Suggestions for "smart" zombie wanted

[schrapple 119]

I was thinking to combat the fact that once you get a bit of knowledge and gear zombies become a bit too easy to deal with, we need to introduce the occasion zombie which has a special ability. I've got a few ideas but would like to hear other peoples suggestions.

Here are my ideas.

1. A howler zombie - A zombie which alerts all the other zombies in the area to your presence when it goes agro.

2. An ambush zombie - Basically a zombie that will take cover or hide in a building and will then strike out at you when you are close enough (the idea that every room you enter could have a zombie in the cupboard ready to pounce would be tense)

3. A possum zombie - A zombie which would lay on the ground and play dead, if you got near enough to it then it would strike.

4. A tracking zombie - A zombie that will never lose you once you set it off, it will follow you forever even if you take off in a vehicle. Imagine stopping in the forest to adjust your gear and a zombie you pissed off 20 minutes before finds you with no warning.

5. An armed zombie - A zombie that has a melee weapon (like a bat or a hatchet) that can deal you significant damage with one hit.

That's all I could think of off the top of my head (nothing to crazy there like a zombie flying a F-18 or anything), these will no doubt be part of the stand alone and would be rare (I'm not suggesting all zombies have powers). I'm keen to hear anyone elses suggestions.

[Pandemia 4]

Love all your ideas. It's nothing to crazy and really isn't making zombies unrealistically smart, just giving them a trait sort of.

While I believe there should be many changes to zombies and... well pretty much everything about them should be looked at, the ideas here would be a nice change. Add some new fun, experience, and feel to the game.

Seems like you kind of covered.. any idea i'd be able to think of without being unrealistic.

However, one I would like to see is a zombie that is extremely dangerous to players. Whether it be they are extremely fast and you cant get away, very strong and can kill you in a few hits, something making the zombies in.. the apocalyptic zombie world more.. frightening. Makes people more cautious, more ready to team up, and quicker to shit their pants. Of course a zombie like this would need to be more on the rare side, not on every corner so allowing this to still be a game around pvp.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Pandemia

[R3cK 8]

its just not possible with the dayz mod.

you have to wait for the standalone to get "better" zombies.

rocket explained the problem in an interview at the GC2012.

he said the dayz mod is actually a hack with a hack overlay on arma2.

and the zombies are actually the soldier KI which are not made for melee combat.

so thats why they run zig zag towards you.

in the standalone the whole game will have its own source code so there technical almost everything you imagine could be done.

[slartibartfast (DayZ) 77]

I was thinking to combat the fact that once you get a bit of knowledge and gear zombies become a bit too easy to deal with, we need to introduce the occasion zombie which has a special ability. I've got a few ideas but would like to hear other peoples suggestions.

Here are my ideas.

1. A howler zombie - A zombie which alerts all the other zombies in the area to your presence when it goes agro.

2. An ambush zombie - Basically a zombie that will take cover or hide in a building and will then strike out at you when you are close enough (the idea that every room you enter could have a zombie in the cupboard ready to pounce would be tense)

3. A possum zombie - A zombie which would lay on the ground and play dead, if you got near enough to it then it would strike.

4. A tracking zombie - A zombie that will never lose you once you set it off, it will follow you forever even if you take off in a vehicle. Imagine stopping in the forest to adjust your gear and a zombie you pissed off 20 minutes before finds you with no warning.

5. An armed zombie - A zombie that has a melee weapon (like a bat or a hatchet) that can deal you significant damage with one hit.

That's all I could think of off the top of my head (nothing to crazy there like a zombie flying a F-18 or anything), these will no doubt be part of the stand alone and would be rare (I'm not suggesting all zombies have powers). I'm keen to hear anyone elses suggestions.

All fantastic ideas.

I had one I cal the drop bear zombie. It hides out in buildings only making itself known when you start to loot. Dropping down from the ceiling or springing out from a darkened cupboard.

I like the idea of a sniffer zombie. If you remain in one spot for too long(or an area of say 100m) then zeds are automatically drawn to the spot. It would certainly make the life of a griefer a wee bit more interesting.

[lukeyu2005 19]

This is good since it adds variety and makes you change your tactics every once in a while

[schrapple 119]

Thanks for the feed back guys, I'm keen to hear any other ideas on the matter.