Is less zombies actually more?

[o5pr3y (DayZ) 77]

I only played the mod for a small amount of time. Just about 3.4 hours because my computer sucked really bad. I remember running into a ton of zombies when I played.

 

Recently got a new one and immediately purchased the alpha.

After relearning the 846 button commands, I noticed there were less zombies, and because they didn't have those ridiculous animations I found them somewhat scarier when unarmed, and because they were so few I keep imagining I'm going to run into them at every corner. The most I've ever even seen at once so far is 2, yet the suspense keeps getting to me,

 

Anyone else feel this way?

 

Maybe I'm just weird.

Edited January 28, 2014 by o5pr3y

[Death_Dealer 3155]

no, less zombies is less. 

[o5pr3y (DayZ) 77]

no, less zombies is less. 

Stop using logic. This is the internet.

[GOD™ 2795]

beta

 

[Gugolas 228]

I only played the beta for a small amount of time. Just about 3.4 hours because my computer sucked really bad. I remember running into a ton of zombies when I played.

Recently got a new one and immediately purchased the alpha.

After relearning the 846 button commands, I noticed there were less zombies, and because they didn't have those ridiculous animations I found them somewhat scarier when unarmed, and because they were so few I keep imagining I'm going to run into them at every corner. The most I've ever even seen at once so far is 2, yet the suspense keeps getting to me,

Anyone else feel this way?

Maybe I'm just weird.

With "beta" you mean the mod?

Yes, there are less zeds than in the mod. This is because of server architecture (and thus performance) - it is still a WIP.

They are working on zeds, more tipes just came out and I think much more is around the corner.

Anyway, in the final release, according to devs declarations, we will have lot of zombies. We just have to wait.

Finally...yes, I find these zombies far far better (in terms of scaring) than the mod ones, so I partially get your point, but there is still a lot of work to be done and we'll judge in a year or so :)

Edited January 28, 2014 by Gugolas

[DeatHTaX 1217]

Meh he does have a point. Sometimes in your long travels after you havent seen a zombie for a while it's easy for your troll brain to say "hey brah, havent seen them zombie things in a while. they must not exist anymore in the game"

 

and then you totally forget to be careful and check your corners and a zombie comes up in your face as you're turning around and scares the bejeezus out of you

 

xD

[o5pr3y (DayZ) 77]

Lol yeah I meant mod. I'm at work and it's been a long night haha.

Edited the original post, but the internet has forever saved my stupidity.

 

I know there are gonna be more in the endgame, but I'm just saying they feel scarier now due to the suspense.

 

Think of how Alien and Jaws worked by showing less.

Edited January 28, 2014 by o5pr3y

[Death_Dealer 3155]

DayZ barely even counts as a zombie game right now

 

Zombie hordes are imo much scarier

[o5pr3y (DayZ) 77]

DayZ barely even counts as a zombie game right now

 

Zombie hordes are imo much scarier

Agreed, provided they aren't overused. 

I used to freak out at hordes in State of Decay until they became constant, then I found them annoying.

[soulfirez 901]

nope definately want more zeds i know what you mean but it just doesnt seem like a zed apoc with a handfull of zeds in a major place that would have hundreds .

 

Its early alpha but it feels like mods like Breaking point have a better feel to zeds they may spawn in but they spawn in at a good distance and when you hit a large town its not strange to have 30 zeds on ya if your not sneaking around agro one start running soon the whole towns worth are after your blood which i find scarier than having 2 or 3 easy to kill zeds sometimes shuffling sometimes jogging towards you.

 

Only real fright i get from zeds now ( i play first person only ) is when one i havent heard comes through a wall at me lol ..

[o5pr3y (DayZ) 77]

Oh don't get me wrong. I totally want more zombies. The game needs this.

 

I've just been noticing it has a different effect on the psyche to have them being an underlying, yet almost non-existent threat.

Also helps that I'm also always in 1st person so turning around and seeing a zombie 5ft from my face can definitely make me jump..

[Jack Dant 158]

Yes, I completely understand what you mean.

 

In the mod, zombies were a constant, something you expected and just adapted to. They became boring after a while. In standalone, you never know if there's going to be a zombie or not, and sometimes I've been surprised by one I had not seen.

 

It would be really good if, once they add more (and respawning!) zombies, they could make them more clustered and random. So there's a good chance an isolated building or even a small town will be empty. But then there's a group of ten zombies in the next one. Or a horde chilling out in one side of the city while the other is clear.

 

Make the zombies an unknown element, not just part of the landscape.

[komadose 190]

DayZ barely even counts as a zombie game right now

 

Zombie hordes are imo much scarier

yeah. or make them attack more precisely and aggressively. as it stands, they are pretty harmless. but yeah, they are pretty much just placeholders at this point.

 

best possible melee combat would be combination of well-timed evasive moves (even just tapping one button while strafing resulting in one quicker sidestep, keeping it simple. no somersault-acrobacy) and well-timed attacks, but i'm not sure how much of that is possible with this game engine. currently melee combat lacks a great deal of precision and feel.

 

ultimately, zeds should be dangerous enough that it would make sense to spend bullets to them in some situations (indoors mainly).

 

e: wait... didn't Rocket have some melee combat plans, or am i thinking some totally different game?

Edited January 28, 2014 by komadose

[gerbilschooler 229]

 

Make the zombies an unknown element, not just part of the landscape.

 

 

 

No matter how random they could try to make the zombies spawn, if one plays the game long enough, one is going to pick up on the pattern of where and how they spawn. Eventually the zombies are going to become part of the landscape, regardless of how they are utilized, IMO.

[Ghostflux 100]

No matter how random they could try to make the zombies spawn, if one plays the game long enough, one is going to pick up on the pattern of where and how they spawn. Eventually the zombies are going to become part of the landscape, regardless of how they are utilized, IMO.

 

That is only when the spawning patterns are easy enough for human brains to grasp. I think there needs to be plenty of contrast between just a few zombies and all of a sudden a few dozen or more running towards you. Which means you won't know what to expect as long as any given area is random enough to give you a completely different experience everytime you visit.

 

It's all about placement too, for example in a city you might expect 3 zombies to come running at you at any time, but what if the same happens in the middle of nowhere in the forest? Then chances are it's completely unexpected. Or instead of making them roam on the outside, place a few inside of homes in either dark or hard to see areas, suddenly you then have a zombie infront of your face. There are plenty of things possible that could make zombies much more of a danger without drastically changing the amounts.

[Sutinen 635]

It's because alpha. Don't expect it to be like this forever. And on top of that only like 10% of them move, so it only seems like there are only a few, when they are just hiding behind the corner. You'll notice it when you start sprinting through the town. Random zombies are gonna start aggroing from all over the place.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Sutinen

[jock360x360 (DayZ) 26]

Charmin ultra... less is more.

[Problematic 71]

I actually felt the same way as OP when I started, but after a few hours playing standalone I realized the zombie number is just that low and now I sprinting all over the big cities dealing with the zombies using just an axe. So no, less zombies is actually less :( Makes the players all the more scary though.

[bad_mojo (DayZ) 1204]

I really like how sneaky the zombies are compared to the mod. Sure, most of them scream when they start running, but I've had some just sprint at me silently, it really makes my heart skip a beat when I see a figure rushing at me close range. The variety in zombies also makes it difficult to tell a sprinting player from a zombie at first glance.

 

But, no, there needs to be about 10x the amount.

[Karmaterror 982]

I see what OP means, and sure 1 is scary now. But for me its just because there is so few that makes one scary. When theres loads 1 may loose its danger a bit, but just imagine...

 

Your sat on a hill starving

You can see the town that will have that precious can of tuna

But instead of 6 zombies you can see loads all over the place

And you know shooting them is futile because they will just respawn

 

Its gonna get good and scary later on i think :)

[jock360x360 (DayZ) 26]

I don't feel the focus should be on the zombies, i feel the experience of DayZ is other players.  Of course, the zombies could use an upgrade in presence and difficulty, but to the point where they are #1 threat?  I don't know about everyone else, but i have always loved to have that fear that a sniper has me in his scope.  I enjoy wrecking zombies because they really shouldn't be tough to take down.  One hit to the head and they would be dead or on the ground.... or is that too sensible?  Maybe I am thinking of this too realistically ....

[soulfirez 901]

I don't feel the focus should be on the zombies, i feel the experience of DayZ is other players.  Of course, the zombies could use an upgrade in presence and difficulty, but to the point where they are #1 threat?  I don't know about everyone else, but i have always loved to have that fear that a sniper has me in his scope.  I enjoy wrecking zombies because they really shouldn't be tough to take down.  One hit to the head and they would be dead or on the ground.... or is that too sensible?  Maybe I am thinking of this too realistically ....

Hmmm thinking realisticly when in terms of a zed apoc i might be thinking that your thinking is something far other than realistic lol..

 

You should and most likely always will fear the other player more than a zed but id say realistcly speaking in a zed apoc the zeds would be a huge HUGE worry will they ever will be in the game who knows.

 

Can people stop expressing opinions as fact as being realistic lol cause well you just sound crazy..

[deepfried 95]

At the moment there are very few zombies, and to be frank I like it, it makes the scavenge/pvp game much easier.  However it pretty much destroys the survival game, especially as there is no hunting/cooking implemented.  So its just a question of what you want out of the the game as to whether its a good thing or not.

 

I am looking forward to more zombies however, I would like to experience zombies being a real threat, lets face it, at the moment there is no reason why the army wouldn't of just shot all the zombies, they are very easy to deal with, the only reason players don't shoot zombies as a rule is that it lets other players know where you are, other players are the only real threat at the moment.

 

Imagine Cherno with 500+ zombies in it...

[jock360x360 (DayZ) 26]

Hmmm thinking realisticly when in terms of a zed apoc i might be thinking that your thinking is something far other than realistic lol..

 

You should and most likely always will fear the other player more than a zed but id say realistcly speaking in a zed apoc the zeds would be a huge HUGE worry will they ever will be in the game who knows.

 

Can people stop expressing opinions as fact as being realistic lol cause well you just sound crazy..

Understand that when i say realistically, i mean that if i hit you in the head with a fucking shovel, you will be on the floor.

Stop looking at the whole picture and saying no realism applies.

If a zombie is a decaying corpse, the probability that it could take a hit to the head is low.

Yes, its all a fantasy type deal but that doesn't mean common sense cant apply.

My point is, DayZ's game play is aiming for realism, i want to make sure it stays that way, and making zombies tough to take out doesnt sound like anything but unnecessary challenge.  It should be there because it belongs, not because the game is "too easy".

[BHBDeano 18]

I didn't really like the mods way of having them scattered around all over the place, they were just an annoyance that got in the way of PvP. Not dangerous enough to kill you but make you move positions and sit in a pine tree where they cant hit you or run up and down steep hills to make them suicide. They were more like tracking hounds to locate shooters it wasn't oh no zombies have seen me, I'm in big trouble but more of arghh just leave me alone while I snipe this guy.

 

maybe if they made them only hang around in big groups of say a 50+ at a time instead of 1's and 2's. you could sneak around them to avoid them but if 1 see's/hears you it will bring all of them chasing you, thus a real threat if you haven't got enough ammo or are low on stamina and cant out sprint them.