PC Alpha 19 Dev Diary

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madmole said:
The new animal spawns are pretty good. Basically you rarely see big game, but see a decent amount of chickens and rabbits. They respawn every day so there is always a chance to see something, no matter how saturated the server is with people. I get by on 2-3 chickens or rabbits a day. No animal tracker otherwise I'm sure I'd be doing better. I had to eat a sham sandwich today and buy some food from the vending. I sucked it up and bought rank 2 of cooking so I could use the potatoes and corn I had piled up in some stews so I'm good.

I think people will like it. Zombies respawn a little faster than before too so the world feels a bit more populated. There isn't MORE than there was, but it's kind of like day one where you see them in every chunk.
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These changes are quire exciting; animals won't be everywhere like they've broken out of a zoo, nor are they on the verge of extinction any longer. I cannot wait for the next patch, whenever that may arrive. 🙂

Have you felt a need to hunt for wolves and the like during the night, or have you been doing just fine?

Whatever the case may be, I can finally firmly say that the Animal Tracker and The Huntsman perks finally serve a purpose outside of MP. 🙂 Before you would have a king's feast on day 2-3 even if you weren't even trying; no more it seems like.

 
MechanicalLens said:
These changes are quire exciting; animals won't be everywhere like they've broken out of a zoo, nor are they on the verge of extinction any longer. I cannot wait for the next patch, whenever that may arrive. 🙂

Have you felt a need to hunt for wolves and the like during the night, or have you been doing just fine?

Whatever the case may be, I can finally firmly say that the Animal Tracker and The Huntsman perks finally serve a purpose outside of MP. 🙂 Before you would have a king's feast on day 2-3 even if you weren't even trying; no more it seems like.
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I have but found nothing. I'm waiting for the next build where I increased the chance for predator spawn at night. There is a low chance a wolves spawn in the forest during the day and z dog in the burnt forest.

I had to go to the near wasteland to dig up a chest and I was pretty nervous, because I know what cancer can spawn there and at night is a really bad place to be with an Armor rating of 25 and nothing but a pistol with no mods. It was about 5 pm when I left, but I didn't get there until about 10, it took longer to get there than I thought; quite a bit of cross country travel on my minibike. Then I get there about 10 pm and its actually IN the wasteland so I was dealing with destroyed stone instead of dirt so that slowed me down evern more. I was digging as fast as I could once I got through the stone, and an asian zombie came to check out the noise, so I had to get out of the hole and use a knife on him as a gun might be too loud, and I kept hearing  nearby dogs attacking something. I don't know if they were stuck trying to reach me or what, but I didn't want to find out.

The chest took longer than normal to find, the circle must have shrunk 4 or even 5 times. A vulture circled above me. Finally I got the chest, killed the guys who spawned and it was about 5 seconds til dusk and I got on my bike and got out of there, but the vulture was on my tail. I jumped off and dispatched him and harvested his guts right as the night time stinger went off and I got on my bike and got the hell out of there. I love those intense moments and doing a different than normal character build (agility instead of strength) made things pretty exciting.

 
madmole said:
The real test is how much clay you can gather over 5 minutes under identical conditions. It might seem similar, but over time who has more clay which ultimately dug more blocks out?

I think there are some adjustments coming in the next patch, I told Gazz iron was a bit too heavy the other day so I think he lowered the weight 1 stam per second and that got me about 8 more hits with a pickaxe before gassing out (15 or 16 to 24).
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Have you had a chance to test Impact Driver vs Ratchet? I mentioned it before, but basically the Impact Driver is not an upgrade over the Rachet as best I can tell. My level 6 Ratchet was drastically better than level 4 Impacts, and even compared  to my level 6 Impact the Ratchet is arguably better.

The Impact does a little more block damage, but not enough to save a hit on anything I've tested on, besides maybe on a bus or army truck. It takes more stamina and has the same attacks per second though, so it ends up with the impact hitting your stamina harder to break down the same items. Both 3 hit per stage on a car for example, so there's no point in using an impact over a Ratchet.

That said, I may just have a really strong Ratchet and a terrible roll Impact and it might matter more at high levels of the salvage perk. With 1 point in salvage, mine is basically a straight downgrade / side grade to my ratchet, trading stamina for slightly more durability

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It would make sense if the impact shaved at least 1 hit off breaking down a car, but it seems to miss any kind of break point with it's higher block damage so it doesn't have much point atm imo

 
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From reading the differences in the stone to iron, I always played thinking that the stone - iron - steel meant more resources per tier so more stamina used but overall resources were higher in a shorter time, i could be wrong lol.  Unless that is something to make for incentive to use iron and steel early on.

 
madmole said:
The real test is how much clay you can gather over 5 minutes under identical conditions. It might seem similar, but over time who has more clay which ultimately dug more blocks out?

I think there are some adjustments coming in the next patch, I told Gazz iron was a bit too heavy the other day so I think he lowered the weight 1 stam per second and that got me about 8 more hits with a pickaxe before gassing out (15 or 16 to 24).
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I noticed that iron shovels arent very attractive too. How many strikes to destroy a dirt block is the main consideration for shovel usage, but stamina is the other. Iron seem to be higher stam cost and an insignificant amount of damage more (insignificant because it wont reduce the total number of strikes to destroy a block).

One consideration for balance could just be tuning the tools around stamina usage, disconnect block damage from quality and fix it at a set abount (5 hits for stone, 4 for iron and 3 for steel) then make quality affect stamina usage (30 stam use at level1 down to 12 at level 6) this way quality is always important, iron will always have some advantage over stone, but you might consider keeping that level6 stone shovel if you have more issues with stamina as opposed to the level 1 iron shovel.

 
Oh hey @madmole im looking to repair the wall around my base, im using the prowlin petes roof as a base for crafting and the outer wall has been broken in spots by the zombies, i know its a centred piece but i cannot find one that is 2/4 centered, help lol

 
Do you like hunting but hate having to deal with those pesky predators? 

Hate getting bit,clawed and chewed?

Having to deal with those bumps and bruises?

Replacing missing limbs? 😉

No problem, just have the zombies kill them for you. 

That's right, the zombies will kill things like wolves and even bears for you. All you have to do is go in and finish off the zed and get to harvesting. 

Your welcome! ☺️

 
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madmole said:
I have but found nothing. I'm waiting for the next build where I increased the chance for predator spawn at night. There is a low chance a wolves spawn in the forest during the day and z dog in the burnt forest.

I had to go to the near wasteland to dig up a chest and I was pretty nervous, because I know what cancer can spawn there and at night is a really bad place to be with an Armor rating of 25 and nothing but a pistol with no mods. It was about 5 pm when I left, but I didn't get there until about 10, it took longer to get there than I thought; quite a bit of cross country travel on my minibike. Then I get there about 10 pm and its actually IN the wasteland so I was dealing with destroyed stone instead of dirt so that slowed me down evern more. I was digging as fast as I could once I got through the stone, and an asian zombie came to check out the noise, so I had to get out of the hole and use a knife on him as a gun might be too loud, and I kept hearing  nearby dogs attacking something. I don't know if they were stuck trying to reach me or what, but I didn't want to find out.

The chest took longer than normal to find, the circle must have shrunk 4 or even 5 times. A vulture circled above me. Finally I got the chest, killed the guys who spawned and it was about 5 seconds til dusk and I got on my bike and got out of there, but the vulture was on my tail. I jumped off and dispatched him and harvested his guts right as the night time stinger went off and I got on my bike and got the hell out of there. I love those intense moments and doing a different than normal character build (agility instead of strength) made things pretty exciting.
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I would never usually wish this upon anyone, but I hope a wolf pack comes your way. :)  Nothing like chewing the ends of your fingernails for sustenance for the first couple of nights only for some home delivery service to arrive at your doorstep. I had this happen in my previous world; it was pretty fantastic, saved me a night's worth of hunting.

Gotta love those intense moments, like you said. The Joe Bro's builders POI has scarred me for life more than once, to the point where I've banned myself from going there even for a quest. Lol.

A small trick I learned (exploit? strategy?) is if a predator is chasing your %@& down, try to search for a nearby zombie and get it between you and the carnivorous animal. 9 times out of 10 I find that the predator switches its aggro from you to the zombie instead. Something you might want to keep in mind if you're on foot. ;)  Tip: This tactic doesn't work with boars.

 
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Ranzera said:
??

My computer has 32gb of RAM running in quad channel mode and I built this thing 4 years ago. That's not a crazy amount of RAM to have, especially now.
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No it's not a "crazy" amount, it was when I built it 8 years ago. Such amounts are more common now, but it is still more than most need. It is however over-the-top for a game to tap it all out, something I have never managed to do otherwise, and I put my machine to the test quite often for work stuff. Not sure what your point is.

* no need to reply, unless brief and/or relevant here, don't want to get distracted.

 
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GrifterMan said:
Madmole:

You didn't happen to record that session did you? Wouldn't mind seeing it if so. Sounds really intense.
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No it would have been good though. That vulture was just waiting for me to leave lol. Like I kept looking up and he was circling. It would be funny if they screeched and attracted near by zombies to kill  you so they can eat the scraps.

 
Speaking of trying something different, that is exactly what I have been doing these past couple days. I've purposely thrown a spanner into the works and gone out of my comfort zone in two unconventional ways: I've started a temporary world with BM Frequency 1 and BM Range 10 as my settings - a challenge I have been putting off for the past couple years, so I thought now is the perfect opportunity to get my feet wet - and on top of that I've taken a step back from my usual playstyle. Usually my plan consists of taking over a house and living in the attic/basement for the first week, meanwhile looting like a speed demon for the first several days before constructing a cobblestone tower or fortifying a POI for the first horde night. This time however I am really taking to smell the chrysanthemums - for instance, I spend the first couple days almost exclusively working on a quaint little shack that is pictured below in the spoilers. I've also been slowly creeping my way through POI's, treating each zombie encounter as a threat to my very survival rather than rushing forward and bashing their skulls in like a maniac. I haven't had this much immersion in this game, or any game, in ages. The new linear lighting certainly does it just as well.

7 Days To Die also decided to welcome me properly to this challenge by gifting me with a horde on night 1; only a few zombies showed up due to my low gamestage, but it completely caught me off guard as I have BM Warning disabled. I was in the middle of looting a small house right before dusk when I heard the first crack of thunder. I was planning on returning all of my goods back home that evening, but instead I was simply forced to leave a dump chest with all my trinkets inside right outside the back porch, and what followed was me almost sealing myself in before I came to realize I was lacking any cobblestone. (I was unsure if A19 made any changes to such low gamestage hordes.) I rushed to the nearest construction site just down the road, did battle with a few local utility workers guarding their booty, and I returned to the house and upgraded some of the blocks with only a couple minutes to spare, leaving some blocks destroyed for me to poke at the zombies through with my level 1 spear. Sure, it was nothing (the fight itself), but it caught me right out of left field, giving me a better sense of appreciation for this challenge. The game, through RNG, is in complete control in how well or poorly you do; several hordes right after the other mid-game could spell certain death, or the game might give you a lovely break of a maximum potential of 11 total days.

What can I say Fun Pimps? You've crafted an excellent game - I'm not even going to call it a game, because in my eyes it's much more than that. 7 Days To Die is an experience like no other with the widest pallet available on the gaming market today. Call me a fanboy if you wish; I'm just one fan among many. :)

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madmole said:
The real test is how much clay you can gather over 5 minutes under identical conditions. It might seem similar, but over time who has more clay which ultimately dug more blocks out?

I think there are some adjustments coming in the next patch, I told Gazz iron was a bit too heavy the other day so I think he lowered the weight 1 stam per second and that got me about 8 more hits with a pickaxe before gassing out (15 or 16 to 24).
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What about giving the iron and steel tools a slight passive looting bonus as well? Similar to but separate from Mother Load. A 5 or 10% increase would probably be enough for people that are resource mining to look towards using the next tier tools as soon as possible.

 
Marinxar said:
So you picked it up the first time, without any knowledge of it, and was straight away able to pull it back without shaking . 

 I have used several different size and types bows before, and I know it takes a lot of strength. Especially if you are not used to it or trained in it.
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I did say in my post "If you use the proper method."  Indicating that you would need some experience and/or training.  I've been using bows most of my life and I took archery as a physical education credit in college. If you don't use the proper method then strength alone isn't going to help you anyway.  I've seen people with great strength struggle where people with little strength had no problem because they used the correct method.  The point of all of this is that having more strength will not allow you to do more damage with a bow.  If you can pull it back to a full draw it will do the same damage no matter how strong or weak you are.  What this would mean in game terms is that a bow would have a normal amount of damage and if you are not able to pull it back all the way than you will not be able to do that normal amount, but having more strength than necessary would add nothing since pulling the string back farther than a full draw will only damage the bow and not add to the damage of the arrow.

 
Question about the dynamic music. Is it possible to tweak when the "action music" starts?

The issue is, the music starts whenever you're in danger - whether you realize it or not. It has the effect of "telegraphing" the action, and removes a lot of the surprise about suddenly being surrounded by a horde.

The effect is a bit like this:

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EDIT: This should not be read as a criticism of the music itself, which is generally top-notch. I also don't have an issue with any other time the music decides to play.

 
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After reading all the shovel discussion it would need to be tested but I'm definitely leaning in the direction that stone shovel is better up until the point you can 1 shot dirt.  That is the experience I remember at least, fallible as memory is.  The increased damage and increased stamina works very well for axes and picks but since dirt/sand/gravel digs so easily by necessity it just doesn't have the hp values to give iron/steel the clear advantage until you can 1 shot dirt.  If it's a debatable or close differential stone will always be better because it's cheaper to maintain and uses less stamina.

Considering everything I think it's worth investigating whether iron and steel shovels need to cost the same stamina or less OR some other outside the box solution like power attacks on shovels getting rewritten with some sort of new functionality.  I think I've power attacked a zombie with my shovel only a few times and that was only for testing purposes to see how effective it was.

 
There can not be a lot of progression on shovels because

- dirt does not have a lot of hit points and isn't supposed to

- stone tools must be decent

- progression must leave room for bonuses from both perks and quality level

There really isn't a lot of wiggle room there due to them having to be consistent with other tools.

OTOH, I'm happy to see that the value of stone shovels is one of the biggest issues with 7DTD by now.

 
flydiasfly said:
Hello everyone! I'm almost never write posts here at the forum, but I play this game since the terrain was blocky and we have to deal with hornets. First I want to say that 7dtd for me is the best survival game in the market, period.

But something broke my experience while I was playing the new A19, and it was not a bug, it is just the loot progression. At first view, I really liked the way that this new system improved the first days challenge, and for a experienced player like me, was very good to have a tougher challenge to overcome. From the beginning I already know that in the early game stages we should spare the big POI's to loot after we can reach the main loot and find more than 5 stone spears and 3 stone axes.

So, I hold on until day 25 when I started to find some serious weapons in average POI's main loots, and decided to loot the Shotgun Messiah Factory I find early days. And this is when the loot progression thing broke my experience. To stay short, I started the POI raid with over 500 7.62 ammo for my AK47 and over 300 9mm for my silenced pistol. But even trying to go more with the stealth style, I soon depleted all my 9mm, and finished the radiated zombies at the ceiling literally with my last 7.62 cartridge (already finding it strange to have found almost zero ammo all the way up). And so on, I reach the main loot and... get around 30 9mm and 20 7.62 ammo, with a high level wooden bow and a all life stock of sledge turrets.

So, I went to this POI to have my first real challenge and to improve my weapons and ammo supply. And head back home with almost a thousand less ammo. The adventure was great, but the reward feel is completely broken.

Btw, thanks for the great work done with this game. Cheers from Brazil!
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regarding T5 Quests and especially the Shotgun Messia Factory:

Take a Wrench with you, or ratchet. The amount of Parts you can get out of there when you wrench Chairs, AC´s, Doors etc is stunning. While the Apartment Complex is superior in terms of loot, you can easily make 20k Duke Tokens out of the Messiah in terms of spare Parts.

Given, you are right with the Ammo, it is really costly. But with the right skills and proper reflexes you can manage to bring it into the 3 digit area.

 
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