PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[Fren]

I only play singleplayer myself but I have read comments from players on multiplayer servers that there is a lack of meat. I also read that there are servers on which you have the possibility to spawn an animal via the command line.

Every admin of the server can do that correct. So far we don't spawn animals or zombies. I don't play PVP, somethimes on Single player and now and then I check other servers or try a mod for our small group. Though there are barns/houses which have snakes and boars in it. Don't know for sure if they respawn but there are quests as well which sends u in those buildings.

That's only half the change that madmole mentioned. The canned food supposedly doesn't give you food poisoning anymore.

That's where I see the problem. You have to put points in the perks to be able to grow food and cook.

The cans, on the other hand, can be found on the first day.

Why should I invest points in Master Chef and Living of the Land if I can find the best food in the game on day 1 ?

Perhaps canfood only give u a few points, while meat gives u more stamina and perhaps health? Dunno... have to wait and see what is going to change. We will adapt and (try to) survive

- - - Updated - - -

Not to sound snide, but what would you rather carry around with you? 10 bacon and eggs, or 30 canned food? Just saying...

Where did the time go that u could do that and zombies just smelled ur bacon and eggs or grilled meat and came right for u

 

[archergod]

As for #wiregate
I'd say make them hidden unless your holding a wiretool. They serve no purpose, except pvp.

Now do I care about pvp? Hell no. Making decisions based on pvp gameplay makes kage very mad. Do I expect pvp players to care what I think? Of course not. Just making my argument based on my personal gameplay.

If they leave it alone im ok with it though, with one exception. If wires are adding to lag they 100% should be hidden, pvp or no pvp.

If lag is not an issue I say hide them anyway but of they dont, no biggy.

How they help in PVP ? to track the light source to know of automatic weapons ? I don't see it been useful in PVP .. maybe I am not envisioning it properly.

 

[archergod]

That's only half the change that madmole mentioned. The canned food supposedly doesn't give you food poisoning anymore.

That's where I see the problem. You have to put points in the perks to be able to grow food and cook.

The cans, on the other hand, can be found on the first day.

Why should I invest points in Master Chef and Living of the Land if I can find the best food in the game on day 1 ?

I am pretty sure you won't find enough can food for mid or late game. We currently get stock of it as we start cooking. It won't fill up, when you have 150 hit points etc.

And canned food do not improve max stamina now, and seems it won't in A18 too.

Also Chance on cooked food is going to be pretty low like 5% so you won't actually get hit by it every second time you eat it. But you have to make sure to have some backup food with you, when you eat cooked food.

 

[canadianbluebeer]

i have eaten c-rations dated for vietnam ordeal.... when i was in the miltary 76-83 the only thing i dont play around with is dairy products and meat once opened... 3 days MAX in cold fridge.

That's when it was mostly canned foods, and just a few dehydrated things. (the pudding) pre-cooked bacon in a can, salted (really, really salted) butter from australia (you can imagine the nickname it got)..

Hershey bars that had crystallized .. those long plastic spoons though (for the pudding), fantastic catapults. Still have a few.



To this day, I cannot eat canned corned beef hash. I think I got a bad can of that back in the 70s.

Currently I get rid of the canned stuff that doesn't have a recipe once I can cook enough things.

I've HAD food poisoning, I don't want or need it in a game.

(so yes, I'll mod that out of cooked stuff, or grab the perks asap. have to see)

I'd rather have the canned stuff still have a chance to poison you, but not what you make.

Incentive to hunt/farm things, rather than just get cans.

Oh, MM: have the airdrops been fixed to NOT be mostly tinned food?

 

[ZombieSurvivor]

<snip>

Look who it is, doubt you remember me at all. I believe we spoke a few times back when I was a moderator for the 7 Days to Die Q&A Testers Discord channel. Anyways nice to see you again.

 

[unholyjoe]

That's when it was mostly canned foods, and just a few dehydrated things. (the pudding) pre-cooked bacon in a can, salted (really, really salted) butter from australia (you can imagine the nickname it got)..
Hershey bars that had crystallized .. those long plastic spoons though (for the pudding), fantastic catapults. Still have a few.



To this day, I cannot eat canned corned beef hash. I think I got a bad can of that back in the 70s.

Currently I get rid of the canned stuff that doesn't have a recipe once I can cook enough things.

I've HAD food poisoning, I don't want or need it in a game.

(so yes, I'll mod that out of cooked stuff, or grab the perks asap. have to see)

I'd rather have the canned stuff still have a chance to poison you, but not what you make.

Incentive to hunt/farm things, rather than just get cans.

Oh, MM: have the airdrops been fixed to NOT be mostly tinned food?

i can actually say its (airdrops) are not inadvertently yielding more food now.

so for me it appears to be evened out and better... i was actually just selling the canned food for a while. now i need it to help curb the appetite.

 

[MechanicalLens]

And canned food do not improve max stamina now, and seems it won't in A18 too.

What are you talking about? Food and stamina are in the same exact pool in A17. Of course canned food fills up your max stamina, otherwise it would be completely useless.

 

[Kage848]

How they help in PVP ? to track the light source to know of automatic weapons ? I don't see it been useful in PVP .. maybe I am not envisioning it properly.

I guess if you find the wires you can find the generator and take it out easier?

 

[RipClaw]

I am pretty sure you won't find enough can food for mid or late game. We currently get stock of it as we start cooking. It won't fill up, when you have 150 hit points etc.

As soon as I start cooking and my garden produces enough food, I always scrap the canned food to save inventory space.

And canned food do not improve max stamina now, and seems it won't in A18 too.

I think you're confusing that with the old wellness system. Canned food didn't give wellness back then. That was the disadvantage of canned food in this system.

The disadvantage of canned food in A17 is that you can get food poisoning. As for the rest, canned food is not much different from self-made food.

Also Chance on cooked food is going to be pretty low like 5% so you won't actually get hit by it every second time you eat it. But you have to make sure to have some backup food with you, when you eat cooked food.

5% means you get sick every 20 meals on average.

If food poisoning in A18 is still the same as in A17 then it is not enough to carry replacement food with you.

 

[Bubo]

New electric lighting shot

https://twitter.com/x/status/1163677893836197888

Looks great!

 

[ZombieHorde]

Can I be honest? Now this is embarrassing, but after following the game and forums since A12, I think, I still don't get some aspects of the game.

Things that need to be made clearer, especially to newbies:

• The shadow bars behind the stamina and health bar. Something to do with food and water, but I can't seem to gain health no matter how much I eat, unless I take painkillers. If it's supposed to be that way, it doesn't make much sense.
  
• The heat/cold resistance number and the (+/- #) number after it.
  
• If I'm wanting to buy Advanced Engineering, all it says is "upgrade your intellect to buy", but there's no details on how high your intellect has to be. I think it's essential to show the true cost to be able to plan your points wiser.
  

 

[Callum123456789]

Can I be honest? Now this is embarrassing, but after following the game and forums since A12, I think, I still don't get some aspects of the game.
Things that need to be made clearer, especially to newbies:

• The shadow bars behind the stamina and health bar. Something to do with food and water, but I can't seem to gain health no matter how much I eat, unless I take painkillers. If it's supposed to be that way, it doesn't make much sense.
  
• The heat/cold resistance number and the (+/- #) number after it.
  
• If I'm wanting to buy Advanced Engineering, all it says is "upgrade your intellect to buy", but there's no details on how high your intellect has to be. I think it's essential to show the true cost to be able to plan your points wiser.
  

I think you can go to the locked symbol thee it should tell you what requirements need to be met

 

[agrastiOs]

Can I be honest? Now this is embarrassing, but after following the game and forums since A12, I think, I still don't get some aspects of the game.
Things that need to be made clearer, especially to newbies:

• The shadow bars behind the stamina and health bar. Something to do with food and water, but I can't seem to gain health no matter how much I eat, unless I take painkillers. If it's supposed to be that way, it doesn't make much sense.
  
• The heat/cold resistance number and the (+/- #) number after it.
  
• If I'm wanting to buy Advanced Engineering, all it says is "upgrade your intellect to buy", but there's no details on how high your intellect has to be. I think it's essential to show the true cost to be able to plan your points wiser.
  

If you eat food, you can only heal up to the shadow bar. (The shadow bar is damaged health, thus effectively reducing your max health).

To remove the shadow bar, use medicine which gives max health.

The higher the resistance, the better you can tolerate the heat/cold. So more is better.

 

[madmole]

Hehe nice work!
Take your time with the release.. I started playing the Witcher 3 last week.. That'll keep me occupied for a while.

I've been meaning to try it again, I played about 6 hours when it first came but some of the mechanics were confusing, like Alchemy and advanced combat.

 

[The Gronk]

I also found the new stamina/health system confusing at first and I'd had it thoroughly explained to me beforehand.

There's something about it that's either counter-intuitive or poorly communicated which is making it harder than it should be. I've no idea exactly what part is confusing nor what could be done to make the information easier to comprehend. There's an issue here, I just don't know what it is goddamit! If it's an issue for a veteran what hope does a n00b have?

 

[madmole]

I don't think so. It wouldn't make sense that canned food doesn't give you food poisoning but self-cooked food does. That contradicts the general idea of progress in this game.
In order to cook your own food you first have to get the raw materials.

In the beginning it means looting nests and hunting animals. For better meals you have to do farming. That means you have to invest points in Living of the Land and you have to have a garden hoe that you have to find or make yourself.

The better the food, the more points you have to invest in Master Chef. And more and more ingredients are needed to prepare a meal.

But you can find canned food already on the 1st day.

It wouldn't make sense to find the best food in the game right from the start. In addition, canned food in the game always had disadvantages. Now suddenly the system should be turned upside down ?

Its not better, its safer. At the end of the day you'll have this rare occasion where you had to eat more food than normal and your still going to have 10000 bowls of stew in your chest. Its just a small step towards food being a little more relevant and food poisoning more than a another 20 second worthless debuff as it is in 17. Don't like it buy the iron gut perk.

 

[Gnomaana]

I'll play devils advocate on this one, I cannot speak for all but I was in a situation where a vast majority of a specific type of alienware computer shipped with a faulty on board sound card. (when talking in the mic no matter what, sounded like a whisper) I was unlucky enough to have bought one and it took me about a month to find a headset with a built in sound card and these headphones cost $150.00. You do make very good points though.

You could have just bought a USB Sound Blaster or something and used your current headset. That is what I had to do when my home built pc had the same issue with onboard sound. The mic would not pick up anything.

 

[Roland]

Can I be honest? Now this is embarrassing, but after following the game and forums since A12, I think, I still don't get some aspects of the game.
Things that need to be made clearer, especially to newbies:

• The shadow bars behind the stamina and health bar. Something to do with food and water, but I can't seem to gain health no matter how much I eat, unless I take painkillers. If it's supposed to be that way, it doesn't make much sense.
  
• The heat/cold resistance number and the (+/- #) number after it.
  
• If I'm wanting to buy Advanced Engineering, all it says is "upgrade your intellect to buy", but there's no details on how high your intellect has to be. I think it's essential to show the true cost to be able to plan your points wiser.
  

Read the ingame journal on those topics?

 

[madmole]

I saw that someone said "smart zombies aren't immersive" a week ago.
1. Zombies aren't real anyway and can vary.

2. We have to be challenged somehow in an ever-changing voxel world.

3. The game can not support the number of dumb zombies to make the game equally difficult.

4. Since when is having smart A.I ever a bad thing?

I'd rather have the game be dynamic and a challenge where the zombies hunt you than mindlessly blow away brain dead zombies just because the developers had an idea what zombies are supposed to act like. Resident Evil 4 had "zombies" shooting guns and talking. I kinda prefer that more than zombies because it brought more to the table.

Exactly, game play trumps realism and it trumps fantasy realism (believable zombies that xxxx)

 

[madmole]

I like the challenge of hiding the wires. I also like the look of them visible in some situations. My 2 cents...leave 'em.

But twitter says you 1%'rs are ruining the game for the main streamers.