Three Lefts Make a Right

 

What to add…what to add… 

I don’t know much about coding. I took computer programming in high school where we touched on C++ but what I remember most was Karel++. We had to make this little robot navigate a maze (I swear this relates to 7 Days). We coded left turns first and then, instead of redoing the code, we coded a right turn as three left turns. Was pretty funny watching the little guys spin left to go right but it worked. Down the road in college “can only turn left” was one of my favorite King’s Cup rules, but that’s beside the point. Programming is still beyond my reach and thinking about the Karel robot I imagine it isn’t very efficient; but I think there is still a lesson to be learned here.

 Can the programmers of 7 Days add what they’ve already been using? Instead of making brand new stuff they can re-purpose mechanics which might make some of these suggestions quicker and easier. I enjoy reading the suggestions on Reddit but I worry some of them are far-fetched for the game right now. I love the idea of story-lines, more NPCs with missions, and more cool “stuff” (gear, guns, zombies, vehicles, etc.) but below are three small changes that use what’s already in the game.

 Wake-up call: When I walk in a POI I’m confident where to look for the zombies. Corners and closets are pretty telegraphic while coolers, ceilings, and dropout floors provide a bit of excitement. Once you’ve been in that house, that church, and even that factory a few times you have the zombie spawn points memorized. What if, in addition, there are some woke zombies, creepin’, they gon’ find you, catch you sleepin’? They wander around the house like the wandering hordes and if you wake up any zombie all the walkers lock onto you and come running (like horde night zombies). Complementing the sleepers with walkers would likely use coding that already exists and would make POIs more exciting in general. Covert ops becomes more attractive without taking away from Leeroy Jenkins and honestly I'd take this over more POIs.

 Hit me, dare you: Melee weapons are great for every day except the seventh. Melee Horde Night bases are feasible with some creativity but they also pigeon hole your building. Instead of adding stronger melee weapons or changing their hit registration, what if there was an option for melee specific armor? Mods (barbed wire?), books, or upgrade perks that allow you to return damage to zombies that hit you would be a unique way to make melee builds more reasonable. Making this skill only available for iron and steel armor would give heavy armor, and presumably melee fighting, a unique niche. Come on, it’s the zombie apocalypse, where’s the spikey armor?

Dreaming of paradise: Okay okay, don’t flame me for this one (pun intended). It doesn’t necessarily use preexisting portions of 7 Days, sorta. The burnt forest biome seems out of place. Instead of being its own biome entirely what if forest fires could start during the game? They shrink down on a certain spot so you could actually get caught in a Johnny Cash style ring. With burning zombies of course. Sure, this programming exists already, but it’s a big ask, I know. Since we’re here, let’s make an Oasis a thing. Middle of the desert or wasteland and you see a tropical paradise! Tropical trees have a miniscule chance to drop “gum” for candy making and “bamboo” for stronger weapons or building, stuff you can’t find anywhere else. Tiger blood, toad licking, and leopard print undies, lessgo. A tiny biome with lots of ferals and trap pits. Gotta dream big, right?

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