User:Boris/Information

No, this is not more survivor-based whining. Or at least, I don't intend it to be. The fact of the matter is that Urban Dead is currently broken, and there are ways to fix it- or at least make it less broken.

Hence, this page. Boris' Information is a Socratic Discussion page, intended to be used as one single page for the current game situation. I have uploaded my beliefs and ideas- and attempted to provide some for the zombie side as per the idea of balance- and am opening them to be countered or added onto (not the precise definition of a Socratic discussion, but close enough). Anyone willing to make a contribution can do so freely according to my editing policy.

Protip: Keep this clean. We don't need flamewars.

• All points/counterpoints MUST be backed up with a Validation, and that must be backed up if at all possible with hard fact.
• Anyone wishing to make a point may do so PROVIDED that it's not simple zombie-bashing or survivor dick-waving. We have enough of that.
• Anyone wishing to make a counterpoint may do so in the appropriate section PROVIDED that it's not simple survivor-bashing or bitching about previous events or bias. Previous bias may be cited as a reason for the current situation being balanced, but see point one for doing so. We have enough of that, too.

Also- this page is likely under construction until doomsday, and may preemptively be considered a viewpoint battlefield. Any and all points may be countered- but please, do so on the talk page.

Initial Assumption

The game was balanced prior.

This fact is debatable, but in history the survivors' barricading and higher damage rates were traditionally countered effectively by the zombies' far superior coordination. No mall or siege ever lasted forever, and 90% of the time they resulted in zombie victory. In contrast, zombies never permanently held any territory other than Ridleybank. So, yes, the game could be claimed to have been balanced before.

Cassus Belli: The Game is NO LONGER BALANCED

Point

The game being Urban Dead, the game is "broken"- that is, the balance has shifted heavily against the survivors to the point wherein their ability to play and enjoy the game is almost completely negated.

Supporting Reasons

• The city has gone from safe to horribly dangerous in unheard-of small amounts of time.

Reason Validated: The Suburb page speaks for itself.

• The city has no hope of becoming safe or even moderately dangerous again at the current rate.

Reason Validated: Likewise, to say nothing of the massively larger numbers of zombies.

Problems

• The Dead

Reason Validated: It's not. Like Yahoomas, LUE, and Shacknews, The Dead are a classic extension of an Urban Dead tradition (that being sudden influxes). HOWEVER, there are problems inherent within The Dead, primarily the one directly below.

• Zerging

Reason Validated: This has always been a problem on both survivor and zombie sides. But if The Dead's own talk page is to be believed, it's being carried out on a never-before-heard-of scale. 750 members is impressive in and of itself, but The Dead have 1400 members. That translates to 650 zergs.

• The Recent Barricade Nerf

Reason Validated: See supporting reason #1. The city has never disintegrated at that rate before.

• The Syringe System

Reason Validated: Always a touchy subject. The syringe system is inherently arranged to turn survivors away from using it. 10 AP to revive? 20 AP to make a syringe? Only 10 XP for reviving? Yeah.

CounterPoint: Combat Revives.

CounterCounterPoint: Combat Revives are frowned upon by essentially all survivor groups, and are discouraged wherever possible.

Repair

Fix The Syringe System

This wouldn't be too hard. All that needs to be done is to make reviving more attractive to survivors- a way that has been suggested would be increasing the XP given by 3-5 points, which would make spending large amounts of AP on reviving much more attractive.

Some Serious Zerg Investigation

See Problem #2. That needs attention pronto.

Modifying The Barricade Nerf

Survivors HATE barricade block. That's fact. There's also general agreement that the barricade system needs some fixing. The problem is that barricade blocking feels like an overreaction to a problem. Some suggested solutions for fixing the barricade system:

(Keeping the Block)

• Lowering the chance of blocking being successful.

(Removing the Block)

• Slightly increasing the rate at which barricades fall.

Counterpoint

No, the game is not "broken"- this is the proper condition for the game.

OR

Yes, the game is "broken"- but this is the way that it should be.

Supporting Reasons

(I don't play zombie that much, so I'll need some help here from the pro-zombie wiki members to flesh this out).

• This is the proper style for a zombie-apocalypse game: survivors should never feel "safe".

Reason Validated: Fair enough, makes sense.

Invalidated Reasons

• The game has always been biased against zombies, prior. We endured it, now you should endure this.

Reason Invalidated: "Eye-for-an-eye" syndrome. Complains about prior events rather than focusing on the issue presented. And, prior bias is never an excuse for current bias- it is only an excuse for current balance.

Point

Supporting Reasons

• The city has gone from safe to horribly dangerous in unheard-of small amounts of time.

Reason Validated: The Suburb page speaks for itself.

I don't think this an entirely validated point.

The best use of the suburb page is always How Long Ago a suburb was updated.

Also look at our only green suburb. As soon as someone changed it to green, other uses screamed about how they doomed everyone. (West boundwood main page, history) If you were in a safe suburb now, would you shout about it or play safe. Lumber mall is partially retaken, yet no one has updated its status. Why is that. Zombies can read. I'd cite the stats level rather than the wiki. Its not always reliable. Also look at reviving bodies. How does that compare with 3 months ago? Similar? Then it means the well organised groups are doing fine. If not tha thats a good indication its all screwed. --Rosslessness^{Want a Location Image?} 15:41, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:25 pm Active Characters : 34347 Standing Survivors : 17801 (62%) Standing Zombies : 10519 (38%) Dead Bodies : 4047 Revivifying Bodies : 1980 Standing Zombie Hunters : 9072 Christmas Trees : 426

Today Active Characters : 33857 Standing Survivors : 8500 (31%) Standing Zombies : 18462 (69%) Dead Bodies : 5047 Revivifying Bodies : 1848 Standing Zombie Hunters : 3985 Christmas Trees : 3

The revive value is different by less than 2 hundred. Why is this? I believe because the organised Harman groups are doing lright, whilst the mall rats are getting eaten up. --Rosslessness^{Want a Location Image?} 15:48, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Agreed. Syringes are out there, and with a little metagaming, they make themselves available. If anything, this game is getting more interesting for the organized survivors, and less so for the zombies who have less prey. IMO, this is what will bring the game back to balance: Bored zombies will stop playing and dedicated survivors will start reclaiming space and making progress in the mile-long revive queues. - Headshot Hal ^{Talk +1 Casting Call} 16:09, 24 March 2008 (UTC)