There is a difference between difficulty and challenging.
Zombies used to be erratic like.... well... zombies.
A mindless horde that used large numbers to overwhelm defenses.
You build fortifications and then defend them from the mindless horde = FUN!
Now they are too smart for their own good.
There is no reason to build walls because they would simply shred any wall you put in front of them, so now we build mazes instead of walls, or just kite them.
Instead of an epic siege to test your base design.... we have Monkeys vs Bloons.
While that maybe entertaining in the short run, it gets old. Fast.
Combine that with the new XP grind system and the game has lost much of its appeal.
Horde night is just a conga line of XP being delivered to my front door like pizza
No fun, no challenge, just a mindless shooting gallery.
Seriously, I never really noticed or cared about what "level" my character was in A16 and I LOVED it that way.
My progress was based on actually playing the game... exploring... finding the books I needed... finding the resources I needed...
trying to get something built before the end of the week.
It was not perfect, but it was a highly enjoyable sandbox experience.
Learn by doing was FAR superior, it was interesting, it made SENSE.
If I wanted to get better and mining to buy the next perk, I had to go do some mining.
Now I can max out my mining skills without ever digging a hole.
If I wanted to get better with a shotgun, I actually had to USE a shotgun.
Now I can max out my shotgun skills without even owning a shotgun.
It was far more entertaining/immersive/fun in A16.4, I could play for hundreds of hours on the same map, exploring and building... there was always something to do, some defenses that needed improvement, books to find, a better engine/batter/whatever for the minibike, a real reason to explore.
Between the AI changes (minimal base building) and the perk/progression (grind XP)
changes, what is the point of the game now?
Since A17 I find myself constantly starting new maps instead of spending hundreds of hours on building bases with my friends because the game play is stale, generic, predictable, i.e., boring as ♥♥♥♥.
As much as I like all the new vehicles and content... I would rather just have my little minibike and a fun sandboxy game to play, than a linear, boring, wannabe RPG that is stuck so hard to the rails that every single play through is completely identical. A17 has ZERO replay value.
I have to agree with just about everything you said. Most of the bases on our server are just for decoration, and we just all ignore the horde since now every zombie is a bullet sponge. Just ignore the horde, run around, smash some rocks, cut some trees. Since they removed zombie loot and harvesting trash bags and the gore piles along the road give us bones. So we can at least fix one of their mistakes.
The level thing is ridiculous. We all know at least two or three different ways to totally cheat the system and hit whatever level we want. I'm fond of going to the trader at level one and hitting max level while filling up a dozen chests with Duke's. I mean, that's a catch up strategy or a way to confound newer players, not a great way to play the game.
Oh boy, learning by doing....you see, what you have to remember here is that Madmole does not play the game. He has admitted this in his streams. He doesn't know much of anything about the game, when he was showcasing 17 when it was under the hood he stated he hadn't played in a year. He didn't know the placement of the rock formations aboveground so he suggested, on his stream, that he increase the number. He got pilloried for that one as he admitted that he is out of touch with the player base.
So even though players may prefer a thing, he has an ideal in his head that he wants, and screw the people that pay his bills. And he hates learning by doing, although it wouldn't matter as he doesn't even play.
And as far as your last point, the vehicles, I'm kind of lukewarm. The new bicycle is cute, but it isn't practical. The motorcycle is fun, but really no better than a minibike. The jeep can carry your buddy so he can go afk while he rides, but you can't do anything while riding shotgun so nobody cares. The gyrocopter is far too slow and uses far too much fuel. For absolutely no reason.
Yeah, aside from ruining zombie ai, making everyone focus on their level instead of the game, adding in repetitive vehicles that may as well just be reskins, and killing learning by doing....I suppose seventeen was just a test to see if anyone will stick around.
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Im A16 I could level up mining without ever digging a hole or using any mining tool...just sayin. Level up, put points in mining and miner 69er... wasnt that hard.
In A16, the miner 69er skill was the source of 99.9 percent of mining improvement if the improvement and u got that point to spend by doing whatever
Yes, you could have done that. Nobody did that, but you could.
You could also just set your skill levels via the console. And everybody did that.
But sure, you have a thing to say that really makes no sense.
