Walking Zombies

[MastaJack 2]

Alright, so I've been playing DayZ for a while now, and I've been thinking, what if the zombies were the classic WALKING ones and not the running types. I think this would add a new level of intensitie to the game because I think walking zombies are slightly more terrifying than running zombies. They could make the zombie's spawn in larger quantities so you could have epic horde moments. You could also get trapped more easily if you weren't paying attention.

Edited January 9, 2013 by MastaJack

[Mos1ey 6301]

More zombies = worse performance/lower FPS

Slower zombies = easier to avoid and kill

It's just not really viable.

[iJosh 21]

so terrifying infact that i could just walk away from them calmy? no need to sprint away and getting dehydrated anymore..

[Va3ryn 36]

If I remember correctly I heard/read that Rocket wanted a mixture of both walking and running. They should keep running zombies because without a stamina bar for running that is the only real threat they have. Add in some walking zombies and you have the Michael Myers effect where true danger will keep coming after you no matter how fast you run.

[psstloaf 17]

3 dayz it take the human body to decay, Zombies should slow from full human speed over this period.

[logan23 118]

3 dayz it take the human body to decay, Zombies should slow from full human speed over this period.

You have to remember these humans who are infected are not dead, they are very much alive but infected with a virus like the Rage on in 28 Weeks/days later.

This means an infected that doesn't eat might live 2-4 weeks.

If this infected got any form of food during these 2-4 weeks the timer would be bump back close to the start.

There is also the concept that as more and more Infected die out or are killed, we will see a growth in player verse player/group conflicts due to arguments over territory.

This increase of dead humans from other players = Infected coming from off map to find their way to feed or the constant sounds of gun fire.

This above concept would actually keep the balance of Infected populations on the map, giving the push pull over the Infected size map populations.

Can see slower Infected when they have not had food for some time but don't expect them to be the norm.

We will most likely see 3 walker type of Infected

1- The hyper fast = most healthy

2- The normal fast/quick movement but not as fast as the hyper ones

3- The slow moving ones due to lack of food.

Of course there are the crawling types and the hunch over ones.

[psstloaf 17]

You have to remember these humans who are infected are not dead, they are very much alive but infected with a virus like the Rage on in 28 Weeks/days later.

This means an infected that doesn't eat might live 2-4 weeks.

If this infected got any form of food during these 2-4 weeks the timer would be bump back close to the start.

There is also the concept that as more and more Infected die out or are killed, we will see a growth in player verse player/group conflicts due to arguments over territory.

This increase of dead humans from other players = Infected coming from off map to find their way to feed or the constant sounds of gun fire.

This above concept would actually keep the balance of Infected populations on the map, giving the push pull over the Infected size map populations.

Can see slower Infected when they have not had food for some time but don't expect them to be the norm.

We will most likely see 3 walker type of Infected

1- The hyper fast = most healthy

2- The normal fast/quick movement but not as fast as the hyper ones

3- The slow moving ones due to lack of food.

Of course there are the crawling types and the hunch over ones.

cant dead players get up and eat you as zombies?

[logan23 118]

cant dead players get up and eat you as zombies?

No, all players are Immune to the Virus. You can't turn into an infected, you can only die.

[BearGravy 53]

How about when standalone comes out, you get to play with servers that have difficulty options. Easy the zombies run. Normal the zombies do what they do now. Hard they are harder to take down. Harder, they run faster harder to take down, and hit harder.

[whiteboy greg 21]

More zombies = worse performance/lower FPS

Slower zombies = easier to avoid and kill

It's just not really viable.

I think the first reason that you give there is the most important.

Slower zeds would be easier to kill but ammo would become an issue. Putting the best gear in cramped locations that would be infested would force players into danger.

High value areas could also be also be so filled with zeds that you would need the ammo of several players to even have a chance. Forcing cooperation for the best gear.

If the zeds could actually spread an infection with a single bite then no matter how slow they were you would be screwed if they clogged up a doorway you needed to get through.

Slow zombies could be effective but it would be hard to do while keeping people's FPS high.

[dallas 5195]

Slow zombies only work in close confined spaces, bottlenecks and besieged safe houses. As long as players don't have to rest/sleep for hours and can run indefinitely, slow zombies will be useless.

[whiteboy greg 21]

Slow zombies only work in close confined spaces, bottlenecks and besieged safe houses. As long as players don't have to rest/sleep for hours and can run indefinitely, slow zombies will be useless.

Easy fix is to force people in to confined places to get the best loot. And what if you became infected with a single bite. Read the post above.

[Saecii 12]

I want to see zombies charging like bulls on players, knocking them of their feet if they are hit. Walking zombies would be a walk in the park, even if they would only die of headshots.

[whiteboy greg 21]

I want to see zombies charging like bulls on players, knocking them of their feet if they are hit. Walking zombies would be a walk in the park, even if they would only die of headshots.

Holy crap has everybody just been repeating this same "slow zombies too easy" mantra so long it's just fact now?

Please read the comment I made up there and address what I said.

[Jonsse 69]

I love what Matthew Lightfoot said in the interview about the zombies. As they're going to streamline the AI to make them run more in a straight line, but increase their speed. All I can think about is the Usain Bolt zombies that run past me while i'm sprinting at twice the speed. And how a horde of zombies can follow me right on my tail indefinitely while i'm sprinting and even manage to hit me while moving.

We're supposed to have the advantage of ranged firepower and speed of movement, while zombies have the advantage of numbers and no rest requirements. Having even faster zombies from the current jackrabbits is absurd in my ears.

The 28 days later infected were fast and numerous. But they had no coordination or commitment to destruction. And they also had the disadvantage of human life requirements like food and water. All of this needs to have a balance.

I believe Rocket and Bohemia will work diligently to supply an interesting, challenging and immersive survival sandbox. Of that I have no doubt.

With slow zombies, they're easier to kill, and easier to run away from. But then if bullets are hard to come by, and dealing with zombies in melee can lead to numerous problems like disease and injury, slower zombies are a very menacing force in towns and buildings. Or one could make them infected, with normal human metabolism like 28 days later, but then a makarov shot to the chest would be quickly fatal to any infected. As opposed to now, needing 4-5 shots to take one down. A makarov is a 9mm pistol after all that can easily take down a human being with one well placed shot in the torso, in dayz it's basically a peashooter.

[Hartraft 100]

I think the first reason that you give there is the most important.

Slower zeds would be easier to kill but ammo would become an issue. Putting the best gear in cramped locations that would be infested would force players into danger.

High value areas could also be also be so filled with zeds that you would need the ammo of several players to even have a chance. Forcing cooperation for the best gear.

If the zeds could actually spread an infection with a single bite then no matter how slow they were you would be screwed if they clogged up a doorway you needed to get through.

Slow zombies could be effective but it would be hard to do while keeping people's FPS high.

Still I think if the zombies were slow you could easily just bait the zombies away from the building with the loot, even if there were large numbers of them. Once they were far enough away sprint around them and collect your loot. No need to use ammo. May take a few minutes longer but plausible.

And I think that all the players alive are "immune" to the infection, but you could perhaps make them give you a disease or something like that which has negative effects on you.

[whiteboy greg 21]

Still I think if the zombies were slow you could easily just bait the zombies away from the building with the loot, even if there were large numbers of them. Once they were far enough away sprint around them and collect your loot. No need to use ammo. May take a few minutes longer but plausible.

And I think that all the players alive are "immune" to the infection, but you could perhaps make them give you a disease or something like that which has negative effects on you.

Thanks for the measured response.

If the zombie count was tripled though that would take a hell of lot of bait. Who knows if it would last long enough to keep them distracted. You might find when you exit the building a bunch of zeds clogging your escape.

[whiteboy greg 21]

I love what Matthew Lightfoot said in the interview about the zombies. As they're going to streamline the AI to make them run more in a straight line, but increase their speed. All I can think about is the Usain Bolt zombies that run past me while i'm sprinting at twice the speed. And how a horde of zombies can follow me right on my tail indefinitely while i'm sprinting and even manage to hit me while moving.

We're supposed to have the advantage of ranged firepower and speed of movement, while zombies have the advantage of numbers and no rest requirements. Having even faster zombies from the current jackrabbits is absurd in my ears.

The 28 days later infected were fast and numerous. But they had no coordination or commitment to destruction. And they also had the disadvantage of human life requirements like food and water. All of this needs to have a balance.

I believe Rocket and Bohemia will work diligently to supply an interesting, challenging and immersive survival sandbox. Of that I have no doubt.

With slow zombies, they're easier to kill, and easier to run away from. But then if bullets are hard to come by, and dealing with zombies in melee can lead to numerous problems like disease and injury, slower zombies are a very menacing force in towns and buildings. Or one could make them infected, with normal human metabolism like 28 days later, but then a makarov shot to the chest would be quickly fatal to any infected. As opposed to now, needing 4-5 shots to take one down. A makarov is a 9mm pistol after all that can easily take down a human being with one well placed shot in the torso, in dayz it's basically a peashooter.

Not to mention I read the other day that the zeds now run inside in the closed test.

Also I love you.

[Hartraft 100]

Thanks for the measured response.

If the zombie count was tripled though that would take a hell of lot of bait. Who knows if it would last long enough to keep them distracted. You might find when you exit the building a bunch of zeds clogging your escape.

Very true, I guess with large enough hordes it could be fairly difficult to get into towns and buildings without being trapped.

I would be happy with a combination of fast and slow zombies in the game. You would never know which was which until you got too close.

[Abexuro 17]

Still I think if the zombies were slow you could easily just bait the zombies away from the building with the loot, even if there were large numbers of them. Once they were far enough away sprint around them and collect your loot. No need to use ammo. May take a few minutes longer but plausible.

And I think that all the players alive are "immune" to the infection, but you could perhaps make them give you a disease or something like that which has negative effects on you.

That's a nice tactic that would require some planning, especially if the zombies would slowly start walking back to the buildings. And in a big city, this would probably not be very effective.

My oppinion is though, that slow walking zombies could only work if cities had hundreds and buildings had a dozen of them.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Abexuro

[Dayz Steve 26]

I support this idea

[Saecii 12]

Holy crap has everybody just been repeating this same "slow zombies too easy" mantra so long it's just fact now?

Please read the comment I made up there and address what I said.

I did read it. Sure, in confined areas they could be really dangerous, especially if they are tougher in the SA than they are now. And sure, placing all the good loot in confined areas would force us to face zombies with our backs against a wall more frequently. I have some problems with that though:

1: The Zombies could easily get lured and picked off outside those closed spaces by any decent player who know the basics of kiting (assuming those zombies are worth the led I'm spending on them, we don't know what the zombie/ammo ratio will be in the SA)

2: Slow Zombies are still of little worry outside those areas, just run for 40 sec and they will lose your track, I want to feel threatened by them all the time.

3: Fast Zombies can also be dangerous indoors if you have nowhere to run (yeah, really).

[Hartraft 100]

I did read it. Sure, in confined areas they could be really dangerous, especially if they are tougher in the SA than they are now. And sure, placing all the good loot in confined areas would force us to face zombies with our backs against a wall more frequently. I have some problems with that though:

1: The Zombies could easily get lured and picked off outside those closed spaces by any decent player who know the basics of kiting (assuming those zombies are worth the led I'm spending on them, we don't know what the zombie/ammo ratio will be in the SA)

2: Slow Zombies are still of little worry outside those areas, just run for 40 sec and they will lose your track, I want to feel threatened by them all the time.

3: Fast Zombies can also be dangerous indoors if you have nowhere to run (yeah, really).

For number 3 it will be even crazier when they can run inside as well.

[Jonsse 69]

I did read it. Sure, in confined areas they could be really dangerous, especially if they are tougher in the SA than they are now. And sure, placing all the good loot in confined areas would force us to face zombies with our backs against a wall more frequently. I have some problems with that though:

1: The Zombies could easily get lured and picked off outside those closed spaces by any decent player who know the basics of kiting (assuming those zombies are worth the led I'm spending on them, we don't know what the zombie/ammo ratio will be in the SA)

2: Slow Zombies are still of little worry outside those areas, just run for 40 sec and they will lose your track, I want to feel threatened by them all the time.

3: Fast Zombies can also be dangerous indoors if you have nowhere to run (yeah, really).

1. That would be compatible with any and all zombie survival lore up to now. With two people for example, one would just lure all the zombies and another would loot everything.

2. That would be a way to go no doubt, but what about other players. If you just want to be scared of zombies all the time then that would be feasible, but the fear of the world that's incorporated in dayz comes more from other players than zombies. Players would spend time in uninfested areas like forests rather than towns. In towns you would be threatened by massive amounts of wandering zombies while you search for food and water and in the countryside the threat would be other players.

3. Yes they would, but so would slow zombies. Would it be feasible to have such agility indoors, I would argue not. I'm not sure I personally would care to play a game like that.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Jonsse

[Saecii 12]

For number 3 it will be even crazier when they can run inside as well.

Indeed. But if we can setup obstacles to slow them down, it would be doable (assuming you have the time to do it, I also doubt we will be able to move furniture in the initial release of SA).