Comprehensive Gameplay & World Enhancement Suggestions for 7 Days to Die Part [1]

[Kalnazzar]

Dear Fun Pimps Team,
First and foremost, thank you for the incredible work you’ve put into 7 Days to Die. The game has evolved tremendously—the updated engine, improved models, and refined systems are a testament to your ongoing dedication. I’d like to offer several suggestions based on my long-term passion for this title—covering RWG improvements, biome features, creature variety, and deeper sandbox gameplay.


RWG Enhancements & Large Map Support
Currently, Random World Generation has no in‑game setting to surround the map with ocean, preventing true island-style world themes without external mods. I suggest adding a simple toggle to generate water on all four edges of the map to enhance immersion. Additionally, the static/glitch visual effect at the map border should be removed or made optional — especially if the edges are ocean, allowing for seamless visuals to the horizon.


Moreover, 10K maps feel under-supported. Multiple attempts to generate large worlds consistently reveal:

• Absent lakes/ponds
• No major cities
• Sparse POIs
• Vast, underutilized terrain

For exploration-driven players, this results in a visually and functionally incomplete experience.


Recommended improvements:

• Add toggle for ocean-bordered edges
• Disable or remove static border distortion
• Improve RWG support for 10K+ maps, including terrain, POI, and biome balance
• Introduce map presets: Square, Island, Circular, Peninsula

Biome-Specific Features & Environmental Depth


Burnt Forest – Volcanic Overhaul
Active volcano landmark with random lava rockfall events — while exploring the biome, players may trigger meteor-like lava rocks falling from the sky, dealing heavy damage on impact. These rocks could also be mined for a unique volcanic ore, potentially used to craft a new tier of gear — such as advanced weapons like a plasma baton or even a flamethrower.

• Replace rivers with lava flows as environmental hazards
• Cyclic weather conditions unique to biome:
  • Firestorm (existing system with ember damage)
  • Ashfall (new): reduces visibility, slows movement, triggers breathing pauses for dramatic effect

Swamp Biome – New Proposal: Toxic, overgrown terrain filled with parasitic and hostile plant life


Environmental hazards:

• Purple mist that clouds visibility
• Swamp gas that damages or disorients
• Paralytic pollen that temporarily slows movement or interrupts sprinting

Mutated plant monsters, such as:

• Living dead trees with swinging limbs
• Exploding pod creatures that burst into clouds of poison or spores

Zombie-hosting flora:

• Stationary plant-life that spawns or hurls infected zombie spores
• Rooted plants that act as "zombie nests," releasing swarms if disturbed

Combat behavior variety:

• Ranged poison attacks
• Area-denial pollen clouds
• Mobility-restricting vines or root snare effects

This biome would bring a deeply atmospheric and unsettling zone unlike anything currently in the game — part natural, part infected, and fully dangerous.


All-New POIs

• Carnival/Fairgrounds – Abandoned amusement park with mechanized horrors and clown zombies
• Underground Subway Stations – Deep urban POIs with vertical exploration
• Airport – Decayed terminals and runways with interior scavenging
• Crashed Airplane Sites – Wilderness wreckage POIs
• Zoo – Combination of rotting wildlife and mutated creatures

Zombie Variety – New & Returning Threats


Behemoth Zombie
Reintroduced as a rare, boss-tier spawn in wandering hordes. While scaled for gameplay balance, it would retain its massive size and presence. This zombie wouldn’t appear often, but when it does, it would completely change the tone of an encounter — creating high-stakes moments where players must decide whether to fight, flee, or hide.


Football Player, Cowboy, and Cheerleader Zombies
Fan-favorite zombies from earlier alphas, these undead once brought life and personality to the apocalypse. With the major advancements in model fidelity, animation, and POI design since Alpha 21, these iconic zombies could be reimagined with stunning detail. They’d add variety, nostalgia, and a strong thematic connection to specific POIs (e.g., schools, saloons, stadiums) or ambient wandering groups.


Wall-Crawler Zombie
A modern evolution of the classic Spider Zombie. This agile creature would be able to scale vertical surfaces and squeeze through tight structural spaces, making it a nightmare for defended bases or high-up fortifications. Its ability to break movement expectations would force players to rethink how they build and defend.


Mutated Hornet
This resurrected airborne enemy would use updated AI behavior similar to the Sand Zombie’s projectile logic. It could appear solo or in swarms, attacking from range or divebombing players. Hornet nests could act as mini-hives, allowing creative placement in POIs and wilderness spawn events.


Blood-Afflicted Zombies (New Enemy Class)
This new class of zombies is triggered by a unique and dynamic system called Scent of Blood. These zombies don’t rely on scripted events like traditional Blood Moons — they spawn reactively when players are wounded or carrying raw meat. This creates emergent threats, turning routine scavenging into survival horror when you least expect it.


All blood-afflicted variants share a unique trait: they are nearly blind, with very short vision range, and deaf. Instead of sight, they hunt by scent, giving them an eerie, stalking behavior — and opening the door to stealth-based survival tension.


Blood Hunter
The base form of this strain. Gaunt, erratic, and unpredictable. They’re drawn to bleeding players or those carrying raw meat. While they appear almost oblivious until aggroed, once they lock on to a scent, they sprint, screech, and lunge with terrifying speed and aggression.


Plagued Blood Hunter
A more evolved and dangerous version. This variant is swollen with viral corruption and has additional combat effects:

• Vomits a cone-shaped stream of infected blood (Plagued Vomit) that splashes across the ground in front of the zombie, coating the area and inflicting damage over time along with debilitating status effects.
• Launches sticky blood webs of clotted blood to slow and entrap players
• Inflicts infection or causes bleeding on melee impact

Blood Queen
A mutated, boss-tier version of the Screamer. She emits pheromones once she detects a bleeding player or one carrying raw meat. This causes all Blood Hunters and Plagued Blood Hunters in the area to converge on her target — temporarily overriding their AI. Her shriek doesn’t summon zombies — it commands them. If you don’t silence her quickly, your situation will spiral into a full siege.

 

[Kalnazzar]

I wanted to share a few screenshots from the recent 10K map generations. As you’ll see, there are major issues with large maps — most notably the complete absence of rivers, lakes, and cities. The terrain ends up feeling empty and underdeveloped, especially for players who love exploring expansive worlds.


I've also attached some images of the Blood Zombie variants I’ve been working on using models I paid for to concept them in-game. The ones with glowing veins and eye effects represent the Plagued versions; the bright red eyes are the Blood Hunters [Normal Version]. These enemies are part of a scent-triggered system idea where injured players or those carrying raw meat attract blood-afflicted undead. It’s a reactive alternative to scripted blood moons and adds organic tension to survival.

 

[Kalnazzar]

[Edit] Burnt Forest – Volcanic Overhaul
Active volcano landmark with random lava rockfall events — while exploring the biome, there is a random chance that an event can trigger. Meteor-like lava rocks from the active volcano can be hurled and drop from the sky, dealing heavy impact damage. These rocks could also be mined for a unique volcanic ore, potentially used to craft a new tier of gear — such as advanced weapons like a plasma baton or even a flamethrower.

 

[Kalnazzar]

• Carnival/Fairgrounds – Abandoned amusement park with clown zombies [Edit]