DayZ Zombie Ideas/Suggestions Thread

[OnionOfShame 138]

As with many of my fellow players, I am of the opinion that zombies in DayZ Standalone are too easy and should be more challenging. With the news of the new infected AI and horde mechanics, have been brainstorming new ways for zombies to be more challenging. One way they could be expanded is with new zombie types. However, to fit the theme these new types should be more "realistic", rather than the crazy ones seen in games like Left 4 Dead. Here are some of my ideas for new zombie types I'd like to see implemented:

 Standard Zombie

The current basic undead. Not very strong, but can be dangerous to a careless or inexperienced survivor. They should move a tiny bit slower than they do now, and have a more staggering/limping type of walk animation. For reference, I picture something like the zombies from The Walking Dead but faster. Another thing, the devs should try to implement a system where zombies will be wearing random clothing items available to players in the game world, for the sake of consistency.

 Puking Zombie

These zombies would operate similarly to standard zombies with a twist. They could possibly appear to be more "sick", but maybe not since I'm not sure how that could be done. They have a special attack where they will run and attempt to swing, but instead vomit on the target. This has a chance to make the target very sick rather than dealing direct damage or bleeding.

 Fat Zombie

An overweight man/woman before the apocalypse. It moves slowly with a lumbering walk animation. It has higher health than standard undead and its attacks are more powerful. It's charge attacks are capable of stunning or knocking over targets and have a chance to deal skeletal damage.

 Child Zombie

An infected child. Moves more slowly and deals less damage than other zombies. Mostly just added for consistency and ambiance.

 Crawling Zombie

Pretty self-explanatory. These zombies crawl on the ground instead of walking. They can spawn like this, or you can cripple the legs of a standard zombie to create one. They move very slowly and cannot attack very well, meaning they mostly serve the purpose of ambiance.

 Hunter Zombie

Hunter zombies are more dangerous than other types. They move quickly and deal high damage with their attacks. They have some attacks to stun or bring down their targets. However, their most dangerous aspect is their minds; they are capable of detecting targets from farther away and with their sense of smell, and can use stealth and cover to a limited degree to get the drop on players.

 Pack Hunter Zombie

By far the most dangerous variety of zombie. These are similar to the hunter zombie, but will always be found in groups and work in tandem. They will coordinate their attacks, movements, and stealth with their group, unlike regular hordes, which will simply attack together. This makes them more dangerous than players in some cases, and will put some real challenge into PvE. To balance this they should be more likely to target groups of players than lone survivors. Even standard zombies fear them, and will attempt to leave any area that they occupy. They could also have some word-like vocal sounds to communicate with their group, to indicate the lesser degree of their mental degeneration.

 Player Zombie

I know this feature has been mentioned elsewhere, but I figured I should mention it here too. After about ten minutes (the time where dead players would normally disappear) the corpse may be reanimated. The type of zombie (standard, crawling, or hunter) will depend on the player's hunger and thirst levels when they die, as well as their cause of death. For example, a player who fell to their death will come back as a crawling zombie. No clothing will be able to be looted from them, but items in their vests/backpacks and weapons on their backs will be lootable.

Thanks for reading, feel free to comment on my suggestions or make your own!

[IkaikaKekai 1957]

Another one of these...

Okay to start off, the zombies we face are not undead, they're living infected, rabid human beings, so no special powers where they can spit acid or bile, or blow up when they take damage, or suddenly become superhuman in terms of reflexes or senses.  Players will not reanimate when they're killed, for one we're immune to the zombie virus, and again, zombies are not dead type, so dead = dead.

 

Pay attention to the posts the devs make rather than just cherry pick what you want to hear.  Zombies will go through a 'lifecycle' when the new AI and systems are put in, where say 90% of the zombies spawned will be 'healthy', upright and the most dangerous, the remaining will be crippled in some fashion, broken leg or spinal injuries which cause them to crawl or 'hop' like in the mod.  Healthy zombies will more than likely 'degrade' as time goes on, so a runner might turn into a hopper or if they run into a player and the player shoots them in the leg to get away they'll be a crawler until they die.

 

I would hope that some sort of simple hunger and thrust mechanic is made for the zombies as well, so they'll seek out food and water, as well as be more aggressive/less effective when hungry/thirsty and if they don't get their needs met they'll eventually die on their own.  And on the other side of the coin, a zombie that has recently fed might be more content/less aware of players and not as likely to hunt a player down for miles.  This'll make hunting and gathering water a bit more dangerous IMO, as zombies would be drawn to water sources (rivers, ponds, ect, maybe even pumps if they make them a little smarter) and might pollute them someway or another, as well as go after the limited wildlife.

[OnionOfShame 138]

Another one of these...

Okay to start off, the zombies we face are not undead, they're living infected, rabid human beings, so no special powers where they can spit acid or bile, or blow up when they take damage, or suddenly become superhuman in terms of reflexes or senses. Players will not reanimate when they're killed, for one we're immune to the zombie virus, and again, zombies are not dead type, so dead = dead.

Pay attention to the posts the devs make rather than just cherry pick what you want to hear. Zombies will go through a 'lifecycle' when the new AI and systems are put in, where say 90% of the zombies spawned will be 'healthy', upright and the most dangerous, the remaining will be crippled in some fashion, broken leg or spinal injuries which cause them to crawl or 'hop' like in the mod. Healthy zombies will more than likely 'degrade' as time goes on, so a runner might turn into a hopper or if they run into a player and the player shoots them in the leg to get away they'll be a crawler until they die.

I would hope that some sort of simple hunger and thrust mechanic is made for the zombies as well, so they'll seek out food and water, as well as be more aggressive/less effective when hungry/thirsty and if they don't get their needs met they'll eventually die on their own. And on the other side of the coin, a zombie that has recently fed might be more content/less aware of players and not as likely to hunt a player down for miles. This'll make hunting and gathering water a bit more dangerous IMO, as zombies would be drawn to water sources (rivers, ponds, ect, maybe even pumps if they make them a little smarter) and might pollute them someway or another, as well as go after the limited wildlife.

I never suggested zombies with special powers. In fact I suggested just the opposite, that zombies should be more "realistic" types. The only type of "bile" zombie I mentioned was the Puking Zombie, which simply pukes on you. No special acidic/corrosive/flammable effect, just the possibility of transmitting disease, just like normal human vomit. The pack hunters can communicate (somewhat) like humans because they have not deteriorated as far mentally. Not a superpower.

I haven't "cherrypicked" posts to read. I follow the devs' progress somewhat closely and I have not heard anything about this "life cycle" mechanic. This does sound interesting though. I too would like to see some sort of hunger system implemented for zombies.

[IkaikaKekai 1957]

Still, I don't know if you puke often, but it's not something one would do as a defense mechanism (against prey/predators that is, puking is actually one means of expelling toxins/poisons).  If someone is feeling sick enough to throw up, they're more than likely not going to be chasing someone and use their puke as an attack.  They're going to run, stop suddenly or stumble (at the very least slow down) and throw up, and depending on how badly they're sick, continue running.  Assuming you're unluckly enough to get puked on by a sick zombie, it's not an instant infection unless you have open wounds or they get it into an orifice, you'll need to clean your gear and your body.

Diseases and such will be added in, and getting infected from zombies will be a real threat.  Not in the Walking Dead 'we need to amputate NOW' sense, but the 'fuck, now I've got dysentery' sense.

Kids won't be added in if for no other reason than to make the censors happy.

Fat people, I too would like to see them added in, they reason that I know of is that you can't simply make a fat person and put it on the same skeleton as the 'skinny' zombies, it'll just look awkward.  They'ed have to make a new skeleton for them and more mocapping for animations.  That said I don't think they'ed be more durable than the average zombie or be any stronger.