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[i2amroy]

Static spawn will not be going away. In fact static spawn is eventually planned to become the only version eventually, once we manage to reach the point where just clearing out a town does not make it "safe" (so roving zombie hordes, etc.).

[azmodean]

Hrm, monsters in general are static, but have spawn locations, makes sense for some things yea.

In the end, what I want to do is convert everything over to some kind of sensical population model.

Zombies don't reproduce, done.  It's just that there are a lot of them, and they get back up...
Animals, triffids, other plants, would reproduce seasonally.  In practice when a map tile containing an animal is loaded, it checks to see if a breeding season* has passed.  If so, there's some chance for the animal to multiply.  Triffids might have some weird link to the queen.
Fungal creatures could reproduce continuously but slowly, and bud from a spire. (I think GlyphGryph has some strong opinions on this, so that's just an example.)
Insects would reproduce seasonally, but only spawn from the queen and therefore at a much higher rate.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Rat-king clusters would probably act like insects.

Grabboids and worms would probably reproduce continuously but slowly.
Nether creatures might actually continue to act like dynamic spawn, as they're just coming out of the portal.  If you wiped out the population around a portal, left, and came back much later, the population would ahve replinished.

*Breeding seasons might be different for different creatures, and effective breeding system might be when the young mature rather than when they are born.

[Mephansteras]

That should work pretty well.

How will the game handle large scale blocking, like walls or moats? If I were to wall in an entire town, would the game know not to have any new creatures inside it even if they spawn around it? What about creatures like spiders? Will they be able to climb walls?

If so, what will be the defense against them? Barbed wire around the top, maybe?

[Mookzen]

Another fun part might be, when NPCs get fixed, having survivors migrate over to your "safe zone" and choosing whether to let them in or keep them out. Could even segment into a late-game town simulator thing.

I very much like the sound of that.

[Girlinhat]

That should work pretty well.

How will the game handle large scale blocking, like walls or moats? If I were to wall in an entire town, would the game know not to have any new creatures inside it even if they spawn around it? What about creatures like spiders? Will they be able to climb walls?

If so, what will be the defense against them? Barbed wire around the top, maybe?

That's the issue we've been discussing about breaches and making walls.  The idea is that if you build a wall around a large area, and the game is unable to do pathfinding from outside to inside, then it's considered 'secure' and things don't spawn inside.

I forgot that most people play on static spawns...  I don't like it that much, it seems to be overly difficult even for a zombie game.  Having brutes in town as soon as you spawn is pretty brutal...

[Mephansteras]

That should work pretty well.

How will the game handle large scale blocking, like walls or moats? If I were to wall in an entire town, would the game know not to have any new creatures inside it even if they spawn around it? What about creatures like spiders? Will they be able to climb walls?

If so, what will be the defense against them? Barbed wire around the top, maybe?

That's the issue we've been discussing about breaches and making walls.  The idea is that if you build a wall around a large area, and the game is unable to do pathfinding from outside to inside, then it's considered 'secure' and things don't spawn inside.

I forgot that most people play on static spawns...  I don't like it that much, it seems to be overly difficult even for a zombie game.  Having brutes in town as soon as you spawn is pretty brutal...

Yeah, but do we want certain creatures to be able to get in anyway? A simple wall won't stop a spider or a wasp. A moat might stop the spider, but not the wasp.

And if we have creatures that can bypass otherwise impassible squares, will we get some way of actually stopping them?


And, yeah, brutes first off are nasty. Lost a fairly promising character the other night to one. On the other hand, I like being able to actually clear out an area. Makes me feel like I'm truly making progress, while the dynamic spawns cut into that quite a bit.

[Girlinhat]

Most likely, barrier map tiles will function the same as regular map tiles - they get flagged for walking, flying, and digging.  If it's a regular wall, then it's 'no walking' and zombies and bears can't get in.  If it's 'no digging' then grabboids can't get in.  I don't know how to stop fliers

[Mephansteras]

Same way you do in DF. Roof over everything!

That's a lot easier in DF, of course. And you have the option to dig down, too, which helps.

[Aseaheru]

Or else just install turrets on the walls you built to keep out walkers and bears.

[Girlinhat]

Well, if we get Z-Levels then we'll be getting underground access too

[Aseaheru]

Thats even easier! Dig a ditch to the magma sea! And for the wall, build it to space!

[azmodean]

Aah I see, thing is dynamic spawn is going away.  It's really not compatable with this kind of thing, and some kind of "flood fill safe zone" is even more computationally difficult than setting up the borders in the first place.

We have some ideas in the direction of when you start out there are only vanilla zombie types, and they mutate into the tougher zombies over time, but no one has seriously dug into it as yet.

[Girlinhat]

I think the big thing is, when you spawn it should declare what town is directly adjacent to you - this is your 'spawn town' and it will only be populated by regulars.  Any OTHER town will have the full variety.

[Mephansteras]

I think the big thing is, when you spawn it should declare what town is directly adjacent to you - this is your 'spawn town' and it will only be populated by regulars.  Any OTHER town will have the full variety.

How would that work with multiple characters in the same world?

[Girlinhat]

I always delete worlds after a character

Yeah I have no idea...