This blog is about games and their place in popular culture written by a former educator who has gone back to school to retrain into a different field.
You will find articles surrounding a gaming community called Geezers in Arms from www.geezersinarms.com, film reviews, game reviews, comic reviews, book reviews, and a personal journal.
This is the best horror game I have ever played. This character is an everyday guy trapped in a nut house where all the inmates have taken it over. I am this guy. All you can do is run and hide. This is one of the only games I'd encourage people to watch because it is very cinematic and entertaining to watch someone you know freak out.
The experience is similar to watching someone in a horror movie and screaming at them as they make every cliche stupid mistake in the book. Enjoy! Skip to the last minute of the first video to get a sense of the terror I feel when playing this game.
The following has been compiled from the Geezer's in Arms forum and the 7d2d forum. This is the collective knowledge of hours of discovered game play.
Trivia
you can place Cob Web to slow zombies down?
the fastest ways to fell a tree is to destroy the block underneath it?
you can select different spawn points (bedrolls) on the map - even those placed by other players (coop)?
you can hold down the mouse button to continuously attack?
there are currently eight different biomes in the game, each one with unique sources of materials and resources (forests, snowy mountains, pine forest, plains, deserts, burned forests, radiation zones)?
Function Keys
Almost ever F-Key has an unique function?
- F1 Menu
- F2 Player Stats
- F4 Switching Windows-/Fullscreen Mode
- F5 Third Person View
- F7 UI on/off
- F8 FPS on/off
- F9 Take Screenshot (screenshots are placed in game default folder)
Keyboard Tips
you can rotate the camera in third person view by holding down the ALT key?
you can quick transfer items from inventory to hotbar by shift-clicking on it (and vise versa)?
you can zoom in and out the camera in third person view by holding ALT and using the scroll wheel? (allows nice pictures combined with F7+F9!)
Zombies
zombies slow down at night if they pass the light radius of a placed campfire/torch?
if you pause after each use of the pickax (ie. for mining) for a second you can almost mine unlimited with full stamina? Zombies first scream before they attack you?
the sledgehammer is the most powerful melee weapon currently in game, able to kill almost every zombie with one hit?
Food
Blueberries, potatoes and corn grow at very fast rates.
Corn will grow randomly with ears being on each stalk in either 1, 2, or 3 ears per stalk.
Potatoes will yield 5.
Blueberries yield 3.
If you do not have a "Hydrated" Soil block (which is noticeable by the color of the block. Either normal dirt color, or a darker brown) you have to gather the plant sprout that you have harvested, re-til the soil, and then re-plant it. If it is hydrated, you do not have to replant the sprout each time. MISC
The crafting list on the right shows everything you can make WITH the current items in your inventory. If you select an item that is WHITE in the list it will show you the shape you need but not the ingredients needed. If it is Green then you have made it before and clicking it will auto fill the ingredients and have the item ready to move into your inventory.
Now here is the most helpful thing....if you continue to click the green item in the list, it will continue to fill ingredients and add to the item stack for you to pull into your inventory. The ONLY time you have to put ingredients into the crafting area is the first time you ever make an item.
Spikes...The small spikes you make with sharpened sticks are deadly. If you mistakenly place them on the block your standing, you are most likely dead. Be very careful trying to place them around in grass.
Grass... makes it hard to work with anything. The collision boxes are off at the moment. Clear the grass in your building area to prevent accidents.
Glitches- If you lay down a chest in a two high tunnel and step onto the chest, Your head will glitch through the block above and yes you can see to the top of the world but you are also stuck. Break a block overhead and to the side to free yourself.
Glitches- When mining sometimes the material seems to disappear when in fact it has glitched through another block. It will usually show up after breaking the next block.
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12,000 keys have been sent out over the weekend. The Fun Pimps continue to process data from Kickstarter, Amazon, and PayPal. Backers are receiving their keys and experiencing slow downs in downloads due to heavy traffic from the Fun Pimps servers
To deal with the strain this small indie company has been working over night to add servers for handling the additional load (two Saturday night). The Dallas based company is being flooded with support requests. It seems that in the rush to get these keys out backers are facing database errors, account verification issues, and general questions about setting up and playing the game.
The Pimps' roll out strategy seems to be a three phase plan. First, they are rushing to get everyone their keys in the most efficient manner possible. Those who bought multiple keys or require manual support by the staff are going to have to wait until the bulk of the keys are released. Finally, the guys plan to focus on general support for 7 Days to Die.
Here is a Sunday released e-mail about the released keys.
We’re still bringing data into our system and sending out keys and as of this post have delivered over 12,000 keys but we still have more work to do. Last night we increased our download capacity with 2 more servers. We will continue to send out keys until every customer who has purchased the Alpha package or greater has the game.
Our customer support has been flooded with emails and we are way behind on this. We will be sending out every Key before we can come back to you folks who have problems that require manual database corrections, changes to your account, account verifications or general support. Simply put we don't have the staff to answer every email at this volume.
People who bought more than 1 key on Kickstarter through any package other than the THE ALPHA BUDDIES or THE ALPHA CLAN packages orders may take longer as theses multiple orders need to be entered into our system by hand.
People who bought more than 1 key on PayPal in single transaction will get there additional keys but it may take longer as theses multiple orders need to be entered into our system by hand.
We appreciate your patience in this and rest assured will get all of you keys as soon as possible. We've been working overtime on this and will continue to do so until all keys are delivered.
And for those of you who have asked our PayPal Buy page will be back up tomorrow or Monday and stay up after Alpha release for everyone to still buy the pledges they want including Alpha. http://7daystodie.com/buy/
Stay cool and stay calm you'll get your game
The Fun Pimps
There's been no mention at this stage for how to officially report bugs or be better play-testers. However, localized communities are organizing to collect data (photos, conditions, video, bug, threat level etc). It is a good idea to join these groups that wish to improve the game. In "The Science of Playtesting," GameStop gives an overview on how to be a better play-tester.
Those that are only interested in playing the game, please try not to plug up the communication channels with complaints or destructive criticism as this game is in alpha. Many folks have high hopes for this game.
UPDATE: (Still no key)
I plan on hosting a twitch session to show off the game footage. If you want to view the feed or chat in the TeamSpeak channel go to www.twitch.tv/theurbanwatcher. We will be using TeamSpeak for any live questions (63.210.145.16:9155). I hope to host this session sometime this weekend or as soon as my download e-mail arrives. Check back here for daily updates, news, and video playthroughs!
7 Days to Die, an open world voxel-based sandbox, is working through the weekend to process the hundreds of thousands of Kickstarter, PayPal, and Amazon backers. Their unique approach to open world zombie survival has gained support from the gaming community. This unique mash up of First Person Shooter, Survival Horror, Tower Defense and Role Playing Games fills a need in the genre started by the Arma II mod Day Z. The appeal of combining combat, crafting, looting, mining, exploration, and character growth brings excitement after disappointing experiences with the now infamous Hammerpoint's War Z now titled Infestation: Survivor Stories. The Fun Pimps, Dallas based developers of 7 Days to Die, are feeling the strain of being indie hopefuls. They continue to plead with their newly acquired fan base to not clog up their e-mail system with questions regarding the 7 Days to Die alpha roll out. As expected in a recent update, these developers are struggling to meet big company demand with small start up resources.
Here is a recent e-mail notice given to backers of the project. I will update this blog on a daily basis with news, review, play through footage, first impressions, and recommendations.
E-Mail #22
Hey Survivalist’
We've rolled out nearly 7,000 keys and will continue to keep getting more out today and the rest of the weekend until we a fulfilled all purchases. We've added additional download servers to alleviate the stress for more people to authenticate and download. This is the price we pay for being a small company and growing so fast.
If you haven't gotten one yet don't worry you're in our database. And for you Kickstarter backers who completed the survey we won't be waiting on a percentage to get you going. I would urge all who haven't done the survey to do it asap as extracting the customer data a 2nd time will not be our highest priority. We thank you for your patience, and understanding as it has been very tough on all of us working around the clock to widen our server capabilities to accommodate our new found huge fan base.
We ask you to be patient a little longer as we get you the game in the coming hours or days!
And for those of you who have asked our PayPal Buy page will be back up today or tomorrow and stay up after Alpha release for everyone to still buy the pledges they want including Alpha. http://7daystodie.com/buy/ You stay cool!
The Fun Pimps
E-Mail #23
Heads up Survivalist'
We're very happy to announce that the first 500 keys have been rolled out to Kickstarter Backers of $35 or higher!
We appreciate your patience in this and rest assured will get all of you you keys as soon as possible. We've been working overtime on this and will continue to do so until all keys are delivered.
And for those of you who have asked our PayPal Buy page will be back up tomorrow or Monday and stay up after Alpha release for everyone to still buy the pledges they want including Alpha. http://7daystodie.com/buy/
You guys rock and remember we love you!
The Fun Pimps
UPDATE:
I plan on hosting a twitch session to show off the game footage. If you want to view the feed or chat in the TeamSpeak channel go to www.twitch.tv/theurbanwatcher. We will be using TeamSpeak for any live questions (63.210.145.16:9155). I hope to host this session sometime this weekend or as soon as my download e-mail arrives. Check back here for daily updates, news, and video playthroughs!
In this walkthrough, we will will cover where to find the following Easter Eggs: QR codes, Half Life 2 logo, Teddy bear drill from Payday, developer credits/shout outs, and the Joker reference to the Dark Knight.
1# Half Life Logo
Location: Industrial Washing Machine
Easter Egg: Washing Machine Door
Comments: Some argue that the shape of the door and the style of the phrase "the cleaner" is a reference to Half Life 2. Here is a logo for comparison. I don't know to what to think about it but it does share an odd shape not known in most washing machines.
2# QR CODES
Location: Moving boxes found throughout the apartment
Easter Egg: QR Code
Comments: If you scan it with your cell phone it will say, "I LOVE SECRETS." This is an indication to look around for other easter eggs.
3# Teddy Bear Drill from Payday
Location: Teddy bear on couch
Easter Egg: Pink Teddy Bear has a hidden drill in it.
Comments: This is a reference to the mission No Mercy in the original payday.
4# The Dark Knight's the Joker
Location: Center of room that guards the secret entrance to the lower part of the safe house.
Easter Egg: Dark Knight Joker's Smile
Comments: Someone finally merged the two works together. The Joker smile is painted on the face of Lady Justice. In the original Payday, the guys rob banks using clown masks. In the beginning of "The Dark Knight" the joker robs a bank with a crew using a complicated elimination plan.
5# Developer Fan Credits and Shouts
Location: Back alley behind garage
Easter Egg: Several tags are fan references
Comments: The developers included a special thanks to several members of the gaming community that promoted the game through youtube and gaming articles. These guys have a special place in their hearts and minds. Pretty cool.
6# Answer the Phone
Location: Back Alley
Easter Egg: Answer the phone! Tag
Comments: Anyone trying to complete the missions on stealth will tell you just how important this is to doing so. This is more like advice than an easter egg. Though it can be found in the first payday.
Here is a really bad walkthrough video we attempted to make. Enjoy!
