OK, so I've played this mod enough to share my first impressions. I like the depth and difficulty, and I have great hopes for the mod development when you implement SDX. I think I'm staying.
Professions: I've only played as a Farmer, and got a little dissapointed. I chose it for farming and auto crossbow, but farming is rather frustrating and I'm using a scoped crossbow, and I don't feel the need for auto. Next time I think I choose an Engeneer.
The vanilla farming was too easy and OP, and your mod addresses it in the right direction (crops protection, seed nursery, farmer profession). If only you could implement watering. But I don't like the "hit it to harvest" mechanic, because no matter how you aim, you sometimes hit the seedling next to your target. I've destroyed much too many of my crops this way or when moving carelessly around the crops. Now I tend my garden as if it is a minefield and I'm getting better at it. For some crops (aloe?) you can't tell if the plant is ready to be harvested or not, last stage should always be distinctive. I like the apple harvesting mechanic.
And the biggest reason against farming is the abundance of wild growing crops (carrots, wheat, corn). I prefer to ride half the map for the desert to gather some aloe and not to spend all that effort for farming. So now I'm growing only coffee. But I haven't unlocked most cooking recipes yet, so maybe I'll need other crops in the future.
Abundance of carrots and cacti totally covers your hunger/thirst needs. I suggest adding -0.05 wellnes to cacti and carrots so you don't throw away the canned food immediately. But the juice is OK. And the future Food Overhaul is gonna be a real solution.
Magolis prefabs are awesome. I can't wait to explore them all.
Radiated sub biomes make you watch your step. Too bad hazmat clothes doesn't protect against it.
Weapon modification sounds great, though I haven't unlocked it yet. The crossbow is now assembled like the rest fire guns and I love it. But it took me an eternity to find a 'pistol parts' item for the crossbow (I was lvl 76 when I finally found it). Either it is my bad luck or it is one of the rarest gun parts to find. Another rare item is 'hub caps' which is needed for steam generators (for workbenches). I think it is 'automotive' loot group, but I've harvested dozens of cars and have found none there.
Zombies overhaul is refreshing, no more standard types. All walk types are mixed, some run at daytime. But do Z-bears run faster than the player? It is unavoidable death then, and a bad game design. A player must have a chance. Z-rabbits and chickens are so frightening
I know I can kill them, but I prefer to run.
Zombie looting mechanic is great, and not so immersion breaking as Valmar's bags.
The mod description says mines don't instantly kill you, but they do. Killed me twice (I had 120+ health) and another player (140+ health). BTW, is there a way to disable the new "backpack dissapearing timer" mechanic?
Fishing is fun, but not currently needed (too much food around), so you spend points for the perk only to gather enough fish for seed nursery.
Hygiene system is very well made.
Scratches, bites and other wound/medical system is awesome and a big step in the right direction.
Steel is insanely expensive, but I think it should stay so. Late game stuff.
Crafting overall is deeper than vanilla, like all the new workstations (haven't assembled them all yet though). Love the way you assemble engines.
All my old base designs are not worth anything here. I have 2000+ hours in 7dtd, but now I'm racking my brain to design a base safe from both zeds and players. I know I can just dig to bedrock, but I know this mod was designed against it, so I build on the surface. But please don't make the stone too hard to dig through, we need the ability to mine resourses.
All the other countless things in your mod is awesome (or look promising as I haven't tried them yet). Thank you for this refreshing experience. There are other great mods, but they lack the difficulty for us veterans. Further tweaking and balancing needed, and I hope my feedback is helpful. My biggest concerns currently are carrots/cacti overpowerness and Z-bears speed. And I'd love a more friendly farming. Can't wait for the announced Food Overhaul.
I have six death currently:
- A fat guy puked at me when I was harvesting a car. No big deal I thought, I can dodge it. But his puke hit the car... Lesson learned
- Died to mines twice.
- Three deaths from bears (two z-bears and once I ran right into the paws of a normal bear)
Questions: any difference in damage between normal crossbow/scoped/auto? Does radiation do any damage to zombies?
. Maybe when I get into SDX I can find a better solution. But if you want a quick fix remove the recipe for Sleeping Bags fro your game.
