PC Developer Discussions: Alpha 17

[Xtrakicking]

With the empty loot containers, you effectively sped up are looting process, which sucks, and we now have static blocks that are wasted in the world. Taking up two blocks if I'm not mistaken.

What was once a fully interactive world Is now becoming a static one. Boo, hiss.

With HitPoint indicators you now just took away the entire surprise and purpose of the knock down effect. Did you kill it? Is it safe to loot? Is it almost down? Can I swoop in with my club, or do I need to continue expending ammo?

Should I approach it and find out the hard way?

No need! Simply hover a weapon over your target and your battlesuits hud will tell you everything you need to know!

I 100% agree with the latter statement.

Now, I feel like the containers thing makes the world more "believable", since cupboards, fridges.. Etc.. no longer feel like they're just cubes painted to look like cupboards.

 

[Guppycur]

Agreed.
Right now when I encounter a glowing cop or some such high level zed its not really scary, just a waste of ammo.

I think once you reach a point where you have high level weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammo its time for a new start and the bullet sponges feel like a "quick and dirty" way to add difficulty.

I just don't see a feasible way around it; the engine can't handle the hundreds of zombies at once it would take to make numbers a threat, so we're either faced with bullet sponges (which I agree are boring) or special zombies (which we have, but I hate).

It's nothing but bad options.

Sure, you could add a few creepier effects, like having zombies crawl on ceilings and drop (good bye ledge defenses), or digging zombies, but these are only stop gaps.

No, we HAVE to have bandits, and they HAVE to have good AI, in order to have real enemy challenges.

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Now, I feel like the containers thing makes the world more "believable", since cupboards, fridges.. Etc.. no longer feel like they're just cubes painted to look like cupboards.

How believable is it that you can't close them, use them, or in any way interact with them except to destroy them? To me, that's worse than painted blocks because it's actually taking AWAY an interaction, and with the doors moving into the next voxel space, another block.

 

[Xtrakicking]

The health bar makes me think the bosses are going to be bullet sponges. I really hate bullet sponges as ways to make stuff harder.

I *also* agree with this.

And I'm seriously wondering what kind of bosses we'll have. I'm feeling like the game will slowly look like a doom game at the end of it.

 

[Gazz]

Every single time. Without some algorithm determining whether or not a specific mag extended will add 1, 3, or 6 to a pistol. It should hold what it holds, not ".8" of a round.

If you have the same mag extender it will do that every single time. A different one may be better or worse.

As for installing one with a 10% increase for an 8 round magazine... learn to math.

That's like installing a different spring on the firing pin of a bolt action rifle and expecting a higher rate of fire. That's not how it works...

 

[TSBX]

RE: Cupboards, please don't make EVERY lootable one guaranteed to have loot. Just because the door is closed doesn't mean it hasn't been looted, or had anything inside to begin with.

 

[NIN]

I think health bars are good depending how you look at it, should show if we hold alt or set it, i think hp bars are good the fact u are killing something you know what zombie to kill first rather another player picking all the weak zombies down and trolling for exp.

 

[Xtrakicking]

I think health bars are good depending how you look at it, should show if we hold alt or set it, i think hp bars are good the fact u are killing something you know what zombie to kill first rather another player picking all the weak zombies down and trolling for exp.

The problem isn't the healthbars, it's that we can't turn them off.

 

[Survager]

RE: Cupboards, please don't make EVERY lootable one guaranteed to have loot. Just because the door is closed doesn't mean it hasn't been looted, or had anything inside to begin with.

This is already in the game in the form of cash registers. Closed can be searched, and open can not be.

 

[Guppycur]

If you have the same mag extender it will do that every single time. A different one may be better or worse.
As for installing one with a 10% increase for an 8 round magazine... learn to math.

That's like installing a different spring on the firing pin of a bolt action rifle and expecting a higher rate of fire. That's not how it works...

Math has no role in this, except simple addition. You have an extender that holds a SET amount of rounds. Period. It doesn't scale. Period.

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I think health bars are good depending how you look at it, should show if we hold alt or set it, i think hp bars are good the fact u are killing something you know what zombie to kill first rather another player picking all the weak zombies down and trolling for exp.

I just know that when I'm on my perch and I run out of sniper rounds, I'll be calling down to Doom, Aurelius and Stompy as to which zombies they should be melee'ing based on their low health, because now I have this nifty indicator of who's going to go down easily.

 

[Roland]

Everyone here is rambling on about a health-bar (which IMHO needs to be removed if food/thirst-bars are not present on the HUD), and I'm just wondering why bandits and the breadcrumb system are being postponed again and again..

Every time Madmole shows 3rd person mocap improvements to the player character model that is also progress for bandits.

Stamina does not fill the bar completely (maximum 97/100) maybe it's fatigue?

This IS what I was referring to but it has a lot more significance than simply fatigue. Maybe Gazz will come on and give some details on the new Integrated Survival System since it has technically been shown now. All I'll say is that A17 will end the #hungerandthirstbargate once and for all...

Things I have spotted so far:
snip

Wow. You sure you don't want Sherlock as your handle?

 

[Spiked_Coffee]

No gore block

 

[TSBX]

This is already in the game in the form of cash registers. Closed can be searched, and open can not be.

You're absolutely right. I hadn't thought of that. That doesn't mean it's a compelling gameplay feature however, especially taking into consideration how many cupboards there are in a given world compared to the number of cash registers.

 

[meganoth]

and with the doors moving into the next voxel space, another block.

Whats the problem with that? Cupboards need open space before them anyways, otherwise you wouldn't be able to open the doors.

All I'll say is that A17 will end the #hungerandthirstbargate once and for all...

Now its a combined stat named thunger and you need to eat donuts dunked into tea to fill you up. #thungergate coming up

Earnestly this sounds like max stamina will slowly diminish the hungrier and thirstier you are, which means stamina bar is the new hunger and thirst bar.

 

[Xtrakicking]

How believable is it that you can't close them, use them, or in any way interact with them except to destroy them? To me, that's worse than painted blocks because it's actually taking AWAY an interaction, and with the doors moving into the next voxel space, another block.

Ok, you have a fair point. Looks like the best solution would be for containers to be open when they're empty and closed when they have sth in them.

No, we HAVE to have bandits, and they HAVE to have good AI, in order to have real enemy challenges.

Yeah. Either that or, once again, make zombies more challenging. Some abilities such as grappling/leaping could make a small group deadly.

It's what makes NMRIH zombies hard. Once they grab you, they won't let go unless you push them away.

 

[Odetta]

(Vanilla) Cupboards are one of the least interesting things to loot anyway, After day 1-2 I don't even bother to check them. Unless they change the loot tables I can't see this changing.

Mods on the other hand....

 

[Haidrgna]

Every time Madmole shows 3rd person mocap improvements to the player character model that is also progress for bandits.


This IS what I was referring to but it has a lot more significance than simply fatigue. Maybe Gazz will come on and give some details on the new Integrated Survival System since it has technically been shown now. All I'll say is that A17 will end the #hungerandthirstbargate once and for all...

Wow. You sure you don't want Sherlock as your handle?

Maybe, but Sherlock is more observant than I am.

But this is clever, I see it now (I think).

Your maximum stamina is now determined by you fullness and or hydration. So if you keep yourself fed you have more stamina at your disposal. So basically you can see how much hunger/thirst you have by looking at your stamina Will make keeping yourself fed more important than it already was, since I think it already affected your regeneration rate before.

As for the cupboards, I think the idea is nice, the implementation is a bit a off. Ideally a closed one would turn to an open one after looting (but might still have items in it) an open one will show a player its likely been searched before and will this take its loot from a different table with lower chances or less stuff. I would certainly use these models that way in my mod, loot something and it turns into a open one.

 

[Survager]

This IS what I was referring to but it has a lot more significance than simply fatigue. Maybe Gazz will come on and give some details on the new Integrated Survival System since it has technically been shown now. All I'll say is that A17 will end the #hungerandthirstbargate once and for all...

Roland, where is my reward? ) How many points of experience do I have? )))

 

[Guppycur]

Whats the problem with that? Cupboards need open space before them anyways, otherwise you wouldn't be able to open the doors.

True... okay, I can accept that's not a negative, but my other point still stands; they're now static blocks that serve no purpose other than to give me a quick indication whether or not I should bother to loot them, which means I'll be in and out of houses more quickly. And I don't like that. First thing I'll mod is make them lootable.

 

[Anabella]

We could have a zombie that is going to send out a burst of radiation that you need to get away from for a few seconds then you could go back in to fight it. Would have a sound cue to let you know when it was going to do the special attack. But none of this blowing up and doing tons of block damage. I am so over all the holes in the ground from exploding zeds. The block damage and the fact that cops can spit directions they aren't looking are the things that bother me about them.

 

[Xtrakicking]

True... okay, I can accept that's not a negative, but my other point still stands; they're now static blocks that serve no purpose other than to give me a quick indication whether or not I should bother to loot them, which means I'll be in and out of houses more quickly. And I don't like that. First thing I'll mod is make them lootable.

The rotten food inside the fridges looks frigging cool, though.