Jars, Dew Collectors, And Survival

[Roland]

But alot of people aren't on just the forums

Twitter, YouTube comments, live streams, etc and alot of people aren't happy.

That's why I wrote "message boards". I was grouping all online complaining together. It's a lot of people to be sure but it still doesn't represent the whole population. Think about a game you own that you just play and are not at all involved with any online community talking about it. THAT is the silent majority of players for this game too.

Now we can imagine that most of them are playing and enjoying it, or we can imagine that most of them are playing and being miserable, or we can imagine that most of them are playing modded-- whatever copium works to make us feel better...haha.

@Roadkill115, you deleted your post but I wanted to answer you that Rick gets very detailed reports from Steam. He doesn't always share the details but he monitors things closely. That report was for individual players who booted up the game during the month of July and it broke them down into the various versions available. There's a lot of unknowns still, of course, such as modded vs unmodded or gameplay length etc.

Those who want to believe that most players are unhappy with 2.0 can still believe it and those who want to believe that most players are happy with 2.0 can believe that regardless of the report. I brought it up because there was a sentiment that perhaps most players aren't even playing 2.0 and the report definitively answers that question. Most people in the player population play whatever the current stable version is. Period. And I think that goes back to what I stated up above...most are not following community discourse online and are probably unaware they can play an older version.

 

[Lax]

Does the crafting of any survival gear require a workbench? Uh oh, there's an idea...

 

[Roland]

that's just steam users, that have their profile set to public and are online in the social tab*

That's not completely accurate. Steam collects data for every user that boots up a game using steam whether they have their profile set to public or private. But it does not collect data for games that are booted up in offline mode. So if you play in offline mode your hours played won't be accurate and your session won't count towards the concurrent players online report.

Of course, that just means that there are possibly even more players out there playing 7 Days to Die than Steamcharts shows.

 

[4sheetzngeegles]

There is one numeric that is never spoken about, sort of the forgotten
stepchild. There are those that play solely offline. Like me, I had 37 minutes that
I could be associated with on any play chart. It didn't change until I think it was
v1.0 or whichever one needed you to play online to load passed the splash screen.

Now it is 17.7 hours, first because when it first happened the first time i got caught
up in the game, and forgot to turn off my inet connection. The second was playing for a
while with one of my friends that I bought the console for, turns out he had the pc version
now he has both. But he hadn't played in a long time and didn't even know of the updates.

After playing with him and watching him run around, like a monkey freed from a box, and getting
me killed 10 times, trying to save him when he went all Mortal Kombat with his fists and naked in all high tier
pois, in the wasteland. So I decided to keep the friendship and lose the connection, so I'm playing offline again.

I only turn on my connection, when I am in front of my computer. A learned habit from passed job.

Fortunately for me I found the forum, and many modders showed me how to turn my crazy, and many times
totally unpopular ideas into my own world.

So when showing numbers on either side, please include 1 extra. ■■■■ it I count too!

I'm starting to feel a little left out.....Pouty face.

It would probably be more accurate, if the numbers were based on the download of each alpha associated only
once per steam ID. Although there are also probably some that have a lot of alternate accounts for.........Reasons.

 

[Roland]

@4sheetzngeegles I've read too many of your posts to believe you would be in any majority even if your plays were counted.

 

[4sheetzngeegles]

Im still laughing with tears in my eyes.

I knew you would get it. Just wasn't expecting it so soon. Made me spit out my coffee.

 

[MasterJar]

The game is already highly optimized. If it were not, you would get 5 FPS.

Optimizing is typically a diminishing return process. In the beginning say you get some code to run 100% faster. Next time 20%, then 5%, then you can barely find anything to make that code faster and your time is better spent elsewhere.

AI or pathing is not the performance bottleneck with zombies. Easily shown by turning off AI and the frame rate barely improves. Most performance goes to culling, drawing, colliding and animation which is largely time spent by Unity.

I'm going to be honest, this is how I feel about The Fun Pimps, and it’s been weighing on me. Watching "Guns, Nerds, and Steel" start an Alpha 16 playthrough (check it out here:

), it was amazing to see REAL farming, the stun bonuses I’d forgotten about, and even the barrel you could use for a trap, so many elements of a true survival game that have been lost over time. They told us, "Our team grew from humble beginnings making mods for games and those roots have taken seed. But we haven’t forgotten where we came from. We want to build more than a game we want to build a community and relationship with our customers taking input, feedback and ideas early on and working them into the game. It’s not just our game is everyone’s game!" But it feels like a letdown. To me, it seems they tricked us into giving our money with promises of a game where our feedback would shape the experience, only to use it to create what they wanted instead. They’ve altered systems we enjoyed instead of enhancing them, disregarded our input unless it fits their plan, and misled us with words we wanted to hear. This is my personal take, and it’s frustrating to feel this way.

 

[Kalnazzar]

I'm going to be honest, this is how I feel about The Fun Pimps, and it’s been weighing on me. Watching "Guns, Nerds, and Steel" start an Alpha 16 playthrough (check it out here:

), it was amazing to see REAL farming, the stun bonuses I’d forgotten about, and even the barrel you could use for a trap, so many elements of a true survival game that have been lost over time. They told us, "Our team grew from humble beginnings making mods for games and those roots have taken seed. But we haven’t forgotten where we came from. We want to build more than a game we want to build a community and relationship with our customers taking input, feedback and ideas early on and working them into the game. It’s not just our game is everyone’s game!" But it feels like a letdown. To me, it seems they tricked us into giving our money with promises of a game where our feedback would shape the experience, only to use it to create what they wanted instead. They’ve altered systems we enjoyed instead of enhancing them, disregarded our input unless it fits their plan, and misled us with words we wanted to hear. This is my personal take, and it’s frustrating to feel this way.

This rings true to me. It seems all they do now is gather their dedicated echo chamber of fanboys to attack the very players who helped build the game from the ground up. It feels like they no longer care about all their players, only valuing those who align with their goals, while disregarding the rest.

 

[Roadkill115]

it was amazing to see REAL farming, the stun bonuses I’d forgotten about, and even the barrel you could use for a trap, so many elements of a true survival game that have been lost over time.

I know how you feel (and agree with you), every time they cut something or change a core feature (like; LBD, jars, clothing and temperature, or farming; i miss my rooftop gardens ) the game loses something I too would have liked to have seen THAT 7 Days developed. But I really think this should probably be its own thread or maybe townhall or spend 2 minutes in general discussion you will find 5 more threads echoing your complaints. *edit oof i left out the main part of what i meant to quote i just meant to cut the video out

 

[murky water]

This rings true to me. It seems all they do now is gather their dedicated echo chamber of fanboys to attack the very players who helped build the game from the ground up. It feels like they no longer care about all their players, only valuing those who align with their goals, while disregarding the rest.

buddy, you might need to go play something else for a while if you are getting so riled up over a videogame that you have to craft a narrative of oppression and aggression to justify why you personally are not satisfied. please, i am not being twee when i say it is time to step back and decompress. this is not healthy.

 

[Roadkill115]

we are wayyy of topic i think this is supposed to be discussing 2.3? but its sad watching something you love fall apart in slow motion a lot of these updates felt like negative progress to what once showed so much potential..... now can we move this to another thread? we are losing the plot. criticism positive or negative; but constructive on 2.3 drawing comparisons counts but we should stop derailing this.

 

[Roland]

This rings true to me. It seems all they do now is gather their dedicated echo chamber of fanboys to attack the very players who helped build the game from the ground up. It feels like they no longer care about all their players, only valuing those who align with their goals, while disregarding the rest.

This is crazy and a bit insulting to people who have been here since the beginning and still appreciate the game. No game is perfect and I'm sure even the most ardent fan of 7 Days to Die have a few things they wish were different. There are names here who are supportive now in 2025 who helped build the game from the ground up in 2014. Were you here in 2014? I don't remember you at all.

As far as this place being an echochamber of pure fan worship, are you blind? You don't see the threads with criticism? Have any of your posts been deleted and have you been banned? No. We allow criticism and praise here. That is the only difference-- we allow both views and we allow people to give their counterpoints and contrary opinions.

What it seems like to me is that you aren't interested in compromise at all. They either bend to every single demand that you have or they no longer care at all. These past three weeks and the changes made in 2.2 and 2.3 are meaningless because they haven't delivered you the jars you want so badly?

Sheesh....

 

[MasterJar]

This is crazy and a bit insulting to people who have been here since the beginning and still appreciate the game. No game is perfect and I'm sure even the most ardent fan of 7 Days to Die have a few things they wish were different. There are names here who are supportive now in 2025 who helped build the game from the ground up in 2014. Were you here in 2014? I don't remember you at all.

As far as this place being an echochamber of pure fan worship, are you blind? You don't see the threads with criticism? Have any of your posts been deleted and have you been banned? No. We allow criticism and praise here. That is the only difference-- we allow both views and we allow people to give their counterpoints and contrary opinions.

What it seems like to me is that you aren't interested in compromise at all. They either bend to every single demand that you have or they no longer care at all. These past three weeks and the changes made in 2.2 and 2.3 are meaningless because they haven't delivered you the jars you want so badly?

Sheesh....

You’re missing the point of the criticism here, and it’s frustrating that you’re framing it as an attack or an all or nothing stance. The person you’re replying to explicitly suggested compromises, like rebalancing the jar system to fit the current game while offering both playstyles as options. If you’d read their posts, or others in the community, you’d see they’re not demanding “their way or the highway.” They’ve proposed thoughtful solutions, like integrating both versions of farming or to improve vehicle combat instead of spawning birds to block player choice, or even a hybrid learn-by-doing and loot system. These are all compromises aimed at giving players flexibility while respecting the game’s direction. Yes, criticism is allowed here, and it’s great that posts aren’t deleted or users banned. But when longstanding feedback like jars, farming, or vehicle combat, gets ignored or mocked as “wanting it easy,” it feels like The Fun Pimps only act on feedback that aligns with their vision. Patches 2.2 and 2.3 show they’re working on the game, but consistently dismissing these player driven solutions creates the impression of selective hearing. If you’re truly open to all views, as you claim, then engage with these ideas instead of tunnel visioning on feedback that fits your narrative.

 

[Roadkill115]

You’re missing the point of the criticism here, and it’s frustrating that you’re framing it as an attack or an all or nothing stance. The person you’re replying to explicitly suggested compromises, like rebalancing the jar system to fit the current game while offering both playstyles as options. If you’d read their posts, or others in the community, you’d see they’re not demanding “their way or the highway.” They’ve proposed thoughtful solutions, like integrating both versions of farming or to improve vehicle combat instead of spawning birds to block player choice, or even a hybrid learn-by-doing and loot system. These are all compromises aimed at giving players flexibility while respecting the game’s direction. Yes, criticism is allowed here, and it’s great that posts aren’t deleted or users banned. But when longstanding feedback like jars, farming, or vehicle combat, gets ignored or mocked as “wanting it easy,” it feels like The Fun Pimps only act on feedback that aligns with their vision. Patches 2.2 and 2.3 show they’re working on the game, but consistently dismissing these player driven solutions creates the impression of selective hearing. If you’re truly open to all views, as you claim, then engage with these ideas instead of tunnel visioning on feedback that fits your narrative.

bro we collectively ■■■■■ed hard enough to remove the tokens if you can make sound arguments to other players and the devs i'm sure some of what we perceive to be broken can be fixed. (i also miss what was lost and hope for its return) but i think this thread is for telling them how we think they did specifically on the current experimental build

 

[MasterJar]

bro we collectively ■■■■■ed hard enough to remove the tokens if you can make sound arguments to other players and the devs i'm sure some of what we perceive to be broken can be fixed. but i think this thread is for telling them how we think they did specifically on the current experimental build

I appreciate the kind words and your hope that things might change, but I’m skeptical based on what we’ve seen. The recent changes in 2.2 and 2.3 happened because both sides of the player base, including streamers, pushed back hard against them. That’s not the case for longstanding requests like rebalancing jars, bringing back both versions of farming, improving vehicle combat to avoid restrictive mechanics like bird spawns, or implementing a hybrid learn-by-doing and loot system. The problem is, when it comes to feedback from the smaller portion of the community who love these systems, it feels like The Fun Pimps just shrug and say, “Modders can handle it.” That’s not community-driven development; it’s selective hearing. They seem to act only when the loudest voices or their preferred direction align, ignoring years of constructive suggestions from dedicated players. I’ll take your advice and bring this to the forums, but mark my words: unless it fits their vision, don’t expect a single change on these fronts.

 

[Lax]

it feels like The Fun Pimps only act on feedback that aligns with their vision....

And what's so bad or wrong with that?

Every video game developer starts with a "vision" and executes on it. Yes, developers accept feedback but that feedback is NOT guaranteed.

If a developer decides to go in a different direction than feedback given by the gaming community then that is the risk they take, and guess what? It's their game, not yours and they can live with the consequences of that decision.

Many of these so-called feedback "suggestions' really come across as masked demands by disgruntled shareholders.

You do NOT determine the direction of the games development, they do. End of story. If you disagree with their decision then don't buy the product or go play something else. It's really that simple.

Stop feeling entitled! The only thing you're entitled to is your own choices along with their consequences.

 

[Roadkill115]

You do NOT determine the direction of the games development, they do. End of story. If you disagree with their decision then don't buy the product or go play something else. It's really that simple. Stop feeling entitled!

not true, to some extent we do. (just a VERY small part) otherwise these forums wouldn't exist; we wouldn't be given a space to share opinions if they were utterly meaningless.

 

[Lax]

not true, to some extent we do. (just a VERY small part) otherwise these forums wouldn't exist; we wouldn't be given a space to share opinions if they were utterly meaningless.

I somewhat agree with you, except when you say our opinions are "utterly meaningless". That's a bit too much hyperbole.

I never suggested that our input means nothing to the developers. Just that they get the final say regardless of what we suggest, and that's ok, not a bad thing.

 

[Roland]

That’s not community-driven development

Well at least we've identified your misconception.

Sorry, my friend, but this game never has been and was never promised to be a community-driven development model. The community has a role to play for testing and finding bugs and giving feedback that can help improve the features the developers create but we aren't the bosses.

Your belief that the loudest voices of the community should be what drives the development decisions of this game is just going to continue to lead you to disappointment. And these changes are not because people screamed loudly somehow forcing their hand. They have ALWAYS made adjustments based on community feedback consistently for 10 years now. I have no doubt they would have made these exact adjustments even without the big review bomb.

 

[MasterJar]

Well at least we've identified your misconception.

Sorry, my friend, but this game never has been and was never promised to be a community-driven development model. The community has a role to play for testing and finding bugs and giving feedback that can help improve the features the developers create but we aren't the bosses.

Your belief that the loudest voices of the community should be what drives the development decisions of this game is just going to continue to lead you to disappointment. And these changes are not because people screamed loudly somehow forcing their hand. They have ALWAYS made adjustments based on community feedback consistently for 10 years now. I have no doubt they would have made these exact adjustments even without the big review bomb.

You’re joking right? The game being developed not just for The Fun Pimps is right on the Kickstarter page it was supposed to be a game the community helped develop with feedback, ideas and suggestions but like I said that game and development team died a few years ago.