1.7.5.1... not too far.

[entspeak 374]

One of the biggest issues I discovered after playing DayZ for a while was how little the zombies played a role in the game. They were part of the backdrop and not a big deal. Other DayZ variants have worked to make them more difficult to deal with... DayZ + and DayZ 2017, for example. I really think DayZ should be more focused on zombies as well.

Here's the thing: this isn't a PvP game with zombies as a backdrop, this is a zombie survival game with PvP elements. PvP tactics should have to adjust to the behavior of the zombies and not the other way around, in my opinion.

Yes, there are major glitches that should be addressed (and are, as I read it) - hitting through walls, through vehicles... things like that. Zombie movement... we're stuck with it in the mod, so you just have to adapt.

But, I stopped playing DayZ and switched to other variants primarily because of the fact that the focus was so not on zombies and survival. You shouldn't be able to run into a town and quickly kit up, shaking off zombies like puppies nipping at your heels. It should be hard to kit up. It should be hard to fix up a vehicle. It should be hard to go it alone. Survival is still possible with the harder zombies... and it's much more intense. As a, primarily, lone wolf player, I can honestly say that 1.7.5.1 doesn't go too far.

[janus0104 212]

Besides bug-fixing, how do you suggest zombies be made more prevalent in the gameplay experience?

Seriously, I'd really like to hear some suggestions that go beyond "have more zeds", "have less loot", "they hit harder".

For all we know, someone might have a killer idea and we'll all go scratching our heads afterwards how we couldn't have seen it, so obvious of an improvement it made.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Elvaron

[Feral (DayZ) 622]

Besides bug-fixing, how do you suggest zombies be made more prevalent in the gameplay experience?

Seriously, I'd really like to hear some suggestions that go beyond "have more zeds", "have less loot", "they hit harder".

For all we know, someone might have a killer idea and we'll all go scratching our heads afterwards how we couldn't have seen it, so obvious of an improvement it made.

Zeds ejecting other zeds in a stream of projectile vomit, those zeds in turn repeat the cycle ad infinitum?

[disorder 344]

Besides bug-fixing, how do you suggest zombies be made more prevalent in the gameplay experience?

We'll give them all hi-vis jackets.

..or alternatively.. eyes that glow in the dark.

Edited February 8, 2013 by disorder

[King Tubbs 224]

fix the damn path finding

then zombies will run indoors and you wont be able to lost them because you ran past a tree or low wall

optimize the zombies then you can have more of them AND higher FPS

fix THEN change

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

I always liked my (in my head idea) idea of giving the zombies a varied vocal range, have them scream and wail and screech, some more sounds besides the dopey ones they have now, have them change so you rarely hear the same noise from them (In pursuit, in their docile wanderings etc)

And get the latest patch fix out as you mentioned on another post, (less zig zagging) you could have some new skins like survivors with deteriorated bodies to mistake players with. Set them so when one see's you he makes a racket and causes others to follow.

Have them ramdomly run around, instead of meandering aimlesslly, when a player see's them running around it will raise suspicion.

[janus0104 212]

optimize the zombies then you can have more of them AND higher FPS

fix THEN change

At best that would make them more dangerous indoors. It doesn't make them more prevalent in the gameplay experience at all.

@Michaelvoodoo25:

Feel free to record some screaming and release it under a license they can work with (ask the dev team about this, I hear there's some pickyness about needing the right kind of Open Source license?) :D I'm sure there's room for more audio?

I like the survivor skins idea, why hasn't that been done yet? Could also spawn them randomly in a 200-500m distance of tents anytime you use one ('a zombie wandered over').

I'd also like to put the big cities (berezino, cherno, elektro, stary) under a cloud of infectious gases, if you walk into these without wearing a gas mask you're likely to get infected (the good ol' slow blood loss until eating antibiotics schtick). Would put some sort of stop to newly spawned just running straight into a big city with a hit & miss approach, "i'll either get fully geared and make it out, or all i lose is 15minutes of my time".

Edited February 8, 2013 by Elvaron

[Jonsse 69]

Zombies are a backdrop because there's several ways to deal with them. Losing them with line of sight as well as bushes and trees that are essentially a safezone glitch. So to state that "dayz+ and dayz2017" are "doing it right" is kind of off form the initial point. And that's what's wrong with the extended mods and the current patch. The zombies are made harder form the wrong places. And as long as the glitches are in the game, and they're so powerful in dealing with the backdrop, there's never going to be a balance of zombie difficulty that creates better gameplay. "Challenge" is this fairy tale that some players seem think would bring about better gameplay. That's so far from the truth it hurts to see these comments.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Jonsse

[kumando 199]

I still dont get it, i dont die from zombies since way back in the day, i dont get how ppl get killed by zombies lol it really blows my mind away.

[BwobBwub 660]

Well if the Team do make zombies harder, people will complain until it changes back again.

[entspeak 374]

The way to make them more a part of gameplay is to make them more of a threat. I posted an idea in the Update thread, that I think is a reasonable way to increase the threat of zombies.

Edited February 9, 2013 by entspeak

[petermann2 19]

As long as the movement/pathfinding/whatever makes them run zigzag isn't fixed, there is no need to make them more threatening.

[Hetstaine 10852]

I still dont get it, i dont die from zombies since way back in the day, i dont get how ppl get killed by zombies lol it really blows my mind away.

Glitch through wall and king hit you is one way but yes, it is pretty hard to actually get killed by them unless you have backed yourself into a corner with no ammo or hatchet.

[janus0104 212]

Glitch through wall and king hit you is one way but yes, it is pretty hard to actually get killed by them unless you have backed yourself into a corner with no ammo or hatchet.

Or you just suck with hatchets...

<- this guy!

[King Tubbs 224]

At best that would make them more dangerous indoors. It doesn't make them more prevalent in the gameplay experience at all.

@Michaelvoodoo25:

Feel free to record some screaming and release it under a license they can work with (ask the dev team about this, I hear there's some pickyness about needing the right kind of Open Source license?) :D I'm sure there's room for more audio?

I like the survivor skins idea, why hasn't that been done yet? Could also spawn them randomly in a 200-500m distance of tents anytime you use one ('a zombie wandered over').

I'd also like to put the big cities (berezino, cherno, elektro, stary) under a cloud of infectious gases, if you walk into these without wearing a gas mask you're likely to get infected (the good ol' slow blood loss until eating antibiotics schtick). Would put some sort of stop to newly spawned just running straight into a big city with a hit & miss approach, "i'll either get fully geared and make it out, or all i lose is 15minutes of my time".

"At best that would make them more dangerous indoors. It doesn't make them more prevalent in the gameplay experience at all."

sorry but you are wrong at the moment if you are being attacked by 8 zombies you are really dealing with 2 sets of 4 because the other 4 are zig-zaging and trying to flank in a way that would only work if they had guns

if you fix the path finding and optimize there would be 12 instead of 8 and the would run straght at you and try to mob you

try dealing with that with an enfeild's fire rate

once that is done THEN you rebalance i do thing they would have to hit harder than in the last patch but not as hard as in this one

i like the hitting in cars and the pulling off bikes and will be a good edition once it works properly

Edited February 9, 2013 by King Tubbs