PC Developer Discussions: Alpha 17

[The Gronk]

No , no, it is my vision on the problem , not pimps`.

The old "gore block" mechanic was a great idea which solved this problem. It needed a lot of work though, essentially a gore block was "soil" and so didn't mesh well with static defences such as spikes, the zombies also tended to ignore the fact that they could climb them. Some sort of soil block with a spike embedded in it might be a possible fix to the first problem and the second problem is purely AI.

With those two problems fixed I think gore blocks would still be around today.

 

[beerfly]

The old "gore block" mechanic was a great idea which solved this problem. It needed a lot of work though, essentially a gore block was "soil" and so didn't mesh well with static defences such as spikes, the zombies also tended to ignore the fact that they could climb them. Some sort of soil block with a spike embedded in it might be a possible fix to the first problem and the second problem is purely AI.
With those two problems fixed I think gore blocks would still be around today.

It will add more "wt*" ingame , having only 2 block high concrete wall is just supressing the experience. And it feels too easy

I know pimps will manage this out in a proper way.

 

[spud42]

gore blocks merged. on horde night Zombies did climb over them, or were pushed up them. I had a base invasion because of it.. was sad to see the blocks go but its for the better in the long run.

 

[DaVegaNL]

How about gore blocks 'merging' with a spike-block if it's located on top of one? It would (temporarily?) disable the spike, until it's been cleared by the player. That way spikes will be a bit more balanced I think.

 

[The Gronk]

How about gore blocks 'merging' with a spike-block if it's located on top of one? It would (temporarily?) disable the spike, until it's been cleared by the player. That way spikes will be a bit more balanced I think.

That was definitely a good solution but it requires compound blocks which weren't (and may not yet be) integrated into the game engine.

 

[Cazmyr]

How about gore blocks 'merging' with a spike-block if it's located on top of one? It would (temporarily?) disable the spike, until it's been cleared by the player. That way spikes will be a bit more balanced I think.

+1

That is a great idea and I do think that spikes need 'balancing' or to put it more plainly, they need to be nerfed.

They are too easy to make and too powerful.

 

[Shado47]

Well that's a fantastic general policy Gronky. But I was being specific to this guy who right away says why only spiders should break blocks downward and trying to put a limit on what faatal might wanna do right after faatal comes on and optimistically says he'll look at it. That's exactly what's wrong with these forums. Devs show stuff and people pick it apart. Devs give a plan and people say why it won't work. maybe they already got the animations for hitting up but haven't used em yet. anyone think about that? why would faatal even say he'd look into it if there were no animations to use?
when i think about ideas being thrown around i'm thinking about how can we do more and not less. its the tone of it. i prolly wouldn't say something if he was like "Spiders and crawlers and dogs would already be perfect for that ability" instead of saying it can't be done because of animations. And poop in the toilet? I thought that was the devs joking around between themselves and put it in as joke at first but then kept it in and then stole the fertilzier idea from Ark. who in the forums ever said poop?

I wasnt trying to put a limit on anything, just making suggestions based on what seemed adequate. I wasnt trying to be a ♥♥♥♥ towards faatal, I was trying to be helpful and offer advice because if you think about it, having zombies destroy blocks below them with an animation where they punch something on a height 2 blocks above them, players would immediately start complaining again how it breaks immersion and all that. So I was making suggestions how it would be possible to implement it without new mocap animations through using the spidey and crawlers, while at the same time saying that for best immersion a new set of mocap animations would be required to make it look adequate for the rest of the zombies.

There is no need whatsoever to attack me over this. And critizising my tone is quite hilarious considering yours. I was merely making friendly suggestions, not trying to force my will onto someone or anything. If you cant deal with that, retreat to your safespace.

+1
That is a great idea and I do think that spikes need 'balancing' or to put it more plainly, they need to be nerfed.

They are too easy to make and too powerful.

I really like this idea. Could even be taken further by having multiple spike models for "fill up" states of the spikes. Like the old cobblestone frame when you put cobblestones inside of them, it would fill up by just a part with each cobblestone resource added. So one dead zombie on a spike, the spikes still stand out alot and deal alot of damage. Two dead zombies, not as much. Three dead zombies, just very little of the spikes stand out, minor damage. Four dead zombies, the whole spikes are just cluttered with dead zombie and don't deal any damage anymore.

 

[DaVegaNL]

That was definitely a good solution but it requires compound blocks which weren't (and may not yet be) integrated into the game engine.

Ah, that's unfortunate Was just something which popped into my head.

 

[Cazmyr]

*Snipped*

I really like this idea. Could even be taken further by having multiple spike models for "fill up" states of the spikes. Like the old cobblestone frame when you put cobblestones inside of them, it would fill up by just a part with each cobblestone resource added. So one dead zombie on a spike, the spikes still stand out alot and deal alot of damage. Two dead zombies, not as much. Three dead zombies, just very little of the spikes stand out, minor damage. Four dead zombies, the whole spikes are just cluttered with dead zombie and don't deal any damage anymore.

I like that idea! That would give them a limitation, and a realistic one at that, to their use. Not to mention the added bonus of that image is gross! 4 dead bodies on a spike?! And, of course, that is PERFECT for a zombie game!

 

[Lonestarcanuck]

Beehives, we need beehives.

that would be nice. there use to be beehives in 13.x you would find bees living in broken buildings. it was a lot of fun.

 

[spacepiggio]

Been away for a while moving into my own Music & Art Studio & playing a long term game now that we are stable for the time being.

It has been pretty Toxic here & I noticed the Pimps post on the Haters demanding an update when they should just play the game. Doesn't matter if they Update the Game the Haters will just another 1 after playing in C/M for a couple days, it never ends and this Thread has pretty much turned into General Discussion & you can not find the relative posts because they are swamped with Chit Chat.

I got a couple suggestions in the game already, I think I was the first to want the Rattle Snake in the Desert & the Timer on the Forge is not what I had wanted but it is a start so I hope these might get added too.

Now what I want to know is if the Water Mechanics is going to get addressed soon, I have noticed a lot of missing water blocks in the lakes.

I also want to give my viewpoint of the Raft MM was talking about. I do not like running in place to move. I would rather see an Oar at the rear & move it side to side to move. I would also like to see more than 1 boat like a raft for early game & a new tool to carve a Dugout Canoe & the last 1 would be a canoe with a lead pipe, motor & prop to speed across the water, like they have in Indonesia or China. Maybe even a sailing vessel would be fun.

I would also like to have floating bridges by using the same Canoe & the Cat Walks so you don't have to die every time you place pillars for a bridge across the water. I have been building a lot of bridges in my new game & it would be so much easier with a Floating Pontoon Bridge.

I still want to see early weapons, we got lead & a Cooking Pot early game so I want to dip my Club in Lead then Glass or nails, maybe fill the club with lead. More Ammo for the BB or get rid of it, Lead Weights, Glass, for Ammo early game. I got a few more ideas but I have a Sound Guy coming over to give me some advice on setting up my Recording Rooms, doorbell is ringing will post the other Ideas later,

Dwell on those for a while.

 

[Tman]

I wouldn't have chosen Subnautica as a good example of plot in a game. It's a single plot arc with absolutely no branches, no choices, and no variation. After you play through it once what is there to bring you back for another game?
At least with something like Mass Effect, or if you're old enough Knights of the Old Republic, your choices matter. Something you do early on can have a huge impact on how the game plays out. It's a kind of emergent behavior although I'd be the first to admit that it's far more difficult to create such a system by hand and damn near (but not quite) impossible to do it procedurally.

I've played through Skyrim enough times that my most recent character hasn't done a single quest that was actually built into the base game. There's a mod that gives you random quests from notice boards outside the taverns, some of which are either too easy or too difficult for a character of your level. Although these are also single plot-arcs the variation and prompting to tackle something incredibly difficult for your level is what keeps it interesting. I ended up killing a Mammoth while my character was level 16. A frikkin' Mammoth and I haven't even got my big-boy armour yet

View attachment 24309

Ofc going full RPG would be awesome, but seriously burst the limits I'm pretty shure. That's why I brought up Subnautica as an imho good example of how to intertwine the gameplay elements of the standard game with a plot to widen their extend without/less overburdening during developement. Making the world less exchangeable and giving it more meaning by influencing aspects (all the "W"s). Subnautica did a nice job there imho balancing the trade-off. So it's not the optimum for me but a minimum.

 

[faatal]

Deepest Thoughts by Jack Handy

I wasnt trying to put a limit on anything, just making suggestions based on what seemed adequate. I wasnt trying to be a ♥♥♥♥ towards faatal, I was trying to be helpful and offer advice because if you think about it, having zombies destroy blocks below them with an animation where they punch something on a height 2 blocks above them, players would immediately start complaining again how it breaks immersion and all that. So I was making suggestions how it would be possible to implement it without new mocap animations through using the spidey and crawlers, while at the same time saying that for best immersion a new set of mocap animations would be required to make it look adequate for the rest of the zombies.

Just to state my personal philosophy to all:

I was a fan of the game before I started working on it. I want improvements I consider to be fun to me, while also making a successful product. I run the game many times every workday as I develop it, so I generally see all the same issues as everyone else and think the same "that sucks, we need to fix it" thoughts.

No one's negative or positive posts are making me do anything. I choose to make the game better based on my judgement and management's opinions of what needs to be done, based on priorities and bit of "this would be fun to do right now". BLIMP! Negative and positive feedback can be useful to help align my goals with yours. Stating the obvious will generally be ignored, while thoughtful posts will be considered and possibly responded to, so cheer up.

In the end, I want the best game possible, with every cool feature we could think of, that everyone wants to play, but time is always the limiting factor.

 

[Seaside]

Fishing is something that has had a lot of discussion in the past, I don't think its coming in A17 ? but what are the Pimps plans (If any) regarding adding it in the future ?

 

[fragtzack]

Is the red hp status bar going to be removed from the playable release?

 

[The Gronk]

Fishing is something that has had a lot of discussion in the past, I don't think its coming in A17 ? but what are the Pimps plans (If any) regarding adding it in the future ?

Legend tells of a "water update" whose idea has been floating around (pun intended) for quite some time now but other game mechanics have had a priority. Don't expect it for this alpha but yes, the aquatic biome is scheduled to get some pimp love.

 

[The Gronk]

Ofc going full RPG would be awesome, but seriously burst the limits I'm pretty shure. That's why I brought up Subnautica as an imho good example of how to intertwine the gameplay elements of the standard game with a plot to widen their extend without/less overburdening during developement. Making the world less exchangeable and giving it more meaning by influencing aspects (all the "W"s). Subnautica did a nice job there imho balancing the trade-off. So it's not the optimum for me but a minimum.

This is true, Subnautica does its sense of progression incredibly well.

The limiting factor on extensive plot and twists is time. With a reasonably simple programming back-end system most plot arcs are essentially a lot of movie script writing. Every choice requires another lot of writing so it can quickly become large and hard to debug.

Hopefully the modders will have access to the back-end system to create rich and varied plots. I'm pretty sure this will be done

 

[Seaside]

Legend tells of a "water update" whose idea has been floating around (pun intended) for quite some time now but other game mechanics have had a priority. Don't expect it for this alpha but yes, the aquatic biome is scheduled to get some pimp love.

Sweet ! Guess I'll keep bobbing along til it trickles in . Thanks for the info

 

[Gnomaana]

Sweet ! Guess I'll keep bobbing along til it trickles in . Thanks for the info

Really? You should be ashamed of yourself. Lol.

 

[ravend]

It's not like there is a tidal wave of information. But there is enough keep it flowing.