PC v1.x Developer Diary

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@faatal Can we get an official update on recommended location for mod installations?  It seems some people are now being told that mods are supposed to be installed in the game directory because that's where the TFP Harmony mod was placed.  Considering the reason why the recommended location was changed to %appdata% in the past, I doubt that has changed.  My belief is that because that mod is made by TFP, it is part of the game and so belongs in the game folder, but all user mods should still not be placed in that folder.  But maybe I'm wrong and I'd like to know if I am so I don't give people incorrect information.  Thanks.


TFP Official Statement on Mod Install Location
 

Mods should be installed in the UserDataFolder.
Add a folder named Mods and copy your files there.
 

The default UserDataFolder locations are:
Windows - %AppData%\7DaysToDie
Linux - ~/.local/share/7DaysToDie
Mac - ~/Library/Application Support/7DaysToDie

User-defined UserDataFolder locations can also be defined in the launcher parameters...

-UserDataFolder=YOUR_FOLDER_LOCATION
 

...or in the serverconfig.xml

<property name="UserDataFolder"    value="YOUR_FOLDER_LOCATION" />
 

 
~schwanz9000 - I'm not 100% sure that UserDataFolder is (still) correct for servconfig.xml, can't remember where i saw it but i believe it's in one of the changelogs for one of the recent updates.

I used to religiously update serverconfig.xml with both locations of UserDataFolder and also the save folder, but i recall that recently TFP changed that; for a while now i've only been adding location of the save folder to serverconfig.xml and everything works fine.

I'm not at home so can't show proof but i know for a fact that for at least a couple of versions, i only have to hardcode the save folder location in serverconfig.xml. the UserdataFolder is no longer required to be hardcoded in there

 
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~schwanz9000 - I'm not 100% sure that UserDataFolder is (still) correct for servconfig.xml, can't remember where i saw it but i believe it's in one of the changelogs for one of the recent updates.

I used to religiously update serverconfig.xml with both locations of UserDataFolder and also the save folder, but i recall that recently TFP changed that; for a while now i've only been adding location of the save folder to serverconfig.xml and everything works fine 
SaveGameFolder is no longer used in serverconfig.xml

 
I should have clarified, i'm not talking about default Steam folders, but for when you copy the Steam folder and save folder to a.n.other folder; as i say i can't remember which changelog mentions this, but that's what i'm talking about, not the default Steam (%appdata%) serverconfig.xml

 
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I should have clarified, i'm not talking about default Steam folders, but for when you copy the Steam folder and save folder to a.n.other folder; as i say i can't remember which changelog mentions this, but that's what i'm talking about, not the default Steam (%appdata%) serverconfig.xml
when it's a game that's not from steam downloaded but gotton from other sites nd whatnot usually u make a file named mods in the put it in the game folder.

to make sure u put it in the correct place it's usually ( well i have windows but still should be the same way):

you go to:

This PC

Windows: PC

Users

then go to your name or account on PC, for me it would be Story

click on the name folder( like for me i would click on Zomboid on my pc

nd the paste your mods folder there nd it should work... i know it works for when i play Zomboid 

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In my opinion the balancing needs some work. Playing on insane at Day 42. There are radiated everywhere. Not complaining. But the Horde nights are almost boring. Not one radiated. A night in the wasteland any regular date is way more challenging.

Anyway I had a lot of fun with 1.0

 
Guys, greetings to all. I was familiar with your game many years ago, but decided to buy it only before the release of version 1.0. And I can say that this is probably the best zombie survival game among all the games today. I have been following your development for a long time and I was very pleased with how the game is being transformed and improved in many functions and the fact that some mechanics are becoming more complicated and the player is becoming more interested in surviving. But it seems to me that the game definitely still needs a lot of content and some new features and mechanics. You have a roadmap to the end of 2025 and that's great, but the question is what happens next? Will the game be supported for only a year after release? It seems to me that a game with such huge potential and online more than a hundred thousand simultaneous players should not be thrown in the trash. I understand that guys, this is your business, you still have several projects in preparation, but 7 days to die is almost in the top 10 of steam online and such success is quite difficult to repeat. You were able to reach 124,000 simultaneous players on Pc only! At the same time, that you have not yet added bandits and a plot that, in my opinion, will further increase online in the future. Therefore, the question arises: do you still plan to support the game with new content and updates after 2025 in connection with such a success of the project? Or do you plan to completely stop support after 2025 and move on to other projects? Please tell me, what do you think about this? If possible, I will duplicate this post several times during the week to get as many opinions and answers as possible. Thanks in advance to all who will answer!

 
i maintain game various folders for different combo's of overhauls/versions of the games and combo's of mods; i do all this on my F: drive ~

F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Outback.Roadies.Mod
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Preppocalypse.Mod
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Random.Wandering.Hordes.Mod
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Wild.West.Mod
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.v1.0.(b316).EXP.b317.Hotfix.with.Guppy.Zombies
F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.v1.0.(b333).Stable

..i only ever play the game thru %appdata% ie thru Steam when i'm playing online with friends, and as Steam itself obviously uses %appdata% i don't mess with those files/don't add mods to that folder structure anyway, my point is that i don't believe my method of keeping separate game instances outside of %appdata% should be affected by whether or not the location of the mods folder changes


I'm not sure that you are understanding %appdata% and what a User Data Folder is.  %appdata% is just the default location (%appdata%\7DaysToDie\).  If you have multiple versions of the game installed, you should be setting different User Data Folders for each version.  If they all use the same location, they'll all use the same mods, which wouldn't work for different versions, saves will be mixed up so you'll see everything in each version even if they aren't compatible, and logs will all be mixed together.  Definitely NOT the right way to do things, and I'm guessing you're not doing that.  You set up separate User Data Folders for each version.  Where you put those is entirely up to you.  The game may someday lose the ability to read the Mods folder within the game directory without setting up a User Data Folder pointing to that location.  So it is best to have the User Data Folder set up correctly now, regardless where you place the folders (The can even all be in %appdata%\7DaysToDie\ with different subfolders- A20, A21, 1.0, etc).  Only if you're only using a single location and it is in %appdata%\7DaysToDie\ do you not need to worry about doing so because that's the default location.  If they are in the game directory and an update removes that from being automatically scanned, you will not have access to anything there until you add a User Data Folder location.

when it's a game that's not from steam downloaded but gotton from other sites nd whatnot usually u make a file named mods in the put it in the game folder.

to make sure u put it in the correct place it's usually ( well i have windows but still should be the same way):

you go to:

This PC

Windows: PC

Users

then go to your name or account on PC, for me it would be Story

click on the name folder( like for me i would click on Zomboid on my pc

nd the paste your mods folder there nd it should work... i know it works for when i play Zomboid 

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View attachment 31680

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View attachment 31682


Setting the User Data Folder would let you place them wherever you want.  That should work in all versions of the game, regardless of source.

I put my mods into the Mods folder inside the game and they work just fine.  I'm such a rebel.  😁


It's fine if that's where you want to place things (until it's no longer being read).  My question was regarding what is the official statement on it so I can explain to new players.  It is a bad idea for anyone (or any group) to tell players they should be installing mods into the game folder.  If someone wants to do that, then that's on them, but it should not be how it is explained to them as being the "right" way to do things.  You'll get all kinds of people who have problems down the road with no idea how to fix them rather than giving them the correct information.  That's why I wanted to verify that the information I had was still correct.

~schwanz9000 - I'm not 100% sure that UserDataFolder is (still) correct for servconfig.xml, can't remember where i saw it but i believe it's in one of the changelogs for one of the recent updates.

I used to religiously update serverconfig.xml with both locations of UserDataFolder and also the save folder, but i recall that recently TFP changed that; for a while now i've only been adding location of the save folder to serverconfig.xml and everything works fine.

I'm not at home so can't show proof but i know for a fact that for at least a couple of versions, i only have to hardcode the save folder location in serverconfig.xml. the UserdataFolder is no longer required to be hardcoded in there
You can still set User Data Folder in the serverconfig.xml file and that is the correct way to do it if you're not using the -userdatafolder switch in the shortcut or in Steam.  It may also be possible to use that switch in other platforms like GamePass, though I don't know for sure.  Even if they don't allow launch parameters, you can still put it into the shortcut.  Only the separate Save location was removed and now uses the User Data Folder instead of being a separate location.

 
In my opinion the balancing needs some work. Playing on insane at Day 42. There are radiated everywhere. Not complaining. But the Horde nights are almost boring. Not one radiated. A night in the wasteland any regular date is way more challenging.

Anyway I had a lot of fun with 1.0
Is your horde base in the wasteland?  If it's in the forest, the gamestage will be much lower and may not trigger demos or rads.

 
In my opinion the balancing needs some work. Playing on insane at Day 42. There are radiated everywhere. Not complaining. But the Horde nights are almost boring. Not one radiated. A night in the wasteland any regular date is way more challenging.

Anyway I had a lot of fun with 1.0
Strange.  I get radiated on horde nights all the time (My horde base was in the desert) and the last horde night was day 21 (2 hour days, which make it similar to your day 42 if you're on 1 hour days) on default difficulty.

 
A night in the wasteland any regular date is way more challenging.
Try a horde night in the Wasteland. 

I just did two horde nights on Insane Nightmare in the pine forest (Days 42 and 49). One without a base (mostly), wearing full lvl 6 Preacher Armor and one where I converted a treehouse in my neighborhood into a horde base (full lvl 6 Raider Armor).

Half of the treehouse horde night was spent outside of the base replacing and repairing blocks, while getting hit. 

A few horde nights ago I was in the Wasteland on Warrior difficulty. My base was a WWE steel cage. I got tougher zombies. Lots of cops, dogs and radiated birds, as well as a Demolisher. 

All 3 of them were like the eye of the storm. Of all the main features of this game, horde night is by far the easiest. 

On Day 43 on Insane Nightmare, I died 3 times doing a Tier 3 Quest in a regular house in the desert. Lots of radiateds. Had to start shooting. Then lots of screamers. Then lots and lots of zombies everywhere. I couldn't out-run some of them. I couldn't grab my bag. I just kept dying and dying! 😭

I don't know how they could make it more difficult without it becoming unbearable, but horde night is too easy. For awhile I shut horde nights off until I came up with the idea to convert a different building or structure, every subsequent horde night, into a horde base - with minimal building/fortification. The more I do it, the more I discover how little you need to survive a horde night. 

 
I'm not sure that you are understanding %appdata% and what a User Data Folder is.  %appdata% is just the default location (%appdata%\7DaysToDie\).  If you have multiple versions of the game installed, you should be setting different User Data Folders for each version.  If they all use the same location, they'll all use the same mods, which wouldn't work for different versions, saves will be mixed up so you'll see everything in each version even if they aren't compatible, and logs will all be mixed together.  Definitely NOT the right way to do things, and I'm guessing you're not doing that.  You set up separate User Data Folders for each version.  Where you put those is entirely up to you.  The game may someday lose the ability to read the Mods folder within the game directory without setting up a User Data Folder pointing to that location.  So it is best to have the User Data Folder set up correctly now, regardless where you place the folders (The can even all be in %appdata%\7DaysToDie\ with different subfolders- A20, A21, 1.0, etc).  Only if you're only using a single location and it is in %appdata%\7DaysToDie\ do you not need to worry about doing so because that's the default location.  If they are in the game directory and an update removes that from being automatically scanned, you will not have access to anything there until you add a User Data Folder location.

Setting the User Data Folder would let you place them wherever you want.  That should work in all versions of the game, regardless of source.

It's fine if that's where you want to place things (until it's no longer being read).  My question was regarding what is the official statement on it so I can explain to new players.  It is a bad idea for anyone (or any group) to tell players they should be installing mods into the game folder.  If someone wants to do that, then that's on them, but it should not be how it is explained to them as being the "right" way to do things.  You'll get all kinds of people who have problems down the road with no idea how to fix them rather than giving them the correct information.  That's why I wanted to verify that the information I had was still correct.

You can still set User Data Folder in the serverconfig.xml file and that is the correct way to do it if you're not using the -userdatafolder switch in the shortcut or in Steam.  It may also be possible to use that switch in other platforms like GamePass, though I don't know for sure.  Even if they don't allow launch parameters, you can still put it into the shortcut.  Only the separate Save location was removed and now uses the User Data Folder instead of being a separate location.
I most certainly do know about %appdata%, I've been in I.T. since long before Windows even existed 😁. I maybe didn't write my previous post as clearly as i could have.

Example of folders separated correctly ~

i have Joke Mod in "F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod"

it's mods (in "F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod\Mods") ~

0-CustomParticleLoader
AGF-A20HUDPlus-EPatch1.0.1
AGF-A21HUDPlus-Addon1.4.0
AGF-A21HUDPlus1.8.0
Alter_PictureInPictureScopes
donovan-longerlootbags
JaWoodleDye
Joke Mod
KHA21-HPBars
Secret Pr0n (this is part of Joke Mod !)
Zed-A21-OakravenMonoBikes

it's save folder (in "F:\games\7 Days to Die\UserDataFolder\7DTD-a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod") ~

GeneratedWorlds
launchersettings.json
logs
Saves
SavesLocal
Screenshots
titlestorage
Twitch

The 2 relevant serverconfig.xml lines for Joke Mod's folder location ~

<property name="UserDataFolder"                    value="F:\games\7 Days to Die\UserDataFolder\7DTD-a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod" />    <!-- Use this to override where the server stores all generated data, including RWG generated worlds. Do not forget to uncomment the entry! -->
<property name="SaveGameFolder"                    value="F:\games\7 Days to Die\UserDataFolder\7DTD-a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod\Saves" />    <!-- Use this to only override the save game path. Do not forget to uncomment the entry! -->

I keep a separate shortcut for each version/overhaul, so for Joke Mod's shortcut to launch the game ~

Shortcut target ~

"F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod\7DaysToDie.exe" -configfile=serverconfig.xml

Shortcut "Start in" ~

"F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod"

So i probably didn't word my previous post re UserDatafolder as good as i should have, hopefully this makes more sense, and my way of doing things here is the accepted 7 Days method and is valid/correct, no files or mods are mixed up between the various versions ; it's decades since i last moderated one of Europe's largest forums (ie back when i was good at uploading photos to the internet to make things easier to explain), i haven't had a want or need to upload photo's of things anywhere on the net since then so im being lazy and typing, hopefully this now makes sense (without screenshots)

*** I'm glad of your post as that post, plus this reply by me (even without screenshots) will show anyone how to properly set up separate instances, it's appreciated, i wrote my previous reply whilst working and i obviously wasn't paying enough thought to detail

 
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I most certainly do know about %appdata%, I've been in I.T. since long before Windows even existed 😁. I maybe didn't write my previous post as clearly as i could have.

Example of folders separated correctly ~

i have Joke Mod in "F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod"

it's mods (in "F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod\Mods") ~

0-CustomParticleLoader
AGF-A20HUDPlus-EPatch1.0.1
AGF-A21HUDPlus-Addon1.4.0
AGF-A21HUDPlus1.8.0
Alter_PictureInPictureScopes
donovan-longerlootbags
JaWoodleDye
Joke Mod
KHA21-HPBars
Secret Pr0n (this is part of Joke Mod !)
Zed-A21-OakravenMonoBikes

it's save folder (in "F:\games\7 Days to Die\UserDataFolder\7DTD-a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod") ~

GeneratedWorlds
launchersettings.json
logs
Saves
SavesLocal
Screenshots
titlestorage
Twitch

The 2 relevant serverconfig.xml lines for Joke Mod's folder location ~

<property name="UserDataFolder"                    value="F:\games\7 Days to Die\UserDataFolder\7DTD-a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod" />    <!-- Use this to override where the server stores all generated data, including RWG generated worlds. Do not forget to uncomment the entry! -->
<property name="SaveGameFolder"                    value="F:\games\7 Days to Die\UserDataFolder\7DTD-a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod\Saves" />    <!-- Use this to only override the save game path. Do not forget to uncomment the entry! -->

I keep a separate shortcut for each version/overhaul, so for Joke Mod's shortcut to launch the game ~

Shortcut target ~

"F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod\7DaysToDie.exe" -configfile=serverconfig.xml

Shortcut "Start in" ~

"F:\games\7 Days to Die\7.Days.to.Die.a21.2.(b37).Hotfix.with.Joke.Mod"

So i probably didn't word my previous post re UserDatafolder as good as i should have, hopefully this makes more sense, and my way of doing things here is the accepted 7 Days method and is valid/correct, no files or mods are mixed up between the various versions ; it's decades since i last moderated one of Europe's largest forums (ie back when i was good at uploading photos to the internet to make things easier to explain), i haven't had a want or need to upload photo's of things anywhere on the net since then so im being lazy and typing, hopefully this now makes sense (without screenshots)
So yeah, you're using the User Data Folder, which would be the correct way to do things.  It had sounded like you were just using the ability to load Mods from the game folder instead of %appdata% without setting the User Data Folder.

 
In my opinion the balancing needs some work. Playing on insane at Day 42. There are radiated everywhere. Not complaining. But the Horde nights are almost boring. Not one radiated. A night in the wasteland any regular date is way more challenging.

Anyway I had a lot of fun with 1.0
Idk I'm still struggling agent ferals. They just keep moving 

 
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