PC Alpha 18 feedback and balancing thread

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@Gazz,

this was on my test world, not on a server. And it doesn't happen 100% of the time, maybe 1 in 3 or 4 attacks. Or maybe this an exclusive spear issues

brb. going to test showswings.

edit: ok, im kinda full of crap last post. Apparently the spear don't stab straight like I thought it was, it sort of goes up like gun recoil (TIL), imo, that is very weird, you would expect a stabbing weapon to goes straight. But what happen is that first oval hitbox sometimes doesn't even register as a glancing blow.

https://imgur.com/yLNtXvd

and the main hit goes over the zed, thus giving the impression of it doesn't do anything. So if you're aiming for the head/high and keep missing, this is why.

 
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Yeah definitely after playing more I really think trader quests need consumable rewards toned down and rewards in general balanced.

Getting Quality 3 steel tools on T2 or T3 quests is really strong. as is getting 14 first aid bandages from a T1 that takes me more time to run to then to clear. Best risk/reward ratio as you get all the loot in the POI, a bonus item, bonus dukes, and bonus xp.

 
Yeah definitely after playing more I really think trader quests need consumable rewards toned down and rewards in general balanced.
Getting Quality 3 steel tools on T2 or T3 quests is really strong. as is getting 14 first aid bandages from a T1 that takes me more time to run to then to clear. Best risk/reward ratio as you get all the loot in the POI, a bonus item, bonus dukes, and bonus xp.
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Loot is so tricky to perfect due to the randomness. I can’t say I find many first aids maybe since A18 I found 5. Then quality 3 tools again rare for me, I think we need really good rolls and have that ‘quality’ item show up as we need that incentive to loot. Largely it’s all loot lottery so one persons experiences are going to differ greatly to another.

 
Loot is so tricky to perfect due to the randomness. I can’t say I find many first aids maybe since A18 I found 5. Then quality 3 tools again rare for me, I think we need really good rolls and have that ‘quality’ item show up as we need that incentive to loot. Largely it’s all loot lottery so one persons experiences are going to differ greatly to another.
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These are quest rewards. Pretty common for early tiers, we have a bunch in box from them. The main issue is the quantity of rewards from quests are independent of the server looting settings.

So on a 50% loot server for instance you get a ton comparitively

 
Yeah definitely after playing more I really think trader quests need consumable rewards toned down and rewards in general balanced.
Getting Quality 3 steel tools on T2 or T3 quests is really strong. as is getting 14 first aid bandages from a T1 that takes me more time to run to then to clear. Best risk/reward ratio as you get all the loot in the POI, a bonus item, bonus dukes, and bonus xp.
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Same here. I like to explore towns, visiting all the POI of a neighborhood but quests are so rewarding that I feel forced to complete many as possible. Sometimes, I feel like I'm working ^^ (but TBH I'm better paid in game than IRL).

 
Currently, Crucibles are a huge gate. You need to invest crazy amounts into INT in order to get access to steel, or pray to RNGesus that you find a crucible or a crucible schematic.

There aren't many ways to obtain Forged Steel otherwise.

 
Fun Pimps PLEASE add back the fov slider. I literally feel sick when having to use the garbage fov you have it set to. Yes i know you can use commands, thats not the point. Who ever thought that was a good idea....
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This. I fail to understand why they removed it in the first place - there were talks of "performance issues" IIRC but higher FOV via console has always resulted in better FPS for me. This applies to both A17 and A18.
Having adjustable FOV is one of the very basic essentials of any PC FPS game. I get that not all options need to be menu accessible - but this is a QoL question, and for some people like me a requirement to not get eye strain.

 
This is tinsel I guess but we sure could do with more player animations i.e. taking Adrenaline and Blood Draw kit use.

It is the little things that count... :fat:

 
Regarding level 5 weapon skills.

I'm finding little reason to spend the points to get to level 10 in the governing perk and then to level 5 of my weapon perk. The buffs just aren't enough. My suggestion would be to allow us to unlock the Tier 3 weapon crafting with the 5th perk. Let me use shotguns as an example. I'm at Strength 7...I need 8 more points to get to Strength 10 when I can spend another point to buy Boomstick which gives the 'leg shots cripple buff plus the other small buffs to damage/fire rate/reload. Not enough reward for all those points spent since crafting purples is not an option anymore. So I asked myself, what would inspire me to spend all 9 of those points to get Boomstick and these are my couple suggestions...

1-Unlock the Tier 3 weapon (pump shotgun) recipe at level 10/5. With RNG, it is possible to never find that pump shotgun recipe.

Again, I just used Strength/Shotguns as an example. The same principle of the Level 10 governing skill + Level 5 weapon skill unlocking the Tier 3 weapon crafting would apply to all weapons and armour as well as possibly tools.

2-At level 10/5, allow crafting of purple Tier 2 (only) weapons. So I can craft a purple double barrel at L10 but the incentive still remains to loot for that purple Tier 3 pump action.

 
This. I fail to understand why they removed it in the first place - there were talks of "performance issues" IIRC but higher FOV via console has always resulted in better FPS for me. This applies to both A17 and A18.
Having adjustable FOV is one of the very basic essentials of any PC FPS game. I get that not all options need to be menu accessible - but this is a QoL question, and for some people like me a requirement to not get eye strain.
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This is speculation on my part but one possible explanation there is some issue with the graphics and for now they don't want people giving bug reports and feedback based on a variety of FOV's used so they disabled our ability to mess with it. It's a troubleshooting step.

 
Regarding level 5 weapon skills.
I'm finding little reason to spend the points to get to level 10 in the governing perk and then to level 5 of my weapon perk. The buffs just aren't enough. My suggestion would be to allow us to unlock the Tier 3 weapon crafting with the 5th perk. Let me use shotguns as an example. I'm at Strength 7...I need 8 more points to get to Strength 10 when I can spend another point to buy Boomstick which gives the 'leg shots cripple buff plus the other small buffs to damage/fire rate/reload. Not enough reward for all those points spent since crafting purples is not an option anymore. So I asked myself, what would inspire me to spend all 9 of those points to get Boomstick and these are my couple suggestions...

1-Unlock the Tier 3 weapon (pump shotgun) recipe at level 10/5. With RNG, it is possible to never find that pump shotgun recipe.

Again, I just used Strength/Shotguns as an example. The same principle of the Level 10 governing skill + Level 5 weapon skill unlocking the Tier 3 weapon crafting would apply to all weapons and armour as well as possibly tools.

2-At level 10/5, allow crafting of purple Tier 2 (only) weapons. So I can craft a purple double barrel at L10 but the incentive still remains to loot for that purple Tier 3 pump action.
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Always keep in mind that you don't have to spend your skill points at the maximum in a branch when playing in standard difficulty.

In "insane" difficulty, for example, there is a real obligation to specialize.This is the interest of high levels of specialization.In standard difficulty, it suffices to stop at 5 or 6 in the main branch. This allows you to spend your points elsewhere, for a better quality of life.

 
I'd have to agree the rotten meat for farm plots is a little excessive. Maybe switch it to hay bails instead; I mean I know people who directly plant into hay bails IRL but, I personally only bury 1 fish for tomatoes and I don't really need to do that.

I don't think trip wires are working the way they used to. I used to set up multiple and wire them together to increase the activation area. The first wire doesn't seem to follow through to the others like it did in the past. I could probably just make a web instead but, blech.

I'd also have to agree level 5 in any skill isn't really worth the skill points currently. The bonuses recieved for spending 7-10ish points for a mere 20%ish increase isn't really worth it. It should scale according to points spent.

I haven't seen a single damn chicken... not one... not that I care.. it's just funny.

So, I'm a raider. I often clean house on the max loot areas and get to them as quickly as possible. The ammo investment to run the gauntlet isn't worth it to me. I've noticed I get stuck in this strange pattern where everything is "normal" looting and BAM nothing but level 1 items for days. There's something screwy going on but I couldn't say how or why it happens.

The whole armor thing is kinda, ehhhhhhh. The skills don't really improve the armor anymore. The only benefit seems to be mobility and crafting. I don't particularly mind however, the difference in armor rating between metal and leather and military seems to tight. Military is so close to steel armor and scrap isn't particularly better than leather. It kinda defeats the purpose of being slow and cumbersome if the heavy armor doesn't protect as well.

The junk turret is cool and all but I suddenly feel like I'm an engineer in team fortress. It's kinda weird that it doesn't have a power source and magically turns off if you aren't close to it. It should require a battery that needs to be charged once in a while. At least I don't have to smack it with a hammer to keep it working.

I really don't care for the decreased exp. It's hard enough to level but, once you reach 50ish, it just get's boring and I find myself waiting for bloodmoons in hopes of getting a single level. It is kinda funny how I can upgrade my base from concrete to reinforced and get 8-9 levels while 2000 rifle rounds only earns me 1 level.

Bows are kinda useless now. I considered it a bread and butter weapon but now I just throw it away once I get a level 1 pistol. It was important to keep on hand but now there is enough ammo and the nerfed damage of the bow doesn't even make it desirable at higher tier.

Bat parts? The drop rate for the sledge seems to be better and it has more application taking up less inventory.

Lockpicking is too easy. There's no reason to take the skill at the moment. It should be less than 10% chance with zero skill. Not entirely sure how to address the door thing. On one hand it would be nice for looting poi's on the other hand I don't really want people to have the option to lockpick my base. Maybe, only steel doors can't be lockpicked.

I'm sure random gen will get some love soon. At the moment, there are hardly any poi's and it is entirely possible to walk for 5k without seeing anything as all towns and poi's are linked to roads which causes everything to be centered on the map. Not a biggie as I'm sure it's in the works.

The types of buildings that spawn aren't random enough. You'll find 5 Sham towers before a single book store. But again, I'm sure this is in the works.

I agree that some of the skills should just be combined and even moved to other attribute trees. Animal tracking under the Huntsman only makes sense and would make the tree worth investing in.

The shock baton is really just a lame weapon and should be a mod for bats.

Master Chef should be moved to intelegence. Unless you are making SMASHED potatoes the tree doesn't really fit where it currently is.

Not sure how I feel about the new ammo types. I find myself accidentally destroying loot boxes while useing AP ammo. HP ammo only seems usefull for head shots against non military/biker/demo zeds. I can say I don't care for needing a schematic for crafting boxes of ammo. Chances of finding all 7 books before level 50 is not very likely and it's low level when I need to conserve resources.

The Entire Poi should respawn instead of just loot boxes. Yes, I know there are mods for this but, it would fix a lot of problems. They already respawn for quests so I don't imagine it would be that far of a stretch. It would take care of no car towns, greifed loot boxes, night 7 obliterated houses.

Overall I really like the update.

I would really like to see some new traps in the future though. I've been wanting to drop stuff on heads since forever but, I can't get it to work on a server as block fall damage rarely happens unless it's single player. I've had entire caves fall on my head and non of it registers.

And the noon sound glitch is still there. I don't care if you don't believe me. It's been driving me bat♥♥♥♥ crazy since airdrops were introduced. It's always noon, 8 seconds, multiple "X" day, sped up version of cicada sound bite. Doesn't really hurt my ears but it sets my teeth on edge like nails on a chalk board.

 
oops, makes sense, I should have been que'd by the other biome specific animals...however, not driving 5k+ on my current map to find desert just to complete bought the farm.

When I mentioned "bat parts?" I should have included spear and sledge. Shouldn't need parts for these weapons.

I do however really like repair kits for everything. It's a huge pain at low level. However, it's better than random repair items for everything.

 
Wooden hatches have the same HP as wooden doors, on all upgrades. Iron hatches and iron doors have different HP as expected on each level. 1000-2500

This makes wooden hatches a better alternative to woodden doors if used sideways. They even confuse the zombie AI, zombies will ignore the hatches and attack the upper block

 
Tier one schematics should just be removed completely. Finding a boiled meat schematic or a pistol schematic is just clown car. Anything 1 skill point allows creation of should just go bye bye and encourage taking that skill thus, increasing drop rates for other schems.

Logically, what is someone going to do with a pistol schematic that has no skill. Not build them and sell to the trader that's for sure. The parts are worth more than the pistol.

 
That means that people just need a real elevator added.
Played for a few hours a18

Dont like:

1) "We'll make alternative leveling ways besides killing" - nope. 100-200xp for cutted tree or block upgrading takes much more time than killing one Z for 400+ xp. That's on low level, don't know what's there on high ones.

2) Knife is a joke now. Got myself killed several times because spamming just make zeds rushing endlessly.

3) The whole rushing idea. Okay, it adds some pepper, but works crappy. You have the knife only? You're dead. You were lucky set zed on fire with torch? You're dead. You got several zed into wire wall? You're dead as soon as they break it, as the all will be rushed (and as they rushed, they break it fast). Looks like only ranged weapons and clubs work now.

4) Lost sense of reach for weapons. Spear looks short, reaches far. Axe looks long, reaches short.

5) Farming is an engame feature now. Useless before you get at leas 3rd level, because there's nothing to plant before. Then it requires some special pots , that needs much rotten meat, which absurdely you can't get from zeds - only animals and rotten corpses from the streets. The whole idea of pots is supid. Okay, A17 system was too simple, but this one - it's just crap. Add meat farming from zeds at least!

6) Any healing items craft is an engame feature. Look at 5), then add level 3 perk for creating first aid bandages...

7) Very expensive glue recepie, as you cant get bones from zeds corpses. Stupid.

upd. Bone knife - 5 bones. Yeah, to break one bone and sharpen it, you need 4 more. Just like IRL. ;)

8) Fixing everything with repair kits. Fixing shovel with tool for fixing gun - heh...

9) Nerfing axes converting it into tools only...

10) Only one spear gets back to belt after retrieving - when you use 2-3, every time have to get them back from inventory.

11) Changing all icons. Old icons were simple, but very clear: blue is lead, red is iron ore, black is iron scrap etc. New are too complex, no contrast, hard for recgonition.

12) assigning weapon speciality to main attributes. Mining is a must, so as you have to invest in Str anyways, it forces to chose between Sigehammers and Spears.

13) electric batons as a whole new perk - it should be a mod for clubs

14) Rocks on a surface. In pre-a18 it was a source of all kind of materials for a novice, at leas much iron. Now i don't get, what are they for.
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UPDATE

Few more hours in game, day 16.

Like:

- New POIs

- lots of schemes and books

- map gen works better

- new mining system

- game feels a bit harder

Neutral:

- getting used to icons. Still, old ones were better. With lots of new parts items make it even harder.

- mining leveling is fine when got iron tools and 2 levels of mining perks, but it is not on low-level, when you're too weak for fighting and trying to get levels another way.

Don't like:

- confirmed: knives are usless as a weapon. Too low range, too low damage, too low perk buffs. Tried to use many times - always got myself hit several times.

- clubs are OP: do fine damage and almost guaranteed knock down or stun even on low perk.

- bows are too weak, at least T1 and T2 (havent seen T3 yet). Forgot about them, when found a crossbow.

- spears are fun, but only as throwing; as melee it's a little bit better then knife, as no noticeable perk bonus and cant hit throuh the obstacles (wood frames etc). Problem 1: as throwables you need several spears, it's expensive in materials and mods. Problem 2: easy to lose in a heat of battle (would like some map markers as for bikes). Problem 3: as mentioned before, 2nd /3rd spear doesn't come back to belt when retrieved.

- new system with "swing arks" doesn't work well. Example: iron club, aiming head, miss - crosshair goes right or left. Swing is vertical. Should hit shoulder or arm, but no, just misses.

- making steel level 5 perk with Int 10 requirement is just a joke. Bad joke. As well as blueprint-only steel tools. As well as many mods recepies need steel.

- main attributes only giving buffs to related weapons. If you need onle one perk from a whole branch and don't use branch related weapon, you're wasting points on attribute just for prereqiurement.

- many overpriced / useless perks. Lockpicking - works well without it, both hunting perks - to few anmals around, both armor perks - if you're not going to craft aromor, some other.

- the whole idea to tie crafting level with using skill level: example, knives - as i don't use them as a weapon, i don't invest points in them, but i still use them as a tool. That means I can't craft better knife any way - just loot / buy / get for quest.

- grind of rotten meat and bones ...

- chance of poisoning by FRESH food and no chance with medival-age pre-war cans. Must be just opposite.

 
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To much resources out of bleu containers cement and kobblestone...

there is almost no need to dig into mountens anymore

 
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