No books in bookcases

[OX4]

Really starting to get on my nerves. Is there anyway to increase the odds of actually finding book on a bookshelf that looks like it's holding 50 books?

[13334436565]

Believe it or not... I find most books and schematics in the trash piles scattered randomly about the map. Bookshelves usually give me paper unless you are in the book store.

Goto the bookstore and loot the bookshelves there...

[gamerhelligon]

I get the same thing with pill cases in the hospitals or other places. It shows a huge rack of meds but most times it just plain bandges, splints or empty. Few times I actually do get a good item but more junk than good most times.

[Ͽ҈҉Ͼ]

You can edit loot.xml to increase chances.

Changing count to "1,3" will make 1-3 possible items appear instead of just the one any time "books" is used in a loot chance, eg. bookshelves, filing cabinets, or random trash loot.

<lootgroup name="books" count="1">
	<item group="rareBooks" loot_prob_template="rareBookTemplate"/>
	<item group="commonBooks"/>
</lootgroup>

Otherwise can decrease paper prob lower to raise the chance of other common books appearing. anywhere "common books" is being used in a loot list.

<lootgroup name="commonBooks" count="1">
	<item name="paper" count="10,25" prob="20"/>
	<item name="crossbowSchematic"/>
	<item name="huntingKnifeBook"/>
	<item name="huntingRifleSchematic"/>
	<item name="leatherBootsSchematic"/>
	<item name="leatherGlovesSchematic"/>
	<item name="leatherHoodSchematic"/>
	<item name="leatherJacketSchematic"/>
	<item name="leatherPantsSchematic"/>
	<item name="pistolBook"/>
	<item name="pumpShotgunSchematic"/>
	<item name="sawedoffPumpShotgunSchematic"/>
</lootgroup>

Otherwise you can change the probabilities or count on the containers themselves.

<!-- file cabinet -->
<lootcontainer id="44" count="0,2" size="4,3" sound_open="UseActions/open_file_cabinet" sound_close="UseActions/close_file_cabinet" loot_quality_template="baseTemplate">
	<item group="ammo" prob="0.05"/>
	<item group="books" count="1"/>
	<item name="paper" count="5,10"/>
	<item name="paper" count="5,10" prob="0.86"/>
	<item name="oldCash" count="1,6" prob="0.3"/>
	<item name="painkillers" prob="0.05"/>
	<item group="trophyGroup"/>
</lootcontainer>

<!-- bookcase -->
<lootcontainer id="49" count="0,2" size="4,3" sound_open="UseActions/open_drawer" sound_close="UseActions/close_drawer" loot_quality_template="baseTemplate">
	<item group="books"/>
</lootcontainer>

It all depends on how you want to balance it so that you get more loot, but not an overabundance. Even changing the 'count' value in at the container from "0,2" to "1,2" will mean that a bookshelf or filing cabinet will always have atleast something inside it when first looted.

[Valmar]

Yes, you can. In the 7 Days to Die install directory open the Data folder and then Config folder.
Open loot.xml

There are two bookcases.

This is the one for "normal" houses:
<!-- bookcase -->
<lootcontainer id="49" count="0,2" size="4,3" sound_open="UseActions/open_drawer" sound_close="UseActions/close_drawer" loot_quality_template="baseTemplate">
<item group="books"/>
</lootcontainer>

What you want to edit is the count="0,2". This means it will have a minimum of 0 (empty) to a maximum of 2. So you have a 1/3rd chance of getting nothing. You could change thisto 1,2 to ensure it ALWAYS has something to or change it to 0,3 to reduce the odds of it being empty while also allowing you to find more.


This is the one for "bookstores":

<!-- Bookstore bookcase -->
<lootcontainer id="60" count="0,1" size="5,3" sound_open="UseActions/open_drawer" sound_close="UseActions/close_drawer" loot_quality_template="baseTemplate">
<item group="books"/>
</lootcontainer>


Same general concept. Here the default count is 0,1. This means you have a 50/50 chance of getting something in a bookstore bookcase.


I you want want to be super specific on probability you could also do something like this:

<lootcontainer id="49" count="1" size="4,3" sound_open="UseActions/open_drawer" sound_close="UseActions/close_drawer" loot_quality_template="baseTemplate">
<item group="books" count="1,2" prob=".4"/>
<item group="empty" prob=".6"/>
</lootcontainer>

In this example the container will always select 1 item listed but since "empty" lootgroup is a possible choice it has a chance of still being empty. So in this example its setup to have a 60% chance of being empty and a 40% chance of having a book - wherein if it calls on a book it will ahve a 50/50 chance of having either one book or two books.


So yes, you certainly CAN increase the odds of getting books. Its just up to you how deeply you want to go into it.


Edit: "Scales" above me provided a good post with further information/alternative methods for this, too. Which goes to show you just how many different ways you can go about tackling this.

[Ok Thalmor]

Today I found these schematics:
Exploding bolt
Macgyver
Sledgehammer
Pistol

All of which I found in 2 in game days in filing cabinets

[OX4]

Thanks everyone, this is great info!

[Clamdigger]

Hey Valmar love the game, but why are there so many empty containers? Not just bookshelfs, everything. About 35% to 40% of any container I open, is empty. And I dont mean because another player already looted it, I mean the "untouched" containers. I understand not every single container can have something in it, I dont want that. Its just pretty bad when I go into a pill store or book shop and most of the damn containers are empty or full of useless items like paper. It just seems like too many empty containers, I was just wondering why its like this default game? Thanks.

[Ͽ҈҉Ͼ]

Originally posted by Clamdigger:

Hey Valmar love the game, but why are there so many empty containers? Not just bookshelfs, everything. About 35% to 40% of any container I open, is empty. And I dont mean because another player already looted it, I mean the "untouched" containers. I understand not every single container can have something in it, I dont want that. Its just pretty bad when I go into a pill store or book shop and most of the damn containers are empty or full of useless items like paper. It just seems like too many empty containers, I was just wondering why its like this default game? Thanks.

Offhand reason...

The game is being designed around a singleplayer experience primarily. Untouched just means that the player has no memory of searching the container previously (or recently), not that the container itself has never been disturbed for as long as it existed. Afterall, looking at a cabinet prior to opening it you would have no way of knowing if it was recently opened or not unless you personally remember opening and searching it. Untouched or not in multiplayer exists mostly because it would be annoying as hell if it did not exist.

From a lore and gameworld standpoint, this is justified by assuming that the container was probably left in a questionable state because of the apocalypse that caused the death/evacuation of everyone else. What you find is either what was left over after the riots and panic, or whatever someone stashed away soon after. The bandit houses, the traders, the level of ruin all suggest that some time has passed between the original apocalypse event and the player waking up in the world naked.

In a more generic sense, it is designed to simulate the chance that the container was looted by someone else long before the player appeared. It is a balance mechanic so that a player cannot just simply walk into a bookstore to learn every recipe, then walk into any gun store to have a full arsenal. That good loot is still rare with or without there being other players in the world.

In the technical sense, it happens because the container has a chance to appear with 0 items inside just because this is how the loot table is intentionally setup. This value can be changed if desired, but doing so may mean an unusual abundance of loot.

[Valmar]

Originally posted by Clamdigger:

Hey Valmar love the game, but why are there so many empty containers? Not just bookshelfs, everything. About 35% to 40% of any container I open, is empty. And I dont mean because another player already looted it, I mean the "untouched" containers. I understand not every single container can have something in it, I dont want that. Its just pretty bad when I go into a pill store or book shop and most of the damn containers are empty or full of useless items like paper. It just seems like too many empty containers, I was just wondering why its like this default game? Thanks.

To clarify incase there is confusion: I am not a dev nor do I have any influence or personal association with The Fun Pimps or the design process/reasons behind certain aspects of 7 Days to Die.

"Scales" reasoning, posted above me, makes logical sense to me. So he did a good job of answering in the same way I would had (though Im sure I wouldn't had been as in-depth or detailed because Im too lazy).

Loot Abundance is an actual in-game setting you can control in the game options. If you really feel that you're never finding enough loot in these various stores you could increase the loot abudance level. It goes as high as 200%, if I recall correctly.

[YamaKami]

Trash bags are indeed a wealth of knowledge, in this digital era. I woulkd imagine a lot of books find there way to the trash. On the other hand when you hit a world ending scenario like in 7D2D, books would become an invaluble source of knowledge again (just imagine back to a time before the internet, where everything was a few key stokes away). Many books would have been, looted or taken at the start when people realized they needed the knowledge in them. Same for pill cases. Those one would imagine would be some of the 1st things to ruin out on store shelves when the looting starts....

Basically the most obvious places to find specific loot would get looted 1st. I wish that could be better refelcted in the game, so that if you found a book case or pill shelf(?) in say a sealed bunker. Then it would have 100% chance of the relevant loot being present. For the most part though it is pretty acurate that much of the choice loot in obvious places would be gone already. While the idea is nice it would be a nightmare to code it in that way I'd bet. So I'll take what we have which works just fine for me.

[13334436565]

To me, if you increase that setting for loot abundance you will find yourself getting bored with the game real quick later. I have not touched that setting and have only thought to decrease it if anything. The reason being is that by day 14 I am completely set up and selfsufficient, by day 30 I have everything... by day 50 there is literally no reason to go outside for weeks at a time. I do but there is no need. I dont even loot the air drops anymore.

Maybe this is your first run through of the game and you cant wait to see whats out there... I can understand that. But later you will find that a global setting like loot abundance is really just a shot in the foot. How will you cope on a pvp server if you are expecting too much?

On a side note - does that loot abundance setting affect the amount of feathers in a nest? Anyone know? If I reduce the loot abundance will it in turn reduce my feathers?

[Valmar]

Originally posted by Apollyon78:

On a side note - does that loot abundance setting affect the amount of feathers in a nest? Anyone know? If I reduce the loot abundance will it in turn reduce my feathers?

Pretty sure it will. From what I understand the abundancy setting either subtracts or adds to the minimum/maximum values.

So something that is set to have a max drop rate of "1" will instead drop "2" on 200% abundance. It essentially doubles it. The same is true of the lowest setting of 25% abudance. Even if a container is set to give you "1" item, there will be a 75% chance it gives nothing.

To counter this on feathers you could edit the loot.xml container for the bird nest and increase the number of feathers it gives. This will help offset the loot abundance reduction.


<!-- lootcontainer 25 birds nest-->
<lootcontainer id="25" count="1,3" size="4,3" sound_open="UseActions/open_garbage" sound_close="UseActions/close_garbage" loot_quality_template="baseTemplate">
<item name="egg" count="1" prob="0.25"/>
<item name="feather" count="4,10" prob="0.75"/>
</lootcontainer>

I'd increase the container's count from "1,3" to "3,5" to see if that helps.

[Malek]

Thank you so much for this info, where do I find the file to make changes to if im on a multiplayer server hosted locally?

[Valmar]

It is within the Data/Config folder, loot.xml. This is found within the install directory. If you're running the dedicated server tool it has its own install directory, but other than that its in the same place.

[Malek]

oh ok so since im hosting the server (not using dedicated server tool) then just editing my own loot.xml will affect the server? and the effects will be for everyone who joins?