ZS Zombie Classes Mega Post

[Guest]

 

Hey everyone, been a while since I’ve posted on here and I wanted to make a little thread to get back into writing. This post will be my comprehensive list of all the classes which I’d like to see changes implemented into Zombie Survival. I’ll attempt to go in order through all the classes from wave 1 to 6, naming what I’d like to see added. There will also be suggestion classes and bosses at the end of each section. Any of the suggested classes / bosses appearances and aesthetics are not final and are merely conceptual. The bosses will be last so scroll down for those. All of my requests here have been from months of gathering information from the HG ZS sever, seeing what does and what does not work. Some of these are cosmetic changes, but most are for gameplay purposes too. There won’t be alot so expect a short thread.

 

NOTE: This guide was going to include pictures to make it easier to understand, but it took too long to edit them all. I will mostly leave the design of these classes up to a short sentence written by me interpretation by you people. Keep this mind and I apologies for the lack of visual content.

 

STANDARD CLASSES

CLASS - ZOMBIE - WAVE 1

Make the animations less frantic and more fluid. They look strange limping around everywhere.

Reintroduce the Civilian and Rebel Zombie models for variety. Having the same white model with different colours looks odd and generic.

Remove the Player Colours from the White model. The flashy colours don’t fit with the HL2 theme.

SUBCLASS OF ZOMBIE - MEDICAL ZOMBIE - WAVE 1

Make the animations less frantic and more fluid. Same as the Zombie.

SUBCLASS OF ZOMBIE - FRESH DEAD - WAVE 1

Limit the models to humans to avoid confusion with other classes.

Make the Fresh Dead exclusive to when a human is killed. They’re weak enough and serve no purpose as an offensive zombie.
SUBCLASS OF ZOMBIE - GORE BLASTER ZOMBIE - WAVE 2

Nothing wrong here! An interesting and original Subclass.

CLASS - GHOUL -  WAVE 1

Make the animations less frantic and more fluid. Same as the Zombie

Remove the alternate Green and Flannel models. They too look out of place.

Remove the Poison that is ejected when shot. This is way too OP as it can easily damage players with little to no effort, dealing up to 50 damage in ½ of a second.

SUBCLASS OF GHOUL - ALPHA GHOUL - WAVE 3

Repurpose the alternate Green Ghoul model for this subclass. Alongside the red colouration, this Subclass should also be different with its model to keep it interesting.
CLASS - HEADCRAB - WAVE 1

Alter the hitbox so every attack taken isn't a critical hit. Headcrabs are too easy to kill and should have some resistance.
SUBCLASS OF HEADCRAB - FIRE HEADCRAB - WAVE 6

Alter the hitbox so every attack taken isn’t a critical hit. Same as the Headcrab

Decrease the amount of time humans are on fire from direct hits.

Remove this Subclass entirely. It deals way too much damage and feels relatively cheap and unfair to fight against and wave 6 is far too long for another headcrab. Also a Fire Headcrab sounds very unrealistic.

CLASS - FAST HEADCRAB - WAVE 2

Make the Fast Headcrab a Subclass of the Headcrab to free new Zombie spaces.

Alter the hitbox so every attack taken isn’t a critical hit. Same as the Headcrab.
CLASS - WRAITH - WAVE 2

Nothing wrong here! Extremely unique class.

CLASS - BLOATED ZOMBIE - WAVE 3

Nothing wrong here! A well balanced class and simple class.

SUBCLASS OF BLOATED ZOMBIE - SPITTER ZOMBIE - WAVE 3

Shorten the time taken to spit. It takes way too long to spit and does mediocre damage.

Make the spit ball more effective (IE Exploding on contact, increasing speed and accuracy) On top of the time taken to spit, it deals barely any damage and travels short distances.

Remove this Subclass entirely. This is a wasted subclass as it is not executed well. This would be more suited to a subclass of Ghoul more than the Bloated Zombie

CLASS - FAST ZOMBIE - WAVE 3

Nothing wrong here! An interesting and needed class.
CLASS - CHEM ZOMBIE - WAVE 4

Change the colour of the gas to a darker green. The bright lime green looks unnatural and cartoony.

Change the skin to a darker Poison Zombie skin. This will make it look further distinguished.

Change the name from ‘Chem Zombie’ to ‘Burster’. This will give it a more obvious name as to describe what it does. The name is also an allusion to the L4D Boomer.
SUBCLASS OF CHEM ZOMBIE - LIQUID NITRO ZOMBIE - WAVE 4

Change the colour of the gas to a darker blue. Same as the Chem Zombie.
Change the colour of the Liquid Nitro Zombie to a darker blue. This will help it blend in thematically with the rest of the zombies.

Change the name from ‘Liquid Nitro Zombie’ to ‘Nitro Burster’. This will fit in with the Chem Zombie’s rename and sounds more solid, unlike ‘Liquid Nitro Zombie’.
CLASS - FLESH BEAST - WAVE 4

Fix the size changing glitch with the model.
Change the model to the Standard Antlion as it appears more insect like, therefore more suited to scaling surfaces. The Antlion Guard would be more suited towards terrestrial / ground based gameplay.

Remove and Replace this class entirely. It’s just a Ghoul that can climb walls and can be executed with a much more interesting and effective class idea.
CLASS - POISON HEADCRAB - WAVE 4

Change the projectile to a skull or an uneven sphere. This will make it look more natural unlike the bland sphere we currently have.
Change the colour of the projectile to a darker green. Similar to the Chem Zombie.

Shorten the drugged time given to humans. This too feels cheap and should be restricted to more advanced forms of poison based attacks.
Make the Poison Headcrab a Subclass of the Headcrab to free new Zombie spaces.
CLASS - POISON ZOMBIE - WAVE 4

Nothing wrong here! Good intermediate class for long matches.

SUBCLASS OF POISON ZOMBIE - WILD POISON ZOMBIE - WAVE 5

Remove this Subclass entirely. The Wild Poison Zombie really doesn’t add much to the original, it's just a yellow poison zombie with greater poison capabilities and glowing eyes. Another wasted slot of a Subclass.
CLASS - IMMOLATOR - WAVE 5

Nothing wrong here! An interesting elemental zombie.
SUBCLASS - CHILLED IMMOLATOR - WAVE 5

Nothing wrong here! Another interesting elemental zombie!

CLASS - REVENANT - WAVE 5

Nothing wrong here! A good idea for a class without being too OP.

SUBCLASS OF REVENANT - FRIGID REVENANT - WAVE 5

Remove this Subclass entirely. It’s an out of place elemental zombie type which could be used elsewhere.

SUBCLASS OF REVENANT - BLOOD REVENANT - WAVE 6

Nothing wrong here! A good alternative which isn’t to OP either. I think It’s colour is broken though, it looks like a normal revenant which is probably unintentional.
ZOMBINE - WAVE 6

Add back the alternative Combine Models. They provided interesting looks, not sure why they were removed.

SUGGESTED STANDARD CLASSES

SUBCLASS OF HEADCRAB - MOLTED HEADCRAB - WAVE 2

“Hardened by hundreds of shed exoskeletons, this Headcrab has proven to be a versatile opponent for any human to encounter it.”

The Molted Headcrab is a larger and more bulkier headcrab when compared to the other variations. Its pristine beak can inflict deep lacerations which deal bleed damage on top of a slightly higher base damage.However, its size limits its overall leap distance while also making it a bigger target. It’s appearance is a deep orange and a larger frame when compared to the average Headcrab, but I would recommend using the HL2 beta skin, instead of recolouring the whole Headcrab. This Subclass would replace the Fire Headcrab if it is removed, but it can also be placed alongside it.

SUBCLASS OF FAST HEADCRAB - SKITTISH HEADCRAB - WAVE 3

“Years of evasion and survival has made this headcrab the fastest of its species and a high impact force is enough to slow down most humans.”

The Skittish Headcrab is a larger and faster variation of the Fast Headcrab, it is capable of leaping further distances than the Fast Headcrab and has a slightly faster base movement speed. Its attack is influenced by its speed, propelling itself like a missile to slow down any human it hits for a small amount of time. It’s downsides include the fact that its base damage does not change and again, its larger than the average Fast Headcrab. The Skittish Headcrab is larger and has a light green tint and I would also recommend using the HL2 beta skin for the Skittish Headcrab aswell. This Subclass would be added to the Fast Headcrab IF the Fast Headcrab doesn’t become a Subclass for the Headcrab.

SUBCLASS OF WRAITH - APPARITION - WAVE 3

“After wandering for too many undisturbed years, a Wraith has corrupted into an Apparition, an aggressive and psychotic entity bent on the suffering of others.”

The Apparition is a being of anguish who yearns to see the pain of others. The desire to haunt is unknown, but it’s good at its job. The Apparition doesn’t become visible based on movement speed, but rather stays at the same low transparency regardless of momentum. When it attacks, it reveals itself for a few seconds before vanishing again. The Apparition deals the same amount of damage as the Wraith, but blinds humans aswell. On top of this, the ‘scream’ attack can deafen humans for a short amount of time. The Apparition takes on the form of a ghastly skeleton, being slightly visible to the naked eye and would be a Subclass for the Wraith.

SUBCLASS OF BLOATED ZOMBIE - SPITTER - WAVE 3

“Poison has brought distraught onto this human, being transformed into a chemical wielding menace, now spitting sludge like a bullet."

The Spitter is a zombie who specialises in storing and using poison as a weapon against humans and barricades alike. The primary attack of the Spitter is a ball of poison, being launched at its targets, dealing large poison damage on direct hit on either humans or barricades. If the projectile hits a surface other than a barricade or human, it will explode, shooting poison in every direction possible. Its stomach has become a poison factory, meaning that when it gets shot it will leak poison quite rapidly. The Spitter would be a Subclass for the Bloated Zombie, replacing and improving the current ‘Spitter Zombie’.

SUBCLASS OF FAST ZOMBIE - STARVED ZOMBIE - WAVE 4

“Driven insane by the taste of flesh, this zombie rampages around its environments, manically thinking about its next feast down to the bone.”

The Starved Zombie is a Subclass for the Fast Zombie, being a far more thinned and desperate zombie than any other. This zombie is much more frail but causes greater deals of damage in short but impactful attacks. Its elongated claws give it the ability to deal bleed damage with either the melee attack or the launch / jump attack. The Starved Zombie is thinner and quieter than the Fast Zombie and obviously, will act as a Subclass for the Fast Zombie as it is currently lacking one.

CLASS / SUBCLASS OF FLESH BEAST- BARNACLE - WAVE 4

“Due to a lack of prey, the Barnacle has started roaming around walls and ceilings of buildings and other structures to snare any unsuspecting victims off their feet.”

The Barnacle is an class of zombie which is capable of scaling almost any surface it comes into contact with. The Barnacle uses several claws to cling and traverse across said surfaces while also having a sinister weapon on its side. Its melee consists of 4 elongated mouthparts with the addition of having a  tongue which acts like a harpoon. When attached to a human, it begins to slowly pull the human towards itself. When in range the Barnacle can deal further damage to the human with its melee attack. When attached to a prop, it stays hooked for a few seconds, dealing damage overtime until it eventually unhooks, giving it a somewhat lengthy recharge time. Its downsides is that its tongue can't reach too far and the body of the barnacle is soft and vulnerable to alot of attacks in general and is very slow. This Class or Subclass could replace or be added alongside the Flesh Beast.

SUBCLASS OF POISON HEADCRAB - VENOM HEADCRAB - WAVE 5

“The last of the eldest headcrabs, the Venom Headcrab has had time to alter the structure of its poison, making it a more potent and effective venom.”

The Venom Headcrab is a variant of the Poison Headcrab, being larger, beefier and more dangerous than the standard Poison Headcrab. Its chemicals have had time to accumulate to the point where they have started to mutate, transforming into a far more deadly chemical compound. Its leap attack takes alot longer to execute now, but is alot more devastating. It inflicts 15 or so damage at first and slowly takes away 60 or so health in “afterburn” damage. And like the other 2 suggested headcrab Subclasses, the Venom Headcrab is a larger target, but the primary attack now takes far longer to initiate. The appearance is a larger and more maroon / browner headcrab and the Venom Headcrab and again, I would use the HL2 Beta Skin. The Venom Headcrab would be a Subclass for the Poison Headcrab IF the Poison Headcrab doesn’t become a Subclass for the Headcrab.

SUBCLASS OF POISON ZOMBIE - POISON BEHEMOTH - WAVE 5

“Another victim to poison, this zombie has expanded to the point of no return, acting as a slave for the liquids it holds.”

The Poison Behemoth is a larger than average zombie, being mutated and scaled up to a large and menacing stature. The Poison has been imbued into the flesh of the Behemoth, making it toxic to the touch. The melee attack deals both bleed and poison damage due to its large claws and its secondary attack involves its own body even more. The Poison Behemoth will tear off chunks of its flesh and use them as poisonous projectiles. Its downsides include the fact that it is larger than average, making it easier to hit. The Poison Behemoth would replace the Wild Poison Zombie as a new Subclass.

NEW CLASS - CONSTRICTOR - WAVE 2

“A mutated zombie is enough to spell a bad time, as is the case with the Constrictor. Acting like a spear, its tongue can slow you from afar.”

The Constrictor is a zombie with an elongated tongue which acts as a slowing mechanism. Its offensive capabilities include 2 attacks, the melee and tongue shot. The melee does low damage and is very situational. In order to make full use of it, the secondary attack must be used in quick succession with the melee. The tongue shot is a mini hook attached to the tongue of the Constrictor, upon contact with a human, the tongue will slow down the human and immediately retract. This will give the Constrictor the chance to advance on the now slowed human and finish it off. Its downsides include the fact that it deals small amounts of damage with its melee and its tongue shot only slows humans, not damaging them on contact. The Constrictor would replace the Fast Headcrab slot IF the Fast Headcrab becomes a Subclass for the Headcrab.

SUBCLASS OF CONSTRICTOR - CHOKER - WAVE 3

“The Constrictors tongue has attached to several veins, bones and intestines to form the Choker, a new zombie with a vice of a grip.

The Choker is a deadlier version of the Constrictor, featuring an upgraded tongue and a stronger melee attack. The melee still does little damage, but it now inflicts bleeding upon whoever it hits. And its tongue has become a whole lot stronger now. The tongue now attaches to the human, slowly pulling them in towards the Choker. The human attached can still look around and shoot, but is immobile and cannot move independently. The attached human takes 5 damage every 2.5 seconds while attached as is attached for 5 seconds. After those 5 seconds have elapsed, the tongue will let go and will recharge for 10 seconds. Its downsides include it being slower than the Constrictor. The Choker would become a Subclass for the Constrictor.

NEW CLASS - BULLSQUID - WAVE 4

“This Xen native species has a taste for human as much as its zombie brethren. Armed with 5 tentacles and a potent spit, this creature is not to be messed with.”

The Bullsquid is a type of zombie which acts as a ‘All In One’ class. The Bullsquid features a generous movement speed, the ability to spit and a menacing appearance. The Spit of the Bullsquid can be used while moving and acts as a fast and accurate projectile. This projectile doesn’t do alot of damage as it is used to ‘taunt’ / ‘temper’ humans. The melee causes knockback, but deals little damage. The appearance of the Bullsquid is the HL2 beta model as it is alot more detailed than the HL1 model. Its weaknesses include its small health and the somewhat low damage of both attacks. The Bullsquid would replace the Poison Headcrab space IF the Poison Headcrab becomes a Subclass of the Headcrab.

SUBCLASS OF BULLSQUID - FLESH SQUID - WAVE 5

“When squid and human mutate into one, the Flesh Squid is the final result, turning into a hyper aggressive beast with a appetite for its own kind.”

The Flesh Squid is a mutated version of a human and a Bullsquid. Its main defining attribute is its size, the Flesh Beast is a larger than any average zombie class and its abilities stem from that. Its melee attack does average damage and has the ability to knockback humans while its spit attack is a slower, but more deadly projectile. Instead of being made from poison, this projectile is made from blood and other internal fluids. Its appearance is a menacing stature with a disturbing head at the back of its body. Its weaknesses include the fact that its size limits its speed and makes it a bigger target.

BOSSES

BOSS - BONEMESH - WAVE 1

Nothing wrong here! Interesting boss idea.
BOSS - DEVOURER -  WAVE 1

Change the material of the lead to the cable material. The use of rope on a zombie looks out of place.
BOSS - KING HEADCRAB - WAVE 1

Alter the hitbox so every attack taken isn't a critical hit. This boss can get annihilated just as easy as a Headcrab even though they both serve the same purpose.

Make the icon more differential from the Headcrab. They’re the exact same icon and a new one is helpful.
SUBBOSS OF THE KING HEADCRAB - DOOM CRAB - WAVE 4

Remove and Replace this Subboss Entirely. It used to be a fun and gimmicky boss which could deal alot of damage and die just as quick, but is now a dumbed down version of the King Headcrab with a projectile which can be used for another boss.
BOSS - LEGION - WAVE 1

Nothing wrong here! A good boss for higher areas.
SUBBOSS OF THE LEGION - SWAMP LEGION - WAVE 3

Make the icon more differential from the Legion. A recolour is all that’s needed in this case.
BOSS - NERF - WAVE 1

Remove and Replace this Boss Entirely. This boss has been an issue for literally a year now and It’s yet to be fixed or removed. The appearance of the Nerf is almost identical to the Fast Zombie, confusing alot of players by making them guess which type of zombie it actually is. This boss was intended to punish humans for being outside of cades, but fails at that. Its main attack is its secondary leap, which knocks down humans and keeps them down for a few seconds. This could work IF the recharge time wasn’t so long because of how hard it can be to hit moving humans, especially with high ping. It can be slowed down by bullets which handicaps it immediately and Its primary doesn’t work well with how the boss currently plays. Overall, this boss is no improvement from the Wendigo and should be replaced with a more straightforward and easier to manage boss.
BOSS - NIGHTMARE - WAVE 1

Nothing wrong here! A reliable and solid boss.

SUBBOSS OF THE NIGHTMARE - STEADFAST NIGHTMARE - WAVE 1

Remove the ability to slow down humans. The Nightmare is already dangerous enough and having a faster version seems unbalanced. Removing the slowdown can help it become easier to fight against.
SUBBOSS OF THE NIGHTMARE - ANCIENT NIGHTMARE - WAVE 5

Remove this Subboss entirely. This addition to the Nightmare seems really unnecessary and I’ve never seen it being used ingame. Besides, wave 5 seems too late for another Nightmare and the Tickle Nightmare combines 2 good bosses, making the Ancient Nightmare obsolete.

BOSS - PUKEPUS - WAVE 1

Alter the hitbox so every attack taken doesn’t deal as much damage. The Pukepus can be shredded in seconds, just as fast as the King Headcrab. It should have some longevity compared to the other bosses at the very least.

SUBBOSS OF THE PUKEPUS - ELECTRO PUS - WAVE 3

Alter the hitbox so every attack taken doesn’t deal as much damage. Same as the Pukepus.

BOSS - SHADE - WAVE 1

Nothing wrong here! A classic and original boss.

SUBBOSS OF THE SHADE - OMEGA SHADE - WAVE 3

Move the Omega Shade up to WAVE 4. It’s easy to kill groups of humans with just some lose props, and by the time its WAVE 3, most humans would still be organising the cade.
SUBBOSS OF THE SHADE - FROST SHADE - WAVE 4

Change the aesthetics from a ‘Frost’ theme to an ‘Electricity’ theme. The Shade would make more sense if it were made of electricity more than frost / ice.

Change the name from ‘Frost Shade’ to ‘Tesla Shade’. See above.

Move the Frost Shade down to WAVE 3. See Omega Shade.
SUBBOSS OF THE SHADE- SHADOW SHADE - WAVE 4

Move the Shadow Shade down to WAVE 3. See Omega Shade.

BOSS - THE BUTCHER - WAVE 1

Nothing wrong here! A solid and reliable boss.

SUBBOSS OF THE BUTCHER - CHRONO BUTCHER - WAVE 4

Nothing wrong here! A unique and innovative boss.

BOSS - THE TICKLE MONSTER - WAVE 1

Nothing wrong here! Another reliable boss.
SUBBOSS OF THE TICKLE MONSTER - THE TICKLE NIGHTMARE - WAVE 5

Nothing wrong here! A good boss for long games.

BOSS - HOWLER - WAVE 3

Nothing wrong here! A good new addition.

SUGGESTION BOSSES

SUBBOSS OF THE BONEMESH - FLESHMESH - WAVE 5

“While malformed bones created the Bonemesh, a severe mutilation of the flesh and muscles has resulted in the Fleshmesh, a gas wielding zombie.”

The Fleshmesh is a subboss consisting of an extremely deformed body, teaming with tumors and other external handicaps. The Fleshmesh can still attack with its claws, though they deal little damage, its Blood Bombs however, are far more effective and are the goto weapon for the Fleshmesh. The Fleshmesh has 3 different Blood Bomb types, the ‘Tumor Bomb’, the ‘Gas Bomb’ and the ‘Soul Bomb’. The Tumor Bomb starts off as a normal bomb, dealing damage when it explodes. But when it explodes, it turns into 3 smaller bombs and when they explode, they too deal damage. The Gas Bomb is an upgraded version of the Bonemeshes Gas Bomb, having a higher damage output and a higher explosion radius. The final bomb is the Soul Bomb, when this bomb explodes, it deals damage and  shoots out several faint skulls in every direction. When one of these skulls hits a human, they will go blind and move slower for some time. The Fleshmesh is weaker than the Bonemesh which is it's only downside. The Fleshmesh would be a new Subboss for the Bonemesh as it is currently lacking one.

SUBBOSS OF THE KING HEADCRAB - QUEEN HEADCRAB - WAVE 3

“When the strongest of Headcrabs cant fight the humans, the Queen Headcrab comes out of hiding to finish the fight.”

The Queen Headcrab is the Earth equivalent of the Xen Gonarch. Due to the different conditions of Earth, the female headcrab has had to change its final stage of maturity. The Queen Headcrabs main leap cannot reach alot of distance or height compared to the King Headcrab, but pulls off alot more damage on contact. The Queen Headcrabs secondary leap is a charged up jump, when the Queen Headcrab lands on a human, cade or the ground, it deals greater amounts of damage and does nearby damage to other props. Its size and movement speed are its biggest weaknesses however, making it a slow and easy target and it cant burrow like most other headcrabs. The looks of the Queen Headcrab are a more tame brown colouration with larger hind legs + mandibles and smaller front legs. The Queen Headcrab would be a Subboss of the King Headcrab IF the Doom Crab is removed.

SUBBOSS OF THE LEGION- TESLA LEGION - WAVE 3

“The result of a electricity shock and a legion is the Tesla Legion, a floating and telekinetic being, capable of flight and flinging props."

The Tesla Legion is a Legion consisting of pure electricity. Coming too close to this subboss will begin to zap said human in short discharges. The Tesla Legion can pick up and throw props like a Shade, but retains its flying capabilities. Bullets have no effect on the Tesla Legion and it can only be damaged by flashlights and spot lamps. It has only one weakness, which is that it is extremely slow, making chasing down humans a hard time for this Subboss. The appearance of the Tesla Legion is a grim and dark blue with electricity jolting about it constantly. The Tesla Legion would be a Subboss for the Legion alongside the Swamp Legion.

NEW BOSS - FLESH BEAST - WAVE 1

“Years of pollution and mere weeks of a zombie infection has mutated this Antlion into a flesh ridden monster of an arthropod.”

The Flesh Beast is a heavily mutated Antlion, its exoskeleton has been transformed into hard red flesh, making it tougher than before. The Flesh Beast uses its sharp front claws as a primary attack, slowing and causing bleed damage on any humans it hits. The secondary flutter leap propels the Flesh Beast at humans, knocking them over and dealing knockback along with it. The Flesh Beast doesn’t get slowed down by bullets and has a well built up resistance to them. However, the Flesh Beast has relatively low health and takes more damage from melee attacks. The Flesh Beast would replace the Nerf as a new boss, correcting where it went wrong and hopefully putting an end to this issue.

SUBBOSS OF THE FLESH BEAST - FLESH TITAN - WAVE 3

“The malformation of a thousand corpses, the Flesh Titan is a zombie who seeks to add onto its ever growing body.”

The Flesh Titan is a large entity made of several bodies sewn together into one hulking Subboss. The Flesh Titan uses its strong body structure to its advantage, head butting its opponents with brute force which will cause them to take knockback damage while also being slowed. Its secondary attack causes the Flesh Titan to go into a running motion, eventually transitioning into a charging motion. When hitting a human while charging, the Flesh Titan will lose all of its momentum and will transfer it into the human it just hit, sending them flying in knockback, where they will stay on the ground for a small amount of time. Its large body reduces its turning abilities while charging and its size makes it easier to shoot. The Flesh Titan would be a Subboss for the Flesh Beast.

Sorry there wasn’t much to look at or comment on. All comments and feedback is appreciated. I don't expect all of these changes to go through, but hopefully some.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Guest
Correcting typo.

[Snowyamur]

@Genuline

Okay, I didn't read though all of this not because I didn't find it interesting, but if you're suggestion is going to be this long, I've experienced a TL;DR-symptom.

 

I would highly-suggest making a game design document using Microsoft Office: Word if it's available to you. It's much easier that way, and you have more editing-power using that software over the HeLLsGamers Forums.

[Guest]

@Snowyamur

Way ahead of you. While not professional, I use Google Docs to write my topics and copy paste them into the HG editor.

And I can reason with your TL:DR, most of it is just small suggestions (There are some bigger paragrahs near the end and near the middle) and it was 9 pages long on docs, kek.

EDIT: I also put 'Mega Post' for a reason, not to sound like a smart-ass.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Guest

[Snowyamur]

@Genuline

If you would like an example for a game design document format, check out how I do mine for my ZS suggestions with the recent one for Neuro-Fiber below:

Neuro-Fiber 1.3

Edited January 6, 2019 by Snowyamur

[Guest]

@Snowyamur

From your doc I can see that you put more work and thought into your suggestion(s), which is something I commend people for. Most players usually say whats on their mind in less than a sentence and maybe a paragraph. Having a full sorta 'booklet' can give people a full in depth idea of what you want to see in ZS without being too obscure. I myself have written docs up to 4-5 pages for either a single or 2 suggestions alike. The only thing I think is missing from your suggestions are visuals / images.

Most people don't like reading for too long (As seen with you and most people towards this thread) and people retain attention more if theres some visual aspects to it. For most of my previous topics, I've inserted images, whether from Google or making them on GMOD, which has lead to people giving it more attention and a longer read than average. If you made use of images, you could spice up your thoughts a bit more. I'd be glad to make them for you even, I can do icons, backgrounds or even create ideas ingame VIA PAC3 Editor.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Guest
Minor adress edit.

[ForrestMarkX]

Nice suggestions, I'll add alot of these in the next update

[TheDarkDevilRo3]

the blood revenant is quite useless nobody uses it and it does lower dmg than the regular revenant it needs buff its just a useless wave 6 zombie 

[Fume Knight]

A lot of cool ideas, will think about some of them

[Snowyamur]

@Genuline

You have a good point. Visual imagery not only attracts the inquiring eye, but it also helps to better-explain appearances when a description is not sufficient enough. However, when it comes to making up game mechanics, I prefer to have all the underlying details first, those that matter when it comes to in-game application towards balance, gameplay, and feel, before considering the nit-picky specifics for appearance. This is because appearance is like the icing on the cake for game mechanics; it's more important to have mechanics that have been tested, they work, and are balanced FIRST before considering unique appearances.

 

Of course, that's not to say start describing how the appearance would look now; a head-start will usually be advantageous to design. It's just that once a mechanic is designed, it's first document isn't always set in stone. When I designed Neuro-Fiber, I had to re-design the entire game design document due to balance flaws pointed out by @Hugin&Munin, and as a result, the appearance, description, anything graphical at best had to change along with it.

 

This reason is usually why I hold off on gathering images until the very end, unless when I'm working in a game development team, which I have for almost 1.5 - 2 years now, I have an artist, and artists need references NOW, in which case I'll search for references and immediately provide them with some images.

[Talbot]

Cool ideas Genuline

[a white kleiner]

Ancient Nightmare obsolete boss ?  wot ? 

[pho-]

This is amazing

[Guest]

@Snowyamur

I can definetely see your reasoning now on how important balance and gameplay is compared to cosmetic ideas / additions. But for any suggestion or concept, things should be kept loose at the beginning until you can further define what your final product is going to be like. I might've sounded a little to lenient towards 'gameplay first' as I mostly try and improve the zombie team, where cosmetic design can be elaborated on further when compared to a Human trait or weapon.

Starting with designs are like starting with pencil sketches, they arent the final result, but they are distinguishable and can surely give you a better understanding of what you want to make of your canvas. And again, when designing most zombies, its easier to finish with the design as most models / resources are borrowed from HL2, with few outside sources being incorporated into the design of any classes.

@Talbot

Thanks! Alot of time and work went into this, I've been writing this topic for nearly a year and have managed to publish it now.

@a white kleiner 

When you reach wave 5, the Humans have unlocked a mutlitude of weapons which can shred through bosses easily, no matter how high their health count is. Both the Ancient Nightmare and the Tickle Monster also unlock on this wave and ultimately, the TM is the safer approach to Wave 5 cades. The Nightmare is good in earlier waves or in higher concerntrations of bosses / zombies, but around Wave 5 is where both of these advantages fall off. Ancient Nightmares are like any other zombie, they either hug and attack the cade or swoop in and out for hits, under the potential safety from Shades and other zombie classes. But each time the Ancient Nightmare goes in for a hit, they are met with a shit-storm of bullets and other firepower, draining their health like its nothing. Only a few more hits in and the AN is dead, doing at tops 400 DMG to barricades.

The Tickle Nightmare out performs the Ancient Nightmare as it can stay safe distances from cades without being shot too much, hitting humans in harder to reach places aswell if they get too cocky. A good Tickle Nightmare can deal average 2500+ DMG to barricades on a good wave, which is much better than 400 DMG alone. On top of these easy to notice downsides, I've rarely seen anyone unironically chose Ancient Nightmare as boss. When wave 4 ends, there's always people shouting to go Tickle Nightmare and the idea of going Ancient Nightmare is irrelevant. So unfortunately, the Ancient Nightmare doesn't serve much purpose, maybe if it unlocked at an earlier wave, it could have some more potential. Rest in rip.

@pho-

Thanks! I was also planning on doing a full encyclopedia on different types of cades and any terms / slangs that are used regarding cading.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Guest

[Guest]

@ForrestMarkX

Nice to hear, I hope they will further diversify and improve the zombie roster. There may be some need for balancing these classes if things go hay-wire.

@TheDarkDevilRo3

If I get the chance to run around when humans have lost, Blood Revenants have always been annoying to deal with. They're just like normal Revenants but they inflict bleed, its already a well functioning class and it doesn't need to be buffed as far as I'm aware.

@Fume Knight

Thanks! No pressure into putting every single change in, just the ones you and the higher-ups feel are right for ZS.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Guest

[Hugin&Munin]

Pointing out that you should edit FleshMesh boss, you said 3 bombs but you repeated the name of one of the bombs instead of writing the 3rd one. Nonetheless, any idea that is refreshing for the ZS gamemode is more than welcome for me. We just have to be careful to make it fun and yet not to make everything OP for one of the teams.

[Guest]

@Hugin&Munin

Didn't see kek, resolving now.

[Snowyamur]

@Genuline

You have a point there, as well. I read over all the new changes you suggested for the Zombie Team, and I wanted to say that I like most, if not all, these changes. While, for the most part, I prefer having this on a game design document, that's just me; you design in your own way and we'll follow along.

 

I'm taking your advice about how illustrations can better-appeal an audience trying to read and understand one's game design because that's what I did when I did game development in my own team, and it worked well. I guess I was being stingy about design because I was trying to make it geared towards Forrest's liking, and he's the actual programmer.

 

Also, the reason I focus on gameplay with such scrutiny and detail in game design is because when I developed a videogame from scratch, that was the approach I took because it allowed for the correct mechanics to be implemented in the way I wanted them in the game.

 

Nonetheless, you are also right about concept. It's better to start having a sketch of it, then slowly build up to it, but the thing is, the reason I can pull off the design of a certain game mechanic in-full is because I have the sketch in-mind while doing it, so I just add the details to it. However, I will once again use this approach since it's proven useful up until now.

[Snowyamur]

@Genuline

But, you did bring up a great point when designing Zombies. I suppose the design being easier makes sense because most of your ideas from this post relate to appearance and ability adjustments, which are minor, but impacting on the gameplay itself in-terms of aesthetic in feel. I usually focus on math and handle the nit-pick specific details when it comes to game mechanics, that's how it worked with Neuro-Fiber and Compound Z, as well as the Infiltrator Zombie Boss that I designed, but have yet to see in-game.

[Guest]

@Snowyamur

 

Agreed on that first paragraph. And thanks for reading it all, I bet most people would experience TL:DR syndrome barely 6 classes in. And quickly just for clarification, alot of time was put into this list. Through several hours of gameplay, I've had the time to weigh out each classes / bosses abilities and designs, determine which are needed for buffing, nerfing, updating or removing, all the while making it sound realistic both logically and gameplay wise. This is evident as I am happy with most zombies currently avaliable, suggesting minor changes, but I have some larger greifs with some classes / bosses.

Plus, thanks for noting my approach to design, I usually think about design casually so it wouldn't be to unrealistic or complex to implement ingame. I havent worked in a team before with the only other people helping me improve my ideas being the community, I try to keep peoples ideas at the back of my mind incase they can show up to better improve my concepts.

Interestingly, I can see where our ideas meet and conflict simultaneously. I'm more casual with my ideas, reducing gameplay features to basic concepts to be built up on and focus on design more than anything. You seem more professional with your ideas, keeping your focus on gameplay first (undeniably the more important of the two) so its easier to get mechanics out of the way first, having more straight forward concepts on what you could invision your idea looking like aesthetically.

Not much to say here, I agree with your fourth paragraph.

And here too is something similar regarding both of our approaches to developing ideas / concepts. I approach it more causally, focusing on design whereas you also focus on the implementation of your ideas. I can understand how important having a functioning class is compared to a broken one with extra cosmetic polish, something that normally would've gone over my head. When I think of a zombie, I think about what it can do based on its appearance, judging whether it fits in more as a boss or as a standard class, deciding on whether its bleed or poison based etc. While your approach focuses on the smaller and ultimately more important details, getting everything ready in preparation for the final product. This whole conversation between us has really shown how different development can be sometimes, but also showing how that everyone involved can ultimately come to an agreement. (Throughout this response in particular I may have sounded bashy, but know that I'm not contradicting your ways of development, more rather respecting them.)

[a white kleiner]

Ancient Nightmare is actually a valuable choice when the cade spot is tickle proof,it would be a wiser choice to pick Ancient Nightmare over Tickle Nightmare in this kind of situation and i love Ancient Nightmare because its just cade melting at its finest  

[Guest]

@a white kleiner

Very true point there, my fault for underestimating Ancient Nightmare a bit. I feel like there are no bosses or classes which manage to counter every cade, instead each of the two are very situational and work well based on alot of factors.