The New Zombie Count is AWESOME

[Katana67 2907]

I love the new zombie counts. Perhaps the spawns should be slowed just a tad, but otherwise... this is great.

The return of wandering zombies helps as well, encountering zombies around deer stands and sheds allows them to spread out in fields and forests without having a crazy spawn mechanic for the forests.

Was pretty intense proning through Pushtoshka to get supplies from the supermarket... and proning between tents at Stary to snag some weapons. Zombies were within feet of me, pretty scary.

I think prone might be a tad overpowered, as zombies don't take notice of you in plain sight unless you're physically touching them. But it's balanced out by the fact that if there's somebody eyeing you, you're pretty easy to take out.

Which is another GREAT effect of the increased zombie count. Bandits are less likely to shoot at you at the typical loot drops because they'll get ganked by zombies!

[gator (DayZ) 22]

I say a quantity between 1.5.6 and 1.5.7 for the next update would be perfect, with a longer spawn time.

1.5.6 = 0

1.5.7 = what you call "too many"

Between 0 and too many is perfect. :p

[mosscd13 0]

I'm really sick of the occasional high horse riding user that calls people with legitimate arguments about a BUG "noobs" as if he/she is some what superior to them because they just can't comprehend how this actually causes the game to be less enjoyable to the majority.

Let me guess, you have full gear. Correction, everyone arguing the new update is great has full or good gear, or a big group.

So all I really got from your entire post is that the game is too hard for you, so you're crying about it. This game simulates LIFE in a post apocalyptic world. Guess what? Even life without the zombies isn't fair. Adapt and overcome, or die.

On top of that, I'm going to die. It happens in DayZ. Alot. So whats to say that you don't catch me running through a field unaware, pop me with a CZ, and take all my shit? Then you can deal with the zombies in a much more relaxed, overpowering way, and I'm left sitting on the beach with a Makarov. This is how the game works, I'm not automatically fucked because I have none of my gear now.

That's me being an asshole. But on a real note, I (along with a lot of others) am sick and tired of the bitching. If it isn't about the bandits, it's about the zombies. If it isn't about the zombies, it's the "sniper rifles are too easy to find because I don't know how to make effective use of cover and like to sprint across fields like i'm in a foot race." argument. Honestly, if you can't play the game in the alpha stage and enjoy it, then fucking quit. The alpha stage of any game is not meant to be enjoyed, but rocket just happened to make an exceptionally fun alpha version of something that has the potential to be amazing. (No ass kissing intended.)

EDIT: And why does everyone have to be so sensitive all the time? I'm not sorry at all if I hurt your feelings. Grow up and take the criticism, and if it gets too much, ignore me or attempt to put me in my place. I won't be offended.

[heminized 1]

I have to say I’m really surprised at the amount of complaints regarding the amount of zombies. I’m new and I love it.

Perhaps some need reread the game requirements:

Requirements:

• ArmA II: CO

• DayZ Mod Files (Available on the downloads page)

• Balls

Please leave the masses of undead the same…and increase the respawn timer.

[Katana67 2907]

I had a new character when 1.5.7 rolled in, and now I've got an AK74 with six mags, revolver, all the utilities, ALICE pack, an M4A3 CCO with three mags in the ALICE pack, plus cooked meat and plenty of water.

Got all that this morning, BY MYSELF!

To all the people thinking it's now impossible to solo, think again. It's harder, sure, but it's SUPPOSED to be harder to survive on your own. Furthermore, everyone who thinks the people who're praising the zombie count have clans/groups to roll out with... I have no such things.

You can't sprint through towns anymore going balls to the wall with your Lee-Enfield without some consequences. Hit the prone, stay aware of zombies, get some loot... and continue until you're satisfied.

[WildGunsTomcat 78]

I have to say I’m really surprised at the amount of complaints regarding the amount of zombies. I’m new and I love it.

Perhaps some need reread the game requirements:

Requirements:

• ArmA II: CO

• DayZ Mod Files (Available on the downloads page)

• Balls

Please leave the masses of undead the same…and increase the respawn timer.

That last requirement is sadly lacking.

This is Arma people, it's not Call of Duty. I know I keep saying that, but some of you need to keep hearing it.

[Disgraced 1123]

I like the count, I do. I'm thinking different and feeling much more hardscrabble.

Of course, I have only been playing since Saturday.

I haven't experienced the supposedly insane spawn timer, but I was lying low, near the train tracks east of Elektro, when out of nowhere about ten Zeds appeared and raced off east in a line.

I didn't like that they spawned 'out of nowhere'. If I had been 30 meters closer to the sea, I'd have been dead meat with no warning.

But I THINK that rocket has acknowledged that spawn timers and locations need some tweeks, non?

[Lapis 4]

This is Arma people' date=' it's not Call of Duty. I know I keep saying that, but some of you need to keep hearing it.

[/quote']

Exactly. Exactly Exactly Exactly.

[sunnz 24]

So far i like the increase but i think the speed of the Zeds should be reduce a little if possible. I got spotted through the wall by a zed and within 1 minutes i had 15 on my tail!!

Luckily i had a few people who helped me out.

The speed of the zombies+ the zombie count+ how quickly you lose blood/how quickly you start bleeding+the delay in the death of the zombie+how zombies quickly zigzag= it becoming a little frustrating.

If reduced a little it would be better, especially in the smaller towns ( i seen 6 zeds patrolling a small house you cant enter...) it would be better IMO, its a game at the end of the day.

I would prefer it how it currently is to compared how it was in 1.5.6 though, that was too easy.

( Ready to be called a noob.................. NOW)

[WildGunsTomcat 78]

So far i like the increase but i think the speed of the Zeds should be reduce a little if possible. I got spotted through the wall by a zed and within 1 minutes i had 15 on my tail!!

Luckily i had a few people who helped me out.

The speed of the zombies+ the zombie count+ how quickly you lose blood/how quickly you start bleeding+the delay in the death of the zombie+how zombies quickly zigzag= it becoming a little frustrating.

If reduced a little it would be better' date=' especially in the smaller towns ( i seen 6 zeds patrolling a small house you cant enter...) it would be better IMO, its a game at the end of the day.

I would prefer it how it currently is to compared how it was in 1.5.6 though, that was too easy.

( Ready to be called a noob.................. NOW)

[/quote']

Yeah the speed needs to be dialed back a little.

When you have 20 zeds chasing you at track star speed like they're Kenyans....

It looks a little like a Benny Hill episode.

[Mezzanine 1]

Let me start by saying I love the "new" zombie numbers. Though they aren't exactly new, when I started playing this, 1200-1600 zombie counts were common place on most servers. That's one of the things that hooked me on this mod, the tension and thrill of actually firing a shot, and deciding whether I should fire at all because ammo was so scarce. I think the real NEW part of it is the spawning system, which I will say could use some very light tweaking. Rocket, don't change the zombie NUMBERS though, they are fine as they are, back to the old, harsh days of survival.

The problem is, there was a HUGE influx of players right about the time when the low zombie population BUG emerged. I'm talking exactly at the same time, right around when the servers shot up from about 15 or 20 to over 50 in a few days. All these new players were experiencing a game basically devoid of zombies. I stopped playing the game as much because I kept running into ghost towns with no loot, no/low zombies, and no fun. All I could do was hunt other players, which without the threat of zombies really is no fun. Mind you, this is coming from me, a BANDIT player, saying it was way too PvP focused with no threat for repercussion. It was beginning to turn into a Deathmatch on a really, really large map.

This patch, though not fully functional according to Rocket, is definitely a step in the right direction once more. Though Rocket said it is bugged, he also said he's looking into it and seeing how it plays out. I think it's playing out just fine, and I hate to say it, but a lot of you new players never got to experience truly zombie infested towns until now. And now, you have to adapt, and don't want to.

Here are a few tips with people having trouble looting and getting around towns:

1. USE MORE QUIET WEAPONS WHEN YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO SNEAK AROUND. A makarov which you start with, is the most quiet handgun I have encountered (certainly more quiet than a 1911 or Mag Revolver). Try to select your battles carefully: scout the area, wait until you have a clear shot to the head with some good distance away from any large group of zombies, and take the shot. Just DON'T take the shot with an Enfield, for example... Even better, don't shoot at all, sneak. It works, it really does. Do you think, in a real apocalypse, you'd run around the middle of a town firing off your pistols when you have absolutely no clue who or what is inside one of those houses/buildings down the road?

2. YOU KNOW THOSE EMPTY TIN CANS AND WHISKEY BOTTLES? PICK ONE OR TWO UP. You can use tin cans and bottles to distract zombies. Yes, if you press 'F' while you have one in your inventory, you will see the option to 'Throw'. Throw them in the right spot, it'll lure a zombie away from your path and you can continue your sneaking/looting mission.

3. CONSERVE YOUR AMMO. There really is no need to be playing COD Hero in this game. In fact, now you are finally learning how to actually survive in a world where ammo, food and safety is scarce. This is the zombie apocalypse. Do you think, in a real apocalypse, you'd run around the middle of a town firing off your pistols when you have no idea when you will find your next clip?

4. GROW SOME BALLS. Yeah, not much I can elaborate on here.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is, the mod started out being pretty hardcore. I remember dieing 4 or 5 times when I first started, but each time was intense and a learning experience. Since then I've been full on survival mode, and I've been able to live for several days on a single character (and I'm talking about BEFORE the low zombie bug was in place).

Please don't tell me about how HARD it is to sneak around town and how HARD it is to get loot. Last night, I went into Cherno alone on a brand spankin' new character. The city was obviously HEAVILY zombie infested, I easily encountered/saw about 80 zombies. I was able to sneak by all the way to the church, market, fire station, hospital, and some random open buildings. There were zombies EVERYWHERE. I used my brain, I threw bottles, cans, etc. I only opened fire once, and it attracted a mere 3 zombies. How? I used my trusty makarov, and my position was such that I KNEW it wasn't going to be a huge fight. How did I do this? I scouted out the town from a distance, I checked my corners before moving. I OBSERVED and made smart decisions based on my observation. I had PATIENCE, which is one one of the things that drew me into this mod early on as well, the need to be patient. 4 well placed Makarov rounds, 3 zombies were down and I continued on my way.

I went into the city with a Makarov. I came out of the city alive and well, only getting hit once, with a tent, ALICE pack, Magnum, G17, Enfield, knife, compass, matches and plenty of ammo.

Just learn to use your wits guys. And Rocket, keep things close to what they are now. It's awesome, and we don't want a full on deathmatch again. Maybe adjust respawn timers, that's it.

[Cakelord 0]

Before I talk, I am aware that the amount of zombies is not something that the creator wished would happen, but could not postpone the patch because of some gamebreaking bugs. It is a nice experiment though to see how this affects gameplay.

The increase of zombies is a good thing, but at the moment it is just a bit too much. I enjoyed having to evade zombies because I never knew if there were 20 other zombies hearing me if I shot a bullet, but this is just too much. If you have equipment it is still not too hard, but with the starting gear you go through bullets really fast. Even if you want to evade most of the zombies there are moments where you just have to shoot. Right now that 1 bullet to the head you are giving the zombie near the stash of loot will attract 5 other zombies. If the stash of loot is nothing good, you are basically fucked if you are still in your starting equipment. You are now almost out of ammunition and avoiding all zombies is impossible unless you spend hours of avoiding to find that perfect house that hasn't got a zombie inside waiting for you (and even then, it is multiplayer so you are bound to run in to some douchebags that will kill you).

As others said, lower the amount of zombies by just a little amount and increase the spawn times. Tha patch after that we can always keep on tweaking until we find an amount that makes the hardcore player have a hardon, while also making it playable for people that are either new or unlucky with loot.

[CarpetBanger 0]

i agree with op

[oilman 72]

This patch has finally made me feel like being in a true Romero situation. (Despite the differing speed of Zeds. ;))

I suspect teamwork is already on the rise.

[mikemike664 1]

i love how they added more zombies. It makes it more fun

[el mariachi 10]

In fact, now you are finally learning how to actually survive in a world where ammo, food and safety is scarce. This is the zombie apocalypse. Do you think, in a real apocalypse, you'd run around the middle of a town firing off your pistols when you have no idea when you will find your next clip?

This is a video game. Stop comparing it to hypothetically real apocalypse scenarios.

[i wub pugs 16]

Hmm, I have a good number of people in my group/clan. We're doing okay for now, but we just have a couple CZZs and shotguns. Good on food and stuff, but we don't have knives or blood.

We want better stuff. Would it be best to go back into Chernogorsk or Elektro or should we just keep inland. We're in Mogilevka as of our last save. Should we go to the big airbase for guns or will we find goodies out in the boonies?

Btw, I think the new patch is great for being out in the boonies. Just the right number of Z's!

[Mezzanine 1]

This is a video game. Stop comparing it to hypothetically real apocalypse scenarios.

I like how you take a few sentences out of my entire post and choose to nitpick; I'll grant you a reply anyways, because I've seen you post the same thing in multiple threads now.

I realize this isn't a real zombie apocalypse, it's a game, so your point is taken. However, I don't know how long you've been playing, but I do know this is closer to the original vision Rocket had in the earlier builds of the game. There has to be a sense of danger, a sense of helplessness, as far as I'm concerned. It forces people to not only be more careful about what they do, and make the tough decisions, but also work together. I, as well as many others, do not want this to turn into COD FFA on a huge map.

---

This patch has finally made me feel like being in a true Romero situation. (Despite the differing speed of Zeds. ;))

I suspect teamwork is already on the rise.

I definitely think teamwork will be on the rise once again. Good times.

[shemashko 2]

I enjoy the new zombie numbers, they make looting much harder and tense. My only concern related to zombies is the lack of zombies outside of towns/cities. It would be great to encounter just a mere 3-5 zombies randomly while traversing the forests of chernarus. It would definitely make the game much more harder for 3 reasons

1. You have no building to get to so you're going to have to fight fast zig-zagging zombies

2. Since they're hard to hit, you're bound to miss a few precious ammunition now because looting is now a difficult task

3.You need to be a little more cautious around the woods now so no running from place to place!

[MiniJunkie 0]

I think the increased zombie count is awesome. However, I think it also "broke" things balance-wise, a little bit.

The main problem is you can't kill a zombie quietly (unless you got super lucky and have a fully loaded crossbow). So to defend yourself, you pretty much HAVE to make noise, which can bring a flood of zombies down on you. Then you can't really escape or hide.

IMO the increased zombie count, while awesome, should be (or have been) accompanied by just a couple of other tweaks:

- melee defense/attack method (knife, axe, whatever). Guns seem more for enemy players and panic situations with zombies. In the real zompoc you'd use hand weapons far more often.

- more loot in general, so that risk=reward.

- the shooting engine also isn't very "crisp" so I find that the zombies run like crazy at you, then kinda "side step" you, and given the jerkiness of aiming etc it's often very difficult to get a shot in before taking hits.

It's coming along beautifully, but there's definitely some key opportunities for improvement imo!

[Luieburger 15]

WTF are you care bear casuals smoking? I just went into a town with ~40 zombies. I went right through the center of it at crouch-jog speed (fast as you can go in crouch). I came within 10 yards of a monkey zombie at that speed and he didn't aggro on me.... at all....

The zombies are EASIER! They don't all come running if you sneeze anymore. There's more of them, but they are a lot less aggressive.

Also, so far it seems there is a lot less ammo and gear spawning around. Fun!

[el mariachi 10]

I don't want it to turn into COD either.

I just want to be able to feel like I accomplish something other than "Snuck around in a city for an hour avoiding zombies, got a can of beans. Boy, I can't wait to log into the game tomorrow and do some more awesome survival stuff where maybe I can refill my canteen! Because that's realistic survival!"

Constant sneak and survival is pretty tedious. I've been playing this game for a while and most of it has been around quick in and outs in cities for quick stuff, another 20 minutes running around in the woods. Now its even more harrowing to move around a town because there are a ton more zombies to avoid.

I've got a gun, I want to be able to shoot it once in a while without having to worry if I have enough ammo, or if I feel like running in and out of a house, up and down a hill to take advantage of game exploits to help me deal with super fast zombies who you can't hide from once they are alerted, who can teleport into buildings, will never, ever stop chasing you, and respawn 3 minutes after you kill them anyway.

Some people might consider that fun. I don't. I'm sure I'm not alone. Even those who wanted a break from COD gameplay who were lured to this game from other sites will drop it and think of this as that boring zombie game where all you do is crawl and look for beans.

[Grey508 17]

Don't mind the zed count, but they respawn far too quickly. I happened upon another loner today who was trying to clear a large farm (long barn, dairy barn, house). We teamed up and spent the next 15 minutes dropping zeds. We finally gave up and moved along, as we were using more resources than we were picking up, with no end to the zeds in sight.

[i wub pugs 16]

Make some damn friends and stop going lone-wolf all the time. If that doesn't sound appealing then you better get real good at headshots.

[Mezzanine 1]

Some people might consider that fun. I don't. I'm sure I'm not alone. Even those who wanted a break from COD gameplay who were lured to this game from other sites will drop it and think of this as that boring zombie game where all you do is crawl and look for beans.

Sounds to me like you had bad luck with those loot spawns. Like I previously mentioned, I ventured into Cherno, alone, while heavily zombie infested, and came out with a ton of loot. Maybe you ran into spots where people had already looted the items. Maybe you just hit the wrong spots at the wrong time. Whatever the case, it happens.

I remember everyone who began playing this game Pre-1.5.6 were very much into the fact that you didn't know how long you had to live, or when you would find items you needed to survive. Sometimes you'd be starving, unable to find food. It took patience. It took teamwork. Sometimes it took a helping hand from a fellow survivor.

Maybe you don't want to walk around for half an hour and not find any loot. Maybe that's frustrating to you. To people who played the game before 1.5.6, this was the way things were, and it made it fun to them, that's why so many people started playing it in the first place. This is what made the game unique, nothing was guaranteed.

If those "taking a break from COD" don't like it and drop the game, then good riddance. There are enough COD deathmatches out there. People playing this at 1.5.5 and prior were having a true blast the way it was. For ONCE, this mod is something fresh, new and different. Please, stop trying to dumb the game down. Its challenge is one of the things that makes it great.

It's understandable that you are frustrated, but to be completely honest, outside of 1.5.6 it's always been this way (minus the zombies respawning way too fast at times). I hate to say it, but if you don't like the way it is maybe it isn't the game for you?