Build 42. Zombie densitiy is way to high.

[Acolon]

As I aways do in EVERY build this game ever had I start at Muldraugh. My strategy is to look for a generator and plug it on the gas station on the edge of town so I can use it after the power is off. But there is 200+ zombies around the gas station. Spend 3 in game days luring they away so I can do my thing but it is impossible there is aways 3 zeds left at the gas station and if I start to fight them the noise will lure more. It is beyond frustrating and I have no pacience for this ♥♥♥♥ anymore.

[ElectroGrid]

Like I don't want to be a ♥♥♥♥ or sound like an elitist but a lot of the gripes people are having with increased amounts of zombies are lowkey a skill issue. There aren't 'more' zombies, the heatmaps have been updated to stop the zombies from being so spread out and to focus more on POI's you have probably noticed that certain spots in high population towns like muldraugh and westpoint have areas swarming with dead but also areas that are really quiet. These are things you are probably going to have to adjust to because the spawning isn't uniform anymore.

TL;DR you are going to need to use your noggin and think about strategies to either outright avoid encounters or draw them away. The whole "Time to butcher then entirety of Westpoint mainstreet with a fireaxe!!!" gimmick is not a thing in 42 unless you change your sandbox significantly.

I will add though that this is unstable, a lot is still subject to change. I wouldn't get to hung up about it.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Der Gerät:

Originally posted by Dark Acolon:

As I aways do in EVERY build this game ever had I start at Muldraugh. My strategy is to look for a generator and plug it on the gas station on the edge of town so I can use it after the power is off. But there is 200+ zombies around the gas station. Spend 3 in game days luring they away so I can do my thing but it is impossible there is aways 3 zeds left at the gas station and if I start to fight them the noise will lure more. It is beyond frustrating and I have no pacience for this ♥♥♥♥ anymore.

you are a noob you don't know how to play. I play on full zombie population, no zombie respawn and i take the unemployed guy. Just alter the sandbox settings when you can't handle some hardness. Just burn the zombies down, have some molotov cocktails.

Still the zombie settings apparantly are bugged though, so even if you set the population to full zombie pop, it might not be full pot, just more zombies than on apocalypse. that is all.
(There were a few replies by i think Beard, that mentioned not touching the zombie pop and a few other settings as they are currently bugged.)

Secondly yes, there are a few places where zombie pop is huge. Clustered together 25-50 or so zombies, which apparantly should not happen:) And when there are three such groups it makes things harder. (Especially with the random hearing/sight of zeds.)

The Drag Race now got a fossoil nearby. I went there so far three times and there is always a congregation fo zombies in a group of at least 25, in my last there were over thirty. Oh this group is outside the pumps, i managed to get close enough a few times, and under the hood, where the pumps are, there were over 40 zombies gathered together.

It seems that depending where your character also spawns the distribution can greatly differ. I spawned in WP 4 times now. 3 times quite on the fringes, and on the street there was like 1-2 zombies max. I went a bit away, and now suddenly a damn lot. Go into downtown and it was turn around.

4th time i spawned downtown right next to the food market. (There is a big building where i think furniture is displayed and has a caffee on the southern part.) This spawn meant i could liberate the Gigamarket place all food in freezers. Also cuz of the cars i was able to obtain screwdrivers and wrenches, and from gigamarket cleavers. This actually allowed me a good fighting chance and now my sleep base is in Gigamarket and i have a different watch TV for life and living base.
I managed to also get gas from Fossoil for the first time, as in the previous 3 runs tons of zeds were there now barely 20 spread out quite good.:)

So there is something definetly strange going on. Whereas when i spawn in Echo Creek it is just breeze through:)

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by ElectroGrid:

Like I don't want to be a ♥♥♥♥ or sound like an elitist but a lot of the gripes people are having with increased amounts of zombies are lowkey a skill issue. There aren't 'more' zombies, the heatmaps have been updated to stop the zombies from being so spread out and to focus more on POI's you have probably noticed that certain spots in high population towns like muldraugh and westpoint have areas swarming with dead but also areas that are really quiet. These are things you are probably going to have to adjust to because the spawning isn't uniform anymore.

TL;DR you are going to need to use your noggin and think about strategies to either outright avoid encounters or draw them away. The whole "Time to butcher then entirety of Westpoint mainstreet with a fireaxe!!!" gimmick is not a thing in 42 unless you change your sandbox significantly.

I will add though that this is unstable, a lot is still subject to change. I wouldn't get to hung up about it.

Not just those POI's, some of the well known as to say safe houses, also got reworked, to get a lot bigger pop than you would expect. In one try of WP i visited 3 houses by the river. Was over 50 zombies, and not too greatly spread out, and on the road that leads there also another grouped together 25(survivor met its end horde had a duffel. Survivor met its end by a horde also got both a nerf and an upgrade. You can now find more items in his pack, however now it is random what kind of pack he has. If you are unlucky it is just a statchel. I have only seen duffel bags and statchels on them. And a duffel bag is worse than a schoolbag. Cuz of the encumbarance red. Btw there is a new water pack backpack 15 carry cap with organized and 80% red).

I wanted to try out some things so i was playing reckless and payed the price for it.
Now i am playing normal, to allow myself the testing out. I am doing okayish. Weaponwise i only aim for screwdrivers, hunting knifes, large knives, wenches and meat cleavers. These i tested and are worth it. Most of the weapons i used to use in B41...especially long blunt is just a stay away.

[DoToH]

It's not about zombie density, but more about how far they hear you (or smell... or whatever) in B42. Stealth approach is nearly impossible. In B41 you could spawn in a trailer park and easily clear the 2-5 zeds around your trailer. Now, after you kiil these 5, more zeds keep coming attracted from far out of the screen (in max out zoom), you have to kill 10 to 20 more, wich is why, IMO, so many people hates the muscle strain. Not a problem of the strain system itself, because in my B42 playing time, I couldn't clear any little building without attracting more zombies that seem to come from far out. The strain system would be much less punishing if the player didn't attract zombies from a mile out just by walking.

I used to play B41 avoiding confrontation with more than 5-10 zombies with good success rates until headed to the most crowded areas, but in B42 I have NEVER been able to clear the most isolated building by drawing them away or fighting then in smaller groups. There are more zombies coming, ALWAYS, even in a isolated cabin with exterior cleared, closed curtains and only my footsteps inside. Even then, few minutes after I have more zombies knocking the windows.

In my explerience, stealth is dead in B42. Shame, because was my main playing style before. I never liked molotovs or mega horde killing before, but seems like it is the only approach now. Kill everything in a big radius, because they hear you from a mile out.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by DoToH:

It's not about zombie density, but more about how far they hear you (or smell... or whatever) in B42. Stealth approach is nearly impossible. In B41 you could spawn in a trailer park and easily clear the 2-5 zeds around your trailer. Now, after you kiil these 5, more zeds keep coming attracted from far out of the screen (in max out zoom), you have to kill 10 to 20 more, wich is why, IMO, so many people hates the muscle strain. Not a problem of the strain system itself, because in my B42 playing time, I couldn't clear any little building without attracting more zombies that seem to come from far out. The strain system would be much less punishing if the player didn't attract zombies from a mile out just by walking.

I used to play B41 avoiding confrontation with more than 5-10 zombies with good success rates until headed to the most crowded areas, but in B42 I have NEVER been able to clear the most isolated building by drawing them away or fighting then in smaller groups. There are more zombies coming, ALWAYS, even in a isolated cabin with exterior cleared, closed curtains and only my footsteps inside. Even then, few minutes after I have more zombies knocking the windows.

In my explerience, stealth is dead in B42. Shame, because was my main playing style before. I never liked molotovs or mega horde killing before, but seems like it is the only approach now. Kill everything in a big radius, because they hear you from a mile out.

This is why coughing become such an issue with smoker. Some of the zombies have pinpoint hearing. And the moment you stomp on a zombies head they growl and whamso they are incoming:)

Also finally was able to perform my test.
Zombie fall damage. Went to the office house in WP. Top of the floor, the very top. Got three zeds to jump on the pavement. Nothing. They are back up again and chasing me:P
(It was a rudementary test, but it seems fall damage is only deadly for players. I backed up my save to perform this test. )

[ElectroGrid]

Originally posted by DoToH:

It's not about zombie density, but more about how far they hear you (or smell... or whatever) in B42. Stealth approach is nearly impossible. In B41 you could spawn in a trailer park and easily clear the 2-5 zeds around your trailer. Now, after you kiil these 5, more zeds keep coming attracted from far out of the screen (in max out zoom), you have to kill 10 to 20 more, wich is why, IMO, so many people hates the muscle strain. Not a problem of the strain system itself, because in my B42 playing time, I couldn't clear any little building without attracting more zombies that seem to come from far out. The strain system would be much less punishing if the player didn't attract zombies from a mile out just by walking.

I used to play B41 avoiding confrontation with more than 5-10 zombies with good success rates until headed to the most crowded areas, but in B42 I have NEVER been able to clear the most isolated building by drawing them away or fighting then in smaller groups. There are more zombies coming, ALWAYS, even in a isolated cabin with exterior cleared, closed curtains and only my footsteps inside. Even then, few minutes after I have more zombies knocking the windows.

In my explerience, stealth is dead in B42. Shame, because was my main playing style before. I never liked molotovs or mega horde killing before, but seems like it is the only approach now. Kill everything in a big radius, because they hear you from a mile out.

The range for zombies to hear combat noise has definitely been increased and I have a sneaking suspicion that they also are able to hear alerted zombies too because I am seeing a lot of herding movement but that could be a coincidence. I think if they lowered the combat noise down a bit it would work a bit better because honestly the range it is at right now borders unrealistic. Zombies aren't going to be able to hear combat noise from super far away with normal human hearing because of ambient noise and other factors like wind.

As I have said in previous discussions though, everything is subject to change so I am not going to get my panties in a bunch about it.

[Luko]

Originally posted by Der Gerät:

Originally posted by Dark Acolon:

As I aways do in EVERY build this game ever had I start at Muldraugh. My strategy is to look for a generator and plug it on the gas station on the edge of town so I can use it after the power is off. But there is 200+ zombies around the gas station. Spend 3 in game days luring they away so I can do my thing but it is impossible there is aways 3 zeds left at the gas station and if I start to fight them the noise will lure more. It is beyond frustrating and I have no pacience for this ♥♥♥♥ anymore.

you are a noob you don't know how to play. I play on full zombie population, no zombie respawn and i take the unemployed guy. Just alter the sandbox settings when you can't handle some hardness. Just burn the zombies down, have some molotov cocktails.

I have close to 3500 hours in zomboid now im not the best but I have spent a good amount of my life on this game I struggle with B42 a lot to the point I dont make it 3 days with low pop fragile zombies it is hard not everyone likes using fire since it destroys loot.

[.wolf]

I was just about to post about this. I started playing CD DA and for the first 19 days I just muscled through. But I went to the Muldraugh train yard to try and look in some warehouses ... holy hell.. I saw 1,000 zombies in that place by driving through it. I nearly died 3 times trying to get my car out. I hope that they do actually revamp the zombie distribution and crowding .. because it doesn't make so much sense to me that there is as many as that in the train yard. It led me to wonder .... "How many are in the cities?"

[Estellese]

Having seen MD a little bit while doing the CDDA challenge, it does feel a little overpopulated.

With the groin injury, the cold, and the general lack of equipment from CDDA, I tried to fight my way into MD. After like, 200 kills just at smokeys, I didn't get food there. And that was the thin part of the horde. Pushing farther south towards residential had another at least 200, and past that it got even denser. I realized I wasn't going to get food fast enough, I would starve if I tried to fight through all that. My chicken supply would only last so long without power.

So knowing I would starve before getting to any place that might have food, I fled MD and went to RW instead.

Now I was not an MD player in B41. So I dunno if that is normal. But I have peeked into the city a few times and it feels like there is double the normal population. I remember huge hordes on the MD highway, and sizable hordes in the city, but a few hundred kills would at least gain me some ground. I think the one time my car broke down on MD highway I only killed like, 1,000-2,000 getting out of that horde. And there seemed to be at least double that now.

It is probably very doable on a normal spawn in MD. Especially with respawns off (which really should be the default. Game feels so much better when zombies don't magically respawn in cleared zones).



for those struggling with zombie population. DO NOT CHANGE THE POPULATION SETTINGS. They are bugged atm.[\b] (according to several people here. I have not tested this.)

Run default apocalypse and try spawning in Rosewood or Westpoint instead. I have tested both, the spawns there are more normal. In my WP run, I spawned in the house just north of the auto-shop. Cleared the zombies around the house, the pharmacy, the auto shop, and everything on main street from the gas station to the book store. It was ~319 zombies. That's not bad, might even be a little lower than B41. Even set off the gas station alarm.

Originally posted by Luko:

Originally posted by Der Gerät:

you are a noob you don't know how to play. I play on full zombie population, no zombie respawn and i take the unemployed guy. Just alter the sandbox settings when you can't handle some hardness. Just burn the zombies down, have some molotov cocktails.

I have close to 3500 hours in zomboid now im not the best but I have spent a good amount of my life on this game I struggle with B42 a lot to the point I dont make it 3 days with low pop fragile zombies it is hard not everyone likes using fire since it destroys loot.

You said you set it to low population. Population settings are currently very, very bugged. If you change them at all it automatically sets it to max population regardless of what you set it to. From what I am hearing. (Have not tested this)


Your hours played do not really matter. Hours played does not = skill.

Hours played = experience. Knowledge of the map and mechanics that sometimes adds to skill, but is just added to your natural skill.

And in B42, many mechanics and some parts of the map have changed. So that experience is diluted and not as good as it used to be. Try my suggestion above. Do not adjust the population settings, and spawn in Rosewood or Westpoint and see if that feels better.


The population settings are bugged, if you change them they always spawn max population. (According to forum people). And MD's new spawns in general may be a little imbalanced since it seems MD spawns were changed a lot. The other new cities have this issue as well.