Zombies & what can be improved?

[Fl0rean 18]

Zombies & what can be improved?

The Zombies are one of the most important aspects of the game. To make this game feel like a real Zombie-apocalypse you need good working zombies. I know that Dean's Team is right now working on this issue and I want to offer them my opinion and my player experience. I really love this game and I am happy that the standalone is out, remember that I only voice my critics in order to make this game a better one  (I won't mention the already discussed lack of zombies).

 

Behavior

Already in the mod the zombies were to only realy terrible thing which dragged the performance of the game down. The zombies themselves in the standalone improved a little bit. It is now more fun fighting them, than it was in the mod, because know they are not glitching threw you while you try to hit them.  The behavior got worse though. Besides that they completely glitch threw houses I also don't like how they act.

 

 

As you can see in the screenshot, there is a zombie just standing around. This completely drops my excitement. Sometimes you can even walk up to them without them recognizing you. In my opinion the classic zombie needs his awkward terrifying way of walking (it kinda was already implemented in the mod). Some of them could even crawl because they are hurt. But I especially would love some different kinds of how they slowly walk up the street in chernogorsk and how they sloooowly turn around when they hear a shot in the distance. Variety would be welcome but it is not necessary in the alpha I guess. But the standing zombies NEED TO BE FIXED.

 

Fighting Zombies

Right now I like that a fresh spawn can find a hatchet and "onehit" the zombie as long as he hits him in the head (with the better hatchet). It can be compared with chopping of his head. But what I really don't like is, that you can kill zombies with only one shot, no matter where you hit them. The classic zombie would ignore the first 3 shots before he slows down. Zombies should be a "onehit" only if you hit their heads or you should be able to slow them down by shooting their legs. (to safe ammo for example)

Also zombies should be a real THREAT! That would also help to improved the KOS mentality in Dayz, because people would team up more often. Zombies need to be a threat not only for fresh spawns but also for player with guns and a lot of gear. How can that be helped? It must be a mistake to use a gun in a bigger city, because as soon as they hear you shooting more of them shall come, so that players would rather use melee weapons in order to be silent.

 

Hords

I know that Dean's team is still working on the respawn-issue and it will be a long time until they will think about hords. But I think hords would really make the game more exciting and this should not be forgotten. Just imagine two players are in Zelenogrosk and suddenly a hord works through the city and they get overrun. Without thinking they have to team up because they need each other in order to make sure that they can survive. After they got rid of the hord they would be probably more likely to work together than to shoot each other.

 

Conclusion

It is probably very hard to implement a proper acting zombie in dayz but the work is always worth it because you can not only improve the game experience, but you can also help the KOS mentality which players often complain about. Don't forget that the game is all about Zombies!

 

Feel free to discuss!

[Mallow88 110]

Hopefully we will be seeing much of this solved already with future patches. Keep in mind that they had to completely scrap the zombie AI and start over, so what we are seeing right now is a very early form of the zombie AI. 

[Aussie Bogan 350]

Critical thinking i like Take my beans sir ;)

[Mos1ey 6301]

The zombies are literally nowhere near complete at this stage. I'd wait until we're into beta (or at least a lot further into the alpha) before you start making suggestions on how to improve them. :)

Edited December 23, 2013 by Mos1ey

[Bribase 251]

You really have to consider them through the lens of it being an alpha. I like the way that they move and path now but I'm very concerned about the way they attack you. The infected have always had this problem of their attacks being ambigious; It never really looks as if their fists are actually connecting with your body in any meaningful way. It has been an issue in the mod and I just don't see how it will improve with their current approach. Dean and the rest of the devs understand that the game will live and die on how well zombie movement, spawn characteristics, behaviour and combat are implemented. I'm just not sure how they'll overcome the zed's limitations, even in the new engine.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Bribase

[rjcollins 5]

I do agree that higher zombie population (also with respawns) would make KoS less likely due to the higher level of danger posed. Also a fan of tuning them to be dangerous to all manner of player, not just freshspawns.

[Korsbaek 1778]

Alpher.

 

It will be fixed.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LanCLS_hIo4

[MCRoadkill 7]

Different types of zombies and in different stages.

 

Walkers, runners, crippled ones, half blown away crawling on the floor, missing limbs.

 

What better way to have a 1 on 1 with a Z and your trusty samurai sword and chop off some limbs.

 

Speaking of wich, the aiming could also be better. sometimes I'm fighting with a Z and swinging my axe and nothing is happening not able to hit them or their dodging skills are at a 100% because of their undead spastic reflexes  :P

 

oh and the sounds they make should be a little more diverse, they all keep making the same kind of noise.

You could also feature a different sound for a different kind or stage the zombie is in.

 

Or would love to be able to loot or scavange a zombie and use their blood to make a poison, use their bones for something or use an arm as a blunt weapon...ROFL....

Edited December 23, 2013 by MCRoadkill

[Knightmare (DayZ) 109]

More of them. A lot more.

 

When they are fixed of course. Could you imagine getting attacked by 20 zombies all ice skating in the floor and flying through the walls?

[BigCountry 26]

Dean needs to take some of the 2.25 mill he made last week and hire someone who understands AI, and completely redo it. The current AI in Dayz SA is not even on par with a 21st century video game....no offense lol it's horrible :D

 

Since the AI is so bad, everyone is stuck with the same content as before - horde as much loot as possible and shoot each other in the face.

:(

[gregor (DayZ) 95]

Also, developers could give some zeds their own faces. And even better, make the competition between players, maybe it's a lot of them, who want to see own face on some of zeds.

[Jamz 253]

I think the new zombies have the potential to become a real threat to the player. Other than greater numbers, the next thing I would like to see is Roaming. They should be diffusing about the map randomly, with them perhaps being drawn more towards built up areas when they get close to them to represent any lingering subconcious memory or instinct. I'd like to feel nervous about looting a house for too long in case a zombie wandered inside without even knowing I was there.

[Cressman 0]

At first they will definitely just try to further improve the AI. At some point, they'll probably increase the frequency of them, and hopefully introduce different types eventually. They have a long way to go.

[mercules 1290]

Guys, it's already on the horizon. 

 

http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/156129-confirmed-upcoming-features-for-dayz/