This thread is a general suggestion on how zombies should work, with a few off topic ideas added in: 1. Zombie Speed and Strength In my opinion Zombies should be very weak on their own but have strength in numbers. Fuck special zombies, no spitters, no bloodsuckers. At the most there should be the VERY occasional encounter of something very special, very strong, and hard to kill in the wilderness. This also means there should be very many zombies around the map, not so much in the wilderness though. -Zombies should move at a brisk walking pace, fast enough for players to easily get away, but a real danger if you get surrounded. note: I am now aware that the developer has already rejected slow zombies, but I am sure that most servers will change this when Dayz becomes open to plugins. I am worried that it will be overdone by modders. Look at the Arma 2 slow zombies plugin, it makes zombies nothing more than a bog down on the server. -Body shots should knock down zombies or slow them down temporarily depending on the caliber of the gun and the type of zombie. -Only the largest rifles should be able to kill a zombie with a body shot. -Soldier zombies should be more resistant to body shot damage because of their ballistic vest. -Leg shots should slow down zombies considerably or knock off legs at larger calibers causing them to be immobilized. -Headshots should be an instant kill regardless of the gun, if you make a headshot you deserve a reward. 2. Zombie Senses Going off of the World War Z idea that the zombie virus seeks a healthy host depending on if you are sick or low on blood you should be gradually harder and harder to be detected by zombies. This will add a level of forgiveness to game-play so at a certain point you do not have to worry so much about zombies and can focus on regaining blood. At the lowest levels of blood you should be able to roam among zombie hordes, but if you fire a gun or attack a zombie you will immediately will be detected as normal. -At night zombies gain better hearing and vision, they are also more aggressive. -Certain clothing should make it harder for zombies to detect you, such as extremely worn clothing or camouflage. -Zombie hordes should roam in the direction with the most sound. 3. Zombie Horde System Zombies should generally form groups with a few strays. They travel around in the direction of sound and lights. Zombie hordes should deter lingering in large caliber firefights and instill a sense of anxiousness and fear after firing a gun. Also this will make silencers and small guns much more valuable. Every gun should have advantages and disadvantages. (I am aware hordes have been confirmed) -The largest zombie hordes leave a trail of death, dust, and trampled grass behind them. -Hordes should be easy to track and predict with things such as tracking bolts and the idea stated above. -Players should be able to scavenge for dead survivors behind the trail of death. -The temporary blight that hordes leave on the land should be risky to get near, or down wind from as players can contract diseases. -Zombie hordes should be VERY loud, and a looming danger at all times. -Hordes should be persistent even if a player in not loading the area. -Most of the time hordes should be a small distance away (2 miles or so) and more of a danger if you linger in an area after making noise. Zombie hordes should be a slow danger unlike the current state where a small group of zombies around the corner hears you and bites your balls off immediately. From here down is off topic suggestions. -Improve the blood texture, it has looked like red stars flying out of my asshole since Arma 2. -Bleeding players and game should leave a trail of blood behind them making them easy to track. -Please make it harder to cheat with Gamma, and make playing at night time fun. -Upon a player combat logging all players that have shot near them in the past 10 minutes or so should see a large flag above the players logout position through any walls and brush with a chest of all of their things. This will make it unnecessary to learn player names and wait for the combat log message to pop up. -Base raiding should be very difficult and loud attracting zombie hordes. -Nights should be 30 minutes and days 50, this ensures that in one session you are bound to have some day and some night. -Please only have private hives, i don't wanted to be tempted to switch servers when it becomes night. -Larger guns should temporarily disable your hearing depending on the caliber and the kind of headgear you have on. This increases the value of silencers and smaller firearms. -You should be able to decapitate dead players and put their heads on a spike outside of your base, they should gradually rot and turn into skulls over the course of an ingame month. This serves the purpose of scaring away people from raiding your base. No one wants to raid a base with 20 skulls at the gate. -This one is important: Please for the love of satan make it possible to clear an area of zombies, none of that bullshit where they keep spawning in on top of you. -Please add in spray paint to edit the map. i am aware it will result in a lot of vulgarities as rocket said, but who cares. Dayz is a wild west and very much unfriendly already. This game isn't meant to be moderated or especially friendly to young players. -There should be some sort of trophy system when you kill players that can be carried, such as ears. Note: This should probably be a bandit only feature.
