Fire Behavior: No spread on asphalt!

[FireOnAsphalt]

Good afternoon Indie Stone & Associates,

 

My name is FireOnApshalt, and I think you may have an inkling about the topic of this post from my username alone. While playing this awesome game online with a friend, we were assaulted by a giant horde. In our cleverness, we decided to lure them to a large open parking lot (with what I assume to be asphalt terrain; correct me if I'm wrong) and throw a molotov cocktail to eliminate with FIRE.

 

Now, once we had tossed the bottle, our mistake was quickly realized. Not only did the fire spread across the asphalt as if it were dry hay in the middle of the dry warm season in the Sahara desert, but it proceeded to burn down the entire forest as well as the majority of the north portion of Muldraugh.

 

I'm not a fireman. I'm not a forensic expert. Nor have I ever started a sizable fire in my life, save for campfires and the such. But, it seems to me that physics works in a way that prevents fire from spreading across cement surfaces, as there is no organic material to be lit. In fact, I'm quite sure that many bunkers and buildings are built out of cement to prevent such a thing from even happening.

 

Sure, asphalt has tar in it as part of it's construction, but I do believe it would take an immense amount of heat to even start it on fire, let alone burn at a consistent rate and spread (wildfire rates, in this case). Does a molotov cocktail possess that amount of heat and power? Again, I'm not a scientist, so I suppose I cannot say. But, it all seems to be a little overkill.

 

My suggestion is this: in the next update, please nerf fire spread on cement and asphalt surfaces. If we can't use molotovs there, then where can they be used intelligently and safely? Why are they in the game? They're too destructive, too unpredictable, and outright suicidal to use in the first place.

 

Thanks and have a wonderful afternoon!

[syfy]

fire spread is an option that the server owner can turn on and off. best thing to do is ask the owner to turn it off

[King jjwpenguin]

fire spread is an option that the server owner can turn on and off. best thing to do is ask the owner to turn it off

but for those of us who are not on a server. it shouldn't do that. but yet it does.

[Evilwuun]

I definitely agree with this. I actually have yet to use fire as a weapon simply because I saw the destructive force a single zombie and a campfire can summon; I almost lost an old safe house while cooking a fish.

[Asrayl]

I can definitely agree with this. 

[FireOnAsphalt]

Not really a fix, but my friend and I have devised a tactic that seems to do fairly well at managing the hordes while still using the destructive force of the terrible weapon they call the "Molotov Cocktail"...

 

Highways!

 

We lured quite a massive horde to the main street in Muldraugh and threw a molotov in the street. The horde quickly ignited and we could keep them following in a fairly straight line down the center of the highway. Whenever a group of stragglers lost interest, my friend picked them off with a pistol and with the two of us, herding the zombies away from the buildings and the forest on the other side became a feasible task.

 

The only loss we suffered was Spiffos. May the burger joint rest in peace.

[King jjwpenguin]

Not really a fix, but my friend and I have devised a tactic that seems to do fairly well at managing the hordes while still using the destructive force of the terrible weapon they call the "Molotov Cocktail"...

 

Highways!

 

We lured quite a massive horde to the main street in Muldraugh and threw a molotov in the street. The horde quickly ignited and we could keep them following in a fairly straight line down the center of the highway. Whenever a group of stragglers lost interest, my friend picked them off with a pistol and with the two of us, herding the zombies away from the buildings and the forest on the other side became a feasible task.

 

The only loss we suffered was Spiffos. May the burger joint rest in peace.

i see where you are going but there was still a destroyed building. just this tiny fix could mean life or death, destruction or stability. its a small thing that could change a lot.

[FireOnAsphalt]

I agree, this fix would and could change the whole concept of using fire as a weapon.

 

This is slightly off topic, but one of the ideas I've toyed around with while fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse would be digging a very large pit in the ground into which zombies could be lured/herded. After the pit contains a reasonable number of zeds, burnable debris could be tossed into the pit with a touch of gasoline to dispose of the zombies in a controlled manner.

 

It would be quite an undertaking to dig a pit large enough to accomplish this goal, but I feel like it would provide a very safe and effective way to use fire as both a tool and a weapon in corpse management and zombie elimination.

 

Is this a possibility in the game engine? No idea. I do know that it's possible to add multiple elevation levels to the map, but only in regards to going up. Perhaps a subterranean level could be added so this would be a possibility. Imagine all the dirt you'd have for building moats and re-fertilizing farmland!

[King jjwpenguin]

I agree, this fix would and could change the whole concept of using fire as a weapon.

 

This is slightly off topic, but one of the ideas I've toyed around with while fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse would be digging a very large pit in the ground into which zombies could be lured/herded. After the pit contains a reasonable number of zeds, burnable debris could be tossed into the pit with a touch of gasoline to dispose of the zombies in a controlled manner.

 

It would be quite an undertaking to dig a pit large enough to accomplish this goal, but I feel like it would provide a very safe and effective way to use fire as both a tool and a weapon in corpse management and zombie elimination.

 

Is this a possibility in the game engine? No idea. I do know that it's possible to add multiple elevation levels to the map, but only in regards to going up. Perhaps a subterranean level could be added so this would be a possibility. Imagine all the dirt you'd have for building moats and re-fertilizing farmland!

i believe this is planned and digging has been talked about MANY times. just look around to see the conversations. it was a little while ago but not too long ago.

[Johnny Fisher]

I agree, this fix would and could change the whole concept of using fire as a weapon.

 

This is slightly off topic, but one of the ideas I've toyed around with while fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse would be digging a very large pit in the ground into which zombies could be lured/herded. After the pit contains a reasonable number of zeds, burnable debris could be tossed into the pit with a touch of gasoline to dispose of the zombies in a controlled manner.

 

It would be quite an undertaking to dig a pit large enough to accomplish this goal, but I feel like it would provide a very safe and effective way to use fire as both a tool and a weapon in corpse management and zombie elimination.

 

Is this a possibility in the game engine? No idea. I do know that it's possible to add multiple elevation levels to the map, but only in regards to going up. Perhaps a subterranean level could be added so this would be a possibility. Imagine all the dirt you'd have for building moats and re-fertilizing farmland!

 

Well, if you look back at the "Commonly Suggested Suggestions [Read Before Posting]" thread, it says "[y]    Sewers and basements", so it's most likely possible. Hopefully with Creative Mode updates, we'll get something nice with basements, pits, trenches, and the sort. Can you imagine a 1.0 PZ challenge that sets you in a WWI trench battle with NPC soldiers, and your enemies are all zeds?

[King jjwpenguin]

 

I agree, this fix would and could change the whole concept of using fire as a weapon.

 

This is slightly off topic, but one of the ideas I've toyed around with while fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse would be digging a very large pit in the ground into which zombies could be lured/herded. After the pit contains a reasonable number of zeds, burnable debris could be tossed into the pit with a touch of gasoline to dispose of the zombies in a controlled manner.

 

It would be quite an undertaking to dig a pit large enough to accomplish this goal, but I feel like it would provide a very safe and effective way to use fire as both a tool and a weapon in corpse management and zombie elimination.

 

Is this a possibility in the game engine? No idea. I do know that it's possible to add multiple elevation levels to the map, but only in regards to going up. Perhaps a subterranean level could be added so this would be a possibility. Imagine all the dirt you'd have for building moats and re-fertilizing farmland!

 

Well, if you look back at the "Commonly Suggested Suggestions [Read Before Posting]" thread, it says "[y]    Sewers and basements", so it's most likely possible. Hopefully with Creative Mode updates, we'll get something nice with basements, pits, trenches, and the sort. Can you imagine a 1.0 PZ challenge that sets you in a WWI trench battle with NPC soldiers, and your enemies are all zeds?

 

i really doubt its coming in build 33 since the engine doesn't allow for it yet (if i am correct) so it most likely wont be here in build 33.

[Johnny Fisher]

 

 

I agree, this fix would and could change the whole concept of using fire as a weapon.

 

This is slightly off topic, but one of the ideas I've toyed around with while fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse would be digging a very large pit in the ground into which zombies could be lured/herded. After the pit contains a reasonable number of zeds, burnable debris could be tossed into the pit with a touch of gasoline to dispose of the zombies in a controlled manner.

 

It would be quite an undertaking to dig a pit large enough to accomplish this goal, but I feel like it would provide a very safe and effective way to use fire as both a tool and a weapon in corpse management and zombie elimination.

 

Is this a possibility in the game engine? No idea. I do know that it's possible to add multiple elevation levels to the map, but only in regards to going up. Perhaps a subterranean level could be added so this would be a possibility. Imagine all the dirt you'd have for building moats and re-fertilizing farmland!

 

Well, if you look back at the "Commonly Suggested Suggestions [Read Before Posting]" thread, it says "[y]    Sewers and basements", so it's most likely possible. Hopefully with Creative Mode updates, we'll get something nice with basements, pits, trenches, and the sort. Can you imagine a 1.0 PZ challenge that sets you in a WWI trench battle with NPC soldiers, and your enemies are all zeds?

 

i really doubt its coming in build 33 since the engine doesn't allow for it yet (if i am correct) so it most likely wont be here in build 33.

 

 

Yes, I believe it will come in Build 34-35, at a future Creative Mode update.

[King jjwpenguin]

I thought creative was build 33 but I am not sure.(

Oh never mind. I am being stupid and phone is posting before I finish.

[JoshGaarax3]

You've never made or thrown a molotov before have you? youre forgetting its full of petrol and its inside of a glass bottle so that will spread over the ground and bring the fire with it

[Kurogo]

The ignition temperature of gasoline is about 500F. Asphalt has a boiling point at around 600F and ignition temperature of about 900F. Even if the molotov could get hot enough, it would melt the asphalt before it ignited it.

I'd like to see non-combustable materials get an appropriate resistance to fire as well. Hairspray bombs definitely wouldn't be setting concrete, bricks, or asphalt on fire, and molotovs wouldn't be spreading nearly as bad as they currently do.

[FireOnAsphalt]

You've never made or thrown a molotov before have you? youre forgetting its full of petrol and its inside of a glass bottle so that will spread over the ground and bring the fire with it

 

To be fair, that's a good point. I've watched some videos where molotovs are thrown since my initial post, and the flames do spread quite a bit because of the liquid splash. Also, I've figured out a good circular-strafing tactic to keep the zeds in a relatively small area while burning, so fire spread has become less of an issue. Though, I haven't tried to take out multiple hordes with a molotov; the more zombies afire, the more difficult it would become to herd them away from buildings.

 

I guess the lesson I've learned here is discretion. Still though; I think fire spread on cement, asphalt and brick surfaces should be nerfed at least a little bit.

[Jab]

I'm surprised that the 'NoFireSpread' official implementation stops the 'Spread' of fire all-together for any map entity, letting the fire only spread from moving thing to other moving thing (A horde, or players on fire). It wouldn't hurt to have these Molotov-Cocktails. All it would do is take the ignited fires and those would burn out, not spreading. That's what my patch did.