Health system changed?

[Rawsome83]

I'm writing this because I just recently got back into this game. I've tried several old builds over the past 3-4 years, and I can tell a lot has changed.

The thing I'm questioning is the way you maintain your health within the game. Sure enough the game has always been hardcore and very focused on staying alive, with the slightest slip meaning the difference between life and death. That's all fine and well ;D

But it seems now you don't get away with anything? Not even the slightest scratch/burn or bruise? I've tested somewhat extensively how it works, and it seems if you take any form of damage, you never really seem to recover from it? Constantly losing HP and only really healing when sleeping it seems to be. Very strange. I could have sworn I used to be able to live and prosper for a long time before, building farms and reinforcing buildings/backyards with carpentry and farms etc.

But now it seems to be very -very- punishing to take any form of damage at all. You don't seem to recover at all, even though you pick thick skinned and resillient etc, you're pretty much doomed.

I've yet to test if the constant degradation of HP actually is constant even without getting into an accident though, as I may have missed this completely. Maybe it's like this no matter what? Can anyone enlighten me as to how it works now? Do you simply lose HP just from being hungry/tired/depressed now? Thanks for any advice :D

[Erebus]

Eat to get the well fed bonus this also heals you im pretty sure

[Rawsome83]

Originally posted by callum1235:

Eat to get the well fed bonus this also heals you im pretty sure

This feature I've always been aware of. I know how to heal up. It's more about the constant degradation of HP (like the post explains) that doesn't really seem to ease up.

[The Professor]

Are you bandaging the wounds? You need to bandage them or you slowly bleed to death. Once the wounds are bandaged your health will stop dropping.

[Dude Who]

Are you playing the demo? You start out infected in that one.
Have you been drinking bleach? You'd be surprised how many people do that.

[Bullet]

I'm guessing that you are either infected or you keep on exherting yourself while injured. If your not infected, than bandaging and staying relativly still, and sleeping should allow you to heal completely.

[Rawsome83]

Originally posted by The Professor:

Are you bandaging the wounds? You need to bandage them or you slowly bleed to death. Once the wounds are bandaged your health will stop dropping.

Originally posted by Dude Who:

Are you playing the demo? You start out infected in that one.
Have you been drinking bleach? You'd be surprised how many people do that.

Originally posted by Bullet:

I'm guessing that you are either infected or you keep on exherting yourself while injured. If your not infected, than bandaging and staying relativly still, and sleeping should allow you to heal completely.

Guys, I'm not sure if you understand what I'm saying here. I've been playing the game on and off for several years. Of course I'm bandaging my wounds, and no I'm not drinking bleach xD
I was hoping someone would read the question I raised, and not explain the basics of survival.

I appreciate you wanting to help though, I do. The real question here is why it feels like the odds of surviving a scratch is 0.1%, and it doesn't really feel like you can ever overcome a scratch or wounds -at all- at this point.
For those why played this back in the day, you used to be able to actually survive getting into scrapes with zombies. Now however.. it feels like a game of "tag, you're it!" but more like "don't get tagged or you might aswell start all over again".

Ya'know?

[Bullet]

hmm sounds like you just have horrible luck with getting infected. The high infection/lethality rate though is one of the reasons i love PZ. It focuses more on avoiding zombies and only engaging when you must in contrast to the killing fest that pretty much every other zombie game on the market is. I hope they keep it this way.

[Dude Who]

Originally posted by Rawsome83:

...and no I'm not drinking bleach xD

Sorry, I figured as much, but I had to ask. My only guess is either you have something wrong with your game files, or you have awful, awful luck.

What is it that you do once you're scratched? I try to take it easy, stay fed and sleep. It tends to go away after awhile (some of the time)

[Rawsome83]

Originally posted by Dude Who:

Originally posted by Rawsome83:

...and no I'm not drinking bleach xD

Sorry, I figured as much, but I had to ask. My only guess is either you have something wrong with your game files, or you have awful, awful luck.

What is it that you do once you're scratched? I try to take it easy, stay fed and sleep. It tends to go away after awhile (some of the time)

Well, before I read up on the jaw-dropping odds of survival after a scratch (not to mention the insanely low chance when bitten) I used to head back to base (sneaky sneaky style) and eat up and then lay low sorting out my items etc for a good day or so.

What I found was that you've got a 25% or so chance of not getting infected when you get scratched.. Imagine that..
And being bitten, well... that's a whole other story :P try 97% chance of infection lmao..
I always chose resillient perk/trait, to highten odds of not getting infected. Couple that with the carpenter/construction perk of having thick skin (lowering chance of scratches breaking your skin, in other words even lower odds of getting infected). Still I had no such luck.

It may be that I'm just used to other games and forgot truly how much of a roguelike this is. But I'm kinda certain that it didn't use to be this punishing. Seems the only true way of actually surviving and fighting the zeds now is to do it from a safe distance, either with melee weapons with long reach, or by shooting them and drawing the horde :P Either way I still love the game.

[BanzaiBonsai]

I'm curious about when this was posted, but lately when playing have found that if I so much as take damage from a zombie, I'm basically instantly dead. Even if I recover, I'm zombified in an instant, almost no matter what, even with thick skin. Perhaps this isn't the best place to be posting for advice, but, er, is it supposed to be like this, or should I stop instantly deleting my save-game when I start getting sick?

[Dude Who]

Originally posted by BanzaiBonsai:

I'm curious about when this was posted, but lately when playing have found that if I so much as take damage from a zombie, I'm basically instantly dead. Even if I recover, I'm zombified in an instant, almost no matter what, even with thick skin. Perhaps this isn't the best place to be posting for advice, but, er, is it supposed to be like this, or should I stop instantly deleting my save-game when I start getting sick?

Just because you're sick, doesn't mean you're dead. Sometimes it goes away. If you are infected, it will say something like "Zombified" in the health menu (press H).

[Kuehnau]

Glad I read this post, I have tried the game in the past and had brielfy thought about buying it tonight, but it appears the game is just too way damn punishing for my taste. I like to enjoy my games, not have to restart every 10 seconds.

[Dronez]

Originally posted by Rawsome83:

Originally posted by The Professor:

Are you bandaging the wounds? You need to bandage them or you slowly bleed to death. Once the wounds are bandaged your health will stop dropping.

Originally posted by Dude Who:

Are you playing the demo? You start out infected in that one.
Have you been drinking bleach? You'd be surprised how many people do that.

Originally posted by Bullet:

I'm guessing that you are either infected or you keep on exherting yourself while injured. If your not infected, than bandaging and staying relativly still, and sleeping should allow you to heal completely.

Guys, I'm not sure if you understand what I'm saying here. I've been playing the game on and off for several years. Of course I'm bandaging my wounds, and no I'm not drinking bleach xD
I was hoping someone would read the question I raised, and not explain the basics of survival.

I appreciate you wanting to help though, I do. The real question here is why it feels like the odds of surviving a scratch is 0.1%, and it doesn't really feel like you can ever overcome a scratch or wounds -at all- at this point.
For those why played this back in the day, you used to be able to actually survive getting into scrapes with zombies. Now however.. it feels like a game of "tag, you're it!" but more like "don't get tagged or you might aswell start all over again".

Ya'know?

I've played with Construction Worker and usually go around 10-20 scratches before i get infected.

[Rawsome83]

Originally posted by Dronez:

I've played with Construction Worker and usually go around 10-20 scratches before i get infected.

Right.

[Rawsome83]

Originally posted by BanzaiBonsai:

I'm curious about when this was posted, but lately when playing have found that if I so much as take damage from a zombie, I'm basically instantly dead. Even if I recover, I'm zombified in an instant, almost no matter what, even with thick skin. Perhaps this isn't the best place to be posting for advice, but, er, is it supposed to be like this, or should I stop instantly deleting my save-game when I start getting sick?

Originally posted by Dude Who:

Just because you're sick, doesn't mean you're dead. Sometimes it goes away. If you are infected, it will say something like "Zombified" in the health menu (press H).

Feel ya Banzai. I've probably given up several times without being infected, just normal sickness.. But honestly I'm not keen on waiting all the way until the sickness stops, just to find out if I'm gonna make it or not. It's such randomness. So if I can tell I'm gonna get sick and most likely die of zombification in the end anyway, I usually just put all my stuff in some house, walk out in the street and die. Then make a new char on the same save and often find the stashed loot later on (If I live lol).

Guess my point is, sure. You can tell from the (H) window, which i basically have up all the time, that you've gotten infected and when you're zombified. But honestly, that takes such a long time of trying to recover, just to find out. More often than not, if you're sick shortly after getting into a pinch with some zombles, you're probably gonna turn in the end. And if you know you're gonna turn (and there's no point what so ever trying to survived when zombified) you might as well start over. and over. and over :P

No hate tho, just curious as to why the traits aren't really working for me. Using standard build and no mods or altering of files. Just plain ol' vanilla PZ.