Zombie Apocalypse: BRAIIIIIIINS!

[ErrMiGawd]

*insert thanks button*
i can't wait to test this out, is it a cool interaction? I don't want a lame interaction , thats like the dude is waving and the other dude dies, I want blood splattering onto the floor, and the zombie to be like "thanks *insert swear button*" Now that would be awesome!

[LordHellscream]

question:
Im interested in installing this hack, but im wondering if it is possible to register the attack action as "hostile" so defense systems such as the sentry bots can be triggered to attack zombies on your lot?

[J. M. Pescado]

question:
Im interested in installing this hack, but im wondering if it is possible to register the attack action as "hostile" so defense systems such as the sentry bots can be triggered to attack zombies on your lot?

That would be something that's part of the sentry bots, which aren't known to attack normal fighters at all. Well, yours might not, anyway. Mine are known for attacking random people in the street.

[Magicmoon]

Mine are known for attacking random people in the street.

Mine too. I assumed that was because the bot could detect what the Sim was thinking about doing and then acted on it before the Sim actually got to do the action.

[LordHellscream]

so much for preemptive strike lol

[Li'l Brudder]

Pescado, any chance you could add a hack that makes zombies "Decay" over time?

They could fall apart after maybe 5 days using the "Death by Flies" anim.

[miros]

But eating brains should give them extra time...

[Flamingo]

I agree with Miros on that one. If they were to decay, though, I think the death by fire would fit a bit better, as long as they still leave the ash behind.

[Li'l Brudder]

Have either of you read The Zombie Survival Guide?

I like the ash idea.

Zombies decay.  Their muscles get degraded after constant use but no rebuilding.  Eventually, decay overcomes them and THEIR infected brains are rotted.

[kutto]

I tried to make a zombie aging mod back when I had OFB, but I could never figure it out. Either nothing would age, or aging would get really messed up. Now that I have Pets, I should probably look back into that.

[Ancient Sim]

OK, so I am having fun with this.  I only have one zombie in my newest neighbourhood, a dormie.  She's also in the Secret Society, so she gets a lot of opportunity to start fights.  So far, she hasn't won a single one.  She has very few body skill points and is only average fitness, whereas the majority of the other dormies are fully fit and maxed-out on body or near enough, due to me having a community-use punching bag on the roof of the dorm.  It's so funny to watch her try, because even with the Fight Mod in she doesn't last five minutes.  I doubt she will ever get to eat any brains unless I do some tweaking in SimPE.

Anyway, it was hilarious yesterday.  She somehow coaxed a dormie out of the hot-tub and started attacking her, at which point the dormie burst into flames, setting the zombie alight as well.  I got one of my payables to "extinghish", but he only managed to save the zombie, so he then had to plead with the Reaper for the dormie.  I was laughing so much I almost forgot to get him to do it.

I really like this mod, but I wish there was more 'randomness' in it.  It'd be great if they didn't always attack, just sometimes.  I mean, they even try to attack their best friends (not that she has many left now).  Would be sort of cool if they would act normally for a while, then without warning start attacking, on a random basis.  Yeah, that'd be good, don't you think?

[witch]

Yeah, like the ACR timer, counting down till they're desperate for brains.

[syberspunk]

I don't know... I don't think zombies are very discriminant.  They basically should be thinking about eating brains pretty much all the time.  Zombies shouldn't care about who they are attacking either.  They just attack, all the time, and whomever happens to be around.

Incidentally... maybe the fight club hack should be modded a bit to give zombies a slight boost due to 'zombie strength' doncha think (if this doesn't already happen)?  I mean, zombies should be capable of rendering flesh and disembowelment with their bare hands.  Vamps, werewolves (at least when they are transformed), and servos should also get a strength boost too.   I dunno if this should also apply to aliens and pod people.  But yeah, they should at least get some slight edge, so maybe a weak zombie like the one Ancient Sim has might still have a chance of makin other zombies.

ETA:  Oh... and I think zombie walkbys should "invite" themselves over.  So far, I do have one zombie as well in my game.  I don't remember her stats... but she's gotten into a couple of fights and hasn't made any other zombies either.  I kind of find it funny to see her as a walkby, just hobbling along all casual and what not.  I think it would make sense for zombies who show up as random walkbys to actually attempt to attack residents.  It might make things a tad more interesting... besides, this is supposed to be an apocalypse, no?

Ste

[J. M. Pescado]

Incidentally... maybe the fight club hack should be modded a bit to give zombies a slight boost due to 'zombie strength' doncha think (if this doesn't already happen)?  I mean, zombies should be capable of rendering flesh and disembowelment with their bare hands.

They are, but they also have the reflexes of cold molasses, so it evens out.

Vamps, werewolves (at least when they are transformed), and servos should also get a strength boost too.   I dunno if this should also apply to aliens and pod people.  But yeah, they should at least get some slight edge, so maybe a weak zombie like the one Ancient Sim has might still have a chance of makin other zombies.

Vamps/werewolves/servos already do have a strength bonus. Aliens are not distinguishable in-game from normal sims, and pod people are known for their hippie tree-hugging ways and not for their prowess in battle.

ETA:  Oh... and I think zombie walkbys should "invite" themselves over.  So far, I do have one zombie as well in my game.  I don't remember her stats... but she's gotten into a couple of fights and hasn't made any other zombies either.  I kind of find it funny to see her as a walkby, just hobbling along all casual and what not.  I think it would make sense for zombies who show up as random walkbys to actually attempt to attack residents.  It might make things a tad more interesting... besides, this is supposed to be an apocalypse, no?

Will look into it.

[witch]

But if they've just been fed, they wouldn't want to eat again immediately, surely?

[Li'l Brudder]

This throws errors for me but references Macrotastics.

It only occurs with a zombie.

[J. M. Pescado]

This is interference in global constants caused by the Work of the non-Awesome.

[Li'l Brudder]

* Li'l Brudder sighs.

What could possibly clash with this?  I have NOTHING that does ANYTHING with zombies.

[syberspunk]

They are, but they also have the reflexes of cold molasses, so it evens out.

Vamps/werewolves/servos already do have a strength bonus. Aliens are not distinguishable in-game from normal sims, and pod people are known for their hippie tree-hugging ways and not for their prowess in battle.

Will look into it.

Sweet.  Oh, and maybe  base the self inviting zombies on personality?  Since some people don't seem to want more aggressive zombies.  But those zombies are fairly rare, no?  All the zombie movies I've seen, they pretty much tend to attack as soon as they are aware of your presence.  So maybe more aggressive zombies can be identified as those with more "points" in logic, body and fitness, and outgoing?  Stupider, slower zombies (with low logic, body, and fitness points) should be more likely to continue walking by without noticing others.  The more smarter, faster/stronger zombies should pretty much try to attack like all the time.

Ste

[seelindarun]

I'm one of those who doesn't need more aggressive zombies. 

My oldest 'hood has some seasoned zombies, the first of them used to be a mascot, who was resurrected to be a nanny-slave to a vamp-hybrid family with a toddler and 3 babies, including natural alien twins.  In time, he maxed out all his skill points in order to tutor the children.  Either because of his personality (7 outgoing) or because of his former life as mascot, he was always inviting himself in to the neighbours' houses.  This was all before the zombie apocalypse...
Dun dun dun! 

I thought about roasting him, but I'm sort of sentimentally attached now, so there is always a frisson when I spot him on a comm lot.  Anyway, my suggestion for those seeking more aggressive zombies is to get comm-lot skilling and boost them a few body skill points.  Also, if you play some comm lots, it's not hard for them to find a few weak townies.  Once they win some fights, they will quickly become unstoppable.

In an old 'hood, you constantly have to skill up and harden new playables, whereas zombies are forever just adding to their fight experience and numbers.  As it is, it's inevitable that you'll be faced with the problem of culling older zombies if you play the 'hood long enough.  If they're made more aggressive, it just speeds up this process.

[syberspunk]

Haha... ok, I'll probably regret my suggestions later when my 'hood falls prey to the zombie horde.  ATM tho, I only have one zombie, and she's kinda lame.  Since she's a YA, I think she only shows up on College commlots, which I hardly ever go to.  And I go to the College gyms even less so.

How about the Test for attacking others depend on hunger level.  I think that zombie attacks should satisfy hunger somewhat... at least if they succeed.  If they succeed in converting a sim to a zombie, then their hunger bar should be replenished.  Then the test can check if hunger is >= to some threshold, and only attach if their hunger level is below said threshold.  That way, even aggressive zombies will only attack if they are actually "hungry" (for brains) so to speak.

I think that would be somewhat reasonable.

Ste

[J. M. Pescado]

How about the Test for attacking others depend on hunger level.  I think that zombie attacks should satisfy hunger somewhat... at least if they succeed.  If they succeed in converting a sim to a zombie, then their hunger bar should be replenished.

It does. Zombie-warfare already advertises as a Hunger action.

[floopyboo]

I think you're missing the intended meaning of the request, ergo what witch said:

But if they've just been fed, they wouldn't want to eat again immediately, surely?

Sure, it does kick in as a hunger respose, but rather flakily & unreliably. It'll kick in as a hunger respose usually after the zombie has eaten. It definitely kicks in as a social interaction. (ie: the "OMFG, she's hot, I must lunch on her lobes" response) But generally, if a zombie is in the red hunger-wise, it will die of starvation before lunching on anyone.

So.... is this working as intended then, or are zombies supposed to be fixing themselves a snack of their neighbours when they're hungry?

[Ancient Sim]

Well, my zombie finally managed to find a dormie slightly less capable than herself and made another one, but she was so desperate to do it she died of starvation shortly afterwards.  She was successfully pleaded for by her only best friend (only friend, in fact) and then promptly attacked her (twice).  The following day she died again and there was no one around to plead for her.  I got someone at the SS to resurrect her and she made another zombie while she was there.   At least the first one she made has the sense to eat and bathe and get some fun.  She never does any of those things, apart from eating very occasionally.  She doesn't even use the toilet.  BYU doesn't seem to have any affect on her.  I wonder if the mod works differently on zombies created 'naturally', because the one she made isn't nearly so aggressive.  Don't know about the second one yet, as I came out of Uni shortly after she was made.

[Lorelei]

Too bad there isn't a token object of some sort to put on res lots to keep them out of the loop during Apocalypses, so you can preserve lots used for other things and focus on only lots you don't mind having zombies wreak havoc upon.

Though de-zombification potion works in a pinch.