User:Swiers/page archive 19-05-07

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It has come to my attention that this page is ass ugly and impossible to find any useful information on, if in fact such a thing exists here. Seeing as it is currently the 34th most linked to page, and the 4rth most linked to user page, and is rising fast, I probably ought to fix that. So I'm overhauling it, working out the new design at User:Swiers/user page sandbox

Xoclock.jpg Punch In
This user or group supports X:00 tactics.
Zombie river icon 2.gif Zombie River Tactics
I am the void that devours all.
Z sad tree.jpg "There's No Santa Claus?!?!"
This user has entered the
Christmas Tree Dead Pool
MiniNT.gif NT Mappers
This user helps to maintain or update the NT Status Map.

History

Not many people know it, but I'm pretty sure I'm the guy who first had the idea for the zombie strike, by suggesting (on the now defunct UD board) back in fall of 2005 that all zombies should just stop playing the game and let their characters idle out so that the zombie population would tumble to near zero and survivors would get bored and insist that Kevan fix the game so that zombies were worth playing (which he did, thanks to the strike). I had nothing what-so-ever to do with organizing the strike itself, but am proud to have been a part of the community which it grew from.

When the strike continued after Headshot was re-tooled, I started a brand new zombie character, Strike Boy. Playing Strike Boy allowed me to see how the game would progress for new zombie players, and I documented my experiences on the old UD Board. Strike Boy is now a high level zombie, much of his experience earned member of the Minions of the Apocalypse. IMO, the game remains disturbingly hard (and boring) for zombies who do not depend heavily on metagaming; much of Strike Boys early life was spent scrounging for FAK's after being revived, and healing his fellow zombies as a "death cultist", because it was the quickest way to earn XP, especially when staying dead actually required some effort.

Current Projects

I've instigated a Christmas Tree Dead Pool. Win yourself an Urban Dead themed Christmas ornament!

X:00 is a group / work in progress to explore some of the potentials for zombies to organize in-game via communication and "emergent behavior" centered tactics.

I also make a fair number of game suggestions on the suggestions page, occasionally cycle the page, and make very active use of talk: suggestions

User:Swiers:_Make_Suggestions_Their_Own_Pages

I've done the initial framework for the NT Status Map - all it needs now is for people to enter data in the appropriate templates.

Characters

I play several Urban Dead characters, rotating among 3 that are well developed. Two of them are zombies with Brain Rot, and one is a survivor with a potent array of zombie skills who I have variously played as a support character, trenchcoater, and PKer. I honestly believe most people have not given play as a zombie serious enough effort or consideration; zombies are the foundation on which the game is built.

Stuff I like


You are inside Caiger Mall. The shops are stocked with brains, other human flesh, prosthetic dental weaponry, and bullet proof helmets. There are over 200 zombies here.

You have an arrgazam.


ZombieHand.gif Proud To Be Dead
This user is a zombie and proud of it.
Banana.gif B-A-N-A-N-A-Z!
This user knows exactly what to do with a banana.
Dawn ut dead.jpg OMG, Yet Another Headshot!
This user is amazed his zombie can still lurch after so many headshots.
Banana peeled.png Combined Zombie Groups of Malton Supporter
This User or Group supports the Combined Zombie Groups of Malton & acknowledges that Ridleybank is the zombie heartland, and that every action of their zombie group is contributing in some little way to Barhah.


Cherub.gif I was a St. Valentine's Cherub
This user or group has been celebrating St. Valentine's Day at Bale Mall.

Driving Hunger and Driving Force

Duh, this isn't a place for voting. This is just my work in progress. Why would you edit my user page, anyhow?

Timestamp: S.Wiers X:00 21:17, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: skills
Scope: zombies
Description: Zombies in movies are often portrayed as pressing against barricades as they tear them down, literally flooding in as a wave of groaning flesh when the defenses give. The mechanics of the game don't entirely reflect this imagery, as only zombie players who are logged in when the barricades are down (often a very short period of time) will ever make it inside a building, no matter how many more are waiting outside. These two skills allow zombie players to act in a way that simulates this effect.
Driving Hunger is a zombie skill that can be bought by any zombie for 100xp. A zombie with this skill gains a new action type when outside a barricaded building: "join attacking mob". Pressing this button flags the zombie as being a member of the attacking mob, which represents the group of zombies actively pressing on the barricades. The zombie would remain a member of the attacking mob until they performed some action besides attacking the barricades. Zombies could, of course, attack the barricades without using this action first.
"Attacking Mob" status has the following effects:
  • The scene description would include information about the size of the attack mob. This would be something like "Also here are 47 zombies; 23 of them are pressed together against the barricades, obviously seeking entry to the building." This enhances game flavor, and provides a bit of tactical information for both sides to use. Zombies might use this information to decide whether it is worth making an attack on the barricades, for example.
  • When attacks are made against an unspecified zombie, the target would be the zombie in the attacking mob that has been inactive the longest, as opposed to just the zombie in that location that has been inactive the longest. If this is not how such attacks currently work, the above would be adjusted; in essence, the "attack mob" are preferred targets for attacks with do not single out a specific zombie.
  • When DNA scanning or reviving zombies in a location at random, all zombies not in the attacking mob would be given preference, in the reverse of the above fashion for random attacks. Zombies not pressed into a hungry mob are easier to approach, and would be the obvious targets for scientific procedures.
  • If attempting to DNA scan or revive a zombie in the attacking mob there would be a confirmation message along the lines of "Do you really want to risk contact with an attacking mob of zombies to perform scientific work?" Affirmative response would carry out the desired action, but with a 50% chance of failure, displaying the message "this zombie is to aggressive for you to complete your work before it moves away"; negative response cancels the action with no AP expended. Revive attempts that fail because the zombie "moved away" cost only 1 AP, and do not result in the loss of a syringe. Note that such tasks (when completed) will still fail if carried out on a zombie with Brain Rot, with the normal consequences.
Driving Force would be a zombie skill under "Memories of Life" on the zombie skill tree. It would cost 100 xp. Driving Force has some benefits which apply only when the zombie is a member of an attacking mob:
  • If the zombie is a member of an attacking mob and makes a barricade attack that causes the last level of the barricade to fall away, the door to the building (if any) is opened and the zombie making the attack is moved inside the building automatically, but takes 2 points of damage. Characters inside the building will see a message saying "A zombie forces its way recklessly into the building, creating an opening through which more zombies may enter. The AP cost to join the attacking mob, and the fact that the zombie already has Memories of Life, ensure that this is not a "free lunch"- the cost to enter is paid ahead of time, and its speedier execution is offset by the damage and the fact that defenders can view the zombies profile and hence single it out for attacks.
  • If the zombie is a member of an attacking mob and enters the building (via the above mechanism or the normal "enter building" / ?in posting) when there is an attacking mob present it takes a further 2 points of damage (4 total) and there is a base 25% chance that another zombie (if any) who is in the attacking mob outside the building will enter the building automatically, at no further AP cost to either zombie. The zombie selected to enter the building will be the one in the attacking mob who has gone the longest time without performing any action; their chance of entering increases by 15% if they have Memories of Life, and a further 10% if they have the Driving Force skill. This zombies player will receive a message saying "At (timestamp) the barricades gave way, and you were swept in with the attacking mob alongside a zombie." Note that the zombie being "pushed" has already paid 1AP to join the attacking mob, which is the same cost as entering a building, and has only a 25% to 50% chance of entering via this mechanism. It would be very unlikely for a zombie to be able to leave the building and then push in another zombie, because they must be a member of an attacking mob for this to work, and you can only join an attacking mob in the presence of barricades, per the above "Driving Hunger" skill.

This skill is obviously a revision of my Zombie Rush suggestion. I have tried to address as many of the issues voters commented on as I could. Most notably, avoiding being pushed into buildings is no longer an issue, because you would have to both buy the Driving Hunger skill and use the join attacking mob action to qualify to be pushed. In fact, the zombies who do not join the attacking mob are potentially safer from attacks than they would otherwise be. I think it retains the balance that Zombie Rush had, removes the grief, and adds some new flavor.

Keep Votes
Zombies pushing onward!

  1. Keep Now with 100% less greifing. --S.Wiers X:00 23:40, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Kill Votes
Zombies standing around slackjawed.
Spam/Dupe Votes
Zombies eating leftover spam.

Build Safe Passage

Timestamp: S.Wiers X:00 18:46, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Survivors
Description: With this skill, survivors could build protected connections (bridges, cable transits, maybe a trailer or bus that you walk on the roof of) between two buildings. The effect of the "Safe Passage" would be to allow any survivor to move between the two buildings as if they had the "Free Running" skill.

To build the "Safe Passage", the skill user would select a "build safe passage" action (usable only when OUTSIDE a building) that would have a drop-down menu allowing the connection to be built from the building the survivor was outside to any neighboring building. This would cost 20 AP, although failed attempts (due to lack of materials or invalid targets) would cancel the action, with no AP spent.

For "Build Safe Passage" to succeed, the following circumstances must be met:

  • Both buildings must at least have "loose" barricades
  • The user must have a set of wire cutters, a crowbar, and a length of pipe. All three items are used up in the construction, representing materials gathering efforts more than actual items that go into the construction.
  • Obviously, the skill user must be outside one building, and must "target" a neighboring building, but also both buildings must be ones that normally allow free-running; you can't build a safe passage in or out of the forts, for example.

Once built, the "Safe Passage" would remain in place (and be described as "a safe passage between X and Y" in the buildings interior and exterior descriptions) as long as both of the connected buildings were barricaded. If the barricades fell at either end, the "safe passage" would be destroyed along with the barricades.

Discussion

Defiler

Timestamp: S.Wiers X:00 23:50, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies with brain rot
Description: This is a zombie skill available only to zombies with brain rot (a sub skills). The zombie has become so mentally unhinged that they don't just maul humans, they defile the corpse, leaving it virtually unrecognizable. If a zombie with this skill kills a character (survivor or zombie) survivors (but not zombies, who depend more on scent) will not recognize the body (or zombie, once it stands up) as one of their contacts. It is treated for all pusposes like one of the "nameless horde".

Discussion

This lets zombies with brain rot make it a bit harder for other folks to get revives, forcing the victim of the kill to in came communication (or harder metagaming) if they want their friends or somebody who got their profile from the revivification request board to revive them. Plus it adds some horror flavor, and maybe gives survivors a taste of what its like playing a (literally) "faceless member of the horde". --S.Wiers X:00 23:50, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Brain Fever

Timestamp: S.Wiers X:00 23:50, 26 February 2007 (UTC)
Type: Skill
Scope: Zombies with Brain Rot
Description: Zombie skill. A Sub-Skill to Brain Rot. Costs 100 ExP's to purchase.

Zombies with this skill are host to a variety of cerebral infections that, in the living, cause a high fever accompanied by weakness, hallucinations, and amnesia. Characters infected (via "Infectious Bite") by zombies who have the "Brain Fever" skill are infected and lose HP as normal, but are also flagged as being affected by "Brain Fever". This flag for "Brain Fever" lasts until the infection is cured. Brain Fever is easier to detect than a normal infection, and can be detected using the "Diagnoses" skill, or with "Scent Fear". If a survivor or zombie contact has the Brain Fever flag, a red * would appear next to their name when viewed by a character who has either of those skills.

For every HP a survivor looses while affected by "Brain Fever", there is a chance they will also drop a single item of equipment from their inventory, due to infection induced exhaustion, confusion, or (in the case of a flak jacket) need to to cool down. This happens after all other effects of the HP loss and the action that caused it are applied. The chance of this happening is equal in percent to the number of items the survivor is carrying, with each item having an equal chance to be lost. The technical details for how this is determined are as follows:

  1. Each time the survivor affected by "Brain Fever" looses a HP to infection, a random number ("D") from 1 to 100 is generated.
  2. Starting at the top of the survivors inventory list string the server would count "D" characters into the list.
  3. If this count ends up "over" a letter character representing an item, the server would delete the item (if any) that was represented by that letter character (just as if the item were dropped) and send a message saying "due to your fevered infection, you have dropped your XYZ" along with the report of HP loss.
  4. If the count ends over a numeral (representing, for example, a loaded gun's ammo supply or a radio's frequency) or runs past the end of the inventory string, there is no effect.

Not that since the list string can have at most 50 items in it, there is at most a 50% chance an item would be dropped. I most cases, the chance would be somewhat lower. Note also that there are two fairly simple ways to minimize or even completely avoid the effects of "Brain Fever". The first is to have a FAK on hand at all times, and apply it as your first action when you are infected. This looses you 1 HP but cures the infection, so you will perhaps loose a single item- but never the FAK, as you use it and THEN the effect of Brain Fever is applied. The other is to simply let yourself be killed, and then get somebody to apply a FAK to you before you get revived, curing the infection while you are still a zombie. That way you would never loose any HP to infection, so the Brain Fever would have no chance to effect your inventory.

Discussion

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