Quartly Lecture Group/Just David
Introduction
Just David said "Good day, fair scholars! I was invited by Mz Irony to deliver a lecture on a topic from the zombie perspective (dang release forms... trickery, I tell you!). Unfortunately I'm a little busy right now, so I'll prepare a speech and have it to you soon!"
Just David said "In the meantime, I hope you don't mind if I take one of your many fine volumes, curl up in a chair in the corner and relax a bit! I promise I'll be quiet."
Sustainable Brain Harvesting
Just David said "Ah ahm naah zhaar ah ahm annaarzaan!n mah zambah hran. Harman hambargarz arr barrah zazzah, ahn zambahz gabba haab zam arh zambahz arr hangr!."
Just David said "Zah, mabbah, zambahz grab Bang Bang harmanz bra!nz, bah nah harm Rabbahb Harmanz (RNA Rabbarz!). Zan, mannah bang bang bargarz, RNA rabbahz rabbahb Bang Bang zambahz, maar bang bang harmanz aga!n! Mannah bargarz!"
Just David said "The basic point I tried to make there was that, while eating all of the humans is bad because zombies will go hungry, we don't need to go easy on them. Instead, zombies should eat all the trenchcoaters and leave the revivers."
Just David said "That way, there will be an everlasting supply of tasty bra!nz on offer! Of course, harman barragahz arr nah barrah naaz, so harmanz with construction should be discouraged. If it works, it's like a self stocking fridge!"
Just David said "Tomorrow, I'll deliver a more eloquent speech about the role of sexual harrassment in ongoing seiges, especially between zombies and humans. Hopefully it will shed some light on the oft-misunderstood zombie courting rituals we often observe."
Zombie Courtship and Sexual Harassment in Malton
Just David said "Good afternoon everyone, I think I'll step up and give my guest lecture now! Today I'll be addressing the topic of zombie courtship and sexual harassment in Malton. These are two commonly misunderstood facets of zombiedom."
Just David said "Zombie courtship has come a long way since the start of the quarantine, as zombies obtained new skills to help them in their quest for booty. Initially, with zombie speech severely limited to a drop-down box, 'Brnhr.' was where the joy lay."
Just David said "Zombies proclaiming 'Brnhr' were amiably informing their fellow zombies that they were there, they were square, and they were ready to rock and roll. It's worthwhile noting at this point that zombie copulation is often fatal."
Just David said "As zombies writhe together in the throes of passion, claws and teeth often come into play, and the copulatee tends to end up taking a dirt nap. This is known as "arbarg!aah" in zombeze, a rough equivalent of 'afterglow'."
Just David said "Humans mistakenly referred to these intimate tangles as 'ZKing', failing to understand that one zombie was gaining experience and the other was avoiding a headshot. Back in the days where a headshot cost XP, this was quite a reward!"
Just David said "With the advent of death rattle, zombie courtship opened up to the human dimension. Brnhr remained a staple line between zombies, similar to 'Come here often?' in human terms. However, there were now infinite realms open to creative and amorous zombie"
Just David said "Basic words such as 'Azz, Manbagz and Bra Bagz' were quickly picked up on. However, as many humans simply failed to understand the connotations of such speech, increasingly eloquent and descriptive zombie sexual language was developed."
Just David said "As the letters 'D' and 'T' are almost impossible to translate to Zombese, standard words such as 'Date' were out of the question. The zombie speech range meant that, to voice appreciation of a potential partner's assets, coarse terms were un"
Just David said "'Aaah, Mz. Harman haz naaz bra bagz! Ah ahm ganna grab Mz. Harmanz azz ahn maag mah zambah banana ram Mz. Harmanz ham bagz! Mmm, naah, Mz. Harman gaab mah ah gabbah… nnrrnrnr… aaah… Zambahgazm!'"
Just David said "Such utterances were not directed as an offensive remark; the zombies were registering their interest as a willing sexual partner to the human in question, and in the absence of rejection, starting to 'talk dirty'."
Just David said "Tangling Grasp once again added to the confusion and hysteria surrounding zombies trying to take human partners. The implication was that the zombies were trying to kill the humans faster; in truth, they were simply hugging them tighter."
Just David said "Inevitably, however, the talk of 'zma!! Bra bagz' and grabbing humans wantonly caused severe legal repercussions, with some high-profile sexual harassment cases going down in Dulston, where citizens are notably conservative."
Just David said "Feeding Drag, while given the connotation of eating, is actually more closely related to having a threesome, or 'tag team', with a human who has demonstrated enough willingness to experiment that they've let a zombie bring them close to 'arbarg!aa"
Just David said "The latest dimension to zombie courtship came from Flailing Gesture. The motions closely resemble those used by males in nightclubs, with repetitive, basic arm movements combining with barely understandable words to convey a meaning."
Just David said "Education of humans on the finer points of zombie courtship should serve to clear up accusations of sexual harassment. If a zombie points out that a 'man haz nah manbagz arr banana annahmaar', then perhaps it's an insult."
Just David said "But zombies are sincere when it comes to coupling, and a zombie choosing a particular survivor to grab in a safehouse should be seen as a first date (dinner and a dirt nap), rather than a negative experience for the human party."
Just David said "Really what it comes down to is segregation. The humans view zombies as an inferior life form, and the zombies think the humans are far too serious and scream a lot. Zombie-human interaction should be encouraged wherever possible!"
Just David said "To that end, noble groups such as the Upper Left Corner, zombie performance groups and the QSG are reaching out the hand of friendship to the other side and promoting peaceful relations. I hope we can create a revolution, friends!"
Just David said "Until next time, when harmanz arr maagan barragahz, spare a thought for the baar zambahz ahn zah zraaghz! Nah haagz barh harmanz arr zambahz if there aar barragahz; only hate-talk and violence."
Just David said "Thank you for listening! Are there any questions? I'll be staying here for a few days, but I hear there's an excellent buffet in Shearbank waiting to be opened."
Questions and Discussion
Kinks, the Fall of Caiger Mall, Ennui
Doctor Fallout said "Greetings fellow Librarians and Literates, and a special thanks to those who've agreed to help expand the Flame of Knowledge. Viruse is at Elgius now and I've let him know we're open, I hope nobody has eaten his muffin basket. I've also invited"
sarah tonin said "**applause** **applause**"
Doctor Fallout said "Foobarosa of Survivor Security Zone fame to stop on by for a visit. I found him at Turpin awaiting an office visit. His insurance checked out, so I wrote him a prescription."
sarah tonin said "Sorry to interrupt Good Dr. but I just need extend my hand to Just David again for his wonderful speech."
sarah tonin said "Who knew i was snubbing foreward attempts at love when i shook off a tangling grasp..."
sarah tonin said "Where would one go to seek out said hot Zed action, food court at the mall? or perhaps a classy club or pub?"
Snarfo said "Just David, I have a complication to your theory. Like harmanz, zahmbahz have their own particular kinks and fetishes. Would you classify zahmbahz seeking harmanz as a fetish or mainstream desire?"
sarah tonin said "Perhaps the speechs on Zombie love and Sun-tzu are related, after all he did say To win without fighting is best, in short 'make afterglow not headshots'."
Canuhearmenow said "I have a question; How did you feel when you heard Caiger fell?"
Just David said "I was a little disappointed. Those Shacknews kids give Arbarg!aah ah bad name; I'm fairly sure that pack orgies only serve to foster the image of violence that most harmanz see when they contemplate the end stages of a Mall Seige. Still - about time!"
Just David said "Sarah, that's a very good question. The way most people would define a fetish is an unusual fixation on a typically non-sexual object or body part."
Just David said "I'd contend that, considering zombies and humans are effectively interchangeable at the drop of a syringe, that neither is outside the bounds of normal sexual attraction to the other."
Just David said "Also, most people would see fetish activity as that performed by a minority. In Malton, the vast majority of zombies are very attracted to harmanz. There is also a significant proportion who pursue 'Brnhr'; neither is unnatural."
Just David said "I think what we are really seeing is a great tragedy of unrequited love between Malton's zombie population and the survivors. One day, there will be a great work of literature written about this apocalyptic love story!"
Ed Asner said "Doc, you done revived all your zombies away. Now you're really gonna be bored."
Graaaaaargh said "Thanks for the revive mengele"
Doctor Mengele said "I i revived them all in good fun and because im really bored with the whole blackmore/nichols scene. ive been doing it since midaugust."
Just David said "Yes, Doc, it's all a bit old. I think the best thing about being in Malton is finding people interested in having fun - after all, what's the point of being quarantined in a city where you spend your days alternating between life and undeath if you can't"
Just David said "enjoy yourself? That's what all the zombies are doing - well, if they're not scratching away at barricades trying to get to their true loves."
Just David said "I think that most harmanz really just don't know what it's like to engage someone in the bliss of a good Tangling Grasp. I'm sure that one day we'll all get along!"
Zombie/Survivor Power Balance and Strategy
Canuhearmenow said "I have one final question, do you think zombies are underpowered, and if you don't think so, what are your views of the zombies that say they are underpowered?"
Zombie Stomp said "Can, may I address the issue? I think zombies are underpowered due to the fact that, unlike harmanz, they never need to sleep, eat or pee."
Zombie Stomp said "If the playing field was level, zombies would have more AP, because realistically speaking they never need to sleep, eat or pee. They don't get tired. They just keep coming at you."
Sir Fred of Etruria said "What a delight ! Thank you Doctor Mengele, thank you for having Graaaaaargh stop by for a visit... I met him months ago, a gentleman and a scholar."
Zombie Stomp said "If Kevan can give forts to the harmanz, he can give more AP to zombies. Why not? It already takes more AP to tear down cades than build them, and our max attack is 50%, compared to the 65% for harmanz...plus they can do more damage than we do."
Sir Fred of Etruria said "Mz.Stomp has very good points. The bangbang harmanz may come and stop your barhah with a headshot. But you never need help to stand up again... the bangbang man must hope for a speedy revive, the trenchcoater may be out of comission for hours."
Sir Fred of Etruria said "And the horrible monotony of searching and searching in a mall is a dire price to pay for a few headshots... You zambahz on the otherhand need no help to claw, no help to arise, you just need the Power of a Striketeam... Is there someone here who's"
Sir Fred of Etruria said "wielded the might of a Zambah striketeam ? I've only seen the other side of it... everyone gets dragged out into the street, you don't see them die, but you know it's what happens out in the street... ***wipes brow*** Human striketeams on the otherhand,"
Sir Fred of Etruria said "are seldom equipped properly, and aren't communicating with the basic efficiancy of flailing gestures and feeding groan... Skills designed for coordination but anti-spam... I'm horrible at death-rattle though..."
Marina said "*grins* You're getting there, Sir Fred, you're getting there.."
Pfc Crud said "I don't recall whose comment it was, I have been away at school for about 12hrs since hearing it this morning, but I thought that the comment about 'false front' barricading being worse than a headshot in AP terms was very interesting. I have only ever"
Pfc Crud said "played zombies as feral, laying dead most of the time and responding to groans that were near enough in place and time to make the walk worthwhile; or attacking VS or lower cades in the hope of getting in, getting a little AP, and then groaning to give"
Pfc Crud said "other nearby ferals a chance at a higher XP:AP conversion. I pretty much avoided EH cades altogether. As a survivor I have also noted that while it is practically impossible to hold a suburb against a concerted meta game Zombie force, once the survivor"
Pfc Crud said "population has been decimated, in the coloquial rather than Roman usage ;), the remaning population can effectively hold off an overwhelmingly superior force by simply maintaining EH cades throughout. Effectively the strategy is to make the 'burb less"
Pfc Crud said "attractive than those surrounding it for the zombie horde in XP:AP terms. However, I have never been involved in either a large scale Zombie-attack or survivor defence. i would like to hear from some more experienced folks whether this strategy is"
Pfc Crud said "acctually useful, or whether the success with which I have seen it used is in fact an aberation? For instance: why would a group of full-level zombie care about XP over grand-strategy? What are some methods to counter such a strategy? What are the"
Pfc Crud said "counters to those counters? -your attentive student"
Just David said "Wielded the might of a zombie strike team, eh? Yes, well, I feel qualified on this one. My 'good friend' is a member of the GMT Breakfast Club strike team of the RRF."
Just David said "During the recent fall of Caiger, I was in charge of the team's operations. We ransacked 3 hospitals in Darvall Heights, contributed to the fall of Latrobe, then repeatedly ransacked and held 2 outlying NecroTech buildings."
Just David said "The main thing is that, with zombie co-ordination (we normally get about 5-6 zombies on the 'cades, and they come down inside a minute, then up to 15 zombies eat brains) the AP disadvantage of barricades is negated."
Just David said "Once the barricades are down, every zombie AP spent is attacking; no searches, nothing. We tend to average one kill per zombie who gets inside. That means that, even against superior numbers, we can do a lot of damage each and every day."
Just David said "Many humans will be demoralised and flee when they wake up and see 12 zombies inside their safehouse, so that works to the disadvantage of remaining defenders. Unless revives in the area are very fast (eg a green suburb), they normally can't..."
Just David said "get back inside to reinforce the building within a day, so we can whittle numbers down and ransack a building most of the time. For example our strike team reduced The Whatmore Building in Yagoton from 130 to 50 defenders in about a week, then we invited"
Just David said "another zombie group over for breakfast to finish off the rest in a big buffet! Pfc has a good point; for ferals, leading others to the buffet is the best route of harman killing."
Just David said "Against organised zombies, dummy barricading is much better than shooting them down. Ransack, of course, changed the paradigm; before it, strafers could run through a devastated suburb and zombies would wake up inside empty EHB buildings."
Just David said "For a strike team, everyone getting headshot (which is almost always the case when attacking a safehouse) means they have 42AP for the next strike; hitting a pile of EHB buildings without many brainz inside means lots and lots of wasted AP."
Just David said "Today, though, with ransack, zombies are much more able to present a powerful front where human-controlled territory in an area gets smaller and smaller as more buildings become ransacked. Systematic opening of remaining buildings assures a rout."
Just David said "The paradigm is reversed then, because rather than humans barricading for a 3:1 AP advantage over zombies, they must first kill the zombies, which (with searching and shooting) will take 20+AP per 6AP headshot (similar (opposite) ratio to cades vs claws)"
Just David said "I feel that this reversal of the 'defensive AP' part of the game contributed to Caiger's fall; so many humans were out spending their AP trying to reclaim ransacked buildings early in the seige that their resources to respond to strikes were weakened."
Just David said "A lack of co-ordination in which buildings to selectively 'save' from the zombies was also crucial. They tried to take Latrobe against 100 zombies; that's well over 1000 pistol shots worth of 'zombie barricade' inside. There were 5 other nearby NTs!"
Just David said "If a zombie horde was seiging Caiger and they saw Extremely super duper mega barricaded on one outlying building, they'd just say 'bugger it, try somewhere else first'. So the Ransack change forced a change how survivors needed to act."
Just David said "They didn't respond quickly enough, and the rest is history. So there you have it, a big lecture on zombies, barricades, ransack and other ramblings :)"
Dr Ransom said "Excellent, David. As your 'good friend' said... *pulls out solid state recorder and hits play* "
Dr Ransom said "'Hah! Zah harman ahz angrah! Zambahz zmazh zah barragahz, harm harmanz ahn ranzaag! Zan, bang bang man gaaz aaaah, zambahz ahn mah haam! Naaah! Ahn zan ranz. HAR HAR! BARHAH, brahz!'"
Pfc Crud said "Just David would you say that complete anihilation actions, i.e. rooting out those last few dozen dummy barricading survivors from an overrun suburb, is something that strike teams and other organized groups take the time to do? What I mean is that given"
Pfc Crud said "the kind of XP returns that you mentioned, 130 dead survivors inside of a week, it seems that ripping down dummy 'cades would be beneath such units attention or perhaps patience. I agree that ransack does prove a particularly useful tool in denial of"
Pfc Crud said "resource buildings, but in my experience, a small and patient survivor group can essentially 'bore' a larger more organized zombie group out of an area by denying them sufficient 'return on investment'. Your idea of ransacked buildings with large zombie"
Pfc Crud said "populations as massive XP sinks is also particularly interesting. Do you think that this will lead to more sophisticated survivor group strategies? From what several people said it sounds like the problem faced is one of 'lines of supply' where the"
Pfc Crud said "retaking of resource buildings leaves no AP for cading, searching, reviving and offensive manoevers. I can think of variations of the same strategy to confront this. The first would involve a 'professionalization' or division of labour, where units would"
Pfc Crud said "spend time outside of the combat zone rearming, and revive ques would be located at some distance near secondary NT buildings, basically a difused support system, enlarging the 'battle space'. the other version would basically use alts (zergs perhaps) to"
Pfc Crud said "do the same thing. They would be in different neighborhoods, but working toward the same goal. Any thoughts on the feasibility of such an expanded conflict. Given that survivor groups seem to have trouble cooperating over much smaller distances, do you"
Pfc Crud said "think this is even posible. Any thoughts on the 'survivor security zone' as an answer to the issues you raised earlier? http://wiki.urbandead.com/index.php/Survivor_Security_Zone"
Just David said "*Gets out notepad and jots down Pfc Crud's main points*"
Just David said "Well, your first point about rooting out the last few survivors is an interesting one. The smartest survivors are often the ones who are alive at the end, and killing them will nail home the victory and slow rehabilitation of the area."
Just David said "However, most of the time when zombies are doing the 'rolling ball of death' horde tactic, every building will be opened, by strike teams or ferals, and the clever survivors try to stay in front of/to the sides of the horde, ducking in to help out."
Just David said "With ransack, dummy barricading is much harder as I explained, so the best course of action is simply to wait for them to move on. Don't give zombies targets, and they'll go looking for them."
Just David said "It's a different story, however, when zombies and survivors both really want to hold the same ground (eg Ridleybank, the Malls, the Forts). Previously, eg. in the Gingerbread Men's barricade run of Ridleybank, proper co-ordination of a relatively small"
Just David said "number of survivors could completely transform a whole suburb; now, taking more than a few buildings at a time is difficult without large numbers (eg 5th of november)."
Just David said "Often, it comes down to dedication on the Zombie's part. In Ridleybank, there are lots of zombies and they want to keep the turf. No matter how often they get shot, they will stand up and hammer on the 'cades, and eventually eat the people."
Just David said "It would take either a lot of organisation or very large numbers to counter this, and if that's the case, the zombies can move and inflict massive casualties elsewhere."
Just David said "Your next point was about survivor organisation. I think you hit the nail on the head, that if survivors are now to hold territory, they must have dedicated role and better co-ordination than before (if they're facing a strong zombie horde that is)"
Just David said "For something like the Blackmore Building, obviously keeping zombies out was paramount. However, keeping a source of FAKs and ammo was critical, and Nichols was providing that."
Just David said "What the Survivors needed to do was hold those auxiliary buildings as strongly as they were holding the main one. Obviously much less pressure was exerted on them (eg the hospitals and PDs) so it SHOULD have been simpler to keep them in survivor hands."
Just David said "When humans are acting individually, however, countering a ransack even by 3-5 zombies is impossible, so there has to be at least some co-ordination to step in, kill the zombies, rebarricade, and keep the 'cades up."
Just David said "If there ISN'T that, then the building will stay ransacked, and it makes it much harder to stay supplied."
Just David said "So what you're proposing about specific action teams is totally true. There should be groups with the role of Secure resource building X, Get FAKs, Get syringes and revive, etc."
Just David said "Obviously if there's a breach in the main building, it should be attended to, but having a specific aim and sticking to it will ensure the success of the operation in the long term."
Just David said "At Caiger, the Eastonwood Ferals, Feral Undead and GMT Breakfast Club helped Shacknews by holding down every single NT building in the area, and striking at other non-mall buildings. Survivors acting individually would shoot up a couple of zombies"
Just David said "in a ransacked building (one of dozens in the area), but no-one would finish the job and clear the building, so the 'defending' zombies would just stand up again. That drained AP away from useful defensive measures."
Just David said "To get the adequate survivor co-ordination would be very difficult, but I think a group of 20+ could get some very effective operations happening if they tried, and were strongly disciplined. I'm not sure if it'll happen though ;)"
Flickman666 said "said I must say listening to all these speaches has taught me alot. As he enjoys his refreshments in the dark."
Just David said "I'll check out the Survivor Security zone a bit later, my 'friend' is about to have some tasty Breakfast."
Pfc Crud said "Wow, awsome commentary Just David. I've been playing this game for almost a year now and this is by far the most fun i have had. i love the fact that a simple, on the surface, online game like this can be so tactically and strategically deep, and at the"
Pfc Crud said "same time can hold such unplumbable depths of culture and community. The progression that Just David was talking about is one from chaotic anarchy through progressively more complex levels of organization into something else... a 'disciplined' structure"
Pfc Crud said "similar to the pseudo military organization of the larger zombie hordes. I think Hesh, Marina and Sir Freds conversation about 'Zombie media and propaganda' was a perfect addition to that point in that it indicates the depths of both organization and"
Pfc Crud said "comeraderie that are produced in responding to the increasingly complex problem of surviving and thriving as both 'sides' of the zombie-human conflict adapt to each other and to new rule sets. Just as in the creation of a real world society out of"
Pfc Crud said "anarchic freedom, the gains secured by greater organization don't spring from nothingness, but are made in response to some perceived obsticle or enemy. As Marina said, when she sat down and had a lengthy discussion with her 'enemy' she found that she had"
Pfc Crud said "a great deal in common with him. Yet both of their organizations find their reason for existance in the opposition to the other. similarly as Hesh said. the best part of the game isn't in 'trenchcoating' but in sharing a laugh with familiar folks."
Pfc Crud said "And that's the rough beginings of a community out of anarchy. maybe this is only surprising to me because of a previous lack of mmorpg experience, but it's the kind of thing I have read about many times as a history student, and it seems both odd and"
Pfc Crud said "remarkable to find it here, trimmed of all its physical trappings... in short, I love this game :) P.S. To all you RRF'ers I have never directly seen you in action, your reputation far preceeds you: more than a month ago an alt of mine in the far SE of"
Pfc Crud said "the city was in a building that was attacked by several random zombies and one RRF member. The attack was beaten back with only a few losses, but the RRF zombie was identified and someone raised the alarm. When i woke up the previously packed building was"
Pfc Crud said "almost empty as everyone tried to flee the area before the hammer blow fell. It turned out to just be a straggler, or maybe a small group, because no large assault followed. But in that first panic the RRF essentially won without fighting... Your"
Pfc Crud said "reputation precedes you. :)"
Just David said "I must also take my leave, unfortunately; RRF operations bring my alt within dangerous proximity (you might want to flee) and I don't want to proximity-zerg."
Just David said "Oh, and it looks like Pfc isn't here anymore to hear my thoughts about the Survivor Security zone. Personally I think the idea is a good one, but getting survivors to work together in the manner necessary is like herding cats."
Just David said "Also, while it would provide a very defensible area, the only way survivors can really hold ground in the face of a true zombie wrecking ball (Shacknews, Big Bash in prime, Mall Tour) is critical mass in a single building, ala Caiger II."
Just David said "So while it would provide a defensible area, it wouldn't be an area that could 'hold' per se. It'd be hard for any zombie group to flatten the whole area at once if survivors played to their advantages, free running around etc, but... they don't."
Just David said "And considering it's right near Ridleybank, there's automatically an area which will be hard to continually colonise, and survivors trying to claim ground is like a red rag to a bull. I'll be interested to see how it progresses!"
Just David said "I wish the QSG every success in their intellectual endeavours, and thank you all for the hospitality! I'm sure I'll stop by again in the future, though I'm not sure which side of the battle I'll be on - remember to follow the Arbarg!ah!"
