The new change " * Allow_Freeform_Buildables [bool] option to gameplay config." is definetly a good change for servers to opt into
however, it being default on servers is a huge mistake, The big server menu change I thought was meant to encourage new players to play multiplayer, but now when the pop in building works completely differently by default.
the game has been headed down a pvp-ication cycle for a while and I feel like its starting to go to far, what makes the game magical is freedom to just set up a home wherever you want or build on your cars or make a funny gun, and with every update this is being stripped away.
already I am seeing tons of people complain that they cant craft plates anymore to! and they also hate it
not to mention this makes skybases and tallbases much much harder to raid in some circumstances
Hi, I personally see the recent change to make freeform buildable disabled by default as a poor decision. It impacts a considerable amount of players and it is a change that cannot easily be reverted. Unfortunately, the community did not react in time to protest the change, in part because I believe not many actual server owners and players test the preview branch.
In the future, if a change is made to a configuration file that cannot be reverted once added, it would be wise to have a forum post asking for feedback about the decision.
Freeform buildables allows for more creativity in-game when it comes to building homes, vehicles, and other creations. For example, makeshift vehicles are somewhat pointless without the freeform buildables, as they are used to customize the vehicles.
I also think that server owners who experienced problems in the past are perfectly capable of disabling freeform buildables themselves. The Config.json option was a great addition, and if server owners bump into players abusing them, they can easily disable them.
A lot of players are going to be annoyed during the transitional period that just started. There are quite a few players that incorporate freeform barricades into their builds, and now there will be confusion and backlash for a few weeks regarding the change.
This is the most important part in my opinion. Almost all the vanilla maps have buildings intended for players to base in, such as the skyscrapers in Seattle in Berlin.
This is one of the worst changes to the vanilla game I have ever seen, no idea why nelson did this.
if griefing was one of the reasons this change was made, I think a better alternative would have been to to make it easier to break them once placed (easy as just lowering the health)
and potentially upping the costs to make them in the first place
also making the bounce charge more accessible and better would have also alleviated the need for players to make “build ups”
MOST IMPORTANTLY BUILD UPS WILL REQUIRE RAIDING GEAR TO REMOVE NOW DUE TO THIS CHANGE! I really don’t want to use several charges to remove a buildup when before 90% of the time a chainsaw would have done the job fine
just make them super easy to destroy and make claim flags better, in their previous form Freeform buildables were actual cancer its frustrating for new players also to build a base just to get plated on and roof raided, aswell as people just building massive towers to camp everywhere and making death machine cars.
I think the biggest problem lies in metal plates which cost 2 metal scrap and are godawful on any server that does not handle decay swiftly. It is not uncommon for your base door to be rendered useless because someone used 2 metal scrap to put a small plate right in front of it. They are way too cheap and too hard to destroy (why do I need a raiding gun vs fists for a wooden plate???). Realistically lot of buildables can be used for griefing but plates take arguably least effort. I see this entire change as an overall positive, although a more proper fix would be addressing how difficult they are to destroy and how easy they are to obtain.
I totally agree with you. would like to add that if people want freeform on their server they can just enable it, i don’t see why its a problem to add it as an option
this can be done with non freeforms just as easily
the sandbags, tank trap and farm pot are really cheap and achieve the same results easily and ALL OF THEM ARE SPAWNS SO TECHNICALLY FREE
freeforms use should not be punished because of this when its still easy to grief with other stuff
the problems with freeforms are not exclusive to freeforms, at best this is a bandage fix to a larger problem that many invulnerable items can be made EXTREMLY cheap or even freely spawn in some cases
many wood items could be made vulnerable and many metal ones could have health reduced. (I cant count the number of times my base was griefed with hate speech metal signs/flags and I just had to live with that sign forever because 2 charges are a lot for 1 object)
I have a proposal to reduce griefing, this can be done in tandom with the resent change as well to
=make many of the wood and cloth items vulnerable
=reduce the health of the metal plate significantly (or make vulnerable + high health)
=make the metal plate cost more and/or require a crafting or engineer level of 2 or 3
=make metal flags, placards and signs easily broken with raiding ammo instead of multiple charges
=remove the tank trap from the spawn table or at least make it scrapable (its a cool item, but it existing for free just has it get spammed on the ground nearby usually)