol. Has to be an awkward problem when you are out in public hahaha

 

[MajorMunchy]

end of june MM stated 4-6 weeks and in prior posts he mentins "didnt we say 4-6 weeks at the end of june?"

so im just gona hope and wait while i test my theroy to enclose the trader and surround it with turrets

 

[Roland]

I was feeling super accomplished for figuring out a quick an easy way to access the roof top loot area (without resorting to nerd poling)

I salute you for practicing and employing a skillful way to land the gyrocopter as an alternative to nerd poling. That’s awesome.

...and planted my gyro on one side of the roof.

You lost my respect by picking up your gyrocopter and placing it somewhere else. I know the game allows it but in my mind if you want to avoid nerdpoling you should avoid this as well. Picking up a bicycle—okay. Picking up Jeeps and gyrocopters—magic on par with nerdpoling. (Yes I know there’s already a ton of concrete in the backpack...)

The stunt of driving off a too short runway and letting the acceleration of the fall get you up to speed is awesome again, however. I think the whole adventure would’ve been even better if you were forced to deal with getting your gyrocopter off the roof from where you landed it.

 

[legolas141]

end of june MM stated 4-6 weeks and in prior posts he mentins "didnt we say 4-6 weeks at the end of june?"so im just gona hope and wait while i test my theroy to enclose the trader and surround it with turrets

My current seed I spawned in a forest biome and the trader was just a short jog away. after investigating my surroundings I found a second trader that was only around 100 meters or so away from the first. They were so close they were within easy visible distance from each other even with trees between them. I immediately started my base a short distance away lol.

 

[MajorMunchy]

Thats another thing, gyro copters. like i cant make a decent garage for it.

Can we get like a 3x3 "vault" door for those things?

Also another topic. who here would want the draw bridge to be 3 wide and not 4? I am super ♥♥♥♥ with symmetry and having it be 4 wide gives me nightmares compared to if it was 3 wide Q.Q