7 days to die

Ouch. I like the Minecraft-esque crafting sort of game, but I tend to really dislike how fragile and disposable equipment is. I don’t mind crafting an item to take some effort, but once I have it I don’t want to have to keep crafting a replacement every 3rd time I use it. At that point, it just becomes incredibly tedious for me.

Aren’t you being a little hasty to judge? You don’t have to completely cut the tree down to get resources anymore, and they added a skill to the game to speed up resource gathering. Plus he was level 1 so he was making ‘Faulty’ quality stone axes. Item quality is directly tied to durability and how much damage it does to blocks. You can easily repair your items, but in that early part of the game it’s better to let the tools break because you’ve usually leveled up and can make a better quality one.

In the last alpha you went from as bad as shown in the video, to being able to chop down fully grown maple trees in two axe swings.

Alpha 13 is out.

http://7daystodie.com/alpha-13-status-and-release-notes/

That’s like reading a car manual, holy shit.

Kind of intimidating after not playing it for ages.

So much of this is just redoing stuff they’ve already done, trying to make it prettier, easier, whatevers. I just wish they’d add more gameplay components. Reading those release notes really makes me wonder where they are going. All these stats, now you can get wet or hot. It feels like it’s just getting more complicated rather than making progress on finishing the game. I look on their website & the paragraph they have and wonder if anything on this has changed since they started? I don’t think so as they still have “tower defense”, which always piqued my interest, (thinking traps like Orcs Must Die).

7 Days to Die is an open world, voxel-based, sandbox game that is a unique mix of First Person Shooter, Survival Horror, Tower Defense and Role Playing Games combining combat, crafting, looting, mining, exploration, and character growth.

It’s a great game, Steam says I have 394 hours in it. I just wish they’d make more progress on finishing the game than refactor everything.

Kinda hate to agree with you, but you’re right here.

Spent an hour playing and…ugh. Imo, a step backwards. Pretty large step actually.

Example? I spent (real world) 3 minutes to break through 3 planks half-blocking a doorway - using a stone axe, i’m wheedling down a 250 ‘health’ “3 plank blockage”, knocking back 2 health at a swing. Before, this was a half a dozen whacks -now, about 125. Oh, and that iron-reinforced door? Ya, that’s about 750 health…ya, 375 turns of holding onto the attack button…

I’m…a little beside myself. This is what we waited for? Where is the gameplay value of this addition? Yes, you will ‘learn’ how to break down a door blockage faster, yes you will ‘learn’ how to make better equipment, but how does this make the game better? You’re trying to simulate reality? Shit, this isn’t that game - that is Dayz, and if you want to do that, you need their engine…

really kinda pissed right now at them(developers). omg, devs -wtf were you thinking?!?

Yup, it’s official – devs have fucked with this game too much, for too long. Navel-gazing at this point.

They should have released 1+ years ago with the feature set they had in already – when it was fun, if a little goofy with its systems and sparse with content – and worked on all of this “gotta be REALZ” b.s. in 7DtD II.

Is this example an argument for, or against early access?

Seems like those that dived in early got many hours of fun, and those that are waiting for release will get shafted! If it ever comes…

But who knows - maybe we’re up for another year or more of changes as they revert things back to how they were.

I dunno. I rather like the changes; feels like more of a struggle esp. in the early going. I do think they are going to swing back toward the center, that they went too far the other way. But the other changes, atmosphere, etc. are a joy to behold.

As a bystander, it seems like some of the complaints derive from the Early Access type development model. By that I just mean that in times past we never saw the sausage get made, didn’t see the prototypes and iterations and features being scrapped, overhauled, or replaced.

For me, I own the game but I’m largely holding out for 1.0, beyond a brief stint playing several major updates ago. I’m not going to get too worked up over alpha or beta updates while they try to zero in on the design. If it sucks at 1.0, oh well, it certainly won’t be the first or last game that I bought and didn’t enjoy. :)

Well, this is the first Alpha iteration in a while that really changes the game, makes it feel like a new or different game altogether. Which bothers some.

I feel like after reading some of these negative comments that some of you must be trying to force yourself to like a game genre that just isn’t suited for you.

The game lets you do anything you want, but that doesn’t mean what you’re doing is a good or smart thing to do. Here you are, presented with a solid wood door and you only have a makeshift stone axe. Sure, you could spend minutes hacking away and bellyache about it, or you can come back later when you have non-caveman tools.

A traditional cRPG might completely gate you out of that situation by saying “Lockpicking level 60 required”. Aw shucks, better come back later!

That would be acceptable if what lay beyond that Level 60 Door was appropriate-level loot but it’s not…it’s merely water, food, and other scraps you need to survive for the next few hours…

Having said that, there are usually other methods of entry like glass windows which are easily smashed with a stone axe or even fists.

I also don’t have much of an issue with it anymore. I’ve had several awesome “nick of time” experiences busting down a door with zombies nearby and the sun setting. It’s a tense couple of minutes but a huge relief when you finally get in, block the door, and hunker down for the night. That’s what it’s all about for me – close calls, one day at a time.

Alpha 14 is released. I might give this one a go, they’re claiming lots of polish, fixes, and balance:

http://7daystodie.com/alpha-14-hits-the-streets/

It actually feels really good now. The UI has gone over another polish, and the rebalancing has made it worth playing again. Zombies are a little too spongy for me, but then again I am just whacking them with low level clubs.

There’s even a brief tutorial mode for new players, to point them in the right direction for what they need to gear up with first. Other than still completely missing any kind of story mode, I’d say 7dtd is damn near releasable.

Performance is 100x better as well, still some stuttering but overall runs smooth at highest settings. Snow is really bloomy though.

Yup. This is a good update. The new quest and perks systems are pretty cool.

The difference from the beginning of the project to now is huge.

Is this mostly a single player game, or one where other human players come and try and off you?

It’s not Day Z. It’s perfectly playable in SP if you’re enjoy no-story survival games – it’s fun and can be satisfying to build and survive on your own, but without anyone actually around to see your creations… well, it gets lonely like MC can get.

I do like me some story, but this might be worth keeping an eye on.