PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!
- Thread starter madmole
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andrough
New member
I will make a shrine to you and offer up all the liquids that I would have otherwise been dousing my burning ass with in A18. You might have revived some horde base design aspects that I loved but couldn't use because of molotovs smashing into edges. I'm looking forward to trying out all the upcoming changes, big and small.
RipClaw
Well-known member
There's already an option to switch off the blood moon horde. At least in A17. But that' not what they asked for.We might add a no blood moon option someday, and a way to rent a safe room from a trader but not right now. I don't see what the big deal is, you can already cheese the blood moon very easily, just not underground
By the way, it's a prejudice that players with underground bases want to hide from the horde. I had many underground bases and never hid from the horde. I fought them in my horde bases. Players with underground bases just use all the possibilities the game has to offer. Underground bases are also very convenient. When excavating I get most of the materials I need to build the horde base. Two birds, one stone.
I don't like the digging zombies either, by the way. They have already caused two mines to collapse. So I would also like to have an option to turn them off. They are just annoying.
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andrough
New member
Yup, I've always had a good portion of my base underground just because of needing to dig the stuff up anyway and because I don't like storing important things on any structures that could possibly collapse. (I'm also kind of a mole-person that enjoys a good vault.) Zombies learning to dig forced me out of the dark basement into more interesting houses with land and sky as well as my beloved basements. Designing and building the walls and gates so that I can fight and repair, even unseen if I want to kill screamers without them summoning, has been a fun project. It also gives me something to keep trying to improve. Before I just stayed under and ignored whatever I wanted to.
My horde base is still essentially a deep pit to gather them all up, but way more challenging to design and (try to) perfect than I ever would have bothered with when the zombies were barely a threat. I just changed it again anticipating the demolisher and I'm excited to put it to the test.
It's been kind of fun playing through the changes over the years- stringing it all together in my mind makes it feel like one immersive world where the zombies keep evolving and I have to evolve with them and stay smart to stay ahead.
RipClaw
Well-known member
In classic base defenses, the spikes were simply placed on the ground. Now you have to place the spikes flush with the ground. Many people don't know that and think that the zombies are running around the spikes.
With the old AI it was also possible to influence the attack of the zombies when you changed position. For example, if there was too much damage in one spot, you would just move to another spot and the zombies would attack there. The new AI always attacks the damaged blocks since they are the weak spots.
mr.natural
New member
Thanks for replying and thank you for the videos, A18 looks great.
(In case you were wondering, I was talking about for Windows not linux)
EDIT, I see fataal answered already,
Thank you so much for trying and the update on it
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theFlu
Well-known member
With railings, it seems they bumb into the railing, decide they've hit an "invisible" block and start attacking it. Since they're standing on top of the block they collided with, they start "attacking down", ie digging. Heavy guesswork though, not exactly an AI expert here.
faatal, since you're here spilling some beans, do you have any hopes getting those "AI-invisible" blocks into a properly pathable condition? Walking on horisontal poles, knowing if you can fit between "half-blocks as a wall" etc? With the variety of shapes in game, it's a tall order, but it just allows so much cheese it's not even funny. Or well, it's still damn funny, but anyway
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RipClaw
Well-known member
My work base is partly above ground and partly underground. The aboveground part is surrounded by a wall and a trench filled with spikes. Access is only possible via a drawbridge. The garden is above ground. The storage and all workstations are underground. So I got a large base that occupies only a small footprint.
I use a funnel base design. The zombies are forced to run through a corridor with dart traps and blade traps. I am in a shark cage at the end of the corridor. The base is so effective at defending that I could go AFK and nothing would happen.
I'm not so enthusiastic about the demolisher. 5k damage would blow away my blade traps and even if I protected the dart traps with steel arrow slits it wouldn't last forever. Radioactive cops only do 750 damage when they explode, and even that leaves a noticeable damage to the blocks. A explosion 7 times as strong could destroy everything that is not steel.
The problem with the demolisher is that according to the current description it can only be safely killed in one way. You trigger the explosion before it reaches the base. This is not an option with my current base because I can only see the zombie if it is already in the base.
Therefore it would be important for me to know how many HP the zombie has and if traps at head height could trigger the explosion.
Honestly, I have the opposite impression. The more the zombies becomes a threat are the more the player will be forced to rely on firepower instead of playing smart. The number of base designs decreases from Alpha to Alpha. Melee bases are e.g. almost completely extinct in A17. When the behavior of zombies becomes more and more unpredictable, the funnel bases are probably next.
At the end, all that remains is the simplest and most unimaginative base design. A tower with spikes around and the player is standing on top and shoots at the zombies. Not very smart.
SylenThunder
Community Moderator / IT Guru
From just two days ago in this very thread.Hi all. Is there any specific A18 release date ?
AlabasterW
New member
I'm glad the new double-barrel shotgun seems to have some actual oomph behind it! Remember how garbage the sawed-off was? Why is that mod even a thing in A17, anyway; who wants their gun to be less accurate for no reason??
andrough
New member
I do kind of miss standing behind my .5 pillars, whacking away as they fall down onto my log spikes, but I did that for several alphas straight. I am hopeful that some tweaks to AI will make more base designs viable for more people. I tried one of those funnels where they get to the end and 'reset' and it felt so boring and exploitative that I had to give it up. I also think the demolisher block damage may be tuned a bit high, but only if we see as many them as we did in their debut video. Up to half a dozen or so shouldn't be too hard to manage, imo.
I am a very stubborn person and it's been both bad and good for me, in life and in game. I don't think that I have crafted spikes since the log spikes because I value the xp too much and I hate the thought maintaining and looking at massive spike fields. I also just can't break away from making them fall into a pit. The extra bit of damage and the incapacitation is so useful.
I don't have the survival game with my A17 horde base anymore, but I do have some test builds I can show off if you are interested. They are lacking some of the features of the final design, but work as examples. They are designed for players with parkour maxed out(these are late-game, after all), but I made sure that it's not necessary while building(requires some changes here and there).
This is kind of the skeleton. It's a bit like a spider: the player fights from within the body, the legs extend to the wall and down into solid ground uninterrupted. The weak part("weak": they're made of steel both for SI and durability) of the legs are elevated, wedge-shaped and protected by those wedges jutting out. The zombies fall straight into the pit. The base of the legs are protected by several layers. This one can continue standing with 5/8 of the legs destroyed.
https://imgur.com/a/bSBKVCb
https://imgur.com/a/ax3weqB
Inside the "body": There are two platforms for fighting. The lower one has openings in the middle and at the corner for flinging bombs and molotovs down. There is a box, shielded from below, for extra supplies(typically mostly water for molotov mishaps.) You can only fall down if crouched(feature). The upper platform is level with the ground approaching the pit, good for another player to take out priority targets(cops) or kill and slow down groups.
https://imgur.com/a/wbvOMsc
They fall into a pit of reinforced concrete wired up with electric fences, dart traps, and turrets that I use in that order if things get a little too hairy. I rarely have to activate the darts or turrets, but use the fences quite a bit as they are strung next to the walls and keep them from damaging too much. I still use a compound bow for a good amount of kills.
Finally, I will share two pictures of a base I've been building anticipating the demolisher. The main differences are: only one floor within the body(so I can keep an eye on the approach while playing alone) and it's much easier to enter and exit in case I need to go outside to kite a demolisher away. Oh, and I would probably make a lot of asphalt for the approach ground.
I am reluctant to share them because, I warn you, this one is cheesy. It takes advantage of gaps that I know bug a lot of people. It honestly bugs me in this particular case, too-this is just the first design. The base above began like this and this one is being redesigned with the same wedge legs. I also prefer for it to be realistic, even when it's not required. So, please don't hate on the cheesiness. I haven't even horde tested this one.
https://imgur.com/a/ZgaAH5f
https://imgur.com/a/bSBKVCb
https://imgur.com/a/ax3weqB
Inside the "body": There are two platforms for fighting. The lower one has openings in the middle and at the corner for flinging bombs and molotovs down. There is a box, shielded from below, for extra supplies(typically mostly water for molotov mishaps.) You can only fall down if crouched(feature). The upper platform is level with the ground approaching the pit, good for another player to take out priority targets(cops) or kill and slow down groups.
https://imgur.com/a/wbvOMsc
They fall into a pit of reinforced concrete wired up with electric fences, dart traps, and turrets that I use in that order if things get a little too hairy. I rarely have to activate the darts or turrets, but use the fences quite a bit as they are strung next to the walls and keep them from damaging too much. I still use a compound bow for a good amount of kills.
Finally, I will share two pictures of a base I've been building anticipating the demolisher. The main differences are: only one floor within the body(so I can keep an eye on the approach while playing alone) and it's much easier to enter and exit in case I need to go outside to kite a demolisher away. Oh, and I would probably make a lot of asphalt for the approach ground.
I am reluctant to share them because, I warn you, this one is cheesy. It takes advantage of gaps that I know bug a lot of people. It honestly bugs me in this particular case, too-this is just the first design. The base above began like this and this one is being redesigned with the same wedge legs. I also prefer for it to be realistic, even when it's not required. So, please don't hate on the cheesiness. I haven't even horde tested this one.
https://imgur.com/a/ZgaAH5f
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Callum123456789
Active member
any chance we could get a bug report today?
Xtrakicking
New member
That would be cool. The beartrap could trap one zombie and keep it immobile for the rest of the night, with a chance of it losing its leg and turning into a crawler.
have you guys ever thought about adding fishing to the game to give us another food source we could get early on that would let us utilize rivers and lakes more then just for water plus i have run into a few "Bait" shops that could also be used as well. of course i'm just curious about it since it would be a kinda cool idea. love the game and cant wait for alpha 18!!
I think the problem with traps is visual. They look like they are filigrane, insubstantial, walk-through defenses while in reality they are solid blocks for the zombie AI. Consequently everyone tends to use them the wrong way.
So the center of a spike trap block should be filled with some solid structure and only the spike ends would be visible. Sort of like the spiked top surface of many security walls in reality look like with their glass shard spikes.
So the center of a spike trap block should be filled with some solid structure and only the spike ends would be visible. Sort of like the spiked top surface of many security walls in reality look like with their glass shard spikes.
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Adam the Waster
Well-known member
true
- - - Updated - - -
ikr m8 plus i think its good that the zombies are smart a little change of past for zombies
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