New Custom Mod - "CruelZ" (Very Basic, Much Harder)

[Zetal 90]

The pushover Zombies have always seriously bothered me, so I wrote up a really basic mod for DayZ that changes a few minor things:

General Changes

(I don't really remember all of the changes I made, but here's the most noteworthy stuff)

- Harder Zombies ->

++++Slightly more health, slightly more damage, slightly more range, slightly more accurate. Nothing extreme here, but enough to make a big difference.

- Smarter Zombie AI ->

++++Their AI tracks you with superhuman abilities. Zombies won't be getting confused by bushes any time soon with this mod, but don't expect any miracles. This is still just a basic mod.

- Nerfed Melee Weapons ->

++++One man with an axe won't be able to kill the population of Cherno twice over any more. You stand a chance still... and even better if you get headshots.

- Minor Loot Chance Alterations ->

++++The axe is more rare, and certain other ease-inducing items have been made more rare as well.

- More Zombies -> (Surprisingly minor network hit. Hmm..)

++++The average zombie count has been doubled, and their spawn algorithm has been changed to spawn at the edge of player vision. Less abrupt spawning, overall.

Please read! A personal message from me:

This mod isn't kind- but I don't play DayZ to be coddled. I didn't make this mod because I thought a lot of people would like it- I just made it for me and my friends, because I knew we would enjoy it. Still, I feel like there might be like-minded people out there, and for those people I wanted to make this topic. In it's current state, I'm happy with where the mod stands. It makes the game challenging and brings me back to the early days of playing DayZ, when living was a challenge. I don't see that feeling fading away for me any time soon, with the changes I've made. If the mod gains popularity, which may or may not happen, probably not with only a very basic Hamachi server- (and not even one new gun to sate the CoD fans!) but if it does, then I would be fully willing to continue trying to develop the mod into a more entertaining DayZ. I also expect I'll continue development into Standalone, should modding be as easy as it is now.

I'm hosting a small server over a Hamachi network at the moment. If you want access to the server, you can add me on Skype at 'Zetalix' or send me a private message here.

If you run into any issues, let me know. This is my first release of something like this, but I want to try and help you have fun.

Installation/Download:

I included a readme.txt file inside of the .zip file here:

http://www.mediafire...up3b786sihp7l3a

How to Join my Test Server:

Hamachi Network:

CruelZ Open

Password: None

How To Join Server:

Once you've joined the Hamachi network, open up the CruelZ modded Arma 2 OA and use the Remote connection to connect to:

IP Address: 25.170.148.99

Port: 2302

Server Password = 'NoEntry' without the 's

Thank you for your time,

Zetal

Edited May 26, 2013 by Zetal

[Beck (DayZ) 1768]

Keystealer? Just seems sketch to me so I will wait to hear from someone else. Seems like something I would be interested in though, maybe even hosting a server for it.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Beck

[Zetal 90]

Are you asking if this mod is to steal peoples cd-keys? If so, no. You're welcome to decompile the source code, as well as anyone else who wants to. I made this mod so that people could find DayZ challenging again- not so people could (nearly instantly) accuse me of something like that.

[Beck (DayZ) 1768]

Are you asking if this mod is to steal peoples cd-keys? If so, no.

Great to hear it. I'm interested. Edited May 25, 2013 by Beck

[Zetal 90]

Let me know if you want to give it a shot then. I couldn't figure out how to get my server to list itself under the global server listing (or if I even could at all), so I'm using a Hamachi connection for my friends to be able to connect.

[Zetal 90]

Hamachi Network:

CruelZ Open

Password: None

How To Join Server:

Once you've joined the Hamachi network, open up the CruelZ modded Arma 2 OA and use the Remote connection to connect to:

IP Address: 25.170.148.99

Port: 2302

[Zetal 90]

I might do a recording of me and some friends playing the mod to try and sell it. Any interest in that?

[FlyingHawk 0]

This Mod is great Zetal.

It makes the zombies more worth fighting than vanilla.

:D

[Zetal 90]

Glad you liked it, Hawk. =) By the way, I forgot to add the password to the actual server itself, so thanks for (inadvertently) reminding me about that on skype. lol!

Editing it into the main post now.

[Zetal 90]

I'd like to ask to anyone that visits the server or tries the mod to please post your feedback here! Thank you!

[tajjuk 65]

You can't just 'leave the Hatchet' alone. It's completely overpowered. It makes the Zombies into what they are now- complete pushovers. I-... Look., this isn't the place to argue this. I posted what I posted because I tested it out. I know how it plays- I played it, so don't post your suppositions on how you think it would ruin gameplay, because I've tried that gameplay. If you disagree with me that's fine, but take the discussion here, instead. No need to clog up the Patch Notes.

http://dayzmod.com/f...ic-much-harder/

I would like to whack you in the chest with an axe and see how you feel after it, the axe is fine, it maybe needs slightly less range for a melee weapon but that's it. Remember you have to put weapons in backpacks to be able to use it and that not only restricts your ability to carry stuff but puts you at a huge disadvantage if you meet another armed player.

Their AI tracks you with superhuman abilities

Why are the superhuman? That literally makes no sense, these are infected humans, essentially very ill people who have lost most of their cognitive abilities. Ever had the flu? you feel far from 50% human let alone superhuman.

Like I said on the other thread increased zombie persistence makes sense as that i pretty much their only goal, that's all their brain is now focussed on spreading the infection, but zombies should be stupid, easily distracted, easily tricked.

Slightly more health, slightly more damage, slightly more range, slightly more accurate

More health makes sense, their blood levels should be about 8k I reckon, the rest of it no, don't agree it's superhuman AI again. Like i said increased range? what do they have giant arms? Increase damage, they are punching and biting you, only if you get overwhelmed should you die, it's the equivalent of being attacked by rabid dogs is suppose except humans are less well designed to attack this way, we don't have sharp teeth and claws.

The game isn't really about Zombies, they provide the setting it's the unexpected PvP elements in sandbox setting that really make the game what it is, I'd be interested to see you test server with full levels of players on and how lone people would survive, not very long I would suspect against these super zombies.

I agree to some extents that the zombies need to present more of challenge, well in fact I think they should present a different sort of challenge, a background threat that is there if you f*ck up and to be respected. Your mod to me seems to be all about the zombies and I think that;s the wrong direction.

[Zetal 90]

@Tajjuk

"I would like to..."

Oh agreed, I would not be feeling very good after that for sure. This change, however, isn't meant for players. Neither is the axe in the first place. In the ~100 servers I've played on, I've used the Axe in PVP maybe...oh, idk.. twice comes immediately to mind? Got a double kill with it the first time (the fools were just sitting there crouched, so I just got headshots and moved on), and axed some poor guy in the butt until he died as he crawled under a wall in Cherno. The axe is pretty much just a PvE weapon based on it's skill set. Any player with sound on their game can hear you crouching up next to them, and if they have a gun you lose if they spot you. I use the axe nearly constantly, but not against players.

"Like I said on the other thread...easily tricked."

Easily tricked is going a bit far in the current version, seeing as I can literally lose zombies on...well..other zombies. It's laughable, is what it is. Bushes are silly, too. These people may be ill, but Dean Hall referred to them as 'apex predators.' Would an apex predator get confuzzled by a bush and start hugging it? C'mon, don't be silly.

"More health makes..."

I was a little reluctant about the stat changes, so this explanation is going to be a bit different. The changes I made were meant to compensate for their current pathfinding AI. I'm sure you've noticed, but in their current state, zombies will run about flailing useless, and 9 times out of 10 they'll get to you, stop, swing their arms, only to miss. You can actually stop, take your time to aim, and all the while they'll be "attacking" you when really they're hitting nothing but air. Do you know how unimmersive that is?

"The game isn't really..."."

These zombies can be mastered. On the server that I'm running, I've fixed up a helicopter, completely refueled it, and stashed it away. You know why? There are only 3-4 other players on the server that play every so often. Not terrible for an experimental server but at the same time, it's hard to run an experiment without ideal numbers. I'm a lone player. I do pretty well for myself- except I actually die every so often, as opposed to pretty much never dying like in the vanilla. Getting zombies chasing you shouldn't be an inconvenience that you shrug off by waving at a nearby bush, it should be a matter of life and death, just like it actually would be to get an Apex Predator chasing you.

"I agree to..."

I agree to that as well. But I don't respect the zombies right now. I don't see myself respecting them until A) their pathfinding is fixed (ie standalone, not the Mod) or B) all of these changes are implemented, or the dayzmod devs stun me with a brilliant solution that I haven't seen thus far. But this mod isn't all about the zombies. The changes are, yes, but this mod is Cruel. It's hard. Once you adapt to the true post-apocalypse, then you deal with players. Players that don't fire military assault rifles at survivors in cities for fear of getting swarmed, players that make contact with other survivors for the good of each other, and a game environment that is more authentic. At least, that's how I feel.

Thanks for your reply!

Zetal

[sixfeetgiantbunnyrabbit 40]

Thanks to Zetal who activated the server for me, i was finally able to test the mod:

I managed to stay alive for about an hour:

got chased by 35+ zombies while making my way to Elektro. Got cornered several times but finally managed to find an AKM and dodged them in the police station with the ladder glitch on one of the upper floors. ran to the woods north of elektro. some zombies still figured out where i was. i ran a good 7-8 minutes further up the hill, when i realised i had to go to the toilet. looked around ingame. listened for a while. nothing. went. came back: zombie roaring. just came back in time to save my character from getting eaten, and killed about a dozen loosely following zombies that somehow still managed to track me down in the woods.

got cocky and returned to the elektro police station to see if there were still zombies looking for me. guess what? there were. but they were scattered around so i tried to stealth my way back into elektro to loot some basic stuff to regain some blood. i didn´t get far: got surrounded by aimlessly wandering zombies in an open field just past the police station. tried left, tried to break through right, forward, back... i was trapped once again. i was down in the mud crawling but one zombie finally spotted me. i headed back to the police station and decided to take the zombie down when, of course, 10 other zombies followed through the door. i ditched the plan and headed out of the police station through the other side, still being chased by zombies, trying to reach one of the nearby houses. i decided to make a final stand in one of the residential buildings. i hid behind the table and shot every zombie showing its face in the doorway. that until my AKM finally produced nothing but a familiar yet uncomfortable clicking sound. i had fired my last shot and was trapped inside the house: death by zombies.

Awesome experience. It was really intense from the very start. i spawned at the coast and just a few seconds later zombies were walking down the street next to me. i had to be alert from the get go.

Your zombies are by far the most dangerous zombies i have ever encountered, in dayz as well as in real life, and yet they don´t feel overpowered with superhuman senses and abilities. They are just executing their lone last wish: trying to get you at all costs. Awesome job! I don´t know what it takes to keep your server running but i really would like to come back again next time i play dayz. But first i need a break. This was one hell of a tense hour of gaming. Jesus.

Edited June 7, 2013 by sixfeetgiantbunnyrabbit

[Zetal 90]

:D

I'm really glad to hear you liked it. I'll probably be updating this for 1.7.7 once I have more free time.