PC Developer Discussions: Alpha 17

[DeadMole]

The problem with story lines in games is that they end. Then what?

Then you do side quests or whatever else. 7DTD is supposed to be a mix between Minecraft and Fallout according to MM and there's just no way a Fallout or Elder Scrolls game would be released without a full storyline in it.

 

[JaxTeller718]

He said in the video it's going to be nearly beta, so unless they add a ton of features in the next couple of alphas (which is quite possible) then the game won't nearly be finished.
Well sure, if you do compare what it is now to alpha 1 (I started playing on alpha 14, but watched videos of all previous versions) it changed a lot, but it didn't change all that much since quite a few versions.

Im curious. After vehicles and bandits, what features in their Kickstarter are missing? Certainly not TONS. What you WANT and what we get are two different things.

I'm having a nice laugh at all the people saying A17 is not beta and that MM was joking. His post LITERALLY said it is beta, with no hint of a joke or sarcasm. Maybe people just don't want to believe we are nearing the end?

Unless he clarifies his statement, i would say him saying "A17 is beta" means..... A17 is beta.

Isn't that what half you guys have been demanding? A released gold game? Well phase 2 on those guys getting it.

Important to remember Beta does not mean DONE. It means feature locked. No one said they cant ADD additional things and tweak existing things some more in Beta.

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Then you do side quests or whatever else. 7DTD is supposed to be a mix between Minecraft and Fallout according to MM and there's just no way a Fallout or Elder Scrolls game would be released without a full storyline in it.

No but you JUST said Minecraft. No story in Minecraft. So you nuked your own theory. And they ARE adding additional quests. NO ONE promised you cut scenes and pre recorded cinematic dialogue with a full story (beginning middle end) just a more fleshed out story.

 

[Gnomaana]

... 7DTD is supposed to be a mix between Minecraft and Fallout according to MM ....

Hell, its that now. It's funny that in your mind to be a mix of two things it has to have EVERYTHING from both. That's not how mixing works. You mix sugar and water and the result is neither as sweet as pure sugar or as tasteless as pure water. It is a blend of the two extremes. That's how I see this game already.

 

[JaxTeller718]

MM was definitely joking about it being BETA,

I honestly do not think he was. There are TWO instances of him alluding to it or even saying it. Maybe HE does not realize that it might be impossible to call it beta just yet, but from his perspective I dont think HE thinks he is joking. He may be wrong yes, but joking? Its possible someone told him after he posted that beta is a long reach for A17 but that post was definitely NOT a joke.

 

[Roland]

Then you do side quests or whatever else. 7DTD is supposed to be a mix between Minecraft and Fallout according to MM and there's just no way a Fallout or Elder Scrolls game would be released without a full storyline in it.

Yup

"Minecraft, Fallout, and Walking Dead had a baby" was the original elevator pitch

Fallout: RPG-like character progression

Walking Dead: Zombie threat

Minecraft: Story

 

[toores]

If we consider the whole package of sensory input (and the zombies could be sensing through smell just as well as through sight), the player is on as good or better than equal footing with the zombies. Blood Moon zombies sense the player through walls, but the player senses those zombies through walls, too, on account of all the noise they make. It’s not like they’re doing anything to conceal their presence. Add the fact that the player can see through glass (and shoot, and build, and craft...) and I don’t think the player’s getting the short end of the stick here.

I'm not saying it's too hard for a player. Not by a mile.

I'm just think, fixing all the horde night loopholes might "break" the game for some players if you can't tun of GPS zombies.

Let me explain what i mean.

I like having a base above ground, tower with a good view and so on, so i don't go underground. Mostly though i build a base on stilts. The reason for that is to avoid fixing my base every week. It takes a lot of time and i don't enjoy the repetitiveness of it at all. I like the survival, exploration, character leveling, item hunting, looting aspects much more and i hoping all this will become complex and challenging enough to keep me busy.

I would build on ground level if it was up to my actions whether i got targeted by a horde or not. Like if i was careless, i deserve the "punishment", but if i'm careful i can avoid it. This however is impossible at the moment. Once a week this game turns into unavoidable tower defence mode. I wish this would be a separate setting (horde on every x'th day) to have fun with friends in co-op but in SP i don't enjoy it much.

I would prefer if you could hide on blood mood. You'd have to not emit smell, not make noise, turn off all equipment, not be seen and so on, but you could actually be silent undetected ninja. OR leave your forge running (with the pillar of smoke) and turn your flood lights on to get the full attention of the horde. This would be win-win. Actually it would be more intuitive for new players as well. If ♥♥♥♥ gets scary, hide!

 

[Gnomaana]

Yup
"Minecraft, Fallout, and Walking Dead had a baby" was the original elevator pitch

Fallout: RPG-like character progression

Walking Dead: Zombie threat

Minecraft: Story

That type of comment is why me, and half the forum, has a man crush on you Roland. :encouragement:

Edit: Or is it just me and I've said too much?

 

[Aldranon]

From the original kickstarter they have always maintained that some features would come after gold release. The exact features saved until after release will be shuffled from what was mentioned in the kickstarter but there is no need for a couple more alphas. They could very easily go to Beta after alpha 17 and polish everything up to release standards and then add any missing features as DLCs afterward. They plan to continue fully supporting this game at least 2 years after release.

I'm all for DLC's as they work for many small gaming companies to keep all their people being paid. I will buy any DLC that adds something more than skins.

In order of my preference:

-Plots and campaigns

-Bigger maps (World map! )

-Airship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Those '!' are my army of Zombie Bears ready to board my fleet of airships and CONQUER THE WORLD!!)

-POI's

-Quests

-Gear, vehicals

 

[Maharin]

Sure, because releasing the game without the most important feature in it does make sense.

I would sincerely bet that most people that play this game do not play Navezgane frequently (maybe once per alpha release for most of us), which is where the story mode will take place. I think most people won't play story mode more than a few times through and then go back to playing random gen. And your view of it being "the most important feature" is obviously your opinion and one that I don't think is shared by a significant portion of the player base. Will it be welcomed by most? Sure! Will there be weeping and gnashing of teeth if it doesn't happen? Not bloody likely, if I must be British for a moment.

The main story arc doesn't have to be a major feature of 7DTD, it really doesn't. It certainly isn't why people have purchased it to this point considering it isn't even in the game yet. TFP isn't going to try to charge us for features they've said would be in the game that get implemented after the main release. In the grand scheme of things what is a release date anyway besides some arbitrary point in time? They will continue to add to this game for years to come and long before they stop doing that there will be 100's and perhaps 1000's of people adding to the game via mods. This game will likely never be finished so long as there are computers and operating systems capable of running it.

Just sayin'.

 

[DeadMole]

You just have to remember that you entered in on this early, whereas games that do NOT allow early access have already been in the works for years before you find out they even exist, which is why it seems like the big box brands are faster. When they're not, especially when you consider the team size.

I'm well aware of all that and I'm not surprised that the game does seem early in development still. But I remember MM posting something like who cares if it takes until 2030 to be finished and I was glad to read that, because A16 looks nowhere near finished.

Smooth random terrain was originally listed as a feature to come after release. By Deadmole's logic that would mean that the entire random gen world that the majority of the fans play in is not considered a main feature because it was planned at the beginning to be implemented after the game was released. But they decided to change things and move the the smooth random terrain up in priority (glad they did). If they now decide to put the main story into the priority slot that random gen used to occupy that doesn't change its importance.

You are seriously comparing a minor graphical improvement that was rightfully not going to be bothered with until after release with the main storyline of the game?

I laughed.
Yeh, they've said numerous times quests/dialogs/buffs were getting the much needed love in a17.

That may be, but it has zero to do with 7daystodie.

Glad to have given you a good laugh then.

I only came back to the forums recently so I missed that, but it's good to know then, because they are in dire need of some good loving.

Sure, the fact most early access survival games follow the same patern doesn't have anything to do with this one.

Who says the story is the most important feature?

Any game developer in their right mind? Ask Bethesda if they would ever release the next TES game without the main storyline in it just for fun.

 

[beerfly]

That type of comment is why me, and half the forum, has a man crush on you Roland. :encouragement:
Edit: Or is it just me and I've said too much?

You already said it. Take care of the consequences and he will take care of the naughty public here. He does it in the best way.

@DeadMole, we don`t even know what is gonna be exactly in A17 since its evolving in so many good ways. Everdeen could have lots of kids, you know ? We`ll find out. Take care and keep up with us.

 

[Roland]

You are seriously comparing a minor graphical improvement that was rightfully not going to be bothered with until after release with the main storyline of the game?

Hey, I'm Trolland and can spot a like-minded fellow from a mile away. Keep it going, man. You're baiting lots of hooks....lol

 

[Gnomaana]

You are seriously comparing a minor graphical improvement that was rightfully not going to be bothered with until after release with the main storyline of the game?

Minor? Now I know you don't much about game development. The improvements to RWG are nothing close to being just "minor graphical improvements"

Any game developer in their right mind? Ask Bethesda if they would ever release the next TES game without the main storyline in it just for fun.

Sure they would. If the story wasn't the main reason for the game, I'm sure they would release a game without one. If they thought it would sell they might even add one in as DLC.

 

[DeadMole]

Im curious. After vehicles and bandits, what features in their Kickstarter are missing? Certainly not TONS. What you WANT and what we get are two different things.
I'm having a nice laugh at all the people saying A17 is not beta and that MM was joking. His post LITERALLY said it is beta, with no hint of a joke or sarcasm. Maybe people just don't want to believe we are nearing the end?

Important to remember Beta does not mean DONE. It means feature locked. No one said they cant ADD additional things and tweak existing things some more in Beta.

No but you JUST said Minecraft. No story in Minecraft. So you nuked your own theory. And they ARE adding additional quests. NO ONE promised you cut scenes and pre recorded cinematic dialogue with a full story (beginning middle end) just a more fleshed out story.

I honestly have no idea since I haven't been playing from the beginning. I'm only naming features that makes sense, not what I personally want.

It didn't sound like a joke at all. I'm quite certain he was dead serious about the game being almost done. I remember him posting that fans were dreading the day it comes out of alpha, and I honestly am starting to.

Right, so all the main features should be in the game by then and as I said it seems to me there's still a lot missing but if they do add many more in the next couple of alphas it will seem closer to be completed.

"Nuked your own theory?" Ever heard of a little game called Minecraft Story Mode? Besides it's not a theory as you put it: the first objective of the main quest is already in the game and they can't just stop there, can they. Then again they might do like Minecraft and add the rest of the story afterwards.

Hell, its that now. It's funny that in your mind to be a mix of two things it has to have EVERYTHING from both. That's not how mixing works. You mix sugar and water and the result is neither as sweet as pure sugar or as tasteless as pure water. It is a blend of the two extremes. That's how I see this game already.

Nah, not everything. Just a little thing called the main quest, really nothing important apparently.

I would sincerely bet that most people that play this game do not play Navezgane frequently (maybe once per alpha release for most of us), which is where the story mode will take place. I think most people won't play story mode more than a few times through and then go back to playing random gen. And your view of it being "the most important feature" is obviously your opinion and one that I don't think is shared by a significant portion of the player base. Will it be welcomed by most? Sure! Will there be weeping and gnashing of teeth if it doesn't happen? Not bloody likely, if I must be British for a moment.
The main story arc doesn't have to be a major feature of 7DTD, it really doesn't. It certainly isn't why people have purchased it to this point considering it isn't even in the game yet. TFP isn't going to try to charge us for features they've said would be in the game that get implemented after the main release. In the grand scheme of things what is a release date anyway besides some arbitrary point in time? They will continue to add to this game for years to come and long before they stop doing that there will be 100's and perhaps 1000's of people adding to the game via mods. This game will likely never be finished so long as there are computers and operating systems capable of running it.

I play Navezgane a lot, and try to memorize the map so when quests will be sending players all over the place I'll know my way around. It would just be pretty fun to have said quests in the finished game eh?

@DeadMole, we don`t even know what is gonna be exactly in A17 since its evolving in so many good ways. Everdeen could have lots of kids, you know ? We`ll find out. Take care and keep up with us.

I'm looking forward to find out and plan to stick with the game until the end for sure.

Hey, I'm Trolland and can spot a like-minded fellow from a mile away. Keep it going, man. You're baiting lots of hooks....lol

Sad thing is, I'm not just a dead mole, but I'm dead serious too.

The improvements to RWG are nothing close to being just "minor graphical improvements"
Sure they would. If the story wasn't the main reason for the game, I'm sure they would release a game without one. If they thought it would sell they might even add one in as DLC.

RWG looking better is not what I would call a major feature, hence why it wasn't even planned to be in the game before release.

Who plays MMORPGs for the story? The honest awnser is no one whatsoever. Was there a main quest leading you to the end of the game in TESO when it was realsed as beta? Of COURSE there was.

 

[beerfly]

Welcome to our sanbox mate, don`t throw sand in other`s eyes. We cry like a babies.

 

[Maharin]

Welcome to our sanbox mate, don`t throw sand in other`s eyes. We cry like a babies.

Those aren't tears... they're disease vectors.

 

[Guppycur]

I honestly do not think he was. There are TWO instances of him alluding to it or even saying it. Maybe HE does not realize that it might be impossible to call it beta just yet, but from his perspective I dont think HE thinks he is joking. He may be wrong yes, but joking? Its possible someone told him after he posted that beta is a long reach for A17 but that post was definitely NOT a joke.

I took it as a joke, but honestly? I wouldn't care if it wasn't. Because it doesn't matter; you're absolutely right, it has to go beta at some point, and they've said numerous times they're willing to push features to post-gold, and no matter what there will be an end point. <shrug>

It's been fun, it's been unfun, it is what it is.

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@deadmole: I want to clarify, my "I laughed" wasn't from what you said, it was from what MM said that you referring to about a joke. I took it as one, but hey, I like to have fun. =)

 

[Brian9824]

I'm well aware of all that and I'm not surprised that the game does seem early in development still. But I remember MM posting something like who cares if it takes until 2030 to be finished and I was glad to read that, because A16 looks nowhere near finished.


You are seriously comparing a minor graphical improvement that was rightfully not going to be bothered with until after release with the main storyline of the game?

Glad to have given you a good laugh then.

I only came back to the forums recently so I missed that, but it's good to know then, because they are in dire need of some good loving.

Sure, the fact most early access survival games follow the same patern doesn't have anything to do with this one.

Any game developer in their right mind? Ask Bethesda if they would ever release the next TES game without the main storyline in it just for fun.

Your logic is pretty faulty. For one no one ever said it would have a story mode before release. Kickstarter even specifically says it might be added post release.

A story mode is not required to be successful as long as game play is fun. There are many games people don't play for the story.

 

[Maharin]

Why didn't the beta cross the road?

 

[Guppycur]

@trolland: Yeh he may be trolling, but I'm not sure you realize the level of frustration "out here" away from the spotlight and the knowledge you get from going to jira... people be frustrated homie. Not saying they're justified, but it's true, they really are. Communication is horrible, and I think you know it.

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Why didn't the beta cross the road?

To make the devs lots of money?