PC YooHoo, zombies oh, where are you?

Its sad actually seeing LESS zombies than a17 , sure theres less in pois which is good but also less again outside! You can make as much noise as you like and attract no attention.

So far 18 has got a lot right, but having a zombie horde game without the horde is ludicrous! Even the biggest cities are empty, its almost become an isolation sim.

It seems odd that numbers reduce with every alpha now, we can only hope this will be addressed somewhere down the line.

 
Yeh too bad no one predicted this... :)

But yeh, nothing to worry about outside, and the most telling issue was doing the apts and getting 0-1 zeds per (rarely 2).

Total snoozefest. MM definitely made it based in his newbie skill level, so it sucks for the rest of us.

Ah well.

 
Lower zombie count is definitely noticeable out in the wild and in the POI's. Imo the POI's needed a slight nerf, especially the smaller one that used to be crammed full. Sure feels empty outdoors tho.

 
And this is the reason why I'm hesitant in upgrading to A18 down the road.

I'm glad to hear they reduced the ridiculousness of POI zombies (it still iritates me when I seen how they mysteriously hide in cabinets and fake ceilings lol), but hearing the majority claim the lack of zombies in the world, (a world where I'll assume is based off of our own), where there are 7 billion people, and yet devoid of the undead? Replaced with smaller numbers that are bullet sponges? Sorry, but that's a very weak way to address difficultly in a game.

I can accept there being a ratio based upon biomes, like the Desert being not as populated since it is a desert, but in towns/cities, that should be thriving with the undead. If we go with classic zombie (TWD) or even rage type zombies (WWZ), they all follow one golden rule, noise will attract them and they will travel in a herd like state to the source.

Don't get me wrong, it shouldn't be so high that you have to kill 100 just to get to the end of a street, but seeing them wandering in the distance just bring's an atmosphere that's amazing.

One of my favorite moments visually was last year, it was getting dark and fog began to roll through. As my friend and me ran through a forest biome in a rush to get back home, the various zombies were in hot pursuit. I stopped and spun around to see the gap, and I froze in complete admiration of how amazing it looked. The entire atmosphere was out of a true horror movie. Darkened forest, heavily engulfed in fog as silhouette's of the undead began to emerge from the thickness of the fog. No game will ever be perfect per say, but this moment in that game was damn near the definition of it, and I praise TFP's for that being possible.

So the many reports of lack of zombies in the open world is depressing. Unfortunately I am unable to play it right now, so you all have my complete jealousy lol, but I really do hope they decide to adjust this, or as many suggested before, find a way to add in a slider so the player can personalize the amount, but one that could adjust the bullet sponge either separately or simultaneously to compensate for the number increase.

 
Yeh too bad no one predicted this... :)
But yeh, nothing to worry about outside, and the most telling issue was doing the apts and getting 0-1 zeds per (rarely 2).

Total snoozefest. MM definitely made it based in his newbie skill level, so it sucks for the rest of us.

Ah well.
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I completely agree. We are really starting to notice how boring and empty POIs are now, especially the bigger ones that used to be quite a thrill-fest. The thrill and challenge is gone from A18.

I really hope GS affects zombie count in a big way.

Anyone play State of Decay? It should be like that. Zombies everywhere, inside and out, making every journey a thrill.

 
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I think the bigger problem is that zombies don't drop loot anymore. And the one stupid yellow bag that drops once in a blue moon does not count. It has made my excitement for killing them drop.

 
...But, my biggest gripe isn't about the lack of zeds out in the middle of nowhere - I think that's about right..It's that afaik there's not a spawner that distinguishes towns from just an empty biome - so you get the same amount of zeds even when you're in a city - which is not enough. We used to have to 'clear towns' in order to even get in the POIs..now the towns are just flat empty aside from a couple strays (part of the biome spawner) and all the bulk of any zombies that we actually have to combat are sleeping in the houses.
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I agree. I really miss the sheer number of zombies in towns pre A16. Even approaching a city or town in A15 was exciting, and then you started making noise looting and it was an adrenaline fest.

I'm glad to hear they reduced the ridiculousness of POI zombies (it still iritates me when I seen how they mysteriously hide in cabinets and fake ceilings lol), but hearing the majority claim the lack of zombies in the world, (a world where I'll assume is based off of our own), where there are 7 billion people, and yet devoid of the undead? Replaced with smaller numbers that are bullet sponges? Sorry, but that's a very weak way to address difficultly in a game.
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So true. In a zombie game, I want the AI to be 'quantity over quality'. Stupid as mud but lots of them.

I think the bigger problem is that zombies don't drop loot anymore. And the one stupid yellow bag that drops once in a blue moon does not count. It has made my excitement for killing them drop.
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Same, I also miss hacking up their corpses.

 
I could argue that it's not really immersive to have a group of zombies every 3 POIs you pass in a town.

I could argue that killing all 30 zombies on the streets at one time and coming back a couple days later having another 30 zombies roaming the streets is not immersive.

I could argue that killing a few Wandering Hordes in a small town would be more than that small town could have population and yet you'd be eager to kill another WH in that small town. It would not feel immersive.

I could argue that killing hundreds of Zs in a small area (something like Left 4 Dead) would empty the zombie population in a big radius, making more "waves" incoming not really immersive.

I could argue... But i do also feel the towns seem a bit empty, even though i encounter zombies from time to time. Still haven't been to a big city, so i dunno how the situation is there.

 
I think the bigger problem is that zombies don't drop loot anymore. And the one stupid yellow bag that drops once in a blue moon does not count. It has made my excitement for killing them drop.
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But...precious, precious experience!!

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I could argue that it's not really immersive to have a group of zombies every 3 POIs you pass in a town.
I could argue that killing all 30 zombies on the streets at one time and coming back a couple days later having another 30 zombies roaming the streets is not immersive.

I could argue that killing a few Wandering Hordes in a small town would be more than that small town could have population and yet you'd be eager to kill another WH in that small town. It would not feel immersive.

I could argue that killing hundreds of Zs in a small area (something like Left 4 Dead) would empty the zombie population in a big radius, making more "waves" incoming not really immersive.

I could argue... But i do also feel the towns seem a bit empty, even though i encounter zombies from time to time. Still haven't been to a big city, so i dunno how the situation is there.
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I could argue: FUN >>> immersion

 
I think the bigger problem is that zombies don't drop loot anymore. And the one stupid yellow bag that drops once in a blue moon does not count. It has made my excitement for killing them drop.
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In the game mentioned, I finally got a bag on the 67th zombie. Not sure how many zombies I've killed since then, but I haven't seen another.(enter yes-man saying just mod it)

I agree. I really miss the sheer number of zombies in towns pre A16. Even approaching a city or town in A15 was exciting, and then you started making noise looting and it was an adrenaline fest.



So true. In a zombie game, I want the AI to be 'quantity over quality'. Stupid as mud but lots of them.

Same, I also miss hacking up their corpses.
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Totally agree with those points. Maybe they could at least make the bodies harvestable for bones, fat and rotten flesh even if they remain unlootable( is that a word, screw it, it is now).

 
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I'm ... mixed.

On one hand it *is* fun to kill zombies. On the other hand, it's irritating to be going somewhere with a goal in mind, be swarmed several times, and be completely distracted from ones' goal. I don't envy TFP on the creation of the game. ;)

I try to think through "if it were my game, and / or had a magic wand scenario" ... what would I do.

I like the idea of the "encounters" engine that I've read about. It makes it feel a bit like D&D driven by a DM who wants you to succeed; but just by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin.

 
I'd like to see more mega hordes (the bloodmoons after the first one are non stop hordes of murder and misery) but I'd also like to see more realistic hive mind approach something which we discussed in a previous thread. Basically adding big but standing hordes throughout the city which can be alerted when player pass by and swarm them.

 
I’m personally running into enough zombies to make it interesting. Less in the country, more in the cities. Zombies in the POIs, in interesting ways. Most are laying on ground, so if you’re careful you can deal with them ok. I’ve had some bust out of closets - that made it interesting. I’m on my toes now when I see a closet. Fortunately, haven’t had a single one pop out of midair right behind me like when they were first implemented. I think this is a good implementation.

I do miss the wandering hordes though. There was nothing like hearing the noise of mass shuffling and looking around to see if they were coming at you. Then making the decision to fight or run. Of course, that was back when zombies dropped loot. So a good horde could be profitable. Now I think with how hard the zombies are to kill at the lower levels, I would just run until I have guns.

 
We've got tons of both random wilderness zombies and quite large wandering hordes, playing on all default settings in Nav.

 
I think something is wrong.

I see these posts about less zombies, but I get about the same as in A17.

I would say more, but I think it just feels like more because they hone in on me from all directions. What I experience is what Joel was talking about that every time he would go in to loot a POI, zombies start coming in from the outside... to the point where it starts to become a little annoying.

A run through the snow biome brings in so many lumberjacks it's ridiculous for me.

Perhaps there is some inconsistency in the code, or perhaps there is some setting that messes with it, or maybe this is an SP vs MP issue, but something seems off here.

 
Snow has a decent share, nothing like in the glory days but def a step above the other biomes.

I've never understood the fascination with wasteland because it's so ugly... :)

 
I think something is wrong.
I see these posts about less zombies, but I get about the same as in A17.

I would say more, but I think it just feels like more because they hone in on me from all directions. What I experience is what Joel was talking about that every time he would go in to loot a POI, zombies start coming in from the outside... to the point where it starts to become a little annoying.

A run through the snow biome brings in so many lumberjacks it's ridiculous for me.

Perhaps there is some inconsistency in the code, or perhaps there is some setting that messes with it, or maybe this is an SP vs MP issue, but something seems off here.
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I wouldn't compare to A17. A17 didn't have enough outside and too many inside. A16 had a decent amount. A15 was best I think.

 
We're only seeing them "home in" on us at the trader, but we're finding it almost impossible to leave the trader without jumping over the side and then dealing with zombies, because they crowd the door the moment you go in.

 
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