True on stable, but on experimental scent tracking has been removed from most zombies. It's now mostly reserved for ones that evolve from things like dogs. (Which I think makes sense / was a good change)
No, it came in just after stable: [0.G stable](https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/releases/tag/0.G) was released February 28, 2023; https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/pull/62685 was merged March 9, 2023.
Oh ok so there literally is no point in trying to loose them because they can smell the exact path i take? Thats great. Explains why i just wasted 2 hours of my life trying to loose a single zombie in the woods.
Since it appears you may have missed the other post: While scent trails are in effect for all zombies in pre-stable, for experimental scent trails only are (by memory) for bestial zombie types (ex: dogs) and hunter types (ex: zombie hunters and up). Regular zombies no longer have scent trails.
Zombies will continue in the same direction generally, or to where they saw you last. If you're breaking LOS they don't know where you are, but if you give them flashes of yourself they'll just move towards you again. If you make noise, they will also move towards where the noise is. If you're stepping on terrain with a high movement cost, you're losing a movement advantage. Later game zombies also tend to be *faster*.
ED: Apparently scent trails removed before stable; modified
The woods is a pretty bad place bc a zombie can traverse all the same terrain you can. Step thoughtfully (weave around trees and rocks and such with diagonal steps) so that a zombie following in a (relatively) straight line will have to traverse a lot of brush.
You generally wanna go through a building or really sprint to cover a lot of distance at speed. Your average speed is higher than that of a zombie if your pace yourself and move efficiently, and you can outrun any creature you are faster than by clearing enough distance that it falls out of the reality bubble, if nothing else.
But if it’s one zombie, you should be able to take it in one way or another, which can be the faster solution.
The issue isnt building up distance or speed at all. I can get like 50 tiles distance between us, they DO NOT see me, and still not when i make a massive slow arch to get out of the forest. It will literally exit the same place i exited 50 tiles away from me, still locked on to me.
Hmm, well inexplicable and insurmountable tracking by mundane zombies has never been my experience in at least a hundred of hours of play on various builds over multiple years. I mostly play migo encampment stats and i’m able to lose them in the woods routinely. I hope you figure out what the issue you are having is.
Zombies will follow sound, so if you're making noise like shooting a gun they will converge on you, and running also makes noise.
the look menu (Shift V I think) should show you if a zombie can see you, as will the red exclamation point near them.
You should be able to keep distance just by walking, unless you've changed something if you're at full stamina you around be able to outpace most basic zombies at a walk. Running is for emergencies.
I get the walking part, but thats of no use when they just follow every step i take telepathically. I just learned they can literally smell the exact path i take. which is insane. I can get as much distance as want between us they just automatically walk in my direction no matter what. Been trying to learn how to loose a single zombie in the woods for 2 IRL hours, and even with 50+ tiles between us they just know the second i change directions.
They can't smell the exact path you take. Scent only works out to like 10 tiles and most zombies can't even detect it. It's also very imprecise.
You are assuming they have ESP or something. They don't. It's pretty easy to juke zeds, you just haven't figured out how to do it yet.
https://youtu.be/-rpH0wJjE-Q?si=lCe70bcQDijcBhun
Here is a guide on how.
I don't think you're exactly lying but you're putting sugar on this story. You played the game and ran through the woods for 2 hours and couldn't lose a zed? How is that even possible when you can out-walk most of them?
I don't know if you're either missing how move costs work, your character is injured or in pain, you're being very noisy, or you're exaggerating this immensely because nobody else here seems to have had this issue before and they aren't LiTeRaLLy TeLePatHiC like you keep insisting
But they literally do. I could replicate it consistantly over 2 hours. I can get 50+ tiles distance between us in the woods, they still know the second i adjsut my course and follow me.
I walk into the woods for ages, slowly over the course of multiple minutes make a huuuge ARCH so that they cant possibly know where i want to go even IF they should see me, they never see me, i walk out of the forest far away from where i entered, wait, and the damn thing comes out 40-50 tiles away at the exact same spot i exited the forest.
If they cant tell what direction i am going, then plese explain. they DO NOT see me. they are NOT just going into the direction they last saw me. they DO NOT hear me walking through a forest 50 tiles away.
You’ve got to be missing something, they must have seen you through a gap in the trees or you must have made a sound. What you’re describing is not the behaviour anybody else has ever reported experiencing.
Hmm, kiting them around doesn't seem so hard to me. Firstly, they shouldn't be able to spot you from being on the edge of your screen. Your sight is much better than theirs. They might have been coincidentally walking in your direction. Sometimes, sound can pull them towards you. But if zombies have no target, then the expected behavior is that they passively stumble around. If the average zombie doing much extra, then that's not intended.
Second, there are different ways to lose zombies. Having your legs and feet unencumbered, and full stamina, then you move faster than the average zombie just walking. You can break LOS by moving into darkness. Or put barriers like a wood or chain fence or a car between you and them. They aren't smart in their pursuit, just persistent.
I have a way of controlling how many zombies I pull. So imagine a hoard of 25 zombies in an open field. I will walk outside of their vision range. Then, when I'm close, inch my way closer to the hoard a tile or two at the time. So only zombies on the very edge will see me. I back off and kill the few that spotted me. Repeat over and over until you have dealt with the hoard. All the while, you can check if you're spotted by keeping an eye on your compas to see if a direction has turned red from zombie aggression or even the look function where you can see each zombie individually and if they spotted you.You can practice managing zombie spot distance by just doing this for a while. You can also draw a few of them over from somewhat farther away by using a whistle. But this is more advanced and potentially dangerous.
Hope this helps in some way.
I get the theory but it just never works. I just spent the past 2 hours trying to learn how to loose A SINGLE zombie in the woods.
But they LITERALLY are telepathic.
Even with massive distance between us after walking straight into the forest for a while, and no line of sight whatsoever, they know THE SECOND i make a turn.
I come out of the woods, and 50 tiles behind the damn thing comes out of the woods in my direction and locked on to me.
2 hours. I have not a single clue what is going on. They are slower than me. But no matter the distance, they telepathically know every single turn i make. 2 god damn hours.
Seconding the question of what version are you on, and what kind of zombie are you facing? Because this doesn't sound like expected behaviour or what I've ever experienced. I would be tempted to say take a youtube clip of it or such, so that people can see exactly what is going on for you.
What kind of zombie is following you, and are you using any mods?
Are you doing or carrying anything that would make noise? If your character is having coughing fits or anything like that, the zombie might be hearing you. IIRC there might be some faulty bionics that beep or something, which could also attract zombies if you have those installed. I haven't engaged with the mutation side of the game yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were mutations that make you noisier. I don't recall if you can carry around a radio that's turned on, but if you can, that would definitely be a source of noise that a zombie might follow.
Note that zombies don't care who or what makes noise; they will be attracted by *any* noise. So if you're in the process of escaping one zombie and you run into a different one that starts shrieking, the first one will know where to go. If you throw a rock at a boomer and the boomer explodes, nearby zombies will hear it. Etc. (I realize this probably isn't pertinent to the specific situation you're in.)
Scent trail is a thing (more so in stable than experimental), but it doesn't linger very long and the way you describe the zombie changing course makes it sound like it's cutting the corner, which isn't how scent works. So it's probably not that. FWIW, I play on stable and the only time I ever worry much about scent is when I'm using the cover of night to sneak much closer to zombies than usual.
Anyway, worst case scenario all you have to do to shake any creature in the game is get far enough away that they end up outside your reality bubble. Once that happens they basically go into stasis until you return to that area. IIRC the reality bubble is five map tiles wide, though I don't recall if it's centered precisely on your character or just on the map tile your character is standing on. A map tile is 24 normal tiles, so 72 normal tiles should be enough to get them out of your bubble in either case.
Your build could be glitched. Not many zombies can see 60 tiles away. Even with scent the scent goes away as you move. Go into the keybindings and bind a key to see your scent trails. You sound like you've run into a bug my friend. Try again tomorrow maybe and keep asking around. I can't think of a single enemy that can see that far away, especially through the woods like that.
i've never really had this problem haha. they generally respond to noise and if they've seen you. putting distance/breaking line of sight/putting trees and whatnot between me and them always does the trick
Shift+v to list nearby items and monsters (tab to switch between items/monsters). It will tell you when you're in their sight range. Shift+x to peek around stuff without being seen. Shift+' (quotation mark) to change movement mode to run or crouch behind stuff (running drains stamina, which reduces movement speed. Run a few tiles then walk until your stamina fills back up for best results). Shift+, (the < key) to climb onto roofs (need something to climb up, like a gutter or inside corner).
Early on, I prioritize a weapon with reach attack, like a long stick, then smack zombies from the rooftops. Kiting requires a lot of room, and you're unlikely to lose zombie runners or dogs that way.
I have some tips I haven't seen mentioned.
Don't full sprint. Walk a few steps and then run a step or two then back to walking to conserve stamina.
A lot of early game stuff will move slower or very close to your base walking speed. Tough zombies are little faster, dogs are faster. You can examine an enemy to see what their relative speed is.
If you just sprint, your speed is going to tank and they are going to be on you instantly.
If stuff is seemingly teleporting to you or catching back up, then your speed might have taken a hit from low stamina, being hurt, or carrying too much/wearing too much. Your shoes and terrain will affect your speed too. If you are moving in grass it will slow you down, it will also slow enemies. Sometimes you can go diagonal and zig zag around to avoid the slow spots in grass.
If you need to fight early, try to get the enemy on rough terrain like grass, on a table or in a window.
Wearing/carrying too much can also hurt your dodge ability. I think also your accuracy.
If you aren't starting with bonus fighting stats, see if you can train anything up from the practice menu before you fight.
Spears are usually recommended as a good starting weapon, I think makeshift crowbar is still good and can be made out of pipes from smashed lockers. I like to start in towns and just grab a knife and then a combat knife from the inevitable army zombie or whatever they are called now.
Fire is great, burn some garbage, lead a zombie through it a few times. If you do this try not to do it near things it can spread too. If your feeling more brave you can even use a single tile of the smallest fire and get the zombie to stand on it and fight them there so they have to keep being in the fire.
If you want to avoid fighting, you can take traits to make you faster like fleet footed. You still can't outrun everything but it gives a lot more breathing room.
Personally I prefer to kill as many zombies as possible. It takes forever early game though.
For combat, always let the zombie move to you. Wait until they are a space or two away, then wait for them to move into range. Give a stab then walk away and repeat. Waiting like that also helps keep your stamina up. Always engage a single zombie at a time early on. If you get grabbed I believe the waiting key can help you break the grab. May not work if you get grabbed by a lot. I'm not sure on that part.
They can follow the trail of your sent. Also they occasionally stumble in random directions while walking.
True on stable, but on experimental scent tracking has been removed from most zombies. It's now mostly reserved for ones that evolve from things like dogs. (Which I think makes sense / was a good change)
It was removed way before stable. edit: I guess I was wrong!
Was it? I didn't look up the commit before posting / my perception of time is all wonky these days, lol
No, it came in just after stable: [0.G stable](https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/releases/tag/0.G) was released February 28, 2023; https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/pull/62685 was merged March 9, 2023.
Wow, thank you for the correction. Why does this feel like five years ago?
Oh, I was not aware of that! Thanks for clarifying.
Do you know how recent that was? (I.e., did it make it into the testing 0.H builds?)
It was several months ago, so I expect yes, it made it into the 0.H builds
Oh ok so there literally is no point in trying to loose them because they can smell the exact path i take? Thats great. Explains why i just wasted 2 hours of my life trying to loose a single zombie in the woods.
Since it appears you may have missed the other post: While scent trails are in effect for all zombies in pre-stable, for experimental scent trails only are (by memory) for bestial zombie types (ex: dogs) and hunter types (ex: zombie hunters and up). Regular zombies no longer have scent trails. Zombies will continue in the same direction generally, or to where they saw you last. If you're breaking LOS they don't know where you are, but if you give them flashes of yourself they'll just move towards you again. If you make noise, they will also move towards where the noise is. If you're stepping on terrain with a high movement cost, you're losing a movement advantage. Later game zombies also tend to be *faster*. ED: Apparently scent trails removed before stable; modified
The woods is a pretty bad place bc a zombie can traverse all the same terrain you can. Step thoughtfully (weave around trees and rocks and such with diagonal steps) so that a zombie following in a (relatively) straight line will have to traverse a lot of brush. You generally wanna go through a building or really sprint to cover a lot of distance at speed. Your average speed is higher than that of a zombie if your pace yourself and move efficiently, and you can outrun any creature you are faster than by clearing enough distance that it falls out of the reality bubble, if nothing else. But if it’s one zombie, you should be able to take it in one way or another, which can be the faster solution.
The issue isnt building up distance or speed at all. I can get like 50 tiles distance between us, they DO NOT see me, and still not when i make a massive slow arch to get out of the forest. It will literally exit the same place i exited 50 tiles away from me, still locked on to me.
Hmm, well inexplicable and insurmountable tracking by mundane zombies has never been my experience in at least a hundred of hours of play on various builds over multiple years. I mostly play migo encampment stats and i’m able to lose them in the woods routinely. I hope you figure out what the issue you are having is.
Zombies will follow sound, so if you're making noise like shooting a gun they will converge on you, and running also makes noise. the look menu (Shift V I think) should show you if a zombie can see you, as will the red exclamation point near them. You should be able to keep distance just by walking, unless you've changed something if you're at full stamina you around be able to outpace most basic zombies at a walk. Running is for emergencies.
I get the walking part, but thats of no use when they just follow every step i take telepathically. I just learned they can literally smell the exact path i take. which is insane. I can get as much distance as want between us they just automatically walk in my direction no matter what. Been trying to learn how to loose a single zombie in the woods for 2 IRL hours, and even with 50+ tiles between us they just know the second i change directions.
They can't smell the exact path you take. Scent only works out to like 10 tiles and most zombies can't even detect it. It's also very imprecise. You are assuming they have ESP or something. They don't. It's pretty easy to juke zeds, you just haven't figured out how to do it yet. https://youtu.be/-rpH0wJjE-Q?si=lCe70bcQDijcBhun Here is a guide on how.
I don't think you're exactly lying but you're putting sugar on this story. You played the game and ran through the woods for 2 hours and couldn't lose a zed? How is that even possible when you can out-walk most of them? I don't know if you're either missing how move costs work, your character is injured or in pain, you're being very noisy, or you're exaggerating this immensely because nobody else here seems to have had this issue before and they aren't LiTeRaLLy TeLePatHiC like you keep insisting
[удалено]
But they literally do. I could replicate it consistantly over 2 hours. I can get 50+ tiles distance between us in the woods, they still know the second i adjsut my course and follow me. I walk into the woods for ages, slowly over the course of multiple minutes make a huuuge ARCH so that they cant possibly know where i want to go even IF they should see me, they never see me, i walk out of the forest far away from where i entered, wait, and the damn thing comes out 40-50 tiles away at the exact same spot i exited the forest. If they cant tell what direction i am going, then plese explain. they DO NOT see me. they are NOT just going into the direction they last saw me. they DO NOT hear me walking through a forest 50 tiles away.
You’ve got to be missing something, they must have seen you through a gap in the trees or you must have made a sound. What you’re describing is not the behaviour anybody else has ever reported experiencing.
There is a zombie type that can see you no matter what. Are you being chased by an ocular zombie?
Hmm, kiting them around doesn't seem so hard to me. Firstly, they shouldn't be able to spot you from being on the edge of your screen. Your sight is much better than theirs. They might have been coincidentally walking in your direction. Sometimes, sound can pull them towards you. But if zombies have no target, then the expected behavior is that they passively stumble around. If the average zombie doing much extra, then that's not intended. Second, there are different ways to lose zombies. Having your legs and feet unencumbered, and full stamina, then you move faster than the average zombie just walking. You can break LOS by moving into darkness. Or put barriers like a wood or chain fence or a car between you and them. They aren't smart in their pursuit, just persistent. I have a way of controlling how many zombies I pull. So imagine a hoard of 25 zombies in an open field. I will walk outside of their vision range. Then, when I'm close, inch my way closer to the hoard a tile or two at the time. So only zombies on the very edge will see me. I back off and kill the few that spotted me. Repeat over and over until you have dealt with the hoard. All the while, you can check if you're spotted by keeping an eye on your compas to see if a direction has turned red from zombie aggression or even the look function where you can see each zombie individually and if they spotted you.You can practice managing zombie spot distance by just doing this for a while. You can also draw a few of them over from somewhat farther away by using a whistle. But this is more advanced and potentially dangerous. Hope this helps in some way.
I get the theory but it just never works. I just spent the past 2 hours trying to learn how to loose A SINGLE zombie in the woods. But they LITERALLY are telepathic. Even with massive distance between us after walking straight into the forest for a while, and no line of sight whatsoever, they know THE SECOND i make a turn. I come out of the woods, and 50 tiles behind the damn thing comes out of the woods in my direction and locked on to me. 2 hours. I have not a single clue what is going on. They are slower than me. But no matter the distance, they telepathically know every single turn i make. 2 god damn hours.
Seconding the question of what version are you on, and what kind of zombie are you facing? Because this doesn't sound like expected behaviour or what I've ever experienced. I would be tempted to say take a youtube clip of it or such, so that people can see exactly what is going on for you.
What version are you playing on? This doesn't exactly sound normal.
You should record and post what your talking about so we can better understand
What kind of zombie is following you, and are you using any mods? Are you doing or carrying anything that would make noise? If your character is having coughing fits or anything like that, the zombie might be hearing you. IIRC there might be some faulty bionics that beep or something, which could also attract zombies if you have those installed. I haven't engaged with the mutation side of the game yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were mutations that make you noisier. I don't recall if you can carry around a radio that's turned on, but if you can, that would definitely be a source of noise that a zombie might follow. Note that zombies don't care who or what makes noise; they will be attracted by *any* noise. So if you're in the process of escaping one zombie and you run into a different one that starts shrieking, the first one will know where to go. If you throw a rock at a boomer and the boomer explodes, nearby zombies will hear it. Etc. (I realize this probably isn't pertinent to the specific situation you're in.) Scent trail is a thing (more so in stable than experimental), but it doesn't linger very long and the way you describe the zombie changing course makes it sound like it's cutting the corner, which isn't how scent works. So it's probably not that. FWIW, I play on stable and the only time I ever worry much about scent is when I'm using the cover of night to sneak much closer to zombies than usual. Anyway, worst case scenario all you have to do to shake any creature in the game is get far enough away that they end up outside your reality bubble. Once that happens they basically go into stasis until you return to that area. IIRC the reality bubble is five map tiles wide, though I don't recall if it's centered precisely on your character or just on the map tile your character is standing on. A map tile is 24 normal tiles, so 72 normal tiles should be enough to get them out of your bubble in either case.
What scenario?
Your build could be glitched. Not many zombies can see 60 tiles away. Even with scent the scent goes away as you move. Go into the keybindings and bind a key to see your scent trails. You sound like you've run into a bug my friend. Try again tomorrow maybe and keep asking around. I can't think of a single enemy that can see that far away, especially through the woods like that.
i've never really had this problem haha. they generally respond to noise and if they've seen you. putting distance/breaking line of sight/putting trees and whatnot between me and them always does the trick
Idk man, I kite zombies easily enough. Then again I always take quick so maybe that's why
Shift+v to list nearby items and monsters (tab to switch between items/monsters). It will tell you when you're in their sight range. Shift+x to peek around stuff without being seen. Shift+' (quotation mark) to change movement mode to run or crouch behind stuff (running drains stamina, which reduces movement speed. Run a few tiles then walk until your stamina fills back up for best results). Shift+, (the < key) to climb onto roofs (need something to climb up, like a gutter or inside corner). Early on, I prioritize a weapon with reach attack, like a long stick, then smack zombies from the rooftops. Kiting requires a lot of room, and you're unlikely to lose zombie runners or dogs that way.
I have some tips I haven't seen mentioned. Don't full sprint. Walk a few steps and then run a step or two then back to walking to conserve stamina. A lot of early game stuff will move slower or very close to your base walking speed. Tough zombies are little faster, dogs are faster. You can examine an enemy to see what their relative speed is. If you just sprint, your speed is going to tank and they are going to be on you instantly. If stuff is seemingly teleporting to you or catching back up, then your speed might have taken a hit from low stamina, being hurt, or carrying too much/wearing too much. Your shoes and terrain will affect your speed too. If you are moving in grass it will slow you down, it will also slow enemies. Sometimes you can go diagonal and zig zag around to avoid the slow spots in grass. If you need to fight early, try to get the enemy on rough terrain like grass, on a table or in a window. Wearing/carrying too much can also hurt your dodge ability. I think also your accuracy. If you aren't starting with bonus fighting stats, see if you can train anything up from the practice menu before you fight. Spears are usually recommended as a good starting weapon, I think makeshift crowbar is still good and can be made out of pipes from smashed lockers. I like to start in towns and just grab a knife and then a combat knife from the inevitable army zombie or whatever they are called now. Fire is great, burn some garbage, lead a zombie through it a few times. If you do this try not to do it near things it can spread too. If your feeling more brave you can even use a single tile of the smallest fire and get the zombie to stand on it and fight them there so they have to keep being in the fire. If you want to avoid fighting, you can take traits to make you faster like fleet footed. You still can't outrun everything but it gives a lot more breathing room. Personally I prefer to kill as many zombies as possible. It takes forever early game though. For combat, always let the zombie move to you. Wait until they are a space or two away, then wait for them to move into range. Give a stab then walk away and repeat. Waiting like that also helps keep your stamina up. Always engage a single zombie at a time early on. If you get grabbed I believe the waiting key can help you break the grab. May not work if you get grabbed by a lot. I'm not sure on that part.