Zombie Spawns

[timoteofrijole@gmail.com 2]

Reading the forums and listening to interviews it appears one goal for the standalone is to increase the struggle of PvE action. According to Dean zombie respawn is close and I believe this will ruin everything he is trying to accomplish. Not only is implementing zombie respawn going to ruin the game but it is requiring a ton of work on the devs as well. I am completely fine with mass zombie spawns and hordes that have to be fought off. This WILL make the game fun, but killing a zombie is pointless if it respawns. I believe this was also the problem with the mod. If the zombies do not respawn until the next server restart the player actually feels like they have an impact on the game and are more inclined to kill zombies. This also allows players to clear a town out of zombies and set up a camp or something. If the zombies do respawn the players are going to do exactly what they did in the mod, just run away and pretend they aren't even there. Please please please rocket, allow the players to have fun with the PvE.

[DemonGroover 8836]

But dealing with zombies is PvE.  Without them the only danger is another player.  And we all know where that leads.

[The Mad Titan 29]

This is gonna be a hard thing to balance but there is a way to do it right and I hope we find it. Since its alpha us players should discuss this greatly.

 

Right now with a fire axe zombies aren't a threat at all, I can walk around care free, aggro zombies then hit them once without getting hurt...its way too easy. One of the things that could help the game greatly is making zombies difficult to kill, this would encourage cooperation among strangers. The zombies should never be one hit kills with melee (my opinion). I also believe that no hit/shot should count unless its in the head. Body hits knock them down and limb hits slow them down

 

I also think that there could be respawning. Two ways I see this working are 1) after killing a zombie(s) if there isn't a player near the spawn point of X amount of time then it respawns. 2) Triggering a horde, having some mechanism that triggers a group of zombies to spawn and come after you. E.g. make too much noise shooting guns then spawns a group of 5 zombies that come after you.

 

I think this topic should be kept alive and we should discuss options and the pros and cons of those suggestions.

[Odysseus (DayZ) 43]

First, before anything else is done with them, the zombies need to be fixed so that they don't teleport through walls, doors, and fences. They need to stop following me like they're heat seeking missiles. Being lootable will be nice, as it gives incentive to actually kill them.

Then, the melee system needs some work. It is awful, one of the ugliest melee experiences I have ever seen for a game that expects heavy melee use. One stroke with an axe is all it should take, but the contact should be much more rewarding than it is. Perhaps this will feel better once the zombies are ragdolled.

Once they work right, THEN boost their spawns and see what happens.

At least, that is how I would do it.

[mrlaxx 12]

If possible, make zombies only respawn when there are no players nearby. Hordes would be cool spawning in the woods and making their way over to cities or villages. I dunno how much can be done with the engine though, without stressing it too much.