7 days to die (review in progress)

[emotionalplague]

I will be reviewing 7 days to die as it develops through the various stages until final release. Beginning with my first impressions I will walk through the discovered mechanics and post accompanying screen shots as time progresses.

(part 1 of a multi-part series)

First Impression:

After receiving my key and finishing the download I was anxious to start my journey in the town of Navezgane, which is the focal town so far. The story's background explains that the area has been decimated and has left inhabitants mutated and zombified due to the aftermath of another World War. As I first set foot into this town I am greeted by a view of crumbled buildings and war torn forestry. Off to my left i can hear the grumblings of what i believe to be a zombie. unsure of the actual threat it may pose i decide not to confront until i find a suitable weapon. i cross a slew of trash piles and a few back backs and duffle bags that contain what appears to be useful items. I take all that i find until i can determine what i need and how each item can be used. I spot a potential place to start my residence but i will continue to search for supplies while daylight is in my favor. i find various amounts of water, can food, scrap metal, and rags to name a few and then head to my newly found home to attempt to fortify and hide out for the night. i am able to find a way to the roof of this 3 story office building that has seen better days. i begin to craft what i can to find anything useful to me so protect myself in case the enemy can scale walls or climb ladders. i find that i can craft some wood from the logs i have gathered from a tree, so i take that and run with it. from there i can turn the wood into various items. i choose to make some plywood. from the plywood i craft sticks. these sticks open up a few items for me. i choose to make a few sharpen sticks and see where that leads me. after that i notice i have opened up the ability to craft spikes. that sounds like a good defensive weapon to me. so i take all the sharpen sticks i can an create a handful of spike to place around the ladder i had accent to reach the roof. after that i can start to rest easy just as night falls. the next i take the rags i have gathered and create a sleeping bag so in the event i am killed i have a safe(er) place to spawn. as the sun sets zombies start to run towards my building and attempt to get to me. luckily i have positioned myself in an area that they are unable to access. as the growls and screams fill the air I take a look at my map to figure out where i am heading after the sun rising. i decide to head east first and see what i can scavenge, but that is only if i make it through the night....

Upon my initial play through i immediately realize that this is one of the most polished alphas that i have had the pleasure to partake in. it is amazing the amount of detail in the environments and animations as well as the mechanics that have been implemented in such an early stage of development. you would never guess that the title has only been in development for just over 7 months.

Crafting

the crafting system is well done. you have many options as far as craftable items. everything from weapons and building materials to traps and tools. the system is also one of the few crafting systems i have found in which you almost never need to touch a wiki for answers. the menu shows you the items available to craft based on your inventory and also give you the placement layout for each item. the craftable items use a very common sense approach too. for example crafting an fire axe is as simple as placing the sticks and iron or in the respective slots. one of the most interesting features with crafting is the fact that once you create something the first time you never have to worry about remembering the placement again. if you have the required items the item name will be highlighted green and by clicking on the item the crafting system will place the items in for you and all you need to do is retrieve your new item(s).


Building

building in this game can easily be confused with another minecraft clone, but the voxel characteristics are where it ends. you will not find floating blocks or unsound buildings miraculously standing tall. everything has weight and strength properties and if they are exceeded then the place will crumble to the ground. dirt, wood, stone, steel, etc. all have unique values that determine how far out you can build each material before support structures are required to hold it up. you will also not find any ridiculous values either. each material's strength is very believable and it really makes you think of the structure as a whole before just placing blocks. i had first witnessed this when i made my way up to the roof of a run down barn. just as i reached a weakened section of the roof i had fallen through along with much of the roof. also worth noting when cutting down a tree, stand back a bit as the weight of the wood falling can and will injure or kill you.


what is next...

in the next part of the series i will discuss enemy A.I as well as the combat and shooting mechanics. until then keep surviving...

[Fluxuss]

I am definitely gonna keep an eye on this thread. It was a great read, and I'm excited to hear more about it!

[ImTyphoon]

I don't want to advertise other streams in here, so if you want to know a few of them, pm me. :p