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Spiffin'


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komokon-spiffo-712x462.jpg

 

Evenin’ all…

 

VEHICLES

Work on the internal test branch for cars continues, alongside Build 37 and its general bug purge, while Martin continues to pump out vehicle models and their destroyed counterparts.

 

Community feedback on the initial cars vid was extremely positive, but some people felt they ‘popped out’ from the environment a little – it’s something we’re aware of and as such he’s also experimenting with a texture to make general cars look a little more weathered, as well as muting the general colours we use a little so they fit more snugly into the PZ map tiles. The reds, greens and blues we initially used were very pure. So, behold: cars that will (hopefully) fit in with the PZ world a little better once they’re up and running in the test build.

 

grimier-cars.jpg

 

Something else that’s a part of our vehicles build, meanwhile, is some work EasyPickins put in on zombie pathfinding that we haven’t mentioned so far. Clearly, having a bunch of movable objects on the game map adds complications (and exploits) when we have a bunch of zombies traipsing after you and providing a mounting threat.

 

As such in the vehicles branch we currently have some new pathfinding work that you can see in an early test screen while we still had the blue trucks with the wonky wheel.

Right now the path-finding seems okay, but the actual following needs some polish (there’s a few zeds getting stuck on things) but it’s a fantastic system to take into the internal testing stage of affairs. Our thanks to Tim for all the work he put into it.

 

BUILD 37 WORK

We just released Version 37.5 into the IWBUMS public beta, which follows on from last Wednesday’s Version 37.4. The latter included an update to the foraging system that means you can look for a specific sort of item (berries, plants, materials etc) that will also have the secondary benefit of unwanted items not clogging up servers – likewise the new server option that’ll allow items to set a particular number of hours before the game hoovers up unwanted items that have been left on the ground.

We reckon there’ll be one more, maybe two, fix-focused public beta releases before a full 37 launch – specifically aimed at clearing the board in terms of the bugs (many quick and easy-remedy, others not) that’ve been building up over the past few builds. Then 37’s maps, annotated maps, loot stashes and many/varied other stuff will be set loose on the world/Steam.

 

Meanwhile, as discussed last week, in other branches work on in-game devices, map expansion, optimization and making sure advances made in vehicles/anims all play nicely together all continues to bubble beneath the surface.

 

COMMUNITY STUFF

A quick nod to some of the cool stuff we’ve been seeing popping up on the forums recently. First off, IndigoRebel’s buildings look fab – an amazing eye for detail in the stores and apartment buildings. We also love the absolutely crazy Post Apocalyptic Sprites that MarcOwaR has created – although we are a little worried about his state of mind when designing a couple of them…

 

This week’s Spiffo-loving lady from Komokon over on Steam. The Centralized Block of Italicised Text would like to direct your attention to the PZ Wiki should you feel like editing or amending something, and the PZ Mailing List that can send blogs like this and patch notes direct to your mailbox. We also live on Twitter right hereOur Discord is now open for chat and hijinks too. A general overview of the content of PZ builds past, in testing and upcoming can be found here.

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I gotta say I am super pumped to reintroduce some people to this game after anims/cars/blood accumulation/server cleaning drop in. This will address everything my buddies wanted in this game a year ago. They've since dropped out but I can genuinely sustain my hype for years... Thanks for stickin it out Devs!

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23 hours ago, xXSly_WolfyXx said:

Really like the dirtiness of cars and the color changes. Also, is there any chance of martin making a couple motorcycle models?

 

Motor bikes, cycles and anything where the player is prone to falling off opens up a whole can of worms with regards physics, anims etc. I think the plan for now is to get cars working and stable and then look at how feasible bikes etc are with the vehicle system and the new anim system once that's finalised.

 

So whilst I'm not saying "never", its not likely to be in the initial vehicle release.

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34 minutes ago, martingee said:

 

Motor bikes, cycles and anything where the player is prone to falling off opens up a whole can of worms with regards physics, anims etc. I think the plan for now is to get cars working and stable and then look at how feasible bikes etc are with the vehicle system and the new anim system once that's finalised.

 

So whilst I'm not saying "never", its not likely to be in the initial vehicle release.

Thanks for the information :)

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22 hours ago, ZombiesLoveBrainiacs said:

btw map additions: what happened to that city in the north, Louisville or what it was called?


You might be referring to the Louisville outskirts (aka Orell) that are supposed to lead up to Louisville proper and was teased ( here: http://projectzomboid.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Louisville-outskirts.jpg ) over 2 years ago. Its delay/disappearance has honestly been one of my only gripes about the PZ dev process I've had, simply because it was teased as a huge and upcoming map expansion (much bigger than the Rosewood/March Ridge area) and then pushed to the shelf with no word for years, only to still be out of the picture with different, smaller scale map expansions taking it's place.

It took a long time for me to get an answer stating that it was put aside and I only got that after being confused and asking why we had Rosewood and March Ridge quickly pumped out during the wait for animations as opposed to a completed version of Orell (seen years ago as a WIP in the link above).

It's just a guess but I think the delay has something to do with the changes to map streaming talked about in a now older Mondoid ( found here: https://projectzomboid.com/blog/2016/02/dark-places/ ) where it talks about changes that would allow for not just basements and sewers but taller buildings as well (I'm personally hoping this is one of the things General Arcade will work on after the streaming changes for vehicles are done but this is purely speculation based on the fact that they're working on map streaming and engine improvements [which is what this would essentially be]).

Regardless, I'm happy TIS keeps pumping out content and fully intends to complete the game and map, including parts of Louisville, its outskirts, Fort Knox and even Brandenburg to the west. It will take time but even the outskirts are huge when compared to the existing map and it will truly put the game on another level once there's all that space to explore and survive in :)
 

Edited by Kuren
Added note about GA work.
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3 hours ago, Kuren said:

You might be referring to the Louisville outskirts (aka Orell) that are supposed to lead up to Louisville proper and was teased ( here: http://projectzomboid.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Louisville-outskirts.jpg ) over 2 years ago. Its delay/disappearance has honestly been one of my only gripes about the PZ dev process I've had, simply because it was teased as a huge and upcoming map expansion (much bigger than the Rosewood/March Ridge area) and then pushed to the shelf with no word for years, only to still be out of the picture with different, smaller scale map expansions taking it's place.
...
Regardless, I'm happy TIS keeps pumping out content and fully intends to complete the game and map, including parts of Louisville, its outskirts, Fort Knox and even Brandenburg to the west. It will take time but even the outskirts are huge when compared to the existing map and it will truly put the game on another level once there's all that space to explore and survive in :)

 

At this point, I don't want to be a party-pooper, but I think there are enough maps to allow for hours of fun gameplay in the upcoming v1.0. I would rather not distract devs from their monumental task of adding the remaining elements that will turn this from an EA game to the blockbuster that it certainly will be.

 

Can we agree that Orell and Louisvill, etc. could be really fun, but would also work as an attractive DLC once the whole Project Zomboid experience has come together?

 

I also like the idea of bicycles and motorcycles, but think that they could probably work as a nice little DLC, too.

 

I'm getting tired of reading posts by people (but certainly not you Kuren), who lament the time the TIS team is taking due to expanding their concept of what the v1.0 game should be, while simultaneously trying to pile up their plate with a wish list of non-essential items.

 

I'm looking forward to this becoming the first EA game to actually be released out of dozens that I have bought. But that can't happen if they are constantly reminded of ideas they happened to mention a number of years ago.

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1 hour ago, Erkinwine said:

 

At this point, I don't want to be a party-pooper, but I think there are enough maps to allow for hours of fun gameplay in the upcoming v1.0. I would rather not distract devs from their monumental task of adding the remaining elements that will turn this from an EA game to the blockbuster that it certainly will be.

 

Can we agree that Orell and Louisvill, etc. could be really fun, but would also work as an attractive DLC once the whole Project Zomboid experience has come together?

 

I also like the idea of bicycles and motorcycles, but think that they could probably work as a nice little DLC, too.

 

I'm getting tired of reading posts by people (but certainly not you Kuren), who lament the time the TIS team is taking due to expanding their concept of what the v1.0 game should be, while simultaneously trying to pile up their plate with a wish list of non-essential items.

 

I'm looking forward to this becoming the first EA game to actually be released out of dozens that I have bought. But that can't happen if they are constantly reminded of ideas they happened to mention a number of years ago.

I can agree some things are a bit superfluous but expanding the map is not a waste of time. This game desperately needs a change out of the rural environment and its a project that is not easy for members of the community who are doing it for free to complete. 

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I think you should consider expansion packs like old games did back in the days.

A full pack with entirely new zones, items, clothes, buildings, additional features, etc.

 

I think people are tired of the DLC model as it's making a game feel too heavy when it's selling stuff like "Police outfit DLC" or "Army base DLC" because it feels like those things were meant to be in the base game, no?

 

But Expansions didn't have those issues. Back in the day you were overjoyed if a game you liked was getting an expansion, as it meant a lot of new content.

Look at Warcraft 3, Starcraft, Diablo 2, Age of Empires, Baldur's Gate and more to see good examples of expansions.

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8 minutes ago, Gurluas said:

I think people are tired of the DLC model as it's making a game feel too heavy when it's selling stuff like "Police outfit DLC" or "Army base DLC" because it feels like those things were meant to be in the base game, no?

 

But Expansions didn't have those issues. Back in the day you were overjoyed if a game you liked was getting an expansion, as it meant a lot of new content.

 

Expansions generally involve a much higher price - 29.99 vs. 1.99 for example, so it is acceptable that the two don't have the same level of content. I've also had to suffer through some expansions that involve changes to the basic mechanics, thus creating a different game, entirely. Expansions like Denver, St. Louis, Seattle, Washington DC or LA (Grand Theft Auto with a twist) would be cool, but I don't think it would bother me if motorcycles and bicycles were part of a DLC for 1.99 and, as mentioned by Butter Bot, Louisville is part of the project.

 

I do think that we currently have plenty of map to play on while other pieces of the project are rolled out. No one has really said much about a campaign, but it was obviously the intention of the devs to have a campaign for the project and that will be a different kind of beast, entirely, as it requires story-telling rather than programming to be successful and no matter how great the mechanics and graphics are, if the campaign isn't good, it ends up being just a sandbox.

 

The point of this is that the devs definitely have enough environment to test and run each element as it is introduced without a need for more maps. Before too long, Orell will become more necessary as the devs need to work out taller buildings, basements, etc., but I think we are ok until then. We don't need taller buildings or basements for a vehicle that is just going to drive by or for an NPC, unless he or she is going to live there.

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3 hours ago, Gurluas said:

My point was post-release big expansions. Adding entire new areas and such all at once, (when it's done)

I'd love to see that even if I had to pay 20 dollars.

 

And I hope the Devs would reconsider on doing expansions one day when 1.0 is out and it's feature complete.

No. No. No. The idea is not even cute, Expansion packs and DLC is everything thats wrong with the modern gaming industry. This is a developing indie game.

Doing that is just a cheap way to try and squeeze more money out of the fans. which is low.

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Really do think it's enough just  for the base game to receive updates. If you'd like to buy another copy and gift it to someone, please do. If not a friend, then there's lots of people that can't afford the game or have to pirate it. :D

 

It should be able to stand on its own merits as it does now (not to mention after 7 or 8 years, I'm sure the main devs would like to move on to something new, without Java).

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3 hours ago, Gurluas said:

My point was post-release big expansions. Adding entire new areas and such all at once, (when it's done)

I'd love to see that even if I had to pay 20 dollars.

 

And I hope the Devs would reconsider on doing expansions one day when 1.0 is out and it's feature complete.

Oh god, i'm having nightmares of paying 160$ on Crusader Kings two DLC and now i'm having thoughts of how much of my money is going towards Civ 6 dlcs *shudders*

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This kinda reminds me of back in the day when I used to get Xbox magazine (yes, that was a thing). I read letters to the editor when they were talking about bumping the monthly price of Xbox Live from $6 to ~$10 or whatever it is now and this one fucking guy was like "Yeah! That's a great idea! That means they'll focus on keeping the experience great!" ... or some shit like that. To this day I believe that letter was a plant from Microsoft to basically say "Everyone, get fucked, this is happening."

 

I then proceeded to spend all my money on Xbox shit, just in less of a good mood.

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26 minutes ago, tommysticks said:

This kinda reminds me of back in the day when I used to get Xbox magazine (yes, that was a thing). I read letters to the editor when they were talking about bumping the monthly price of Xbox Live from $6 to ~$10 or whatever it is now and this one fucking guy was like "Yeah! That's a great idea! That means they'll focus on keeping the experience great!" ... or some shit like that. To this day I believe that letter was a plant from Microsoft to basically say "Everyone, get fucked, this is happening."

 

I then proceeded to spend all my money on Xbox shit, just in less of a good mood.

Yeah thats why I only play PC games, I can understand the subscription model if it's reasonably priced and their goal isn't the money.  Not saying PC doesn't have any subscription model games, because it does, but most games are just one time buy and I can do whatever I want.

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On 30/3/2017 at 8:49 PM, IndigoRebel said:

No. No. No. The idea is not even cute, Expansion packs and DLC is everything thats wrong with the modern gaming industry. This is a developing indie game.

Doing that is just a cheap way to try and squeeze more money out of the fans. which is low.

Please read my post again, I'm talking about the original expansions from the nineties, who weren't just a character pack or 5 missions and a few features.

They were big and worth your money and the dev's time.

 

In any case this is hypothetical as we're talking about something post 1.0.

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