PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

  • A18 Stable is Out!

    Votes: 2 66.7%

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    Votes: 1 33.3%
  • Total voters
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@Madmole can you answer whether the mode "dead means dead", which was previously promised, will be added? Now I have to delete the save after the first death, and start a new game, but I would like it easier
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That sounds pretty easy to me. Also if my game was deleted because I died from some glitch in the programming and not my game play, I would not be very happy.

 
Does anyone have an estimate on when a18 will be out?
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October 4th for the stream team, if everything goes swimmingly. For non-streamers, hopefully the following Monday afterwards, so 3 days after. But these are just hopeful objectives, not deadlines.

 
That's part of the problem. But a bigger problem is that the players can't understand the decision trees of the AI or they don't care and just play the game.
For example, if I place the spikes flush with the ground and leave a gap through which I can reach my base, then anyone would assume that the zombies would just use that gap. However, the zombies will ignore this gap and try to run over the spikes.

Players who have been playing this game for a long time are also used to the zombies simply run into the spikes. But that was because of the very simple AI. The old AI apparently only worked in two dimensions. Differences in height didn't matter. The new AI, on the other hand, plans a path through a three-dimensional space. Differences in height have a big effect.
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Yes. Height is a cost of pathing. .5m or less and a zombie can step onto it, so free. Anything higher and it has to jump which costs.

In the picture below you can see the colliders in a .5m table next to spikes and a 1m table. Spikes are quite substantial and mostly fill a 1m block, but their jump cost is only about .6m. Put something higher next to spikes and they will prefer the spikes.

7dtdSpikeColliders.jpg

 
You can avoid them digging to your base now by giving up 20% xp. Go die, respawn underground and they will leave you alone the rest of the night.
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not the same for certain types of players. that isnt outsmarting, that is giving up. me, I just like to kill them off in other ways

 
Hmm am I wrong then that it has been said that the AI is meant for Bandits and for the zombies at some future point it will be decreased? This was when people were complaining about the zombie pathing that was introduced in A17.
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People make a lot of generalizations. That does not necessarily match what the code is doing or what is in my head.

The zombies in A18 are more varied in pathing and their choice of what blocks to destroy than A17, which is exactly what they were programmed to do. In the future there may be more changes as we see fit.

Bandits are generally not going to act like that unless it is some starving half crazed idiot, but we may never make them that stupid. Bandits would do things like hide behind a tree and blow your head off with a rifle, sneak up from cover and jump out to melee you or run and take cover and heal when you shoot them. Very different AI logic that would not be used on zombies or animals.

 
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Last week I noticed sense sounds were not hooked up in code, so:
Added AI SetNearestEntityAsTarget plays sense sound when investigating noise (with a 10-20 sec cooldown. sense sounds were never played).

Cleaned up EntityAlive alert/random sound code.
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That's great! I remember the creepy sniffing sounds when they sense and smell you.

 
On a build a couple months ago I built a bunker that had a 30 degree egress. This then led to a tunnel with traps and iron bars for easy shooting. It funneled all the zombies into a kill zone. It was good for awhile but not as successful as the above ground killing corridors.

My current horde night defense is a three story building with the main level 3 blocks high. Surrounded by spikes with a pit in the center that is also covered in spikes. To exit is a drawbridge that goes over the pit. Solid walls cover the interior and iron bars on the exterior in a platform and wall combo with 1m of concrete wall to stand on since it is more durable. Second floor is the crafting area with an area that perches over the drawbridge. Top floor is the garden.

Every horde night the zombies ignore the pit of spikes and go for the walls. This will get more complicated with zombie vomit going through bars and the demolishers but it has been pretty effective with a 2 person team.

7 Days to Die Legit Base Tower Build.jpg

 
Yes. Height is a cost of pathing. .5m or less and a zombie can step onto it, so free. Anything higher and it has to jump which costs.
In the picture below you can see the colliders in a .5m table next to spikes and a 1m table. Spikes are quite substantial and mostly fill a 1m block, but their jump cost is only about .6m. Put something higher next to spikes and they will prefer the spikes.

View attachment 29151
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Oooo interesting info. So not every block is equal in terms of height. 😎

 
How are you going to fight them at your underground base with digging disabled?
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Why should I fight them in my underground base? For this I have my horde base above ground. I have a base with all the storage and workstations underground and a base to fight the horde above ground.

In A16 I even had several different horde bases above ground. Since the hordes got bigger and bigger I had to build bigger bases. And I also tried different base designs with difference tactics in mind.

 
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On a build a couple months ago I built a bunker that had a 30 degree egress. This then led to a tunnel with traps and iron bars for easy shooting. It funneled all the zombies into a kill zone. It was good for awhile but not as successful as the above ground killing corridors.
My current horde night defense is a three story building with the main level 3 blocks high. Surrounded by spikes with a pit in the center that is also covered in spikes. To exit is a drawbridge that goes over the pit. Solid walls cover the interior and iron bars on the exterior in a platform and wall combo with 1m of concrete wall to stand on since it is more durable. Second floor is the crafting area with an area that perches over the drawbridge. Top floor is the garden.

Every horde night the zombies ignore the pit of spikes and go for the walls. This will get more complicated with zombie vomit going through bars and the demolishers but it has been pretty effective with a 2 person team.

View attachment 29152
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Neat setup. I cant wait to give it a go in a18. I havent done a late game since before electricity was added lol.

 
Why should I fight them in my underground base? For this I have my horde base above the ground. I have a base with all the storage and work stations and a base to fight the horde.
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Imo that's a luxury or something to work hard towards. A zombie proof home underground was way to easy without digging zombies. But understand that not everyone feels the same way and prefer to play the game in such a manner. Hopefully the pimps will consider such an option at some point but definitely think that's a lower priority.

They are trying to balance the game right now. If they added a way to disable digging now, this will make it harder for them to achieve what they are trying to do.

 
Imo that's a luxury or something to work hard towards. A zombie proof home underground was way to easy without digging zombies. But understand that not everyone feels the same way and prefer to play the game in such a manner. Hopefully the pimps will consider such an option at some point but definitely think that's a lower priority.
They are trying to balance the game right now. If they added a way to disable digging now, this will make it harder for them to achieve what they are trying to do.
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I build more risky like in the wasteland

Hell right now im living the paristion in navezgane im live in the Shop area by the court house and i built on the roofs dying light style

 
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