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A day some thought would never come, 7 Days to Die 1.0 is officially out now with quite the price increase to go with it. Previously £18.99, it's now £37.99.

There's far too much new for me to list here but some highlights include a new HD character system, new player armour / clothing system, new animal models, a new challenge system, new vehicle models, world generation upgrades, new points of interest, new zombie variants and updates to existing zombie types, lighting graphics upgrades, various performance optimizations, the progression system was improved, an enhanced gore system, updated road decals, much improved gamepad support and the list goes on and on.

Lots more to be seen in the release notes.

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As a reminder, while technically it's released now and they've pushed it out of Early Access, it's not actually finished. They have a roadmap of big updates to come that include:

  • Update 1 - Storm's Brewing - Q4 2024 - New Weather System and Biome Progression Overhaul, a Wardrobe System, Crossplay, new Zombie Stages, the Spawn Near Friend ability, Twitch Drops, outfit DLCs, and more.
  • Update 2 - A New Threat - Q2 2025 - UI / Menu overhaul, Bandits, Event System, New Quest Type
  • Update 3 - The Road Ahead - Q4 2025 - Trader Overhaul, Story Mode, Steam Workshop Support, New Quest Type.

The Native Linux version seems to run about the same as it usually does, which is nice to see they've kept up with all the updates over the years. The Steam Overlay wouldn't work for me normally, although it did when run via Gamescope. The OpenGL version also seems to have glitchy shadows, changing it over to Vulkan in the launcher seemed to fix that but they still have a note that the Vulkan version isn't fully supported.


Pictured - 7 Days to Die 1.0 on Linux

You can buy it from:

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Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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12 comments
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slembcke Jul 25
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Excellent! My wife and I like to play this game every other year or so. It always seems to get a bit better.
Alloc Jul 25
Quotebut they still have a note that the Vulkan version isn't fully supported
Yeah, I should probably remove that text by now :D
Thing is that Vulkan is so extremely dependent on the HW/OS/drivers/Unity combination that it can easily crash whereas GlCore might be way worse at performance but it's typically rock stable.
Supay Jul 26
Quoting: Alloc
Quotebut they still have a note that the Vulkan version isn't fully supported
Yeah, I should probably remove that text by now :D
Thing is that Vulkan is so extremely dependent on the HW/OS/drivers/Unity combination that it can easily crash whereas GlCore might be way worse at performance but it's typically rock stable.

I'd say that EAC needs that note more than Vulkan. I've never had a crash due to Vulkan but EAC has long caused disconnect issues and I have to disable it my clientside even when the server isn't using it. Modless and fresh install with nothing weird being done by me.
Quoting: Alloc
Quotebut they still have a note that the Vulkan version isn't fully supported
Yeah, I should probably remove that text by now :D
Thing is that Vulkan is so extremely dependent on the HW/OS/drivers/Unity combination that it can easily crash whereas GlCore might be way worse at performance but it's typically rock stable.

Funny thing is I run 7 Days to Die on Linux using Zink which is a real performance boost. Therefore the app renders in OpenGL and the OS translates it all to Vulkan. It's like DXVK for DirectX but for OpenGL.

Which means, I am good with that. Glad it still has good Linux support! Many thanks.

Edit: For those interested set as launch option:

__GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=mesa MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink GALLIUM_DRIVER=zink %command%


Last edited by Vortex_Acherontic on 26 July 2024 at 9:43 am UTC
g000h Jul 26
I've been playing the v1 version for a couple of days now. I was very impressed by the new game visuals and the game plays noticeably faster (framerate) than Alpha 21.

Here are my settings:

Zombie Speed: Nightmare (all the time)
Zombie Toughness: Insane
Horde Size: 64 (maximum)
Permadeath (lose everything if you die)
Feral Sense: Off
Show Airdrops on Map: Off

---

I have died once already (approx day 17) when I got surrounded by a wandering horde while I was clearing out a basement.

So far, in this second game-run I haven't died (day 15 so far).

Liking the new monster on horde night.

The increased Screamer frequency is quite a pain (for my settings).

---

Compared with Alpha 21, the game grind has increased. It takes ages to progress, especially if you play on extreme settings. Chopping away at a wood wall with a stone axe takes about 30 seconds per block. It used to take about 5 seconds. And, on Day 15 of my play, I'm still using stone tools and the wrench. (You can progress more rapidly if you play on easier settings.)


Last edited by g000h on 26 July 2024 at 11:29 am UTC
dubigrasu Jul 26
I really tried to like this game, but the grind is killing me. The never ending grind and also managing the inventory. I realized that more than half of the gameplay time I've spent looking at the inventory screen, than doing actually something. Actual gameplay seems to be more like an annex to inventory management.
And I'm used to games where you have to carefully manage you possessions, for example The Long Dark, but in there everything is useful, even sticks and pebbles you find in the snow. In 7DTD your inventory consists in a miriad of worthless things. You have to gather a lot of crap and make countless roads in order to achieve something, well, like I said, grinding is insane.
Maybe I'm playing it wrong, I dunno.


Last edited by dubigrasu on 26 July 2024 at 2:39 pm UTC
g000h Jul 27
I feel perhaps that my earlier comment and Dubigrasi's ones have been unfair towards 7 Days To Die latest version.

For me, the grind is most noticeable *at the start* of the game. Once I have been playing for over 15 hours in a game world, my more powerful tools and player level does reduce the grinding aspect. Right now I have Wrench level 5 with 2 Mods Installed, and I have Perception level 5, Salvage Ops level 4, and it takes me 2 power-swings to take apart a fridge. (In previous Alphas, getting to this point was quicker.)

Even though Dubigrasi finds inventory management is a strain, I've never had that problem. Partly, it comes down to playing strategy. For instance, I tend to put a storage box outside buildings that I am looting. Then as my inventory fills up, I drop off all the excess into outside storage. Once I am back at base, I ensure that I use multiple boxes, and place similar items together - Food/Meds, Components, Weapons/Ammo, Clothes/Armour, Building Materials.

I disagree with Dubigrasi's comment about "worthless things". Practically every item mined, looted or salvaged is useful. Rotten flesh is useful for farm plots and hobo stew. Paper is useful for shotgun shells. If you pick up a chair, you can scrap it for wood. Seeds are useful for growing crops. AND... on top of all the above, if you have stuff (let's say paper) which you aren't using (to make shotgun shells) then you can collect up stacks of it, and sell those stacks to a trader, and then buy useful stuff with the money. Even excess "dukes" of money can be smelted in the forge for making bullet cases.

In my previous 7 Days v1 game where I died on day 17, the game-world put me out in the wilderness and the closest trader as well. Being so far away from a town, I was forced to play strategically. I took the Living Off The Land skill very early, so I could collect double the amount of Plants as normal, and then sold these to the trader in order to get the Cooking Pot. With the Cooking Pot, I could boil dirty water to make fresh water for safe drinking. (This would have been a lot easier if the trader had been on the edge of a town, but I still managed despite the unfortunate start.)

---

Here is some praise of the latest 7 Days To Die version 1 :

The new Dew Collector design which allows you to craft a basic model without needing to purchase from a trader - This is a good design choice.

It's always nice to get more POIs (buildings) added to the game for exploration.

The new Armour System seems to be implemented okay, and it is nice to progress through the (new) game, and find this new stuff.

The new Quest system is okay as well.

Even though Screamer frequency increase is a pain, it also means that you need to consider it and plan against it in your game strategy. (For instance, I plan to move away from my starter base, and sort out another base which is more defensible against these fiendish scouts.)

When that new monster appeared in the second horde night (day 14) for me, and I was struggling to take it down (Insane toughness setting), I thought that was going to be the end of my play-through (Permadeath setting). It was a nice addition to the regular game. It reminded me of playing some of the game mods (e.g. Darkness Falls).

I'm also glad that The Fun Pimps are planning to keep on improving the new content for the next year or so.

Although early game grind is somewhat tedious (due to inferior tools), once you've been playing for a while and got good equipment and levelled-up, that grind goes away. It is an acceptable level of grind for me.

The new zombie skins are a welcome addition. The additional game-world maps (and ability to random-generate your game-world) are very welcome.

7 Days To Die continues to be my favourite computer game. (5000+ hours played)

I find it to be a game where you can adapt your play and try different strategies, you don't have only one way forward. Thanks to random-generation of the game-world, it is very replayable. Also, so few games have a decent destructible environment. Compare the graphics of 7 Days To Die, versus Minecraft or other destructible environment games (Vintage Story, Teardown, Enshrouded). I don't even count a game like RUST, Sunkenland or Valheim as destructible environments, because the only things you can destroy in them are specific structures (e.g. player-built walls in RUST).

Even though the game is now considered as release-ready, 7 Days To Die is still being worked-on and tweaked, and I expect that Game Balance is going to be modified as part of that.
dubigrasu Jul 27
Quoting: g000hEven though Dubigrasi finds inventory management is a strain, I've never had that problem. Partly, it comes down to playing strategy. For instance, I tend to put a storage box outside buildings that I am looting. Then as my inventory fills up, I drop off all the excess into outside storage. Once I am back at base, I ensure that I use multiple boxes, and place similar items together - Food/Meds, Components, Weapons/Ammo, Clothes/Armour, Building Materials.

I disagree with Dubigrasi's comment about "worthless things". Practically every item mined, looted or salvaged is useful. Rotten flesh is useful for farm plots and hobo stew. Paper is useful for shotgun shells. If you pick up a chair, you can scrap it for wood. Seeds are useful for growing crops. AND... on top of all the above, if you have stuff (let's say paper) which you aren't using (to make shotgun shells) then you can collect up stacks of it, and sell those stacks to a trader, and then buy useful stuff with the money. Even excess "dukes" of money can be smelted in the forge for making bullet cases.

Appreciate the detailed strategy advice, turns out I never realized that you craft multiple boxes and shuffle/organize things around. I only crafted a single small box and felt so annoyed that I can't cram everything inside it.
Also, using seeds for growing crops, mind blown, such a revelation.
Can't understand why I haven't already did all the above, I'm gonna apply all your kind teachings and I'm sure the game will be so much more enjoyably for me.

Thank you g000k
g000h Jul 27
I'm not here for a conflict, or to being insulting towards you.

However, you glossed over two important facts I mentioned regarding supposedly worthless things.
- Most items can be scrapped into base materials, which are entirely useful for crafting (or selling).
- Many items can be sold, and the money gained can be used for purchasing more useful stuff.

You also complained about inventory management taking 50% of your play-time and this is surely a massive exaggeration. Anyone else play the game and spend half their time in the inventory window?

I was using examples in my description to make my position clear (to you and anyone else reading who is not familiar with the game). It was not meant to be condescending to you, although I can see from your response that is how you interpreted it.
dubigrasu Jul 27
Like everyone else, I'm familiar with the concept of scrapping, reusing or selling materials in these types of games, Rust for example. By worthless I've meant very very little value, having to deal with great quantities in order to make it worth, like I said earlier, insane grinding.
Spending so much time looking at the inventory was true, was it 60%, 50% or maybe just 40%? I dunno, but it was enough to get me bored and realize this is not what I want from a game.
I appreciate you defending the game, but there is no need, I haven't said anywhere that is a bad game, just that basically it doesn't work for me. Now with the latest release I'll probably give it a shot again, but not very hopeful.
Cheers


Last edited by dubigrasu on 27 July 2024 at 2:39 pm UTC
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