Broken Window, Invisible Zombies

[Coolranch]

Was outside of the Rosewood Police Station.. Several broken windows. Was standing right up against the building, looking inside and saw nothing. Cleared the broken glass from one window and climbed through. 2 zombies suddenly appeared right there, up against the window, as if they'd been there the entire time. Chomp Chomp. RIP.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Vision cone:) Pay attention when looking inside.

[Coolranch]

Nah something definitely went wrong beyond user error. It was the front of the police station, the northernmost set of windows; they were already broken and I had to stand directly in front of them to remove the glass. I know the zombies were up against the window because when I climbed through, they suddenly appeared right there, standing idle against the broken window and I even got a jumpscare sound effect. They weren't off to the side or anything.

[Beard]

Are you able to replicate the issue?

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Coolranch:

Nah something definitely went wrong beyond user error. It was the front of the police station, the northernmost set of windows; they were already broken and I had to stand directly in front of them to remove the glass. I know the zombies were up against the window because when I climbed through, they suddenly appeared right there, standing idle against the broken window and I even got a jumpscare sound effect. They weren't off to the side or anything.

Well, the thing is, there is another quite possible explanation for that. They were not up against the window actually. But you see those 2x1 tiles of walls? They might have been behind those or hidden by them(as in vision cone wise). And while you were removing the glass, hearing this they moved closer. But they did not enter your vision cone. When you were climbing in they moved that one or two tiles closer and thus appeared as if they were there and waiting for you. (It takes time to get familiar with zombie movement, and how the "rush" and normal walk of theirs is pacing wise. I actually counted down loudly to "time" how much it takes for a zombie to reach certain destinations. To know when to turn around and check and such.) While you are climbing through a window a zombie can move max 2-3 tiles in normal pace, and can come at you from around 4-6 tiles in rush pace.
The Rosewood Police Station is actually one of those places that can hide the zombies inside quite well. Because they will wander around, even if you walk around and check all the windows(doors) where you want to enter you might not notice all of them inside.

It is why i usually enter from the front door. Even if you try to check it quite well, there is two tiles you cannot "check" if you look through the windows or stand before the door.
(You can check one if you go to another window though.)

If i want to enter a building from a window, i take time to look around at the window from three four angles, and if possible i check if there is another window that will allow me to see the blank spots, i could not see from the original window i want to climb in. And even then i use the whisper command to see, if there is anything nearby.

I am not saying it is not possible what you encountered, but i mean it is unlikely based on my own experience. edit: The only way i could think on to confirm if it really was a bug with invis zombies, is whether you had keen hearing or not. As then you should have "noticed" them being on the two sides of the window, or near it.

By any chance this did happen to you in multiplayer or single player? Mods or no mods?

[Coolranch]

Single player. No mods. Only traits were Fast Learner and Fast Reader.

I have had 2 other instances of invisible zombies, but those involved gates and doors (and ultimately happened outside) and the zombies remained invisible while they were attacking me. In one case I could see shadows, but no zombies, in the other case, nothing was visible.

I mean obviously there is no way to say any of this with 100% certainty, but I did look through other windows before entering. I'm sorta forgetting already, but I think the reason I opted for the window entrance was because the doors were locked.

What convinced me was their idle stance, the latent jumpscare and the fact that I had killed several zombies a few feet away. But who knows. Seemed buggy to me. Probably more of a "had to be there" moment. Hard to describe every nuance of the situation.

[Nordil(Hun)]

Originally posted by Coolranch:

Single player. No mods. Only traits were Fast Learner and Fast Reader.

I have had 2 other instances of invisible zombies, but those involved gates and doors (and ultimately happened outside) and the zombies remained invisible while they were attacking me. In one case I could see shadows, but no zombies, in the other case, nothing was visible.

I mean obviously there is no way to say any of this with 100% certainty, but I did look through other windows before entering. I'm sorta forgetting already, but I think the reason I opted for the window entrance was because the doors were locked.

What convinced me was their idle stance, the latent jumpscare and the fact that I had killed several zombies a few feet away. But who knows. Seemed buggy to me. Probably more of a "had to be there" moment. Hard to describe every nuance of the situation.

Well you could have used the window on the right side of the door to enter. Because that way you could have taken a peek to see if anyone is in the corner. (There is a window on the left wall from where you can check is what i do when the door is locked usually.)
Just to avoid confusion i will post what i got as in which window you used as per your description:
https://map.projectzomboid.com/?#8075x11722x15701
The thing you need to know about that palce is that since it also has an office, with windows, they can "fall through and stand up", meaning depending on your moodles, your vision cone it is very possible you will not notice them.

If however you used this one(the one between the door and the right lamp)
https://map.projectzomboid.com/?#8076x11737x15701

Then there is a good chance for a zombie to stay hidden behind the wall, by the phone boots. You can only notice those from the left window. But those in the left corner cannot be noticed. It is why i prefer to whisper them out.
Also again vision cone can be heavily affected by a number of things. So not knowing what your moodles, traits, equipment were makes it a bit harder.

About the zombies not moving even if you fight near them, it happens, zombie behaviour is not that easy to figure out. And i have spent quite a while to observe them to try to notice some habitual behaviour, that might give my chars an edge. (I always start with very underweight with 0/0 str and fitness and PEACEFUL:D)