Spawning
After signing up to Urban Dead your new character will be placed somewhere inside the city. Exactly where will be randomised, but will be based on a number of criteria, defined by the character class chosen.
Spawning locations seem specifically designed to overcome some of the weaknesses of low level characters. All survivor classes are placed on locations they can enter without freerunning and zombies are placed near to a building they can enter without Memories of Life.
These criteria reinforce the ideas that some TRP's should be maintained at VSB. A suburb where all buildings were EHB would never allow the spawning of new survivors. Likewise an area of clustered VSB TRP's, like the Fire Stations surrounding Rillie Bank could be the perfect area to maintain as a newb spawning hotspot.
Conversely, large hordes who regularly crack buildings and groan are more likely to create spawning locations for new zombies than random ferals. This is another way feeding groan benefits zombies.
In the highly unlikely situation that no locations existed within Malton that fulfilled these criteria the placement of characters would not be possible, most likely in the event of NecroTech Assistants. When this was queried, Kevan stated.
| Kevan said: |
| Under the current code, NecroTech staff would just start on the streets somewhere. |
In such circumstances the character spawning would be at a huge disadvantage, compared to those characters spawned in an area designed to give them the best start in Malton.
It should be noted that these spawning locations criteria only apply to Malton. The Perma Death Cities appear to have more randomised deployment, most probably because at their inception there were no powered or barricaded buildings and no zombies possessed Feeding Groan.
Military Class
Private
Privates appear to always spawn Outside of locations following the same criteria
- A Building that is;
- Repaired
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Welcome Message
As a soldier stationed at army base when the quarantine laws came into effect, you've been sent in on a general reconnaissance and patrol mission. You've been airdropped into the suburb of <SUBURB>, with orders to cooperate with other military personnel to protect any surviving civilians in the area.
Medic
Medics appear to always spawn Outside of locations following the same criteria
- A Hospital that is;
- Repaired
- Powered
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Welcome Message
As a medic stationed at army base when the quarantine laws came into effect, you've been airdropped into the deserted city to back up the military evacuation effort, and to assist civilian survivors. After walking through the empty streets of <SUBURB> for a while, you come across a hospital whose lights seem to be on.
Scout
Scouts appear to always spawn Outside of locations following the same criteria
- A Building that is;
- Repaired
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Welcome Message
As a soldier stationed at army base when the quarantine laws came into effect, you've been airdropped into the deserted city to scout ahead of the other military units, and to check the abandoned buildings for survivors and salvageable equipment.
Science Class
NecroTech Lab Assistant
NecroTech Assistants appear to always spawn Inside locations following the following criteria
- A NecroTech Building that is;
- Repaired
- Powered
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Note
As the main focus of most zombie attacks, Most NecroTechs will have barricade levels much higher than this. At any time within Malton there may only be a handful of locations new Necrotech Assistants may begin from.
Welcome Message
You'd been working for NecroTech for a few months, before the disturbances began and the government quarantined the city. Several NecroTech labs were kept open under military guard during the evacuation, including the building you've been working in.
The decision was eventually made to relocate research operations to outside the quarantine zone. You remained in your building during the first weeks of evacuation, as part of the skeleton staff, but the military trucks eventually stopped coming to <SUBURB>. The last memo from NecroTech headquarters said that all remaining staff were expected to monitor the situation from the inside of the quarantine zone until further notice.
Doctor
Doctors appear to always spawn Inside locations following the same criteria
- A Hospital that is;
- Repaired
- Powered
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Welcome Message
You'd been working at <HOSPITAL NAME> in <SUBURB> during the quarantine, treating some of the victims of the recent spate of violent assaults, but dealing with the injuries of panic and hysteria as much as anything else.
The hospitals were closed down during the very final stages of the quarantine operation, and whether you missed the final evacuation truck or it simply didn't arrive, you ended up stuck here. You've been treating the survivors who've passed through, working with backup generators when the power went, but with the situation getting worse on the streets, you begin to wonder if you'd be better off elsewhere.
Civilian Class
Police Officer
Police Officers appear to always spawn Inside locations following the same criteria
- A Police Department that is;
- Repaired
- Has a powered generator
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Welcome Message
You're a police officer from the <POLICE DEPARTMENT STREET NAME> department in the <SUBURB> area, and were drafted in along with the rest of your unit to help with the military-led evacuation of the city. You've remained stationed here since the quarantine came into effect, helping defend the building from outside forces and patrolling the surrounding streets.
Firefighter
Firefighters appear to always spawn Inside locations following the same criteria
- A Fire Department that is;
- Repaired
- Has a powered generator
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Welcome Message
During the chaos of the quarantine, a number of fires had broken out in the city - you and the other members of your crew were working around the clock in <SUBURB> to control the situation.
You were due to take one of the final evacuation trucks out of the city, but it never reached <FIRE STATION STREET NAME> fire station, and you've been holed up here ever since.
Consumer
Consumers appear to always spawn Inside locations following the same criteria
- Any Building that is;
- Repaired
- Has a generator
- Has a Barricade Level no higher than Very Strongly Barricaded.
Placement seems much more random than other classes and this is reflected in your Welcome Message.
You were among the last to be evacuated from the city. Following the government broadcasts to the letter, you sat through the first week of quarantine at home, your doors and windows locked and sealed with duct tape. You were eventually collected by a military troop transport, along with your neighbours.
But you didn't make it out of the city - the truck met gunfire in <SUBURB>, and became trapped in the wreckage of the roads; your military escorts rushed you to the safety of a nearby building, but they haven't come back, and the gunfire died down a while ago. With only your phone and the <MELEE WEAPON> that you grabbed when you left your house, you prepare to take a look outside.
Zombie Class
Corpse
Zombies appear to always spawn Outside of locations following the same criteria
- Any location that is;
- Within 2 blocks of a non muffled Feeding Groan.
- Note Since this article was originally written it appears the distance to a feeding groan can be greater, with rare cases of groans emanating up to four blocks away from your starting location.
Welcome Message
Your eyes flick open, first one and then the other, staring blankly along the cold ground. Memories of sirens echo in your ears for a moment, and fade into strange and distant murmurs.
Unsteadily, and on awkwardly angled limbs, you rise to your feet.
Starting Tips
Upon character creation, all players are given some starting advice before entering Malton.
Survivors
Tips: Your first day's play should be spent getting your bearings. You might want to follow these basic survival tips:-
- Find a safehouse. Before you do anything else, you should scout around the area and look for a building which you can shelter in at the end of the day. Ideally this should be one which has already been barricaded by other survivors (although any building which has been "heavily barricaded" has been built to keep other survivors out, so move on, unless you want to risk smashing it down enough to enter).
- Explore. When you've found somewhere to sleep, explore the area and search other buildings for useful equipment, or friendly survivor groups.
- Hide. Make sure that you're back in your safehouse before you log out (or run out of Action Points) - any survivor who spends a night on the streets is likely to be found by wandering zombies.
These are only guidelines, but consider yourself advised. Welcome to Malton.
Zombies
Tips:
- Zombies gain experience points from wounding and killing survivors, and from smashing and destroying things - either barricades or the machinery that survivors have set up inside buildings.
- You should listen for the feeding calls of other zombies to find fresh meat, and look for survivors who have been dragged out onto the streets by other zombies.
- It's generally a good idea to end your day in a group of other undead - a lone straggler is a fairly easy target for a passing zombie hunter or military cleanup squad.
- If you find an organised horde, sticking with them as they lurch through Malton will make it a lot easier to break into buildings (particularly as low-level zombies rely on others to open doors for them).
- Churches and junkyards are the easiest buildings for a lone zombie to breach, as they do not have doors behind their barricades.
Tips upon first class change
Similar tips are given upon the first class change from survivor to zombie:
(Your character has become a zombie - although you can no longer speak or use your equipment, and will take 2AP to walk from block to block, a new and powerful skill tree has become available to you. You can earn experience points by attacking and killing survivors, and smashing at barricades and machinery installed in buildings. The feeding groans you've been hearing as a survivor are now a valuable resource for finding vulnerable safehouses.
Zombification isn't permanent - NecroTech scientists have the means to revivify zombies into living, breathing survivors again, and many NT groups have set up 'revivification points' throughout the city, often signposted with graffiti.)
At the first class change from zombie to survivor, there aren't any tips given.
