A case for "classic" Zeds

[Goose Springsteen 9]

Hey All,

Personally speaking I think it would greatly enhance the PVE aspect of the game if all/most zombies were of the slow but hard to kill variety rather than the super fast monstrosities we are currently being treated to who more often than not succumb to 1 shot.

We've all had the unfortunate experience I'm sure of being spotted by a Zed and then subsequently be stuck in an endless roadrunner chase of the zombies running super fast stopping 5 feet behind you and continuing to run as you sprint away fruitlessly.

If we had the classic Zeds where aiming for the head mattered much more and shots to the body simply slowed/knocked them back the zombies would be just as deadly but much less frustrating.

What do you good forum goers think of this?

[ordeal 8]

Im all for this!

[rocket 16567]

Slow zombies would require many, many more before they were a threat. And then there is the problem of disposing of bodies. Even checking on the NUMBER of dead bodies takes a fair amount of CPU at present so cleanup is done rarely and carefully.

That and personally, I don't really like the traditional concept of zombies - they reflect societal fears that we have outgrown somewhat. Modern "28 days later" zombies reflect the fear of infections, of things we can control and see, the loss of our humanity, the breakdown of order, nameless/borderless enemies. The modern zombie interest is really, imho, a social commentary on the fears of modern society. They capture nicely the things we fear.

This implementation was chosen because the infected are threatening, but their number can be controlled and balanced so the servers can be up, living, and remain stable for 24 hours. I realise this is a disapointment to some, but if it comes down to something being cool but costing performance or not being workable - then its not included.

[trauma.au 14]

Well it would simply be a drain on ammo. But I would once again care about being detected by the zombies.

I'd rather them stay fast but be able to attack you on the run and be able to navigate buildings fast. These two issues make the zombies harmless.

[Goose Springsteen 9]

Slow zombies would require many' date=' many more before they were a threat. And then there is the problem of disposing of bodies. Even checking on the NUMBER of dead bodies takes a fair amount of CPU at present so cleanup is done rarely and carefully.

That and personally, I don't really like the traditional concept of zombies - they reflect societal fears that we have outgrown somewhat. Modern "28 days later" zombies reflect the fear of infections, of things we can control and see, the loss of our humanity, the breakdown of order, nameless/borderless enemies. The modern zombie interest is really, imho, a social commentary on the fears of modern society. They capture nicely the things we fear.

This implementation was chosen because the infected are threatening, but their number can be controlled and balanced so the servers can be up, living, and remain stable for 24 hours. I realise this is a disapointment to some, but if it comes down to something being cool but costing performance or not being workable - then its not included.

[/quote']

Okay Rocket thank you from explaining it from your perspective I appreciate your (and the teams) involvement with the community.

[abysmal 2]

Slow zombies would require many' date=' many more before they were a threat. And then there is the problem of disposing of bodies. Even checking on the NUMBER of dead bodies takes a fair amount of CPU at present so cleanup is done rarely and carefully.

That and personally, I don't really like the traditional concept of zombies - they reflect societal fears that we have outgrown somewhat. Modern "28 days later" zombies reflect the fear of infections, of things we can control and see, the loss of our humanity, the breakdown of order, nameless/borderless enemies. The modern zombie interest is really, imho, a social commentary on the fears of modern society. They capture nicely the things we fear.

This implementation was chosen because the infected are threatening, but their number can be controlled and balanced so the servers can be up, living, and remain stable for 24 hours. I realise this is a disapointment to some, but if it comes down to something being cool but costing performance or not being workable - then its not included.

[/quote']

They could be slower, but more resistant to bullets, and more lethal and/or easier to alert. I'm all for slow zombies, and I think the game would be better if it was easier to rouse them, but they were slower. Scavenging would have an added element of urgency to it, knowing that they were inevitably closing in. As it stands, I feel like the zombies pose literally no threat at all most of the time, but 1% of the time are incredibly dangerous. If there wasn't such an immediate difference between the zombies' "idle" and "active" modes, it would inject a much needed element of tension for that other 99% of the game.

Also, what I think would be cool is if zombies were less stationary, and more prone to roaming, which would make more sense if they were slower. as it stands, players really only interact with zombies on their terms, since they congregate around spawns and don't really migrate, which I feel makes player interaction with the zombies less interesting than it could be. If zombies were alerted to players more readily, or moved around the map more, it would make the game less predictable, and lead to some awesome defense scenarios.

[Jeff (DayZ) 1]

I'm not sure how I feel on fast moving z's, but I will say that there need to be more out in the wilderness, more roaming and more of a spawn timer, if at all possible.

[tpenn 9]

I don't think they should be slow moving or "classical" (while we're at it can we all agree these are INFECTED zombies and not at all the classical "walking dead" type?)

However as I pointed out in a suggestion thread earlier, the current animations and movements of the infected make them ridiculously hard to hit as they're way too fast and sporadic. Even slowing them down by 10% but with the important ability of allowing them to attack while running would make them even more deadly and believable than they are now, but not nearly as "frustrating".

although it's from a game with a much more arcade-y feel, the one thing they got absolutely realistic and right were the common infected.

(also the first minute of

is a good explanation by one of the devs/)

[scx 0]

Hey All' date='

Personally speaking I think it would greatly enhance the PVE aspect of the game if all/most zombies were of the slow but hard to kill variety rather than the super fast monstrosities we are currently being treated to who more often than not succumb to 1 shot.

We've all had the unfortunate experience I'm sure of being spotted by a Zed and then subsequently be stuck in an endless roadrunner chase of the zombies running super fast stopping 5 feet behind you and continuing to run as you sprint away fruitlessly.

If we had the classic Zeds where aiming for the head mattered much more and shots to the body simply slowed/knocked them back the zombies would be just as deadly but much less frustrating.

What do you good forum goers think of this?

[/quote']

i disagree, fast zombies re the way to go, have you ever played dead rising? the slow zombies are a joke, you just push your way past them, they are no threat, does not give a sense of urgency at all.

Right now there are 2 reasons why the zombies aren't as threatning, 1. they move really slow in buildings 2. you have to be stationary for them to hit you, which i think needs to change, they should apply damage before they do their attack animation

[ghost_kage 5]

Based on what I've seen from playing, these zombies seem to be the best of both worlds. The infected in 28 Days Later eventually die off as a result of starvation. However, these zombies do not, leading me to believe they do not need food.

The zombies in DayZ seem to be a mix of all zombies. When they haven't been alerted they wander around and are slow, just as the zombies do in The Walking Dead or the original Dawn of the Dead. When they have been alerted they sprint towards you just as they do in 28 Days Later, and the remake of Dawn of the Dead. When they crowd around you after you have been killed they continue to eat just like the classic zombies. The only thing I don't like is that if I shoot a zombie in the foot, they die, but I guess thats more of a gameplay mechanic than realism. It makes sense for gameplay, its just not realistic. The one thing I want to see implemented are herds of zombies. I think it would be cool if like groups of 10-15 zombies roamed around together, not just on the roads but also through the wilderness. It's like they heard a shot and are just traveling in the direction. I think adding this could increase the threat of the zombies. Also, I think zombies should hear gunshots from farther away, and then slowly walk toward it, not running until they actually see a survivor. Just some ideas, as they are now though, this is still the best zombie game I've played, hands down. Great work devs!

[pendelum5 0]

Zombies as they are now are far too weak. You can run in a straight line backwards and never get hit, then shoot when they stop to punch you. Most guns besides the Makarov will kill a zombie with a single bodyshot, making the current weapon variety merely cosmetic for PVE use. Granted, it is fairly difficult to hit a moving zombie, but it is still a skill that mastering will enable a single player to deal with up to 4 zombies without taking any damage. Making the zombies slower would make them even less threatening.

[-Legion-Expendable 1]

Agreed, slower zombies would be just add bad as taking them out of the game altogether. It's already ready enough to just run into a warehouse, cue up Yackety Sax and start a shooting gallery. If anything I say make zombies more lethal, or ask least able to run inside.

Just please fix the whole running through closed doors and hitting through walls thing.

[rocket 16567]

Expendable' pid='6424' dateline='1335871807']

Agreed' date=' slower zombies would be just add bad as taking them out of the game altogether. It's already ready enough to just run into a warehouse, cue up Yackety Sax and start a shooting gallery. If anything I say make zombies more lethal, or ask least able to run inside.

Just please fix the whole running through closed doors and hitting through walls thing.

[/quote']

These are ArmA2 engine issues (not running inside and doors/walls)

[-Legion-Expendable 1]

Well then strap some freakin' laser beams to their heads or glue knives to their fingers! You're slacking and wasting time with buzzwords like ”server stability”. We don't need that. Get on the ball!

Kidding.

[Kenya East 0]

Why is it that everyone wants to take this unique zombie game and make it like another left 4 dead or dead rising. You guys suck.

[Diamondback 19]

It's not really about making them more or less 'lethal'. It's about making them more legitimately lethal.

As it is they kill you because of the way they glitch and slide and warp and basically wizard their way around you at will, dipping in and out of physical space-time and delivering bone breaking karate chops with regularity. Unless you're in a building, of course, which interferes their dimension faring abilities.

You generally end up dead because of some heinously cheap bullshit occuring within the engine and not at all because of your individual ability at shooting/movement/stealth/tactics. Now you get eaten because you were ridiculously unlucky, not necessarily because you made a mistake. I mean, sometimes a zombie will alert, for no good reason, in the middle of a sneak run into town and, as a result, you end up camping yet another barn ad nauseum. It's not challenging. You kill wave after wave. You leave the barn and get back to looting. Then, on the way out, you get surprised by a lone zombie, one shotted into unconsciousness and slowly gnawed to death.

If they were made slower, or tweaked in some other way, they could be legitimately lethal. They could be harder to put down for a different reason, a fairier reason. A reason that allows you to live or die depending on your ability to think tactically and stealthily as opposed to how it is now: attract zombie, run to barn, shoot all zombies, town is now clear. they need more consistency.

Have them wander and form into groups based on sound. Perhaps have them constantly 'alerted' when a player is in a certain range with less noise and movement needed to trigger them. Then have them walk at you. Have them do more damage per strike. Have them transfer disease or longer lasting penalties that greaten their effect on players.

'Oh, easy!' you say, and then you start ignoring them because 'ha, they can only walk' and then you find yourself sat in a corner surrounding by a congregation of wandering zombies with no way out.

As it easy they're weak sauce 99.9% of the time and cheap as hell the rest. A little tweaking or behaviour, here and there, and you can have a consistent hostile presence that requires genuine strategy and cunning to best. Instead of just having to spend a default 30 winchester slugs per village as 'payment' for not being bothered by zeds.

[ElGandarko 0]

A lot of the suggestions in this thread really don't take into consideration the massive amounts of strain they will put on the servers; just think how badly they run now, do you want to make it worse?

Zombies currently only spawn if there is a player nearby, so zombies migrating from town to town just won't work. It could be made possible that they'd spawn out in the wilderness too, but to practically manage this would be a massive headache.

Whereas I do believe the zombies run a bit too fast, I wouldn't suggest slowing them down massively. Perhaps, rather, adding in some slower zombies mixed in with the sprinters? Having more variation in the zombies is always good.

Furthermore, I second the idea that zombies won't charge towards a sound, but will rather attempt to follow it to see what is going on, before they make their move. Perhaps if a zombie is over X distance it is more likely to just walk over and see what is going on?

As for increasing the zombie count, I think that would make it near impossible to sneak through towns in some instances. It can get pretty tricky sometimes already, what with zombies all walking right towards the path you chose and so on. I'm not saying it is hard to sneak by them, it is actually a bit too easy, but I don't think adding more zombies is the solution.

[ducaduci 0]

I agree that the zombie mechanic should be changed, the biggest issue in the mod at this stage that the zombies play a to small role in the whole world, even the bandits "problem" would be solved if a bigger amount of zombies would spawn on the map in a way that there would be less reasons to kill a player, but rather team up with them to go loot a town that would be overrun with zombies, that should be the biggest threat in the zombie apocalypse a huge amount of zombies in 99% of the work in zombie fiction the zombies outnumber each human 3000 to 1 where in the game theres barely 10 zombies for each human in a world of that size (the biggest i seen was 1000 zombies for 50 people and that is a rare sight),it doesn't really matter if the zombies move slowly or fast(even dough the current way they move is rather hilarious) what matters is that there must be more zombies than the number it is currently, the mod should look like this

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2012/18/1336023506-Dayz2.jpg

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2012/18/1336023500-Dayz1.jpg

[Pictures taken from Day Z screenshot competition]

and not like the empty world that it is now where the biggest concern is keeping your can of beans.

[grandmont@live.ca 1]

i always thought there should be some runners, some walkers, etc.

variations in speed. they've sorta don that with crouching and crawling zombies, though. still, it'd be nice to have randomized speed for a surprise factor

[ParaB 114]

I have to say I really like the concept of the zombies in DayZ. To make them perfect I'd just like to have their 'teleporting/zig-zagging' movement improved, maybe a tiny bit slower, and double their numbers, especially in larger cities. I also would like to see them spawn MUCH faster in larger cities. A firefight in a large-ish settlement should quickly turn into a fight for your life.

[super pretendo 2]

I strongly agree. Their difficulty should be from their durability and numbers, NOT their silly superhuman speed. Maybe have both types with runners being less common

[TheCalcaholic 0]

I think, currently the biggest danger of zombies is, that shooting them may attract other zombies (and players).

[andy_uk15@hotmail.com 70]

Yeah... Zombies bleed out in day Z - which is odd.

I think it would be neat if zeds could be slowed / stopped for a while with body shots, and killed with head / neck shots. So in the end players are not killing every zed they see (unless they really are THAT good)... They are delaying the oncoming barrage of psychotic screaming, slashing, and gnawing undead.

I DO think zombies should be able to run faster than players... However at the speed they're going, taking into account that they're not gunning it directly toward the player, but zig-zagging all over the place... It makes them very VERY hard to hit... Players are left with only one option when greeted by large numbers of zeds - RUN. It's usually better to train a whole massive group, and killing off the last zed or two that simply wont quit; than aiming at moving targets darting, and occasionally warping, whilst surrounding the player.

I'm sure if zeds ever stop using civilian pathfinding, players will be more willing to make a stand. Whether this could make Day Z a little too easy or not, is decided only in the testing.

Much like Amnesia - being pursued by which cannot easily be killed is pretty horrific. When zeds are bullet absorbing slabs of meat... players might spend less time killing one another - if only to conserve ammunition.

Bottom line: Make Zeds - not players the main threat of the game.

[mrcheapy 1]

I like how zombies are now. They should walk in buildings, makes them much more manageable, esp. combined with their spidey senses.

If the old detection raidus was back, let them run in buildings.

---

Bottom line: Make Zeds - not players the main threat of the game.

What would the point be? Just farming for beans in Cherno? Make it easier for people to group and give them more reasons to group. Give support to people who are trying to build banks and trading posts so that the in-game community actually divides into suriviors and bandits. People will shoot on sight aren't bandits, just cautious. If you let them throw caution to the wind, maybe there will be more big groups forming. Player made towns,stores,armies etc.

Would be sweet if someone ran a server that eventually factionlized and armies competed against each other for resources.

[vier0hr 21]

Slow zombies would require many' date=' many more before they were a threat. And then there is the problem of disposing of bodies. Even checking on the NUMBER of dead bodies takes a fair amount of CPU at present so cleanup is done rarely and carefully.

That and personally, I don't really like the traditional concept of zombies - they reflect societal fears that we have outgrown somewhat. Modern "28 days later" zombies reflect the fear of infections, of things we can control and see, the loss of our humanity, the breakdown of order, nameless/borderless enemies. The modern zombie interest is really, imho, a social commentary on the fears of modern society. They capture nicely the things we fear.

This implementation was chosen because the infected are threatening, but their number can be controlled and balanced so the servers can be up, living, and remain stable for 24 hours. I realise this is a disapointment to some, but if it comes down to something being cool but costing performance or not being workable - then its not included.

[/quote']

While I agree on the fast zombies, I do love classic zombies and would love to see maybe a few semi large herds of slower (maybe only like 30-50 slower) mixed in the game though of course it's what you feel is best and easier overall. Keep up the good work.