f13.net

Ookii and I are thinking about running our own Zombie Survival server. Zombie Survival is a Garry's Mod full conversion that runs like this:

1. One player starts off as a zombie. Everyone else is a human.
2. The humans have to fortify themselves before the zombie virus spreads, however...
3. ...the Virus nearly always wins. That one zombie has to eat other humans to turn them into zombies. So slowly but surely, everyone becomes a zombie and the game ends.
4. There are 4 types of zombies that you can be - you start off as the regular one and the rest are unlocked through time/kills - Fast Zombie, Poison Zombie, Chem Zombie, Head crab.
5. It's fun. For real. Probably the best multiplayer zombie game out there.

I've been playing this pretty much exclusively for the last few weeks for a few hours a day. I really haven't had this much fun playing an online game since UT2k4 came out. There's strategy to every level and each weapon (of which there are like 12 or so) have their uses. Mostly though, we want to put up a server because there are only 2 right now, and they cycle too many shitty maps in and out of it. Does anyone have any interest?

Requires Half Life 2, Counterstrike: Source (you can install the demos of those), the full version of Garry's Mod ($9.95) and obviously Steam.

Can you use crowbars? I read in the Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks that the titanium ones are the best possible melee weapon you can equip against them. Good for cracking heads and opening doors.

So really all I need is the full version of Garry's Mod?

Schild, this sounds fun, but how much rampant human sacrificing is there just to become a zombie?

I'm down.  Finite ammo?

Finite ammo with a timer.

And yes, all you REALLY need is Garry's Mod I suppose.

This is killed already, the install looks hellish.

So don't bother DLing Garry's Mod?

I have Garry's Mod and all that stuff.  If you ever decide to brave the install procedure I'm in.

Well. We're gonna get a virtual dedicated and see if it'll run (it needs windows, unless we run WINE, which is a pain in the ass).

I am intrigued. What is this Garry's Mod?

Garry's Mod a front-end to the Half Life 2 engine.  It's, in Valve's words, a "sandbox" for the HL2 engine.

(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/829/zsgu082807dl6.jpg)

Oh man. What a goddamn run. I owned the entire server. At the end it was fucking tense. Then everyone on the server told me that I was a noob and got lucky. Though I've won like 20 rounds in the last few days.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

(http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/584/steamratingjt0.png)

Ugh, must play less. Eagles Scream. Jesus.

35 hours a week is a fucking job, mate.

You play MMOGs.

This sounds like a fleshed out version of the Counter Strike Zombie mod which me and a friend had lots of fun with for a couple weeks. 

Do you need the retail copy of Gary's Mod to play?

Retail? I guess you could call it that.

It's $9.95 though, so uhhhh, yea.

Sounds interesting actually. Let us know if you get your server up and running before we head to buy the mod.

Yea that's what I meant.  I still have a free version of Gary's installed and didn't really wanna pay $10 for an updated version, but I may have to look it over.

Well, I'm currently playing on GU servers. There's about 6 running 24/7 with one that has 20+ (usually around 40) people on it all the time.

And another with around 20.

Both have different maps (though some overlap) and map rotations. it's nice.

Eh ?

Sorry, I must have zoned into f14, the Budgie Fanciers Website.

I play one.  WoW.  I play it maybe 6-8 hours in a week.  I spend more time reading.  Hell, I spend more time Wanking than I do playing MMOGs.  Seriously.  It's starting to hurt.

This game is good, but it desperately needs better maps.  They seem to vary wildly between claustrophobic clusterfucks where most of the human players can't move and big wide open spaces that the zombies have no hope of crossing unscathed.

The developers would have done well to play Zombie Panic for a while and take note of how it tries to keep the game from stagnating.  Have ammo and health drops spawn in locations that are very easy for the zombies to assault.  Have the easily defensible locations be bereft of ammo drops so that the humans will eventually have to foray out for more bullets.  Have lots of spots between the defensible locations and the ammo drops where the zombies can prepare ambushes (dark corners and vents where they can hide and jump out going "GRAHR BRAINS", that sort of thing).

I do like the innovation of unlocking more deadly zombie types as the timer ticks down, though.  And using the Half-Life zombie types, with NPC poison headcrabs and everything.  That they can definitely keep.

Samwise, the map I won on last night is one of the good ones. It has a subway, lots of those forcefield gates, lots of spawn points, levels, places for zombies to hide. It's just a good level that normally does not last 30 minutes. I was just on fire. Unstoppable as it were.

Oh, I'll definitely play it again.  I'm just hoping that as time goes on they'll get more good maps and fewer shitty ones.  The ones where I'd spawn in and be sandwiched in a narrow hallways between two immobile fucktards were just unforgiveably bad map design is all.   :-P

The map selection is one of the reasons we wanted to do our own server.

It's a good reason.  If only I weren't so worthless with these newfangled 3D mapping tools I'd try to make one myself.

I've heard the steam tools make it really easy to make a map. I have not messed with it though. GMod is also very very very clean.

My problem is I suck with 3D modelling of any sort.  Including 3D mapping.  I'm sure the Valve tools are great (they always have been), but they can't compensate for my complete lack of aptitude in that space.  I think I'm just missing part of my brain or something.

Ok I'm definitely in. It'll make waiting for the L4D mod easier.

Once you've played some good rounds of Zombie Survival, Left 4 Dead doesn't seem as good. ZS needs more professionals hacking at it though.

Man, if only we knew of a website that a bunch of game developers read and ask for some tips/resources!

On a serios note, my one and only atttempt to make a Natural Selection map went very poorly so I feel your pain.

I know people IRL who are good at mapping.  Maybe if I ruffle their hair vigorously some of the talent will rub off on me.

That's a good excuse.  You should write to the Republican party.

What makes a Zombie Survival map good?

And are the zombies the HL2 headcrab zombies, or did they create proper zombies?

For some reason, this is important to me.

The zombies are the HL2 headcrab zombies.  I feel this is actually an improvement over the amateur-modelled zombies from Zombie Panic, though, which resemble nothing so much as giant green Lego men.

Yes, Zombie Survival, or Zombie Game as I call it, provides endless joy.

Something I wanted to point out is that it requires GMod 10, not 9.... Which, if you liked 9, you should get 10 anyway. Only $10. Well worth it.

I don't think I can tolerate this game any more.  When it's fun it's fun, but when it's not fun it's like pounding a nail through your dick.  And the stability issues really annoy me.  /uninstall

It did make me remember how much I'm looking forward to the Source version of Zombie Panic, though.