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Hi all, something of an intermediate dev blog this week as the work outlined in this coder-speak blog to remedy zombie teleportation in the internal build of 41’s multiplayer is still underway.

 

The tldr of this is that we’re moving the ownership of nearby zombies to the client rather than have it governed by the server – and in the following vid you can see the work-in-progress functionality of this.

 

Here you can see two clients connecting to the server, the server determining which client owns the zombie, and then the server changing the ownership between them. When it swaps the first client sends its prediction of the zed’s movement to the server, and the server then sends this information to the second client.

 

It seems to be working well, but has also has bugs that need addressing like incorrect ownership changes, some static zeds and some attacks not causing damage. Yuri is pleased with the progress so far though.

 

This isn’t part of the main internal MP test build yet, it’s being fixed up elsewhere, so we haven’t been doing any high population tests this week – so no Naruto run videos today we’re afraid.



Elsewhere Turbo has been further improving our chatbox – picking up the baton from General Arcade’s Stas a few years down the line. Quoth the Turbo:
 

“I’ve been restructuring the underlying chat system to accommodate for the various new features that have been suggested by testers: this includes a different way of handling the streams, adding new features, and fixing up some things that were broken such as radio.”
 

“The chatbox UI is getting a complete overhaul, most UI elements are new and tailored specifically for it – for example the text pane is now a javabacked UI element specialised in handling chat messages.”

This new pane has fast paginate and caching methods so it can more easily handle a big history of chat messages then its lua variant. It also has new features such as text selection, links, timestamp indentation to name a few. I’m also adding various options to let folks customise how they want it.”
 



Meanwhile SFX development continues apace over with Noiseworks, with tying new noises to footsteps currently on the agenda (each different depending on what footwear you have on, and what you’re walking on). RJ meanwhile continues to work on the player-vision systems and stealth described last week.
 

Finally, as it has been a little bit of a drydoid this week while we wait for the new client zed structure to be ready for the main MP test branch… our mappers have reached a point with our version of Louisville where it would be sensible to do some more testing for feel, bugs, look and performance.
 

It’ll be a big task both testing and zoning (adding foraging/zed story/etc areas) the map, so we want to be doing that simultaneous to its construction rather than in one big lump at the end.
 

And for testing, really we need zombies – so this week we extended the current map’s zombie heat map to make sure they can spawn. The whiter the area, the more zeds will appear.

(USUAL CAVEAT: Our version of Louisville is still heavily in production, and isn’t going to be releasing any time soon. That said, it is now in the middle distance – rather than just peeking over the horizon)

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Here’s also a nice little gif nasKo cooked up for us to show the existing map underneath better.
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Thanks everyone! And, again, a big welcome to all the new players who’ve been getting into PZ recently.
 

What’s more a MASSIVE massive thank you to all our existing survivors who have been so supportive and helpful in providing hints, tips and answering their many questions. Times like this really underline that our community really is rather special.
 

This week’s renovated motel from Razor. A changelist of all IWBUMS patches since the 41 beta was released can be found here. A general list of stuff added to PZ, and vids of features being worked on, is kept here – so you don’t have to plough through endless dev blogs for info. 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 you update notifications once builds get released. We also live on Twitter right hereOur Discord is open for chat and hijinks too!

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is there any thought with multiplayer coming out soon to add an auto walk button ? that way you can pick a direction walk that way and hit it to keep going there until another input is in like the cruise control for the cars. would make chatting with others while on a long hike to wherever your going without having to stop to reply constantly. plus my fingers would thank you for not having to hold down 2 keys while im forced to walk from west point to riverside.

Edited by Kalista
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I was wondering, if few people on server perform fine and large servers with lots of players still need improvement, why not release capped multiplayer at 2-3 players per server now, while you work out large server performance?

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1 hour ago, Toshis said:

I was wondering, if few people on server perform fine and large servers with lots of players still need improvement, why not release capped multiplayer at 2-3 players per server now, while you work out large server performance?

Because if the problem exists on high-population servers, it's on low-pop servers as well and it will eventually become a problem.

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a bad analogy is like, a footpath is being made (preventing people from walking a path) you can wait until the path is done or let people walk the grass. the issue with people walking on the grass is that itll wear the grass out. limiting the amount of people that can walk on the grass will just delay the effect until its noticable. again, a bad analogy but works the same. best for the new foothpath to be made.

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18 minutes ago, MrModules said:

a bad analogy is like, a footpath is being made (preventing people from walking a path) you can wait until the path is done or let people walk the grass. the issue with people walking on the grass is that itll wear the grass out. limiting the amount of people that can walk on the grass will just delay the effect until its noticable. again, a bad analogy but works the same. best for the new foothpath to be made.

Yep.

 

Add an element of randomness in and you’ll have a bad time. Someone comes in and sets the grass on fire, but you don’t know when or where it’ll happen.

 

We’re in a pretty good place, but zombies need to be sorted.

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17 hours ago, EnigmaGrey said:

Yep.

 

Add an element of randomness in and you’ll have a bad time. Someone comes in and sets the grass on fire, but you don’t know when or where it’ll happen.

 

We’re in a pretty good place, but zombies need to be sorted.

Yes,  but meanwhile u are keeping ur grass clean and safe, others are building highways over ur little garden.

and so? So i came here every thursady in the last year and a half, to see the progress u Made with the footpath. And every thursday i saw u planting trees and flowers, cut the grass....and no footpath progress. To me u had choose a bad planning of priorities. Footpath (MP to be clear) is one of the more important assets, if not the most, of this game and u waited a year and a half to start working on it seriously, and now there are problems and we have to wait more. So sad.

 

thats only my opinion, no offense is given.

and sorry in not native language ( as u could seen).

bye

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5 hours ago, Coltello said:

Yes,  but meanwhile u are keeping ur grass clean and safe, others are building highways over ur little garden.

and so? So i came here every thursady in the last year and a half, to see the progress u Made with the footpath. And every thursday i saw u planting trees and flowers, cut the grass....and no footpath progress. To me u had choose a bad planning of priorities. Footpath (MP to be clear) is one of the more important assets, if not the most, of this game and u waited a year and a half to start working on it seriously, and now there are problems and we have to wait more. So sad.

 

thats only my opinion, no offense is given.

and sorry in not native language ( as u could seen).

bye

I'll be honest: I do find that rather offensive.

 

Your analogy doesn't make sense. PZ is a niche title with few others like it. Any games that customers claimed would be PZ-enders didn't get anywhere, so those imaginary highways we should be scared of are no threat to us. Simply, no one is going to come around and recreate a game with 10 years of work in however long it takes to get MP out. That's just fear mongering -- and even if it did, you could just play that game instead of PZ, meaning you get what you want out of that and only we lose. It's pointless to bring up, as we're not entirely motivated by profit. 

 

Your comment on priorities assumes that we could have done this differently, such as by implementing MP before animations. Yet animations is the reason why MP had to be changed. MP was  never built with animations, so there's no way it could have just worked out of the box. As is, we've seen a 5-fold increase in popularity since releasing animations, without MP. While MP will no doubt enhance this further and make the game even more popular, over a longer period of time, the priority couldn't have been changed. We're not going to nuke ourselves by releasing it half-formed.

 

We didn't wait a year and a half to start work on MP. Though we did have to wait for Andrei and Yuri to be available to help out when the original people couldn't do it due unfortunate events in their lives. That's just the time since releasing animations to the public, the MP rework started last year.


I get that it's really important to you, but there's little point living in fear of the future, compromising fatally, or misrepresenting how long it's been.

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4 hours ago, EnigmaGrey said:

I'll be honest: I do find that rather offensive.

 

Your analogy doesn't make sense. PZ is a niche title with few others like it. Any games that customers claimed would be PZ-enders didn't get anywhere, so those imaginary highways we should be scared of are no threat to us. Simply, no one is going to come around and recreate a game with 10 years of work in however long it takes to get MP out. That's just fear mongering -- and even if it did, you could just play that game instead of PZ, meaning you get what you want out of that and only we lose. It's pointless to bring up, as we're not entirely motivated by profit. 

 

Your comment on priorities assumes that we could have done this differently, such as by implementing MP before animations. Yet animations is the reason why MP had to be changed. MP was  never built with animations, so there's no way it could have just worked out of the box. As is, we've seen a 5-fold increase in popularity since releasing animations, without MP. While MP will no doubt enhance this further and make the game even more popular, over a longer period of time, the priority couldn't have been changed. We're not going to nuke ourselves by releasing it half-formed.

 

We didn't wait a year and a half to start work on MP. Though we did have to wait for Andrei and Yuri to be available to help out when the original people couldn't do it due unfortunate events in their lives. That's just the time since releasing animations to the public, the MP rework started last year.


I get that it's really important to you, but there's little point living in fear of the future, compromising fatally, or misrepresenting how long it's been.

I’m really sorry for the unfortunate events in life that some dev had to pass through. I didn’t know.


The analogy was bad from the first person who wrote it above but this had already been stated.

Obviously PZ is a niche game but this does not mean that you can manage the development in a casual way of this amazing game so loved by me as by many.

as for my opinion reading in the blog every week things like “ MP? We are still working on it...but do you now the possibility to do fitness” or “ MP?...yes Yuri is working on it but look folks now you can wear colored bandanas” or the masterpiece”MP? We still have a lot of problems but hey look at us we are doing the Naruto run” result to be very....frustrating.

problem I try to represent to you here is that sometimes even with all the best intentions of showing the progress and hard work you do the meaning of what you blogging can be misinterpreted. Many of the community members just want to play with a small group of friends and come here to read about fitness and bandanas and naruto run instead of having a chance to have fun with friends turns out to be really boring.

I reiterate that what I wanted to do in my first post on this blog was to focus once again that one of the contents for which I bought the game was the MP. Obviously I could play the old PZ with my friends but of course we want to take advantage of the new b41.

We bought a developing game and We don’t expect it to be perfect. You received a huge demand for the MP you could have immediately focused the team on the developement of the MP and not on the “aesthetics”.

Even the Blockbusters weren’t scared of the internet competition and we all know how it turned out.

Saying you are not interested in profit after selling a product makes no sense.

If you need more funds or more people you can ask the community to admit that you need help is not a sign of weakness but am understanding of your limitations.
I already know this post will probably be deleted and my account banned.

having received a rude answer, I took the liberty of replying rudely.

bye bye

 

 

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1 hour ago, Coltello said:

I’m really sorry for the unfortunate events in life that some dev had to pass through. I didn’t know.


The analogy was bad from the first person who wrote it above but this had already been stated.

Obviously PZ is a niche game but this does not mean that you can manage the development in a casual way of this amazing game so loved by me as by many.

as for my opinion reading in the blog every week things like “ MP? We are still working on it...but do you now the possibility to do fitness” or “ MP?...yes Yuri is working on it but look folks now you can wear colored bandanas” or the masterpiece”MP? We still have a lot of problems but hey look at us we are doing the Naruto run” result to be very....frustrating.

problem I try to represent to you here is that sometimes even with all the best intentions of showing the progress and hard work you do the meaning of what you blogging can be misinterpreted. Many of the community members just want to play with a small group of friends and come here to read about fitness and bandanas and naruto run instead of having a chance to have fun with friends turns out to be really boring.

I reiterate that what I wanted to do in my first post on this blog was to focus once again that one of the contents for which I bought the game was the MP. Obviously I could play the old PZ with my friends but of course we want to take advantage of the new b41.

We bought a developing game and We don’t expect it to be perfect. You received a huge demand for the MP you could have immediately focused the team on the developement of the MP and not on the “aesthetics”.

Even the Blockbusters weren’t scared of the internet competition and we all know how it turned out.

Saying you are not interested in profit after selling a product makes no sense.

If you need more funds or more people you can ask the community to admit that you need help is not a sign of weakness but am understanding of your limitations.
I already know this post will probably be deleted and my account banned.

having received a rude answer, I took the liberty of replying rudely.

bye bye

 

 

You do not seem to understand that “the whole team” isn’t capable of writing backend net code. We can’t just stop development on everything else and switch to MP. 

 

We are not going to rush this out and blow the game’s future over comments like this. MP is not stable, even for small servers, and until it is, we will not release it. We’re the only ones that can judge when that is appropriate and I ask you to respect that.

 

I’m sorry you’re frustrated, but that’s up to you to manage rather than use it as a justification for being rude.

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12 hours ago, EnigmaGrey said:

You do not seem to understand that “the whole team” isn’t capable of writing backend net code. We can’t just stop development on everything else and switch to MP. 

 

We are not going to rush this out and blow the game’s future over comments like this. MP is not stable, even for small servers, and until it is, we will not release it. We’re the only ones that can judge when that is appropriate and I ask you to respect that.

 

I’m sorry you’re frustrated, but that’s up to you to manage rather than use it as a justification for being rude.

It appears to be evident from the blog of january 7 and 14, as you wrote, that even developers not specialized in MP will move to help out because the focus now, having finished the details of the B41, had become that. Which means that until then your focus had not been to bring out the MP. It is very clear. This is where I move my criticism into, in my humble opinion, mismanagement of priorities.

I am fully aware that posthumous criticism cannot change the path you have chosen to take, they even cannot shorten the time it takes now to release the MP. In any case, since I purchased your product in development, if, again from my point of view, I have the feeling that things are not being managed as well as I expect, I have the right to be able to write it. And you, whether you like it or not, have to accept the criticisms that are raise from the moment you put yourself on the line by deciding to sell a product. Answering things like “the game is ours so we decide” is a symptom of both inexperience and arrogance, to say the least. The problem, to be clear, is not when the MP will be released, it is not my responsibility because I can only stay here and wait obviously, but it is on the childish response that is given.

Evidently the ones who are frustrated are you, who have probably embarked on a project much larger than your means, and instead of remaining humble in the face of legitimate criticism, you respond rudely to customers, trying to make them look rude.

 

that said, I no longer think it is necessary to write on this forum, since first of all I was already aware of the fact that no comments posted by me could have accelerated the release of multiplayer. Second, having ascertained the arrogant responses of the moderators, I don’t want to sit here and have a futile debate. I feel to say that the only thing that objectively makes me frustrated is figuring out what kind of people are running one of the game I love the most. If you are not able to handle criticism, learn it, as you can read from me there had not been a lack of respect towards you up to now.

bye

Edited by Coltello
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4 hours ago, Coltello said:

It appears to be evident from the blog of january 7 and 14, as you wrote, that even developers not specialized in MP will move to help out because the focus now, having finished the details of the B41, had become that. Which means that until then your focus had not been to bring out the MP. It is very clear. This is where I move my criticism into, in my humble opinion, mismanagement of priorities.

I am fully aware that posthumous criticism cannot change the path you have chosen to take, they even cannot shorten the time it takes now to release the MP. In any case, since I purchased your product in development, if, again from my point of view, I have the feeling that things are not being managed as well as I expect, I have the right to be able to write it. And you, whether you like it or not, have to accept the criticisms that are raise from the moment you put yourself on the line by deciding to sell a product. Answering things like “the game is ours so we decide” is a symptom of both inexperience and arrogance, to say the least. The problem, to be clear, is not when the MP will be released, it is not my responsibility because I can only stay here and wait obviously, but it is on the childish response that is given.

Evidently the ones who are frustrated are you, who have probably embarked on a project much larger than your means, and instead of remaining humble in the face of legitimate criticism, you respond rudely to customers, trying to make them look rude.

 

that said, I no longer think it is necessary to write on this forum, since first of all I was already aware of the fact that no comments posted by me could have accelerated the release of multiplayer. Second, having ascertained the arrogant responses of the moderators, I don’t want to sit here and have a futile debate. I feel to say that the only thing that objectively makes me frustrated is figuring out what kind of people are running one of the game I love the most. If you are not able to handle criticism, learn it, as you can read from me there had not been a lack of respect towards you up to now.

bye


 

Right-o, I’m not playing that game where you insist I have to listen to every ignorant, insulting insistence  you make while pretending you think this is respectful, acceptable conduct. I’ve been patient, explained it, and I’ve given you enough chances to realize this. And worse, you know you’re doing it — saying that you mean no offence after the fact, as though that excuses it, and then you act like I gave you permission to really let loose because I didn’t reply in the way you wanted? Please, spare us the act.

 

 For everyone else: us all focusing on MP does not mean we all write the backend net code, like moving zombies to the client and syncing them between players. That can only be done by two devs, so trying to dunk on us like this and needle about priorities is pointless.

 

 You’re not going to shame us around a bottleneck. We all just have to wait and do that at can in the meantime.

 

I love the most”

 

I will never understand why others think this makes it acceptable to treat the people that worked on the thing you love so poorly. If that is how you show love, we want no part of it.

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1 hour ago, Ilre said:

I'm new in this forum but nice customer care bro lmao 

Buying a product doesn't give someone the right to treat others poorly, to take some sort of petty vengeance on them because they're frustrated and/or willfully lack knowledge about the process.

 

I don't really care if that flies in the face of McDonalds-level customer service expectations. People in retail and hospitality shouldn't have to put up with that, either. When you actually lose thousands of dollars to a bad decision, a bad product, I'll understand it more fully, as we've all been there. But ...  not over a couple of bucks on a video game or a burger without the right condiments. Not over MP, like, taking a while while the rest of the game is out there, for you to play, including the old MP. Not while there's an absolute feast of blogs and posts that you can read and learn from. Not when you have someone that works with the devs literally explaining it to you, while you escalate your already jerk-is behaviour. 

 

Also, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and just assume that despite having a very similar IP.etc and showing up minutes after they'd have been notified of the ban, that you're not an alt of Costello. If that's not the case, then well, coincidences happen. Welcome to the forum and sorry ithe getting may be on an negative note.

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You are completely right, no one should be pressed on their workplace, especially when the commitment is there and it shows. I imagine, also reading other posts on the forum, that there was a real attempt to lynch the developers and moderators who were trying to keep the peace.
Probably the main problem is that by playing build 41 (fantastic in my opinion) people go into hype and can't wait to try it with their friends, but that should justify them if they then come and throw shit on who is actually working hard.
I also read the blog every week. I go crazy to discover that the much desired mp is not out but then I think "it is clearly their priority to release a game without major problems, if they do not there will be a reason".
I hope that you will be able to solve the various problems of the game and I apologize in advance if anything I said may be misunderstood but I am using google translate as my English is slightly poor. (I'm italian)
P.s. I'm not Coltello and I wrote that thing to dampen the hatred a bit since it is difficult to understand each other when writing on a forum and not speaking in person.
Good luck guys :)

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I agree with PZ developers, dont mind waiting for a good quality product. I also understand that waiting can be hard. Take a look at cyberpunk, mass effect andromeda or no mans sky - in what crappy state those games were released.

Edited by Toshis
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4 hours ago, Ilre said:

You are completely right, no one should be pressed on their workplace, especially when the commitment is there and it shows. I imagine, also reading other posts on the forum, that there was a real attempt to lynch the developers and moderators who were trying to keep the peace.
Probably the main problem is that by playing build 41 (fantastic in my opinion) people go into hype and can't wait to try it with their friends, but that should justify them if they then come and throw shit on who is actually working hard.
I also read the blog every week. I go crazy to discover that the much desired mp is not out but then I think "it is clearly their priority to release a game without major problems, if they do not there will be a reason".
I hope that you will be able to solve the various problems of the game and I apologize in advance if anything I said may be misunderstood but I am using google translate as my English is slightly poor. (I'm italian)
P.s. I'm not Coltello and I wrote that thing to dampen the hatred a bit since it is difficult to understand each other when writing on a forum and not speaking in person.
Good luck guys :)

You got it.

 

And not a problem. I appreciate the kind words and your approach to this. I'm sure it'll go fine and we'll get MP out fairly soon.

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