You know, this is actually the type of fear that the zombie horror genre really reverses back on us. Classic zombies are not fast. They’re not smart. They can’t run, climb, or plan elaborate traps. They no sharp claws or terrifyingly large teeth. You can outrun them at a brisk walk.
But what makes them so dangerous is that they’re relentless. If they get your scent, they’ll follow you and keep following you. Blow their legs off and they’ll crawl towards you. Remove all their limbs and they’ll slither like a snake towards you. Only destroying their brain can stop them.
If you’re on foot, it is virtually impossible to escape them, as they’ll just keep on coming. And while you need to sleep, they don’t. They can just keep right on shuffling towards you 24/7. If on foot being chased by a zombie, your best bet is probably to find a river you can swim across that will sweep them away. Oh, and of course, they are rarely alone.
Zombies are predators that turn our species’s natural hunting strategy back upon us.
Similarly the Terminator is ceaseless but does run, jump, climb etc. Our own hunting strategy, but perfected by machines. Even more tireless and persistent.
I’m sure there’s a combination out there that would get what I’m looking for. I just haven’t found it yet, and a lot of the scene (especially what gets coverage by youtubers) seem to be focused on increasing difficulty by making individual zombies more threatening (night sprinters, randomizers, adding different “zany” zombie types) or adding environmental hazards (nuclear fallout, airborne virus, eternal winter).
Could you not adjust the settings so zombies see/hear you very easily and from far away, as well as making hordes a bigger amount for the feeling of being hunted by a pack? I haven’t played the recent unstable versions so idk if they added other things that zombies can do to find you, like smell or whatnot
You can adjust settings, and I do, but once you clear an area if you stay near the area the options are either “randomly spawn in zombies where you’ve cleared” (ignoring whether a zombie could actually path there or not, last I tested it) or “no more zombies”. There’s no built in way I know of to simulate a glob coming in from the edges of your safe zone if the edges are farther out than the limit of cells it simulates around you.
I could probably get something together with the horde night mod. Just haven’t had time to tinker lately.
I thought it was the swarm that was what is so dangerous rather than being relentless. A single zombie is usually shown as weak and pretty easy to kill.
Heat accelerates decomposition. Cold burns tissues. Water logfing from rain would be a nuisance, at least.
I think most “undead” type zombies handwave that sort of stuff away as part of the powers that animate them in the first place. It’s only really an issue for “virus” type zombies.
WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
You know, this is actually the type of fear that the zombie horror genre really reverses back on us. Classic zombies are not fast. They’re not smart. They can’t run, climb, or plan elaborate traps. They no sharp claws or terrifyingly large teeth. You can outrun them at a brisk walk.
But what makes them so dangerous is that they’re relentless. If they get your scent, they’ll follow you and keep following you. Blow their legs off and they’ll crawl towards you. Remove all their limbs and they’ll slither like a snake towards you. Only destroying their brain can stop them.
If you’re on foot, it is virtually impossible to escape them, as they’ll just keep on coming. And while you need to sleep, they don’t. They can just keep right on shuffling towards you 24/7. If on foot being chased by a zombie, your best bet is probably to find a river you can swim across that will sweep them away. Oh, and of course, they are rarely alone.
Zombies are predators that turn our species’s natural hunting strategy back upon us.
yngmnwntr@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
Similarly the Terminator is ceaseless but does run, jump, climb etc. Our own hunting strategy, but perfected by machines. Even more tireless and persistent.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
Not really related, but it makes me sad that this isn’t easily possible in Project Zomboid. It’s the exact sort of feeling I want from it.
otacon239@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I’m kind of surprised considering there’s a massive mod scene. Not even with a custom difficulty mode?
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
I’m sure there’s a combination out there that would get what I’m looking for. I just haven’t found it yet, and a lot of the scene (especially what gets coverage by youtubers) seem to be focused on increasing difficulty by making individual zombies more threatening (night sprinters, randomizers, adding different “zany” zombie types) or adding environmental hazards (nuclear fallout, airborne virus, eternal winter).
Leonixster@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 months ago
Could you not adjust the settings so zombies see/hear you very easily and from far away, as well as making hordes a bigger amount for the feeling of being hunted by a pack? I haven’t played the recent unstable versions so idk if they added other things that zombies can do to find you, like smell or whatnot
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
You can adjust settings, and I do, but once you clear an area if you stay near the area the options are either “randomly spawn in zombies where you’ve cleared” (ignoring whether a zombie could actually path there or not, last I tested it) or “no more zombies”. There’s no built in way I know of to simulate a glob coming in from the edges of your safe zone if the edges are farther out than the limit of cells it simulates around you.
I could probably get something together with the horde night mod. Just haven’t had time to tinker lately.
LongLive@lemmy.world 3 months ago
How many drugs does it take to outrun a scent-seeking zombie?
MutilationWave@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
2
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 3 months ago
I thought it was the swarm that was what is so dangerous rather than being relentless. A single zombie is usually shown as weak and pretty easy to kill.
qyron@sopuli.xyz 3 months ago
I like the zombie trope but you really can’t get only the good parts and leave out the bad ones.
If zombies are rotting corpses, every carrion eating insect is going to have a field day. Plus any other predator or even any animal feeling threaned.
Plus the weather. Heat accelerates decomposition. Cold burns tissues. Water logfing from rain would be a nuisance, at least. Too dry, you get mummies.
Bluewing@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Meh, zombie infestations are easily prevented by simply the shoe laces together of the dead. Thus preventing them from even walking.
skisnow@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
I think most “undead” type zombies handwave that sort of stuff away as part of the powers that animate them in the first place. It’s only really an issue for “virus” type zombies.
qyron@sopuli.xyz 3 months ago
That’s a sub trope that makes me wonder: why animate a corpse when animating the skeleton alone achieves the same purposes? For visual impact?
And even in magic universes, physics still afects everything. Frost freezes the undead, heat cinzes their flesh, etc.