PC Alpha 19 General play answers, ideas, and/or concepts

Quantum Blue

Quantum Blue

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NEW FORUM USERS

One of the first things you should learn to do is to check the FIRST post of any forum thread. They almost always have information on how to post, what to post, various 'policies', etc. In the Developer's Diary and Bug Reporting forums/threads the first page will also contain lists of updates, changes, etc.

You should also understand that 7 Days To Die is in ALPHA. This means it is NOT finished. It WILL get updates and patches, and it may be necessary to start a new game, and if you don't start a new game you really need to be prepared for all kinds of crazy things to happen. (Like vultures may get replaced with gigantic boars. buildings and/or terrain will get broken, etc.) Not only can it be updated or patched, CONCEPTS and PROCESSES can change. Once an Alpha gets to 'stable' game restarts should be minimized.

THIS THREAD

The purpose of this forum is to try and help players get relevant information quickly (relating to the most current Alpha) and to hopefully help try and get forums like the Developer's Diary more focused on topics and not having TFP or others responding to similar questions, suggestions, etc., multiple times.

It will try to cover 'common' concepts and issues and will contain paraphrased information provided by TFP people for those items. I will endeavor to provide the information as impartially as possible, but know that I am a massive fan, who believes he can easily adapt to most anything (meaning I have almost no preconceived notions of how anything should be), and want to fully support TFP in making 7 Days To Die as successful as possible.

THE GAME

TFP describes 7 Days To Die as a Survival Horde Crafting GAME. Originally it was referred to as a Minecraft/Fallout/Tower Defense hybrid. Something TFP has tried to have people understand is that while it tries to use realism for immersion, there will be times when game design will trump realism and that it is not trying to be a simulator of any kind.

Various types of activities in the game are meant as 'abstractions' of real world activities, to reduce grind and boredom, and to keep 'energy' flowing. For example: Because most would not find chopping down a tree (with a stone axe!), cutting it up, making several trips to a collection location (which could take a lot of 'real world' time!) 'fun', the game allows for 'magical' chopping with enhanced skills and items and to be able to carry lumber from several trees all at once.

APPLICATION / OPERATING SYSTEM / HARDWARE INFORMATION

Sylen Thunder has put together a great guide to computer requirements, 7D2D application information (Voxel technology, etc.), server builds, etc. The thread can be found here:  Support FAQ

BUGS AND "BROKEN" THINGS

If somethings happens during your game (like a crash, or something doesn't work, or something is missing, etc.) you SHOULD report it in the bug reporting thread. Various testers constantly review posts and will act upon your post - IF YOU PROVIDE ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR THEM TO ACT UPON. If they can't see it or duplicate it, it is probably not going to get fixed.

PLEASE make sure to read the first post of the thread and replay to it filling it appropriate items and removing anything not needed.

https://community.7daystodie.com/bug-test-1/

DEVELOPER'S DIARY THREAD

The Developer's Diary Thread is place to go when you have an idea or suggestion or are looking for an answer related to Game Design. If you are going to post there you should keep in mind a few things:

  • Try to keep your post brief.
  • Use paragraph spacing. (No 'Wall of Texts')
  • Avoid multiple questions, subjects, etc. within the same post
  • Bug reports may not be responded to. (They should go into the bug reporting section.)




STARTING A NEW GAME

7 Days To Die has 3 typical 'maps' that you can start with:

Navezgane: A pregenerated (6144 x 6144), 'story based' map that gets a good deal of 'tweaking' attention. As it comes with the game and does not need 'full' generation it will start much faster than a new random map.

Random Maps: A randomly generated map that may have quirks as the generator is still going through 'tweaking'. You can choose a couple sizes 4096x4096 or 8192 x 8192. (Currently, larger sizes are known to have issues and are not supported.) Know that 8192 maps can take quite a while to generate (15-30 minutes or more) depending on the capabilities of the system.

PREGEN Maps:  3 pre-generated maps (PreGen01, 02, and 03) that have been 'vetted' by various TFP staff to provide a good gaming experience and with very few 'issues'.

 
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Zombie Related

IS THIS A ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GAME? ARE THE ENEMIES ZOMBIES?

7 Days to Die is advertised as a zombie survival game. The main enemies of the game are reanimated corpses of humans. There are also zombie versions of dogs, vultures, and bears. These corpses are in various stages of decay and their goal is to kill you and eat you. The zombies of this game became so due to a virus that was developed at the Red Mesa facility. The scientist that unleashed the plague on the world is unnamed but his picture hangs on the walls of many buildings in the world. The zombies in the world of Navezgane have some unique characteristics that set them apart from the traditional idea of a basic walking undead corpse:

LUNAR CYCLE

Zombies of 7 Days to Die move slowly during the daylight hours much like traditionally depicted zombies. However, once the moon rises the lethargy of day slides away and the zombies run at a steady sprint and can even leap short gaps. Their eyesight is diminished in the dark but their hearing is good enough to bring them down on survivors who aren't taking pains to move around quietly. Often there are tougher enemies with feral senses that spawn at night. On certain nights when the moon turns blood red the zombies gain a supernatural ability to sense living souls wherever they may lurk. 

TOUGHENED FISTS

Zombies of 7 Days to Die are able to destroy walls of wood, stone, concrete, and even steel with their bare fists with no damage to themselves. When grouped together in tight knots and beating against a wall they do even more damage. Zombies will also dig through earth and stone to get to survivors if they sense them below.

UNCANNY INSTINCTS

Described in the past as a kind of hive mind, zombies nearby somehow know if one of their brethren has spotted a potential meal. Zombies also seem to mindlessly find the paths of least resistance and act in concert with each other as they relentlessly seek survivors they can sense. All zombies can sense living people in the area on the Blood moon nights. Zombies also know how to use ladders that are reachable to them.

ZOMBIE 'RAGE'

When zombies take damage there is a percent chance that it might 'rage' and move faster for a short period. Rage percentage is dependent upon the difficulty chosen at the start of the game. At the lowest difficulty setting zombies never rage and then the chance for them to rage when damaged increases with each setting.

SWIMMING

Zombies walk on the bottom of rivers and lakes until they sense a player above them. At that point they can swim rapidly to the surface to engage the player.

HIGHER LEVEL ZOMBIES

Feral Zombies: These always run and more easily sense players. They hit harder and have more health.

Cop Zombies: These zombie hulks vomit acid in arcing path with great precision

Spider Zombies: Spider Zombies aren't spiders. They are humanoid zombies but they can leap significant distances and walk hunched over on all fours.

Screamers: These young girls scream when they see a survivor and summon in a horde of zombies from all directions.

Wight: This zombie is also a mutated experiment gone wrong. They are fast and strong and deadly.

Irradiated Zombies: These zombies have been exposed to nuclear radiation and their bodies regenerate

Zombie Bears: Huge decayed bears that are fast and have high HP

Spitting Vultures: These tougher undead fowls show up during the blood moon and rain acid from above.

Demolition Zombie: These show up on horde night with a detonator strapped to them. If the detonator is triggered the zombie explodes for massive structural damage.

ZOMBIE GPS AND HORDE NIGHTS

During non-horde nights zombies should only target you if you get 'close' or attack them. On Horde night, zombies will actively pursue you from 10 PM to approximately midnight for the first one and increasing to all night long as time goes by. In addition, there are blood moon enhanced zombie vultures that attack vehicles in a rage and will dive bomb you as you attempt to drive damaging you and slowing the vehicle down.

If you should die during a horde night, you should get a respite from the horde. If playing as a single player, they should not even spawn for a while. In multi-player they will continue spawning, but you should be safe unless you actively attack them or interfere in their 'pathing' to other players. This is also true for new players joining a group.

 
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Various Items and Processes

PRIMITIVE AGE

The beginning of the game finds you stripped of everything except basic supplies. You will have to acquire all the gear and food and water that you can find or make. At first you can only find and make simple primitive gear. As you progress you will begin to find and be able to craft better gear. All weapons, tools, and armor are separated into tiers and then further into quality levels. The bottom tier is the primitive tier. Examples of gear in this tier are: stone axe, stone shovel, stone sledgehammer, stone spear, primitive bow, wooden club, padded armor, and the blunderbus. Each of these items can have one of six quality levels that will improve their stats as well as offer more slots for modifications to be added to them. During the primitive age only primitive level gear can be found in loot. Once you progress high enough in level higher tiers of items will start showing up in loot.

BOOKS and SCHEMATICS

The world is filled with a TON of books and Schematics that can be found in loot. Books give you skills/perks, and schematics allow you to build specific items or cook specific recipes of food.

Books come in 'series' (categories) and there are 7 books in each series. There is a bonus skill/perk that you receive after you have learned all of the books in a particular series. You can view books and series by using the [N] key (default) or selecting the Book icon (at end) on the Skills menu (Graduation icon) in any of the menus.

The game has a 'tell' to know if you have already read something, an open or closed book in the upper left of the item's display in any inventory listing. (open = already read). For items that have already been read you can either re-read them for a small xp (experience point) award (currently 50) or you can sell them. (You can also scrap them, but...)

FARMING

In order to farm you must construct farm plot boxes. You need to collect soil, rotten flesh, nitrate, and wood to build a Farm Plot box. This box can be placed anywhere and multiple boxes will merge together to create a larger boxed area for farming. 

To collect whatever you grow, just hit with your fists or just about any object. Note that although you 'collect' what you grow, the original seed is not removed and will grow again. Seeds must be found or crafted from crops once you have the perk that allows you to do so.

FOOD QUALITY

All food in the game will affect your fullness and your health to varying degrees. Some foods should only be eaten in an emergency as they will raise your fullness a small amount but they can also cause harm to your health. Basic foods such as canned foods and a few basic recipes you know by default from the start of the game will raise your fullness and your health a small amount. Relying on these foods will cause you to have to constantly eat to maintain your stamina and fullness.

There are recipes that can be found and perks that can be purchased to make better higher quality foods that raise your fullness and health by a significant amount making it so you need to eat less often. These better foods also grant other bonuses that last a short while and can be beneficial in different circumstances. Many of these quality foods use canned food in their recipes so it is important to balance eating all of your canned goods against saving them to be part of recipes for better food.

When you eat food that would raise your fullness above the maximum shown in your fullness bar, the excess is not wasted. Instead a timer counts down until your fulness bar begins to deplete again. The same is true of drinks that raise your hydration bar.

ITEM QUALITY

In 7 Days to Die, items (tools, weapons, etc.) have 6 levels of Quality. (Tools also have 3 'categories': Primitive, Iron, and Steel, each having their own quality.) 1 = Tan, 2 = Yellow, 3 = Orange, 4 = Green, 5 = Blue, 6 = Purple. Purple items cannot be crafted or purchased. They can only be obtained in loot or as rewards for quests.

Item stats are randomized, so not every like item of the same quality will be the same. And it is possible to have a lower quality item with a stat that exceeds the same stat on the same higher quality item. Higher quality items always have the same or more modifier slots than lower quality items. Filling a slot with a modifier also increases certain stats on that item.

REPAIRING ITEMS

Primitive tier items are usually repaired using one of the components of their recipes. For example you can repair a stone axe with a stone and a primitive bow with a piece of wood.  Repair kits are used to repair anything above the primitive tier. 

Repair kits can be made without Work Benches and require Forged Iron and Duct Tape. It is almost certain you will not have enough duct tape in the beginning of the game. You will need to make it. It uses glue and cloth. Cloth is super easy to come by, but glue might seem a little difficult. Guess what? You can make that too! You need MURKY water and some bones. Where to get bones? Dead animals is one place. You ever see those red gore piles in the streets?...

 
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Features That Were Cut

BEHEMOTH

The Behemoth was an enemy that made a short appearance in the debug mode's spawning list. It was never added to actual gameplay by TFP, but modders were able to add it using the existing assets. It was eventually removed from the code completely and will not be returning. Madmole has hinted that their next game may contain giant sized enemies like the Behemoth. But for 7 Days to Die, the Behemoth is gone for good.

CRAFTING GRID

Crafting began very much like Minecraft by configuring components spacially on a grid. This style of crafting was dropped for Alpha 13 and list crafting was adopted.

GARDEN HOE

The hoe as a farming tool was removed from 7 Days to Die in Alpha 18 and farming as a feature was reconfigured. There is currently no plan for the hoe's return.

LEARN BY DOING (LBD)

This progression design was implemented when perks and skills were added to the game but was removed in Alpha 17. There is currently no plan to re-implement LBD. Progression is handled by a central pool of skill points that are used to purchase perks. Skill points are generated by doing a variety of ingame actions and, unlike learn by doing, there is not necessarily a direct connection between the actions taken and the ability purchased.

PROCEDURALLY GENERATED CAVES

Procedurally generated caves made their appearance in Alpha 11, but have slowly diminished in scope through Alpha 17. In Alpha 17 some designed POI caves and mines were added and the very rare random cave usually consisted of a short tunnel to a dead end. In Alpha 18 random caves have been completely removed. Future Alphas will only utilize designed underground caves as POI's (Point Of Interest.)

ZIPLINES

The concept and a rudimentary implementation of ziplines were shown in a video by Madmole during the Alpha 15 development cycle but they were never added to the game. Ziplines are currently not planned for any future update of 7 Days to Die.

VOMITING

There used to be a 4% chance to vomit which would empty your fullness bar to zero. That was removed for Alpha 19

 
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DEATH PENALTY

Currently, 7D2D will subtract a certain amount of experience when you die. (A18 b139+ = 10%) This is to allow the player an opportunity to learn the game some more (regaining the experience) before it tries to make things more difficult. While it is possible to die and suffer a penalty while currently rebuilding experience from a previous 'death', the game will stop penalizing after a few times. (A18 b139+ = beginning of previous level.)

Experienced players have complained that the amount seems to be negligible. TFP has asked that they continue the game util a much later level (like 20, 30, 40, or even more) when it takes considerable more time and the lose may feel more 'severe'.

Note also that you may lose your backpack or not depending on how you may have set 'Drop on Death' in the game options [Advanced] tab.

 
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Thank goodness someone has the wherewithal to make a great guide like this, and to mention the importance of making your bug reports actually make sense. Good job!

 
Certain links lead to nowhere, i wanted to check on the "no more big changes" one but its not working.

I just realized that this is probably a necro, sorry.

 
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iu


NEVER FORGET!

-Morloc

 
I've got an idea for the problem with the "too linear looting" everyone is complaining about. Also ideas to make the lockpicking perk more interesting. So I would say the hitpoints of safes should to be way higher. the small ones needs to be 10000 and the large ones 30000 and tools should do less dmg on safes (only 10% of the normal Block dmg) so it's needed to use lockpicking. This way no one would stay there for hours and hit them with theyr tools. Then I would change it so safes have better loot in them so it's worth skilling the lockpicking and stay there to try open them. And now the change with lockpicking. The Perk should be changed like this:

Level 1 (Burglar)= You are starting to make a name for yourself. You can pick locks 20% faster and have a 10% lower chance to break lockpicks. There's also a 10% loot bonus when you open them with Lockpicks.

Unlocks to pick small Safe locks and to craft lockpicks.

Level 2 (Lock Smith)= You are now a lock smith and few locks will keep you out. You can pick locks 40% faster and have a 20% lower chance to break lockpicks. There's also a 20% loot bonus when you open them with Lockpicks.

Unlocks to pick large Safe locks.

Level 3 (Safe Cracker)= You are now a world class safe cracker. Pick locks 50% faster and have a 25% lower chance to break lockpicks. There's also a 30% loot bonus when you open them with Lockpicks. Unlocks to pick locked Doors.


 


 

This way safes would be more special and the Lockpicking perk is finally useful cause we all know that noone skills this cause we can just hit them until they are open.

 
Hello. Ive spent quite few hours with 3 of my mates roaming on rented server. Latency has been so far perfect and 3 of us have PING below 14ms! No problem in hitting the zombies whatsoever. Gameplay so far is amazing. Blood Moons are pretty fun to play and everyone looks forward to participate in them. Huge excitement overall.

There is one thing that honestly throws me of balance and some of my mates. In most of tripe A titles (I know 7dtd is a kickstarter game in constant development) canceled reload animation has not been entirely repeated after switching weapons back. It would be nice to divide eg. Blunderbuss animation into three stages like placing ammo, pushing whats in the barrel further, turning that valve or whatever that is. Now even if I accidently use a scroll wheel while reloading eg. by switching to fists, then player is forced to go through entire reload animation from the beginning after switching back.

Usually in most top notch games any interrupted reload animation is divided into releasing the mag, placing new one, pushing some valve. So consequently even emergency use of pistol wont force entire reload anim on previously used primary weapon. Dont make me wrong, weapons reload process is fast but the game is loosing on momentum and might feel clunky for more demanding and broader audience. Cheap way to fix canceled animation/action issue is to count reload action as completed by reaching at least 50% of total animation while interrupting/switching to something else and back. Idk how to explain this in details but there is a room for improvement.

Another thing that makes me wonder is scoping/zooming in/out and its performence. Now if I click once the weapon zooms in, after clicking back zooms out. If I click and hold right click the weapon zooms in, then i release the key and scope zooms out. The problem is that its hard for me to quick scope or cancel zoom ins/outs in desireable timing as in many other games. Guys please add option for scope to hold the key or just 1 right click to scope propperly. Im not a big fun of current hybrid-like system. 

Kudos for devs when it comes to smoothing animations. When I first picked up AK and saw drawing weapon anim I was hooked.

 
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