Alpha 16: Much Improvement, Some Controversy (I Guess)

I have 600 or so hours in the game. I'm impressed by how much work these guys have done, their commitment to improving the game, and the direction this big release has taken. Less grind because of changes to how the tool/weapon skill works - I don't craft 50 stone axes my first night any more, I can do something useful. But the changes in A16 don't make themselves apparent until you get to around player level 50, in my opinion, maybe day 14. Some thought has gone into streamlining the acquisition of key skill points and making de facto 'skill trees' - if you want to become a miner, it's a bit easier to get that skill to where you can bust the smaller boulders in three strikes, with a steel pickaxe. Same with hunting, crafting skills - still no love for enhanced cooking, though. But the big love goes to the distant view mechanic and overall improvement to graphics and, for me anyway, the same or better performance. I have a Radeon HD7900, not the greatest card, about 4 years old or more, and I get 30FPS on near-Ultra settings. There's still weirdness in the game, like clipping and placement errors, but that's why it's in Alpha, friendo. Report that ♥♥♥♥.

So I say, good job, Fun Pimps. Based on progress so far, I'm optimistic about what going gold will look like.

[b]Alpha 16: Much Improvement, Some Controversy (I Guess)[/b] I have 600 or so hours in the game. I'm impressed by how much work these guys have done, their commitment to improving the game, and the direction this big release has taken. Less grind because of changes to how the tool/weapon skill works - I don't craft 50 stone axes my first night any more, I can do something useful. But the changes in A16 don't make themselves apparent until you get to around player level 50, in my opinion, maybe day 14. Some thought has gone into streamlining the acquisition of key skill points and making de facto 'skill trees' - if you want to become a miner, it's a bit easier to get that skill to where you can bust the smaller boulders in three strikes, with a steel pickaxe. Same with hunting, crafting skills - still no love for enhanced cooking, though. But the big love goes to the distant view mechanic and overall improvement to graphics and, for me anyway, the same or better performance. I have a Radeon HD7900, not the greatest card, about 4 years old or more, and I get 30FPS on near-Ultra settings. There's still weirdness in the game, like clipping and placement errors, but that's why it's in Alpha, friendo. Report that shit. So I say, good job, Fun Pimps. Based on progress so far, I'm optimistic about what going gold will look like.