PC Alpha 18 Dev Diary!!

[madmole]

Wonder why mine doesn't have the mod in it? There is no gear, and I spawned in one from cm as well to see if that one worked, but it also had no mod in it or gear over it.
I'll see if I can find a second, and report here if it has the mod in it.

It might be just an oddball quirk.

Also, I noticed the pocket mod can't go into the mining helmet anymore. There was also some leg armor it could no longer go into.

Does the pocket mod only go into chest armor now?

Because you spawned one in is why. Ones found in loot have lights installed.
There are two classes of pockets, and I probably need to word them better to fix the confusion. The ones that look like a blue jeans pocket and the one that is a brown cargo pocket go into pants, shirts and coats. The ones that are green go into armor which is head, hands, feet, leg armor and body armor.

 

[jdm311]

I thought that too at first, however, the repair kits are relatively cheap to make now so it means any tools or weapons you find are reusable even early in the game. It now makes perfect sense to me.

I'm on the fence regarding this change. On the one hand I liked that you needed to repair with the materials of the tool. It felt reasonable to make repairs and I would wait to use a higher tier tool until I had the materials to routinely repair it. On the other hand, I just found a steel shovel by day 3 and with the new repair scheme, I can maintain it right away. Shout out to trader Bob for having a working forge.

 

[Maglore]

Quick question...my second level of pummel pete is disabled by a status effect. There is a red check mark next to it. What would cause that? My character sheet has no effects listed.

 

[wolffblood]

I've read the opposite a 1000 times, can you be more specific?

I know for me melee has been a bit interesting. I'm sticking with spears because they have range. I haven't got that far in yet, but I've also tried the club, stun batons, and iron reinforced club. I'm hosting a server for my friend and I to play on. I've noticed that other than the spear, the other weapons have shorter range than zombie melee, which to me makes no sense. Many times I could have a zombie in my face, swing, the crosshair on the zombie the whole time, and it doesn't hit, not even a glancing hit. Even sneaking up on sleeper zombies, I can get within like a foot of a zombie, swing while they are sleeping, and not hit either. Only thing I don't have issues with is the spear. I probably won't even try to use any other melee because of this. I have not tried to play a solo game yet, so it may be because of the server, but I never had this issue prior a18.

 

[gamerchriss]

A quick question, when you plan for the next unstable release of A18?

Not sarcastic, neither a joke.

The game is AWESOME from a gamplay mechanics perspective, but from a graphical perspective, i can only play at 40-50fps only if i play in low screen resolution(1.2k:780 rez) and gfx dt and some tweaks in biome.xml.

Can you guys release a hotfix for fps lag issue? Was it identified from where it comes?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[SnowDog1942]

I've read the opposite a 1000 times, can you be more specific?

For me everything still FEELS like a half swing. I’m not saying melee is harder or easier, not talking about rage at all, it’s just feeling like my guy takes a half assed swing at everything , the sledge amplifies it. Maybe i will get used to it at some point but it feels like he is putting no strength into regular attacks and/or power attacks.

It’s not horrible to me, it’s just off. Or like I said I need to get used to it.

 

[Broneigh]

So, I can craft augers now (got through skill, not schematic) How how do I make higher tier versions? what do I have to put points into?

 

[Freshmint]

I've read the opposite a 1000 times, can you be more specific?

I wrote this in another thread in the general discussion:

I much prefer the new animations. I can clearly see The Pimps new animator working his magic and its exactly the path they needed to take outside their original coding methods. But there was a good merit to some of the older ones that worked well and have seemed to be removed.

Variable speed animations were introduced to A17 largely relating to mods considering it was a major addition at the time. As a side extra, melee weapons had a slow down effect added when they hit a target which would simulate a hit even though the animation itself would still complete its full cycle(I believe it was a band-aid effect considering the resources they had to use). The new animations themselves are much better other than how they end their arc.

Most of the animations now have pre determined ending points and no occlusion in hitting a target(the sledge and the baseball bat is a good example if this). If there was a semi-full arc swing through that would overshoot yet stop when they hit a target would seem more realistic and satisfying. Power swings could be more full batting style that would slowdown through multiple targets and would be more relevant rather than just a damage increase. The more targets you hit the more stamina it reduces and even could be perked to swing through multiple zombies at once(given the right weapon). In general the hit detection being understood(for me anyway) is probably the main concern and considering you can now glance blow makes it a little odder.

A18's stone axe hitting random spots on each attack is a nice touch and all the new reload animations, bandage animations, and countless others are right on point. I cant stress enough how these are finally starting to look more complete with the current dev crew after seeing on multiple occasions through many alphas how its been changed, and changed again.

 

[Wulf]

There used to be away to force shader models. I haven't done it in a long time. On Nvidia, I think you could use Nvidia Inspector to force the driver to report a lower shader model to the API. Could goof around with that. Unity also has this in the way of DX feature levels..but you have to do it differently now than before due to the launcher changes. The game will automatically supply the force DX11 max feature level command at startup even if you put in your own command on the steam client or launcher. You can either try to use the boot config file in the data directory to possibly override it or make your own shortcut and add the command lines there. I'm not able to goof with that right now to even know if it works. Game uses shader model 5.0, iirc, so you could try to force shader model 4.x - which I believe works with most DX11 shaders and it might have a faster pathway on certain cards or something. Long time since I really did any of that stuff though.

I hadn't thought of that yet. Right now i don't see a way of forcing it on my AMD card. However, there's probably an external tool can adjust this.

 

[wolffblood]

what're people's thoughts on the new xp changes? I can see them being good for solo players (since you have to do everything), but my friend and I are seeing major differences now with a18. I enjoy hunting/looter and my friend builder/gatherer. I agree that my "profession" had way too much xp gains prior a18, but now, he is easily out-leveling me. It doesn't take long to chop some trees, make wooden frames, and upgrade those to make rooms, like 10mins for about 100 at his rate with a stone axe. That xp rate is crazy high, can only imagine later. But for me to loot a house now, there are either minimal zombies or so many you can't really kill them safely (due to my earlier issue on melee and the fact it takes so many arrows to kill anything now). With the half xp for zombies and the 2-3x longer it takes to kill them, the rate is so slowed. I feel like I'm going to be forced to spam building frames and upgrading those just to keep up with perks to stay viable. Granted, we just have played a few hours, maybe it changes a bit later on? But whereas I used to be able to get 2-3 lvls a day from killing zombies and him about 1-2 lvls a day from building, he is now more 2 lvls/day compared to me struggling to even get 1 lvl/day now. Anyone else seeming to have this issue? Maybe it's just me, but even my friend noticed that and he even said he's never been even 1 lvl ahead of me, let alone almost double my lvl when he doesn't kill anything ever.

 

[Callum123456789]

I got a sweet setup so far its day 8 im lvl 22 and have a steady supply of 7.62 mm ammo crafting (;

 

[Broneigh]

I can see your concern with you also need to consider this. Once he built something he doesn't need to build again (unless destroyed) so eventually he'll build all that NEEDS to be built, and either will do other things or start building for the sake of exp. it's all a scaling balance, he gets a boost but it will plateau, yours is (harder) but will get easier and faster later.

 

[toaster]

All of you at the Fun Pimps should be very proud of this update to the game got that feeling of glee with Alpha 18 like I had the first time I played this game in Alpha 10 . Thanks

 

[madmole]

@madmole
My feedback on the Alpha 18 exp. after approx. 5-6 hours playing time:

- The beginning of the game is a lot of fun again - you get ahead, can mess with a few zombies and manage to collect a sufficient amount of resources. The feeling of having to improve your equipment is permanent, but not so strong that you feel completely useless.

- The close combat is fantastic - you get a good feeling when you've killed a few zombies. Only the hitbox when using the knife is already very small - here it can get frustrating if you don't hit anything even when trying the 3rd or 4th time. But the suddenly running zombies? The absolute madness! I can't even count how many "Oh ♥♥♥♥, ♥♥♥♥, ♥♥♥♥ I have to go" moments I already had. One of the best innovations!

- Finally, the inner conflict is back again, whether you go for looting or prefer to collect resources. Looting is a lot of fun and the amount of loot is well balanced. Especially the joy to find a bookshelf is awesome.

- I can't complain about the performance. I would have hoped for an increase of the FPS, but the very annoying micro-stuttering is finally gone. On average I get about 70-100 FPS at high to ultra settings. (i7 6700k @4,2Ghz - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super - 1440p 144hz monitor - game is installed on an SSD) My colleague runs it in FullHD with about 60-70FPS at medium to high settings. (i7 720 @2,6Ghz - 12GB RAM - 1070 GTX - SSD)

Which I don't like so much:

- The animals generally have a lot of HP. I used 5 arrows and about 7 hits with the spear to kill a wild boar. A Lama (?) needed 2 arrows in the head and 3 in the body to die.

- I would like to start with an extended tutorial (can be turned off in the menu). A friend has tested the game after 2 years break again and didn't get along at all. "Where's the construction menu?" "How do I make forged iron?" "How do I change my type of ammunition?"

In the end it's all very banal things for us regular players, but when I look at the Steam ratings there are some who hang up the game after a few hours. I could well imagine that this is partly because the players don't really get into the game. Of course you can't explain the whole game, that would also reduce the fun of discovering. However, I think that a tutorial up to the Forge would make it much easier for beginners to understand the basic mechanics. Also a small guide for modding the weapons etc. would be nice.

To summarize: Since Alpha 15 I haven't had as much fun with 7DTD as in the first few hours with Alpha 18. Thanks for the great work and the hundreds of hours of fun to come. For me it's like I'm directly involved in the development of a skyrim or fall out. An outstanding game just needs its time in development and that completely without lootboxes, in-game purchases or similar new-fangled nonsense. Polish the game, remove the nasty bugs (which I'm fortunate to be spared) and you've got one of the best, if not the best version of 7DTD I've ever played.

Now I'll keep playing and watch the first Horde Nights. After that I'll be happy to give you an updated feedback. Until then: Keep it up TFP!

A request at the end: Please allow us to connect generators in series

Thank you. Its been my goal to make 7 days great again and I knew we did, but reading it affirms it so I thank you for taking the time to post, and everyone else.

 

[madmole]

Even at 100% I wasn't able to find antibiotics (day 4 dusk now). And tree stumps with honey I found only 6, even on my hunting run. That slows infection a bit, but isn't enough to cure because I'm nearing 45%But on the other hand I found 5 books of the same series (Nightstalker) including the 'no encumbrance at night'

I tend to avoid melee combat unless I have at least one honey on hand, so I can nip it in the bud. I'm on day 9 and already have 6 honey, at least 4 or 8 herbals and 4 antibiotics. I do tier 1 and 2 dig quests though and those seem to dole out meds as a reward, and I loot a lot.

 

[rdunham3]

Observations from last night:

Tried killing two boars using primitive bow and spear. First one took over a dozen spear stabs after the initial arrow and kept coming, and coming...eventually killed me despite all the face-stabs. Second boar took almost a dozen spear stabs all to the face before being decapitated by the spear. I don't think this is working as intended.

Dysentery and food poisoning happening to me at a ridiculously frequent rate. Maybe 10% and 30% respectively over 3 hours of game play. Doesn't feel like charred meat should have that high a chance. Stats on the item don't say it. RNG is RNG but this is silly. Gone through a couple weeks' worth of food as a result. The little piles of food in kitchens are all that's keeping me going.

Frame rate didn't change much but the nasty lag upon turning was less noticeable last night compared to Monday. I did update Geforce driver before playing yesterday but not sure if that's it or that we started up a game on prefab01 rather than continue Monday's. Not helpful, I know.

The 3 or 4 groups of 3 or 4 zombies during the night is much nicer than a17's very large wandering horde. Seems slightly easier to not aggro them if you stop doing anything the moment you first hear their wandering movement sounds.

Prefab01's desert hills with plateaus and gullies was freakin' awesome to see. Perfectly nailed that terrain. Kudos.

Buried treasure too predictable in location. As others have noted it's nearly always within a block or two of the center of the area, pays very well and was our main source of food Monday. Will work for food, heh. It is a nice alternative to the clear-a-POI quest types.

 

[Blake_]

I've read the opposite a 1000 times, can you be more specific?

Melee is better BUT. I personally think that several animations should be more wide across and less perpendicular to the player.

A wide blow across the screen is always more fulfilling that a mere bat getting smaller until it hits.

Just IMO. Gotta make things exaggerated because we are playing first person.

That said, if it works, I say leave it as it is. These are just details.

 

[madmole]

What is that block you use to craft wood furniture now? The wood helper block? Furniture something? I've typed everything I can think of into my crafting menu and I cannot find it...

furniture should be a valid keyword.

 

[madmole]

Odd; it's not showing up. Do you need to craft it in the workbench or tablesaw or something?
Found it in the CM menu. Wooden Furniture. Not showing up in the default crafting menu. Huh.

EDIT: Found it in the default crafting menu. Odd that the icon for it is a park bench. *Shrugs*

The icon is whatever you used last. Default might start as a park bench. Mine is a storage box currently.

 

[DaVegaNL]

Ha, enjoy the short ones while you can.

Snowdog! Wanna have this one?