Suggestion: Zombies should spawn everywhere, hear gunshots better and be faster than item loaded survivors

[kingkrabbe.#bof 35]

Hey,

I'd like to propose some minor changes to the Zombie behaviour which make sense in my opinion (as connoisseur of Max Brooks "Zombie Survival Guide"). I read many suggestions by other players to improve the DayZ experience and improve the survival gameplay but I think my suggestions are fairly easy to program and add some more realism which is always good in my opinion.

I searched this forum for similiar suggestions but couldn't find them so here it is. Maybe this is planned already by the Dev Team but I don't know that. =)

1. Zombies should spawn everywhere, they should always be present (not player proximity triggered) and should be untied to their spawn point

Today, I play DayZ and can avoid zombies by staying far away from buildings. I can walk from south to north and back and avoid every zombie. In plus, I can avoid most players by looking for already spawned zombies which I didn't trigger. In my eyes, this is boring. =)

Tomorrow, I would like to play DayZ with a determined number of zombies always present. I don't know where they are, I don't know how many. I could stumble into them in the forest, in citys, everywhere. And I can't guess where players are so I have to be super careful all the time.

In and around cities should always be more zombies which makes sense: more people died there.

2. Zombies should orientate mainly with their ears, they should hear gunshots from far away and come running/walking to the position they heard the gunshot come from

I'm surrounded by zombies in Elektro. Only one has spotted me. I shoot him/she/it in the head (p.e. with a G17) and him/she/it dies. All the other zombies don't care.

Here, I'm no expert but afaik all the unsupressed guns are loud, aren't they? Some are louder, some are more silent, but they make a distinct noise for more than 30 meters (I live in a city and I think I can hear bobby pistol shots nearly a kilometer away) and zombies should react to that accordingly.

When I fire a loud weapon anywhere in Chernaurus there should be the possibility that zombies which are more than 500 meters away hear it and they start moving to my position. They can run to my position, or they can start running to my position for 10 seconds, than walk on because they hear nothing new until I fire again. But that sound should be their main source of primal interest until they hear something else or they see a player.

Maybe it's like that already but I always have the feeling that I attract few zombies when I'm shooting. In my eyes more weapons should be like the AKM or Lee Enfield. =)

Also, when I'm done fireing I know that all the zombies don't care anymore and go on with their normal "brains!!!" patrol route.

What I want to have in the game is the thought in every players head: "Ok, I can shoot now, but I could attract many zombies and give up my position to other players". I have that thought in DayZ as it is already but only in cities I feel really insecure because of the high number of zombies and players in proximity. But I'd like to see more triggerfinger shyness in DayZ since survivors shouldn't be like Arnie yelling "GET TO ZHE TSCHOPPA!" and shooting everything they see. Ammunition should be more scarce too. =D

Of course, this would mean that silent ways of killing would be much more popular (crossbow, melee, super rare silenced weapons) but that would make sense to me.

3. Zombies should be (slightly) faster than equipped survivors

I want to see anybody wearing a hiking backpack full of canned beans and carrying some kilos in weapon form in his/her hands running faster than a "28 Days Later" like infected human. =)

Freshly spawned survivors or lightly equipped survivors could be equally fast.

(If I made many grammar mistakes and such I'm sorry)

[Johnny_Pfosten 18]

1. Zombies should spawn everywhere, they should always be present (not player proximity triggered) and should be untied to their spawn point

I think thats a good one. I would also like to see a little more zombies out of cities but not too much. Maybe like in 'The Walking Dead' so there are walking larger groups of zombies along the streets or forests.

2. Zombies should orientate mainly with their ears, they should hear gunshots from far away and come running/walking to the position they heard the gunshot come from

I'm in favor for that, too. I think it's ridiculous when zombies 'see' you (especially when you are a little more far away from them). Noise should be the main indicator to get zombies attention and if you are right next to them (maybe at night) they should some kind of see (or smell) you.

3. Zombies should be (slightly) faster than equipped survivors

I don't like that idea at all. I prefer the zombies from 'Resident Evil' the game (especially 1-3) and 'The Walking Dead' because they are 0ld sch00l B) . Of course they are not as fast as the zombies from '28 days/weeks later' but I like my zombies slower and in greater numbers. If they surround you they are as deadly as the runner ones.

And last but not least, I can't imagine how zombies with half rotten bodies should run faster than me?!?!

Edited September 8, 2012 by Johnny_Pfosten

[Dirty Pyrex 23]

3. Zombies should be (slightly) faster than equipped survivors

I want to see anybody wearing a hiking backpack full of canned beans and carrying some kilos in weapon form in his/her hands running faster than a "28 Days Later" like infected human. =)

Freshly spawned survivors or lightly equipped survivors could be equally fast.

I like this idea.

[DemonGroover 8836]

1 - Yep i agree, more zombies in more places sounds good. The fact that you can tell a player is around due to spawned zombies is total BS. I think this needs to be addressed.

2 - I agree that zombies that hear a gunshot should investigate though not necessarily aggro onto that sound. A slow meander in that direction would be enough

3 - This would definitely be interesting and in all honesty very realistic. Outrunning a psycho whilst carrying shit loads of gear is a tad whiffy of cow manure.

[Johnny_Pfosten 18]

3 - This would definitely be interesting and in all honesty very realistic. Outrunning a psycho whilst carrying shit loads of gear is a tad whiffy of cow manure.

"very realistic"??? Seriously, I don't know what to call realistic if some zombies with half rotten bodies would be able to run faster than a healthy human?!

[DemonGroover 8836]

"very realistic"??? Seriously, I don't know what to call realistic if some zombies with half rotten bodies would be able to run faster than a healthy human?!

They are not rotting dead bodies.

They are infected humans ie: psycho cannibals

[kingkrabbe.#bof 35]

2 - I agree that zombies that hear a gunshot should investigate though not necessarily aggro onto that sound. A slow meander in that direction would be enough

In my eyes the "zombie hears gunshot, runs toward source of noise" is more like the zeds in DayZ as I see them. They walk around in their nervously shaking behaviour and in the instance they see or hear something (--> get an impulse) they scream and start to sprint like a lunatic. That's how it is now, that's why it should be also when they hear a shot. But like when they lose your sight and start walking again, they could become slower after a period of time after the gunshot. They have no impulse which urges them to run so they become slower like they forgot what they were chasing after in the first place.

Maybe there could be a smoother transition between running and walking because this "zed running BREAK zed walking" behaviour is kind of wierd.

And maybe a zed which got an impulse (noise, sight) and is starting to sprint could be a trigger himself to other zeds around him. So there could be some kind of swarm behaviour: one gets an impulse, an other one sees it -> gets impulse, a zed sees that again, impulse, and so on.

[apache25 133]

from my point of view zombies do not need head shots because the body cannot function if the brain is the only working thing and i think zombies need to sleep zombies need to drink zombies need to eat zombies kill other zombies

[dutch_miller 159]

from my point of view zombies do not need head shots because the body cannot function if the brain is the only working thing and i think zombies need to sleep zombies need to drink zombies need to eat zombies kill other zombies

No.

Anyways in response to OP:

1. Yes, definitely but it causes massive lag, so that's why they are proximity spawned.

2. Good idea, makes people even less willing to fire than they already are.

3. I would agree with this, but I've always been a believer in large slower moving groups of zombies. I have never liked 28 Days Later zombies simply because I think in either case of infection or "living dead" types that their bodies deteriorate and they are unable to quickly move for their entire lifespan. I can explain the reasons for each zombie type but it will be too long for a simple reply.