The role of the Zombie in Dayz

[dagreek13 2]

There has been something on my mind for a while that I would like to discuss with the community and the devs. I posted this to reddit earlier but haven't gotten a good response so i figured i'd re-post it here and see what you all had to say:

With all of the hype surrounding the upcoming exp patch .60, I have been wondering moving forward what is going to be done about zombies. To my knowledge they are being reworked, but I am not really sure what that means. I know the dynamic spawning system for them is being worked out, however my questions relates to the level of danger they present to the player. More numbers will surely make the game more interesting, but I feel that more needs to be done to make them a real threat.

I know I am not the first person to air this concern, but I have played Dayz since the mod days and I have yet to hear anything that has made me go, " Huh that will really change game play." I remember at the beginning of development all of the green screening and animation work that was being done, was it ever implemented or is it still in the workshop? I'm just looking for clarification and discussion!

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Most can stop reading here and simply reply to what I posted above but I'd like to write about my experiences in the mod and my personal suggestion to fix zombies, and if you'd like to respond to this as well feel free. 

Mod Experience

The first time I played the mod I knew I had stumbled on something amazing. Clunky, laggy, and shaky as it what there was a certain allure that consistently had me coming back for more in light of all the inherent issues that were present. My general play style had me starting on the coast as a bambi, doing my best to avoid zombies, getting just enough supplies to survive as I headed north ( matches, axe, knife etc..)  It was hard to just get those supplies together because the zombies were a real threat to players just starting out. I knew that if I could get those supplies I could survive in the north long enough to get to a military installation and get a decent rifle/ammo. However, even then the zombie threat level still hindered us from readily gathering supplies and repairing/obtaining vehicles. The SA really lacks this element, however, that said, everything else has improved ten fold. I could care less about FPS and desync as I know they are being worked on(.60 looks great btw) and they will most definitely be improved in the future. However, the zombie element still seems to be a gray area without any real additional discussion going on. I am not asking for op zombies , but I want to feel as if I cant just stroll through elektro. Sure we calculate our moves based on where we think players are but I want zombies to pose that same threat. I want to feel like if I enter a city or town I am risking what I have because the zombies. I think a lot of players, especially those who enjoy the pve element of this game can sympathize with this.

My Suggestion to Fix the Zombie Issue

Rather than go on and on about what I feel is wrong with the zombies I'd like to offer a suggestion. I think game play would change a lot if we had a tiered system of zombies. Meaning that similar to the way loot is distributed(rarity) certain zombies were more powerful than others. We as players wouldn't know which zombies had increased attack/speed but it would deter us from believing that all we had to do was trounce through a city slashing with our axe. Increased numbers are definitely going to be a plus but making a few zombies better than others would make a player think twice about just running around in a city/town all willy-nilly. Perhaps more of these powerful zombies could be present at military locations, or around crash sites. Thoughts?

[galekast 70]

I like the idea of more powerful infected... The sheer number of them should make people worry about gunfire and just running about "willy nilly" as you say. However, the odd stronger one in cities would keep you even more on edge. I like the idea of the infected at military zones being a) even more numerous and b) stronger and more resilient, it should be a risk going to these places, not just because of other players but also because of the environment. Perhaps teaming the randomly stronger infected with what The Walking Dead did at the the prison, with the body armored/riot gear zombies. They could take more damage and required precise shots to take them out. It stands to reason that infected at military bases/crashes would be more armored and potentially would have helmets/masks on, rendering certain weapons (especially melee weapons) more difficult to get a kill with. Perhaps then it would be more appropriate to do leg shots, slowing down the infected and giving you a bit more time to search about rather than wasting ammo trying to gun them all down. 

I for one can not wait for the day that the infected start swarming at the sound of gunfire and areas of the map need to carefully traversed to avoid bringing down a horde on yourself. Especially once the stamina system is implemented and forever sprinting is a thing of the past! I agree with you though, they need a bit more randomness and certainly need to be a lot more dangerous, with increased numbers. Hate to say it but the RyanZombies mod for Arma 3, while fairly buggy, does it all in quite a good way even if some of them are way too overpowered at times and they glitch about a bit too much for my liking. But the overall feel of them is pretty good for a mod. If DayZ can surpass them and make them dangerous but with fair rules/settings in place for detection/stealth mechanics then I will be very happy. 

[dagreek13 2]

I noticed you mentioned Arma3, what do you play on that exactly, I have been trying to figure out how to play exile for the longest time?

I have the add-on but I can't find a server, most require a bunch of different addons correct? 

Edited March 29, 2016 by dagreek13

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

So much of this is pointless until we play the standalone.

What we call the standalone now does not have hardly ANY of the game play we will becoming accustomed to in the next 2 quarters.

The next update will feature the first iteration of dynamic infected spawn which should start to show us the beginnings of how higher infected populations will effect the game.

Then add in scarcity, environmental hardships, and illness/injury all coming in beta.

New character controller, stamina systems, and horde AI are also in the works.

Wild wolves, bears, base building..... shall I go on?

We have NO IDEA what DayZ will play like once balance and new game play becomes involved.

So, when we finally play DayZ Standalone, we can then argue the finer points of infected balancing.

 

Edited March 29, 2016 by ☣BioHaze☣

[Irish. 4886]

For some reason.. I sort of think they may have had a meeting or 2 about zombies over there at BI..

 

I dont know though. Im just Irishjake. 

[dagreek13 2]

13 minutes ago, ☣BioHaze☣ said:

So much of this is pointless until we play the standalone.

What we call the standalone now does not have hardly ANY of the game play we will becoming accustomed to in the next 2 quarters.

The next update will feature the first iteration of dynamic infected spawn which should start to show us the beginnings of how higher infected populations will effect the game.

Then add in scarcity, environmental hardships, and illness/injury all coming in beta.

New character controller, stamina systems, and horde AI are also in the works.

Wild wolves, bears, base building..... shall I go on?

We have NO IDEA what DayZ will play like once balance and new game play becomes involved.

So, when we finally play DayZ Standalone, we can then argue the finer points of infected balancing.

 

Thats fine and all but unlike fps optimization and mitigation of desync zombies are a core element of this game. I argue that the base system, as is everything at this point in development, needs an overhaul not polishing. 

[dagreek13 2]

14 minutes ago, lrishjake said:

For some reason.. I sort of think they may have had a meeting or 2 about zombies over there at BI..

 

I dont know though. Im just Irishjake. 

Why the sarcasm? 

[Irish. 4886]

9 minutes ago, dagreek13 said:

Why the sarcasm? 

Because its part of who I am. 

 

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

1 hour ago, dagreek13 said:

Thats fine and all but unlike fps optimization and mitigation of desync zombies are a core element of this game. I argue that the base system, as is everything at this point in development, needs an overhaul not polishing. 

Server FPS and desynch DO effect how infected interact with us very very much so. Also, the teams that work on AI are not the same that work on FPS and desynch (AFAIK). So, please don't try to degrade the importance of performance or try to act like it detracts from infected progress.

I could easily write an enormous block of text of my own to highlight the importance of improved infected but knowing what is being worked on and what is on the way means that I understand the futility of such a post.

The current version of AI is likely to receive so much attention and polishing as to be just as good as a "complete overhaul", which in fact almost everything in the SA actually has had already.