PC Developer Discussions: Alpha 17

[Tearstone]

With all this worrying before the fact, we should have quite the lively General Discussions forum after A17 drops and people get to actually play with the changes.
After catching up, the only thing I feel compelled to say is that the developers view the xml files as the ultimate options screen. Nobody should ever feel as though they are cheating by editing the xml files. The developers have their vision and that is vanilla. You can change some settings through the options menu (which edits the xml files for you) or you can directly edit the xml files yourself for more specific and refined options that align with your play preferences.

These long dev cycles are the perfect opportunity to go into the files and start experimenting and making changes to things so you know how to use the ultimate options menu that the devs have given us. You can always verify the integrity of your files in Steam to reset everything back to vanilla if you mess up and can’t figure out how to fix it.

If you’ve never done it before I recommend starting in the recipes file and try altering some of the recipes. Something as simple as adding nails to the wood Frame block recipe can have huge gameplay repercussions. It’s pretty amazing and it’s just the beginning of what you can learn to change.

This post, I like it! Another!

I do a few changes in A16 myself, for one I remove animal hide from butchering animals and just replace it with leather, as the leather skill is no longer book locked, I also change any recipe that requires animal hide to use leather instead. I also edit painkillers, back to -5 hydration like they used to be, I dunno about you but when I take a pain pill irl I don't become super dehydrated like that so I feel it was a tad over done. I usually edit the forge recipe to need the combined mats that would make up the bellows+forge to craft so its all in 1 recipe. That's about all I mod in vanilla in A16. Who knows what I'll mess with in a17-e, I need to play the base game first, but I suspect I can do the leather change in it most likely.

I actually like those changes, and agree with the lesser hydration penalty. Though the body DOES require some water to process medications.

RE: PAPER!

In the real world paper is one of the most prevalent things you can find. I have reams of paper within arms reach. I have an entire bookshelf FULL of books, from novels to RPG books. There are at least a dozen notebooks. Not to mention the paper in DVD cases, random pieces of mail, and so on.

Mind you, I used to get annoyed at how much paper I would find, but that's before I started playing heavily, and made shotguns usually my primary weapon when I have them. Now I'm always happy to find paper or something that can be made into it. I rarely run out. BUT! If people -are- running out, maybe the drop rate should be increased, reflecting the real world and how easy it is to find. I mean you'd practically be tripping over it any time you went to a house, super market, gas station, apartment building. Bookstores and libraries are the holy grail... or you know.. a paper mills, print shops, etc.

I do think the drop rate for brass could be increased. The doorknob on doors idea is good. Like paper I used to get annoyed by how much brass stuff I found. It used to be 'useless junk' to me. How I will try to bring home as much as I can to make ammunition with. It's funny how much time and experience changes what we hold as valuable versus not valuable.

Anyway, ignore my mad ramblings. I've been alone too long and talking to myself has become unhealthy.

 

[Roland]

If they don't change the vanilla quests, then the "challenges" you find in the world are repeatable and give about 2 skill points if my memory is correct.
So worse case, you can just farm those.

Just confirmed with Prime. The challenge quests in the form of notes now grant experience points instead of spendable skill points. He also said their format will change but he did not elaborate. Looks like level 200 will be a hard cap with no fudging past it in A17 vanilla.

 

[Xeen]

"I'll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda." ...

The chronic.

 

[The Gronk]

Just confirmed with Prime. The challenge quests in the form of notes now grant experience points instead of spendable skill points. He also said their format will change but he did not elaborate. Looks like level 200 will be a hard cap with no fudging past it in A17 vanilla.

I can see the logic, although I don't necessarily agree with it, in limiting levels on a multiplayer server. My concern is that one of the few late-game challenges has been removed... maxing out your character. Is it worth removing a late-game challenge in a game with few enough of those as it is without any clear replacement?

 

[Lonestarcanuck]

We need wind mills. nuff said

or Water catchers. we have the technology

 

[Aldranon]

Just confirmed with Prime. The challenge quests in the form of notes now grant experience points instead of spendable skill points. He also said their format will change but he did not elaborate. Looks like level 200 will be a hard cap with no fudging past it in A17 vanilla.

Well, it was said we have enough to max out two and a half perk trees.

My guess of the "Tree/Category/whatever" are:

- Ranged weapons

- Melee weapons

- Scavenging

- Stealth

- Construction

@Roland, anything you would like to add/subtract so we can make informed guesses?

Total points at level 200 and points needed to max out each category (if they are different) would be nice as well.

This way people will not sound so silly when they say what they will need before they know anything.

 

[ParadiseLostUK]

Just confirmed with Prime. The challenge quests in the form of notes now grant experience points instead of spendable skill points. He also said their format will change but he did not elaborate. Looks like level 200 will be a hard cap with no fudging past it in A17 vanilla.

Will it be possible to change rewards back to skill points in xml? I'm quite interested in getting involved with the modding side of this game and this could come in handy

 

[Tearstone]

2001 was a good album.

But no.. that's from a game.

 

[Lonestarcanuck]

A18 Feature List:

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

 

[Menace312]

luftskib

Sjovt

 

[Tearstone]

or Water catchers. we have the technology

It's not hard to build a small wind turbine for power for a home or house, IRL. Shouldn't be that hard to do after SHTF. Would give another form of power generation. Or you could harness it for mechanical energy.

If water actually flowed, could do the same for hydro power.

Also... I really really wonder why there aren't rain catchment systems in 7 Days. This is something I've been wanting for a while and is easy to rig up. I pretty much have a recipe figured out for it, especially once we have the small decorative pipes.

Would be useful anyway, and leans more toward the survival aspect of the game. Someone with a little bushcraft or survival knowledge should be able to pull it off in short order. And I do feel like those who actually know something IRL should be able to capitalize on that. BUT.. it's a time vs money vs what can be coded, and of course there's the art assets too.

So... more mad ramblings. *retreats back into hut*

 

[Dr00py_P3n15]

I'm here to complain about the skill points on behalf of at least 10 team members. We don't want "specialization". STUPID

 

[Rapunzel]

A18 Feature List:- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to turn your underwear inside out and wear it for another day

 

[crazywildfire]

I'm here to complain about the skill points on behalf of at least 10 team members. We don't want "specialization". STUPID

Do you have a better argument then because it is stupid?

One group of people are going to like and say that it is stupid not to have it this way. The other group that don't like find it stupid to have it this way.

So basically it just goes back a forth with no real argument other then it is stupid. The question is how do we really know as of now if it is stupid if we don't even know how it is implanted and or what all they do with it when it all is finished. I about guaranteed that A17 will not be the final version of it and they will do some more adjusting with it. But either way nobody has even tested it out yet to see what it is and how exactly it will work to know if it is good or bad.

Edit: oh yeah and if it is still "stupid" guess what you can change it by editing the XML files.

 

[Guppycur]

or Water catchers. we have the technology

I know, right? Water buckets that "grow" when sitting in rain. The tech is more or less already there I would think... since plants use sunlight to grow.

 

[Xeen]

A18 Feature List:- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

- Ability to Change underwear

What?

- Ability to turn your underwear inside out and wear it for another day

Seriously what?

 

[KingSlayerGM]

@Roland

Why capping the max level to force players to make choices over which skills to get?I don't think this makes much sense and here's why.

You still have to make choices whether the max level is 200 or 500 or 1000. I am still going to play ~60 hours before reaching level 200. So I am playing ~60 hours without having all the skills I would like to have. Also keep in mind that even at level 200 I still need to play probably 50 more hours to get everything maxed out.

Capping max level does not force you to choose any more than not having a cap. I am still going to start from the same skills as always. Same with cap at 200 or 500.

Capping the max level just reduces end game purpose to me.

 

[Dr00py_P3n15]

@crzywildfire

That was painful to read. This handicaps solo players, especially in PVP (which TFP already said they don't care about PVP so not surprising). Vanilla is already very difficult to max everything, so yes, it has been "tested". They are further handicapping now.

 

[LawofJohn]

Yea the whole specialization is gonna kill SP. Unless we want to cheat and add it in the console.

 

[Dr00py_P3n15]

@RolandWhy capping the max level to force players to make choices over which skills to get?I don't think this makes much sense and here's why.

You still have to make choices whether the max level is 200 or 500 or 1000. I am still going to play ~60 hours before reaching level 200. So I am playing ~60 hours without having all the skills I would like to have. Also keep in mind that even at level 200 I still need to play probably 50 more hours to get everything maxed out.

Capping max level does not force you to choose any more than not having a cap. I am still going to start from the same skills as always. Same with cap at 200 or 500.

Capping the max level just reduces end game purpose to me.

Max level has always been capped..?