Zombie Swarms

[Dissent21 0]

Okay, so, this started as a pretty simple idea and then turned into something potentially amazing and beautiful, and probably pretty complicated, but here goes.

It started off with the idea of "What if players became zombies". I thought, instead of the body disappearing after a few minutes, it got a zombie skin, hopped up, and joined the server zombie count. A friend of mine in return comes back with, "What if those zombies were permanent, staying in place near where they died until someone killed them, instead of just spawning randomly".

I liked the idea, but I saw the inevitable server overload as hundreds of dead players added up. Until I thought of something else...

As the permanent zombie number increases, they take the place of the randomly spawned zombies in the server count. Random zombies still spawn, but in fewer and fewer numbers, leaving the server gradually and slowly growing eerily empty. After a certain number of permanent zombies exist in the server, (I thought it could be a randomly generated number for each event, within a certain range), the Event begins.

Every permanent zombie on the server is given an increased aggro range, and is set to move on cherno or electro. Thanks to the randomly generated trigger number, and the fact that random zombies still spawn, it would be almost impossible to predict exactly when the event would happen, and even which city they would move to, forcing players to balance their need for supplies against the possibility of being caught a midst a swarm of angry zombies, and it would also ensure that most of the "permanent" zombies were killed off, as they would be much more aggressive towards players after the event initiated.

Now, I can definitely see how this could be complicated from a programming standpoint, and nightmarish from a testing standpoint, but it seems like a great idea to me. Anybody else have any thoughts, improvements, or additions?

[ybm 111]

1. Don't go to Cherno or Electro

2. Go to NWAF for zombie free loot

3. ??????

4. Profit.

oh and btw server restarts wipe all bodies, so there can't be "hundreds of dead players"

p.s. sorry to take a massive dump on your idea.

[DemonGroover 8836]

Also the dead do not become zombies. They are not "true" zombies, but Infected people. Once dead they stay dead.

I do however like the idea of permanent zombies, or zombies that spawn from a much larger range. Much preferable to zombies that spawn within a 150m radius and thus alert all snipers and bandits that there is a player closeby.

[Dissent21 0]

oh and btw server restarts wipe all bodies, so there can't be "hundreds of dead players"

p.s. sorry to take a massive dump on your idea.

How long do you really think it takes for a few hundred player deaths?

[ybm 111]

How long do you really think it takes for a few hundred player deaths?

Depends on the server, most of them that i see on commander have less then ten people and a "few hundred" could be minimally calculated for 200. With the average survival time around 68 minutes I don't even see that math working out on a normal server. So you suggest months of programming to reanimate dead players and migrate those zombies from across the entire map to cherno or electro for a few shits and giggles. No thanks, we have enough bugs as is.

Edited September 27, 2012 by ybm

[Kajin 25]

I do like the idea of roving zombie hordes, not confined to a particular region. Instead of player death, maybe attach a random percentile chance of one happening. Picture it: you're crawling along Cherno, trying to get the supplies you need, when a thirty-strong horde of infected walk into town on their way in from Elektro. They move around in a pack and have a grouped aggro system where, if you aggro one, you aggro them all.

[Dissent21 0]

So you suggest months of programming to reanimate dead players and migrate those zombies from across the entire map

I really don't think it'd be THAT hard from a programming standpoint. Shit, most of the "zombie horde goes to this city" is just setting up a waypoint to go off with a specific trigger.

[ybm 111]

I really don't think it'd be THAT hard from a programming standpoint. Shit, most of the "zombie horde goes to this city" is just setting up a waypoint to go off with a specific trigger.

You would have to pathfind every single zombie from anywhere in chernarus, even off map to go to a waypoint through towns, walls, trees, bushes, hills etc. That wouldn't crash the server with the "hundreds of zombies". They have to despawn as is to keep the servers running smooth. Sure, I would like to see zombie hordes as much as the next guy but I don't see it happening like this.

[Kajin 25]

The zombies don't have to be "spawned" per say. There just needs to be a tag in the area noting how many zombies are in the horde and which direction they're traveling. When some players get close to the tag, the zombie horde spawns in. When the players get far enough away, the zombies despawn and the tag is updated to show how many zombies were killed or left the horde to chase the player.

[Michaelvoodoo25 3120]

Players are in fact immune from the infection, so your corpse would only serve as a food source for the Zeds. I can understand the idea and I'll wager there will be a mod for this.

[MasterZ 90]

Zombies like mentioned before are the infected kind, they are just humans with about 3000 blood left in their body and they still require to eat and drink in order to stay alive.

Though I do like the idea of a few zombie hoards, maybe 30-50 zombies each and maybe 2-4 groups of them roaming around.

(Always roaming towards at least 1 player.)

It makes forests a lot more dangerous, makes sniper camping harder because before you know it a hoard is coming for you and the panic it will ensure when you are in a city is awesome.

'Quick, hit the floor! Zombie hoard, now keep quiet and stay away from the doors and windows, hopefully they will pass us.*

[Riem 164]

Personally I would like to see a random factor to these hordes. They'd hunt like a pack, moving through a city and at random, moving into buildings to check and see if there was food hiding inside. If you're quick, you could kill one with a silent weapon, but you'd have to make that choice very quickly.

Do I stay and hope they don't come inside? Should I run? Get ready a weapon and take any that come inside down quietly?

Possibilities possibilities.

[MasterZ 90]

Personally I would like to see a random factor to these hordes. They'd hunt like a pack, moving through a city and at random, moving into buildings to check and see if there was food hiding inside. If you're quick, you could kill one with a silent weapon, but you'd have to make that choice very quickly.

Do I stay and hope they don't come inside? Should I run? Get ready a weapon and take any that come inside down quietly?

Possibilities possibilities.

I tried to look it up on youtube with failure but there was a scene very much like this in the series The Walking Dead S2.

They are parked on a highway, looking for resources but then a horde comes along and they quickly need to hide, most hide under cars or under a stack of corpses but one hides inside a van and gets spotted and needs to act.

It was pretty tense just looking at it, but experiencing it would be really awesome.

Edited September 27, 2012 by MasterZ