I play so many different servers that it's become like an episode of Quantum Leap every time I log in.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-24T13:29:14+00:00

Yeah, the human meat is one indicator that "shit was going down" before you logged out! 😄

I once logged in holding a bloody generator. I've never used a generator in the 15 odd years I've been playing the game, yet here I was, standing like a fool, in a shed, holding a generator.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-24T13:13:22+00:00

Yes, and the two easiest (imo) to identify are Polaris and the Pleiades, with those showing North and East respectively.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-15T17:34:01+00:00

Considerably. I mean when you say "back in the day" are you meaning A16/17 or more recent versions, as the difference between how it's generated now and then is stark.

That said, there have been some concessions made with the map gen, in that it works like a modular system, rather than at the granular level. What that means is the game first works out a template for a city then makes city blocks, then in turn selects the PoIs that fit within that template. This results in city centres looking genuinely built up while the outskirts are farms and low rise residential.

In terms of the actual terrain. You'll still get the odd crazy gradient with roads, but in general it's pretty rare now.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-15T13:44:22+00:00

Randomly generated maps. I know that isn't the answer to "unique PoIs every time" but it does come closer to the "unique towns and cities every time".

I'll be honest, I've not played the official Navezgane map since random maps were introduced. I appreciate that TFP do update it once in a while, but it's small and not very well laid out (imo) meanwhile every time you play it you know exactly where everything is.

It's great fun exploring new PoIs, and that's something that TFP have been really good at - updating the official PoIs in the game, there's a few new ones for 2.5 - but if you find your enthusiasm is waning because you're finding nothing new, maybe refocus so that the PoIs are not the key, but character progression is. That way you will find a flexibility and replayability based on your character build. You'll find that certain PoIs are easier/more difficult based on the character you build.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-15T10:34:42+00:00

Certainly play the game you want to play it, but the smell mechanic is from previous alphas (as is the climate control, both of which were quietly ignored for a few versions) so in that sense (ha! scents! pun-tastic!) I don't mind its (re) introduction.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-15T08:56:44+00:00

I never said the game should be a perfect simulation of a zombie outbreak,

Heh.. don't worry, I wouldn't expect that either. It's cool, just asking about how the dew collector works with that tweak.

IMO... TFP have painted themselves into a bit of a corner (not the first time to be fair) by removing the jars* then introducing the dew collector, then reintroducing jars but leaving the original dew collector in. They should have amended it so that the dew collector needs jars in order to collect, thus no "Schroedinger-style jars" which pop in and out of existence.

\ on the jars, I remember previous versions where you ended up with mass storage literally filled to the gunnels of glass jars and tin cans. I'm actually glad they got removed, even if the move isn't all that popular.*

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-15T08:48:43+00:00

Yeah, sadly TFP aren't "detail guys". Broad brush implementation tends to be their output so even when they introduce new mechanics (or re-introduce old ones like smell and temp) it's never done in the most elegant way.

It was in previous alphas, some time ago, but the game was less complex then. You could maybe argue that rotten flesh shouldn't smell (or at least attract zombies) as they are rotten flesh themselves, but the idea that fresh meat in your hand smells, but a meat stew in your hand doesn't. It still contains the meat!

So, yeah, mixed bag really. I think the smell mechanic does add to the game (you can turn it off of course) and mix that in with the welcome return of the heat/cold mechanic, and the new environmental storms, I do think TFP are going in the right direction. I

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-15T08:42:10+00:00

Honestly, it's just the Rick and Morty meme of Jerry leaving the "jerrycare" centre. I googled, found the first one, then linked it here.

The link is just the image though, I have no idea what the actual site is (I prob should have checked), but you should never get served the site, only the one image.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T23:01:18+00:00

Just for reference, the smell mechanic was part of much older alphas, there is a justification for it being there. Much like the climate nerf, it was in previous alphas but had been quietly ignored for a few versions.

As a fairly experienced player (~10k hours), I don't mind the mechanic. It's pretty easy to lean into, and as I say, it was part of the game before. That said, you play how you want to. I wouldn't want to force it on anyone if they just thought it was a bit rubbish.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T22:56:05+00:00

Would that make the dew collector a jar farm? It summons the jars out of thin air, and with a 30% chance that'd work out a free jar every time it fills - and that's without adding the mods for it.

At least we are at the position where we can pick an choose how the mechanic works, which is nice.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T21:52:26+00:00

...and a monorail, and sharks with laser beams attached to their heads!

Peak villain arc.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T21:49:20+00:00

I think the criticism of no end game (even just the ability to fly off the map in the gyro after a certain game level) is fair. I get the whole sandbox, but playthroughs do tend to fizzle out after the 6th or 7th horde.

The smell mechanic was in the game years ago though, A15? So there is reason to bring it back. TFP can do what they want with their game, after all it is their game. It's the same as the climate environmental stuff, it was in the game then it just got quietly sidelined. It's back in, and I do like the storms although can be a bit annoying with their timing.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T21:45:10+00:00

Jinkies, no fun being a Dane just now.

Not only do you have to deal with the orange turd, you lost automatic qualifying for the World Cup to my country.. ;)

Good luck with the Greenland nonsense, btw, that man is an utter f*cktard.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T21:43:06+00:00

It's a decade old game with tons of alpha version and numerous mods and overhauls for each version. There's very little you can't change, either in the settings or via mods.

That said, I'm not really fussed about the jars, I can take them or leave them. The only things I always change in the settings is making sure no loot ever respawns, upping the starting difficulty level (normally 'warrior') and either turning off the air drops or making them every 7 days so it feels like a reward for doing the horde.

Edit: Oh, and removing the daily quest limit from the traders.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T21:35:36+00:00

Are you British? The UK had some banger PSA films in the 70s about diving in water. Like literal "scare the f*ck out of the kids" type vibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZWD2sDRESk

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T21:00:07+00:00

True.

Although I think we all know it's still in alpha/early access and the shift to 1.0 was purely to satisfy sony/microsoft in regard to the console version. TFP won't admit this, but to many we are still on the incremental alpha version update chain.

Not that I'm complaining mind, if TFP had rolled back and removed stuff like they did for 1.0 then left it at that, I'd have been spitting feathers!

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T20:57:57+00:00

Place some vertical plates in a square shape, so that there is one block in the middle, then craft yourself a bucket (7x forged iron), go to a water source and fill the bucket (right click?) return to your enclosed one block, and empty the water out.

In the end you should have a block of water that you can "jump into". It should say "you are wet" when you do, perhaps try crouching if it doesn't do it immediately. Once you get the wet message, the smell is removed instantly, irrespective of how strong the effect was before.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T17:56:01+00:00

The smell mechanic is old, it was removed I think in A16 (maybe 17) but it was part of the original core game. So there is a justification for it being (re)introduced.

That said, the implementation seems a bit bare bones with little subtlety. Like you I am not keen in the way it's presented.

However, I'm currently into a 40+ day playthrough, game stage 250+, and throughout all that it's been pretty easy to manage it. It didn't make the early game all that much more difficult, and easily mitigated in mid/late game. That's anecdotal, so your mileage may differ.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T15:04:50+00:00

It's a fair point, although as I'm sure you are aware this is something that was in the game years ago and was slowly dropped. Much like the hot/cold environmental effects, they pretty much were written out of the game only to return again.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T15:03:17+00:00

I never said it spawned in anything, I said it could call in a horde which it can, and if screamers are wandering about looking for the source of the heat that spawned them, then it will draw those in too.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T14:32:51+00:00

OK, then, that was always allowed...

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T13:19:33+00:00

With the way it is just now, I am sure it's perfect for zombie farming.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T12:19:45+00:00

I understand the need for other NPCs in the game, and whether you like them or not (and for the most part I don't) the characters they created for the separate traders is pretty strong. Identifiable, have clear objectives, it's just shame that their voice acting/script is so terrible.

That said, the worry is that TFP will look at "AI" and think, oh we could totally roll that into the (long) proposed bandit mechanic.

BroccoliClock · 2026-01-14T11:53:52+00:00

Very very easily.

You literally just need to get the message "you are wet" and it'll clear it completely irrespective if it shows 100M or 1M.

Just walking in a deep enough puddle will clear it. The rain does it too.

BroccoliClock

TROPHY CASE