ecksfiftyone
New member
I run my own server and I like A17. But thats a MP Coop game with <10 players who all know each other so... very specific game style. I make my own mods and adjust a lot of the balance on the server. I dont know if xpath modding is new in A17 or maybe i just discovered it.. but it's significantly better than direct file edits that get overwritten with a new build. Modding can fix a lot of the balance (easier or harder) to improve the game a lot. It's not like hacks or a lot of work, it's just adjusting settings in XML files.
Regarding the biome temps comment though... Thats something I feel was improved in A17. Although it doesn't make a LOT of sense, you can now modify your armor with both insulation to protect against cold AND cooling to protect against heat. it's no longer one or the other. If done properly, you dont have to keep changing clothes you can eventually have clothing that keeps you comfortable in all biomes with maybe a coat you can put on and take off.
The biome layouts are a disaster and this contributes to the hot / cold issue. So I worked around it by using a custom biome map similar to earlier A17 builds with Forest in the middle, Snow in the north, Wasteland and Desert in the south, and some Burnt Forest around. This also makes the balance better you can spend the early game in the forest (middle 50% of the map) and when you have modded and prepared your armor to stand hot and cold biomes you can venture to these places later in the game. But they are large so you spend a lot of time in a single biome and can adjust your clothing far less if needed. You dont need to cross hot,cold,hot,cold all the time.
The whole quality system is the MOST disappointing - A level 1 pickaxe is the same as a level 6 except you can add more mods. Once you have a level 6 there is NO reason to ever craft another as you can just repair forever. I miss losing quality on repair. and quality making a difference in performance.... if i found a 400 pickaxe early on.. I used to hesitate to use it since every repair would degrade the tool and i couldnt make one yet.. it was a sacred item and I cherished it. Now... thats all gone. a level 1 vs 4 vs 6 means a few more mods I can add IF i happen to find them.
I miss gun parts a lot. Adjusting the quality of gun by swapping parts made finding a gun fun. Take it apart and replace your barrel with a slightly better one. Woohoo Now it's either better than yours or not. And like tools the quality only dictates the number of mods you can add... so level 2 vs 6 doesn't matter that much now I just have a crapload of useless guns all the time that the traders wont buy. At least making a slightly better item by combining 2 items made lower quality items useful.
Outside of the quality and insane biome thing (which is not new)... I enjoy A17 overall, but agree it's not without issues and if you cant / wont mod the game... I understand peoples frustrations with a radically different experience.
