4.0 A new threat update - Bandits?

[Kyoji]

If you remember there's already an "Event System" planned that will be a boon for livening gameplay and making the adventure more varied.

Yes I remember and I remember then talking about flat spot code. That being said I think it should be the priority after bandits and only because bandits were teased for so long otherwise it would be ahead of bandits for me.

Calipers

Need to find that new bike chain.

 

[Jost Amman]

about flat spot code.

What is "flat spot code"?

 

[bartek251]

Bandits are cool and all but I still think we need something more to break the formulaic gameplay loop we have been accustomed towards.

Bandits will help in that regard but we desperately need randomized events and interactions. Something that takes you off the beaten path and gives back exploration.

More things similar to wandering hordes and supply drops.

An expanded story mode will eventually deliver on that, but we have to wait at least until the end of this year, as they plan to expand it further before then; once they add the promised bandits, we can expect an expanded story mode as well. For now, version 3.0 has added a bit to the main storyline by fleshing out points of interest with new information.

Post automatically merged: Jul 18, 2026

As far as I know, bandits are currently (internal tests) already able to do stuff that zombies can't do, like seeking cover and other "tactical" stuff.
In any case Pathfinding and AI are two different things, players often confuse the two.

Example: bandits probably won't have a "rage mode", since it doesn't make sense for them to go into a mindless rage beating on walls, so they won't get stuck hitting a tree or the side of your base while you shoot at them.

Post automatically merged: Jul 17, 2026

If you remember there's already an "Event System" planned that will be a boon for livening gameplay and making the adventure more varied.

It’s not a matter of zombie frenzy that causes them to attack random terrain obstacles or blocks; they can run right past the player to attack a random object, jump in place, and so on. These are AI glitches, and it happens not just with zombies but with animals as well.

 

[Jost Amman]

It’s not a matter of zombie frenzy that causes them to attack random terrain obstacles or blocks; they can run right past the player to attack a random object, jump in place, and so on. These are AI glitches, and it happens not just with zombies but with animals as well.

What you're describing may just be a Multiplayer game problem. I've been playing SP 3.0 for many hours now and this behavior never happened to me. The only case in which a zombie ignored me was to eat a dead animal on the ground, but that's expected.

My theory is that maybe there's a sync issue between server and the player's computer where zombies get outdated target data, so on your side they seem to be attacking random stuff, but who knows?

 

[Mister Forgash]

If you remember there's already an "Event System" planned that will be a boon for livening gameplay and making the adventure more varied.

This is by far what I'm hoping for the most, assuming it can resemble what Skyrim was doing - especially if there were some sandbox options for frequency and difficulty.

Yes I remember and I remember then talking about flat spot code. That being said I think it should be the priority after bandits and only because bandits were teased for so long otherwise it would be ahead of bandits for me.

I wonder if the flat spot and the event system are the same.. at first I was thinking kinda small and imagining events as just dropping in some zombies fighting bandits over there.. but flat spot events could be way more interesting with like .. what looks like a car crash, and a handful of zombies crowding over a body.
.. The more I think about it, the map generator/ city grid tiles could be designed in such a way that you're never all that far from a 'flat spot'.. perhaps even with some locational tables that decide what kind of encounters you may have in the city vs the outdoors and so on

 

[Vaeliorin]

What you're describing may just be a Multiplayer game problem. I've been playing SP 3.0 for many hours now and this behavior never happened to me. The only case in which a zombie ignored me was to eat a dead animal on the ground, but that's expected.

My theory is that maybe there's a sync issue between server and the player's computer where zombies get outdated target data, so on your side they seem to be attacking random stuff, but who knows?

I haven't played a ton of 3.0 yet, but this behavior has been happening for several alphas, and I only play single player. Just like if you have maxed out Parkour, you can make the zombies run away and attack random blocks just by jumping (they can't reach you, and retarget/rage mode.)

 

[Kyoji]

What is "flat spot code"?

The devs talked about it in a stream. It's meant to identify flat spots in terrain which can be used to spawn in dynamic events. In my imaginary hypothetical a helicopter or plane crash for example.

An expanded story mode will eventually deliver on that, but we have to wait at least until the end of this year, as they plan to expand it further before then; once they add the promised bandits, we can expect an expanded story mode as well. For now, version 3.0 has added a bit to the main storyline by fleshing out points of interest with new information.

Story is a one and done thing so I doubt it will add much replayability. The story is the thing I am least excited about personally, but that's just me. It will be fun for a run and then meh. Just like Navezgane.

 

[Jost Amman]

Just like if you have maxed out Parkour, you can make the zombies run away and attack random blocks just by jumping (they can't reach you, and retarget/rage mode.)

Well, that case is exactly what rage mode is for. When they can't target/attack you they go into rage mode. It's not a bug.

 

[Vaeliorin]

Well, that case is exactly what rage mode is for. When they can't target/attack you they go into rage mode. It's not a bug.

I'd argue the fact that simply jumping can cause it is a bug. You don't have to jump on something, you can just jump in place.

But regardless, the zombies do sometimes run past you to attack random blocks/tree, even in single player. It's not super common in my experience, but it does happen.

 

[Jost Amman]

I'd argue the fact that simply jumping can cause it is a bug. You don't have to jump on something, you can just jump in place.

But regardless, the zombies do sometimes run past you to attack random blocks/tree, even in single player. It's not super common in my experience, but it does happen.

Next time this happens try to see what they're attacking (in place of yourself).

Did you ever report this bug in the "Report Bug" section?
I mean, if it's so common they should be able to reproduce it easily and fix it.

 

[Vaeliorin]

Next time this happens try to see what they're attacking (in place of yourself).

Did you ever report this bug in the "Report Bug" section?
I mean, if it's so common they should be able to reproduce it easily and fix it.

Never reported it, I use too many mods.

They go off and attack random blocks, usually. The nearest wall, trees, stuff like that. I rarely actually do it (even rarer to do it intentionally) as I rarely main agility, and you have to have maxed parkour.

 

[Jost Amman]

Never reported it, I use too many mods.

They go off and attack random blocks, usually. The nearest wall, trees, stuff like that. I rarely actually do it (even rarer to do it intentionally) as I rarely main agility, and you have to have maxed parkour.

Well, since 2.0 I've only been playing vanilla.
Usually this kind of bugs aren't triggered by mods, but maybe in this case they are?

As I said, I only noticed two cases: 1) they ignore you to go eat a dead animal or 2) the rage mode
You should try to start a vanilla game sometimes and see if that happens anyway.
Maybe it doesn't happen to me because we have different playstyles, I don't know.

Anyone else had this happen in a vanilla game?

 

[Prisma501]

Well, since 2.0 I've only been playing vanilla.
Usually this kind of bugs aren't triggered by mods, but maybe in this case they are?

As I said, I only noticed two cases: 1) they ignore you to go eat a dead animal or 2) the rage mode
You should try to start a vanilla game sometimes and see if that happens anyway.
Maybe it doesn't happen to me because we have different playstyles, I don't know.

Anyone else had this happen in a vanilla game?

Nope. Run a crossplay server vanilla. Can't say i ever noticed that.

 

[theFlu]

Anyone else had this happen in a vanilla game?

More and less, depending on alpha .. even a 2m parkour against a group of zeds usually gets a couple of them off of you. Which makes me not want to jump, as a parkour spec ... kinda backwards, imo

 

[bartek251]

What you're describing may just be a Multiplayer game problem. I've been playing SP 3.0 for many hours now and this behavior never happened to me. The only case in which a zombie ignored me was to eat a dead animal on the ground, but that's expected.

My theory is that maybe there's a sync issue between server and the player's computer where zombies get outdated target data, so on your side they seem to be attacking random stuff, but who knows?

I always play solo, and this happens in both the unmodded and modded versions.

Post automatically merged: Jul 18, 2026

The devs talked about it in a stream. It's meant to identify flat spots in terrain which can be used to spawn in dynamic events. In my imaginary hypothetical a helicopter or plane crash for example.

Story is a one and done thing so I doubt it will add much replayability. The story is the thing I am least excited about personally, but that's just me. It will be fun for a run and then meh. Just like Navezgane.

It depends on whether the story has a single ending or multiple endings that depend on choices made in the game.

 

[Jost Amman]

I always play solo, and this happens in both the unmodded and modded versions.

Good. Then you can send a bug report maybe?
Someone needs to do it, because here I see the ones having the issue are only complaining but no one is reporting...

 

[Vaeliorin]

Good. Then you can send a bug report maybe?
Someone needs to do it, because here I see the ones having the issue are only complaining but no one is reporting...

If it was something I really cared about, I'd report it, but I don't. I was just commenting that there are some...peculiarities with the zombie AI, and it's not caused by server lag.

 

[murky water]

Nope. Run a crossplay server vanilla. Can't say i ever noticed that.

i've seen it and had it happen to me in both vanilla and modded servers. they also get wonky and weird if you chop trees too much. a half-chopped tree has gotten a couple of zombies to ignore me entirely to go punch wood over the last year of play

 

[Riamus]

Never reported it, I use too many mods.

They go off and attack random blocks, usually. The nearest wall, trees, stuff like that. I rarely actually do it (even rarer to do it intentionally) as I rarely main agility, and you have to have maxed parkour.

Yes, this happens now any then and has for a long time. I am pretty sure that zombies are sometimes set to attack random things (be dumb). They will choose to attack a tree or wall or fence or whatever else. This may still be considered rage mode, but can trigger before any damage happens to the zombies and when you're right on the ground and not jumping.

 

[Riamus]

It depends on whether the story has a single ending or multiple endings that depend on choices made in the game.

That really doesn't change anything significantly. Consider the kind of game this is. You are meant to play the game over and over again. It might not be a rogue-like, but it has a similar expectation that you'll play many games of it instead of only once or twice before setting it aside for years. In a typical game (we'll say RPG since stories are very common in them, including branching stories), having multiple endings or branching stories provides replayability because it gives you something to work towards, even if 95% of the game is the same. The expectation is most would probably play 2 or 3 different ways to see different endings and then set it aside for awhile before possibly trying other endings/branches. Because of that, it adds those extra couple games worth of replayability and works well.

Now, look at this game. Most players, if they like the game, will play dozens of games already, without any story. Add a story and what do you get? Something you are interested in the first time you play, but then don't care about. That doesn't improve replayability unless it draws someone back for a game when they had no intention of playing the game anymore, which would be a pretty low percentage of players, and not those who are regularly playing the game. Add a story with multiple endings and what do you get? If you're already playing dozens of games, you'll play the different endings and then there's no reason to care about them again because you already know the stories. That doesn't increase replayability because you would have been playing those games even without the stories. Again, only those who are no longer playing the game but are interested in the stories might come back because of the stories for a number of games up to the number of story endings or branches before setting it aside again. And again, that's a small percentage of players, and doesn't include those actively playing the game. For this game, a story of any kind, regardless of branching or multiple endings, won't have any real impact on replayability. The game is already very replayable and a story doesn't really change that.

I'm not saying they shouldn't include a story, but don't expect it to have any real impact on the game beyond just answering some questions we might have. There is also a good indication that the story may be limited to Navesgane and not RWG or custom maps, though that hasn't been confirmed.