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Trying to set up a base...


ethanwdp

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But I'm being chased constantly.

Every house has 1 or 2 zeds in it. Zeds are in the streets, on the grass beside the streets, the forest, etc.

It takes several hits to take out ONE zombie.

 

Since combat isn't an option, I run. As I run, I attract more zombies.

If I try to sneak through the treeline, the zeds that are already there will grab me and bite me. If I try to outsmart them, they'll burst through the house while simultaneously surrounding me.



If I manage to secure a house, so much as stepping outside will attract zombies. Trying to sneak around the backs of houses will have me detected, since they spawn back there too.

 

I've even tried changing all of their senses to poor, and they can still see me. Stealth isn't an option since I can't go anywhere without stumbling upon another group in the route I planned out.

 

I don't know what to do. I'm clearly doing something wrong, but I cant tell what.

 

 

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Every new game, I start it by running as far as I can towards the edge of an area (since I'm extremely biased to the cabin by the lake, I always make that my base). Once I get to about the last row of houses before the woods, I stop. I'll then proceed to take out any zombies still trailing me (often times with bare hands only, just make sure your only dealing with 2 or 3 at once). I then proceed to clear out house by house. Usually I can find everything I need before setting up at the house by the lake and declaring victory for that playthrough (since I've yet to have any zombies wander into the woods).

 

Granted, I haven't played the last build or two, and I tend to die only if I'm extremely careless (like sleeping in a house even though I heard a zombie in the woods somewhere and not killing it >.>).

 

I'll have to try to play again tonight, but if zombie mechanics haven't changed much from build 33, then it should be the same scenario.

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2 minutes ago, Moose65 said:

Every new game, I start it by running as far as I can towards the edge of an area (since I'm extremely biased to the cabin by the lake, I always make that my base). Once I get to about the last row of houses before the woods, I stop. I'll then proceed to take out any zombies still trailing me (often times with bare hands only, just make sure your only dealing with 2 or 3 at once). I then proceed to clear out house by house. Usually I can find everything I need before setting up at the house by the lake and declaring victory for that playthrough (since I've yet to have any zombies wander into the woods).

 

Granted, I haven't played the last build or two, and I tend to die only if I'm extremely careless (like sleeping in a house even though I heard a zombie in the woods somewhere and not killing it >.>).

 

I'll have to try to play again tonight, but if zombie mechanics haven't changed much from build 33, then it should be the same scenario.

So my only option of survival is to ignore the beautifully crafted world and go live in the forest? No more grand tales of a last stand in a battered warehouse, no magnificent stories of a man surviving against all odds. Damn.

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Don't necessarily have to live in the woods (although it IS the safest), but you won't want to live right in the middle of town. If you do, I highly suggest that you start by clearing from the outskirts in, either by simply destroying all the zombies, or leading them off somewhere. If you choose to live in the middle of town, you should be expected to get swarmed every day.

 

Also, even living in the woods has it challenges. You will occasionally aggro the random forest zombie while chopping down trees, leading into a tense moment of unpreparedness. You'll also eventually need to go to the school or bookstore in Westpoint if you wish to develop any skills. Typically the only must haves for me when I go out to the cabin is a pot, kitchen knife, bowl and a few water bottles. A saw is a bonus, to enable trapping, but since they can sometimes be difficult to find I simply ignore them.

 

But yeah, you could build a second floor on your cabin and make it only accessible by sheet rope and have a nice little holdout.

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I love the Large Warehouse for my main base and that farm next to that huge corn field as my secondary base. One is at the very edge of town and the other is out in the country away from things.  They are close, but not close enough to draw lots of Z attention when moving between them. 

 

When I first start a new character, I take a few things I need from my starting house and then make a beeline toward the Large Warehouse and clear the outside of Z's before going in and barricading and taking stock of all of my loot there.  I'll work on the Large Warehouse and get that secured for a while before trekking over to the "Corn Farm" as I call it, LMAO. 

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Just keep killing them and leveling your accuracy. A bat, frying pan, axe. All are amazing weapons. When you get good, you can also swap out and use a knife for only 1 or 2 zombies. Its extremely fast and one hit one kill using "execute" and saves the durability on your "group" weapons. Once your accuracy is about level 4 or 5, if you have like Axeman and stout, you can one shot most zombies. 

 

Try playing a round with Lumberjack/Axeman and Strong. that will give you an idea of how combat "can" work with practice. 

 

I was messing around on the IWMBUS server with Axeman and Strong, got an axe from the mill and then went and started clearing the police station, downed like 80 zombies with an axe in about 5 minutes. 

 

*Edit - When you are doing it right, you pretty much look like a Spartan Warrior from the movie 300. They swarm you and you just carve a bloody path through them until you are the last one standing without a scratch on you. If you want to live in town.. You have to learn this skill. I made my base in the West Point government center one time, because it had a nice yard for crops.. You have to be a killing machine to be able to hold it. Don't forget to pop Beta Blockers like skittles unless you are playing Veteran. 

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From the description, i'm assuming you're playing survival and/or using base survival settings in sandbox?

If so, scampering from street to street while looking for a half-decent house to loot and hide in, with a rolling pin and kitchen knife and some rapidly spoiling food in garbage bags (if you're lucky) is not uncommon.

 

Are you using the map?

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I pretty much always use the spawn house as my base for the first few days, (and if I don't it's usually the one next door).

 

Just try not to go near crowds and only pick of stragglers. I used to have this problem, running through the night. But once you learn to be stealthy it's not so bad.

 

 

Although sometimes you will get bad luck and constantly run into more and more zombies. Try to lose them in trees or around corners. Once they lose line of sight they'll stop at the point where you disappeared from view.

 

As for your complaint about them grabbing you in trees, I have never had that happen. I have even run into a zombie while going through trees and they simply shouldn't have time to get a hold on you. Both you and the zombies move slowly through trees.

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It is possible to set up in the city even; you just need to use a good second-floor building and lead the zombies away (gunfire or just yelling). Barricades, sledgehammer, and a sheet rope will be your best friend then.

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Perhaps I'm not looking at this the right way, but you aren't going to accomplish anything if your only option is to avoid combat. The zed will still be there when you come back, and if you can't clear an area then perhaps the issue is with the weapons you are using or your character traits.

 

Want breathing room? Try to get into a single building un-noticed. Don't sprint, just sneak. If you can sneak inside faster than the zed who have seen you can get you then do that. Don't sprint because that will just be a quick fix for a problem that is going to get so much worse because you attracted more zed.

 

Once inside, clear the place and be smart about it. Kill the ones that followed you inside. Try to cover the windows with something if there aren't already curtains. After that, check every container and once you are done, decide what you need and what you can do to come back if you need to.

 

No matter how annoying it is to hit a zombie with a baseball bat and not kill it on your first try, you have to be persistent, or your character will never get better at combat and you will have the same problem.

 

You have contracted something I call "self-fulfilling nomad" where you have got yourself in a situation where you think you have to run to get away but go off of the chance that what's in the next area is going to be better for some reason. Running from everything is a quick-fix but it's not going to make coming back any easier since you have likely shifted the zed population closer to your destination. Settling down can be difficult, especially in the start of the game when the zed are 'fresh' but it is by no means an impossible process.

 

Perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure that your settings for zed distribution is "urban based" rather than "uniform". The forest will be relatively clear at the start of the game, if you can't survive an urban/suburban area in the initial chaos then you should probably head to an out-of-town building to live in until the zed have finally settled down after the first bunch of days. That way when you return the zed will be much more predictable as hordes have already formed and massed the zed, making hiding behind houses and the like much more viable survival options.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Kim Jong Un said:

Perhaps I'm not looking at this the right way, but you aren't going to accomplish anything if your only option is to avoid combat. The zed will still be there when you come back, and if you can't clear an area then perhaps the issue is with the weapons you are using or your character traits.

 

Want breathing room? Try to get into a single building un-noticed. Don't sprint, just sneak. If you can sneak inside faster than the zed who have seen you can get you then do that. Don't sprint because that will just be a quick fix for a problem that is going to get so much worse because you attracted more zed.

 

Once inside, clear the place and be smart about it. Kill the ones that followed you inside. Try to cover the windows with something if there aren't already curtains. After that, check every container and once you are done, decide what you need and what you can do to come back if you need to.

 

No matter how annoying it is to hit a zombie with a baseball bat and not kill it on your first try, you have to be persistent, or your character will never get better at combat and you will have the same problem.

 

You have contracted something I call "self-fulfilling nomad" where you have got yourself in a situation where you think you have to run to get away but go off of the chance that what's in the next area is going to be better for some reason. Running from everything is a quick-fix but it's not going to make coming back any easier since you have likely shifted the zed population closer to your destination. Settling down can be difficult, especially in the start of the game when the zed are 'fresh' but it is by no means an impossible process.

 

Perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure that your settings for zed distribution is "urban based" rather than "uniform". The forest will be relatively clear at the start of the game, if you can't survive an urban/suburban area in the initial chaos then you should probably head to an out-of-town building to live in until the zed have finally settled down after the first bunch of days. That way when you return the zed will be much more predictable as hordes have already formed and massed the zed, making hiding behind houses and the like much more viable survival options.

 

 

I have the horrible of strategy of going straight to the police station and getting guns and grabbing a little food along the way then i use that character to ramage around with a pistol distracting zeds away from all the good juicy loot until i get them killed and make a new character to go and actually get the loot. Normally it backfires as zombies cluster their asses to a building and fucking lean against it like some street gang waiting for you.

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10 minutes ago, Kim Jong Un said:

Perhaps I'm not looking at this the right way, but you aren't going to accomplish anything if your only option is to avoid combat. The zed will still be there when you come back, and if you can't clear an area then perhaps the issue is with the weapons you are using or your character traits.

 

Want breathing room? Try to get into a single building un-noticed. Don't sprint, just sneak. If you can sneak inside faster than the zed who have seen you can get you then do that. Don't sprint because that will just be a quick fix for a problem that is going to get so much worse because you attracted more zed.

 

Once inside, clear the place and be smart about it. Kill the ones that followed you inside. Try to cover the windows with something if there aren't already curtains. After that, check every container and once you are done, decide what you need and what you can do to come back if you need to.

 

No matter how annoying it is to hit a zombie with a baseball bat and not kill it on your first try, you have to be persistent, or your character will never get better at combat and you will have the same problem.

 

You have contracted something I call "self-fulfilling nomad" where you have got yourself in a situation where you think you have to run to get away but go off of the chance that what's in the next area is going to be better for some reason. Running from everything is a quick-fix but it's not going to make coming back any easier since you have likely shifted the zed population closer to your destination. Settling down can be difficult, especially in the start of the game when the zed are 'fresh' but it is by no means an impossible process.

 

Perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure that your settings for zed distribution is "urban based" rather than "uniform". The forest will be relatively clear at the start of the game, if you can't survive an urban/suburban area in the initial chaos then you should probably head to an out-of-town building to live in until the zed have finally settled down after the first bunch of days. That way when you return the zed will be much more predictable as hordes have already formed and massed the zed, making hiding behind houses and the like much more viable survival options.

 

 

Oh, so that's what I was forgetting about.


When Build 32 hit, I did the classic "lead them into a house and beat their brains out."

I took a several month break from the game, and I've gotten used to the "you are some unstoppable badass" zombie games I've played since then.


Well, let's hope that I don't die as quickly this time.

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Well, being sneaky didn't do much for me.

 

These clusters are everywhere. I can't distract one away from my base without sneaking into another one. They're in the forested areas, the streets, the houses, everywhere. They follow me through the trees, and if I lose them then I end up running into yet another.

 

I'm becoming burned out of Zomboid again because of this. I'm holding down left control pretty much 90% of the time I'm playing and I'm walking through the world at a snails pace, and every turn has more zombies. I've tried out-navigating them, there was a horde on the other side. I tried distracting the now-noticed horde and forming a single huge horde for me to lead away, then there was the horde in the treeline.

Eventually I had a conga-train of flesh-eating monsters that wouldn't go away. It's becoming very boring, I haven't been scratched or bit yet due to it being so easy to shove them out of the way and keep walking along.

I did, however, manage to lose them, only to find that another group of zombies was at my base - the ones I just lead away. Keep in mind I only moved a few house-lengths before looping around and losing them.

 

I still haven't died at the time of posting. I guess I just need to get better at the game.

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Use trees and obstacles to break line-of-sight.  Zombies often stop following you if you can get something between you and them.  Get around a corner, or past some trees, and then just walk.  You don't want to sprint, or the sound will get their attention again.

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2 hours ago, ethanwdp said:

Well, being sneaky didn't do much for me.

 

These clusters are everywhere. I can't distract one away from my base without sneaking into another one. They're in the forested areas, the streets, the houses, everywhere. They follow me through the trees, and if I lose them then I end up running into yet another.

 

I'm becoming burned out of Zomboid again because of this. I'm holding down left control pretty much 90% of the time I'm playing and I'm walking through the world at a snails pace, and every turn has more zombies. I've tried out-navigating them, there was a horde on the other side. I tried distracting the now-noticed horde and forming a single huge horde for me to lead away, then there was the horde in the treeline.

Eventually I had a conga-train of flesh-eating monsters that wouldn't go away. It's becoming very boring, I haven't been scratched or bit yet due to it being so easy to shove them out of the way and keep walking along.

I did, however, manage to lose them, only to find that another group of zombies was at my base - the ones I just lead away. Keep in mind I only moved a few house-lengths before looping around and losing them.

 

I still haven't died at the time of posting. I guess I just need to get better at the game.

 

There are other modes of difficulty, have you tried the "first week" "initial infection" and "easy" mode?  It sounds like that is gonna be a better fit for you. I understand the idea of wanting a challenge, but if the difficulty is so much so that you are not enjoying yourself then maybe you should rethink your approach.

 

if you are playing "first week" and "easy" and having problems, i'm sorry you are having so much difficulty with the game... However at that point. I have nothing useful to offer you in the form of assistance as it comes to this game. There are other fun 3rd person overhead survival/slice of life games that may not be as difficult, I have found a lot of fun playing Sims 3 in the past, I have heard Sims 4 is pretty bad though.

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3 hours ago, Slice985 said:

 

There are other modes of difficulty, have you tried the "first week" "initial infection" and "easy" mode?  It sounds like that is gonna be a better fit for you. I understand the idea of wanting a challenge, but if the difficulty is so much so that you are not enjoying yourself then maybe you should rethink your approach.

 

if you are playing "first week" and "easy" and having problems, i'm sorry you are having so much difficulty with the game... However at that point. I have nothing useful to offer you in the form of assistance as it comes to this game. There are other fun 3rd person overhead survival/slice of life games that may not be as difficult, I have found a lot of fun playing Sims 3 in the past, I have heard Sims 4 is pretty bad though.

No no, I like the difficulty. I do not like the frequency of zombie clusters.

I'd be fine if there were huge hordes, and not little mini ones that make sneaking a chore. I've tried changing the sandbox settings to no avail.
If I wanted a cakewalk, I'd play the Sims. I'm just trying to play the game the way it's meant to be played.

 

When playing Cataclysm DDA, I died. Like, a LOT. The game is balls hard, about the same difficulty or higher than Project Zomboid.

I was once surrounded by zombies when looting a house. I emptied my AR-15 into the first few zombies before running out. Since I did not have enough time to handload a magazine and reload my gun, I threw it at the zombie closest to me.

I took my hammer from my utility belt and smashed open the window behind me, making a run from the zombies. I had been bitten in my escape, and I needed to apply immediate medical care before the infection set in. All of my medical supplies were in my heavily modified mobile base (A.K.A an RV that I stuck armor to and put in a few utilities). The problem? My RV was being destroyed by the half of the horde that weren't able to cram in the house I was just in.
Thanks to the radio I carry around, I was able to equip & tune it before the horde caught up to me. I immediately called in backup from an NPC faction I had helped a few days prior.

Three survivors came to my rescue. Because of a bug in the latest experimental, they didn't know how to load their guns, and their heads exploded. No, I'm not kidding.

I snuck through the back-alleys and took down the last few stragglers before jumping into some car I found and driving away into the sunset... Until it broke down and I succumbed to my injuries whilst being mauled by wild wolves and moose.

 

When playing Project Zomboid, I die. Like, a LOT.

I spawn in a small home and immediately take command. I barricade the windows and all but one entrance doors by propping up furniture against it,  I put whatever sheets I have on the windows, I take a weapon from my kitchen cabinet, I take a drink and take medical supplies, then I sneak out the back door.

As I sneak in the shadows to my neighbours house, a horde of 10 or so zombies fade into my field of view. I look to the left, and the horde in the street which I had noted and purposefully snuck around had heard the commotion and followed the horde that just spotted me.

All of the nearby houses are swarmed with zombies that I don't want to be chased by, so I go through the countryside. Turns out that zombies spawn in the trees too, so I was trying to melee a hippy whilst trying to avoid the nearby country-side-road horde. Well, they heard me, and I was eaten.

 

It seems that my only options are to make an OP flying 2nd story base or to live in the wilds, in which case both playstyles suck the fun out of the game. Since I wasn't having fun, I posted here to see if you guys know ways to not suck, which you people do. None of them fit my playstyles, so I guess I'm shelving PZ for now.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, have fun.

 

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5 minutes ago, ethanwdp said:

No no, I like the difficulty. I do not like the frequency of zombie clusters.

I'd be fine if there were huge hordes, and not little mini ones that make sneaking a chore. I've tried changing the sandbox settings to no avail.
If I wanted a cakewalk, I'd play the Sims. I'm just trying to play the game the way it's meant to be played.

 

When playing Cataclysm DDA, I died. Like, a LOT. The game is balls hard, about the same difficulty or higher than Project Zomboid.

I was once surrounded by zombies when looting a house. I emptied my AR-15 into the first few zombies before running out. Since I did not have enough time to handload a magazine and reload my gun, I threw it at the zombie closest to me.

I took my hammer from my utility belt and smashed open the window behind me, making a run from the zombies. I had been bitten in my escape, and I needed to apply immediate medical care before the infection set in. All of my medical supplies were in my heavily modified mobile base (A.K.A an RV that I stuck armor to and put in a few utilities). The problem? My RV was being destroyed by the half of the horde that weren't able to cram in the house I was just in.
Thanks to the radio I carry around, I was able to equip & tune it before the horde caught up to me. I immediately called in backup from an NPC faction I had helped a few days prior.

Three survivors came to my rescue. Because of a bug in the latest experimental, they didn't know how to load their guns, and their heads exploded. No, I'm not kidding.

I snuck through the back-alleys and took down the last few stragglers before jumping into some car I found and driving away into the sunset... Until it broke down and I succumbed to my injuries whilst being mauled by wild wolves and moose.

 

When playing Project Zomboid, I die. Like, a LOT.

I spawn in a small home and immediately take command. I barricade the windows and all but one entrance doors by propping up furniture against it,  I put whatever sheets I have on the windows, I take a weapon from my kitchen cabinet, I take a drink and take medical supplies, then I sneak out the back door.

As I sneak in the shadows to my neighbours house, a horde of 10 or so zombies fade into my field of view. I look to the left, and the horde in the street which I had noted and purposefully snuck around had heard the commotion and followed the horde that just spotted me.

All of the nearby houses are swarmed with zombies that I don't want to be chased by, so I go through the countryside. Turns out that zombies spawn in the trees too, so I was trying to melee a hippy whilst trying to avoid the nearby country-side-road horde. Well, they heard me, and I was eaten.

 

It seems that my only options are to make an OP flying 2nd story base or to live in the wilds, in which case both playstyles suck the fun out of the game. Since I wasn't having fun, I posted here to see if you guys know ways to not suck, which you people do. None of them fit my playstyles, so I guess I'm shelving PZ for now.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, have fun.

 

You CAN live in the city, even without a flying house, if you're diligent about clearing the area and keeping it clear.

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I think the uniform zombie spawn is the issue. If they are urban focused, then you generally know where big groups will be, making it easier to lead them away. You can also do smash and grabs, loot at night with poor zombie senses and stealth traits. I once lived for 6 mos and only killed maybe 40 zombies, so it's doable..

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The starting population modifier is handy; keep the rest of the settings somewhere between 'survival' and '8 months later', and just drop the starting population.

You'll get 2-3 days to set up, but after then you'd best be secure lol

 

Turn the 'follow sound distance' up, too

:-D

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I think I've mentioned it before.....but have you tried bare hand fighting zombies? Its been incredibly effective for me, as I can deal with 2 or 3 at a time with no weapon. Just shove em down, stomp their head (while shoving the other one back), and your good to go. As long as your preemptively shoving I've yet to get bit or scratched.

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I tend to do my bases in the City and used to have the problem of my base being surrounded by many large clusters of zombies. What I found out is that it was mostly because of the helicopter events.

 

I simple terms, the helicopter sounds pull large numbers of zombies from a wide area to where you are, and then the zombies will cluster together because of their natural tendency to do so (and because there were a lot of zombies pulled-in, the clusters end up being very big).

 

The way you solve this is by, when you hear the helicopter, run away from your base as far as possible, ideally to an area were there are no special resources you might want to go get latter (i.e. away from warehouses, for example). The zombies will still end up in lots of large clusters IN THAT AREA, but around your base there will be far fewer of them, making it easier to manage them - in fact, if you were already away from your base when the helicopter came and move even further away, you might end up with not a single zombies around your base.

 

In addition to this, you will want to spend some of the in-game days trimming down the population around your base rather than exploring, for example by taking down any clusters getting uncomfortably close to your base. If you're using weapons such as a hammer, you should do this two or three individuals at a time (just sneak close enough for a few zombies to spot you and follow you, then pull back and kill them a bit away from the group), but if you're using bats/axes you can be a lot more reckless.

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16 hours ago, TheDreaded1 said:

I think the uniform zombie spawn is the issue. If they are urban focused, then you generally know where big groups will be, making it easier to lead them away. You can also do smash and grabs, loot at night with poor zombie senses and stealth traits. I once lived for 6 mos and only killed maybe 40 zombies, so it's doable..

Ah, that's my problem. I had it on uniform, I'm now on Urban Focused and I'm fine now.

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