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So I was watching a youtube video and this guy spawned in West Point and his tactic was standing near a window fence and stomping zombies in the head. I too have resorted to that multiple times, since its a safe way to deal with hordes. Regardless, I feel like it kinda takes away the challenge of dealing with multiple zombies.   In my opinion a good way to deal with that, if its in the plan at all, would be to add one or 2 animations when zombies go through windows in different ways, with their head in other directions.   I know they already lunge at you from the ground, but I dont think its enough to stop the stomping a lot of times.

This is similar to my previous suggestion for start conditions that make sense, but this one is both different and a bit more complex (requires very basic NPCs as cannon fodder).   I know NPCs are "in the pipeline", so maybe this can be implemented with them? Or perhaps even before them, as it doesn't require complex NPCs that can talk or take instructions or anything. They're basically just "zombie food" to get the ball rolling and don't need to do anything more complex than walk around or run away from danger.   So basically, the idea is that at game start, just have a bunch of non-zombies walking around. They don't have to be doing anything complicated for this idea to work. Just walking around the streets randomly. And then have a setting to set a percentage of these people as zombies. And that's basically it. Let "nature take it's course".   This way we could start right at the beginning (say, 1% are zombies), or -- as it is now -- after it's progressed quite a lot (100% zombies).   To make it more realistic without adding too much complexity, all items could start at "common" or "abundant", and after that portion of the map hasn't been seen for a while, a percentage of those items gets removed every X hours until all the NPCs are zombified (this to simulate looting and dwindling supplies as the apocolypse progresses).   EDIT/NOTE: I see in the "common suggestions thread", this:  [n]    Beginning the game before the infection I'm not sure if this suggestion falls into that category or not. Because it's not "before the infection", it's "before everyone are zombies and the place is looted", and there's an important difference. But I don't know. If it does fall into the category, why is it a N? It seems to me to be the perfect start!

The short version of this summary, is to spawn the character in locations/situations that make sense for the current game-start conditions.   "Current game start conditions" are that there are no survivors, everything is chaos, you're totally unprepared with nothing but the clothes on your back ... and supplies are scarce ("scare", for example, if the apocalypse happened right now, it wouldn't be hard for me to find an axe in real life - I have one and so do both my neighbours! And I could find about 10 bags and fill them with food within an hour). So, for the start situation to "make sense", it seems the outbreak happened a few days ago, everyone looted the place, took all the good stuff and left or was killed, and for whatever reason, "you" got left behind with nothing.   So spawn the character in a place where this all makes sense. Not just "in a house" (that's already been mostly looted) or  -- ever weirder -- "in the police station with nobody around" (I always feel like I'm cheating when that happens!).   Here are some examples:   1. In a hospital bed, waking up from a coma, a la Rick in the "The Walking Dead". 2. Lying down in a pile of corpses in the street. Similar to the first one, apparently, "left for dead". 3. In a prison cell. Dead officer with cell key within reaching distance. 4. In a car wreck. Knocked out and left for dead. 5. Sitting by a campfire in the forest, empty cans around - escaped into the woods with a bit of food, but now it's run out ... What would be best, ofc, would be to simulate the entire outbreak at the beginning as per this suggestion, but that's more complex and also different; so I thought it deserved it's own post!  

Hey there!   First, I would like to say that this game got me the most immersion that I have ever had in a Zombie Apocalypse game.   It tops any AAA game that i have ever played.   You guys manage to create something really unique that I dont think gamers can experience something like that again in a lifetime span.   Somehow it was able to capture sadness in its most entertaining way possible, letting the players know that there is only one ending, just like real life.   I could spend hours writing the upsides here, like music for example,  but I'll get to the reason that I'm reaching out, even tho its possible that no one reads this.   First and most importantly, please keep doing the awesome work that you have been doing.   I cant stress enough how many games I have seen with so much great potential, but never quite getting there.   Even tho the game could be full released tomorrow and it would still be a great game, the passion I feel from devs tells me that there is a lot more you guys have envisioned.   That gives me hope, because it means you guys are not only working for money, but for your life's work, and thats really rare.   That being said, I would like to mention how excited I am for NPCs.   Out of all the games that I have ever played (and believe me I have played a lot of games), Project Zomboid has by far the biggest potential for Artificial Intelligence NPCs.   I know it will take a long time, and I just hope that by then I'll still be able to play it when it comes out.   Cheers!    

That's exactly what I meant. Unfortunately you're still not there and still building the "foundations" for it, apparently. When you'll get there I hope you'll give it the proper love because (for me at least) those three aspects are like the setting stone on all your work.   Thanks for clarifying it.   PS: oh and about death being the ultimate goal.. yes but also no, when you'll get to NPCs I think you can start to drift a little from that