Horses

[Horse with no game.]

Since the beginning of recorded history man has relied upon horses, donkeys and mules. Up until around just over a hundred years ago most people still relied on the horse for travel and haulage. It was only cars going so mainstream that finally dethroned the horse. Here is where zomboid comes in, when the grid goes of and a years after petrol and diesel start to spoil man will again have to rely upon the horse.
When build 42 finally comes we will have animal npcs which I know that I am very excited about, however I was very disappointed to not see horses in the thirstoids I've seen so far. I really do hope to see horse implemented soon, either by the indiestone or by the modding Community. Horses couldn't just be riden either, they could be used as pack animals, used to pull carts and ploughs, used in nomad playthroughs to pull bow top or chuck wagons to transport your base to places you could never get in a car. Maybe even train them up and weld them some armour and ride into battle the walking dead like a medieval Knight.
A mod! A mod! My kingdom for a mod!

[WillieSea]

I guess the question is how many horse stables are in Kentucky?

It seems to me they would be relatively rare and would most likely have been killed by zombies while trapped inside their stables? Perhaps zombie horses of the apocalypse!!!

The horses in the fenced pasture could have escaped I guess, but zombies are everywhere. I guess I am wondering if in the game zombies go after animals as well?

Also, how would you catch a horse now that they would be fearful of humans since zombie humans are trying to kill them.

[MagikarpMagi]

COME ON DOWN TO PONY ROAM-O AND RIDE ONE OF THESE BEAUTIES TODAY!

[Horse with no game.]

Originally posted by WillieSea:

I guess the question is how many horse stables are in Kentucky?

It seems to me they would be relatively rare and would most likely have been killed by zombies while trapped inside their stables? Perhaps zombie horses of the apocalypse!!!

The horses in the fenced pasture could have escaped I guess, but zombies are everywhere. I guess I am wondering if in the game zombies go after animals as well?

Also, how would you catch a horse now that they would be fearful of humans since zombie humans are trying to kill them.

I mean I know the devs have said so far that the zombies will not attack livestock so I guess that would extend to horses as well. That may change in the future or become an option though I guess. The development did say that domestic animals would attract zombies so maybe that would be the pay off.
I don't know about you but I saw allot of stables in my time exploring knox County.
I do totally get what you mean about the horses being scarred etc. However the development team did also say that the new animals would have new associated skills. Maybe that could play a part in how much of a challenge It is to catch, train and ride a horse.
Maybe new skill books and vhs tapes too who knows?

[Horse with no game.]

Originally posted by CritMasterFlex:

COME ON DOWN TO PONY ROAM-O AND RIDE ONE OF THESE BEAUTIES TODAY!

🤣😂
Exactly!
Tons of horses in kentucky

[Coolranch]

I have bathed in the blood of thousands, but if I have to see horsies or puppies get eaten, I don't know if I can keep playing this game.

[grogcito]

Sorry, horses were hunted to extinction in less than a year in this universe. There will never be horses in this game

[Armagenesis]

I'd love that too.

But for now:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2043562972

[stevasaur]

So, one of the things the Indie Stone would "like to add" is support for entities carrying other entities (from the Thursdoid "A Lone Survivor" from April 14th 2022, during the dissection of a sample NPC narrative).

Which theoretically would be necessary for rideable horses. They're probably complicated enough code-wise that they'll be reserved for closer to the proper NPC release rather than Beta 42 (since there will probably be a decent amount of overlap between "companion" animals and human companions, a la Fallout 4 Dogmeat).

[WillieSea]

I never thought about the AI part of horses.

That would be rather complex if you don't simply want a bicycle shaped like a horse. It should spook and do things the rider does not want it to do, it should be able to buck the rider off and leave you surrounded by zombies as well.

Part of the fun I guess.

[stevasaur]

Originally posted by WillieSea:

I never thought about the AI part of horses.

That would be rather complex if you don't simply want a bicycle shaped like a horse. It should spook and do things the rider does not want it to do, it should be able to buck the rider off and leave you surrounded by zombies as well.

Part of the fun I guess.

My tentative guess, based on some of the animal previews, is something like a cross between Darkest Dungeon and Rimworld. We've seen that animals have a stress score under their health, so probably something like "if stress reaches X number, the animal's behavior changes like a Rimworld mental break: becomes hostile, wanders aimlessly, stands in place etc."

[WillieSea]

Originally posted by stevasaur:

Originally posted by WillieSea:

I never thought about the AI part of horses.

That would be rather complex if you don't simply want a bicycle shaped like a horse. It should spook and do things the rider does not want it to do, it should be able to buck the rider off and leave you surrounded by zombies as well.

Part of the fun I guess.

My tentative guess, based on some of the animal previews, is something like a cross between Darkest Dungeon and Rimworld. We've seen that animals have a stress score under their health, so probably something like "if stress reaches X number, the animal's behavior changes like a Rimworld mental break: becomes hostile, wanders aimlessly, stands in place etc."

Since I don't have Rimworld or Darkest Dungeon the metaphor is lost on me.
I am not sure a horse would have a mental break, but it could be spooked and horses love to run when spooked. The player holding on for dear life until that tree branch catches you in the head and sends you to the ground with lacerations and health damage like you were in a car crash from the high speed fall.

[Horse with no game.]

Originally posted by Grogcito:

Sorry, horses were hunted to extinction in less than a year in this universe. There will never be horses in this game

Sorry, says who??

[Horse with no game.]

Originally posted by Armagenesis:

I'd love that too.

But for now:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2043562972

I have seen this.
An I honestly don't think I've seen anything this cursed in ever

[Horse with no game.]

Originally posted by WillieSea:

I never thought about the AI part of horses.

That would be rather complex if you don't simply want a bicycle shaped like a horse. It should spook and do things the rider does not want it to do, it should be able to buck the rider off and leave you surrounded by zombies as well.

Part of the fun I guess.

I work with horses everyday and honestly this is so true! All horses are different from personality to size and strength etc. I think this could definitely be a challenge with AI. A decent horse AI would have to dynamically adapt to its surroundings constantly to judge things like spooking. For example; horses are really freaked out by the smell of blood and will try and get away from that smell as quickly as possible. A trained warhorse however will be desensitised to fear over the smell of blood.
I would advise watching modern history tvs series the medieval horse

[Animalman]

As long as the character is rocking nicely on the back of the horse it'l look alright. As long as the horse has good animations, and isn't like a rotating cube or anything.

Its a fairly big job isn't it but i think worth it. Red Dead is all about the horses they put a lot into making their horses real. Because even in Zomboid an introduction like a Horse is a massive game changer. We will all at least seasoned players be starting in a world with horse dependent settings for sure.

With games like red dead you get a good gauge of how a good horse will be. Likely to kick you off for example or run away in fear because it doesnt know the rider very well. or has no bond. Then horses that can come when you call them. they will wander off for example when u park up, and go eat grass some place, and maybe u whistle and it comes.

I'd say realistically

If it happens, it will happen after dog training.