There's been discussion that Zombies are too easy while Xenos are too hard, so I came to pondering what could be done.
An easy idea I thought of would be to add Zombie Dogs, which behave similar to Drones and attempt to knock over players, and if successful come back a second time to drag players they snatch (or players they find already crawling) off into the caves. They would use a modified version of the same logic that already exists for Drones, reducing development time/cost.
The intent is that players being dragged inflicts CC and makes soloing a bit more risky, but unlike with the paralysis of being facehugged + Drone-dragged the Dog would be something you can save yourself from by attacking the Dog while it drags you. Saving yourself comes either by shooting it off or by using a kicking action (if you still have legs) enabled by repeatedly using the Disarm Intent on the Dog that's dragging you.
Unlike the goal of Nesting that Drones pursue, Dogs would simply drag you off for the sake of separating you from allies and the end goal is for you to be eaten. Hordes of zombies should still be able to attack you while you're being dragged past them and they should be able to chase after you and the Dog wherever it's ultimately trying to have you for dinner.
This makes soloing more risky and exciting, while groups of people need to provide cover to each other to not be picked off and dragged away one by one. It also adds higher stakes to Zombies without being an instant loss when you get caught out - and starts teaching new players how to be wary of Drones and Drone behavior for when they transition to playing against Xenos.
An easy idea I thought of would be to add Zombie Dogs, which behave similar to Drones and attempt to knock over players, and if successful come back a second time to drag players they snatch (or players they find already crawling) off into the caves. They would use a modified version of the same logic that already exists for Drones, reducing development time/cost.
The intent is that players being dragged inflicts CC and makes soloing a bit more risky, but unlike with the paralysis of being facehugged + Drone-dragged the Dog would be something you can save yourself from by attacking the Dog while it drags you. Saving yourself comes either by shooting it off or by using a kicking action (if you still have legs) enabled by repeatedly using the Disarm Intent on the Dog that's dragging you.
Unlike the goal of Nesting that Drones pursue, Dogs would simply drag you off for the sake of separating you from allies and the end goal is for you to be eaten. Hordes of zombies should still be able to attack you while you're being dragged past them and they should be able to chase after you and the Dog wherever it's ultimately trying to have you for dinner.
This makes soloing more risky and exciting, while groups of people need to provide cover to each other to not be picked off and dragged away one by one. It also adds higher stakes to Zombies without being an instant loss when you get caught out - and starts teaching new players how to be wary of Drones and Drone behavior for when they transition to playing against Xenos.
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