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[King Zultan]

I don't see why everyone is so hesitant to use bullets, because when I play melee I usually end up with tons of them and never use them except shotgun shells.

[pisskop]

.22s and the like are absolutely worthless for crowd controlling zeds; they make good hunting and practice rounds.

That and a lower-sound alternative for killing single ones, provided thy fixed wandering hordes being massive and omni-prescient.  did they?

[chaoticag]

I've just been playing with wandering hordes off. I'm sure eventually it will be fixed.

Though yeah, ammo hasn't been hard to find in particular, even with gunstores having a lot of security you can break a window and hacksaw the bars off them to get in, and a stethascope lets you open combination safes which are a good source of guns. For other sources of ammo take a baseball bat to swat and soldier zeds, and just handle cop zeds as you do. Ammo might not be craft-able but it's as available as the world is wide.

[EuchreJack]

I should also mention that with Mechanics 3 and Guns 1 that pipe guns are craft-able, to use those odd ammo that doesn't match any of your guns.  They're also ideal for hunting, as the slow reload of the pipe guns will get you killed fighting zombies yet can probably wound most wildlife.

More specifically, the loud noise of the pipe gun will draw 2+ zombies to the player, yet only kill one at a time, eventually leading to the player being overwhelmed.  Although it can be a valid strategy if the player puts several fires/traps between themselves and the zombies.  Personally, I prefer fire, as it keep killing and is fed by the dead zombies.  Not so great for looting the zombies, as most items burn up.

[Random_Dragon]

So, I finished up the changes mandated by the artifact removal stuff: https://github.com/chaosvolt/cdda-arcana-mod/pull/145

Full list of changes:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

* Updated the clairvoyance halo effect to use the new mutation-based method, and reduced it to basic-ranged clairvoyance.
* Changed how Serpentine Shield works. Basically, on-hit relic stuff can't handle summoning monsters as an effect, so its replacement now blinds and zaps the attacker.
* Replaced Dampening outright. Not only is AEP_EXTINGUISH not really something you can recreate with relics, even then it was a shitty spell that wasn't really worth spending chargen points on. Replaced it with a `SWAP_POS`-based spell designed for a quick entrance or exit to combat.
* Since Dragonblood previous got a slightly-upgraded version of Dampening, gave them an upgraded, more lethal take on the new spell.
* Set the life-drain horned halo to use a new on-hit healing effect. One obvious issue with it: `hit_you_effect` stuff triggers even when you miss, so it's kinda silly. As close to functional as this is going to get, I suppose.
* Set it up so that the demon claw has the new life drain (at less than 100% rate via `once_in`), and a custom take on AEP_EVIL. In a nutshell, the strength boost that's supposed to offset the debuffs from Eeeeviiil is a hardcoded result of items with AEP_EVIL, getting tagged with the effect itself isn't good enough. So instead I added an effect that gives a decent shifting stat setup that makes it worth trying to use the item at first, but slowly deteriorates if allowed to progress.
* Reworked the mask of insight as best as I could. Needless to say, relics being not fully functional mandated a massive shift in how the item works. The best way to preserve its functionality proved to be via consuming a small burst of dull essence to grant a fake "glowing eyes" sorta effect similar to the halo items, which gives you all the needed side effects of the mask. Only real plus side to this extensive hackery needed to regain lost functionality was the damn thing finally gives you the sorta of "combat clairvoyance" dodge bonus I'd planned it to have.
* Hit the mantle of shadows with the same rework, making it spend a bit of essence on a modest burst of invisibility. No longer muffles your footsteps since that's not actually a thing relics can do yet. Instead just grants an invisibility effect that also halts a few specific effects, being a lesser version of Illusion Cloak.
* Removed the silly AEP_EXTINGUISH effect from the jade wreath. Doesn't really warrant replacing it with anything.
* Reworked the meteoric talisman to give you a burst of a protective effect instead of using transform hacks, as you'd likely expect by that. Also removed the bad weather effect stuff. This also led to...
* Rebalanced the three protective lessor relics. Now they all give the Greater version of their ward effect, and each use one essence's worth of energy for 5 minutes worth of the buff, instead of varying amounts of energy for 100 minutes.
* Removed AEP_PSYSHIELD and AEP_STR_DOWN from the ring of the fallen angel. Since AEP_PSYSHIELD is a hardcoded thing that relics can't replicate just yet, its main function will be its granting its protective effect. Now however, like the lesser unique artifacts, it grants full-power Holy Ward instead of Ward Against Evil. As a consequence it's much less cost-efficient that the lesser uniques.
* Reworked the enchantments on the orb of the veil. Still gets +4 intelligence but now only +2 perception. Also downgraded its clairvoyance.
* Removed the electric resistance and bad weather effect on the meteoric verge for now. Again, no real way to recreate AEP_BAD_WEATHER just yet, and recreating electric resistance on this item also isn't really doable sanely in the way it was implemented (I'd need it to basically spam an intermittent spell that tags the user with immunity to electricity). Instead I set it so that casting its spell gives the caster a few seconds of Greater Lightning Ward.
* Reworked the moonstone fang's effects to include infrequent lifedrain, a less-commonly-procced version of Shadowy Shield's effect, in exchange for intermittent hits of the Touched Mind effect and healthiness debuffs.
* Converted the restored ritual blade's intelligence boost to be relic-based. And sadly, had to drop ARTC_PORTAL, not that it was working anyway since artifact charging was broken by nested containers anyway.
* Converted the cursed blade to use the same item-spawning hack as the mask of insight. In this case it uses its full proper duration instead of short bursts like the other reworked items, since a lot of evil (or in this case, the new pseudo-evil effect) buildup is part of the intended side effects. Also tacked on a mutation that grants the PRED4 flag as a bonus enchantment mutation, using the sword's spell pings your healthiness heavily, but the life drain effect is stronger than other sources of lifedrain in arcana.
* Updated mutation and item descriptions for the affected content.
* Belatedly updated the martial arts file since some active items have since been obsoleted.
* Couple misc effect updates and fixes.

[EuchreJack]

So my personal thoughts on what I've read about the Blob and factions:
The Blob is basically a large living organism, and The Earth is a tiny speck that has been absorbed by it.  Not like food that person has eaten, but rather like the part of food that gets broken down and absorbed into the body.

The Zombies are basically like the immune system and digestive system.  They break down the living organisms, which are generally human survivors.

What this means is that, probably unknown in the first couple years, is that human settlements can only grow to a certain size before they actually attract the Zombies, in the same way that a small amount of bacteria co-exists in organisms, yet a large amount triggers an immune response.  Or that a small crumb of food goes unnoticed, but a larger amount of food draws attention.

This sort of conflicts with the thoughts in the design document about the Old Guard, who are supposed to re-establish themselves, although it should become obvious to survivors of several years that larger groups get attacked.  I imagine many survivors in year 5 probably have adopted a theory/belief/rule that no group of survivors should exceed x population in order to survive.  Any faction still around has probably adapted to that reality.

...then again, maybe the Blob is so big that it doesn't even notice on an involuntary level a human civilization has taken over the whole New England area.  Just like most people don't acknowledge dead skin cells.

[Eschar]

When does the game start in relation to the Cataclysm itself? How long after the takeover does our friend @ show up? I'm guessing not long enough for the Old Guard to have drawn conclusions about safe population sizes... but the Guard, the Fleet, refugee centers etc. are established by that time. Even though I always got the impression the game started right after the initial "seek shelter, there's a biohazard" emergency message gets sent out to the evac shelters.

Spoiler: Actual spoilers, date of the Cataclysm (click to show/hide)

EDIT: looking at the timeline, "takeover" is a bit vague, as the Blob concentrated itself in groundwater ("DON'T DRINK THE WATER THE GOO IS IN THE WATER") before making obvious moves.

EDIT2: the "official" date of the Cataclysm isn't the obvious mass Blob psychosis, or the US declaring a state of emergency, but the announcement that the US government has collapsed: April 25, Year 0. Not enough time IMO for the Old Guard to conclude they need to keep community sizes small.

[BigD145]

Officially, Whalesdev Cata started a week or two after the cataclysm and was multiple events. DDA, I don't know.

[Stench Guzman]

The food system is janky.  I ate two marshmallows and went from Very Hungry to Engorged.  Things like berries make you very full quickly but don't provide many calories.  You have to eat crazy amounts of food to keep from being underweight.

Also fishing is easier than hunting, if you live near water.

[Erk]

Re. Time of cataclysm: the cataclysm isn't an instantaneous event, the game takes place five days after the emergency messaging system is used to announce the fall of the United States.

Re. Food: the latest build for food satiety seems to be about right as far as I can tell, I haven't eaten everything yet. Most of the time when something is unusually filling it's got an error in its weight entry that needs fixing... Foods fill you up more if they have tons of calories per gram. Berries and things fill you up quickly because a single in-game serving is a whole cup of berries, so if you eat three or four servings you'll probably feel pretty full for a bit, as you would if you ate a liter of berries in ten minutes irl.

There's a more involved problem with calories, we now have an accurate representation (mostly) of how much exertion the character is doing with every activity... But characters are almost completely indefatigable, working tirelessly around the clock doing difficult jobs at top speed. I've proposed a fix and am refining it here: https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/issues/42343 ideally, it will be implemented such that it's a subtle change at first rather than a hard barrier like running out of stamina is.

[EuchreJack]

Any idea if the "feet freeze and break off" bug was fixed?  I had downloaded the latest version Tuesday, and I had like -130 cold on feet/legs.  Kinda low with socks, shoes, and blanket.  Standing right next to a fire helped: At least then my legs would break and mend repeatedly.  Needless to say, I deleted the whole blood thing.

[Stench Guzman]

Any idea if the "feet freeze and break off" bug was fixed?  I had downloaded the latest version Tuesday, and I had like -130 cold on feet/legs.  Kinda low with socks, shoes, and blanket.  Standing right next to a fire helped: At least then my legs would break and mend repeatedly.  Needless to say, I deleted the whole blood thing.

I've noticed that you get really cold really fast when you are wet.  Carry a towel.

[EuchreJack]

Any idea if the "feet freeze and break off" bug was fixed?  I had downloaded the latest version Tuesday, and I had like -130 cold on feet/legs.  Kinda low with socks, shoes, and blanket.  Standing right next to a fire helped: At least then my legs would break and mend repeatedly.  Needless to say, I deleted the whole blood thing.

I've noticed that you get really cold really fast when you are wet.  Carry a towel.

That was part of it, so thanks for the advice, but shouldn't the fire have dried off my legs after 2-3 hours?  At least enough to avoid frostbite?
...if you're talking realism, the answer is "only if you took OFF your socks".  The feet would dry off on their own after about half an hour, or within minutes sitting next to a fire.  But the socks retain the wetness and cold, and probably take 2-3 hours if you remove them and place them near the fire, but would stay wet almost indefinitely if trapped between feet and shoes.  Even a towel won't fix the issue with the socks.
And its also fairly obvious in real life, as the socks FEEL wet.  Kinda hard to know that starring at a screen, so a prompt telling the player would be necessary.  It's not the sort of thing a person wouldn't notice periodically.

Protip: All the CataclysmDDA devs should go camping together at least once per season.  Bring notepads (the paper ones, not the computers).  Of course, the updates would be pretty brutal for players afterwards...

[chaoticag]

It's a known wetness bug, not a feature. Apparently wetness broke in a big way on experimentals.

[notquitethere]

My left hand is always inexplicably cold in my game, even wearing gloves. My only theory is that driving with a door open a few times terminally lowered its core temperature  and its yet to fully recover.