My least favourite part about Dayz is the Zombies.

[scaramoosh 162]

They aren't fun to fight, they glitch out all over the place it is so hard to predict what they're going to do as they seem to be missing fluid animations. They always stop as they get near you but seem to hit you from like 5ft away without animating a lot of the time. I hate how every time you're a new character they always make you bleed the first or second time they hit you. I hate how the run super humanly fast and always catch you but they can never hit you, it ruins any tension and makes them just annoying.

The only way Zombies are manageable right now is to run inside a building to slow them, run up a hill, in a bush or on the docks. We do this because they just seem so unpredictable in the way they animate that it makes them so impossible to hit unless you're at distance. The most annoying thing about them is you cannot turn off their sound effects which give me a headache, I want them to be on their own slider so I don't have to hear them.

I also don't like the whole system in place for how they spot you, I find it to be rather random. It's really annoying to the point people don't bother to sneak around anymore, it isn't worth the effort because you know one will sport you randomly from the other side of the field.

There needs to be better systems in place to make zombies fun. Like you should make stamina play an actual role in the game to if zombies catch up to you, zombies need to be made a little slower, animate more smoothly, stop glitching about all other the place and need to be able to hit on the move. You can balance the less erratic zombies in other ways like having more, making them go a faster pace in buildings and fix stuff like losing them in bushes so easily. I'd also love to see a mini map with rings that go out from your character to show you how far the noise you're making is going out. I'd also love a similar MGS system of their sight, it would make it far more satisfying to sneak around. I'm not saying be as obvious as MGS or have their sight be like 2m infront of them, just there needs to be more gamey features to give you feedback.

But omg most importantly let me turn down their moans and groans as its own separate slider lol.

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Zombies are always going to be a nightmare in the mod because they're modified soldiers. I'm sure one of the community devs will crack it at some point but I wouldn't hold your breath.

[Falabox 76]

If you dont like da zombies play wasteland :/

[scaramoosh 162]

I'm hoping the stand alone will fix them and they get ported over some how to the mod. Not looking forward to the standalone since it wont support Private Hives, I also thing instancing is lame and doing that for player structures sucks, they should expand upon it with the existing land, just don't allow building in towns.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Miffy

[Dankine 377]

I'm hoping the stand alone will fix them and they get ported over some how to the mod. Not looking forward to the standalone since it wont support Private Hives, I also thing instancing is lame and doing that for player structures sucks, they should expand upon it with the existing land, just don't allow building in towns.

Do that and watch the servers slow to a crawl and fall over.

[wolfstriked 143]

I think that making the zeds able to hit you as you jog away is great idea and that they run in buildings idea also.You can only sprint so much then your stuck at jogging speeds wherein zeds will get hits on you and force you to turn and fight.Since there is supposed to be a life cycle aspect of zeds it means that you will only be having to fight the walkers.Monkeys can not catch you at jogging speeds giving you time to escape,same with crawlers.

Edited January 10, 2013 by wolfstriked

[iegle 117]

Some randomness to spotting is a good feature. Not knowing for certain if that Zed across the field is going to see you or not is realistic, and adds to the tension of the moment. If it was more strictly controlled, we would quickly learn their "sphere of detection" under various settings and the tension would be lost.

Not saying that the Zed model in the MOD is ideal by any stretch, but some unpredictability and randomness is good.

[smore98 225]

So...

What you are saying is the most difficult thing about the game is zombies...

...isn't that the entire point of a post-apocalyptic survival zombie game, for the zombies to be a THREAT?

[Avallanche 121]

I agree with OP. But, like Fraggle said, they use soldiers AI. That's why they zig zag and flank you.

If there's something I'm really looking for in the standalone, it's nice zombies walking or running straight to you.

Off topic: I don't think anyone else hate the monkey zombie as much as I do.

Edited January 11, 2013 by leodacosta

[scaramoosh 162]

Do that and watch the servers slow to a crawl and fall over.

Playing Dayz+ right now and I see lots of bases people are making and the server is fine.

[scaramoosh 162]

So...

What you are saying is the most difficult thing about the game is zombies...

...isn't that the entire point of a post-apocalyptic survival zombie game, for the zombies to be a THREAT?

They aren't difficult, they're easy and annoying, they don't function properly.

[James D. Jones II 5]

yes all that you have said is true and I think most of all that the animation for the zombies are really bad and the monky zombie just drop that one pleaz you can never get a head shot on that one NEVER

[bad_mojo (DayZ) 1204]

I personally love the spotting system. My only complaint is the audible detection range is a bit much at times.(Especially behind buildings, around corners, etc.) But, I believe that part of the system is in fact bugged and is being worked on. It used to be so easy to sneak around the zombies when they couldn't spot you from across a field. It was also counter-intuitive. The randomness of them spotting you makes it feel like you're trying to sneak past actual zombies, rather than zombie robots that are completely predictable & avoidable if you knew what to do.

If you didn't know, when you expose yourself (visually) to a zombie there is a random chance they'll spot you, the closer you are to them, the greater the chance they'll spot you, the longer you stay visible to them increases the chance of them randomly spotting you. The system is intuitive and unpredictable. Back when they automatically spotted you when you came within a certain distance the zombies were too easy and sneaking around them became boring once you had it figured out.

Also, the zombies will only spot you when their body is facing you. It's amazing how closely you can walk past a zombie when his back is turned, even in broad daylight. Speaking of which, if you never play at night, try it. Early evening makes it practically impossible to be seen by zombies, I've sprinted through Cherno many times, they might aggro if you get close enough for them to hear you, but usually lose you pretty much instantly.

I think it was Rocket who mentioned the latest build of the standalone having zombies that run indoors. This little change is going to drastically increase the fun of DayZ in my opinion. We can't help but run into buildings when being chased, it's not only natural to want to bring them into a choke point in order to evade or kill them, but we all know the limitations of the MOD allows us to circumvent the difficulty of fighting them at full speed.

Combine the zombies running indoors with them being faster (Think rocket mentioned that also) and them alerting each other (mod changelog) when aggro'ed and the zombies will no longer be just a slight annoyance, but rather be a massive annoyance, something you'll have to take into consideration at every turn. It will bring back that feeling I had when I first started playing DayZ, back when I had no idea how all the bugs worked.

In short, I tend to agree that the zombies are probably the worst part of the current DayZ, but they have so much potential I have very high hopes for the game they're laying the foundation for.

Expecting them to port over the improvements from the standalone to the mod is setting yourself up for disappointment. They're rewriting the game engine for the standalone. They might be able to take ideas that work in the standalone back to the mod, but it's not simply a cut and paste of the code when the engines are different.

I won't comment on the instanced underground hideout idea, I have my doubts, but it's just an idea at this point.

[PracticalTactical 164]

I don't like them much either. In terms of zombies there are better mods out there for ARMA already. In terms of PvP and the survival feeling of DayZ (not to mention the popularity) there is nothing better (that I know of). I am extremely fond of the whole "surviving when society has collapsed" aspect of DayZ. I am also very fond of the bandit, survivor and hero divisions and the fact that you do not know if the person you just spotted is friendly and there would be nothing stopping him/her from killing you even if he is a survivor or hero. Its all about these decisions of going up to that guy with the AKM and trying to make friendly contact, or stalking said guy through the brushes and towns until you have found a pasture to make your kill. Its all about needing food, water and supplies. Its all about trying to fix a vehicle or gather a group to survive with you. These are what makes DayZ so special, not the zombies.

The aspects of DayZ that need to be improved are the survival aspects. Things like gathering food, water and shelter should be paramount and be difficult to find and even more difficult to gather enough to thrive in. I would love it if cans of beans were so damn rare that when you found one you are absolutely joyous and proud because you found something that is so rare and needed for survival!

Edited January 11, 2013 by PracticalTactical