Undead Virus Event

[block1]

 

Even though "zombies" are generally overused in just about everything nowadays, the idea of having a special event like this on board sounds quite fun! I hope you'll consider this suggestion!

 

CONCEPT

 

Name of Event: Code Z (subject to change)

 

One Sentence Description: Multiple crewmembers unknowingly have a virus inside them that will turn them into zombies within 12 minutes of the round beginning.

 

Map Changes: No

 

Code Changes: Changes that involve coding a "zombie", meaning a system similar to how a spider lays eggs except it would involve biting the deceased victim and either the player can go back to his body to be an undead creature or a NPC will take over and look for the closest human to maul. I've seen a zombie sprite on the server (usually spawns with skeletons in the maintenance shafts) so it'll pretty much just be coding this in.

 

Suggested Number of Players: 40+

 

INFECTION PROCESS

 

Full Description of Event:

 

At the start of the round a few players (2-4) will randomly be selected to be hosts of this virus (unknowingly) and soon will begin getting little hints such as...

 

The process of the round starting and you being randomly selected to be infected, you won't knowingly understand that you're infected but these hints are for immersive purposes to detail how your character is feeling and changing.

 

Beginning (first 2-3 minutes)

"You have a craving towards meat..." "You begin drooling..." "You feel restless..."

 

Midway (6-8 minutes in)

"You have a sudden urge to bite the people around you..." "The skin on your hands begins peeling away..." "You feel like you're losing your mind..."

 

Ending (9-12 minutes in)

 

"You begin shaking uncontrollably... ((prompt the character shaking, such as when you drink a lot of robust coffee))" "Your skin is turning black and peeling off..." "You have an undeniable urge to feast upon human flesh..."

 

and then finally the person will be completely undead and something similar to this will appear

 

INFECTION PROCESS COMPLETE

 

"YOU'RE UNDEAD

 

You're no longer living and have an unshakeable impulse to kill and reanimate the living into one of you.."

 

So now the player is undead and at this point the players sprite should change into the zombie sprite I mentioned earlier, I'm sure the developers have access to it so sorry for being unable to show what it looks like. But trust me, its pretty spooky and screams "ZOMBIE!".

 

This is where the event pretty much is in full effect. CentComm will immediately make an announcement prohibiting an escape shuttle from coming (to prevent anyone thats infected from getting on board, as I mentioned hosts of the virus aren't aware they are infected until they start turning, by then its too late.) and it will be the Captains decision on whether or not he wants to call the ERT or not. Since the whole "zombie" virus is very complicated I figure the best way to balance this event out is the only other way to become infected is to be bitten/attacked by a zombie, so no airborne zombie pandemics or Grey Tides running around sneezing on people. This way the recently attacked player becomes a zombie happens by either...

 

1) Bitten but escapes death, they will go through the similar process of turning. It'll be their decision on whether or not to report these symptoms to medical personnel.

 

2) Bitten and killed, at this point the player will come back to life within 25-30 seconds and be an undead.

 

UNDEAD KEY FEATURES

 

The undead are well.. dead! So with that being said they will have some advantages..

 

[*] Abnormal Strength, an undead doesn't feel pain nor does it care about injuries to itself, as long as it gets to bite into some flesh, it doesn't care. What I mean by this is that the undead can easily bash tables open with a few hits and not worry about well.. the pain of slamming a metal table to scrap. The same goes with windows, grilles and the other usual stuff. I did think about airlocks however I think that'd be a bit too much.

 

[*] Aim for the Brain, I couldn't really make up a title for this so I just went with that. Anyways, if you've read or watched anything involving zombies than you should know that a zombie doesn't fully die unless you bash its skull in. Meaning a zombie doesn't really mind losing an arm or two, it won't die from bleeding or from breaking a bone. It can only be killed by destroying the brain, which in simple terms meaning go full-on robust on his head. Of course though thats not the ONLY way to kill a zombie, you could also burn it.. or just throw him into space.. pressure could also kill it eventually, the normal stuff. The only difference is that robusting a zombie does nothing unless its directly to the face.

 

[*] Spreadin' the Infection, pretty much the core thing of any zombie, its ability to infect others! This can be done simply by harm hitting another player a few times and that'll start the whole infection process. However, if this event is highly considered and the developers are willing to do some hard-coding then possibly have a way to bite a player instead, just to add on to the immersion of well.. being bitten by a zombie. The same goes for deceased individuals, a zombie can just do something similar to how a changeling sucks up a persons brain juices, just give the zombie a few seconds with something popping up like "[Zombie] begins biting into [Dead guy].." for a few seconds and allow 25-30 seconds for the reanimation to come into effect.

 

[*] Feasting on the Living this feature will require some moderate coding, so this is optional for the developers Lets say a zombies left leg is shattered, that'll affect his movement speed obviously and well... no doctor is going to fix that up for him so heres the solution! A option to feast upon a nearby corpse or incapacitated crewmember that will heal the zombies wounds over the course of say 10-25 seconds. This'll allow the undead to have some way to get back into the fight after someone robusting everywhere but the head.

 

HOW WIN? WHAT DO?

 

So now you're probably asking yourself, "how does the crew survive and win?" Well, it's quite simple. Since the escape shuttle isn't arriving you'll either have to get together with anyone that hasn't turned yet and begin cleansing the station of the undead or well.. everyone becomes infected and the undead win.

 

Of course though thats the blunt and straight to the point objective. The roleplay potential is gigantic considering this can introduce quarantining people, making "safe zones" that will pretty much be checkpoints manned by security and I'm sure plenty of other things.

 

Once the undead are fully exterminated than that will be the end of the round, similar to how in some cases eliminating a blob promptly ends the round.

 

This event overall is a station-wide event that includes all players, but medical will have one of the largest roles in this event.

 

IDENTIFYING THE INFECTED

 

If you've ever played a game called "Dead Rising" you'd see that a certain medication within the game can temporarily halt the infection within an infected, the virologist will need to develop this medication and give it to the infected with the assistance of the medical staff as well. (Distributing the medication and identifying the infected.)

 

Identifying the Infected is quite simple but could be more complicated with additional coding so this'll give you an idea of how identifying an infected will work.

 

1) Easier Option : Infected Individuals will show up on medical huds and upon inspection will alert the doctor that an infected has a virus inside them.

 

2) Better Option : Infected Individuals will not show up on medical huds BUT upon inspection will alert the doctor that an infected has a virus inside them and than show them as infected over medical HUDs

 

so now here comes the very important part, "How do we cure this infection and how do we develop this medication you speak of?"

 

THE MEDICATION, THE CURE, THE VIROLOGIST!

 

It'll work the same way as any virus, you'll need a blood sample OR you could put an infected inside of one of the isolation rooms within virology and begin immediate research and produce a vial of this medication that can halt the infection process by about 8-10 minutes. Curing or producing a medication will go in the same route that curing any virus within the game goes, you'll need to play around with all of the machines and what not inside of virology.

 

Producing a cure however will require more than having an infected lab rat, it'll involving the same process of having a lab rat except this time the lab rat is fully infected, meaning you'll need to capture and restrain a fully undead monster and develop a cure from that undeads body, which can easily claim a life or two but it's in the name science and for the greater good, right? Yeah sure you could easily pick up a gun or two and start blasting away at the infected but the way to win this event will involve win-types, which can be seen in some events.

 

WIN TYPES

 

Note that "infected" refers to those in the process of becoming an undead, once you're undead you cannot be saved. I mean, you're already dead anyways.

 

Major Crew Victory | Develop a cure and cleanse the station of all infected.

 

Minor Crew Victory | Cleanse the station of all infected. (Meaning instead of cures or meds, you just put a bullet to the head.)

 

Major Undead Victory | Infect everyone onboard (They must become fully infected (undead), meaning it won't count if they are cured.)

 

Minor Undead Victory | Infect half the crew onboard (They must become fully infected (undead), meaning it won't count if they are cured.)

 

IMPORTANT KEYWORDS

 

Infected | Someone who has been infected but has not become undead.

 

Undead / Zombie | Someone who has gone through the infection process and has not been cured. Meaning they are zombies now.

 

Cure | A medicine that can be injected via syringe that will fully eliminate the virus within the infected. This is ineffective against undeads.

 

Medication | A medicine that can be either injected or consumed that will temporarily halt the infection process within an infected individual for 8-10 minutes, this is useful for curing them.

 

LORE AND CENTCOMM

 

This virus is of unknown origin and the infected have unknowingly caught it from something, somewhere, somehow. NanoTrasen has no records of this virus but at round start once the first undeads are up and running will immediately prohibit anyone from leaving, so they're pretty much quarantining the place until either this infection is cured or everyone thats infected is dead. CentComm will dispatch a ERT if requested

 

SPRITES

 

Like I said earlier that a zombie sprite does exist however having custom sprites that can exist on a player, meaning these changes will not change the players sprite but simply add on to the players current sprite, such as giving the player a eerie greenish/decaying sprite when undead or possibly things like a bone sticking out of one of the players arms. Pretty much just making each undead sprite look different from each other so it doesn't look bland.

 

The cure is just a liquid within a vial, bottle or beaker.

 

And the medication can be the same as a cure (vial, bottle or beaker) AND can be made into a pill to be consumed.

 

You need to remember that this virus is totally unknown to NanoTrasen as a whole so they cannot send any neatly labeled cartridges of medication so this makes it much easier on the developers so they won't need a custom sprite for the medications. However if this event does take off I'm sure a spriter will come along and make improvements to the medications sprite. (Such as a custom pill bottle/pill.)

 

DEBRIEF

 

So thats my idea! If you have absolutely any questions or if you feel something is missing then please say something! I want your opinions, your constructive criticism, your praise and insults, EVERYTHING. I put a lot of thought into this and would love to see this added in the future. I'm all ears to you guys! Admin or not, developer or not, I want to hear what you have to say!

 

Changes & Edits

Most edits are fixing typos and added one additional sub-category titled "Undead Key Features"

 

Edited June 23, 2014 by Guest

[Fj45]

 

Problem is this could just turn into monkey mode really.

 

Maybe using World War Z type zombies (the book! Not the fucking terrible movie!) would work better.

Very slow and dumb but you can only kill em by destroying their brain (so pretty much just bashing in their head) and maybe the infected should take longer to turn.

The gamemode could be very interesting but would really suffer from the problem of people not playing the round (blob is a textbook of this, fucking botany and the chef!) /being unrobust scrubs that couldn't barricade the brig!

 

[block1]

 

Problem is this could just turn into monkey mode really.

 

Maybe using World War Z type zombies (the book! Not the fucking terrible movie!) would work better.

Very slow and dumb but you can only kill em by destroying their brain (so pretty much just bashing in their head) and maybe the infected should take longer to turn.

The gamemode could be very interesting but would really suffer from the problem of people not playing the round (blob is a textbook of this, fucking botany and the chef!) /being unrobust scrubs that couldn't barricade the brig!

 

I agree with the destroying the brain part however if movement speed is reduced then think about how insanely hard it would be for the undead, if you've played Security and are in a pursuit you'll know how hard it is to catch someone and finally flash them. Now pretend that security fellow is a zombie, you'd never catch anything running away from you due to being slower than an uninfected. As for the problem of people not playing the round that sort of thing is unavoidable, but if the station eventually becomes overrun by the undead they'll definitely notice walking corpses at the front door. That had me thinking that if this whole zombie event is implemented than the zombie should also be given abnormal strength, being able to bash tables apart with a few hits and possibly even an airlock.

 

[Fj45]

 

I think have some initial infected maybe wouldn't work as there would be problems of making balanced while still fun and stoping powergaming/metagaming. Plus it wouldn't be too hard for the start zombies to fail quickly.

 

Maybe it would be better to have some sort of start event that is a large number of zombies on a shuttle that arrive at the station, maybe there could be a few player controlled ones and if the player zombies die they just get a new one. Suddenly it gets very interesting as while the zombies are slow they would already have their greatest advantage-numbers!

 

[Streaky Haddock]

I honestly do not want an entire gamemode based around zombies. This would be better as a random event at best.

[block1]

 

I think have some initial infected maybe wouldn't work as there would be problems of making balanced while still fun and stoping powergaming/metagaming. Plus it wouldn't be too hard for the start zombies to fail quickly.

 

Maybe it would be better to have some sort of start event that is a large number of zombies on a shuttle that arrive at the station, maybe there could be a few player controlled ones and if the player zombies die they just get a new one. Suddenly it gets very interesting as while the zombies are slow they would already have their greatest advantage-numbers!

 

That could work but it'd involve map changes (making a shuttle and coding it to land at a certain spot), trying to avoid any map changes to shorten the time it'd take to make this event a reality.

 

I honestly do not want an entire gamemode based around zombies. This would be better as a random event at best.

 

I respect your opinion however I think this event would be a major game changer on the round, the aftermath would be a bloody mess and it's likely that the undead won't easily be beaten back like most random events usually go (Spiders, blob, etc). Like I said at the beginning that I get that zombies are generally overused a lot nowadays but it still seems like a very interesting idea, of course thats my opinion. Could you explain to me why you wouldn't want a event based around the concept of zombies? Just curious.

 

[Streaky Haddock]

Because it is an event solely based around virology and killing things.

[block1]

 

Because it is an event solely based around virology and killing things.

 

Not necessarily, virology is the key to creating a cure and medication. However as I stated earlier to create a cure you'll need a live (restrained) undead, which would require the assistance of security and possibly some medical. Not to mention that a cure/medication isn't required by any means, you could easily go down different routes such as quarantining sections of the station off. All you've stated is the slate of the event, not the potential each undead round has. Let's look at a nuke ops round for example, what's the objective? Defending a nuke. What is the event solely based around? Security. However each Nuke Round is an entirely new experience and story. Everything needs a slate, however since this is a roleplay server it turns into more than just killing things. This event involves all players, nobody will be left out because this event is based around the chaos of a virus thats totally unknown to the crew and CentComm and brings people together to decide the fate of the station, everybody will have a story and situation in this event. Again I respect what you're saying but all you've said so far is the slate of the event.

 

[Streaky Haddock]

I've been wrong about this kind of stuff before, so who knows.

[Fj45]

I feel that it would be better to have no "cure" or even a drug that can slow down turning. The only cure should be a shottie shell to the head.

[block1]

 

I've been wrong about this kind of stuff before, so who knows.

I'm not saying your wrong at all, it all depends on what the crew makes out of the round. Some rounds sure the crew will probably agree on going down the short road and killing instead of curing while others may want a more rewarding ending and go down the longer road involving a cure. All depends on the crew. Thats why win-types are in place.

 

I feel that it would be better to have no "cure" or even a drug that can slow down turning. The only cure should be a shottie shell to the head.

Yeah but that would take the roleplaying aspect out of the round and event as a whole. Producing a cure or medicine is much more rewarding for the character then putting a bullet to the head of an infected. You need to remember that a roleplaying character has his or her own mindset, maybe they don't enjoy killing people and would much rather cure a person than kill them. Not to mention it could even go against the rules as excessive violence of just killing any infected in sight when a medicine or cure could be available.

 

[Fj45]

 

Take people get face-hugged. In situations where surgery is not an option there can be some pretty awesome RP with someone wanting to kill another to stop the infection.

I think the same would happen with zombies.

 

[block1]

 

Take people get face-hugged. In situations where surgery is not an option there can be some pretty awesome RP with someone wanting to kill another to stop the infection.

I think the same would happen with zombies.

Like I said it varies person to person, some would rather kill and others would rather not have killing as an option at all even if that means the infected person eventually turning. The cure and medication are alternate routes, if there wasn't any cure or medication to take than this event would just be a sinking rock with the same results every round. (kill, kill, kill.)

 

[block1]

Should also mention that my suggested dosage of the medication would be 20 units or so and the cure would be 30.

[MindLeaker]

Fj, it would be too similar to that horrible monkey round, where when bit you would join their ranks, the only cure there was a bullet, it's not fun for zombies or players, as unrobust players merely contribute to the ranks.

[Fj45]

 

Fj, it would be too similar to that horrible monkey round, where when bit you would join their ranks, the only cure there was a bullet, it's not fun for zombies or players, as unrobust players merely contribute to the ranks.

 

While I agree there it could be offset by zombies being slow. It wouldn't be a good idea at all to fight them melee, your best option until support arrived would be to just hole up or move around the station.

 

[block1]

 

Fj, it would be too similar to that horrible monkey round, where when bit you would join their ranks, the only cure there was a bullet, it's not fun for zombies or players, as unrobust players merely contribute to the ranks.

Thats why theres an infection process implemented, instead of just instantly becoming a zombie it takes about 12 minutes to become fully undead. However that may shorten depending on what the coders think.

 

[block1]

For an undead thread its very dead in here ;~:

[Chldnr]

 

I have mixed feeling on this event. I feel like it would be a very interesting round. At first I thought less departments would get less love, but the more I thought, the more I figured almost all departments would be loved.

 

Cargo would have to order guns, armor for the crew.

 

Engineering would setup defenses, emitters against the zombies, shield generators. Stuff like that.

 

Medical would be doing medical stuff, trying to identify infected

 

Security would be killing zombies and doing sec stuff.

 

Research would make more guns.

 

 

The only problem I see is that the AI could vent plasma everywhere and kill all the zombies like that. Or Just vent all the zombies into space. Also how would zombies kill Cyborgs? If they can't get infected why would they just make almost everyone into robots.

 

[Blackmage199]

 

Because Buck.

 

No, seriously, Robotics CANNOT turn everyone into cyborgs, either they don't volunteer or robotics have no metal. And zombies could smash said cyborgs, I'm sure could wreck shit up with the sheer power of their rotting arms.

Also, imagine having to repair 10 cyborgs at a time. It's not that easy.

 

[Chldnr]

Yeah true. Still I imagine being borged could be an alternate option to turning into a zombie. That or virology can take them and just lock them up for testing. It would be safer anyway.

[IamnotDave]

I'm up for any excuse to make a fort or muck about in chemistry and virology., but this seems better as an event that starts later in the round to me, 12 minutes then crazy-murder-cannibal time seems a bit unfair on the crew to me. Also easier dismemberment for zombies (I don't know how dismemberment works in this game, can a coder or anyone clarify on this?) could be used as a minor nerf to the painless killbeasts.

[xomega000x]

You should add a new way to verify when people are infected, like flashing a light in their eye and their pupil will seem red under the light. Also, you should add, as an undead after you ate like 4-3 survivors, you evolve into a runner, because at first you're a slow Sec Officer. Also, the admins should have the possibility [optional] to become very strong zombies, but slow ones. Meaning they will resist at many bashes against their head OR!!!! We could have Security gear zombies, Officers that got infected whilst wearing the riot gear/bulletproof armor.

[xomega000x]

 

Also easier dismemberment for zombies (I don't know how dismemberment works in this game, can a coder or anyone clarify on this?) could be used as a minor nerf to the painless killbeasts.

 

Yes, that's a good ''nerf'' for the undead. Since their skin,flesh and muscles are pretty much rotten and such.

 

[skarrj]

 

I like the idea of having slow, but strong zombies. In my personal opinion I think it should be treated like Xenos, where upon becoming the zombie you have an option of picking what kind of zombie you are; with each form yielding mixed benefits. That OR upon consuming X-Amount of people you get to pick what kind of Zombie you evolve into.

 

Runner - Very fast zombies with normal bodily durability, allowing them to quickly infect people.

 

Tanks - Very slow zombies with Hulk-Like strength, enabling the ability to smash through non-reinforced walls, along with a natural riot shield-like durability, much like Kidans.

 

Regens - Normal speed zombies who have the ability to regenerate through virtually all damage VERY quickly, with the only possible method of destruction being to quickly damage their bodies to a massive extent before cremating them or otherwise neutralizing their threat potential (i.e. spacing, welding in lockers, etc).

 

King - Then maybe once you absorb even more people you gain the abilities of another form, or all of the forms in one. This could function like the Alien Queen, where there's only 1 of this type of Zombie at any given time. Maybe this Zombie is capable of sentience and can communicate to an extent. Maybe the Zombie king has the downside of being quickly burned by light, and when kept in continued exposure eventually burns up faster than his regeneration can save him. *shrug*

 

Idk, just suggestions. I figured different zombie types could be interesting.