human npc's when?

[eidod23]

not rushing them i just remember talks about adding human npc's that you can recruit or bandit npc that try to shoot you. was that a roomer that i hurd a while back or is it just in development for next major update

[clover <3]

when they are ready. also use the search function

[Puppers]

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

As a community we should at this point have a copy/paste answer that everybody uses every time this same question, or any related, gets asked.

iirc
Build 42 is crafting, animals, optimization, and adding in missing systems NPCs will need.
Build 43 is when they will introduce basic human NPCs.
Build 44 is intermediary update, this can mean anything.
Build 45 is when they will put the next layer onto human NPCs.
Build 46 is an intermediary update, this can mean anything.
Build 47 is when they will put the final layer onto the human NPCs and probably fully release the game afterwards.

NOO they can never end

[Finch88]

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

As a community we should at this point have a copy/paste answer that everybody uses every time this same question, or any related, gets asked.

iirc
Build 42 is crafting, animals, optimization, and adding in missing systems NPCs will need.
Build 43 is when they will introduce basic human NPCs.
Build 44 is intermediary update, this can mean anything.
Build 45 is when they will put the next layer onto human NPCs.
Build 46 is an intermediary update, this can mean anything.
Build 47 is when they will put the final layer onto the human NPCs and probably fully release the game afterwards.

with the track record they have of one update a year thats only 3 more years until we actually have NPCs and 6 years till its finally finished Release date November 2013

[clover <3]

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by Puppers:

NOO they can never end :NekoSad:

But imagine how funny it would be if the copy/paste was literally something like "use the search function" and the entire thing filled up with "use the search function" every time somebody actually did. They might actually start to appreciate how much information TIS gives out.

imma start doing that

[GalenCox]

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by Finch88:

the game afterwards.
with the track record they have of one update a year thats only 3 more years until we actually have NPCs and 6 years till its finally finished Release date November 2013

This is disingenuous, they take a year or so between major builds on average but they consistently update between the release and end of a build which also lasts quite awhile. It's not just 'one update a year. When they have taken long pauses in the past, the updates have been more significant in content then they've released previously. Art takes time. If you're not cool with the dev's pace that they have decided on it might not be the game for you. That is your choice and your choice alone.

At the point the playerbase has made that decision, the cost is sunk. If you're not cool with someone posting a question that's already been answered, maybe replying isn't for you.

Personally, I respect that art takes time, and that the major builds take time, but to give a teaser of a feature that might possibly show up while I'm possibly still interested in playing seems a bit too much like having jingly keys dangled in my face; attention getting, but ultimately meaningless. That said, the devs DO have a proven track record of following through with their very, very early announcements of upcoming features.

[Finch88]

so how is my statement disingenuous when you yourself state they normally take a year or so for major builds all I said was 3 years to NPC and six year to release by your build estimates. never once did I mention bug fixes or tweaks they do to the code throughout that year.

[GalenCox]

To Finch88's point, here's the two most recent build release posts for B40 and B41, with date stamps. I don't think it's disingenuous to point to historical basis and draw a potential conclusion based on that data, but framing that conclusion itself as disingenuous absolutely is.

"NEWS
POSTED
Tue, October 30, 2018
Build 40 Released!"

"MAJOR UPDATE
POSTED
Mon, December 20, 2021
Build 41 - Released!
It felt like the day would never come, but we’re really happy and proud to announce that Build 41 has been released to stable!"

[Mercaholic75]

just FYI they've been saying this ♥♥♥♥ for 10+ years guys, this game updates slow as ♥♥♥♥.

[GalenCox]

This isn't you?

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by Puppers:

NOO they can never end :NekoSad:

But imagine how funny it would be if the copy/paste was literally something like "use the search function" and the entire thing filled up with "use the search function" every time somebody actually did. They might actually start to appreciate how much information TIS gives out.

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by DeusHank:

At the point the playerbase has made that decision, the cost is sunk. If you're not cool with someone posting a question that's already been answered, maybe replying isn't for you.

I never said I wasn't okay with them posting any questions (not that it would matter what I am okay with) and I didn't tell them the game isn't for them. I said the choice is their own.

That sure read like you're not okay with people posting previously answered questions and would prefer they get an auto-reply of "Use the search function" repeatedly.

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by DeusHank:

Personally, I respect that art takes time, and that the major builds take time, but to give a teaser of a feature that might possibly show up while I'm possibly still interested in playing seems a bit too much like having jingly keys dangled in my face; attention getting, but ultimately meaningless. That said, the devs DO have a proven track record of following through with their very, very early announcements of upcoming features.

I'm not saying they're perfect or anything, far from it. They are humans and make mistakes too. It is a fact that updates can take a lot of time just as much as it is a fact they talked about NPCs forever ago and they still aren't in. Zomboid however has a fairly steady player base and the dev's mentioned time and time again their method is to prevent future updates from taking as long as they have been. They have tried big updates, small updates, medium updates. It all causes different problems and they chose the best schedule for their studio. Their track record is proven as you said.

If they're still trying to figure out how to publish updates, that's fine, but doesn't change the fact that major builds still take an incredibly long time for a game that's been out for ten years in EA. Equally small studios are able to handle it for their own games by limiting both scope and ambition.

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by Finch88:

so how is my statement disingenuous when you yourself state they normally take a year or so for major builds all I said was 3 years to NPC and six year to release by your build estimates. never once did I mention bug fixes or tweaks they do to the code throughout that year.

It is disingenuous because it implies one update then nothing but waiting for a year when that is false. They release a large build then update it (B41 was roughly for about a year with consistent quick updates and bug fixes), finishing it up which is when the one year waiting period happens. The one year or more between build times is not what is being disputed by me here.

The focus was on MAJOR builds, not updates. Finch88 even took the time to clarify that they weren't referencing "bug fixes or tweaks".

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

Originally posted by DeusHank:

To Finch88's point, here's the two most recent build release posts for B40 and B41, with date stamps. I don't think it's disingenuous to point to historical basis and draw a potential conclusion based on that data, but framing that conclusion itself as disingenuous absolutely is.

"NEWS
POSTED
Tue, October 30, 2018
Build 40 Released!"

"MAJOR UPDATE
POSTED
Mon, December 20, 2021
Build 41 - Released!
It felt like the day would never come, but we’re really happy and proud to announce that Build 41 has been released to stable!"

I understood their point and I am very aware of the initial release date of the builds. The problem is it completely ignores the fact that each build had updates before being wrapped up. That specifically is not the fault of those who read the build history though. For example B41 may have released Dec 2021 which is noted in the history page, but it does not note that it wasn't finished until Dec 2022. It had an entire year of consistent updates (and their largest build release to date) since it's release. It's not one update, wait a year, then another update which is what the post implies.

EDIT : I'd also like to note that they have expanded the development team quite a lot since the release of B41 which has likely sped up their plans. We could have been looking at a far longer wait period for the amount of content they have planned for the next build.

We're still on B41, 41.78 specifically according to the last update. It's been updated, tweaked, maintained, and bug fixed, sure, but it's currently October of 2023, with the initial version of build 41 being released to public within Early Access in December of 2021, making it just shy of two years since a major build update, which was the initial version of 41. 41 isn't finished until 42 is released, until then, 41 is still being modified, which does not equate to a major build change. If NPCs as entities within the game won't be added until build 43, it absolutely makes sense to believe that it'll be a few more YEARS until we see NPCs. Given the pace of major builds being released, it's likely we'll see B42 sometime in 2025 if not next year, with 43 coming sometime around 2028 if not earlier. That'd put it at fifteen years since the game was initially available to the public in Early Access.

Edited to correct underestimated timing since launch

[GalenCox]

Originally posted by Mercaholic75:

just FYI they've been saying this ♥♥♥♥ for 10+ years guys, this game updates slow as ♥♥♥♥.

Facts.

[GalenCox]

I'm not sure why you're arguing, nor do I know why you're assuming I'm attacking the studio or fighting someone else's fight.

The initial post of this thread related to HUMAN NPCs with some semblance of intelligence, not animals.

"It's likely" is a statement of conjecture, not fact, but is absolutely based on the prior release schedule, which is real data one can go by. To pretend otherwise and understate the existing release history is wholly more disingenuous than either myself or Finch88 have been within this thread. B38 was released in Sept. '17; 39 and 40 were relatively quick to release within '18 re-adding vehicles, and adding the weather system respectively. However, B40-41 was three years. B41-42 is currently at 22 months and counting. In any creative field, the phrase "it ain't done until it's done" holds true, and while the statement has been made about 41 being done, I wouldn't be surprised to have another few hotfixes before 42 comes out. Attention may have turned to 42, but that doesn't mean work on 41 is completely over. It'll certainly be over when 42 releases.

There's a large amount of assumptions being made here, not least of which is my intent or tone. If you don't agree with what I have to say, provide an alternative imagined timeline to challenge my imagined timeline or simply ignore the post. I'd rather be more optimistic than I am, but I don't have any more information to go on than you do. "It'll be more months than you're thinking" leads me to believe it'll be longer than what's generally expected. If the general expectation is another year, I'm thinking two. If it's five months, I'm thinking seven. Without a hard roadmap including release dates, all anyone can do is make up a number and roll with it either being pleasantly surprised or having their hopes dashed a bit.

Neither of us are being paid to respond to anything within the forum, which means we don't actually have to. To do so is our own choice, right? I choose to reply, you choose to reply, but no one is forcing us to. TBH, I'm responding between MGT:A matches because I can, and having a genuinely good night.

[The answer is the question]

Originally posted by Puppers:

Originally posted by Cat Supremacist SM:

As a community we should at this point have a copy/paste answer that everybody uses every time this same question, or any related, gets asked.

iirc
Build 42 is crafting, animals, optimization, and adding in missing systems NPCs will need.
Build 43 is when they will introduce basic human NPCs.
Build 44 is intermediary update, this can mean anything.
Build 45 is when they will put the next layer onto human NPCs.
Build 46 is an intermediary update, this can mean anything.
Build 47 is when they will put the final layer onto the human NPCs and probably fully release the game afterwards.

NOO they can never end :NekoSad:

PZ2?

[DarkFaceGlow]

Spellcheck.

[A.J.]

Attack of the paragraphs.

[Higgs]

These threads lead to fighting and bans on both sides, pointlessly and no discussion ever comes with it that hasn't all been the same over the last ten years.

No need to go through it yet again.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/108600/discussions/0/3883849064698812268/#c3883849064700134373