How are you dealing with the increased chance of spawning a screamer?

[Shinentai]

I am starting to find that the more players in the base the higher the chance of screamers. 
My base is right on the border between forest and burnt, and screamers come from burnt every time anyone else logs in we start building. 

When i'm on my own i can build to my hearts content and nothing, but as soon as i get company, she turns up. Two players come in, i get two more screamers sometimes before they even DO anything. 

[zombiehunter]

Personally, I think the screamers are overdone.  It's too much when you get FOUR radiated screamers all at once.  You basically can't use guns when questing, which is fine until you're doing T5 and T6 quests, when guns are pretty much mandatory to survive.

 

Does anyone know if there is a keyboard command that shows how much heat you are generating?

[tman1up]

I have mixed feelings about the new screamer spawning mechanics. On one hand it feels like you can barely do anything without spawning a screamer or two. On the other hand, as an experienced player it does bring back some of the random danger to the world. I started a new playthrough earlier this week, and once I had two spawn with only a single forge and 2 campfires going I knew I needed to wrap my crafting base in spikes, which seems to do the trick. As I progress, I upgrade to iron spike and upgrade the foundation of my crafting base.

 

@zombiehunter In the previous alpha's your could turn on debug menu and then hit F8 twice, first F8 would turn on FPS and second F8 would turn on the heatmap counter. It used to be if the heatmap counter made it to 100% the chance of a screamer wasn't 100% but was pretty likely. Now in the most recent versions of 1.0 they came out with some new calculation that seems to render that heatmap counter useless. I will see the counter going up to 11, 12 13% and then it just randomly goes to 0's like you are not generating heat at all.

[seven]

33 minutes ago, tman1up said:

@zombiehunter In the previous alpha's your could turn on debug menu and then hit F8 twice, first F8 would turn on FPS and second F8 would turn on the heatmap counter. It used to be if the heatmap counter made it to 100% the chance of a screamer wasn't 100% but was pretty likely. Now in the most recent versions of 1.0 they came out with some new calculation that seems to render that heatmap counter useless. I will see the counter going up to 11, 12 13% and then it just randomly goes to 0's like you are not generating heat at all.

 

I haven't checked the latest builds but after the patch where it changed I checked things and "heat" would go up to 25 and then I'd get a screamer. Maybe it's bugged now, or maybe something else going on in your save, but it was working for me.

 

And it's too easy to get to 25%. Even doing almost all melee or crossbow in upper tier POIs I get screamers. And the screamer spawned hordes are often worse than the POI fight.

[ElCabong]

I like the idea of turning my base into a mini hord base. I'm doing okay by running the forge for just a little over a minute at a time. Once you get the anvil, bellows, and a crucible. I'll do 10 iron bars and 10 steel bars. Then I'll go do a mission and when I come back I'll start cooking just enough to replace what I've used and fire off the forge and get a few more bars.

 

I've got a 150 iron bars and I'm building towards 100 steel bars.

Edited July 27 by ElCabong (see edit history)

[binf_shinana]

I generally don't deal with the screamer issue in advance.
The spawn trigger is so low that it's uncontrollable, and the spawn rate itself is so low that their spawning is essentially random.

 

If I'm on a quest and a horde of screamers appears that I can't control, I give up and leave.
If they come to my house and I can't control them, I give up and go exploring.
Often when I leave and come back they're gone.

Edited July 26 by binf_shinana (see edit history)

[KirillWright]

Это изменение с крикуном напоминает мне старые версии. Для боя я использую хорошо защищенную базу (колья, забор с колючей проволокой и стены, укрепленные булыжниками) I’m not building a separate base for this. В целом мне это изменение нравится🤠 

Edited July 26 by KirillWright (see edit history)

[Roland]

Where are all the people from the last 5-6 years complaining about an empty world devoid of zombies?  They should be in here testifying about how great it is now to have hordes of zombies showing up to fill the world with zombies….

[theFlu]

2 hours ago, Roland said:

Where are all the people from the last 5-6 years complaining about an empty world devoid of zombies?

Hi. Why you bringing in an unrelated topic.. just to mock people not present for it? Well, since you summoned me.. Spawning zeds in from F6 creative menu wouldn't have changed the empty feeling of forests and towns, nor will spawning in more screamers to your base or quest POI, really. The travel is still just as empty, which makes the world Look and feel empty.

 

(Althou I might not be the target audience, as I wasn't That bothered by it.. more would've been nice everywhere, but it only felt stupidly empty in the wilderness, where the game doesn't want you to spend any time anyway...)

[Roland]

1 hour ago, theFlu said:

Hi. Why you bringing in an unrelated topic..

 

It's not unrelated. More wilderness spawns mean more zombies in the area where you want to work. Screamers bring more zombies into the area where you want to work. People have been wanting the world to have more zombies. Screamers bring more zombies.

 

1 hour ago, theFlu said:

just to mock people not present for it?

 

Thanks for asking instead of assuming. No. I'm not mocking. I really am curious. I get that some people don't want to be interrupted by extra zombies while they are trying to get stuff done. But where are the other people who do want larger populations of zombies? I'd think they'd be here in larger numbers praising the increased screamer activity. I would think at least some of them would come to disagree that more screamers bringing in more zombies is exactly what the game needs. It's what you get when you up the spawn numbers in the xml. You often get surrounding zombies coming in to mess with you while you mine, quest, build, etc. And there have been a lot of people modding their game with increased spawn numbers.

 

1 hour ago, theFlu said:

Well, since you summoned me.. Althou I might not be the target audience, as I wasn't That bothered by it..

 

So...did I summon you or not....? Thanks for answering on behalf of the target audience I guess.

 

1 hour ago, theFlu said:

Spawning zeds in from F6 creative menu wouldn't have changed the empty feeling of forests and towns, nor will spawning in more screamers to your base or quest POI, really.

 

You're likening the screamer spawn to the F6 spawn and they aren't very similar. You can spawn in a block of 25 of the same zombie in one mass which is nothing like a screamer spawn or you can walk around and spawn singles in different places but that would be super tedious. The screamer brings zombies from different directions in a circumference around you. When in a building questing, they feel just like nearby zombies zeroing in on my location--at least to me. Plus, with screamers you are playing the game the entire time and not pausing play to open the debug menu and then run around peppering the landscape with here a zombie there a zombie yourself. Also, the zombies you place won't have a waypoint in your general direction implanted in their brains causing them to enter the POI and go to the spot where your gunfire caused the heat overload.

 

Now, in the sense that neither the f6 spawner nor screamers solve the problem of just having zombies existing in dense numbers in the world when traveling around. I agree. But I don't think that lots of zombies existing while you travel is significant to gameplay. You just leave them in the dust. Zombie high density only matters at the location where you plan to be active and sleepers bring them in (potentially).

 

1 hour ago, theFlu said:

but it only felt stupidly empty in the wilderness

 

I think it is pretty stupid to have dense populations of zombies out in the forest. They should be dense in the cities and sparse in the wilderness with occasional herds shambling along. It would be nice to have larger herds than we typically get but putting zombies everywhere out in the wilderness where you are just pedaling past them would be the stupid choice, imo.

Edited July 26 by Roland (see edit history)

[theFlu]

2 minutes ago, Roland said:

You're likening the screamer spawn to the F6 spawn and they aren't very similar. You can spawn in a block of 25 of the same zombie in one mass which is nothing like a screamer spawn or you can walk around and spawn singles in different places but that would be super tedious. The screamer brings zombies from different directions in a circumference around you.

Now we're talking in two threads about the same thing; I'll keep this one short. But I'm likening it to F6 because of the way it works; the world is empty until you fill it by your actions. The screamer is "better" of course, as the comparison is just to make the point - the world is just as empty, there's just a trigger to summon stuff in. Yeah, horde nights don't feel empty, a mechanic can fill the world well; but a screamer isn't doing that.

 

A better mechanic to fill the void in the world would be a permanent horde night with max_alive of 1. You'd always have someone tracking you down. Screamers just don't produce that feeling.

[pahbi]

Make your base on a tall building, and make a long winding set of stairs that path into your crafting area.  Line the stairs with wood spikes.  Then make a non spike shortcut for you to enter the base that zombies can't path through.

 

Early game to mid game, screamers will path up the stairs with spikes and usually die before they reach the top.

 

[Riamus]

On 7/25/2024 at 5:38 PM, avalonnn said:

Hello all. I think screamer spawn percentage increases with the biome difficulty, but it's just based on my experience on day 11 of a relatively easy (low difficulty level) playthrough. 

 

Here's my story: I had a base in Forest, and was farming Rekt missions. I got a Tier IV mission to my North, which was in Wasteland. I cleared the POI. _After_ I killed the last zombie, two screamers appeared (IIRC I had used iron tools but not much -- I don't remember whether or not I left a cooking fire on at the base, and I had one active dew collector -- which IMHO should not generate heat). I killed the two, which were infected, but they summoned two more, plus a horde. Eventually, I fled. 

 

Near zero screamer spawning in Forest, but a ridiculous experience in Wasteland. So I think that anyone playing on Wasteland Only has an intense screamer experience that may not have been playtested. Anyone spending the early days in Forest or Burnt Forest might have a different experience. 

 

Yes, my forest base is also my horde base. I have a desert base that has little protection and has had no problems.

Screamers may be tied to a minimum game stage (I don't know), which would mean a greater chance for them to start spawning earlier if you are in a higher biome.  But the devs have said that it is a 20% change to spawn at 25 heat.  Nothing about that changing per biome.

[Outlaw_187]

I don't do anything to deter it. If they show up, so be it. Extra experience and possible loot. 

Yes it can be a pain as that's when I do my forging, crafting, building, upgrading, cooking, etc, when at the base. 

Then a screamer shows up to deter said actions. 

It does seem a tad overdone so I'm sure the Pimps will tweak it. However for now, bring em on!

[4sheetzngeegles]

I got my first taste of double screamer. It's the first time I ran my forge more than

10 minutes simultaneously with my campfire. I normally only make what i need for an outing.

2am game time approx, Killed them with stealth primitive bow and stone arrows from about 30

meters. No extra spawn till the morning when wandering horde passed by. The lesson I learned is

I will only run major heat draw tools at night so I can take advantage of stealth.

[pApA^LeGBa]

Same as before. A moat 1 deep and 3 wide filled with spikes and the wall of my base  with no windows on the ground floor so they can´t see you. If you want to be really cautious you can dig a a tunnel entrance that leads outside their spawn radius so they can´t catch you when entering or leaving your base.

 

Don´t mind them when not in my base.

 

@Roland I am here. World is still empty. We need the slider for spawn percentage back. Screamers do not solve that problem. The towns and cities are still empty af when you go trough them.

 

A screamer horde is not the same as a more populated world. Not even close.

Edited July 28 by pApA^LeGBa (see edit history)

[OneManStanding]

I'm still not clear on the new rules. Someone said screamers now have a chance to spawn at only 25% heat, so I'm not sure what that boils down to in what you can have running at once.

 

I had my forge, chem station and workbench all going -- a long tense nothing. Put on two campfires and just as I'm heading out I see two feral screamers come sprinting out of the woods towards my base. I left a single campfire going and returned to find a screamer beating on my iron door like an aggressive salesman -- "YOU ARE TAKING LIFE INSURANCE WITHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" Fired off ONE magazine of Ak47 ammo to kill some radioactives and summoned an instant screamer.

 

Definitely more unpredictable.

 

At the moment, I've further fortified my ordinary every-day base and I'm thinking of doing more horde-night-style defences for it. As far as I understand it, even giving something a funny look has a good chance of summoning a screamer. Just better be prepared.

[BFT2020]

I love the new screamer mechanic, I had to abandon a T4 quest because they overwhelmed me.  It adds more risk to the game overall.

[canadianbluebeer]

6 hours ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

Same as before. A moat 1 deep and 3 wide filled with spikes and the wall of my base  with no windows on the ground floor so they can´t see you. If you want to be really cautious you can dig a a tunnel entrance that leads outside their spawn radius so they can´t catch you when entering or leaving your base.

 

Don´t mind them when not in my base.

 

@Roland I am here. World is still empty. We need the slider for spawn percentage back. Screamers do not solve that problem. The towns and cities are still empty af when you go trough them.

 

A screamer horde is not the same as a more populated world. Not even close.

 

drawbridge over the spikes works.  3 or 4 deep for the spikes.  (watched a radiated scream dance LENGHTWISE along the spikes...  I shot her. 1 bullet, less repairs

 

Screamer mechanic seems out of whack. Getting 2 at once?  What is this, The Shining?

 

[pApA^LeGBa]

@canadianbluebeer i got 3 radiated ones that one time...

[canadianbluebeer]

8 minutes ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

@canadianbluebeer i got 3 radiated ones that one time...

 

Haven't got that many .... yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[seagas]

I generally add a small horde tower to my main base. I go heavy into intellect so I can build a Sledge turret. Sledge turret plus high tower equals Screamer getting bonked off the narrow walk to my fight position, rinse and repeat until she is dead. I just keep being busy doing what I'm doing in the base, while sledge handles said screamer.. 

[Adam the Waster]

Crying in a corner while my spikes do the work Jesus I didn't expect this many Screamers

All I want to do is eat some damn food And all I hear is screeching Make it stop

[Roland]

12 hours ago, pApA^LeGBa said:

 

@Roland I am here. World is still empty. We need the slider for spawn percentage back. Screamers do not solve that problem. The towns and cities are still empty af when you go trough them.

 

You misunderstand me. I'm not trying to convince anyone that they can act as a replacement. I'm just surprised that people complain about any mechanism that brings more zombies into the game. If people get fatigued fighting zombies that are brought in by a few rounds of screamers what makes them think they would enjoy any game that has environmental zombies standing and wandering around everywhere? You would arrive at a location and get swarmed by dozens and dozens of zombies every single time-- just like you get swarmed intermittently by screamer hordes.

 

I agree with a slider for such things, btw. I already do slide it now by changing values in the xml.

[theFlu]

2 minutes ago, Roland said:

I'm just surprised that people complain about any mechanism that brings more zombies into the game.

I just bought a new phone and went about installing all the crap I want on it right away. Every step of the way, the phone was trying to teach me some fancy new features. Popups, popups everywhere. I half-read half of them, and straight up dismissed the other half, because I was Doing something Important. (I was actually on a bit of time crunch at the time). After I had gotten my things sorted, I went and searched the webs for description of the features I could remember it was trying to teach me. I was actually interested in them, just "Not Right Now, ffs!!".

 

There's a time and place for things. When you're actually trying to get stuff done at base, screamers are an annoyance. They're understandable, and IMO a good mechanic, but it's quite easy to see that they can feel real annoying when they're over eager. It's a matter of just the right amount. And that will vary person to person.

 

A bit like your traveling example... "arrive at a location and be swarmed by Dozens and Dozens .." Dozens, plural, so "at least 24" D and D = 2xD = 48 ...

I don't think many who think "I saw 3 zeds across my 1km journey, that's too low for the world" wants to have 50 zeds within 30m of every POI entrance - close enough to be able to join the ruckus. But 50 zeds spotted across the 1km journey might be a nice touch. A good amount not to make the world feel dull, but not a horde night every step. Of course not, why would we have horde nights then ...