PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[madmole]

Madmole This is a general point question.

In your gameplay to day 84, how many absolute points did you earn to be used for purchase

and what was your personal ascension level was it a 1:1 ratio?

Also as you played did certain base attributes str int percep int agil unlock or advance as your

skillpoint level progressed or are they strictly through purchase, Not their sub trees?

Perks bought depend upon player pref, genre playstyle, and type of build during playthrough and the

occasional fatfinger oops, or what is this button for.

GS level depends on how hard I dig in and survive. So that will vary for me depending on how deep

a do a particular playthrough. Since you have release t ability to have the world clones in A17, I

have a constant 5 genworlds same same change in name only. On each I play differently to get a real feel

for how other Genres play using their rules. Actually 4 are for that, 1 is just for me to go Walkabout.

Thanks for that by the way. I like choices and flexibility. and chaos and dam:smile-new:ge.

You gain 1 perk point per level, I was level 61 ish? Leveling starts about 1 level per day, then as you get better gear you gain more than 1 per day, for a while, then leveling slows down and its back to once per game day, then later once every 3 game days or so? I haven't paid real close attention, but it seems I can still level every 3 hour chunk I play. Traveling days excluded, like every 3rd day the trader resets I'll spend a whole day flying to all the traders and not earn any xp that day, and that takes a full game day to do so.

 

[madmole]

And that is what I respect about you. Not only do you take feedback from the playerbase, but you love your own game. You are not blinded by your own vision either, but vision you have nonetheless. I can't say the same for many developers, even many indie developers. Now go and show those doubters a thing or two and create the greatest alpha in 7D2D history. (But just remember, perfection is impossible. )

Thanks. We've already done it, I'm just waiting for the big reveal.

 

[madmole]

My humble suggestion for you is to click on Madmoles profile and read through his posts. All of the information that you seek is there. It’s efficient since do not read all the chit chat from other people. Not all info is in the videos, most is in his posts. If you read his posts, he has addressed that purple(pink) weapons and tools are only found in loot so you can only craft up to blue, in more than one post. Also, in multiple posts he has discussed the addition of many non-dungeon poi’s......80ish if I remember correctly. You will feel less frustrated if you read just his posts. Pardon me if you already knew how to do this, just trying to help a frustrated brother.

Thanks yeah I'm sure it can get confusing.

 

[Locusta]

There will be some character builds less effective for sure. The m60 guy has a crap reload, the agility guy can keep spraying and reloading nearly instantly. Having trade offs is a good thing and unique builds is good too.

I couldn’t agree more. :smile-new:

Loc

 

[madmole]

Not long ago, while i was out looting. I got a supply drop that almost landed right in front of the Ranger station I was using as a base. Thanks Fun Pimps for the home delivery!

Nice. I had one land in the water in the wasteland before, that was fun.

 

[madmole]

In regards to the loot at the end of a POI. Just thinkin' outloud...
If during the exploration of a POI, following the "intended" path, there were the occasional numbers on the wall or such. In order to unlock the "master loot" chest, you had to put in a code. You could only unlock the master loot vault/chest if you took the time to write down the numbers that you saw as you went through the POI. Each POI that had a "master vault" like the Shotgun Messiah, etc. would have a randomized code with those numbers placed on the way up so it was kind of like a riddle to be solved. You could still unlock the other chests but the "Master loot" chest could only be opened by those who decided to take the full route.

LOL this is one of the solutions I posted already, pretty much exactly, except I'd give the player a note so you don't have to write it down.

 

[Roland]

FTFY

Nice fix. You'd think that he would have taken to heart the posts I typed trying to help him understand how A18 is different than A17 and that his ideas and fears about the Intelligence class were grounded in his A17 experience. But because he finds me unfunny he only reads the first line of my posts apparently.

Welp....to any of the other dear readers here in the forum who read past "Nice fix." Let me assure YOU that A18 is completely redesigned and rebalanced into something that is nothing like the progression system of A17. You can pick any of the five attributes and specialize and be successful although your gameplay will be different for each one because they are asymmetrical. But each allows for crafting melee and ranged weaponry and gaining bonuses in those weapons. With the trader and through scavenging you can get schematics and bonuses for other weapons you might like but which might be outside your specialty and those weapons will still be effective and useful and fun.

When we get the experimental you may find that playing a build you aren't accustomed to seems difficult or weak and in some cases that may end up being true and if it is too detrimental TFP will make adjustments. But there will be other cases where you will be convinced that the Perception build is worthless and then you'll read a post by someone who loves that build and outlines his strategy with that build and it will be something you never even thought of and then you'll get back to the game to try what you learned and find that it is viable after all.

I'm certain there will be angry posts and dire predictions of the end of all things over some of the changes as there always is and as the weeks and months of playing and listening TFP will find those things that are legitimately bad and those things that are fine but require a bit of adaptation by the player.

The last thing I want to say is that there seems to be a lot of worry about not being able to get to the top of some perk trees because they are spread out across too many different attributes. Madmole said this a month or so ago and I want to reiterate that getting to the third rank in most perk trees makes you quite powerful and is plenty bonus to thrive in the game. So for example if I decided to do Perception as my primary and Agility as my secondary but then decided I also want Miner 69er which is in strength I only need to get 3 ranks in that perk to feel the difference and excel at destroying blocks quickly.

 

[madmole]

Hey thanks for that Joe. It would have taken me awhile to get that set up for a screen shot.
Anyways Madmole, any chance of this coming back to the game?

Ugly AF? Nope, been there and done that. I replied to this already btw.

 

[madmole]

I actually like when there is some kind of class/build/loadout etc in a game that isn't as effective or as easily used. I will go for what I feel will be best for me at first, but when the game starts to get dull after mastering those choices, I like to eventually attempt to succeed using that less effective or more difficult arrangement.

Yes I like this too, one thing I like about Skyrim and Fallout is I kind of play as myself the first time, no role play, using guns and methods min maxer style just to learn the game. Then after I beat I roll a new character with all different skills, and start some role playing. Gives a game a new feeling and by behaving differently (role playing) you run into new content and game play you never would have seen otherwise.

 

[Survager]

Air drops don't have any special loot template, so yes.

ММ, have you thought about making air drops more useful and unique?

Here are some ideas:

- super loot, which can only be in an air drop and which cannot be created (super antibiotics or unique enhancing drinks, unique schemes or books, special super cartridges or grenades ...)

- limited time until the box with loot disappears (did not manage to pick up during the day, the box self-destructs)

- maybe the plane drops different boxes with different markings, which need to be opened for a long time, like safes (fortified military boxes with ammunition, fortified medical boxes, fortified box with tools and diagrams, and so on)

- the danger of getting an air drop: zombies, wolves, zombie dogs, zombie bears or bandits at the place where the box falls, which constantly arrive at the point until you pick up the loot, and you have to fight back and try to destroy the box and so on ...

 

[SnowDog1942]

Madmole, who is hotter?

Arianny Celeste or Brittany Palmer?

 

[sillls]

Nice. I had one land in the water in the wasteland before, that was fun.

lol I bet!

If you don't like diving, you could make it so the supply crate floats.

 

[Laz Man]

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

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.

Makes sense. Hopefully apart from craft quality, there are some unique abilities or items deep in each tree to reward players who choose to go that route.

 

[DarlingCows]

Madmole are the random stats independent of each other? ie high gun damage doesn’t affect the accuracy? Like no teeter totter stats?

 

[NightRanger]

MM or anyone who knows: Is there a file/screenshot of all the overhauled perks that we can use to decide early what play through we would be interested in. I know there is a video where you covered them, but I would like to look at them in detail. Thanks.

 

[MechanicalLens]

ММ, have you thought about making air drops more useful and unique?
Here are some ideas:

- super loot, which can only be in an air drop and which cannot be created (super antibiotics or unique enhancing drinks, unique schemes or books, special super cartridges or grenades ...)

- limited time until the box with loot disappears (did not manage to pick up during the day, the box self-destructs)

- maybe the plane drops different boxes with different markings, which need to be opened for a long time, like safes (fortified military boxes with ammunition, fortified medical boxes, fortified box with tools and diagrams, and so on)

- the danger of getting an air drop: zombies, wolves, zombie dogs, zombie bears or bandits at the place where the box falls, which constantly arrive at the point until you pick up the loot, and you have to fight back and try to destroy the box and so on ...

Having an airdrop's content despawn after x amount of time would be a misdirection, imo. Imagine if I didn't have enough time to get it (say, the horde night was coming); I shouldn't be forced to get it if I don't have the time. Or if I had just finished looted a large POI three km from home, I was halfway home, and the airdrop dropped back where I came from. I wouldn't be going back to it then, but it would be nice if a week later, I decided to head out there and get that airdrop in my free time.

 

[madmole]

Thanks MM, will try next time:rapture:
Another question is about a low health vehical trigger a land mine sometimes will turn the HP to 0 and just need to repair.

But it is possible to just disappear (including the loot inside) is it remain the same in A18?

Just got a bike and a 4x4 vanished by stepping on a land mine.

It just me or someone else facing the same problem? LOL.

Me and my friend just get caught by land mines all the time

Hadn't seen that.

 

[madmole]

So Madmole, back to your Gyrocopter incident. It's very important to adjust the targeting settings before horde night. This is the default.

Nice one! See burns are fun

Next someone will make a mod for the bow called the Madmole Grip. Gives you better aim and faster draw but has a 10% chance per shot to drop the bow

 

[madmole]

Oh, GS. I forgot. So there isn't any way that you can test that horde with a GS of 600, then, I guess.I get high on firepower in a17.4 no prob against that horde with around 600 GS and I run out of Zds by 1 o'clock. Molotovs are king.

You can pretty much get used to the 64 Zd horde . Actually. That horde is a thrill to the body!

My point is. Even if I'm an adrenaline addicted player, I suggest you test the Gazz change with a radical amount of Zds and the 120 min day horde (the most extensive that the game settings can offer) and with a radical amount of firepower and with a radical amount of GS to see if the changes on Horde continuity and thrill are consistent. 12 Zds is like testing a 2 month old glass of water for water quality. Otherwise, the tweak is halfarsed and prone to the usual: "no Zds at 11 o'clock" stuff. That is, for 120 min day players, which are quite a lot I gather (statistics are still in my butt).

I hope I'm not being disrespectful with your love with a18, I'm an open minded guy and I understand a man can love a number. Just stating a fact and a specific advanced setting problem that I personally wish to be consistently solved. Zds all horde night in all possible choices pls.

Log out and log back in, horde restarts.

 

[Ti2xGr]

LOL this is one of the solutions I posted already, pretty much exactly, except I'd give the player a note so you don't have to write it down.

Great minds think alike...

I feel like I just found the car keys only to find out you had the master set. I'll keep pondering. At some point, I hope to be able to help contribute to your game just to show thanks for all the hard work you've already put in. I'll keep trying.