Whats the logic behind eatting and smelling after.

[HammerDano]

Well im not complaining about it because I really like the changes I just think veggies should give less smelly and having other foods you hold smell.

I agree that it doesn't feel right that cooked food doesn't stack smell until you eat it. I used to carry blueberry pies in the old game just because it didn't smell...my safe food.
I like that TFP want all food to have some penalty...it makes sense in it's own way. What is going thru the mind of a zombie? What are all the things that "realistically" trigger them? idk

What if veggie options had far less up front smell, but, in half an hour to an hour later there's a 50/50 chance that you might get the farts?

still getting used to the system...like...I now make sure that I am on the right crafting page to wrap the meat as fast as possible, BEFORE I skin the animal. or living on the water so I can go eat in the river without incurring the smell penalty.

I really like the temperature. Been really enjoying that added kick to survival.

 

[Adam the Waster]

really like the temperature. Been really enjoying that added kick to survival.

While i do wish the pine forest at night was colder, the burnt forest being much warner. Etc

But yes agree its great

Post automatically merged: Dec 20, 2025

What if veggie options had far less up front smell, but, in half an hour to an hour later there's a 50/50 chance that you might get the farts?

That could be a whole system in its self. Maybe self cleaning were you just start to smell overtime

Also a setting for night smell speed would be awesome. Cuz I would have it nightmare speed

 

[HammerDano]

While i do wish the pine forest at night was colder, the burnt forest being much warner. Etc

But yes agree its great

Post automatically merged: Dec 20, 2025

That could be a whole system in its self. Maybe self cleaning were you just start to smell overtime

Also a setting for night smell speed would be awesome. Cuz I would have it nightmare speed

accumulated smell over time...I think that is an interesting Idea...that submerging your self once in a while is a necessity to slough off the accumulated grime of LIVING things to keep down your scent. That paired with being able to use rotten meat to mask your scent BUT with a vastly increased chance getting every illness under the sun because...well... it's rotten diseased flesh. (probably a little too in depth for where this game is now...but, it would be good in a survival game)

Post automatically merged: Dec 20, 2025

Day Z does have something simular to that idea...you have to wash blood off your hands when you skin animals...or you get a disease. not quite the same.

 

[Riamus]

Nah, I think we have completely opposite ideas of what's fun. I don't see the fun in “thinking up a strategy and cooking safe food,” which is nothing more than consciously turning off the feature so you don't have to deal with it. Nothing against it if that's how you like it.

For me, the fun is having it active, with the zombies getting excited and it being frenetic and intense.


Also, remember that there are many things in the game that are unrealistic or break the immersion...

The benefit is that you can choose to cook "safer" food, but you still find food when you're out exploring and need to decide whether or not to eat it. I've had many times I've been low on food and had to eat what I found. So the choice lets you not constantly deal with smell while still having it in the game instead of entirely disabling it. I'd call that a good thing.

Anyhow, we'll see what happens. Zombies may be undead, but they are still human bodies. Their noses aren't suddenly equivalent to a dog's nose. Maybe the zombification made them smell better, but it wouldn't make sense that it would have a hugely significant impact on smelling ability. They should still be fairly close to humans in terms of smell, imo. I'm willing to ignore that part as it's a game, but I still think foods shouldn't all stink. We'll see what they do, if anything. If it remains as-is, I'll likely just disable it unless I find a decent mod that makes changes. I'm just trying to get them to put some more thought into it so that I have a reason to leave it enabled.

 

[meganoth]

The benefit is that you can choose to cook "safer" food, but you still find food when you're out exploring and need to decide whether or not to eat it. I've had many times I've been low on food and had to eat what I found. So the choice lets you not constantly deal with smell while still having it in the game instead of entirely disabling it. I'd call that a good thing.

Anyhow, we'll see what happens. Zombies may be undead, but they are still human bodies. Their noses aren't suddenly equivalent to a dog's nose. Maybe the zombification made them smell better, but it wouldn't make sense that it would have a hugely significant impact on smelling ability. They should still be fairly close to humans in terms of smell, imo. I'm willing to ignore that part as it's a game, but I still think foods shouldn't all stink. We'll see what they do, if anything. If it remains as-is, I'll likely just disable it unless I find a decent mod that makes changes. I'm just trying to get them to put some more thought into it so that I have a reason to leave it enabled.

Those same human bodies suddenly can hack through steel blocks, one type is constantly burning and one type can vomit puke to spots 20 meters away. Why should they not have heightened smell as well?

 

[grz__]

The benefit is that you can choose to cook "safer" food, but you still find food when you're out exploring and need to decide whether or not to eat it. I've had many times I've been low on food and had to eat what I found. So the choice lets you not constantly deal with smell while still having it in the game instead of entirely disabling it. I'd call that a good thing.

Anyhow, we'll see what happens. Zombies may be undead, but they are still human bodies. Their noses aren't suddenly equivalent to a dog's nose. Maybe the zombification made them smell better, but it wouldn't make sense that it would have a hugely significant impact on smelling ability. They should still be fairly close to humans in terms of smell, imo. I'm willing to ignore that part as it's a game, but I still think foods shouldn't all stink. We'll see what they do, if anything. If it remains as-is, I'll likely just disable it unless I find a decent mod that makes changes. I'm just trying to get them to put some more thought into it so that I have a reason to leave it enabled.

In the early days, it may make sense because you eat whatever you find without thinking about whether it smells or not; you need it. But as the days go by, vegetables become abundant, so much so that they don't fit in the boxes.

It's very easy to get them, if you grow them, of course, and in the end, you'd end up eating vegetable stew. It doesn't matter that it's less effective; you eat two and that's it. You don't even have to eat the cans you find because those stews last all day without you feeling hungry. Maybe the game needs to be rebalanced because between the trader, the abundance of loot, etc., I don't see how it can be challenging, and I generally don't like the premise that survival characteristics are only a challenge in the early game, and then you can ignore them. The late game also has to have a challenge, apart from killing bears and mutants in the wasteland. In the end, it's a matter of opinion whether vegetables break your immersion.

It's a personal thing, for me maybe something else breaks my immersion that others are happy with. In the end, how zombies are or how they behave, what they can or cannot do, is not decided by you or me, nor is there a fixed zombie prototype. We can agree that zombies behave in a certain way that is accepted by everyone, and that they cannot fly or drive a car, But if the developers want to give their zombies a supernatural sense of smell, why not? Either way, as long as the mechanics remain challenging, I don't care.

 

[Rotor]

.... Maybe the game needs to be rebalanced because between the trader, the abundance of loot, etc., ....

Not disputing or confirming anything, but...

...if you dont quest and play "loot no respawn".....then abundance declines...if you bring abundance loot down from 100%, it gets even less.

Just saying, ya might want to try it. The balancing you seek may already be available to you.

 

[Gamida]

Yesterday I ventured about 150 meters into the snow biome without protective gear to get a supply drop. I was freezing by time I got to it and it had a vegetable stew in it which I immediately ate because the cold had severely reduced my hunger bar as well. I was hoping it would have a buff against cold but it did not. I ran back to the forest biome and when I looked behind me after crossing the border with an audible "whew!" There were 2 bears, a wolf, and about 7 zombies running towards me attracted to the smell. I gasped and turned around and ran making it to the top of a shop just in time before all the animals and zombies arrived. Theshop had a ladder so I dispatched the zombies as they came up but the bears and wolf were still down below and even after my smell debuff disappeared they still wouldn't forget about me.

Finally I jumped off the roof on the other side and ran through another house and onto another roof. Only one of the bears followed but I eventually lost him by running around and between a few more buildings before getting back to my base and then heading to the trader.

I'll take enemy creatures able to smell vegetables for an experience like that every time.

You teach kids for a living.
That situation wouldn't bother you at all...or you are just an adrenaline junkie lol.
Maybe if we wrap ourselves in paper we won't smell.

 

[grz__]

Not disputing or confirming anything, but...

...if you dont quest and play "loot no respawn".....then abundance declines...if you bring abundance loot down from 100%, it gets even less.

Just saying, ya might want to try it. The balancing you seek may already be available to you.

I know, the problem is that the books are affected, and progress becomes a nightmare, without being able to craft workbenches and with stone tools. Having to survive without building, climbing onto a roof of a poi. Making the early game a bit of a nightmare, rather than rewarding. Of course, if I want to, I can choose not to use the trader, but that would be imposing barriers on myself.

Right now, loot is set to default. The difficulty is set to insane, and zombies run slowly during the day. Loot respawns in 50 days, so it's irrelevant, no airdrop. You need skills to face the zombies, I can't afford to assign points to increase the spawn of books.

 

[Rotor]

I know, the problem is that the books are affected, and progress becomes a nightmare, without being able to craft workbenches and with stone tools. Having to survive without building, climbing onto a roof of a poi. Making the early game a bit of a nightmare, rather than rewarding. Of course, if I want to, I can choose not to use the trader, but that would be imposing barriers on myself.

Right now, loot is set to default. The difficulty is set to insane, and zombies run slowly during the day. Loot respawns in 50 days, so it's irrelevant, no airdrop. You need skills to face the zombies, I can't afford to assign points to increase the spawn of books.

I am totally confused. You want lot harder but easier?

 

[Space4Ace]

Ok after playing a bit, what is the logic behind eatting something and smelling after. Cuz I dont understand,

Ok so ether we are toddlers and we smear food all over us, We eat and we insta Fart after, we start sweating grease after we eat? Idk.

It's a game so TFP is trying to find ways for the zombies to come our way and make it challenging... And I love it!

A game doesn't need to be logical, it only has to be fun.

Post automatically merged: Dec 21, 2025

You ooze?

You snooze, you lose! Oh wait, that's something else.

I do like the smell mechanic and really happy TFP brought it back.

 

[Adam the Waster]

It's a game so TFP is trying to find ways for the zombies to come our way and make it challenging... And I love it!

A game doesn't need to be logical, it only has to be fun.

Post automatically merged: Dec 21, 2025

You snooze, you lose! Oh wait, that's something else.

I do like the smell mechanic and really happy TFP brought it back.

I agree I think its great. The burnt forest is scary to hunt in. I can't imagine the wasteland

 

[grz__]

I am totally confused. You want lot harder but easier?

What I mean is that reducing the loot percentage could solve the problem of loot abundance but create others such as a shortage of books, which are necessary for progression.

 

[Space4Ace]

I agree I think its great. The burnt forest is scary to hunt in. I can't imagine the wasteland

I always have paper and fibre on me and wrap that meat as soon as possible because, yeah, those zombies pick up on the sent really fast.
I was in the wasteland and forgot I had killed a snake and didn't wrap the meat... Suddenly, a zombie bear, dire wolf and a few zombies were after me. I did survive but got a broken arm and leg as a result of my mistake. When it comes to paper... Don't leave home without it!

 

[Adam the Waster]

I always have paper and fibre on me and wrap that meat as soon as possible because, yeah, those zombies pick up on the sent really fast.
I was in the wasteland and forgot I had killed a snake and didn't wrap the meat... Suddenly, a zombie bear, dire wolf and a few zombies were after me. I did survive but got a broken arm and leg as a result of my mistake. When it comes to paper... Don't leave home without it!

I mean paper isn't to hard to find but yes 100% dont forget it

 

[Riamus]

I always have paper and fibre on me and wrap that meat as soon as possible because, yeah, those zombies pick up on the sent really fast.
I was in the wasteland and forgot I had killed a snake and didn't wrap the meat... Suddenly, a zombie bear, dire wolf and a few zombies were after me. I did survive but got a broken arm and leg as a result of my mistake. When it comes to paper... Don't leave home without it!

I've never bothered. By the time I'm hunting, I have at least a bicycle. I just drop the meat in there immediately. Then I don't have to worry about carrying paper everywhere. Yes, I do have it in my inventory a lot because it's found everywhere, but I just don't bother with it.

I will say that I've left dead animals instead of harvesting because of smell if my vehicle wasn't close or I was in a POI. It just wasn't worth dealing with carrying around smelly meat. I can find meat easily enough without dealing with the smell, so it was just easier to leave it unharvested. Oh well. I've yet to have any experience where smell in any way made the game more engaging to me. It's just been a nuisance or just entirely ignored. That's why I'd like to see improvements to it. Otherwise, there's no reason for me to leave it enabled.

Even though I've mentioned it a couple of times, people don't seem to understand that I *want* to like the smell system and I *want* to use it. But in the current state, it offers nothing to me. I'd like it improved because I actually want to use it and to find it interesting.

 

[7DaysToDieEnjoyer]

I accept this olfactory mechanism only because they rely solely on instincts. They have nothing else. They are constantly hungry. The smell of meat or anything else should attract them, even out of curiosity, if they catch the scent, but I accept it. Even just taking food out of a backpack releases its smell, and chewing it amplifies it even more, especially vegetables, which trigger their defense mechanisms to avoid being eaten. Even that curiosity can draw zombies. A dead organism has only instinct, constant hunger, and a scent that follows it.

It is entirely dependent on the host’s energy and cannot process matter independently. It takes control of the body, guiding instincts and vital functions to acquire food and survive. If the host does not provide food, the virus begins to consume the host’s tissues for fuel. Additionally, it can adapt the body, for example by enhancing the sense of smell to detect food sources more effectively. As a result, the dead organism becomes merely a carrier of the virus, driven by instincts and constant hunger.

But honestly, I would prefer that zombies respond only to meat and its products, because meat emits a smell due to volatile breakdown products of proteins and fats, mainly aldehydes, ketones, and sulfur compounds, which rise into the air and can be detected from a long distance, and zombies would recognize only meat as food. This way, the smell wouldn’t be so unpleasant and would be better balanced. Also, eating without meat gives you much fewer benefits.

 

[kemomimi]

I've never bothered. By the time I'm hunting, I have at least a bicycle. I just drop the meat in there immediately. Then I don't have to worry about carrying paper everywhere. Yes, I do have it in my inventory a lot because it's found everywhere, but I just don't bother with it.

I will say that I've left dead animals instead of harvesting because of smell if my vehicle wasn't close or I was in a POI. It just wasn't worth dealing with carrying around smelly meat. I can find meat easily enough without dealing with the smell, so it was just easier to leave it unharvested. Oh well. I've yet to have any experience where smell in any way made the game more engaging to me. It's just been a nuisance or just entirely ignored. That's why I'd like to see improvements to it. Otherwise, there's no reason for me to leave it enabled.

Even though I've mentioned it a couple of times, people don't seem to understand that I *want* to like the smell system and I *want* to use it. But in the current state, it offers nothing to me. I'd like it improved because I actually want to use it and to find it interesting.

I agree with that perspective.
Raw meat isn't essential, and there are plenty of alternatives. I like the new system too, but it will likely need balancing adjustments.
I highly appreciate the increased uses for paper and look forward to future updates.
For example, I hope to see changes and additions like the following:
・Add new items that use raw meat as a material (like decoys)
・Make dishes using raw meat provide more effects than they currently do
・Allow meat wrapped in paper to be traded at a slightly higher price

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

[meganoth]

As far as I experienced it, meat from hunting is practically no problem as I always can stuff it immediately into the vehicle. So I throw paper away just like before the change. The real gameplay value of smell comes from when I have to eat while out in the field. No safe healing through food in precarious situations and always the chance to invite some zombies from the street.

Because of this I would not like a mass produceable food without smell, because that food would be the no-brainer food to produce no matter its food values, except if it were lower than 5, but that would bring up other realism objections, right? A non-smelling food with a canned ingredient would be acceptable to me simply because it isn't mass-produceable and add a small bit of interesting player agency in selecting what you eat.

If anyone argues with realism, sorry, even if you were right you would trade away gameplay value for "useless" realism.

 

[Revizul72]

Take that smell mode out again.