PC Developer Discussions: Alpha 17

[eidobunny]

whoa the hp bar is gone

 

[Azmodeth]

The old cheesy rooftop exploit or digging underground will not save you...

Can you elaborate please or give us a video of this at the least. This is the sort of video we would like to see, and actual change that affects almost everyone in a playstyle way.

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@madmole, thanks for video. Church look awesome!!! )
I want to ask about the distant trees in 17 Alpha. Can we see distant trees if we cut them down?

In 16 Alpha there is such a problem with buildings. We change or destroy the building, but in the distance everything looks as if nothing has changed.

Thanks!

yeah we destroy a POI and it still shows up in the distance as if nothing has happened.

 

[KingSlayerGM]

Thanks Joel for the new video!

The new trees look awesome and the fact that now they are rendered much farther away is great news! I love them

Spoiler

Damn, I really do not like the zombie hp bar. It is ugly, too big and it is activated before you even do damage. Sorry ):

 

[Gamida]

Release the Kraken

This gave me a bit of a surprise. I usually associate the releasing of the kraken with the release of a new alpha. I also noticed the avatar didn't change which would have also noted a release of a new alpha. I was confused, excited and disappointed.....puberty all over again....

 

[xXC.H.U.DXx]

This gave me a bit of a surprise. I usually associate the releasing of the kraken with the release of a new alpha. I also noticed the avatar didn't change which would have also noted a release of a new alpha. I was confused, excited and disappointed.....puberty all over again....

Welcome to my world.........

i just Lurk now

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I'm going to just say I got rekt hard in two cut video sequences. The AI mysteriously swarms around you and you get surrounded and with the new movement system you can't simply run circles around them any more, so combat and entering a POI is harder, the AI is better and you had better be on your toes. Manage your stamina too. It all needs much balancing, but I see this as "its going to be totally awesome, living in fear again" and there will be no safe place on horde night. The old cheesy rooftop exploit or digging underground will not save you.
BTW, I didn't get rekt because its too hard, but because I made mistakes. The levels are set up in a way to organically surround you if you aren't aware of your surroundings. I think footsteps are broken too so that added to me getting rekt.

Challenge excepted

 

[Xrt]

Not being safe on rooftops, or underground, is a huge new feature.

I really wish you could elaborate a few words on how this is done.

That is so cool. Not being safe on horde night is what it's all about, IMO

A17 looks great!!

 

[Crater Creator]

One thing that stood out to me in the video, or rather didn’t stand out, was the bleeding buff. Madmole’s character starts bleeding at two points in the video, and he applies a bandage one of those times. I noticed two indicators for bleeding: the buff icon, and the tooltip. I only noticed the tooltip on the second viewing, but in fairness it was still programmer text (“injurybleedingtooltip”).

In contrast, when the player’s fullness gets low (in A16), this gets an indicator in the form of a sound effect (stomach growling) every time it decreases, in addition to the buff icon. Bleeding damage is a more immediate concern than decreasing fullness, so it deserves more prominent feedback than the other in my view. And during combat, when it matters most, I’d sooner pick up on a pained grunt sound effect, or the screen flaring up red when my character bleeds, than a line of text.

 

[shaun279]

god damn that felt satisfying

 

[Data]

My thoughts

A few questions:-

1- I don’t think that the “health bar” at the top for zombies is really needed, it’s not as if this is a streetfighter or mortal combat 90’s arcade fight game, if you batter a zombie, and you havent finished him off, then thats your fault in not finishing the job, dont need to see a health bar

2- How much does Joel actually play the game? It’s funny watching his vid, he’s useless!

3- I love the current weapon/tool upgrade system, in having to scavenge for new parts, to upgrade them all at a workbench, putting them together, it adds to the overall, desolate theme to the game, making it a scale of 1-5 and that’s it, just seems pointless

but thanks for the update

 

[Menace312]

Zombies haven't been able to dig down for a long time now, that will get fixed if it isn't.

Sad to hear that. Now I can't have a nice garden if I build a basement...

That was the problem, they didn't take the house down. They run around break a few blocks but not actually do much damage to the building.

Yey! Now theres a reason to build intelligently (I hope).

I hope for many wtf moments

 

[kamer1337]

hp bar is placeholder for developers, it doesnt mean it will be in final alpha

 

[Crater Creator]

Zombies haven't been able to dig down for a long time now, that will get fixed if it isn't.

Excellent! There have been hundreds of pages of discussion on zombie digging around here, so I’ll just repeat one of the best ideas I’ve heard suggested. Instead of all zombies digging, have a digging specialist type that digs a hole, opening a path for the other non-diggers. This will ameliorate the ‘Swiss cheese problem’ and make dealing with the horde more situational a la spiders and vultures.

 

[Xeen]

Zombie wrecking machines? Yes please!

 

[xQuizate87]

I'm going to just say I got rekt hard in two cut video sequences. The AI mysteriously swarms around you and you get surrounded and with the new movement system you can't simply run circles around them any more, so combat and entering a POI is harder, the AI is better and you had better be on your toes. Manage your stamina too. It all needs much balancing, but I see this as "its going to be totally awesome, living in fear again" and there will be no safe place on horde night. The old cheesy rooftop exploit or digging underground will not save you.
BTW, I didn't get rekt because its too hard, but because I made mistakes. The levels are set up in a way to organically surround you if you aren't aware of your surroundings. I think footsteps are broken too so that added to me getting rekt.

OK I'm digging (pun intended) how underground is no longer safe. i'm just wondering about one cheesy strategy that i always employed was to swim out into the middle of a lake and just hold in the swim button until morning. are zeds going to be able to swim?

 

[Gobarg]

I know there is still a bit of time until actually being released but to my own utter astonishment I may actually live to see A17!

Also... ♥♥♥♥ cancer!

Thanks 7DTD for keeping me sane for so many many hours. So many good people here.

 

[Menace312]

I know there is still a bit of time until actually being released but to my own utter astonishment I may actually live to see A17!
Also... ♥♥♥♥ cancer!

Thanks 7DTD for keeping me sane for so many many hours. So many good people here.

Nice to see you're still with us Gobarg.

And yes, ♥♥♥♥ cancer!

 

[Phoenixshade35]

Hey Madmole, with the health bar in place, does this mean maybe we could have proceedurly stronger zombies? as in if the gamestage is going up maybe their health or LVL will increase as well? Would be neat to kill say one nurse who has like 100 health and find another one that has 120 because your gamestage is going up, what do you think? I only like the idea because it just means we can't become overly godly with our gear.

Question 2, its smaller, but do zombies actually aim for the head? ive never had to repair my helmet or face piece.

 

[eidobunny]

Hey Madmole, with the health bar in place, does this mean maybe we could have proceedurly stronger zombies? as in if the gamestage is going up maybe their health or LVL will increase as well? Would be neat to kill say one nurse who has like 100 health and find another one that has 120 because your gamestage is going up, what do you think? I only like the idea because it just means we can't become overly godly with our gear.
Question 2, its smaller, but do zombies actually aim for the head? ive never had to repair my helmet or face piece.

tbf zelda botw is garbage specifically because all the enemies scale with you so you never feel any stronger than you did in the beginning of the game. You should feel like you are getting stronger otherwise there's no point to technological or level progression

I hate artificially scaling enemies. Scaling difficulty in other ways is fine, like adding screamers, spiders, wights, and cops. Giving new abilities to the enemies, etc.

 

[beerfly]

Thank you for the video @madmole, love it. Can't wait to kick ass. And let mine be kicked by the new AI. Loved the art you added as a cover of the video !

Thanks for the bar Roland, was good one.

 

[Freshmint]

Hi Madmole, Thanks for the video. Will any of the melee weapons get some loving in regards to animations in A17? I've still noticed in the video that the spiked club is somewhat framey in its animation as well as other melee weapons and some guns(the axe is a a good example of what a nice smooth animation should look like and is currently implemented in A16). Also will zombies be tweaked in their reaction after being hit? I'm noticing some delayed reactions or no animation at all(especially when they are stunned on the ground). Even if its just a small jolt without triggering mo-cap could symbolize a hit. Loving the power swings and hope there's a sound to go with it.

I love melee in games and considering you spend a big part at the start using it(and later on) then it makes for a more polished experience.