Randomly running zombies

[RabidDiabetic 63]

Ok so I saw this happen twice yesterday on two different servers. I'll be sneaking from village to village in the woods and while looking at the villages from a distance I'll see a random zombie running. All the forum reading I've done has said a zombie will ONLY run if a player is near but there isn't. I scan the entire area and there is not a single person. Does this happen to anyone else? Was I mis-informed and they will sometimes run without another player near?

Thanks in advance!

[oldhairyone 2]

There was a player nearby,

[gniuz 1]

happened to me yesterday, I thought they only ran when chasing someone as well. I can't be 100% sure there was no one around when it happened though.

[Buffjesus 357]

if a door/gate is closed in their path theyll start to walk up to it, but the last like 5m theyll run

so yeah they can run to open stuff

you see it alot if you have some kind of thermal

Edited September 7, 2012 by Buffjesus

[RabidDiabetic 63]

There was a player nearby,

First off, if that's your pic you're creepy.

Second there was absolutely not a player nearby. One of the two times the zombie was in an open field and ran about 30m in one direction and I had the high ground looking down and there was no player nearby.

[☣BioHaze☣ 7337]

How far were you from the zombie in the open field?

Sometimes they aggro briefly from longer distances than normal.

as stated, I too have noticed that they run to open doors sometimes.

[KrystoferRobin 67]

I've been the only player on a server and seen them run, but only in short little bursts. I've also seen them casually walking around like regular humans.

I've heard them shout "OW!" and "SHIT!" and various other things when shot, like a normal human/civy. Arma2 is quirky. I have NOT seen more than 1 running w.out a person to chase however.

[RabidDiabetic 63]

Sometimes they aggro briefly from longer distances than normal.

That would be the information I wasn't able to find anywhere else. So basically it aggro'd me somehow from a distance and quit.

I was a good 200m out one of the times and when I had the high ground probably about 100m.

[Sol (DayZ) 132]

That would be the information I wasn't able to find anywhere else. So basically it aggro'd me somehow from a distance and quit.

I was a good 200m out one of the times and when I had the high ground probably about 100m.

This used to be a big problem... I guess the fix was to try and detect when it happens (presumably, like when the player is an invalid distance away for the LOS to apply) and negate it with returning to idle state.

This creates a new problem now though, where it is rediculously easy to hide from zombies now. In some cases you can literraly stand up face to face with them, and they cannot see you.

I'm glad that standalone is being worked on already, so these kinds of insane problems can be properly addressed.

~Sol

Edited September 7, 2012 by Sol

[iamblazelflack 33]

Sometimes I will see a zombie just walk, then it will run like 6 meters, walk a few, then run again. Weird.

[hatfieldcw 184]

I've seen this too. I always assumed it was a latency thing. If the zombie is just roaming, it's being controlled server-side (aggro'd zombie AI is run on the client of the guy they're chasing, I understand) so it's possible for your client to not have fully updated zombie position information. When the update comes, if the zombie is a few meters from where your client displays it, then it'll move, in your sight, from where your client thought it was to where it actually is. In order to eliminate teleporting and minimize skating, the character model will move across that distance in a believable way, i.e. running. The zombie isn't really aggro'd, it's just correcting its position and the ArmA engine isn't shy about using the run animation to do that.

[iamblazelflack 33]

^Beez what I was thinking, the Zeds are trying to catch up on your side to where they actually are.

[jblackrupert 308]

It's just gas being released and propelling them forward after eating too many bean filled survivors.

[omgwtfbbq (DayZ) 1069]

The other player is probably JUST out of your line of sight. Yes, you can say that you are 101% sure that there was no other player, but if the zombie started running, the only explanation is another player. No other possibility. That person likely shot a Lee Enfield. You couldn't hear it, but the zombies can.