Zombie Hoards?

[pissedoff88 24]

Are there going to be hoards of zombies roaming the map when this game is finished or will the finished game be the same 2-6 zombies that spawn in any given town/city?  Because if there are no plans to increase zombie numbers at least 5-10 times the current model the games name should be changed because I think it may be a little misleading.  Without hoards, the zombies will never be a threat and it will always be a pvp 24/7 game instead of man vs zombie game.  Changing AI will not increase the threat, only increasing numbers will imo.  I doubt any survivors would object to more zombies, so can we please have them in the finished game or will this crash the servers?  Thank you.

[boneboys 7988]

So you want more dumb zombies believing that they will improve the game rather than AI modifications ?

No, you are completely wrong.

 

AI improvements is the singular most important aspect needed to change the game and the way in which players interact with each other.

[Karmaterror 982]

Don't worry devs have said from the start they want more zombies, they said they could run thousands in dev builds with no loot. But as zombies and loot all count towards the servers item cap they will have to balance it out. I don't see them doing that till they are feature complete (that includes refined AI like boneboys said) and a  lot of optimising has been done. They need know what engine performance is like with all features and the engine upgrades, then they can accurately find out just how many zeds they can run. 

 

So yeah don't worry, they on it. One day im sure we will see mod numbers, if not more :D

[Greaves 131]

So you want more dumb zombies believing that they will improve the game rather than AI modifications ?

No, you are completely wrong.

 

AI improvements is the singular most important aspect needed to change the game and the way in which players interact with each other.

 

While AI improvements are good, imagine facing 20 zombies at once with the current zombie AI. You'd run, or team up with that dude across the street to kill them.

(Unless you have an M4 with loads of ammo, maybe.)

 

Also zombie AI and the current DayZ clunkyness go hand in hand. I'd only want zombies with great AI when i can also swing my pickaxe with great precision. The clunky controls are fine for the current zombies, but make the AI great without also making the animations smooth and better controlable, and it ends up in frustration.

 

I would add hordes first, then update AI and melee controls simultaniously.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Greaves

[AlphaDogMeat . 493]

Are there going to be hoards of zombies roaming the map

 

Hoard:

 

Horde:

This has been a Public Service Post.

[pissedoff88 24]

Lol well that is good news I am glad they plan to max out the zombies before its finished.  I think if there are enough zombies to make players have to run or hide in a building once in a while that would be awesome.  I would rather one huge hoard roaming the map and no spawns anywhere else than to have it as it currently stands.  With a hoard you can't do the circle melee thing.  Right now the zombies are not scary or a problem at all in the apocolypse.  I never worry about them and can roam freely with just an axe anywhere on the map.  Yeah the mod looks much better in terms of zombie numbers ...

[DemonGroover 8836]

I am Board or bored.

[DocWolf 146]

So you want more dumb zombies believing that they will improve the game rather than AI modifications ?

No, you are completely wrong.

 

AI improvements is the singular most important aspect needed to change the game and the way in which players interact with each other.

Well, considering infected behaviour and spawn/respawn systems are one of the most important features of the game and (exactly like many other important features) are considered "placeholders" since day 1 and after a year they're still listed as "placeholders"...yeah, I too think that more dumb zombies could help the game. Because I suspect "proper" (as in "non-placeholder") features are going to be extremely difficult to design and then even more difficult to implement, and probably creating a Plan B (AKA more dumb infected) and testing the hell out of it should be one of the priorities, both from a gameplay and a performance point of view.

Yeah, I know the developers disclosed the whole 2015 roadmap online...but those are just public statements. During the various patches we tested this year there was no solid evidence of "major" improvements boiling in the background concerning the systems governing infected behaviour, navigation, aggro, spawn/respawn and many other things...good "minor" improvements? Yes, good ones indeed. But nothing revolutionary on (or even slightly beyond) the horizon. Maybe they're working on a complete new system and they will disclose it in the future eliminating the placeholders...maybe. I'm all for realism in software and game development and, considering all I can see in this alpha, I find more probable they are still on the drawing board for this one.

Edited December 5, 2014 by DocWolf

[igor-vk 909]

I wouldnt mind more zombies with current AI. I mean zombies/infected are supose to be stupid, arent they?! I only cant stand desync. Devs could give one experimental server with zombies only, we dont need loot. You can gear up on other servers and move to deticated server just to slain zombies and test server performance. 

Ill say it again, I dont mind curent zombie AI, but navmesh could use more work. They go trough some wall and doors. Desync is worst thing IMO. Yesterday zombie in the street killed me inside the house with two hits (needless to say I was fully healthy). Melee is not that bad any more, now you aim with actual weapon, not with crosshair. Give us more dumb zombies!

[Helix2000 128]

I am Board or bored.

if you where board, i guess that it could be boring

[Mookie (original) 799]

if you where board, i guess that it could be boring

 

If he were board, that would be boring. :)

[SNOWPOWDERITA 10]

So you want more dumb zombies believing that they will improve the game rather than AI modifications ?

No, you are completely wrong.

 

AI improvements is the singular most important aspect needed to change the game and the way in which players interact with each other.

zombies are supposed to be stupid....i miss the arma2 mod, where hordes of zombies could chase you, and there were trapped survivors to save, people who teamed up to escape a horde, pvp gunfights stopped by tons of zombies attracted by the shots.

 

more zombies are essential to me.

[blackberrygoo 1416]

Well, considering infected behaviour and spawn/respawn systems are one of the most important features of the game and (exactly like many other important features) are considered "placeholders" since day 1 and after a year they're still listed as "placeholders"...yeah, I too think that more dumb zombies could help the game. Because I suspect "proper" (as in "non-placeholder") features are going to be extremely difficult to design and then even more difficult to implement, and probably creating a Plan B (AKA more dumb infected) and testing the hell out of it should be one of the priorities, both from a gameplay and a performance point of view.

Yeah, I know the developers disclosed the whole 2015 roadmap online...but those are just public statements. During the various patches we tested this year there was no solid evidence of "major" improvements boiling in the background concerning the systems governing infected behaviour, navigation, aggro, spawn/respawn and many other things...good "minor" improvements? Yes, good ones indeed. But nothing revolutionary on (or even slightly beyond) the horizon. Maybe they're working on a complete new system and they will disclose it in the future eliminating the placeholders...maybe. I'm all for realism in software and game development and, considering all I can see in this alpha, I find more probable they are still on the drawing board for this one.

So you would prefer 15 zombies chasing you stopping randomly after 200 meters , crashing the server or client because most can't handle it at this unptimized stage (my friends computer crashes when the v3s is audible , just imagine his computer trying to visualize 30 zombies and a v3s going down the road in this optimization) .. Or all the zombies chasing you getting caught on a fence simultaneously making some sort of makeshift zombie kickline dance, as opposed to the same number now with improved AI and then adding numbers every patch like they have been ?

I'd say it's smart to do it the way they have been , although they have a LOT to work on everywhere else at the same time which is why you aren't seeing the "quick results" you would like ... Balancing it like this is the best option though because they ARE working on melee as well unlike what that other guy fears, and they need the servers to be up to par along with the clients fps to be decent enough to add things like hordes which makes sense to add more and more zombies every optimization patch .. So what we are getting is much better and more enjoyable than just throwing in extra zombies and having to deal with terribly optimized servers , and then working on ai most likely late because they had to deal with implementing much more zombies just to appease the masses that never seem to happen to experience the times when they walk into vybor , myshinko , or elektro and there's like 15 zombies all around coming one after the next trying to get at your nuts lol ...

Long story short I can wait for hordes because I don't want to see how much more "dumb" these zombies will be , and I know that in some cites they are already hefty in number and respawns, and to top it all off I can see the true priorities required for more fun and playability over pleasing a small certain group of people who are unhappy with the game at the time .

[rickyriot 1009]

Hate to be the grammar nazi here, but is a zombie hoard when you collect a lot of them in a house.

 

I believe zombie horde is the term you might be looking for..  ^_^

[Private Evans 1303]

Hate to be the grammar nazi here, but is a zombie hoard when you collect a lot of them in a house.

 

I believe zombie horde is the term you might be looking for..  ^_^

 

bunch of infected ?

[rickyriot 1009]

bunch of infected ?

 

Yeah, well a hoard is a collection, a horde is an attacking force. I presume the OP meant the latter.

 

It's a subtle difference but it's the thought of hoarding zombies that I find funny, as in getting them to chase you then shutting them into a house.

[Private Evans 1303]

But seriously...why not using a system that simulates a few thousand zeds on the map ( this includes movment, respawn etc etc) but spawn them only in to the game world when players are around like the Arma 3 Allive mod does just more simple  :)

This way we would have maybe a max of 1500 zeds ingame  at the same time(on a packed 50 players server) which the engine should be able to handle....

Locations could still be without zeds for different reasons....

Edited December 5, 2014 by Private Evans

[LoveAffair 329]

Aren't Zombies suppose to be dumb ?  In there current state more would be alot harder, at least for me it would. I had 6 chasing me yestarday and believe me..   I RAN.   Thank Gawd there was a deer in the field  i ran past so they all ran after him.

[Private Evans 1303]

Aren't Zombies suppose to be dumb ?  In there current state more would be alot harder, at least for me it would. I had 6 chasing me yestarday and believe me..   I RAN.   Thank Gawd there was a deer in the field  i ran past so they all ran after him.

 

That"s why they want to implement stealth mechanics...imagine the thrill sneaking through a huge bunch of infect aka zombie horde  :)

[pissedoff88 24]

You ran from a zombie in this game!?  I am guessing you were completely unarmed/fresh spawn.  Any basic melee weapon and you just do the circle and swing dance.  It may take a couple minutes with a screwdriver but playing ring around the rosie town after town with 4 intelligent walkers is so much better than a large dumb horde, right?  No AI will ever be smart enough to outmaneuver a human brain.  Without numbers they will always be taken out by a new dance.  Yes I spelled horde wrong.  I hope you can forgive me for this terrible atrosity.  Oops I spelled atrocity wrong also.  Now lets all talk about that and not about MORE ZOMBIES LOL!  WE WANT EM!  WE NEED EM!  YOUNG DUMB AND FULL OF ... STUFF!  Just more of them, lots more, please thats what we all want for this game, not 5-6 zombie master trackers that I can kill with a batteryless cattle prod.  Please.   If we can't do this because of server load then just make players turn after they are hit (say 10% of hits will turn you).  If there is a chance I turn then hell no I am not risking it with a melee weapon and some players would enjoy being zombies and ambushing fresh spawns.  Let the players be the AI.  Wait ... Are these zombies contagious?

[WhiteZero 72]

Might be possible when server performance gets a boost, probably mainly once the new Sensors module is implimented. Eugen has said Sensors are the crux of the matter when it comes to zombie numbers.

[pissedoff88 24]

If your running from walkers in this game you need to grow a mullet and change your name to Eugene or grab some scissors and change it to Beth.

[comikz 218]

I would hope that they will add Zombie hordes to high-end loot areas and cities, but when/if they do this, they should marginally increase the spawn rate of high-end gear to reflect the difficulty of looting a place infested with hordes of the undead/infected.

 

But first I think really grinding out superb AI for the current zombies, pathing issues and in some buildings their ability to still phase through doors/walls and hit you if your above them is what I would think would take precedence over adding larger groups of them, and they need to continue optimizing the servers so that in the case of there being a horde of zombies, your fps doesn't plummet causing you far more problems than a horde could ever do.

 

But here's to hoping!

[LoveAffair 329]

You ran from a zombie in this game!?  

 If we can't do this because of server load then just make players turn after they are hit (say 10% of hits will turn you).

I ran from 6 of them.. I think i had a pick ax.. I'm not a good dancer  :)

And i LOVE that second idea , Now that would be sp0o0oky.

[pissedoff88 24]

Oh a pick axe, yeah well then that would have taken a while of circling so I understand completely