How to make the zombies more of a threat, by only changing a few small things.

[Hello moto 70]

Zombies are not a threat, once you know the mechanics of how they work.

Aggroed a zombie? No worries, just run through any of the building that are, with very little doubt surrounding you, and BAM, the zombie is lost.

And another thing is once you get a hachet, knife and matches, you are set and don't have to enter any town for ever.

We need more player interaction with zombies at day 15+.

A good way would be to have the spawn chance of matches reduced drastically, and by having each box have a certain amount of uses. This will ensure players have to enter a town more often then before. And with more chances of zombie interaction means more likely the player will mess up and pay for it.

Also increase the zombie population and have zombie pools for each town/area that don't refill for say an hour or so.

Add in meat rotting and players will be scavanging for food far more often.

This all would obviously have to be in standalone.

[leevo 2]

Zombies are not a threat, once you know the mechanics of how they work.

Aggroed a zombie? No worries, just run through any of the building that are, with very little doubt surrounding you, and BAM, the zombie is lost.

And another thing is once you get a hachet, knife and matches, you are set and don't have to enter any town for ever.

We need more player interaction with zombies at day 15+.

A good way would be to have the spawn chance of matches reduced drastically, and by having each box have a certain amount of uses. This will ensure players have to enter a town more often then before. And with more chances of zombie interaction means more likely the player will mess up and pay for it.

Also increase the zombie population and have zombie pools for each town/area that don't refill for say an hour or so.

Add in meat rotting and players will be scavanging for food far more often.

This all would obviously have to be in standalone.

i like the idea! you haz my beanz

[Thunderous Thrust 5]

Another thing: have zombies spawns EVERYWHERE. Of course, have more in certain areas, but I found in DayZ you have to be near a small/big settlement to encounter zeds. Please have a good number of zombies that wander the forest. Make players feel like they're never safe

[metapaus 31]

A few things to change to make zombies more a threat, huh? Here's some:

-Make zombies roam in packs.

In just about every game or movie, zombies are seen as a giant horde. I think it would be useful to have more zombies clumped together, though still have those strays. This basically makes it so you agro one zombie, you agro the whole group. These zombies are called "roamers".

-Include zombie hunters.

In the forest, as you say, there are no zombies. Correct. In my opinion, zombies are easy to kill once in the forest. Simply run up any hill, make them walk, then run away or kill them while they're fairly still. So why not have zombies that instead of when they find you they run after you, they try and find you?

-Establish group tactics.

When you're in a building, fighting off zombies, they usually just slump around and go the same way, or go the other way by accident. Say you had them work together to corner the player? Same when running, they split off in attempt to interject you and cut off routes of escape. Of course, this is very arguable, since some might say zombies are too stupid. I just say it's like hunting instinct.

-Add risk of infection.

Zombies spent all day and night in the sun and rain, outside. On top of that, they're rotting. Nothing makes you run faster than the fact you could get a horrible flesh-eating disease and die horribly, am I right? No amount of blood bags fixes that.

How I see this is that zombies are like the filler. Basically, DayZ is designed to be you up against the players, correct? Zombies are an entertainment factor, keeping you entertained when no players are around. This is why it confuses me when people decide they want to play on low pop servers. It makes no sense. Though some people as you encourage zombie development, it is not the main driving factor of DayZ, so we can't let it become that. It's just an obstacle in the long run.

Basically what I mean by this is as long as all of the changes rocket or the community wants regarding zombies is to make the game more fun and doesn't take away from player interaction, then I think it's a welcome addition.

[icetal0n 4]

I rarely find matches when I need them so I disagree on reducing the spawn, but the limited uses of matches is an idea. Except spare boxes of matches should be able to be carried in your tool-belt along with your main box because who wants to waste backpack slots on a bunch of matches?

[DemonGroover 8836]

Allow zombies to run indoors and make their screeching and screaming attract nearby zombies.

Matches should not be a rare item. Animals should be a finite resource spawning once and not respawning.

Edited September 23, 2012 by DemonGroover

[Thunderous Thrust 5]

Allow zombies to run indoors and make their screeching and screaming attract nearby zombies.

Fantastic idea

[metapaus 31]

Allow zombies to run indoors and make their screeching and screaming attract nearby zombies.

Matches should not be a rare item. Animals should be a finite resource spawning once and not respawning.

That already happens. I've noticed that when I've been hiding in buildings and their about to come up to it, they'll yell "Gragh! Kyolargh!" and more zombies will start to hitch on.

Also, making animals be finite is a bad idea. Why? Because there would be a ton of animals if this was actually persay reality in DayZ. You wouldn't see 1 or 2 cows, you would see 8 and another set in close proximity, and with the fact that animals can't reproduce in-game (which spawning simulates) everything goes away quickly and never returns. Animals are more a way to get blood when you don't have a friend. Making them finite closes a lot of doors.

Edited September 23, 2012 by metapaus

[mr_chabowski@live.co.uk 2416]

Need to make it so there are maybe 20 matches in a box, and if it's raining it might take 2-3 matches to get a fire going.

Also there seems to be a misunderstanding in some of the community, player interaction ≠ SHOOTING EVERYONE.

[tommes 331]

Survival is boring. I don't understand people staying far off any other players. After basic gearing up the fun part of DayZ is player interaction. Either playing with them or shooting their faces. If you die, so what? Just starts the looting part again which is fun too.

Btw, zombie spawning and behaviour is completely redone in standalone. Rocket said so.

[mr_chabowski@live.co.uk 2416]

The reason for survival getting boring is precisely because zombies are only a threat when you press the wrong button, or get stuck in a doorframe, or put your gun in your backpack and it gets deleted.

And PvP is all well and good in short bursts, (Defending yourself / Robbing folks) but it's not the point of the game.

I see people camping Cherno and Elektro every day, just shooting noobs. Not for loot, and definitely not in self defence.

To me it just shows the social ineptitude of a lot of the community.

And that is MY OPINION, so don't anybody go getting all butthurt cuz I called ya on yer emotional retardation.

[metapaus 31]

Survival is boring. I don't understand people staying far off any other players. After basic gearing up the fun part of DayZ is player interaction. Either playing with them or shooting their faces. If you die, so what? Just starts the looting part again which is fun too.

Btw, zombie spawning and behaviour is completely redone in standalone. Rocket said so.

I agree with you what you say about player interaction. Though I don't really agree with you on the survival comment, I digress.

What I can't wrap my finger around is the fact that the bulk of DayZ is other players. Surviving them, fighting them, helping them. The point is to have some driving force to keep you going and keeping you alert. Those are the other players, who have just the capability to kill you with a Makarov if you have a Remmington. Your goal is to get the best gear than everyone else so you can survive these players. I don't understand the people who go off in their own little worlds on low-pop servers so they can skip the player part. Then what are you surviving? What's your goal? It's like playing Monopoly by yourself. You've already got right of passage everywhere. No penalties, no way to lose money. The only set back is going to jail or those dang iffy chance cards. Players are your source for fun. Without them, it's just some dank, dark, boring and slow zombie sandbox. It's a lot more fun to have the threat there and not have it happen than to eliminate it entirely. Then when it does happen, it's still fun. And it's even more fun when you win.

Just the other day, met a guy in Cherno. We ran into eachother. Literally. In a field, just bumped into eachother. I had an Winchester on my back and he had a Winchester too. I lowered my weapon. He didn't. I had more supplies and a better backpack than he did. He didn't shoot me. We went to the medical tents and I picked up and AK, and he still didn't shoot me. I gave him a blood transfusion. I got the hero skin then. Later on, I found camo clothing. I gave it to him after coming back from the fire station with a Remmington. He still did not kill me, even though he still had a Winchester. What are you so scared of? Death is temporary, and loot is expendable.

Explain to me why you go on low-pop servers and for a reason besides not wanting to deal with other players killing you (and besides lag).

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

When the zeds run inside buildings I will laugh my arse off (Rocket has done this already, all he had to do was change a building parameter) When it will be introduced I don't know, we will seperate the men from the boys. Imagine running inside a Red House and they run in not giving you any quater.

Add this to the 7/10 scary factor he wants to improve, Zeds will be a new threat all over again.

What I like is roaming Zeds, this will offer a false sense of safety even for the piss drinking survivalists hiding in the woods. Chopper sites will no longer be an easy way to get gear. and Aggroing zeds will scar players for life.

[evolution (DayZ) 51]

The uncommon matches just ruins it for solo players. You suggestions dont really make zombies more of a threat but instead make you encounter them more frequently. A threat would be to make zombies die from only headshots, make them investigate areas once they lose you, double or tripple the zombie population, make them do more damage when they hit you. These make them more of a threat.

[keosan24 55]

well for one they are not actually zombies but infected which would make them quite a bit smarter so all the ideas proposed above would work.

[metapaus 31]

The reason for survival getting boring is precisely because zombies are only a threat when you press the wrong button, or get stuck in a doorframe, or put your gun in your backpack and it gets deleted.

And PvP is all well and good in short bursts, (Defending yourself / Robbing folks) but it's not the point of the game.

I see people camping Cherno and Elektro every day, just shooting noobs. Not for loot, and definitely not in self defence.

To me it just shows the social ineptitude of a lot of the community.

And that is MY OPINION, so don't anybody go getting all butthurt cuz I called ya on yer emotional retardation.

Where are these people? I have been to Cherno and Elektro literally tons of times, physically running through the streets with zombies on my tail, other times crouched and inching along crossing the road near hospitals, schools, fire stations and everything on high-pop servers with absolutely no snipers anywhere. Even in the industrial area. Well once, but he was TMW, and I talked to him on TS. I only got killed in those towns twice by a player. Once by a guy with a revolver after exiting a building, and the other I got myself killed going up the fire station when I knew there was a player up there indefinitely, and did nothing to contact him.

Even so, if there's a sniper in the town, I'd do my best to go take him out. It seems fun to me to have someone aiming for you and going from building to building, dodging to get up to where he is, then take him out. Not to mention he was probably a bandit and he was a douche. Plus to my ego and humanity. If I get killed, oh well, it was fun.

I think some people should stop looking at it as a chore or some annoyance, and look at it as fun. Stop stressing over your gear and your person. When you are in that town and you get into an encounter and you die, all you really need to be sure of is that when it happens, you can say it was fun while it lasted.

[zython (DayZ) 196]

I don't think the box of matches is really that detrimental to the zombie's abilities, haha

[noblebrutus@live.co.uk 26]

If I get killed, oh well, it was fun.

I think some people should stop looking at it as a chore or some annoyance, and look at it as fun. Stop stressing over your gear and your person. When you are in that town and you get into an encounter and you die, all you really need to be sure of is that when it happens, you can say it was fun while it lasted.

I disagree, the entire point of DayZ is to get immersed and be physically scared of dying, the base of this game in my opinion was to get rid of the 'oh well, I'll just respawn' mentality.

You should be scared to die, you should be scared to lose your stuff... and when you do die you should try and throw your computer out the window.

Visiting low pop servers is a natural survival instinct for players, and the fact people do it is generally encouraging... it shows DayZ is doing something right. Now what we have to do is hide the population count when you join... and things will get a whole lot more scary and intense.

Edited September 23, 2012 by NobleBrutus

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

You should be scared to die, you should be scared to lose your stuff... and when you do die you should try and throw your computer out the window.

You had a Psychological evaluation this week? or are you saying DayZ should be a one go Game? :P

Go and drink some IRN BRU and relax.

[Hello moto 70]

Reducing the spawn chance for matches and limiting the uses would mean less wilderness survival and more village survival.

How would solo players be more affected then other players?

And more encounters leads to more chance of a misclick or something going wrong. Even professional sharp shooters would miss a target if given a certain amounts of shots.

[noblebrutus@live.co.uk 26]

Go and drink some IRN BRU and relax.

I think I might. :P I wasn't being unreasonable though was I?

On topic lowering the spawn chance for matches I don't think is a good idea, but making them 20-use or so would be fine... that's still a lot of uses.

Rotting meat is a good idea... but why not add a 10-use bag of salt as loot to the game as well for preservatives?

Having zombie pools that don't respawn for an hour or so could work, allowing players to clear a town without zombies spawning behind them while at the same time increasing the number of zombies in the first place is a good suggestion if the servers can cope with it.

[mr_chabowski@live.co.uk 2416]

You should be scared to die, you should be scared to lose your stuff... and when you do die you should try and throw your computer out the window.

This is the way people should be looking at it, not "Oh well, time to respawn".

It's not like there's a lack of PvP oriented games out there for those who wish to play them. The fact is I personally wanted a zombie apocalypse survival scenario to play with others, to survive and thrive together, YES there are bandits, but even then, shouldn't they be resorting to banditry because they have to to survive? Because I only see people playing DayZ as it was intended AFAIK (you would have to ask Rocket bout that), and people who want to make DayZ a deathmatch with added beans.

Edit : Also need to make zombies spawn without the need for players to be in a certain range, I can't even count the number of times I knew there was someone nearby because zeds had spawned.

That and when you sit in a car the streets are empty until you step out, then BOOM "Spawn of the Dead". Kinda kills immersion IMO

Edited September 23, 2012 by Chabowski

[metapaus 31]

I disagree, the entire point of DayZ is to get immersed and be physically scared of dying, the base of this game in my opinion was to get rid of the 'oh well, I'll just respawn' mentality.

You should be scared to die, you should be scared to lose your stuff... and when you do die you should try and throw your computer out the window.

Visiting low pop servers is a natural survival instinct for players, and the fact people do it is generally encouraging... it shows DayZ is doing something right. Now what we have to do is hide the population count when you join... and things will get a whole lot more scary and intense.

Yeah, I agree. I'm always scared to lose my stuff, always scared to die, and always watching out. But when I do die, I don't want to throw my computer out the window. What I want to do is get right back in the game and do better than I did before. Either that or drink some water and sit on the couch, if it was pretty traumatizing.

[mr_chabowski@live.co.uk 2416]

I know what you mean, should just take a chill pill, but death kinda lacks any permanency or any real cost, when it should suck to die infinitely more than it does currently.

When you're part of a decent size group 9 times out of 10 someone can grab most of your important gear and just hand it back to your new clone as if nothing happened.

And this fuels the Kill on Sight banter ad nauseam. I can't think of any solution to that off the top of my head.

But I rekon, slow down Zeds just a wee wee bitty and make them hard as nails, shoot 'em in the head, scary to deal with. It would make hordes less of a trivial nuisance and more of an engaging challenge.

I'm sure everyone has their own ideas about where this game is going, but I think if general overall survival was more difficult, every facet of gameplay would improve. Or at the very least feel more rewarding.

[bfisher 561]

I agree about the making the zombies more dangerous thing. But here's my thoughts (I had posted in another thread as well), many of which are actually being implemented in the standalone:

To make the zombies more dangerous (forgive me if I repeat what has already been said):

-Either make them fast enough to eventually catch you or, make players have a finite endourance that will cause them to slow to a jog or walk after sprinting a certain distance. Because I sometimes feel like they should have set this game in the Serengetti with a bunch of Zulus the way you can full on sprint forever.

-Random spawns outside of the towns and cities. The deep woods are too much of a safe haven.

-Gunshots ALWAYS have the potential to spawn a zombie. That will help keep snipers from setting up shop forever.

To make the outdoors more dangerous in general:

-Once the temperature feature is fixed, forcedto build fires more frequently to avoid hypothermia (maybe also add cold weather geer as loot as well).

And if the outside is more dangerous, players will need to be forced inside. So:

-More enterable buildings.

-Fix the bugs that allow zombies to glide through doors

-Ability to baracade / fortify buildings (somethng better than barbed wire and Normandy Beach tank traps)

Basically what I have in mind is the typical Night/Day/Dawn/Land/Diary of the Living Dead / 28 Days Later / basically every zombie film ever dynamic. That is to say, it's so dangerous outside with zombies and bandits, most people will be forced to hole up in a structure for safety. But they can't stay there forever because eventually they will run out of supplies, zombies will find and overrun their sanctuary or bandits will try to take what they have.