zombies dug straight down

[Roland]

If I remember correctly, you had said in the past that faatal was working or wanted to work on zombie combat random behavior. Any word or details on that?

 

Nope. Faatal has a full plate heaped high and it’s all bugs and optimization stuff. I’m not sure exactly when he will return to looking at additional zombie AI issues.

[Roland]

Everyone thinks of themselves as belonging to the majority. Both of us are no exception.

 

Too true.

 

But.....my imagined majority also happens to contain faatal and that makes up the difference.

[FA_Q2]

We’ve had this discussion before and will have to agree to disagree. Random and unpredictable behavior is much better than patterned and predictable behavior. I think your view is held by a small minority and I hope for the sake of the game the devs continue to come up with ways to make them unpredictable.

 

It may be nitpicking here but I think this is false. One is not better than the other - the key is balancing them. Totally random is not fun because that means player preparation is irrelevant. Totally predictable is also not fun because there is no surprise or challenge. We need some predictability and some random behavior. For what it is worth, that seems to be the direction that TFP is going anyway - the AI has come very far even if it has some work left to do.

[RipClaw]

Is there a way to keep a large forge room 100% safe from zombies?

 

In A17 it is recommended to keep the forge room separate from the horde base. Then you can defend it well.

 

A few days ago I finished my new work base with a total of 12 forges and 4 concrete mixers. The base is surrounded by a 3 block deep and 2 block wide trench filled with one layer of iron spikes. Screamers fall into the trench and spear themselves at the spikes. Wandering hordes walk by the trench and do not cross it. The only way over the trench is a drawbridge. As long as I don't forget to close the drawbridge there are no problems.

 

An alternative solution would be to what Z-Nation uses in his current video series. He has placed his base on massive 3x3 reinforced concrete stilts surrounded by iron spikes. As entrance he uses a hatch elevator which the zombies can't use.

[canadianbluebeer]

In A17 it is recommended to keep the forge room separate from the horde base. Then you can defend it well.

 

A few days ago I finished my new work base with a total of 12 forges and 4 concrete mixers. The base is surrounded by a 3 block deep and 2 block wide trench filled with one layer of iron spikes. Screamers fall into the trench and spear themselves at the spikes. Wandering hordes walk by the trench and do not cross it. The only way over the trench is a drawbridge. As long as I don't forget to close the drawbridge there are no problems.

 

An alternative solution would be to what Z-Nation uses in his current video series. He has placed his base on massive 3x3 reinforced concrete stilts surrounded by iron spikes. As entrance he uses a hatch elevator which the zombies can't use.

 

That's what I used to do, but deep underground. Drop from the main base, then a tunnel several chunks over.

Put all the forges/mixers etc there. Running 24/7.

 

Topside was cleared, and I could see the screamers show up looking around. I could shoot them without much problem.

 

Mind you, there were many times I'd be returning to base to find unwanted visitors milling about. By the time I got off the bike,

they'd called in more salesclots. (which meant more bodies to clean up)

 

Can't do it underground anymore, but yes, trying to keep the heat map low where your main goodies are just makes sense.

 

Well, I'm gonna try a different type underground and see how that goes.

[FA_Q2]

That's what I used to do, but deep underground. Drop from the main base, then a tunnel several chunks over.

Put all the forges/mixers etc there. Running 24/7.

 

Topside was cleared, and I could see the screamers show up looking around. I could shoot them without much problem.

 

Mind you, there were many times I'd be returning to base to find unwanted visitors milling about. By the time I got off the bike,

they'd called in more salesclots. (which meant more bodies to clean up)

 

Can't do it underground anymore, but yes, trying to keep the heat map low where your main goodies are just makes sense.

 

Well, I'm gonna try a different type underground and see how that goes.

 

Still works underground but you have to start at a decent height. Zeds will not dig over 40 blocks. If you start digging from a Z of 50 then a bedrock base will not attract diggers. I am less sure if they will mill about above or if they simply do not spawn at all. They will not harm your topside defenses though.

[Vic]

Still works underground but you have to start at a decent height. Zeds will not dig over 40 blocks. If you start digging from a Z of 50 then a bedrock base will not attract diggers. I am less sure if they will mill about above or if they simply do not spawn at all. They will not harm your topside defenses though.

 

That's true. My workshop area is 44 blocks down, at bedrock. I can run all 6 forges continuously and never had a digging zed.

The top of stacked forges is at 41.

Can't say with horde nights though. When we've had to bail we move along the bedrock mine shafts away from the shop area.

The shafts run for kilometers. I know they would dig to bedrock in A17.1 on horde nights, but moving along the shafts would

cause them to despawn and respawn.

[FA_Q2]

That's true. My workshop area is 44 blocks down, at bedrock. I can run all 6 forges continuously and never had a digging zed.

The top of stacked forges is at 41.

Can't say with horde nights though. When we've had to bail we move along the bedrock mine shafts away from the shop area.

The shafts run for kilometers. I know they would dig to bedrock in A17.1 on horde nights, but moving along the shafts would

cause them to despawn and respawn.

 

Never tried to avoid horde night either so I do not know but I suspect that it would work then as well. It is known that leaving the initial spawn area of the horde will stop them from spawning all together (it does not move with the player anymore) so I suspect that they would either mill about on top in destruction mode or cease spawning.