Multiplayer on 7 Days to Die

[Toonces]

WTF is a voxel, and why should I care?   ???

[Staggerwing]

A voxel is a three dimensional pixel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voxel

They've been in use since the mid nineties in games such as the original Armored Fist from Novalogic.

[Toonces]

Is a voxel the millennial version of a fractal?

[-budd-]

Budd, the mine is at 1205S x 721E.  As a bonus, it has a functional workbench in the building above ground.  I haven't fully explored it yet.

About skill points.  You also need to buy skills to be able to cook anything.  The first level allows you to boil eggs and grill meat.  Another skill allows you to build a forge.  So spend a little time to look at what each base level does.  Also, gathering things like wood, rocks and digging get you XP, which will allow you to level up and get more skill points to spend.

I'm working my way to the mine,  found the western town and another town. I'm up to level 5, been doing a bit more killing, 700XP for each zombie. The wildlife is what keeps killing me, another death but this one was unfair, a zombie dog horde spawned in my base. I just turned around and they were inside, after i died i looked around for their way in, didn't see any way in.....damn dogs. I've always played with increased spawn but in this build there sure is a lot more zombies, dogs, buzzards, ect.
More buzzards for sure, damn things seem to follow you, they do die in 2 bow shots.



Dogs, Dogs, everywhere, Thats the new stealth meter on the left, the lower the number the more concealed you are.


Here's the western town, and a rattle snake, they die in one or two bow shots. You can get meat from them. Looking around, things look quiet, guarantee there's a whole bunch of zombies in those buildings.......there was, i kept on moving. I wanted to get into the book store but no joy.


The thing with the points is doesn't seem like you can double up on a category until you reach a certain level. I usually wait until i get 2 or 3 levels before i buy, but categories must be locked to a certain tier.  I've got one point in a bunch of different categories but haven't been able to drop a second point in yet.

[OJsDad]

Looks like a new build dropped.  B199

[-budd-]

Still exploring the new build. Reached level 13, still can't put a second point in any one category.Up to 165 kills against 9 deaths. Finishing my tour of the desert, seems moderating your heat stroke is still an issue. No matter what clothes with cooling properties I put on, still overheating. Turns out if you have a club and use the right mouse button its your power swing, does more damage, you can usually take a zombie out in 5 to 7 head shots, drains your stamina a bunch more. Have to watch your stamina when you fighting or running, your stamina depends a bunch on your water/food level. I managed to edit the XML files to stop the 7 day horde, no horde on day seven, got the blood moon and storm but no zombies.

Desert mine pit, cleared it out and use it as one of my temp bases.



Not sure which of these OJ was talking about in the screen shots, i cleared them all.I frame jumped to the top from that mine.


Right before H hour, no one showed the edits worked it appears. This is another temp base at deadman's gulch visitors center.


Another POI in the canyon.


Lead them out, them whack them, conga line time.


I have a search routine i use. I was clearing motel 8 out, i just ran banging on all the doors to wake the sleepers, let them take the door out. Kill them, then go search. The knock the zombies down and then go whack/shoot them in the head doesn't work anymore as then get back up right away. You can sneak up on them and whack them in the head once for the sneak damage. Seems like there trying to slow the progression in game, it is needed, just not sure putting progression behind artificial barriers is the way to go. Food and water aren't really an issue, and loot is plentiful, especially feathers. I got lucky and found some working stiff crates in the mine. I already have 2 pistols, 3 rifles, a sniper rifle, and an SMG, of course bullets are scarce and you'll have to use the forge at the traders because stuff is locked behind perks and upgrades. I got jumped by a pack of wolves,of course i died but i came back and killed them and then butchered them with my combat knife and got 88 meat, so the wildlife provides plenty of meat. I've got 3 airdrops to pick up, then headed to find the trader in desert zone and check out the quests.

[JasonPratt]

I think some of the changes to make things 'harder' should be optional. Like zombies getting right back up after falling down, or being unable to know if you're being hunted when crouched. The horde seems overly lethal now, too.

This may be a case of where the devs are catering to the hardcore uberplayers who feel like they need moar challenge now.

[-budd-]

I'm always for more options for the player to play the way they want to. They had to do something and still have to give the game better pacing just not sure the artificial barriers are the way to go. It's a survival game without an end game or finish line, so once food/water/zombies aren't an issue there's not much left but finding the rest of POI's. The last build you progressed pretty fast to that time in the game where the danger from lack of resources or zombies was minimal. I thought i'd miss the hunted warning but i don't, it does add to the danger not having it and you have to keep your had on a swivel. i pretty much play with the spawn rate jacked up and always walking zombies, and now i've turned off the 7 day horde. I've done the base build survival thing, if i go back to that i'll turn the horde back on. The running all the time i find just stupid, and the run at night just means you won't go out at night and if you do and die you'll get into the fetch the back pack circle, been there. I really don't know why they can't have a setting where the zombies run when you get into the hunted zone, pretty much all the animals do it, dogs, wolves, bears, boars, they all run at you when your hunted,why not zombies. It's my happy median. I'll see what the quests have to offer, see if there remotely interesting. The road warrior bandit people and NPC's will be in the game eventually, not sure how i feel about that but we'll see. Right now i get the most fun out of living the nomad life style in the game. All in all no matter how it goes i've got a lot of play out of the game, a lot of changes since i jumped in at alpha 5. something, so its all good.

[OJsDad]

Budd, the second mine in your above pics with the deep canyon.

Do you think it would be more fun for you in a PvP game.

[-budd-]

Budd, the second mine in your above pics with the deep canyon.

Do you think it would be more fun for you in a PvP game.

Probably not, I've watched some PvP videos, looks like it's just a bunch of base raiding and stealing people's stuff. The zombies don't seem to play a big part in PvP. After almost 1000 hours i might just be played out. I'll go see about the quest stuff, and look online if there are any new interesting POI' s to explore. I saw where there might be over sized animals, I did see a bear bigger than a car, I was low on health/stamina and running for my life from a wandering horde or i would of got a snap of it, hard to out run the buzzards once there tracking you. I was trying to raid a shamway corporate hq I think it was, don't remember seeing that before.  I'll probably make a run to the big city, see if that's changed. I can tell you with the increased spawn rate im seeing a bunch of wandering hordes. Haven't seen and spider zombies or screamers yet, which is wierd. There's a whole bunch of debuffs now, and buffs, but the buffs take up space in your inventory and only last like 30 or something like that, so you either have to carry till you need them, or just use them.

[OJsDad]

I agree with you Budd.  It's a fun game, but there's only so much to do.  I'm not sure what they can do to keep a long term interest in the game.  It is fun to pick it up after a new build just to see what's different and the new features work.  But after that, your back to the same, gather resources, build forts, kill zombies.  Sure, there are some different strategies you can try, but there's just a limited variety of combinations that you can try. 

[-budd-]

If they add what they have scheduled to the game it will be in development for a few more years, raiders and NPC's will take awhile. I have never really minded its been in alpha for years, is it playable and have enough content is all i care about.

I don't know about you OJ but a lot of the new stuff i really haven't used and don't know that i have any interest in it. Stuff like the advanced electricity stuff, the elaborate power traps, ect. That might be because i don't build elaborate bases anymore, there a lot of work and grinding as you know, only to be trashed by the 7 day horde. When i want to build i'll activate creative mode, building without the grinding ;)

They definitely have made it harder to play the type of game you want by putting stuff behind buffs and perks. Here's how i like to play these days, long days, increased spawn, no running zombies, no blood moon horde, no gun use just primitive weapons and pipe bombs and Molotov's. I go on one run, when i die game over. Like to see how many days i can go, the more days you log, the more you start not wanting to die. The more you have the mindset of one life, you start looking at those POI's and the risk vs reward vs what you need to survive problem. It's usually a dog or wolf, and now buzzards that get me. Nothing like basing up in a big city and going scavenging at night, probably the most tense the game can be.  With the new system you can't really specialize it seems like because they force you to invest in a bunch of categories before you can advance in another. I'm wondering about the mini bike, that's always an early priority for me, wonder which wall that's locked behind. I'm thinking about getting more into the XML files and see what can be done to modify the start to my liking. The one run thing is a lot of fun, kind of like life, you don't know how long it will go on but you want to put off game over as long as you can :D

[OJsDad]

Personally, I like the base build strategy.  But, I would like to see something like in They Are Billions, but from a FPS, point of view.  Something where you start off, have to establish a basic base, and then have to go find and bring back NPC's.  The NPC's would have various skills that you need to make upgrades and or run the base.  I.e., an NPC that is a blacksmith/craftman to build certain items, a farmer, doctor, ect.  Even have a couple of NPC's that go out with you to find loot.  Perhaps one is good at looting, one is good at combat, etc.  I see your point Budd, about the base not giving you much, I think this would make a base a lot more important, while also forcing you to go out and find NPC's.  Could make the missions interesting. 

I would also like to see an option for random 7 day hordes.  In other words, not have them every 7 days, but may an option that they happen every 4-12 days.  You don't know when until the day before based on the storm/moon.

[OJsDad]

I think the NPC's could also give a variety to the end game.  Build an armored bus to get everyone out through the radiation zone.  An NPC is a researcher that you setup at your base and they find a cure for the zombies.  Perhaps a timed game that after surviving for so long helicopters evacuate everyone, or the military shows up and secures the area. 

It can be a random ending, so at the start, you don't know which you have to do.  Or even change the end game part way through.  Don't rescue the researcher, then you have to escape with your NPC's. 

[-budd-]

Personally, I like the base build strategy.  But, I would like to see something like in They Are Billions, but from a FPS, point of view.  Something where you start off, have to establish a basic base, and then have to go find and bring back NPC's.  The NPC's would have various skills that you need to make upgrades and or run the base.  I.e., an NPC that is a blacksmith/craftman to build certain items, a farmer, doctor, ect.  Even have a couple of NPC's that go out with you to find loot.  Perhaps one is good at looting, one is good at combat, etc.  I see your point Budd, about the base not giving you much, I think this would make a base a lot more important, while also forcing you to go out and find NPC's.  Could make the missions interesting. 

I would also like to see an option for random 7 day hordes.  In other words, not have them every 7 days, but may an option that they happen every 4-12 days.  You don't know when until the day before based on the storm/moon.

All good ideas. I like building base designs, its grinding that gets to me. It would be good if the NPC's could grind the resources for you. I had a pretty sweet base design going a few months ago, an elaborate tree base. I planted the trees in the design i wanted, it went over the water, getting the trees to grow in the lake took some trial and error. It had a central tree and then circles of trees around a that central tree with platforms in all the trees and suspended walkways connecting everything. I had some design issues and i was pretty far along when a lot of it collapsed :pullhair:  Building in trees is easy and safe, since zombies can't damage trees.I kind of doubt friendly NPC's could be programmed to be of any good use, they probably will be like other NPC's , for quests and battle partners and maybe can be given some simple tasks.

I don't mind hordes, its the radar nature of the 7 day horde. I turned off the 7 day horde and i get hordes all the time, dogs hordes, wandering zombie hordes, wolf hordes, i got attacked by a bunch of buzzards 5+, i guess that would be a buzzard horde. The buzzards are quickly rising to the level of those damn dog hordes, haven't seen a bear or boar horde yet :).Its like a horde a day, seems like. I got tired of walking and went into creative and gave myself a mini- bike, man there slow now, so i gave myself the motorcycle to get around on. I'll probably try the aerocopter next, while exploring the new stock map. The city's are pretty tough sledding, either be really, really, stealthy or go loaded with an armory, i had to bug out. What was interesting was even though i have the game set to always walking zombies, some types still ran in the city, kind of surprised me in a i died kind of way. I'll explore the stock map checking out the new stuff, then start a game in random gen. Been thinking about starting a game where my character was somewhat prepared for the apocalypse, bomb shelter, stock of food and some guns/ammo, and start from there. I could probably get the bomb shelter up in half a game day with creative mode. If i die, game over.

You guys mind the screenshots of the new POI's? its nice discovering a new cool POI, don't want to spoil it for anyone.