Alpha 21 (A21) Server Side Zombies PLUS

[arramus]

Download here: https://github.com/arramus/A21-ServerSideZombiesPLUS

(This Modlet is Server Side Only safe. This means it does not need to be installed on the client machines because it has no custom assets.)

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An optional stand alone Server Side Zombies PLUS Starter Kit is bundled with the mod as a separate folder, and can be downloaded here.

(It offers a few helper items, including a mini bike, and limits weapons and tools to randomly being offered at Q1 - 3. It is Server Side Only safe.)

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Ask for permission before uploaded/redistributing (A21) Server Side Zombies PLUS to a Modpack or Overhaul as per TFP's Modding Guidelines. Permission is not automatically granted. This ensures we are aware of how it will be used. There have been occasions where troubleshooting requests are made inappropriately due to conflicts and file mismatches based on it being used in a way that was not intended. Ask first so we are aware of what to expect, and can appropriately redirect questions where necessary.

 

Here is a server side only mod that adds a mix of customised default zombies to the Biomes and Horde Night. There are currently 27 in total.
The majority began life in A20-Preppocalypse which is now A21-Preppocalypse but will be shared with Server Side Zombies PLUS for A21 since the Snufkin Zombies are no longer viable in A21. For the full experience with these zombies appearing in POIs and Screamer Hordes, consider A21-Preppocalypse. Server Side Zombies PLUS is primarily aimed at offering a zombie mod solution for Server Side Only Servers.
 

Since an abundance of original Snufkin Zombies cannot be updated to A21 as a server side only mod, due to a change in game files, Server Side Zombies PLUS can be seen as an alternative. There are many things we will miss from the Snufkins, but there are some features that could be carried that will be recognisable. There will also be some new concepts and innovations.

 

 

This mod is brought to the community by arramus and @oakraven. It will be updated periodically and see some of the old guard carried over and things progress.
Credit for the initial concept lies with Snufkin from Snufkin Zombies, and all those who have contributed with advice and input over the years.

 

The initial concept for the Snufkin Zombies was based on the eclectic mix of boss types characters we have seen in many of our favourite games. For example, the Archon character could fly, throw fire, and heal other zombies that were in close proximity. This was actually an idea from Doom and reflects the Arch-Vile character. The A21 version of Server Side Zombies attempts to retain some of that magic, but also bring in some more Zombies PLUS ideas.

 

A few images to demonstrate:

 

The Server Side Zombies PLUS foot soldiers. They carry projectile weapons which do fire, and melee weapons which will hurt both the player and base more than claws.


A couple of our flyer friends that were carried over from A20. The generator powering the drone is smoking now and leaves a nice trail.


The hostile animal types. They have speed, can jump, fly, and generally cause general mayhem.


Our two friends from A20 charged and ready to radiate.

Farewell Geist... but hello Large Zombie Plasma Vulture.


Zombie Bunny goes straight for the jugular. A heads up to @doughphunghus on this inclusion. It has been a long time coming.


And we couldn't get rid of Scorcher that easily. As he was modelled on the Demolition character, bringing him over was pretty straight forward.

 

Edited January 31 by arramus (see edit history)

[RAGE PVE]

TOTAL LEGENDS!!!! Thanks from the Rage community!

Edited June 15, 2023 by RAGE PVE (see edit history)

[wolverine576]

Glad to see this back for A21

[arramus]

It may be helpful to start a discussion on the UMA/Archetype topic in a new thread since this mod has moved in a different direction for the long term unless UMA returns with full support. That does not seem to be the case though and models become more prevalent.

https://community.7daystodie.com/forum/40-discussion-and-requests/

 

 

[Cynderous]

We installed this on our server never used it before. It said it was initialized during startup but we don't see any new zombies? Did we need to do something? 

[arramus]

A regular zombie in the Forest has a spawn rate of say, for simplicity, 100%.

One of these Server Side Zombies will appear with a spawn rate of about 10% for the 'easier' ones and 5% for the more 'difficult' ones. They will appear but at reduced rates.

 

However, for Horde Night, they will match player Game Stage. This means that their chance to appear will increase as the player level increases.

 

The biomes are not set to match Game Stage and these lower spawning rates ensure new players have a fighting chance as they are a little stronger than a regular radiated zombie.

 

Appearances can be increased based on personal preference by changing the values in the entitygroups.xml file.

 

To check the mod is properly activated, an Admin can check if they appear in the spawning list by logging in the console for debug menu and spawning some in manually:

 

F1 to open console

Type dm and hit the Enter key to activate debug menu features

F6 to open the entity spawner. Things with PLUS at the end of the name are related to this mod.

[RAGE PVE]

nice addition with the shooting zombies will have to test that impact, but whereas your army guy that runs with the gun the sniper chap seems to be missing his weapon or was that by design?



   

Edited June 19, 2023 by RAGE PVE (see edit history)

[arramus]

5 hours ago, RAGE PVE said:

nice addition with the shooting zombies will have to test that impact, but whereas your army guy that runs with the gun the sniper chap seems to be missing his weapon or was that by design?

This can be considered a bug, as it will appear as the Sniper Boe gets closer. It was very unexpected as every other character appears to be just fine. For some reason, the Sniper Rifle has a different level of detail or distance parsing feature built into it. Unfortunately, it's not something that can be reported as it's being used in a way that is not intended.

 

All of these characters are in the Preppocalypse Mod. In that version the Sniper Rifle is using a custom model for a Swiss Vetterli.

That version also places them the ranged and melee default types in POIs as well. Once I see how that goes and things go stable, they can transfer to this mod as well.

[RAGE PVE]

6 hours ago, arramus said:

This can be considered a bug, as it will appear as the Sniper Boe gets closer. It was very unexpected as every other character appears to be just fine. For some reason, the Sniper Rifle has a different level of detail or distance parsing feature built into it. Unfortunately, it's not something that can be reported as it's being used in a way that is not intended.

 

All of these characters are in the Preppocalypse Mod. In that version the Sniper Rifle is using a custom model for a Swiss Vetterli.

That version also places them the ranged and melee default types in POIs as well. Once I see how that goes and things go stable, they can transfer to this mod as well.

Ah I see, yeah that looks pretty cool up close, I could comment them out for now and see what changes later on perhaps.

[arramus]

45 minutes ago, RAGE PVE said:

I could comment them out for now and see what changes later on perhaps.

Good luck with that. Things have changed in there...hence no server options folder offering a multitude of choices as it's simply impractical.

[Sarakatunga]

It hurts me a lot that they have removed model ZombieUMA. A shame. Try putting NPCUMA. But they walk like robots haha!.

[arramus]

Any discussions relating to UMA features are best held in the https://community.7daystodie.com/forum/40-discussion-and-requests/ area. I appreciate the reason for the post but this isn't really the place for it.

[dujinyuan]

All my Zombie mods are gone! Now what am I supposed to do？That‘s crazy！man！crazy..Growl！！

[RAGE PVE]

This pack is very brutal.....music to our players but will require some tweaks ( from our end ), I'm not sure if I should create a new thread in the discussions above but I was going to ask for any guidance on the old demolition derby which was a great addition.  It had this red glow, basically we have made a mod that fixes the games static difficulty issue so that different biomes create new difficulty levels depending on the biome your in, so no two zombies has the same stats but we want to revise this and make it so that if the zombie rolls a particular high level on 4 random stats (like hp, toughness, run/walk speed) then it starts to glow a colour, is that feature still possible and what part of the code might that be under?  I'll move the post if you prefer also, thanks as per usual, very happy you released this as gives us something to work on again which our servers are based on!

[arramus]

The glow from the Demolition Derby was created using the spear pulsing texture when it had been thrown. It appears to still exist as it has been commented out of items.xml but not totally removed.

 

<property name="StickyMaterial" value="@:Other/Items/Weapons/Melee/Spear/Materials/spearIron_sticky.mat"/>

 

He wasn't added to the pack because the M60 Demolition served that role as it has a projectile attack, large block damage, and retains the explosive feature. The code should carry over to your own build quite nicely.

[RAGE PVE]

On 6/25/2023 at 7:33 PM, arramus said:

The glow from the Demolition Derby was created using the spear pulsing texture when it had been thrown. It appears to still exist as it has been commented out of items.xml but not totally removed.

 

<property name="StickyMaterial" value="@:Other/Items/Weapons/Melee/Spear/Materials/spearIron_sticky.mat"/>

 

He wasn't added to the pack because the M60 Demolition served that role as it has a projectile attack, large block damage, and retains the explosive feature. The code should carry over to your own build quite nicely.

Awesome thanks, I just checked the probability of things also, some changes there by looks, seems alot easier perhaps to work with?  Thanks for taking the time to add the gamestages in also

Edited June 28, 2023 by RAGE PVE (see edit history)

[arramus]

Here is a small optional mod that has been added into the Server Side Zombies PLUS Mod as an standalone extra.

 

The Server Side Zombies PLUS Starter Kit.

It offers a selection of basic tools and weapons limited to Q1 - Q3. The main highlight is the mini bike.

This will help players who are joining a Server Side Zombies PLUS Mod World through their first few days as it can get quite extreme in there.

 

https://github.com/arramus/A21-ServerSideZombiesPLUS/blob/main/A21-ServerSideZombiesPLUS-StarterKit.zip

 

A couple of images to demonstrate.

 

Come into the World with your Server Side Zombies PLUS Starter Kit.

 

Open the Kit and find some useful goodies to support the challenges of a Zombies PLUS World. On this occasion, the knife and pipe pistol were at level 2 out of the possible 3.

It wasn't so lucky for the wrench and double barrel shotgun but it's still something.

 

 

 

[Shemasheko]

Awesome, this mod already exists for Alpha 21. Thank you very much!

What I would like to know:
Is there still this annoying mini mosquito in there that you could hardly hit ?

[arramus]

There was never a mini mosquito in the predecessor to this pack, and there isn't one in this pack. I believe you are referring to Robeloto's Custom Zombies. It contained an Electric Fly, Firefly, and Fly. I believe it may have been the fly which could cause irritation due to its speed and size.

[ZombieMikeG]

Very cool idea, and very well done! I love it...but not a fan of zombies shooting me everywhere I go on day 1. It's brutal, and I've survived to day 100+ in most overhauls on nightmare, haha (even War3zuk). Is there a way for me to edit the file to have it start with a progression based on game stage? Or not really feasible? Thanks for any help. 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by ZombieMikeG (see edit history)

[Razor_]

Very neat stuff! Combining this mod with artifact drop and Improved Hordes spices vanilla gameplay a lot.

 

My question is can special glowing effect be added for these new zombies? Glowing red or green light will add a lot of aesthetic and allow players to notice them from further away.

[arramus]

3 hours ago, ZombieMikeG said:

Very cool idea, and very well done! I love it...but not a fan of zombies shooting me everywhere I go on day 1. It's brutal, and I've survived to day 100+ in most overhauls on nightmare, haha (even War3zuk). Is there a way for me to edit the file to have it start with a progression based on game stage? Or not really feasible? Thanks for any help. 

 

Horde night does have progression and that will be regulated for player Game Stage level which is one help. Unfortunately, the biomes do not have Game Stage progression for the biome groups they are added to. It has always been a thing where the first few days can be pretty rough, especially on smaller Worlds or where not so many regions have been opened up. Even though the spawning rate is low, spawning continues to be higher than they are listed. It does calm down in time but that's no consolation for a new World. It is possible to edit the entitygroups.xml to reduce the rate they appear compared to the regular zombies.

 

ZombiesAll, ZombiesNight, ZombiesForestDowntown, ZombiesForestDowntownNight, ZombiesDowntown, ZombiesWasteland, ZombiesWastelandNight, ZombiesBurntForest, and SnowZombies show something like:

 

animalZombieBunnyPLUS, .1

 

Changing that to a lower value such as

 

animalZombieBunnyPLUS, .05

 

can impact how often it will appear. Doing that for the most challenging, or even all, of the PLUS zombies can help to contain them.

3 hours ago, Razor_ said:

Very neat stuff! Combining this mod with artifact drop and Improved Hordes spices vanilla gameplay a lot.

 

My question is can special glowing effect be added for these new zombies? Glowing red or green light will add a lot of aesthetic and allow players to notice them from further away.

There is an entity in this PLUS pack called Radiation Shower Wight. His name in the entityclasses.xml file is zombieWightRadiationShowerPLUS.

He uses a property called:

 

<property name="ParticleOnSpawn" value="ParticleEffects/RadiatedParticlesOnMesh" param1="SetShapeToMesh0"/>

 

This is an asset that appears to be experimental and may have been intended for Radiated or a Radiated Plus entity from the game developers. Adding this same line to other entities can give them the same green light particle effect. It is a very clear aesthetic and easy to spot from afar. However, such particle effects can be quite resource heavy and not for every graphics card and set up out there. It's a case by case basis but is there to be tested and used for systems that can handle it. Simply adding this same property line to other entities in the list can get them glowing in the same way. It is the same method used in the Elite Zombies mod and based on an existing 'experimental' asset.

[Razor_]

3 hours ago, arramus said:

<property name="ParticleOnSpawn" value="ParticleEffects/RadiatedParticlesOnMesh" param1="SetShapeToMesh0"/>

 

This is an asset that appears to be experimental and may have been intended for Radiated or a Radiated Plus entity from the game developers. Adding this same line to other entities can give them the same green light particle effect. It is a very clear aesthetic and easy to spot from afar. However, such particle effects can be quite resource heavy and not for every graphics card and set up out there. It's a case by case basis but is there to be tested and used for systems that can handle it. Simply adding this same property line to other entities in the list can get them glowing in the same way. It is the same method used in the Elite Zombies mod and based on an existing 'experimental' asset.

Thanks for the answer. I experimented a bit on my own using buffs to add green glowing effect on hands and got decent results.

 

buffs.xml (green glowing effect)

Spoiler

<buff name="radiation_glow_hands">
            <stack_type value="replace"/>
            <duration value="600"/>

            <effect_group>
                <triggered_effect trigger="onSelfBuffStart" action="AttachParticleEffectToEntity" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_left" parent_transform="LeftHand" />
                <triggered_effect trigger="onSelfEnteredGame" action="AttachParticleEffectToEntity" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_left" parent_transform="LeftHand" />

                <triggered_effect trigger="onSelfBuffStart" action="AttachParticleEffectToEntity" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_right" parent_transform="RightHand" />
                <triggered_effect trigger="onSelfEnteredGame" action="AttachParticleEffectToEntity" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_right" parent_transform="RightHand" />
            </effect_group>

            <effect_group>
                <triggered_effect trigger="onSelfBuffUpdate" action="AttachParticleEffectToEntity" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_left" parent_transform="LeftHand">
                    <requirement name="!HasParticle" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_left" />
                </triggered_effect>

                <triggered_effect trigger="onSelfBuffUpdate" action="AttachParticleEffectToEntity" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_right" parent_transform="RightHand">
                    <requirement name="!HasParticle" particle="p_twitch_zombie_radiation_right" />
                </triggered_effect>
            </effect_group>
        </buff>

Add this line to zombie entity:

<triggered_effect trigger="onSelfFirstSpawn" action="AddBuff" target="self" buff="radiation_glow_hands"/>

 

Here is the result:

 

75 vanilla Radiated Zombies - around 44 FPS

75 Radiated Zombies Plus with glowing hands - around 22 FPS

75 Radiated Zombies Plus with RadiatedParticlesOnMesh - around 18 FPS

 

Special effects do tank performance significantly. It is up for modders to pick the middle ground whether they want more performance or effects that mark special zombies. Personally, I think they deserve differentiation other than their weapons since they are a lot stronger than normal zombies.

[arramus]

3 hours ago, Razor_ said:

Special effects do tank performance significantly. It is up for modders to pick the middle ground whether they want more performance or effects that mark special zombies. Personally, I think they deserve differentiation other than their weapons since they are a lot stronger than normal zombies.

I see. That's a clear statement of preference and is very much something you and @RAGE PVE could collaborate on in their community dedicated server. It will be interesting to see how things respond during a Horde Night event with 10+ players and a host of other mods running in the background. Favourable results could warrant a post loading mod to append such additions. The Rage community is certainly dedicated to testing where the boundaries lie with experimental features and customsations specific for their servers.

[MrSamuelAdams]

Does this mod conflict with any other modlets to your knowledge. Would love to try it, the variation is so cool.

It works and I changed all 0.1 to 0.05. 

 

Seems to be good so far!

Edited July 15, 2023 by MrSamuelAdams (see edit history)