PC When you try for challenging and end up absurd

S

ShadesOfKnight

Refugee
Ok, so I have to say this. This game has gone for challenging and ended on absurd. It's not Dark Souls, guys... it's a Zombie Apocalypse Survival game.

Way back when, guns required specialized parts - handles, grips, barrels, frames, and the like. Made sense - modern guns can't be made with a backyard tool set. Other items required materials that made sense to their construction, and in some cases, that required specialty tools (i.e. a forge to smelt iron into a useable form).

Then we got to the current iteration of the game.

Now, I have a character who can make an Iron Pickaxe, but if he wants to skip the "add the Iron Head to handle" step of making said pickaxe and make the handle just a little thicker, he needs special "parts."

Baseball bat parts? Seriously??? And then the quantity increases as the tier increases???

I can almost see Neegan sitting in the middle of the road weeping because he can't figure out how to wrap barb wire around his baseball bat to accomplish an upgrade without first dismantling the bat he has - into splinters, I assume - and then searching the map for additional "baseball bat parts." (more splinters?)

And then there's bows and crossbows. Again with the parts. In some cases (i.e. fiberglass composite bows) I can understand, but your basic short bow (manufactured literally for thousands of years) and your basic crossbow (again, manufactured for literally thousands of years) should only require tools and materials that can then be shaped into the desired form. Like I said earlier - absurd.

And then there's armor. With a forge and some relatively basic tools, even I can create a serviceable suit of mail or plate armor (i.e. ren faire stuff)آ… but no. We have to have "armor parts." Because I can forge iron into bars, but I can't make it into a plate... or a coil that can be cut into rings... or scales that can be riveted to leather. Nah, we need special PARTS.

The facepalm required at this point borders on concussion-creating.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is the "pimp" part of "Fun Pimps," where the pimp beats you (you know who that makes you) for having too good a time.

 
Don't forget that you need parts to be able to craft a baseball bat but you can make a fully functional 4x4 from just random parts you scavenge lol. Weapon and tool crafting has gone thru so many different iterations so far though. They could be planning to change it up completely again. No telling what the devs have in store for us in the future.

 
Yeah. The current system is... weird to say the least. And backwards.

We need more items to craft a thing the better we get at crafting it?, Shouldn't it be the other way around?

What parts are needed for a steel pickaxe? the handle, some leather to wrap the handle, and a pickaxehead. Maybe a few nails to lock the head.

Good thing we invented duct tape in the 60's (?) so we could make basic splints! I can't imagine how many broken legs in the past had to heal wrong due to lack of duct tape to make a splint xD

 
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You can find hundreds of mechanisms in the game where gameplay was deemed more important than realism. The typical example is that you can lug a few hundred tons of concrete in your backpack.

If you really want a rationalization you can live with: You need 12 bat parts because you hit all of them with increasing force against some wall until only one is left that is still without a crack. That one is obviously the one with the highest quality.

Many mechanisms in the game only work as an approximation of reality, not a simulation.

 
Many mechanisms in the game only work as an approximation of reality, not a simulation.
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Baseball bat parts aren't even an approximation. That's my point. Special tools (even if it's not a quote-lathe-unquote) to make a bat? Sure. Special materials - i.e. wire, nails, even sheets of iron? Sure. "Baseball bat parts" that you can't create through ANY method? That's a BS flag the size of Texas that needs to be raised.

 
....Many mechanisms in the game only work as an approximation of reality, not a simulation.
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Yeah..., but there must always be reasonable limits.

Now all this has already left healthy thinking and turned into a laughingstock.

Absurdity will remain absurd, no matter how you justify it.

 
armor parts makes sense. (sorta)

baseball bat parts though.. there I agree. It's a solid chunk of wood.

If you break it, you get toothpicks. (or a short pointy stick)

wooden bow: um, the parts are a piece of wood and a string.

I could see using a buncha wood to craft (because you need a GOOD piece to make)

Putting points in to make better, ok, yes.

Mind you, I also see their point that weapons/armor at that level require parts, and it is easier for them (read the game system)

to use parts, and scrap lower stuff into parts.

Now, if it was an aluminum baseball bat, ok, scrapping to usable bits and putting them together, that I could see.

Just. not. wood.

 
Rational criticism inbound called as a hate train... brace yourself.

When it comes to the parts needed for some of the weapons, I can`t really tell what to think about it.

For the devs, it`s hard to please every single person and everyone should keep that in mind. I started my journey around Alpha 11 and I must admit that I enjoyed so far the A11-15 period the most. Perhaps it was kind of easier for me to embrace the mechanics of the game even if it`s still relatively simple. I`m glad that spam-crafting tools and weapons came to an end. Some of the things do not fit and seem to be utterly ridiculous like the number of canned food. Like there can`t be just one item called canned food. But then some of the recipes could turn out to be redundant. I wouldn`t mind more items but it seems like space in the backpack is limited and encumbrance has to be counted also.

I will never ever be a fan of the current weapons mechanic that includes constant rising of the damage of projectiles. Without leveling up most of the shots feel like airsoft pellets until maxing weapon perks out. I`d rather see all weapons consistent and only unlock higher damage by crafting different ammo types.

The system of progression raises my blood pressure, the XP wall and the leveling up currently are insane or I don`t understand something. Progressing after hitting the 45th level is really hard for my comprehension. Analyzing in-game data might not be enough. The perfect example is the latest BF Vs 5.2 weapon balancing update that only brought justified backlash. Few changes in XML would make a difference for a player like me.

Anyways, A18 is probably the best alpha so far and I enjoy it hell a lot. The addition of new vehicles, NPCs, 5.56 ammo type weapons like M4, SAW249, new missions would definitely make my day at least.

 
Realism versus common sense versus gameplay mechanic aside, there's still a huge inconsistency. Compare:

To make an Auger you need some random crap and Motor Tool Parts. Motor Tool parts cannot be crafted so must be found, bought or obtained by scrapping a lower level Motor Tool. Baseball bat and Steel Armour are the same.

Yet to make a 4x4 Jeep or a Gyrocopter, you can craft everything from random crap.

These should be consistent. Especially since the vehicles are far more complex thinigs to build than the other.

Of course since we all know TFP, to achieve such consistency they would most likely change everything to require the specialised parts rather than the other way, where everything can be crafted from random crap. Remember their company motto is "No Fun Allowed".

 
Ok, so I have to say this. This game has gone for challenging and ended on absurd. It's not Dark Souls, guys... it's a Zombie Apocalypse Survival game.
Way back when, guns required specialized parts - handles, grips, barrels, frames, and the like. Made sense - modern guns can't be made with a backyard tool set. Other items required materials that made sense to their construction, and in some cases, that required specialty tools (i.e. a forge to smelt iron into a useable form).

Then we got to the current iteration of the game.

Now, I have a character who can make an Iron Pickaxe, but if he wants to skip the "add the Iron Head to handle" step of making said pickaxe and make the handle just a little thicker, he needs special "parts."

Baseball bat parts? Seriously??? And then the quantity increases as the tier increases???

I can almost see Neegan sitting in the middle of the road weeping because he can't figure out how to wrap barb wire around his baseball bat to accomplish an upgrade without first dismantling the bat he has - into splinters, I assume - and then searching the map for additional "baseball bat parts." (more splinters?)

The facepalm required at this point borders on concussion-creating.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is the "pimp" part of "Fun Pimps," where the pimp beats you (you know who that makes you) for having too good a time.
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This guy gets it.

 
I will never ever be a fan of the current weapons mechanic that includes constant rising of the damage of projectiles. Without leveling up most of the shots feel like airsoft pellets until maxing weapon perks out. I`d rather see all weapons consistent and only unlock higher damage by crafting different ammo types.
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I must agree here. The general characteristics of a 7.62 round hitting someone are going to be consistent no matter what "tier" of weapon is used to fire it. Now, skill matters - especially in the lower "tier" ammunition - but not nearly as much as it seems to in games. Meanwhile, being hit by a 50 cal round vs. being hit by a 22 round is a huge difference, no matter who is shooting or with what.

Generally I accept the skill mechanics as necessary to reflect something changing as a person gets better - other solutions are simply annoying (like weapon sway that decreases as skill improves: Good idea, realistic, but annoying as hell).

- - - Updated - - -

Of course since we all know TFP, to achieve such consistency they would most likely change everything to require the specialised parts rather than the other way, where everything can be crafted from random crap. Remember their company motto is "No Fun Allowed".
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They're already going that way. Baseball bat parts, remember? ;)

 
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