ZOS/Zombie Outbreak Simulation

[Trapper 0]

1st Beta Version released and first post updated.

[Placebo 29]

On the way to adding the latest release to the new FlashNews I uplaoded it to another mirror site to be safe......

http://www.savefile.com/files3.php?fid=8841158

[Trapper 0]

Thx Placebo.

[Placebo 29]

No problemo

If/when you update it feel free to send me a PM to make sure I notice so it can be included in the relevant FlashNews

[quiet_man 8]

HMMWV Pack v1.1 (18,2MB)

CBT Misc 1.1 (4,98MB)

http://clancombat.planetrockabilly.com

this link does not work anymore

quiet_man

[Trapper 0]

I can't find another download link for the 1.1 versions. Until the combat! page is up again this 1.0 version should also work:

COMBAT! HMMWV Pack 1.0 + COMBAT! Misc Addon 1.0

[Placebo 29]

GOTF have both COMBAT! HMMWV Pack v1.1 and Combat Misc Pack v1.1 available.......

http://www.gotf.net/gotf.net_non_ssl/downloads.asp?cat=50

[sig limitedz 0]

hey trapper love your missionski here and im a huge fan for zombie games and movies

So mate do you still need some 'moaners'?

well if you do ive got a link here for them

http://ofp.gamezone.cz/index.php?showthis=8614

all zombies make noise and are compatible with the latest Farmland zombies, and the old scripts too.

oh yeah and it does need the zombies you've currently got.

Regards,

Sig.

[Trapper 0]

Well, they are not really compatible, they are an older version of the unified zombies b3, but with moaning.

I've scripted the moaning for the newer (but not moaning) zombies inside my mission, inspired by mrbeans addon.

My scripts got a few more moans, moan not so often and the moaning volume is realisticly adjusted (lower). So there is a chance you won't notice at first that they are moaning.

By the way, I saw there were some downloads of the 1st beta, but no feedback??

Also anyone is inivited to take part in the beta test at http://www.ofpec.com. If you don't like to register there, send me a PM or mail with your test.

[imported_bör 0]

I just browsed through the Thread and I think it's a brilliant idea, I'll try out the mission tomorrow, be assured.

[Trapper 0]

Final V1.0 Release

Finaly.

First post updated.

[Zombie_Mod 0]

Oh I'm really excited with this

Got me a CD (well rather, found the original in a cupboard) and gonna have a game...

Downloading it now....

[Trapper 0]

I hope you'll like it.

[xawery 0]

Hey Trapper,

I've downloaded the 1.0 version of your mission and I've spent a couple of hours playing. I must say, I'm very impressed! While the mission concept is fairly limited once the novelty wears off, the mission still profits from a lot of atmosphere. Especially if you turn down the brightness and gamma correction - the shouldertorches are a very atmospheric addition. It's also fun to turn down the viewing distance. Not only does it improve performance, but the zombies popping out of the mist are a perfect recepy for a heart attack. At one point I was stuck in an HMMV and the moaning zombies banging against the windows were simply terrifying Excellent!

Nevertheless, I have a few points of (constructive, of course )criticism. At one point I decided to split my squad into two teams so as to be able to cover more ground. However, I wasn't able to make the distant AI to evacuate survivors. Is that impossible or have I missed something? I must add it was very immersive to split my squad in two - at one point the distant team ran into a group of zombies and engaged them. After some shooting they stopped reporting targets, so I assumed they had eliminated them all. When I tried to give them another waypoint, I got no response. Worried, I hurried to their location, only to find a demolished HMMV and zombie-soldiers trying to gnaw on my bones. In retrospection it wasn't anything special, but the whole atmosphere was so tense that I still had a ton of fun.

Moving on: the only zombies I have seen were walking ones. Didn't the zombie pack include crawling undead? Or was that another project?

Finally, a few words about the whole concept of the mission. It is a fresh step away from the usual zombie missions, where the zombies spawn around the player. I've taken a look at the zombie outbreak simulator at sothisisthecomic.com, and it's a great concept. However, once you know the underlying idea the mission becomes a tad boring. It IS supposed a simulator (hence the name, I guess ), I know, but perhaps you could add some extra elements to relieve the tedium that eventually sets in. Perhaps you could do something to create the idea of a large-scale evacuation of the mainland, for example groups of Blackhawks flying over the island, paying no attention to your attempts to evacuate some backwater-island. Or you could have the player hear some garbled radiotransmissions from survivors calling for help over some old military equipment. This could be quite fun - right now you have no idea which cities hold surivors; you just move from question mark to question mark. Having this kind of transmissions would add extra depth to the player's strategy: I know there are survivors at location x, but I'm closer to location y. Should I go to location y first and take the risk of survivors at x being slaughtered in the meantime, or should I go straightaway to x, ignoring the possibility that there are survivors at y who weren't lucky enough to obtain a radio?

And now my last suggestion, although I don't know how feasible it is. Would it be possible to have some survivors hiding inside builiding? Right now they're just grouped outside to be slaughtered. When you enter a town, you know immediately whether there are survivors or not. If you would setpos survivors into buildings, the player would have to perform door to door searches, which would be much more immersive. Of course, I don't know how compatible this would be with the scripts the mission runs, or whether this is possible at all.

Overall, I have to say this is a great mission. I love the dynamic aspect. Well done!

[Trapper 0]

Thx Xawery!

Split squad:

It's possible and encouraged to use the ai for evacuations. Look under radio 6-x for the evac action if the ai is close to a leader. You could play the mission for practise and take your time to follow the evac tutorial step by step to get used to it.

Oh, and also use radio 6-x to hide corpses with the ai, otherwise the zombies will stand up again. - But you can only control/kill smaller zombie groups remotely.

Crawling zombies:

If its animations wouldn't be bugged I would have added one crawling zombie to the first twelve.

"Smarter" survivors:

Well, if they would be inside the buildings the whole mission concept wouldn't work. There's no way to simulate barricading with these zombies, so they wont be able to find any civilians to turn into zombies. And calculating something like that in scripts, would remove the zombie attacks eyecandy.

If I'm up to date you'll find some house to house action in Eddie Haskels upcoming Zombie mission/campaign.

The helicopters from the mainland..., but why should they fly to the ocean if they are needed elsewhere? Even if there are carriers, I don't think they would return to them after every evac flight. If it would be absolutely logical, I would just say ok.

Those few and random radio transmissions are a good idea if I'll have to update the mission. But I'll have to find the right timing, as there are survivors at every questionmark in the first minutes.

EDIT:

Quote[/b] ]At one point I was stuck in an HMMV and the moaning zombies banging against the windows were simply terrifying Excellent!

You're the first who noticed this little feature!

[xawery 0]

Hi Trapper,

thanks for the reply. Right after posting, I gave the mission another go and indeed, if the AI move close enough to the survivors, the 'Action' radio menu can be used to call in evac. I just wasn't close enough, apparently.

As to the 'smarter' survivors issue, I'm not suggesting they should all be indoors, but only some of them. I realise the zombies wouldn't be able to get to them, but that's the whole point of barricading, isn't it? Consider this: instead of putting the whole population of a town into a single large group which would then stand in the open, you could split them into several smaller groups and put some of them in buildings, and some of them in the open. This way the zombies would have enough to feed on, and the player would get his house-to-house action. Still, maybe this is too much work for such a relatively small addition.

As to the helicopters, perhaps they're ferrying people to other locations, or bringing in troops from carrier class ships? Or perhaps our little fictive island lies off the west coast of Florida, and the blackhaws passing overhead are flying from Tampa to Port Saint Joe? All within the bounds of reality, hehe.

Still, it's just an off the top of my head suggestion for some extra variety in the mission. Let's not get hung up on details

Again - great mission!

[23-Down 0]

Hi!

Your mission is fantastic... Download it people, i'm sure you all will like it... even if your not zombiefans...

it's a good idea... keep up the good work Trapper....    

I write the same on ofpcenter.de in the comments section...

if you are interested join up our team...   we can need good people like you...    

greetings 23-down

[Trapper 0]

I write the same on ofpcenter.de in the comments section...

I've just answered you there.

[Nemesis6 0]

The OFP AI still makes me cry and tear out my hair from the base of my skull.

[Trapper 0]

Are you talking about your soldiers?

[Nemesis6 0]

Well, not really. The soldiers did fine, except when they drove humvees. The real problem was with the evac convoy: When you see one car trying to have intercourse with another, something is wrong. The whole convoy was stuck at San Alto on the way back to base. I had to go check out what had happened, only to find one car stuck on top of another.

[Trapper 0]

Well, I've seen this before. It's one of the easier problems.

The convoy vehicles are almost indestructable, and you're able to repair your HMMWV if it breaks down. - So if they're stuck, try to drive against them until the AI knows how to drive.

[Sabin Stargem 0]

Hmm...crawling zombies animations bugged, right? I think I might have an idea for evading the issue while improving the enemy variety. It probably won't work, though. The basic idea, is to have a zombie that sprint-crawls, but it has two abilities: A permenate smokescreen, and it is capable of launching long-range smoke grenades at the player(s)

The purpose of this is to create a 'deadly, moving mist' effect, and to confuse human players. By having the smoke screen and smoke grenades, this zombie basically obscures vision, making it tough to hit, and it could provide cover for other zombies. By being obscured, it's bugged crawling animation won't be seen much, either.

A hopeful, but not likely to work suggestion, I think.

[Trapper 0]

I can't use "deadly, moving mist" for a Romero mission

Promblem with the legless zombie is that he acts like having legs after attacking someone. It just needs his own attack animation and it must be prevented that he switchs back to standing afterwards.

But creating your mist zombie should be possible. I'll mail Farmland Mod about it, maybe they'll include your idea somewhere.

[Sabin Stargem 0]

Hmm...forgot about those Romeo's rules. That is okay though, since if the idea manages to make gameplay better for some project, then all is well. (surveys the Farmland...)

EDIT: Potential problems with the idea have occured to me - if the Cloudlets option is turned off, smoke screens cease to exist. Also, smoke screens don't block the AI's vision. At least, that is what I heard on these forums.