PC Alpha 21 Dev Diary

[Laz Man]

Exactly. But it should also be remembered that often the “treasure room” of a random POI can sometimes have a shotgun messiah crate or a sham way crate so you will still be able to randomly get those themes of magazines by exploring some of the generic houses  

Yep, so targeting POIs that have specific crates should net players more magazines of a specific type.

From a level design perspective we use random store crates for generic POI loot rooms while we use more specific store crates for themed POIs (e.g. working stiff crates in working stiff POI loot rooms).

 

[NukemDed]

so theres a tick box somewhere when building pois that you can choose that box or random box?

 

[vergilsparda]

Exactly. But it should also be remembered that often the “treasure room” of a random POI can sometimes have a shotgun messiah crate or a sham way crate so you will still be able to randomly get those themes of magazines by exploring some of the generic houses  

Of course, there was no confusion there for me, don't worry, my assumption was basically what Laz Man said underneath your reply!

 

[Matt115]

Yep, so targeting POIs that have specific crates should net players more magazines of a specific type.

From a level design perspective we use random store crates for generic POI loot rooms while we use more specific store crates for themed POIs (e.g. working stiff crates in working stiff POI loot rooms).

Hm will be there  new POI connected with magasines? for example - hunting cabin, shooting range, thief's safehouse etc?

 

[Laz Man]

Hm will be there  new POI connected with magasines? for example - hunting cabin, shooting range, thief's safehouse etc?

I believe all magazine types are already associated with POI specific loot containers, mainly store crates and some other loot containers.  Whether more specific POIs or loot containers are needed is yet to be determined.

Edit: It is also worth mentioning there are also plenty of loot containers that contain all types of magazines.

 

[Laz Man]

so theres a tick box somewhere when building pois that you can choose that box or random box?

No, all loot containers are still managed by loot lists defined within the xmls.

However, level design has access to every loot container (including some helper variants) to place within POIs.

 

[meilodasreh]

As always!
Great concept... but they had to f*** it up with scripted zombieSpawns/wake ups.
*sigh* why do I even bother

I think the concept itself is cool, but I can't really see how it fits into a fully destructible world.

-those could only be at places with e.g. high hp blocks around, so they can't just be bypassed very easily. Definitely something that has to be considered for the POI designers.

-what happens if I destroy the blocks around the burning pipe end? Will there just be a flame still burning, coming out of nowhere, or will it burn at a new place?

-fire would have to get a major damage impact when coming in touch, because if it behaves like now, well, you could just run through it, have a drink, and it's of no concern.

-If they changed it for fire in general, then you could build a rather safe hordebase just with surrounding your walls with campfires.

-And if they did change it only for the gas pipe fire...well, why would that one fire be so much more dangerous than any other fire?

I'm curious how they figure it out, so that it doesn't come out weird or meaningless.

 

[Jost Amman]

I think the concept itself is cool, but I can't really see how it fits into a fully destructible world.

-those could only be at places with e.g. high hp blocks around, so they can't just be bypassed very easily. Definitely something that has to be considered for the POI designers.

-what happens if I destroy the blocks around the burning pipe end? Will there just be a flame still burning, coming out of nowhere, or will it burn at a new place?

-fire would have to get a major damage impact when coming in touch, because if it behaves like now, well, you could just run through it, have a drink, and it's of no concern.

-If they changed it for fire in general, then you could build a rather safe hordebase just with surrounding your walls with campfires.

-And if they did change it only for the gas pipe fire...well, why would that one fire be so much more dangerous than any other fire?

I'm curious how they figure it out, so that it doesn't come out weird or meaningless.

I think if they use the same (new) mechanics they're adding for water, they can have flammable liquids run through pipe blocks and such.

 

[Matt115]

No, all loot containers are still managed by loot lists defined within the xmls.

However, level design has access to every loot container (including some helper variants) to place within POIs.

So there is no chance for  bigger chance of finding grease monkey magasine on gas station, bigger chance of finding miner 69ier in tool shop etc? 

 

[BFT2020]

With the changes to crafting coming and perk books being adjusted because of those changes, are they also looking into changing the bundle crafting recipes?

Specifically, for example, by the time I collected all 7 Ranger books to unlock bundle crafting of arrows, there was no reason at that point to bundle craft stone arrows.

I have modded it in my SP game to unlock it earlier so I am actually now making use of that recipe.

 

[Laz Man]

So there is no chance for  bigger chance of finding grease monkey magasine on gas station, bigger chance of finding miner 69ier in tool shop etc? 

Not sure if it needs bigger chance.  Its all a matter of balance.  You will have to play it to see how it feels.

 

[BFT2020]

Not sure if it needs bigger chance.  Its all a matter of balance.  You will have to play it to see how it feels.

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the perks alter the drops of the magazines?  So if you wanted to try and gain magazines for say pistols, you would look for locations with a higher percentage of shotgun messiah crates.  You can also perk into gunslinger which improves the odds of those drops.  So the system as explained to us at this point (and subject to change before we get our hands on it) rewards those who specialize in specific perks, but doesn't lock that person out of the other crafting skills.

 

[RipClaw]

So there is no chance for  bigger chance of finding grease monkey magasine on gas station, bigger chance of finding miner 69ier in tool shop etc? 

As far as I understand it, the magazines can also be found in crates. Therefore, I can imagine that in Pass-N-Gas crates the chance of finding Grease Monkey magazines is higher and in Working Stiffs crates for Miner 69 magazines.

Since gas stations always have Pass-N-Gas crates and tool shops always have Working Stiff crates, you are more likely to find the corresponding magazines there.
 

 

[BFT2020]

So there is no chance for  bigger chance of finding grease monkey magasine on gas station, bigger chance of finding miner 69ier in tool shop etc? 

If I am understanding the system correctly (and we are only getting hints at it now), looting specific crates will reward magazines associated with those crates (i.e. weapon magazines for shotgun messiah crates).  If you perk into specific perks (say Gunslinger), you will see more gunslinger magazines when you loot the shotgun crates, but still see other weapon crafting magazines in those crates.  You won't be seeing magazines for crafting tools though unless you open a Working Stiffs crate.

The original question that Laz answered was about building POIs.  Some POIs are specific to a brand (for example Working Stiffs) which is why when you loot them today, you see a lot of Working Stiff crates in them.  Other POIs are more random (for example houses) so you should see more variation.  However, deep down it all depends on how the POI designer assigns the types of crates to that POI.

So if you are looking for magazines that would be found in a PassNGas crate (vehicle crafting for example), your odds of finding the PassNGas crate in a Shotgun Messiah store is low, but high if you are looting a Gas station or car dealership.  If the POI was setup with a random crate placeholder (for example a house POI), you would just have a random chance of getting the PassNGas crate.

 

[Slingblade2040]

Will the zombie loot bags be getting a nerf? They still feel like they drop way to often maybe if they dropped half as often? Just kinda silly having a ton of yellow or blue bags all over the place after Horde night. 

 

[bdubyah]

Would also be nice if the zombie loot bags had a bit more variety. A20 changed them to be pretty set in what each tier contains and it kind of sucks to be honest. Lol.

 

[Beelzebubs Ghost]

Looking at the updates, snippets here and there, the idea of a hybrid system is far more appealing.

Learn by doing for running and mining etc, and loot based magazine progression for guns and armour.

The idea that everything is gated behind ludicrous numbers of magazines is; I will repeat, in my opinion a cheap and artificial slowdown, and forces people into looting.

When the gane had a sense of 'do as you please and make your own way' about it, it was cool. Now the game is becoming an extrapolation of poi design, that is to say, play in a way decided by the developers and no other. That's sad, more options are always better than less, especially in accomodating thr varying playstyles of an entire player base.

The tractor fluff annoyed me somewhat, perfectly fit for driving - and that alone would have made me excited for one new vehicle. Instead what is it for? Nought but decor.

 

[sillls]

Sound? 

I am hoping to see more work on sound in this Alpha.  More different voices as most of them sound the same. At times it almost sounds like listening to an old song that I hear over and over.

I would not mind different sounds by different voices and not in the same pattern. 

Also distancing sound would be great.  

Sometimes I will hear a zombie and it would sound like it's next to me when it is down/upstairs or farther away. 

Other times while riding my bicycle I will pass by one and it would like it is still next to me screaming in my ear. Most likely because my camera is still passing the zombie. 

Thanks. 

 

[faatal]

Let me ask, will the A21 version optimize the game? When I go to places with a lot of zombies, the frame will drop and become unstable

No. Lots of zombie will still need similar CPU/GPU resources.

heres a brave stance. why not remove farming altogether and free up the bandwidth for more fun stuff. like shooting whilst a passenger in a vehicle. i have no idea if they are linked of course, but would be thrilled to be enlightened on what limits things like only 5 vehicles, 15 or so zombies, 4 or 5 weapons per class etc. godamn it i want a katana.

They are not linked. You can delete farming all day long and it does nothing to help me or any other programmer with working on anything to do with vehicles or most other things for that matter.

 

[Roland]

Instead what is it for? Nought but decor.

All future shown vehicles are going to be for decor just to help your expectations. The only exceptions to that might be a possible raft, possible helicopter, and possible joke blimp that doubles as a possible joke submarine depending on where you drive it...