Please Make Zeds WD style Lurchers in DayZ SA

[johnm81 15]

I am not an vet player by any means and so this suggestion may not be of much value but I've been thinking about this. So let me run this concept past you all in the hopes that maybe it will sway some opinions of players and devs.

I started playing Zomboid and that game had a certain immersive feel that DayZ has been lacking for me. Then it struck me, Zomboid has WAAAAY more zombies AND they got the feel right. I am actually scared when i round a corner and see a huddled mob of zombies. That's what is missing from DayZ imo.

In that game if you come across one or two zombies you can kill them no problem because they are slow, but due to the huge number of them and how they are attracted to the sound of you killing other zombies survival is much harder and more thrilling than DayZ.

I suggest the following changes be made together:

1. Make DayZ Zeds slow lurching zombies

-This will allow them to be picked off when alone but still dangerous in large numbers.

-Also helps the annoying warping and zig zagging that they have now so instead they move slowly and in predictable ways

2. Make DayZ Zeds #'s not only very high, but concentrated in towns.

-This will give players a reason to group up and work together to clear out small towns instead of kill on sight. If we 'NEED' other players to help clear a town then suddenly people will work together.

3. Make DayZ Zeds have a 10% chance upon hit to scratch or bite you.

-A scratch or bite = you will die in 1-2 server days with no hope of curing it. Again this gives incentive to work as a group to kill zeds as they are much more deadly.

4. Make DayZ Zeds head shot only as some traviana servers have done.

-Again, harder zombies, guarding resources = players needing each other to survive which is the essence of why survivors group up in shows like the walking dead ect...

[aussiebobby 82]

Harder zombies has been meet with a flood of tears after a few days

So not going to happen

[TacticalN29 89]

The thing with this is they would have to completely change the zombies in almost every way. They re-did the animations and skeleton of the zombies for the standalone. While they still run I don't think it's in the jerky fashion of the mod. I think that there will be more zombies in the SA than there are in the mod, but I'm not sure. As far as #3 they have diseases and infections that can kill you. But as far as not being able to cure it ever, I don't like that. Headshots only may be more in line with traditional zombies, however that was never how DayZ was and I don't think they will change it.

[sarkasm0 109]

There should be A LOT more zombies in order for this to work, and the game can barely stand the currently amount of zombies.

[TacticalN29 89]

Harder zombies has been meet with a flood of tears after a few days

So not going to happen

This too. I would personally prefer hard, dangerous zombies. I just don't think this is the way to do it. But a lot of people in the community whine and complain when they update the mod to make the zombies actually dangerous. So they just change it back. However I think the SA will rectify some of these problems.

[TacticalN29 89]

There should be A LOT more zombies in order for this to work, and the game can barely stand the currently amount of zombies.

They have had thousands of zombies in a server in the SA. And the zombies will spawn at server start and never despawn.

[johnm81 15]

Harder zombies has been meet with a flood of tears after a few days

So not going to happen

We need to make a distinction. There are ways to make the zeds harder that makes the game have more depth and there are ways to make zeds harder that just adds to frustration. I think the lamentations came from making them harder that added to frustration.

[johnm81 15]

The thing with this is they would have to completely change the zombies in almost every way. They re-did the animations and skeleton of the zombies for the standalone. While they still run I don't think it's in the jerky fashion of the mod. I think that there will be more zombies in the SA than there are in the mod, but I'm not sure. As far as #3 they have diseases and infections that can kill you. But as far as not being able to cure it ever, I don't like that. Headshots only may be more in line with traditional zombies, however that was never how DayZ was and I don't think they will change it.

Why do you say it will force them to redo zombies?

1. Speed change = doesn't require skeleton changes.

2. #'s and distribution wouldn't require major reworks

3. Chance of infection from hits are already in the game

4. Head shots are already in some mods.

Clearly all these changes would actually be very simple as they are in the game in various forms already.

Also...

Vids from E3 still show zeds running around in a jerky fashion...yes i know its alpha just saying.

Edited June 20, 2013 by JohnM81

[johnm81 15]

There should be A LOT more zombies in order for this to work, and the game can barely stand the currently amount of zombies.

Rocket says new server for SA will hold 150 players. Maybe they should back it down to 50 so it can have more zombies as we now know that zombies are much more optimized than human controlled avatars.

[johnm81 15]

They have had thousands of zombies in a server in the SA. And the zombies will spawn at server start and never despawn.

True, which is why I see these suggestions as not hard to put in because most of them are already in play in some fashion.

[xath 7]

This too. I would personally prefer hard, dangerous zombies. I just don't think this is the way to do it. But a lot of people in the community whine and complain when they update the mod to make the zombies actually dangerous. So they just change it back. However I think the SA will rectify some of these problems.

Ah, but there's plenty proof of concept that slow-moving zombies are equally as dangerous, especially in numbers, in films and in games such as NMRiH, and even The Dead Linger (though in alpha) and others. So, in numbers and in most situations, slow-moving zombies are extremely dangerous.

I actually agree with the OP, and he's got some great ideas (things I myself have been saying for a long time) except for possibly different reasons...

It's not the difficulty, which definitely needs to stay hardcore... it's more for me about capturing the real and classic (i.e. Romero) zombie/zombie atmosphere. It's a lot more ominous atmosphere, and DayZ's atmosphere already lends to that, when the dead are slower, shambling, relentless hordes of horror coming at/surrounding you.

I love the extremely hardcore element of dangerous zombies, but I do have to agree (and I've been saying this for an extremely long time) that the "zombies" in DayZ need to be slower, and do more damage, as well as be upped in numbers as much as is possible/reasonable.

Not because of the difficulty; again, I want the difficulty the same, but I also want more of an actual "zombie atmosphere", where as the "zombies" in DayZ are not actually zombies, they're more "infected", such as in 28 Days Later... an awesome film, and playing in such a scenario is a great experience when done right, but I'm more into the true Romero zombie.

If the zombie speed was never changed, and they were just reskinned to look great, and their animations really tweaked, I'd still be fine with faster zombies. Though I know that supposedly zombie speed is going to be toned-down at least a little. I'm a hardcore DayZ freak, and will continue to be, but then again, I'm also always about the zombies, not the PvP (that's just an added tension in the game).

Personally, in regards to really capturing an actual zombie atmosphere, I'd love to see nothing more than the zombies slowed down, at least to a fast shamble, and do more damage, such as in NMRiH, where you can only be hit a few times before it's all over, and trapped/surrounded easily.

But, as long as they look great and their speed and movement are tweaked to be more reasonable than the "lightning speed zig-zaggin karate zombies" we still have in the mod, lol, then I'll be pleased.

[Jamz 253]

I'd love to see slow moving zombies which required headshots, but as stated the numbers on each server would have to be increased massively. And not just across the server, they would have to be in large groups for it to be dangerous. One day when technology catches up perhaps... As for clearing towns, I suspect it would work if zombies spawned only outside towns but wandered in, so a fire team could set an effective perimeter.

I'd also like to see the infection more easily transmitted but easier to bear ie no loss of blood until death but rather 24-48hours of in game time until you die and turn (become an npc zombie with your kit). Most players should be infected most of the time and that's enough time to find antibiotics. Good ideas OP.

[methr1k2dop3 323]

i like the idea of slow zombies in mod.

i think it would be great if they just walked.

Of course have damage increase by a bajillion percent.

basically one or two hits kill you.

IMO, i think they should just fast walk. would make the game more fun.

in current mod i don't even call them zombies i call them bugs.

big ass giant bugs that hit through walls and run around like they are hopped up on meth.

Edited June 20, 2013 by methr1k2dop3

[SoulHunter (DayZ) 233]

I think this idea would work fine only if the chance of getting infected by any kind of hit of any types of zeds is 100% and the infection never gets off the body but could be slowed down/stopped. Then people would think not "twice" but hundreds of times before attempting to pass near a zed even it would be slow.

-One hit and your char will die in 10 min.

-Two hit and your char will die in 5 min.

-If your body is infected as an amount of 75% lets say, then poor you, that infection will stay with ya even you could stop its growing.

-If your char would get hit by another zed again then you would have only 2.5 min left before your char would die (25% uninfected).

-Maybe per 12 hours or so 1% of infected part of the body can be re-made by the body itself (/shrug)

What will this lead to anyway ?

I'm pretty sure you guys watch all those streamers who just seem fine with dozens of zeds running around them while they just focus on killing some other players and not giving a single fuck about the zeds hitting them knowing that they can always bandage themselves when desired/needed. With such an improved, when people would see a zombie they would just freak out and say "Oh man NO! C'mon mate, lets find another path.. There are three zeds.. We cannot get them all without getting hit.." or "GEEZZ!!ANOTHER ZED ?!?! REALLY?!?!?!" which is something should be happened in an apocalypse in the first place anyway..

People should think "I might really die if I will not be very careful" when they see a zed in the game.

Edited June 20, 2013 by SoulHunter

[TheCreeper (DayZ) 3565]

Not going to happen, end of story.............

P.S.: you posted this in the wrong sub forum

[methr1k2dop3 323]

I think this idea would work fine only if the chance of getting infected by any kind of hit of any types of zeds is 100% and the infection never gets off the body but could be slowed down/stopped. Then people would think not "twice" but hundreds of times before attempting to pass near a zed even it would be slow.

-One hit and your char will die in 10 min.

-Two hit and your char will die in 5 min.

-If your body is infected as an amount of 75% lets say, then poor you, that infection will stay with ya even you could stop its growing.

-If your char would get hit by another zed again then you would have only 2.5 min left before your char would die (25% uninfected).

-Maybe per 12 hours or so 1% of infected part of the body can be re-made by the body itself (/shrug)

i love this.

getting nicked by a zombie is a potential death sentence unless you can find a cure.

[TacticalN29 89]

Why do you say it will force them to redo zombies?

1. Speed change = doesn't require skeleton changes.

2. #'s and distribution wouldn't require major reworks

3. Chance of infection from hits are already in the game

4. Head shots are already in some mods.

Clearly all these changes would actually be very simple as they are in the game in various forms already.

Also...

Vids from E3 still show zeds running around in a jerky fashion...yes i know its alpha just saying.

Speed may not require a skeleton change, but they did mocap specifically for the types of zombies that are already in the game. As far as head shots only, I'm pretty sure the aiming system in ARMA is too clunky for this to be viable. Unless of course they were walking slowly not moving their head at all. Actually scratch that. The aiming system isn't clunky. It's realistic. I think people have gotten misconceptions about shooting from movies and TV shows like the Walking Dead. I guarantee you that if it were real that group of survivors would be missing a lot more than they were hitting. You can't just swing your gun around and pop zombies in the head.

Edited June 20, 2013 by TacticalN29

[fluxley 2228]

I much prefer the dayz/28 days later take on "zombies",

In Dayz the infected are still living human beings driven insane by a virus, for me the idea of being forced to murder these poor unfortunates in order to survive is far more compelling,immersive and disturbing than the traditional Romero living dead who are nothing more than slow moving cannon fodder.

For all you know someone out there could be on the verge of breakthrough cure for the infection and here we all are happily slaughtering them, the psychological effects that would have on most people in a real life situation are huge.

In the current mod they are very limited to how many zeds they can have spawned in at one time, this should be greatly improved in the standalone. so we will have numerous fast psychopaths chasing after us, now thats some scary shit.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Fluxley

[johnm81 15]

Speed may not require a skeleton change, but they did mocap specifically for the types of zombies that are already in the game. As far as head shots only, I'm pretty sure the aiming system in ARMA is too clunky for this to be viable. Unless of course they were walking slowly not moving their head at all. Actually scratch that. The aiming system isn't clunky. It's realistic. I think people have gotten misconceptions about shooting from movies and TV shows like the Walking Dead. I guarantee you that if it were real that group of survivors would be missing a lot more than they were hitting. You can't just swing your gun around and pop zombies in the head.

Head shot zombies are already in the game. and work just fine. Lots of the Traviana servers have them. It works quite well.

[johnm81 15]

I much prefer the dayz/28 days later take on "zombies",

In Dayz the infected are still living human beings driven insane by a virus, for me the idea of being forced to murder these poor unfortunates in order to survive is far more compelling,immersive and disturbing than the traditional Romero living dead who are nothing more than slow moving cannon fodder.

For all you know someone out there could be on the verge of breakthrough cure for the infection and here we all are happily slaughtering them, the psychological effects that would have on most people in a real life situation are huge.

In the current mod they are very limited to how many zeds they can have spawned in at one time, this should be greatly improved in the standalone. so we will have numerous fast psychopaths chasing after us, now thats some scary shit.

I see where you are coming from and i agree. If this was real life, there would be more hesitation to kill them. But this is a video game, and in video games the only thing that scares ppl is something that will provide a huge threat to their character.

Secondly, these suggestions I am making are for the up-coming standalone.

[fluxley 2228]

I see where you are coming from and i agree. If this was real life, there would be more hesitation to kill them. But this is a video game, and in video games the only thing that scares ppl is something that will provide a huge threat to their character.

which is why i mentioned the standalone will have lots of zombies AND they will be fast, which is clearly more of a threat than lots of slow zombies.

[johnm81 15]

which is why i mentioned the standalone will have lots of zombies AND they will be fast, which is clearly more of a threat than lots of slow zombies.

While I do want zeds to be more of a threat. But I don't want them to be needlessly frustrating. And one of the ways they can be frustrating is to derive their danger from glitch zig zagging and warping in front and behind your character. Slowing down their speed will allow the client and server to synch better so they don't do this which is why I want them slow. Then buffing them in the other ways that I stated will keep them a huge threat as well as encourage grouping up vs KOS.

From DayZ SA vids we can see that they are fast, run in buildings, and still are glitchy and warp around a lot.

[Boshed 29]

Personally I find slow infected/zombies/enemies in any game pretty pathetic really, even in large numbers. I feel the thing that MAKES these infected a threat/scary is the fact they ARE fast (disregarding their zig-zag movement for a moment).

If the infected were slow they might at well not be in the game. eg. You are in Electro wanting to loot the store, but there is a massive horde there. Simply get their attention to pull them away, loose them and return to a nice empty shop prime for looting. Obviously you will need to determine if there are bandits about, but I think you get my point

[Aporis 422]

I suggest the following changes be made together:

1. Make DayZ Zeds slow lurching zombies

-This will allow them to be picked off when alone but still dangerous in large numbers.

-Also helps the annoying warping and zig zagging that they have now so instead they move slowly and in predictable ways

2. Make DayZ Zeds #'s not only very high, but concentrated in towns.

-This will give players a reason to group up and work together to clear out small towns instead of kill on sight. If we 'NEED' other players to help clear a town then suddenly people will work together.

3. Make DayZ Zeds have a 10% chance upon hit to scratch or bite you.

-A scratch or bite = you will die in 1-2 server days with no hope of curing it. Again this gives incentive to work as a group to kill zeds as they are much more deadly.

4. Make DayZ Zeds head shot only as some traviana servers have done.

-Again, harder zombies, guarding resources = players needing each other to survive which is the essence of why survivors group up in shows like the walking dead ect...

1. Zombies will proably be in many variants, one run like infected, others limp around, monkey zombies etc crawlers.

-The zombies no longer zig zag cause of the new pathfinding system.

2. Zombies are concentrated on towns but there will be zombies roamign in the wild so you may encounter large herds of zombies on the wild aswell witch makes even traveling dangerous.

3. Don't know if this would work as alot of people already die to lack of antiobiotics

4. most people shoot zombies to the head, even though you coudl kill them with couple of extra bodyshot.

[fluxley 2228]

From DayZ SA vids we can see that they are fast, run in buildings, and still are glitchy and warp around a lot.

It's been stated many times that the zombies in the E3 videos are nowhere near finished. i think you're being a bit too quick to judge.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Fluxley