PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[ZombieSurvivor]

Same, I've said everything I wanted to say, now I'm lurking and waiting for the big boom.

I'm still guessing it will drop in the 3rd or 4th week of this month possibly 1st week of next month.

 

[Laz Man]

So, all they need to add then, is death penalty from suicide is x10 and Viola!

Easy to circumvent on open servers, players will just use a throwaway character to deliver the vest and not care about the death penalty


The player already died (in a sense failed), why does it need an incentive to reengage? Often (with a breached horde base) reengagement is futil anyway and the player needs time to prepare, repair and resupply.

Sorry, I see now you meant old style houses, not just the old houses of A15 that were updated or removed. Part of my last reply is irrelevant then. Still, simple houses with just some junk will be uninteresting for most players after 2 weeks into the game. And I think we get the best of both worlds if the designers use uncluttered rooms a bit more often (actually ground floor of many residential houses already are relatively uncluttered) and there are occasionally alternative paths available

Why need an incentive to re-engage? Mostly to discourage players to cheese the blood moon event by intentionally eating one death and sitting things out.

However, if players are going to go to that extent, they might as well turn the blood moons off lol.

 

[FA_Q2]

Perhaps MadMole could clarify what you said
Because if it is possible with a full INT build to craft items which are on par with top quality loot then my fears will disappear - and investing into INT will then become viable.

You put your points very well, and I get you loud and clear.

Maybe my wording is messy, but I understand the tiers.

I just meant, for example, a looted baseball bat vs player crafted baseball bat. Same quality grade - my understanding from MadMole is that the player made bat will always be inferior to its hypothetical looted equal.

I really hope your interpretation of what the devs have implemented, however, is indeed the case.

Thank you for the input by the way, much appreciated. It's just a friendly discussion anyways

I don't think it is the case that you can make top quality or higher grade equipment. I think the problem is that you are looking at an int build from the perspective of 17 and in 18 it sounds like the entire tree works differently now. Int in 17 is all about being able to craft gear. It sounds to me like 18 has spread the equipment out so that each stat deals with a specific set of equipment. Going deep into int is NOT just to craft good stuff - it is also to become proficient in the use of the equipment that is under that tree.

To put it another way, I think you are totally correct that there is almost no reason to go deep into int if all you want out of it is to craft equipment. Instead, you go deep into int because you want to craft equipment AND use the stun baton and junk turret as primary combat methods.

The skill trees are not the same as 17 where perception was ranged and strength melee. Now, every single stat has associated equipment with it. You no longer have to spec str if you want to be good at melee. You have to spec str if you want to be good with the str melee weapon.

That is my understanding at least. We will see next month :*(

 

[Roland]

Just to clarify a bit. You could not craft a baseball bat at all by going into the intelligence branch since that is the top tier version of clubs which are in the strength build.

By going into the intelligence build you could craft stun batons, junk turrets, and explosives. So maxing out your intelligence you could craft a blue quality stun baton with average stats. You could possibly find a blue stun baton with higher stats or lower stats.

If you max out strength you could eventually craft a blue quality baseball bat that had average stats which means you could possibly find a blue baseball bat with better or worse stats.

And...of course purple quality can never be crafted and only ever be found.

The misconception is that intelligence is the crafting tree that lets you craft everything the best. This is not true of A18. Each attribute tree has its own groups of crafts and crafting is never the way to get the best of the best. Only looting.

That being said, any blue weapon or tool of average stats is going to be plenty to thrive with in the game. If your worry is not being able to keep up with the difficulty then there is nothing to worry about. If your worry is that you get anxiety knowing there could be better stuff to be found than you have in your possession then there is therapy.

Looting is King in A18 and onward. Crafting is Queen or Jack. Still powerful but not the all. It was found that being able to craft the best removes reasons to explore and scavenge so that model is going away.

 

[Trankitas]

I'm still guessing it will drop in the 3rd or 4th week of this month possibly 1st week of next month.

Yeah, it looks like your prediction will be pretty spot on. 55 Mf's left is the last that I heard. So...yeah.

 

[madmole]

Sounds awesome. Will the demolisher spawn in POIs? Might be a hex on SI...

So far no he is a late game stage horde zombie.

 

[Roland]

.
1. The best items are found in loot.

2. The build which represents crafting the best stuff, intelligence, now produces, at best, mid grade equipment.

Number One is true, intended, and by design after testing and feedback from A17 showed that crafting the best led to no reason to explore.

Number two is your misconception based on looking at it through A16 and A17 eyes. Intelligence is not the build that represents crafting the best stuff. Each attribute has its own best stuff to craft. Intelligence is for crafting your own vehicles and workstations and traps and electrical components and devices and also gaining xp from traps.

 

[madmole]

Demolisher explosion at 5k sounds like another #gate. Taking out full concrete walls by one misplaced shot doesn't sound too great for the average player. 4k could work, taking out pre-damaged blocks, still giving a chance for repairs and/or a little time to relocate for the next boom.
I personally don't mind which you choose, I'll deal, but a friend of mine is going to ragequit..

Nice horde night though, looking better and better - and love the "look and feel" of the demo as is

I honestly doubt any rage quitters will see demolishers. Unless you hack the xp gains its an 80 ish hour game before they show up, and the legions of zeds that come before they spawn should be nasty enough to toughen them up. Remember I ran twice the default zombies alive so a normie would get half the amount.

 

[madmole]

when he explodes will it still do damage to other zombies or only block damage?

Yes everything.

 

[madmole]

This will be a welcome change, imo. I spent the entire in-game night yesterday searching for a lead vein underground, but alas, all the gravel deposits that contained lead went to nowhere. Smh

Yes it was a ridiculous system that never worked, with no way but to mine/sample gravel to see what ore might be there. Now its a distinguished looking ore boulder of each type sitting on top of a decent vein leading to an awesome vein.

 

[madmole]

I just had a chance to watch. Did you find out were they are getting in?

Look first, then shoot.

Please tell me that you are going to add a full size ammo box of 200 rounds to the M-60?

What I don't get is why you kept shooting zombies if they were headed to the blade trap after worried about ammo.

What happened to the blade trap on your right anyway? Too much love from the hoard?

You may want to layer your turrets to cover you when you have to back up. That center one is too close and is missing most of the time. Not counting the Giro-copter OFC. Maybe put the 9mm turret on top above the doorway so it can cover you when you have to fall back.

That 9mm turret seems really good and seems to be the most efficient way to kill. The best bang for your buck.

A dart trap by the door maybe would be good.

Having a 9mm as a backup would be good. It may do less damage against them but I know that it has less kick therefor more accurate at close range for head shots. Plus it fires faster than the magnum.

Placing a blade trap on ether side of your ramp would really help cut down on tourism.

Thanks for showing off those Demolishers, they were a real blast.

I might have enough time to read up to present, eventually.

That base was built with the mindset of not respecting the game and this character being a tank with automatic weapons. I rushed together some trap defenses. I'm building a new horde base now, I think its design will be pretty effective.

 

[Callum123456789]

Yes everything.

so we can use them to our advantage?

 

[AngryGamer]

I honestly doubt any rage quitters will see demolishers. Unless you hack the xp gains its an 80 ish hour game before they show up, and the legions of zeds that come before they spawn should be nasty enough to toughen them up. Remember I ran twice the default zombies alive so a normie would get half the amount.

Why not make demolisher damage scale to GS? Locking them behind 80+ hours seems off.

 

[madmole]

Guys let the man play and figure it out for himself. I know you're all tripping over each other to prove how good you are but part of the magic is self discovery.

Yeah its actually a bit annoying when people try to tell me how to play the game. Its an RPG, I'm role playing a dumb brute with not a lot of technical savvy but he's ok grinding in the mine for 5k bullets

Back in a16 I fled to a roof top because I was too far from home and broke my leg or something for day 28 and all they did was spin some circles in the junky old building and break a few windows out. I rage quit from boredom shortly after that. As soon as I find an easy way to beat the game I'm personally not interested so all the strategy tips are a, not welcome and b, might not even work for A18.

 

[madmole]

Ah ok. I think I get it now. This is working nearly the opposite of how I thought it would, but it actually makes sense.If I don't want him to explode, I avoid hitting the sweet spot, but have to really focus on hitting the head multiple times or otherwise he is still going to deal a ton of base damage. If I do want him to explode (perhaps to wipe out a crowd of zombies), I shoot it.

If I do on accident... too bad.

I just have a couple thoughts though.

If I want him to explode, and shoot the target, there seems to be a delay of around 5 seconds. I do like this idea as this would give me time to get away if I hit it on accident. However, if I want him to explode on purpose, it would be nice to bypass the delay by hitting it 3 times, for example.

My other thought is a concern. Is it only shots from the player that triggers it? What happens with turrets? What happens with blade traps? What happens if the Demolisher is on fire? What about darts? Can other explosions trigger it? Can other zeds swinging trigger it? Can melee trigger it?

I would hope for shots, arrows, and melee from the player only to trigger it.

We could consider accelerating it, but in my case with the rapid fire of the m60 that could back fire. Right now a melee guy can trigger it and sprint away.
Edit: No idea about traps etc.

 

[RipClaw]

I honestly doubt any rage quitters will see demolishers. Unless you hack the xp gains its an 80 ish hour game before they show up, and the legions of zeds that come before they spawn should be nasty enough to toughen them up.

This is more likely to apply to the dead is dead players and those who love the early game and after 20 hours start again from the beginning.

I will do some tests to decide whether to leave the demolisher in the game or remove him. 5k is more than enough damage to destroy a blade trap, and if several of the demolishers explode in one of my corridors, the steel wall won't last.

Remember I ran twice the default zombies alive so a normie would get half the amount.

I usually play with 32 zombies at the same time. My bases can handle such big hordes even at higher gamestages.

Most streamers even play with 64 zombies at the same time. Only beginners or players with a potato PC play with 8 zombies at the same time.

 

[madmole]

man a str/fort build looks good
MadMole, how does an equal level stealth bow/crossbow player fare at that gs?

trying to see the balance for gun bunny and ninja styles of play

I didn't go that long with my agility guy his save game got rekt, but his magnum was brutal, the last shot did double damage and with AP rounds he could do some nice damage. He gets the SMG which is now a tier 3 weapon and not a piece of crap. So when things get nasty he can do pretty well with it. Also he has access to exploding arrows/bolts so I think he would do ok. Obviously horde night is not his strength, but the rest of the week he's a ghost silently wrecking everything.

 

[madmole]

Very nice custom gif

 

[madmole]

Hi Madmole!
I really enjoyed your latest horde night (Day 84) video... Amazing stuff.

It would have been nice if you had done a follow up video showing the extent of the damage done to your base. I'm curious since it seems they dug up somewhere, so there must be considerable damage.

Thank for the videos, and best game ever!

The got in under my walkway in my basement near the generator. That hole I left to access the wiring posts ended up being a weak spot they decided to target. It wasn't bad because those blades shredded a ton of them. I just need a hatch there.

 

[CannedSmeef]

I didn't go that long with my agility guy his save game got rekt, but his magnum was brutal, the last shot did double damage and with AP rounds he could do some nice damage. He gets the SMG which is now a tier 3 weapon and not a piece of crap. So when things get nasty he can do pretty well with it. Also he has access to exploding arrows/bolts so I think he would do ok. Obviously horde night is not his strength, but the rest of the week he's a ghost silently wrecking everything.

Have you tried out a shotgun build (which I am assuming is strength) yet? I hope the double barrel is as devastating as it sounds.