The zombies would only try to eat dead corpses, i used dead zombies as an example. They shall not kill between themselves, and they could usually eat a corpse in large groups, like in the movies, leaving limbs and gore everywhere. :S
I see bating zombies with their fallen kin to be appropriate actually. ‘IF’ they get stronger for it.
Very good reason to burn away, disolve or bury the tainted meat and pulped corpses if there is good chance it will attract more of them and can make the other zombies healthier, stronger, smarter, ect.
Don’t think of the ‘zombies’ as anything more than tools for The Contagion, vehicles even. When one breaks down they may try to repair or modify it to get it running again, but in a complete transportation failure what would you do? Flag down a passing car and hitch a ride of course!
A specific rare type of zombie that does this would make more sense than it being an ability possessed by your garden-variety zed, yeah. Probably a ‘Ghoul’ or something similar; a lurking sort of undead that avoids contact with the living if possible, preferring to stay out of the fight and pick over the remains afterward; unfed ghouls will probably flee if attacked, like a prey animal. As they feeds, though. they grow stronger, and less fearful of the living, more likely to get closer to them while feeding, and more likely to decide to attack if aggressed. Some time after they become strong enough to no longer fear the player at all, they’ll attack unprovoked if there aren’t any corpses around.
Given their propensity to flee and hide behind other undead, chasing them down will always be a tough choice; even a young Ghoul can lead you into lots of trouble, if you incautiously chase it down. You might let them get away… but if you’ve left a lot of bodies lying around, you might be in for a tough fight next time you see them.
Technically this already happens, them eating their own dead may just help them get something out of those losses.
Amusingly enough, ghouls are quite Lovecraftian and we already have a selection of his fine bestiary in-game. If I remember his ghouls can consume some of the memories, likenesses of the people on who’s corpses they fed. No idea how they’d react to zombies though, perhaps how you describe… or maybe they’d start shepherding the damn things.
I honestly dont see the problem with this. If a corpse is destroyed beyond repair by the goop I think that the other zombies should try and go for it/eat it. Why wouldnt they? Its not like they would pass up a free meal. Just because ‘Oh, thats one of those things that we take over but mutilated and beyond repair, man im hungry…’
Do we even have a confirmation that the zombies in this game need to eat? I thought the goo that reanimated them doesn’t require the zombie to actually ingest anything for it to keep moving, like the skeleton thing.
Yeah, that’s true, but it would still be a cool gameplay element to have a zed that feeds on the bodies of the dead. Actually, why not have regular dogs go for zombie meat if they’re really hungry and become zombified as a result?
There are all sorts of things to be done with this idea.
The Ghoul idea made me think of D&D, though I can’t rule out the possibility they were influenced by Lovecraft’s ghouls.
What about the wendigo? Zombies that retained a hint of their living self’s cannibalism, hmmm. (Well, cannibal IS a working trait the player can choose…)
I wouldn’t want this as a common zombie feature, no. Special mob, plausible.
I agree with this idea. If the body is beyond re-animation I don’t see why the other Zs wouldn’t eaten it. It’s finally dead, it can no longer support/help them other then serving as a food source or maybe healing and even mutating them further. I support this.
That would make this bit harder, hmmmm… First day: Survivor McSurvivor kills dozen zombies, pulps them. “There ya go, weak fuckers!” goes to sleep Second day: “Where tha fuq are bodies???” Swarm of Brutes is rolling down the street. “Holy crap!” jumps on m249 and mows them all down “Where you all came from???” Night: !crash! !whack! “FUCK! HULKS!”
We could use some really bad ass zombie mutations, I recommend ripping off Dead Frontier, meheh… Those ugly special infected always fucked me up, especially that guy with long sting instead of arm.
I would want the zombies to act like land sharks. I think they should eat corpses they have killed and corpses that have blood splatters and chunks around them.
Woot! Canada!
This concludes my patriotic acts for the month.
I’m fine with normal zombies eating bodies with a chance to mutate into a random special (high chance of becoming that special if they eat it) and a special one that does it to gain special bonuses. Honestly though I lean towards the first option.
The reason I lean towards the mutation option is how applying buffs to monsters would work. We have two options as I see it (might be completely wrong)
Effects are short term, maybe causing some form of frenzy but not a gradual build up.
Effects are long term, granting stat boosts and the like. Cool, the problem is that the monster needs to be saved. Does it get saved as…
2a. a normal version. Thus being short term anyway.
2b. its improved version where each one needs to be kept track of separately. Thus causing performance loss from a build up of extra tracked data.
Zombies do not need to eat and will not be eating corpses any time soon.
Half-zombie symbiotes (like giant bugs and the player) DO need to eat, and we will be adding some mechanics for that sooner or later.
And then there are Orleks, who will prey on zombies both dead and alive, and probably be one of the tougher threats the player can face in the city. When you suddenly see a bunch of corpses in the city disappear, that will be a good sign some powerfully hungry symbiote is about. So be careful.